News/Finance
Nvidia stock drops 5% as AI sector selloff rattles investors
Nvidia's stock plunged more than 3% in early trading Wednesday, extending its weekly decline to over 5%, while other AI industry leaders including Google, Meta, Tesla, and Palantir also saw significant drops. The selloff has rattled investors across the AI sector, with analysts struggling to pinpoint specific causes behind the sudden retreat from what had been a meteoric rise in AI-related stocks. What you should know: The decline comes despite Nvidia's position as the dominant supplier of AI hardware, making its struggles particularly concerning for the broader industry. Nvidia has been the primary beneficiary of the AI boom, selling the...
read Aug 20, 2025AI Winter upon us? Baidu revenue falls 4% as AI investments fail to offset ad decline
Chinese search giant Baidu reported a 4% drop in second-quarter revenue to 32.71 billion yuan ($4.56 billion), missing analyst expectations as its core advertising business declined 15% amid China's economic slowdown. Despite heavy investments in artificial intelligence, including a major search interface overhaul, AI returns have yet to offset the advertising revenue decline that typically represents 60% of the company's total income. Key financial results: Baidu's Q2 performance reflected broader challenges facing China's tech sector during economic uncertainty. Total revenue of 32.71 billion yuan fell short of the 32.76 billion yuan analyst forecast, marking a 4% year-over-year decline. Online advertising...
read Aug 20, 2025Palantir stock falls 20% in 6-day decline after short-seller report, enters bear country
Palantir shares have plummeted 20% from recent highs during a six-day losing streak, the longest such decline since April 2024, officially entering bear market territory. The artificial intelligence software company's dramatic slide follows a broader market selloff and a critical short-seller report from Citron Research questioning whether the stock's valuation reflects its actual fundamentals. What happened: Palantir's stock closed in correction territory Tuesday before sinking further into bear market status Wednesday after six consecutive days of heavy selling. Shares accumulated a 15% loss from highs before crossing the 20% threshold that defines bear market territory. This marks the company's longest...
read Aug 15, 2025ChatGPT mobile app hits $2B in revenue since 2023 launch
OpenAI's ChatGPT mobile app has generated $2 billion in global consumer spending since launching in May 2023, with revenue surging 673% year-over-year in 2025 alone, according to new data from Appfigures, a mobile app analytics firm. The explosive growth demonstrates ChatGPT's dominance in the AI assistant market, where it leads competitors by massive margins in both downloads and revenue per user. What you should know: ChatGPT significantly outperforms other AI assistants in key financial metrics across mobile platforms. The app has been downloaded 318 million times in 2025, representing 2.8 times more downloads than the same period last year. ChatGPT...
read Aug 14, 2025Server Economy: Foxconn profits surge 27% as AI infrastructure demand booms
Foxconn, the world's largest contract electronics maker, reported a 27% surge in second-quarter profit to T$44.4 billion ($1.48 billion), beating analyst expectations driven by booming demand for AI servers. The Taiwan-based manufacturer, which assembles iPhones for Apple and servers for Nvidia, expects AI server revenue to jump more than 170% year-over-year in the third quarter as artificial intelligence infrastructure spending accelerates. Key financial highlights: Foxconn's Q2 performance significantly outpaced market forecasts, with net profit reaching T$44.4 billion compared to the consensus estimate of T$38.8 billion. The company reported record second-quarter revenue last month, primarily fueled by strong AI product demand....
read Aug 14, 2025Y Combinator startup uses voice AI to save 76% of abandoned-in-process loans
Two entrepreneurs from Y Combinator have developed Qualify.bot, a conversational AI platform designed to streamline the commercial lending process using voice technology. The platform addresses a critical industry problem where up to 76% of loan applications are abandoned before completion, representing billions in lost business opportunities for both lenders and borrowers seeking capital. The big picture: Voice AI is emerging as a transformative technology for complex business processes, with lending serving as an ideal testing ground due to its combination of high-stakes decision-making and standardized procedures. Why this matters: Commercial loan abandonment rates can exceed 76%, meaning countless entrepreneurs are...
read Aug 13, 2025Tencent revenue jumps 15% to $25.7B as AI investments pay off
Tencent, China's largest tech conglomerate, reported a 15% jump in second-quarter revenue to $25.7 billion, driven by strong gaming performance and strategic AI investments across its platform. The company's capital expenditures surged 119% as it doubled down on AI upgrades for advertising, gaming, and its WeChat social media service, positioning itself to capitalize on the growing intersection of entertainment and artificial intelligence. Key financial highlights: Tencent's Q2 2025 results exceeded expectations across multiple metrics. Revenue reached 184.504 billion Chinese yuan ($25.7 billion), up from 161.117 billion yuan in the same period last year. Operating profit climbed to 63.052 billion yuan,...
read Aug 13, 2025CoreWeave stock drops 14% on earnings miss despite $1.21B revenue beat
CoreWeave's stock plummeted 14% after the AI data center provider reported a wider-than-expected quarterly loss of 27 cents per share, missing analyst expectations of 21 cents. The disappointing results come just ahead of the company's post-IPO lockup expiration on Thursday evening, which could unleash additional selling pressure from insiders previously restricted from trading their shares. What you should know: Despite missing profit expectations, CoreWeave delivered strong revenue growth that more than tripled year-over-year. The company reported $1.21 billion in second-quarter revenue, surpassing Wall Street's $1.08 billion forecast. Revenue guidance was raised to between $5.15 billion and $5.35 billion for 2025,...
read Aug 12, 2025AI cloud provider CoreWeave reports $1.21B revenue, $30.1B backlog
CoreWeave, an Nvidia-backed AI cloud computing company, exceeded Wall Street revenue expectations for the second quarter, reporting $1.21 billion against analyst estimates of $1.08 billion. The strong performance reflects surging demand for GPU-based infrastructure needed to train and run large AI models. What you should know: CoreWeave operates exclusively in GPU-based cloud computing, providing access to Nvidia chips that are essential for AI development. The company currently operates 33 AI data centers across the United States and Europe, focusing solely on GPU infrastructure rather than traditional CPU-based cloud services. Revenue backlog reached $30.1 billion as of June 30, indicating strong...
read Aug 11, 2025On-premises GPU servers cost same as 6-9 months of cloud
A new analysis reveals that on-premises GPU servers cost roughly the same as six to nine months of equivalent cloud capacity, yet most AI executives remain unaware of this stark mathematical reality. This hidden cost structure means companies could save hundreds of thousands of dollars over three to five years by reconsidering their cloud-first AI infrastructure strategies. The big picture: While cloud computing promised flexible, pay-as-you-go scaling, AI workloads break these traditional assumptions in ways that make cloud economics misleading for sustained GPU-intensive operations. Key cost comparisons: The financial gap between cloud and on-premises becomes stark when examined closely. A...
read Aug 11, 2025TD Securities launches AI assistant for equity teams using OpenAI tech
TD Securities has launched the TD AI Virtual Assistant, powered by OpenAI's GPT models and developed with Layer 6, a Canadian AI company acquired by TD Bank in 2018, to deliver real-time equity insights to its institutional sales, trading, and research teams. The assistant, which went live on July 8, represents a significant step forward for AI adoption in the highly regulated financial services sector, where banks have traditionally taken a cautious approach to implementing AI agents. What you should know: The TD AI Virtual Assistant serves as a sophisticated knowledge management system designed specifically for front-office equity professionals. The...
read Aug 11, 2025Financial firms deploy AI to auto-generate fraud rules as UK losses hit $1.3B
Financial services firms are increasingly deploying AI-powered fraud detection systems that automatically generate and optimize rules based on historical data patterns, replacing traditional manual rule creation. This shift comes as fraud losses in the UK reached £1.1 billion in 2024, with confirmed fraud cases rising 14% to 3.13 million, driven by more sophisticated AI-enabled attacks including deepfakes and synthetic identities. The scale of the problem: Fraud has become the most common crime in the UK, accounting for 41% of all crime in England and Wales, with financial services firms facing particular challenges. Q1 2024 saw 8,374 consumer complaints about fraud...
read Aug 11, 2025AI boom creates 498 unicorns worth $2.7T in unprecedented wealth creation
Artificial intelligence startups have created dozens of new billionaires in 2025, generating wealth at an unprecedented scale and speed that surpasses previous tech booms. This AI-driven wealth creation spree now includes 498 AI unicorns valued at a combined $2.7 trillion, with 100 of these billion-dollar companies founded since 2023 alone, marking what researchers call the fastest wealth accumulation in over a century of economic data. The big picture: The current AI boom is creating personal wealth on a scale that makes previous tech waves look modest, with combined effects from soaring private company valuations, public AI stock prices, and massive...
read Aug 8, 2025SoftBank shares surge 13% as $30B OpenAI bet drives $2.87B profit
SoftBank Group shares surged to a record high on Friday, jumping more than 13% to 14,205 yen before closing up 10.39% at 13,865 yen. The rally followed the Japanese technology investor's first-quarter earnings that beat analyst expectations, delivering a net profit of 421.8 billion yen ($2.87 billion) compared to a loss in the same period last year. Why this matters: SoftBank's massive AI investments are driving both its financial performance and investor confidence. The company has committed $30 billion to ChatGPT maker OpenAI this year and is leading financing for Stargate, a $500 billion U.S. data center project. Market enthusiasm...
read Aug 8, 2025Google Finance adds AI assistant for real-time market questions
Google is testing a new AI-powered version of Google Finance that includes a built-in chatbot for answering finance-related questions, along with enhanced charting tools and expanded market data. The revamped web app will roll out in the US over the coming weeks, representing Google's continued effort to integrate AI features across its product ecosystem. What you should know: The updated Google Finance introduces several AI-driven features designed to make financial information more accessible and interactive. Users can ask the built-in chatbot finance-related questions and receive AI-generated answers alongside relevant links. New charting tools go beyond basic asset performance visualization, offering...
read Aug 6, 2025Duolingo beats Q2 estimates as AI features drive $1B revenue forecast
Duolingo raised its 2025 revenue forecast and beat second-quarter estimates, driven by growing adoption of its AI-enhanced subscription tiers that offer features like video-call conversation practice with chatbots. The language-learning company now expects annual revenue between $1.01-$1.02 billion, up from its previous projection of $987-$996 million, as AI tools boost user engagement and lower operational costs than anticipated. Key financial results: Duolingo's second-quarter revenue reached $252.3 million, surpassing analyst estimates of $240.7 million. The company's stock jumped about 20% in after-hours trading following the earnings announcement. For the third quarter, Duolingo projects revenue between $257-$261 million, compared to analyst estimates...
read Aug 6, 2025AI accounting startup Rillet raises $70M at $500M valuation
Rillet, an AI-powered accounting software startup founded by former N26 executive Nicolas Kopp, has raised $70 million in a Series B funding round co-led by Andreessen Horowitz and ICONIQ. The funding values the company at approximately $500 million and comes just two months after its previous $25 million raise, bringing total funding to over $100 million as the startup targets legacy accounting systems from Oracle and Microsoft. Why this matters: Rillet's platform addresses a critical pain point in enterprise finance by automating accounting tasks that traditionally take weeks to complete, leveraging AI to transform what Kopp calls "dumb databases" into...
read Aug 5, 2025British Petroleum cuts 6,200 jobs as AI drives slick $5B cost reduction plan
BP announced it will eliminate an additional 1,500 jobs and 1,200 contractor roles by the end of 2025, bringing total expected job losses to 6,200—approximately 15% of its office-based workforce. The expanded cuts, up from 4,700 announced earlier this year, are part of the oil giant's intensified cost-saving drive that increasingly relies on artificial intelligence to improve operational efficiency and reduce expenses. The big picture: BP is accelerating its workforce reduction amid mounting shareholder pressure and weaker oil prices, with CEO Murray Auchincloss emphasizing that AI technology is playing a central role in the company's overhaul strategy. Key details: The...
read Jul 29, 2025Commonwealth Bank of Australia cuts 45 jobs as AI voice bots replace customer service roles
Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), the country's largest lender, is cutting 45 jobs as part of its shift toward artificial intelligence automation, with the Finance Sector Union claiming a total of 90 roles are being eliminated. The job cuts highlight growing tensions between AI-driven efficiency gains and workforce displacement, as Australia's banking sector increasingly adopts automation technologies. What you should know: CBA confirmed it's eliminating positions following the introduction of AI voice bot systems for customer service operations.• The bank implemented a new voice bot system on its inbound customer enquiries line in June, which directly led to the elimination...
read Jul 25, 2025SoftBank deploys world’s largest AI system with 4,000 Nvidia GPUs
SoftBank has deployed what it claims is the world's largest artificial intelligence computing system, installing more than 4,000 of Nvidia's most advanced Blackwell graphics processing units (GPUs) in a massive infrastructure expansion that signals Japan's aggressive push into the global AI race. The Japanese telecommunications giant's new system delivers 13.7 exaflops of computing power—roughly equivalent to performing 13.7 quintillion calculations per second. To put that in perspective, this represents more raw computational horsepower than most national supercomputing centers, positioning SoftBank as a major player in the infrastructure arms race powering today's AI revolution. This deployment isn't just about impressive numbers....
read Jul 22, 2025Intuit launches 4 AI agents saving mid-market finance teams 20 hours monthly
Intuit has expanded its AI agent suite to the mid-market, introducing four specialized agents for finance, payments, accounting, and project management within its Enterprise Suite. The deployment targets companies generating $2.5 million to $100 million in annual revenue, potentially saving finance teams 17-20 hours per month while addressing the unique challenge of delivering intelligent automation across fragmented business structures without requiring expensive platform consolidation. What you should know: Mid-market organizations operate fundamentally differently from both small businesses and large enterprises, creating distinct AI deployment challenges. Small businesses typically run on seven applications, while mid-market companies juggle 25 or more disconnected...
read Jul 21, 2025AI valuations now higher than 1990s dot-com bubble, Apollo economist warns
Apollo Global Management chief economist Torsten Slok has warned that the current AI bubble is more dangerous than the conditions leading up to the dot-com crash of the late 1990s. According to Slok's analysis, the top 10 companies in the S&P 500 today show higher price-to-earnings ratios than they did during the infamous tech bubble, suggesting severe overvaluation in AI-heavy stocks. What you should know: The market's AI frenzy has created valuation levels that exceed even the notorious dot-com bubble era. "The difference between the IT bubble in the 1990s and the AI bubble today is that the top 10...
read Jul 21, 2025Apple Intelligence fixes Wallet order tracking by scanning emails
Apple is upgrading Wallet's long-neglected order tracking feature in iOS 26 by using Apple Intelligence to automatically extract shipping details from confirmation emails. The AI-powered enhancement promises to finally make Wallet a viable hub for tracking online purchases, addressing years of limited merchant adoption that has kept the feature largely unused. What you should know: The new system works by analyzing emails from merchants and delivery carriers to automatically populate order information in the Wallet app. Apple Intelligence scans confirmation emails to identify and summarize order tracking details across all purchases, providing full order details and progress notifications in one...
read Jul 18, 2025HSBC warns Apple’s slow AI rollout may delay iPhone upgrades
HSBC has warned that Apple's slow rollout of AI features introduced at WWDC 2024 has "failed to trigger significant improvement in user experience," potentially leading users to delay iPhone upgrades. The investment bank's analysis suggests that initial hopes for AI to accelerate the iPhone renewal cycle have been short-lived, with delays in launching the AI-powered Siri particularly concerning for Apple's hardware sales strategy. What you should know: Apple's AI strategy isn't delivering the expected boost to iPhone sales, according to HSBC, a global investment bank. The iPhone still represents about half of Apple's total sales, making upgrade cycles critical to...
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