DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Activist investor Jana discloses 'significant' stake in Wolfspeed, urges semiconductor manufacturer to consider sale
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-22 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Activist investor Jana Partners disclosed in a letter Monday that it has built a "significant" position in semiconductor manufacturer Wolfspeed and urged the company to resolve what it called a "staggering erosion of shareholder value," up to and including a sale. In the letter to Wolfspeed's board, viewed by CNBC, Jana wrote that the semiconductor company's "differentiated manufacturing capabilities" and status as an "American supplier supporting the energy transition" gave it significant intrinsic value. Jana also wrote that management's missteps around capital allocation, execution and strategy had depressed the stock. Wolfspeed, formerly known as Cree, is a supplier of electronic components and semiconductors used to manage electricity, often in cars. Jana said Wolfspeed's board should "promptly" begin a comprehensive review of the business, up to and including a sale.

Persons: Scott Ostfeld, Jana Partners, Jana, Wolfspeed, Barry Rosenstein, Kif Leswing Organizations: JANA Partners, CNBC, Reuters, TSR, Qualcomm, Trimble Locations: New York City, U.S, Mohawk Valley, Siler City, Freshpet ,

☆ Mark Zuckerberg says Meta will offer its virtual reality OS to hardware companies, creating iPhone versus Android dynamic
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-22 | by ( Kif Leswing | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Meta will partner with external hardware companies, including Lenovo, Microsoft and Asus, to build virtual reality headsets using the company's Meta Horizon operating system, the company said Monday. The move will create new hardware devices that run on the same operating system and software as Meta's current first-party virtual reality hardware, such as the Quest 3 and Quest Pro. The move further defines the fault lines of the virtual reality hardware market, months after Apple released its $3,500 virtual reality headset called Vision Pro in January. According to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who shared the news in an Instagram video Monday, the announcement essentially recreates the Android versus iOS dynamic in smartphones — only for virtual reality headsets. Meta Horizon is based on a version of Android, allowing for easier ports of apps from phones to virtual reality.

Persons: Mark Zuckerberg, Zuckerberg, Meta's, Meta Organizations: Lenovo, Microsoft, Asus, Quest Pro, Apple, Reality Labs, Meta, Apple's, Google, Steam, Gaming, Xbox

☆ ASML earnings drag semiconductor stocks lower
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-17 | by ( Kif Leswing | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Chip stocks fell on Wednesday after ASML, a key developer of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, said that bookings fell by 61% sequentially during the first quarter, a steeper drop than investors had expected. During trading on Wednesday, AMD's stock fell over 4%, Nvidia shares fell about 3%, Intel shares fell nearly 2% and Qualcomm was off 2%. But the biggest drop affected chip technology firm Arm , which was trading nearly 10% lower on Wednesday. ASML fell over 8% on a day when the entire S&P 500 index was only down less than 1%. ASML also said that it expected that government subsidies for chip factories, such as the CHIPS Act in the U.S., would boost its sales.

Persons: Carl Zeiss ZMT, ASML, Peter Wennink, Wennink, Christophe Fouquet Organizations: Nvidia, Intel, Qualcomm, Samsung, Apple Locations: Taiwan, South Korea, U.S, China

☆ Apple shares just had their best day since last May
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-11 | by ( Kif Leswing | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Apple CEO Tim Cook greets customers as he arrives for the release of the Vision Pro headset at the Apple Store in New York City on Feb. 2, 2024. Apple shares climbed 4.3% on Thursday to a share price of $175.04. Apple's rise came during a strong day for technology stocks, especially those in artificial intelligence, as the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.77%. Apple shares are down more than 5% so far this year. On Thursday, JPMorgan analysts wrote that sentiment over Apple shares is improving with hedge fund investors, partially due to its recent stock slide.

Persons: Tim Cook, Apple's, Samik Chatterjee, Chatterjee Organizations: Apple, Nasdaq, JPMorgan, Apple's Worldwide, Bloomberg Locations: New York City, China

☆ Intel unveils latest AI chip as Nvidia competition heats up
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-09 | by ( Kif Leswing | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Nvidia has an estimated 80% of the AI chip market with its graphics processors, known as GPUs, which have been the high-end chip of choice for AI builders over the past year. Intel says the new Gaudi 3 chip is over twice as power-efficient as and can run AI models one-and-a-half times faster than Nvidia's H100 GPU. Intel on Tuesday unveiled its latest artificial intelligence chip, called Gaudi 3, as chipmakers rush to produce semiconductors that can train and deploy big AI models, such as the one underpinning OpenAI's ChatGPT. AMD is also looking to expand and sell more AI chips for servers. Intel is teaming up with other chip and software giants, including Google , Qualcomm and Arm to build open software that isn't proprietary and could enable software companies to easily switch chip providers.

Persons: Abu, Gaudi, Das Kamhout, Sachin Katti, Patrick Gelsinger Organizations: Nvidia, Intel, Gaudi, Dell, HP, AMD, Microsoft, Google, Qualcomm Locations: Abu Dhabi, Ohio

☆ Elon Musk says Tesla will unveil its robotaxi on Aug. 8; shares pop
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-05 | by ( Lora Kolodny | In Lorakolodny | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Elon Musk, Chief Executive Officer of Tesla and owner of X, formerly known as Twitter, attends the Viva Technology conference dedicated to innovation and startups at the Porte de Versailles exhibition center in Paris, France, June 16, 2023. Musk shared the reveal date on Friday after Reuters reported that plans for Tesla's highly anticipated low-cost car model had been scrapped. In 2015, Elon Musk told shareholders that Tesla's cars would achieve "full autonomy" within three years. Tesla still has yet to deliver a robotaxi, autonomous vehicle or technology that can turn its cars into "level 3" automated vehicles. On Friday, Apple shuttered its self-driving unit and laid off about 600 people on Friday who had been associated with the project.

Persons: Elon Musk, Porte, Tesla, Musk, FSD, Waymo, Uber, Cruise's, Leswing Organizations: Twitter, Viva Technology, Porte de, Reuters, Tesla, Companies, Wayve, Apple, Cruise Locations: Paris, France, Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Austin , Texas, Arizona, China, Guangzhou, U.S

☆ Apple lays off over 600 California employees after shuttering car project
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-04 | by ( Kif Leswing | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, during an event at Apple Park campus in Cupertino, California, Sept. 12, 2023. Apple is laying off 614 workers in California, according to a new state filing, the company's first significant round of job cuts since the pandemic. The affected Apple employees worked at eight different facilities in Santa Clara, according to the WARN notice posted by California. The filing comes weeks after Apple canceled a long-running project to build an electric, self-driving car in a team called the Special Projects Group. Positions that were cut include machine shop managers, hardware engineers and product design engineers, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Persons: Tim Cook, Apple hasn't Organizations: Apple, San Francisco Chronicle Locations: Cupertino , California, California, Santa Clara, Cupertino

☆ Apple reportedly exploring personal home robots
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-03 | by ( Hayden Field | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Apple CEO Tim Cook (2nd R) greets customers as he arrives for the release of the Vision Pro headset at the Apple Store in New York City on February 2, 2024. Apple is exploring the development of personal home robots after ditching its electric vehicle project, Bloomberg reported Wednesday. In recent years, the company has also invested heavily in products and services like its Apple Watch and Vision Pro virtual reality headset. The Vision Pro, however, will likely take years to create meaningful revenue. Apple's hardware engineering division and its artificial intelligence and machine learning group are overseeing the work on personal robotics, Bloomberg reported.

Persons: Tim Cook, Read, Leswing, Annie Palmer Organizations: Apple, Bloomberg, Engineers, Group, Apple Watch, Vision, Amazon Locations: New York City

☆ Intel drops 8% after chipmaker reports hefty loss in foundry business
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-03 | by ( Alex Koller | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Intel shares closed down 8% on Wednesday after the company disclosed long-awaited financials for its semiconductor manufacturing, or foundry, business, revealing an operating loss of $7 billion in 2023. It was the first time Intel had reported revenue totals for its foundry arm alone, separating it from the products business, which reported $11.3 billion in operating income in 2023. Intel said Tuesday that it expects its foundry losses to peak in 2024 and break even halfway between the current quarter and the end of 2030. "NOW is when the real work begins," the analysts wrote in a Tuesday investor note. "With a multi-year execution cycle still ahead, we continue to prefer nearer-term AI beneficiaries, NVDA and AMD," the analysts wrote.

Persons: Cantor Fitzgerald, Intel's, —, Kif Leswing Organizations: Intel, AMD

☆ Intel shares fall after company reveals $7 billion operating loss in foundry business
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-02 | by ( Kif Leswing | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Intel shares fell 4% at one point in extended trading on Tuesday after the company revealed long-awaited financials for its semiconductor manufacturing business, commonly called the foundry business, in a SEC filing. Intel said its foundry business recorded an operating loss of $7 billion in 2023 on sales of $18.9 billion. That's a wider loss than the $5.2 billion Intel reported in its foundry business in 2022 on $25.7 billion in sales. "Intel Foundry is going to drive considerable earnings growth for Intel over time. 2024 is the trough for foundry operating losses," Gelsinger said on a call with investors on Tuesday.

Persons: Patrick Gelsinger, Gelsinger Organizations: Intel, SEC, Nvidia, AMD, Microsoft, Intel Foundry Locations: American

A significant chunk of that money was strategic, in that it came from tech companies rather than venture capitalists or other institutions. The company has refocused much of its product development on generative AI, and its newly rebranded Gemini model, adding features into search, documents, maps and elsewhere. Alphabet and Nvidia are also investors in Runway ML, a generative AI company known for its video-editing and visual effects tools. Microsoft has invested in many of the techniques underpinning generative AI through its Microsoft Research division. Apple researchers recently published details of their work on MM1, a family of small AI models that can take both text and visual input.

Persons: Satya Nadella, Sam Altman, Justin Sullivan, Claude, Fred Havemeyer, Havemeyer, that's, Anthropic, Gemini Ai, Michael M, It's, Amy Hood, dealmaking Daniel Newman, Mustafa Suleyman, Newman, Lina Khan Organizations: Getty, Getty Images Tech, aren't, GPT, Microsoft, Meta, Apple, Nvidia, Google, Web Services, Amazon, Santiago, AMD, Runway ML, Mistral, Big Tech, Microsoft Research, Baidu, Futurum, Anthropic, Federal Trade Commission Locations: San Francisco, Macquarie, Anthropic, New York City, Mistral, U.S, China

☆ Apple announces its big annual conference, where it could reveal its AI strategy
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-26 | by ( Kif Leswing | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Apple on Tuesday announced that its annual developers conference, WWDC, will take place June 10 through June 14. The conference will be livestreamed on Apple's website, although the company is inviting some software makers to its campus on the first day to "celebrate in person," Apple said. At this year's conference, Apple could reveal its long-awaited artificial intelligence strategy and consumer features. In February, Cook said Apple was "investing significantly" in AI and teased an AI-related announcement "later this year" that many analysts believe will come at the Worldwide Developers Conference. At this year's conference, Apple also plans to reveal the first major software update to the Vision Pro, the virtual reality headset it launched earlier this year.

Persons: Apple, Cook, Tim Cook Organizations: Apple, Worldwide, YouTube, Vision

☆ Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang announces new AI chips: 'We need bigger GPUs'
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-18 | by ( Kif Leswing | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang delivers a keynote address during the Nvidia GTC Artificial Intelligence Conference at SAP Center on March 18, 2024 in San Jose, California. Nvidia on Monday announced a new generation of artificial intelligence chips and software for running artificial intelligence models. The announcement, made during Nvidia's developer's conference in San Jose, comes as the chipmaker seeks to solidify its position as the go-to supplier for AI companies. “Hopper is fantastic, but we need bigger GPUs,” Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said on Monday at the company's developer conference in California. Das said Nvidia's new software will make it easier to run programs on any of Nvidia's GPUs, even older ones that might be better suited for deploying but not building AI.

Persons: Jensen Huang, Nvidia's, ChatGPT, Blackwell, Hopper, Huang, Manuvir Das, what's, Das, you've, we'll Organizations: Nvidia, Intelligence, SAP Center, Monday, Microsoft, Meta, Companies, Apple, Manuvir Locations: San Jose , California, San Jose, California

☆ Apple will allow iPhone app downloads from websites in Europe
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-12 | by ( Kif Leswing | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

IPhone users in the European Union will be able to download apps from websites, instead of through the App Store or a competing app store app, Apple said, in the the latest change forced by the European Commission's Digital Markets Act. Tuesday's announcement is the latest example of the Digital Markets Act forcing Apple to make long-resisted changes to its App Store business processes. Under the DMA, Apple has been forced to allow third-party app stores in Europe, has reinstated antitrust adversary Epic Games' developer account amid a legal dispute, and has backtracked on banning web app shortcuts on the main iPhone screen. Apple still plans to charge a fee of fifty Euro cents for app downloads outside of its App Store, including web app downloads. The company has said Europe represents about 7% of Apple's App Store revenue.

Persons: Tim Cook, Apple, Margrethe Vestager, Vestager Organizations: Apple Inc, Apple Worldwide Developers, European Union, Commission's, Apple, Digital, Epic Games, Commission, European Commission, Spotify, EU, CNBC Locations: San Jose , California, U.S, European, Europe, iPhones

☆ Oracle shares surge 12% and head for record close
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-12 | by ( Alex Koller | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Safra Catz, CEO of Oracle Corporation, rings the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange, July 12, 2023. Oracle stock spiked more than 12% during intraday trading on Tuesday and is on pace for a record close, a day after the company reported fiscal third-quarter earnings that beat analysts' expectations. They're also on pace for the biggest gain since Dec. 10, 2021, when Oracle stock closed up 15.6%. Deutsche Bank lifted its price target on Oracle shares to $150 from $135, noting CEO Safra Catz reiterated fiscal 2026 guidance and strong cloud infrastructure results. Analysts at Bernstein Research, who have the equivalent of a buy rating on Oracle stock, bumped up their price target to $159 from $147.

Persons: Safra Catz, They're, Leswing, Jordan Novet Organizations: Oracle Corporation, New York Stock Exchange, Oracle, Deutsche Bank, UBS, Bernstein Research

☆ Oracle shares soar 13% on better-than-expected quarterly earnings
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-11 | by ( Kif Leswing | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Larry Ellison, co-founder and executive chairman of Oracle Corp., speaks during the Oracle OpenWorld conference in San Francisco on Oct. 22, 2018. Oracle reported quarterly earnings on Monday that exceeded Wall Street's expectations. Analysts were expecting $1.64 in adjusted earnings per share, according to LSEG. The company's cloud revenue, which is reported as part of the cloud services unit, rose 25% year-over-year to $5.1 billion, Oracle said. Prior to Monday's report, Oracle shares were up 8.7% for the year, slightly outperforming the S&P 500.

Persons: Larry Ellison, Oracle, Safra Catz, Catz, Ellison Organizations: Oracle Corp, Oracle, Revenue, Microsoft Locations: San Francisco, LSEG

☆ Apple reverses course, approves Epic Games for app store in Europe
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-08 | by ( Kif Leswing | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Apple has approved Epic Games' developer account in Sweden, which will allow the company to offer a competing app store on iPhones in Europe under a new antitrust regulation, the Digital Markets Act. Still, according to emails provided by Epic Games, a lawyer for Apple rejected Sweeney's statement and blocked Epic's European account. An Apple spokesperson confirmed that Epic Games' account had been restored after Epic told Apple it will follow its platform policies. Epic Games said it would use the account to publish Fortnite for iPhones in Europe as well as its own Epic Games store. The conflict between Epic Games and Apple goes back to 2020, when Epic Games updated the shooter game Fortnite to bypass Apple's 30% cut of App Store sales.

Persons: Tim Sweeney, Apple, Phil Schiller, Sweeney, Schiller, — Organizations: Epic Games, Apple, Games, Digital, Epic, Apple App, European Commission, Markets, Apple Developer, CNBC Locations: Seoul, South Korea, Sweden, iPhones, Europe, U.S, California

☆ Epic Games says Apple retaliated over lawsuits by banning company's developer account
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-06 | by ( Kif Leswing | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Apple has rejected Epic Games' application for a developer account it would use to launch an app store for iPhones in Europe, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney said Wednesday. The relationship between Apple and Epic Games has been confrontational since Epic sued Apple in 2020 over whether Fortnite could evade Apple's App Store rules and bypass its 30% cut of game sales. The spat highlights global regulatory threats to Apple's App Store sales, a profitable division for Apple reported under its services business. Sweeney said Wednesday that Epic planned to introduce a new app store in Europe to distribute Fortnite and other games. Don't miss these stories from CNBC PRO:WATCH: Epic Games lawsuit

Persons: Apple, Tim Sweeney, Sweeney, Phil Schiller, Schiller Organizations: Games, Apple, Apple App, Epic Games, Digital Markets, Spotify, Epic, Sweden, CNBC Locations: iPhones, Europe, California, Sweden

☆ Super Micro pops more than 25% after S&P 500 selection
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-04 | by ( Alex Koller | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Super Micro Computer stock popped more than 25% in Monday morning trading after the company was selected on Friday to join the S&P 500. The record rally in Super Micro's stock, driven by the industrywide artificial intelligence boom, has propelled the company's market cap above $50 billion. The median market cap for S&P 500 companies is $33.7 billion. Super Micro will replace Whirlpool in the S&P 500 starting at market open March 18. Goldman Sachs analysts initiated Super Micro stock with a neutral rating and a 12-month target price of $941 in an investor note Monday.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, CNBC's Michael Bloom, Kif Leswing Organizations: Micro Computer, Whirlpool, Nvidia, CNBC PRO

☆ Super Micro joining S&P 500 after stock price soars more than 20-fold in two years
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-01 | by ( Kif Leswing | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Super Micro Computer is joining the S&P 500 following a historic rally in the stock that has pushed the company's market cap past $50 billion. Deckers Outdoor is also joining the S&P 500, replacing Zions Bancorporation . Stocks added to the benchmark index often rise in value because funds that track the S&P 500 will add it to their portfolios. Super Micro has been one of the main beneficiaries of the artificial intelligence boom sweeping the technology industry. WATCH: Super Micro is absolutely a meme stock

Persons: Zions, Stocks, Ruplu Bhattacharya Organizations: Whirlpool, Nvidia, Super, Bank of America, & ' $

☆ Apple CEO Tim Cook says company is 'investing significantly' in generative AI
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-28 | by ( Kif Leswing | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The company sees "incredible breakthrough potential for generative AI, which is why we're currently investing significantly in this area," Cook said at Apple's annual shareholder meeting, which was held virtually. He also reframed several announced Apple products as "AI-powered," to emphasize that the company has been working on the technology for years. Current features that use Apple's AI technology include the Vision Pro's hand-tracking tool and Apple Watch's heart rate alerts, Cook said. At the meeting, Cook was not asked about the Apple Car project, which he'd previously called the "mother of all AI projects." The remarks came after Apple shareholders rejected a proposal that would compel the company to produce a report on AI risks.

Persons: Tim Cook, we're, Cook, Apple hasn't, Apple, he'd, Michael Forsythe, Wanda Austin, Al Gore, James Bell Organizations: Apple, Apple Watch, Employees, AFL, CNBC Locations: New York City

☆ Apple reportedly cancels plans to build a car
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-27 | by ( Kif Leswing | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Apple will wind down its team working on electric cars, called Special Projects Group, according to Bloomberg. The news signals that Apple will cease its secretive effort to build a car to rival Tesla . The program employed thousands of employees but never fit with Apple's core business of electronics and online services, and raised questions about what companies Apple would tap to manufacture a car. Reports of Apple's ambition to build a car first surfaced in 2014 after the company recruited automotive engineers and other talent from car companies. Some Apple employees in the company's car division may move to a generative artificial intelligence team, according to Bloomberg.

Persons: Tim Cook, Tesla Organizations: Apple, Formula One United, Prix Circuit, Bloomberg, San Francisco Bay Area, CNBC PRO Locations: Formula One United States, Americas, Austin , Texas, San Francisco Bay

☆ FTC Chair Lina Khan takes victory lap on blocking Nvidia-Arm merger
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-27 | by ( Kif Leswing | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan speaks during the New York Times annual DealBook Summit in New York City on Nov. 29, 2023. Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan cited the surging stock prices of Nvidia and Arm as an example of how blocking mergers can lead to increased innovation. The evidence, Khan said, is in the company stock prices. Nvidia's value has nearly tripled mostly on the strength of sales of its AI chips for servers such as the A100 and H100. Arm stock has more than doubled since the company went public in August 2023, although SoftBank still owns 90% of the company's shares.

Persons: Lina Khan, Khan, SoftBank Organizations: Federal Trade, New York Times, Nvidia, Bloomberg, FTC, Apple, Google, Qualcomm, Investors, CNBC PRO Locations: New York City, U.S, Europe, Asia

☆ Here's why the $3,500 Apple Vision Pro headset is so expensive
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-24 | by ( Kif Leswing | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

A customer tries on the Apple Vision Pro headset during the product launch at an Apple Store in New York City on Feb. 2, 2024. The Vision Pro, the new virtual reality headset from Apple, can transport you to Hawaii or the surface of the moon. The Vision Pro provides a preview of what using a computer could be like in five years, early adopters say. The Vision Pro starts at $3,499. Each Vision Pro needs two of them, one for each eye.

Persons: It's, Omdia, Jacky Qiu, OTI, Qiu Organizations: Apple, Quest, Sony Semiconductor Locations: New York City, Hawaii

☆ Nvidia set to report fourth-quarter earnings after the bell
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( Kif Leswing | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Nvidia is scheduled to announce fiscal fourth-quarter earnings after the bell Wednesday in a highly anticipated report that will give Wall Street a sense of how long the AI boom can last. Nvidia has to meet elevated expectations stoked by investor appetite for AI companies. Investors want to hear from Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang about how long these stratospheric growth rates can last. In the current quarter, Wall Street analysts expect a 208% rate of growth to about $22.17 billion in sales. But the focus Wednesday will remain primarily on its AI GPUs, which make up more than 80% of Nvidia sales.

Persons: Jensen Huang, D.A, Davidson, Gil Luria, Thomas O'Malley Organizations: Nvidia, Microsoft, Google, Wall Street, Barclays

Search resuls for: "Kif Leswing"

25 mentions found