Lots has happened this past week in the tech world! With Tesla’s shares plummeting after reporting low quarterly earnings, Amazon looking into developing cheap AI chips, Air France taking a hard hit after the global tech outage, and more, there’s much to catch up on. So, let’s get started!
Tesla Shares Plummet After Reporting Low Quarterly Earnings
Tesla shares experienced their sharpest decline since 2020 after the electric vehicle manufacturer reported quarterly earnings that fell short of expectations, coupled with another decrease in automotive revenue.
The stock dropped 12% on Wednesday, closing at $215.99. It is now down 13% for the year, contrasting with the Nasdaq’s 16% rise over the same period. On Tuesday, Tesla announced a 7% year-over-year decline in auto revenue, totaling $19.9 billion, along with reduced margins. Despite this, total revenue saw a modest increase of 2%, reaching $25.5 billion.
Amazon Looks into Developing Cheap AI Chips
Inside Amazon’s chip lab, engineers tested a new, closely guarded server design. The server was equipped with Amazon’s artificial intelligence chips, designed to compete with those from market leader Nvidia.
Amazon is developing its own processors to reduce reliance on expensive Nvidia chips—referred to as the “Nvidia tax”—which power some of the artificial intelligence cloud services at Amazon Web Services, the company’s primary growth driver. By using its homegrown chips, Amazon aims to help customers perform complex calculations and process large amounts of data more cost-effectively.
Air France Takes Hard Hit After Global Tech Outage
Air France KLM is facing a loss of approximately 10 million euros ($10.85 million) due to last week’s global technology outage, according to Finance Chief Steven Zaat on Thursday. This makes the group one of the first airlines to disclose a financial impact from the disruption.
“The expectation is that it will cost us around 10 million euros,” Zaat stated during a press call, noting that KLM and Transavia were most affected by the disruptions, while Air France experienced minimal impact. The outage was caused by a software update from global cybersecurity company CrowdStrike, which led to widespread system problems, grounding flights, disrupting broadcasters, and leaving customers without access to services like healthcare and banking last Friday.
Las Vegas Plans System-Wide AI Surveillance System
The Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada (RTC) is implementing a system-wide AI from gun detection software vendor ZeroEyes as part of a $33 million multi-year upgrade to enhance security. This AI will scan passengers on over 400 buses to identify anyone carrying a firearm.
Tom Atteberry, RTC’s director of safety and security operations, emphasized the importance of quick response times in active shooter situations. “Time is of the essence; it gives us time to identify a firearm being brandished, so they can be notified and get to the scene and save lives,” he said.
Google Keeps Third-Party Cookies After Debate
After years of delay, Google has announced it will no longer cancel and replace third-party cookies in its Chrome browser—a practice advertisers have long relied on.
In January, Google expressed “extreme confidence” in its progress toward replacing cookies. Among the proposed solutions was “Federated Learning of Cohorts” (FLoC), which would group users based on similar browsing behaviors, using “cohort IDs” instead of individual user IDs for ad targeting.
