Lots has happened this past week in the tech world! With Amazon debuting its first quantum computing chip, Snowflake’s shares increasing by 13%, and more, there’s much to catch up on. So, let’s get started!
Amazon Debuts Its First Quantum Computing Chip
On Thursday, Amazon unveiled its first chip for quantum computing, announcing that the design is a significant step toward developing efficient, large-scale systems.
The processor, named Ocelot, comes as more tech companies highlight their progress in the quantum field. Just last week, Amazon’s cloud competitor, Microsoft, introduced its first quantum chip. Microsoft also published a paper in Nature detailing its quantum advancements, and this week, Amazon followed with its own update.
Snowflake’s Shares Increase by 13%
Snowflake shares surged more than 13% on Thursday after the data analytics software company reported stronger-than-expected results for the fourth quarter.
The company posted adjusted earnings of 30 cents per share on $987 million in revenue, exceeding the analyst estimates of 17 cents per share and $956 million in sales, according to LSEG. This represented a 27% year-over-year revenue growth.
China’s Huawei Grows in Competition
Chip giant Nvidia has highlighted increased tech competition from Huawei despite U.S. restrictions on the Chinese telecommunications company.
In its annual filing on Wednesday, Nvidia listed Huawei as one of its competitors, marking the second consecutive year the company has included it. Huawei had not been mentioned as a competitor in Nvidia’s filings for at least three years prior.
AI Video Generation From Alibaba Now Free
On Wednesday, Alibaba announced that it is making its video generation artificial intelligence models available for free, intensifying competition with rivals like OpenAI.
The Chinese tech giant revealed it is open-sourcing four models from its Wan2.1 series, the latest version of its foundational AI model that can generate both images and videos from text and image inputs.
Hims & Hers Shares Fall 22%
Hims & Hers shares fell 22% on Tuesday, following the release of its fourth-quarter results, which underperformed in terms of gross margin and raised concerns about the future of its weight loss business.
The telehealth company reported $481 million in revenue for the quarter, a 95% increase from $246.6 million in the same period last year. Net income rose to $26.01 million, or 11 cents per share, compared to $1.25 million, or 1 cent per share, a year earlier.
