Intel's Amazon Deal and Musk's Super PAC | Bloomberg Technology
18 Sep 2024 (1 day ago)
Intel's Foundry Business and Cloud Computing
- Intel will manufacture a chip for Amazon Web Services (AWS).
- Intel will separate its foundry business to serve customers.
- Intel's foundry business received affirmation through a deal to supply chips to Amazon.
- Major cloud companies, including Amazon and Meta, are increasingly designing their own custom chips for AI training and inference.
- These cloud companies aim to diversify their chip manufacturing beyond reliance on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC).
Positive Sentiment for Tech Companies
- Many investors believe that the Federal Reserve will continue to favor easing interest rates, which will likely lead to continued investment in equities and growth, particularly in the tech sector.
- Sentiment remains positive for large tech companies like Microsoft, Nvidia, Amazon, and Meta, particularly those seen as leaders in cloud computing and artificial intelligence.
Company Updates and Initiatives
- Uber will begin automatically verifying passengers using third-party databases to improve driver safety by verifying rider identities.
- Microsoft increased their quarterly dividend by 10% and introduced a new $60 billion stock buyback plan. Shareholders will receive a dividend of 83 cents per share, up from 75 cents currently.
- Amazon CEO Andy Jassy is streamlining the company by cutting management and requiring employees to return to the office five days a week starting in January.
- Salesforce is changing its AI strategy, stating that AI tools can handle tasks without human supervision. They are also changing their pricing model for AI software.
Global Health and Development
- The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation released its Goalkeepers Report for 2024, highlighting a global health decline and a worsening child nutrition crisis that is causing $3 trillion in economic losses.
- Bill Gates believes that even with budgetary constraints, countries should allocate 1% to 2% of their budgets to aid impoverished nations, emphasizing the cost-effectiveness of saving lives, which is less than $1,000 per life.
Political Landscape and Social Media
- Elon Musk's Super PAC is investing $2.1 billion in Republican candidates in closely contested districts that could determine control of the House of Representatives.
- The Democratic Party is making efforts to regain control of districts they lost in 2022.
- Elon Musk is using his platform X to amplify right-leaning causes and conservative candidates.
- Instagram is rolling out new privacy settings for teenagers that will make accounts private by default, limit the use of private messages, and use AI to detect and prevent underage users from lying about their age.
- Meta will be implementing new safety measures for teenagers on Instagram that will be implemented globally. The safety measures will first be rolled out in English-speaking countries, followed by the rest of the European Union by the end of 2024, and other countries in 2025.
- Meta has banned RT, its parent company, and other related entities from its platforms due to foreign interference activity.
Venture Capital and Gaming
- Patron, a venture capital firm, has raised $100 million for a new fund focused on young consumer-facing companies in the gaming field.
- Amber helped Jason's firm expand into non-gaming verticals.
- Jason worked at Riot Games to launch games, sports, and new markets.
Cryptocurrency and Regulation
- Donald Trump launched a crypto platform called World Liberty Financial to attract digital asset proponents.
- The United States should strive to be a leader in the field of cryptocurrency.
- China is not a market leader in cryptocurrency, with countries like Singapore being more pro-investment and pro-regulation.
- Existing financial regulations could be applied to cryptocurrency, particularly in cases of fraud.