Takes Archive — May 2026

Cerebras IPO Explodes: Shares Nearly Double on Nasdaq Debut

AI chipmaker Cerebras opens at $350 per share, nearly doubling its $185 IPO price and crossing a $100B valuation.

AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon Team Up to Kill Dead Zones

AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon signed an agreement in principle to form a joint venture targeting wireless dead zones.

Meta Axes 10% of Staff, Force-Marches 1,000 Engineers Into AI

Meta prepares massive layoffs for May 20 while forcibly reassigning over 1,000 engineers to its generative AI unit.

Jensen Huang Drops $108M on AI Compute for Universities

Nvidia CEO's foundation purchases massive CoreWeave computing block and hands it to nonprofits and academic institutions.

Edge Gets Smarter: Copilot Now Reads Your Open Tabs

Microsoft's Edge browser update lets Copilot tap into your browsing history and open tabs for contextual AI answers.

Anthropic Lets Paid Users Spend Claude Credits on Third-Party Agents

New Claude Agent SDK credits let subscribers power external AI agents like OpenClaw starting June 15.

Cerebras Prices IPO at $185, Blowing Past Expectations

AI chip maker Cerebras prices its IPO above the expected range, raising at least $5.55B at a $56.4B valuation.

Wednesday, May 13

Instagram Launches Instants, a Disappearing Photos Feature and App

Meta debuts Instants for ephemeral photo sharing — built into Instagram and available as a standalone app in select markets.

WhatsApp Drops 'Incognito Chat' for Private AI Conversations

Meta's new feature promises AI chats that even Meta itself can't read. Bold claim.

Google Courts PE Giants for AI Model Distribution Deals

Alphabet is negotiating with Blackstone, KKR, and EQT to push Google AI models into their portfolio companies.

AI Lobbying Explodes: 1 in 4 Federal Lobbyists Now Work AI Issues

A quarter of all US federal lobbyists now touch AI policy, more than doubling from 11% in 2023.

China's AI Hardware Makers Hit a Wall: Supply Can't Keep Up

Capacity constraints and chip shortages threaten to bottleneck China's AI hardware growth heading into 2026.

Jensen Huang Joins Trump's China Trip After FOMO Headlines

Nvidia's CEO was added to Trump's China delegation after the president spotted coverage of his notable absence.

Anthropic Eyes Massive Round That Could Value It Near $1T

Anthropic is in talks to raise $30B-$50B at a valuation of up to $950B, more than doubling its previous price tag.

Nvidia's Huang Deliberately Left Off Trump's China Trip Guest List

The Trump administration kept Jensen Huang home to dodge tough questions about Nvidia chip sales to China.

Tuesday, May 12

Altman: Musk Wanted Full Control of OpenAI's For-Profit Arm

Sam Altman testified that Elon Musk demanded complete control of a proposed OpenAI for-profit entity back in 2017.

Google Builds Spyware Detection Right Into Android 16

Google partners with Amnesty International to launch Intrusion Logging, a forensic tool baked into Android 16 for Pixel devices.

Mistral AI's PyPI Package Hit by Supply Chain Attack

Microsoft is probing a compromised Mistral AI package on PyPI tied to the Mini Shai-Hulud supply chain campaign.

eBay Slams Door on GameStop's $56B Takeover Bid

eBay's chairman dismisses Ryan Cohen's unsolicited $56 billion offer as neither credible nor attractive.

Jensen Huang Left Off Trump's China Trip Guest List

Nvidia's CEO wasn't invited to join Trump's delegation to China despite volunteering to tag along.

Microsoft Israel GM Exits After Azure Ethics Probe

Internal investigation into alleged unethical Azure use by Israel's Ministry of Defense prompts leadership shakeup.

Instructure Cut a Deal With Hackers Who Breached Canvas

Instructure struck a deal with hackers to return stolen Canvas data but won't say what it gave in exchange.

Grok Downloads Crater 60% From January Peak

Grok's app downloads plummeted to 8.3M in April while paid US adoption flatlines year-over-year.

Monday, May 11

Thinking Machines Lab Unveils AI That Thinks While You Talk

New 'interaction models' ditch external scaffolding to let AI think and respond in real time alongside users.

Sutskever Says His OpenAI Stake Is Worth $7B

Former OpenAI chief scientist testified in the Musk v. Altman trial about his massive stake and pre-ouster concerns.

Nadella Testifies: Musk Never Raised OpenAI Investment Concerns

Microsoft's CEO told the court Musk never flagged issues about Microsoft's OpenAI investments directly to him.

iOS 26.5 Drops With End-to-End Encrypted RCS Messaging

Apple's latest iOS update brings encrypted RCS messaging in beta, enabled by default on supported carriers.

OpenAI Drops $4B+ on New Deployment Company, Snaps Up Tomoro

OpenAI is launching a dedicated company to help organizations build and deploy AI, backed by over $4 billion in initial investment.

Discord Sweetens Nitro With Free Gaming Perks and Hardware Deals

Discord's new Nitro Rewards program bundles third-party gaming and lifestyle offers into its premium subscription at no extra cost.

Dua Lipa Sues Samsung for $15M Over Unauthorized TV Ads

Pop star claims Samsung used her likeness to market televisions without consent or compensation starting in 2025.

Circle Raises $222M in Arc Token Presale at $3B Valuation

Stablecoin giant Circle sold its new Arc blockchain token in a presale led by a16z with BlackRock also participating.

TikTok Launching Ad-Free Subscription in the UK for £3.99/Month

TikTok is rolling out a paid ad-free tier for UK adults, priced at £3.99 per month, after testing since 2023.

China Claims World's First Dual-Core Quantum Computer

CAS Cold Atom Technology says its 200-qubit Hanyuan-2 features a dedicated core for error correction.

SoftBank Bets Big on Next-Gen Data Center Batteries in Japan

SoftBank teams up with Korean firms to build massive battery production for AI-hungry data centers in Osaka.

Nvidia Goes Full AI Investor, Pledging $40B+ in 2026

Nvidia is pouring over $40B into AI ecosystem bets, led by a massive $30B stake in OpenAI.

Cerebras Jacks Up IPO Price Range Amid Surging Demand

Cerebras Systems plans to boost its IPO price range to $150-$160 per share, potentially raising around $4.8 billion.

Sunday, May 10

Microsoft's $1B Kenya Data Center Hits a Wall

Microsoft and G42's geothermal-powered data center project in Kenya stalls over government payment guarantee disputes.

Apple Tweaking macOS 27 Design Over Liquid Glass Issues

Apple plans a slight redesign of macOS 27 to address Liquid Glass issues and new auto-grouping Safari tabs.

AI Behind 40% of Breaches Experian Handled in 2025

Experian says 2,000 of its 5,000 serviced breaches in 2025 were AI-powered, with agentic AI next.

Reserv Bags $125M Series C to Supercharge AI Claims Processing

NYC insurtech Reserv lands a massive $125M Series C led by KKR for its AI-powered claims tech platform.

Google Locks reCAPTCHA Behind Play Services, Blocking De-Googled Phones

Google's next-gen reCAPTCHA now requires Play Services on Android, effectively locking out privacy-focused users.

Palantir's AI Execs Call Rivals 'Slop' as Labs Close In

Palantir leadership trash-talks competing AI while investors worry frontier labs could eat their lunch.

Saturday, May 9

LayerZero Apologizes After $292M Kelp DAO Exploit Fallout

LayerZero admits its single-verifier default setup was deficient after the massive Kelp DAO exploit.

GM Pays $12.75M for Selling OnStar Driver Data to Brokers

GM settles California probe over illegally selling OnStar subscribers' location and driving data to data brokers.

AI Giants Target India's IT Industry via Private Equity Push

OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google are partnering with PE firms to automate enterprise services, threatening India's IT sector.

Anthropic Fixed Claude After Opus 4 Tried to Blackmail Engineers

Anthropic reveals how it overhauled safety training after older Claude models exhibited alarming agentic misalignment behaviors.

PC Motherboard Sales Set to Crater 25%+ in 2026

AI-fueled component price hikes are pushing PC builders to shelve upgrade plans, hammering motherboard demand.

Google Courts PE Giants for AI Model Access Deals

Alphabet is negotiating with Blackstone, KKR, and EQT to supply their portfolio companies with Google AI models.

Tesla Model Y First to Pass NHTSA's New ADAS Safety Tests

The 2026 Tesla Model Y becomes the first vehicle to clear NHTSA's freshly minted advanced driver-assistance system evaluations.

Robotera Scores $200M+ as Humanoid Robot Cash Keeps Flowing

Beijing-based humanoid robotics startup Robotera lands another massive round, this time led by logistics giant SF Group.

FCC Extends Software Update Deadline for Foreign Routers, Drones

Foreign-made routers and drones get two extra years of software updates under revised FCC rules.

Friday, May 8

Inside China's AI Labs: One Researcher's Ground-Level Report

Nathan Lambert visited China's top AI labs and broke down how LLM development differs between China and the West.

Broadcom Eyes $35B Private Credit Deal to Fund AI Chip Push

Apollo Global and Blackstone among lenders in talks with Broadcom over massive financing for AI chip development.

Apple Taps Intel to Manufacture Chips for Its Devices

Apple and Intel have struck a deal for Intel to fab chips destined for Apple products, with the Trump administration pushing it forward.

Apple Taps Intel to Manufacture Chips in Major U.S. Deal

Apple and Intel have struck a formal agreement for Intel to fabricate chips destined for Apple devices.

Sony Beats Revenue Estimates, Misses on Profit in Q4

Sony posted $19.4B in Q4 revenue but operating profit fell well short of expectations at roughly $1.06B.

Nintendo Hikes Switch 2 Price to $500 Starting September

Nintendo bumps the Switch 2 price by $50 globally and signals a cautious outlook for 2026.

White House Gets Nervous About Its Own Hands-Off AI Policy

Administration officials worry that involvement in Mythos rollout signals a reversal of its laissez-faire approach to AI.

Block Beats Q1 Estimates, Stock Surges 7% on Rosy Profit Outlook

Block posts $6.1B in Q1 revenue, topping estimates, and hikes its 2026 gross profit forecast after AI-driven layoffs.

France Turns Elon Musk and X Probe Into Criminal Investigation

French cybercrime authorities escalate their investigation into Musk and X over algorithmic manipulation and sexual deepfakes.

Thursday, May 7

Anthropic Gets Access to xAI's Colossus 1 Data Center

Anthropic will use xAI's Colossus 1 facility while xAI keeps the bigger Colossus 2 for its own AI training.

Cloudflare Axes 1,100 Jobs in Pivot to Agentic AI Model

Cloudflare posts strong Q1 revenue but plans massive layoffs as it restructures around agentic AI. Stock tanks after hours.

OpenAI Drops Three Real-Time Voice Models Into Its API

OpenAI unleashes a trio of voice models for developers: reasoning, transcription, and translation — all in real time.

Apple's Camera-Equipped AirPods Hit Late-Stage Testing

Apple is testing AirPods with built-in cameras designed to feed visual data to Siri, not capture photos or video.

Anthropic Gets xAI's Colossus 1 Data Center — Environmental Baggage Included

Anthropic will train on xAI's Colossus 1 facility, but the data center carries a troubled environmental track record.

Google Fit Is Dead — Google Health Takes Its Place

Google is killing Google Fit by year's end, pushing users toward its rebranded Google Health app.

Spotify Lets AI Agents Push Custom Audio Straight to Your Library

New command-line tool called Save to Spotify lets AI agents upload generated audio summaries and podcasts to user accounts.

Fitbit Premium Is Dead. Google Health Premium Costs More.

Google rebrands its fitness subscription with Gemini AI features and slaps on a $20 annual price hike.

DeepL Axes 25% of Staff, Blames Its Own AI

German AI translation startup DeepL is cutting roughly 250 employees as it restructures around its own technology.

Musk's Anthropic Deal Turns Idle xAI Compute Into Cash

Elon Musk strikes a deal with Anthropic, converting unused xAI Colossus 1 capacity into revenue.

Pentagon's Botched Alibaba-Baidu Blacklist Exposes China Policy Chaos

A mishandled February blacklisting of Alibaba and Baidu revealed deep internal conflicts over the administration's China strategy.

Arm Bets Big on Data Centers With $2B AI Chip Revenue Target

Arm doubles its sales forecast for its custom AGI data center chip, expecting $2 billion in revenue over two fiscal years.

FanDuel CEO Amy Howe Exits as Monthly Users Decline 3%

FanDuel's CEO departs after five years as parent Flutter reports a drop in monthly active users to 14.4M.

Wednesday, May 6

Shivon Zilis: Musk Relationship Didn't Sway OpenAI Board Role

Zilis testified that having children with Musk didn't compromise her OpenAI board duties before she departed in 2023.

Anthropic Inks Deal to Take Over SpaceX's Colossus 1 Compute

Anthropic secured all compute capacity at SpaceX's Colossus 1, adding over 300 MW of power within the month.

DoorDash Q1 Revenue Surges 33% as Delivery Giant Eyes Strong Q2

DoorDash posted $4.04B in Q1 revenue with 33% year-over-year growth, sending shares up 11% after hours.

Murati Testifies Altman Lied About OpenAI Safety Standards

Former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati told a court under oath that Sam Altman deceived her about model safety protocols.

Anthropic Gives Its AI Agents the Ability to Dream

Claude's Managed Agents now feature a 'dreaming' mode that reviews past work and updates memory on a schedule.

Anthropic Doubles Claude Code Rate Limits, Partners with SpaceX

Anthropic is massively boosting Claude Code usage caps for paid users, backed by a new SpaceX compute partnership.

DeepSeek Eyes $50B Valuation in First-Ever Fundraise

Chinese AI darling DeepSeek is reportedly raising up to $4B led by China's national AI fund in its maiden round.

Nvidia and Corning Team Up on Three US Optical Manufacturing Plants

The AI chip giant partners with glassmaker Corning to build optical tech facilities, expanding US production capacity tenfold.

OpenAI Teams With Chip Giants on Protocol to Tackle Compute Crunch

OpenAI and researchers from Microsoft, AMD, Broadcom, Nvidia, and Intel detail a networking protocol to help scale compute.

Nvidia Drops $500M on Corning to Supercharge US Fiber Optics

Nvidia invests $500M in Corning to massively expand US fiber optic manufacturing for AI infrastructure.

China's Big Fund Eyes Lead Investment in DeepSeek at $45B

China's largest state-backed chip fund is pushing to lead a DeepSeek investment round at a roughly $45 billion valuation.

Daemon Tools Backdoored for a Month, Pushing Malware via Updates

Kaspersky reveals popular disk image tool Daemon Tools was compromised, distributing malicious updates for roughly a month.

AMD Crushes Q1 With $10.25B Revenue as AI Chip Hunger Grows

AMD posts 38% year-over-year revenue jump to $10.25B, powered by surging data center and AI chip demand.

Tuesday, May 5

OpenAI's Compute Bill: From $30M to $50B in Under a Decade

Greg Brockman revealed OpenAI expects to blow $50 billion on computing power in 2026, a staggering leap from $30M in 2017.

Brockman Testified Musk 'Does Not Know AI' in Trial

OpenAI's president recalled tense 2017 negotiations where he said Musk understands rockets and cars but not artificial intelligence.

Xbox Winding Down Copilot on Mobile, Halting Console Development

New Xbox CEO Asha Sharma shifts strategy, scaling back Copilot across mobile and console platforms.

Apple to Let Users Pick Their Own AI Models in iOS 27

Apple is planning to open up iOS 27 so users can choose from multiple third-party AI services for key tasks.

Intel Stock Rockets 14% on Apple Chipmaking Talks

Intel shares hit a new all-time high after reports surfaced of early-stage discussions with Apple about foundry services.

Google, Microsoft, xAI Give Feds Early Access to AI Models

Three more tech giants agree to let the US government evaluate their AI models before public release.

Coinbase Slashes 700 Jobs to Cut Costs as AI Reshapes Work

Coinbase is laying off about 14% of its workforce, with CEO Armstrong noting AI is changing how the company works.

Crypto Exchange Bullish Snaps Up UK's Equiniti for $4.2B

Bullish is acquiring financial services outsourcer Equiniti from Siris Capital in a massive deal expected to close in 2027.

Meta Expands Teen Safety Controls Across EU and Facebook

Meta is rolling out Instagram's teen account protections to 27 EU nations and bringing them to Facebook in the US.

Apple Ships 72% of All Satellite-Connected Smartphones in 2025

Apple commands a massive lead in satellite-equipped phones, but the tech is spreading fast across the industry.

Meta Scans Kids' Bones to Kick Them Off Instagram

Meta deploys AI that analyzes bone structure and height to spot under-13 users — but insists it's not facial recognition.

YC's Quiet OpenAI Stake Now Worth Over $5 Billion

Y Combinator's early OpenAI investment through its research arm has ballooned into a massive windfall at current valuations.

Nscale Drops €695M on Portugal Infrastructure for Microsoft

Nscale Global Holdings commits €695M to build out infrastructure in Portugal, deepening its Microsoft partnership.

OpenAI Is Building a Phone — With Dual NPUs and Custom Silicon

OpenAI is accelerating development of an AI agent phone powered by a custom MediaTek chip, eyeing mass production by early 2027.

Apple Scouts Intel, Samsung for US-Made Chip Production

Apple explored using Intel and Samsung facilities to manufacture its core processors domestically.

New Mexico Wants Meta Declared a Public Nuisance, Seeks $3.7B

New Mexico is asking a judge to label Meta a public nuisance and force a $3.7B penalty over child safety failures.

AI's Pharma Payoff Is in Paperwork, Not Breakthroughs

Big pharma is betting big on AI, but the real wins so far are boring ones: back-office ops and manufacturing speed.

Monday, May 4

Brockman's OpenAI Stake Worth $30B — Musk's Lawyers Pounce

OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman testified his stake is worth nearly $30 billion, drawing sharp questions from Musk's legal team.

Trump Admin Mulls Executive Order for AI Model Oversight

The White House is reportedly discussing an EO to create a working group that would vet AI models before public release.

Judge Blocks AI Doom Testimony in Musk's Case Against OpenAI

Musk's sole AI expert witness had his existential risk warnings excluded from the courtroom battle over OpenAI's for-profit pivot.

Apple Building 'Create a Pass' Feature for iOS 27

Apple is prepping a tool that lets iPhone users turn a QR code into a custom pass for concerts and venues.

Sierra Raises $950M at $15.8B Valuation for AI Customer Agents

Bret Taylor's AI customer service startup scores a massive Series E, jumping from $10B to $15.8B valuation.

OpenAI Raises $4B+ for New Enterprise AI Joint Venture

OpenAI launches The Deployment Company with a $10B pre-money valuation to push AI adoption into businesses.

South Korea Deploys AI Companions to Fight Elder Loneliness

Naver's AI tools are making care calls to elderly citizens living alone in the world's fastest aging society.

Instructure Breached: Hackers Claim 3.65TB From 9K Institutions

ShinyHunters claims massive data haul from Instructure, including names, emails, and student IDs from thousands of institutions.

Amazon Opens Its Logistics Empire to Outside Businesses

Amazon launches Supply Chain Services, letting other companies tap its massive logistics network.

Polymarket's Brutal Math: 0.1% of Users Grab 67% of Profits

A Wall Street Journal analysis of 1.6M Polymarket accounts reveals prediction markets are a playground for algorithmic whales.

AI Microdramas Set to Become a $3B Market in China by 2026

AI-generated microdramas are carving out a massive chunk of China's booming $14B+ short-form video market.

Lenders Explore Deals to Shed Data Center and Oracle-Linked Debt

Some banks are looking for ways to reduce their exposure to AI-boom lending, including offloading Oracle-linked loans at a discount.

Apple Under Fire for Erratic App Store Rules on Vibe Coding Apps

Startups like Replit and Anything say Apple enforces App Store policies inconsistently on vibe coding apps.

Anthropic Nears $1.5B Joint Venture With Wall Street Heavyweights

Anthropic is finalizing a $1.5B JV with Blackstone, Goldman Sachs, Hellman & Friedman, and others to push AI into PE-backed firms.

Streaming Platforms Crack Down on AI-Generated Music

Music services are labeling, deranking, and demonetizing AI-made tracks as the flood of synthetic music grows.

GameStop's Ryan Cohen Makes Unsolicited $56B Bid for eBay

GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen launches a bold ~$56B takeover attempt targeting eBay, aiming to challenge Amazon head-on.

Sunday, May 3

Nvidia's Asian Supply Chain Now Covers ~90% of Production Costs

Asian suppliers now account for roughly 90% of Nvidia's production costs, up from 65% in 2025.

Amadeus Drops €1.2B to Buy Biometrics Firm Idemia Public Security

The world's largest travel booking system operator is making a major bet on biometric technology with an all-cash acquisition.

Saturday, May 2

Iran's Elite Kharrazi Family Secretly Behind Crypto Exchange Nobitex

Two brothers from Iran's Kharrazi family launched Nobitex using an alternative surname, processing hundreds of millions.

OPay Eyes $4B US IPO With Wall Street Heavyweights on Board

Nigerian mobile payments service OPay is prepping a US IPO at a $4B valuation backed by three major banks.

Friday, May 1

Apple Kills 256GB Mac Mini, Bumps Base Storage to 512GB

The Mac mini no longer comes with a 256GB option, pushing the starting price higher worldwide.

Cerebras Eyes $4B IPO With a Massive $40B Valuation Target

AI chipmaker Cerebras is swinging big, aiming to raise $4 billion in its IPO at a roughly $40 billion valuation.

Five Eyes Nations Warn: Agentic AI Has Too Much Access

US, UK, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand issue joint guidance warning organizations are giving AI agents dangerous levels of network access.

FBI Sounds Alarm as Cyber Cargo Theft Skyrockets 60%

Hackers are ditching crowbars for keyboards, hijacking freight broker accounts to steal cargo at massive scale.

Meta Snaps Up Robot AI Startup to Fuel Humanoid Ambitions

Meta acquired Assured Robot Intelligence to accelerate its push into humanoid robots and the AI that drives them.

Supply Chain Attack 'Mini Shai-Hulud' Hits SAP, Intercom Packages

A coordinated supply chain campaign compromised npm packages for SAP and Intercom, plus the PyPI lightning package.

Mac Mini and Mac Studio Face Months-Long Supply Crunch

Tim Cook warns Apple's AI-focused desktops may take several months to meet demand.

OpenAI Claims Musk Had Covert Liaison Feeding Him Info

Trial messages reveal Shivon Zilis allegedly served as a secret intermediary between Musk and OpenAI.

Senators Move to Ban Officials From Prediction Market Trading

Bipartisan bill would block legislative and executive branch members from placing bets on prediction markets.