Lots has happened this past week in the tech world! With OpenAI offering its employees a new opportunity, Dell Technologies shares plummeting in the third quarter, and more, there’s much to catch up on. So, let’s get started!
OpenAI Offers Employees New Opportunity
OpenAI is offering employees the opportunity to sell approximately $1.5 billion worth of shares through a new tender offer involving SoftBank. This move provides the Japanese tech giant a chance to deepen its investment in the AI company while enabling current and former OpenAI employees to liquidate their shares, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
Employees have until December 24 to decide whether to participate in the tender offer, which has not been publicly disclosed, one of the sources said. The deal was reportedly driven by SoftBank’s founder and CEO, Masayoshi Son, who has been eager to increase his stake in OpenAI after investing $500 million in the company’s previous funding round, the source added.
Dell Technologies Shares Plummet
Dell Technologies fell short of Wall Street expectations with its fourth-quarter revenue and earnings forecast on Tuesday, despite expressing optimism about growth in AI-driven sales. While the company exceeded analyst estimates for earnings per share in the fiscal third quarter, its overall revenue came in below projections.
For the quarter ending November 1, Dell reported adjusted earnings per share of $2.15, surpassing the $2.06 expected by analysts. However, revenue reached $24.4 billion, missing the anticipated $24.67 billion. Following the announcement, shares dropped 10% in after-hours trading.
Huawei Launches New Phones
Huawei unveiled its Mate 70 smartphone series on Tuesday, featuring the company’s latest self-developed operating system. This launch marks another step in Huawei’s drive toward technological self-reliance amid ongoing U.S. sanctions.
The Mate 70 follows last year’s Mate 60, which drew global attention by integrating a semiconductor many believed China would struggle to manufacture due to U.S. restrictions aimed at curbing access to advanced chip technology. Since being cut off from Google’s Android operating system in 2019, Huawei has been focused on building its own software ecosystem, further solidifying its independence in the tech sector.
Intel Finalizes $7.86 Billion Grant
Chipmaker Intel and the CHIPS and Science Act office have finalized a $7.86 billion grant, the government announced Tuesday, marking a significant step in the Biden administration’s efforts to allocate CHIPS Act funds before President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration.
The grant will support Intel’s factory construction initiatives, although the total is slightly lower than the originally announced $8.5 billion. Senior administration officials attributed the reduction to Intel’s $3 billion contract with the Department of Defense, which was also funded through the CHIPS Act.
New Terms of Service for X
X’s updated terms of service are prompting some users to leave Elon Musk’s microblogging platform.
The new policies grant the company broad rights to use user data for training its artificial intelligence models and impose potential penalties of up to $15,000 in damages for excessive platform use. These changes have sparked a backlash, with both prominent figures and regular users announcing plans to move their content to alternative platforms.
