Investment Overview - Amazon will invest an additional $8 billion in AI firm Anthropic, bringing its total investment to $8 billion over the past few months [1] - The partnership began in September, with an initial investment of $4 billion from Amazon, which also designated Anthropic as its primary cloud provider [1] Partnership Details - Anthropic will continue to use Amazon Web Services (AWS) as its primary training partner and cloud provider, utilizing AWS Trainium and Inferentia chips for future AI model training and deployment [1] - AWS customers will gain early access to fine-tuning their own data on Anthropic models [2] Market Context - The deal aligns with a broader trend of significant investments in AI across various sectors, particularly in technology [3] Customer Engagement - AWS CEO Matt Garman highlighted the positive response from AWS customers developing generative AI applications powered by Anthropic in Amazon Bedrock, indicating a strong demand for these technologies [4] - Tens of thousands of customers, including startups, enterprises, and government institutions, are utilizing Anthropic's AI models for diverse applications such as customer service, coding assistance, translation, drug discovery, and engineering design [4] Growth and Innovation - Anthropic's co-founder and CEO Dario Amodei noted that the collaboration with Amazon has been crucial for the growth of Claude, Anthropic's large-language model, reaching millions of end users [5] - The partnership aims to enhance the capabilities of Anthropic's advanced AI models using AWS Trainium technology [5]

Shares of mighty Alphabet are down about 7% today after the U.S. Department of Justice said it should sell its Chrome web browser among other remedies after the tech giant lost a landmark antitrust case last summer. Government lawyers said in a filing that splitting Google’s dominant search engine from Chrome, which controls about two-thirds of the browser market, as well as from its Android operating system, is necessary to ensure a competitive Internet. The filing comes after U.S. District Judge Amit Meh ...

After a few bumpy outings due to Covid and less-than-optimal host cities, the Olympics flourished last summer in Paris, with viewership gains and advertising records. With more happy returns expected from the 2026 Winter Games in Italy and the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles, NBCUniversal may need to develop some new muscles in order to maintain the synergistic mojo. Next year, parent company Comcast plans to spin off NBCU’s cable networks into a separate, publicly traded entity. The transaction, formally ...

Corporate Restructuring - Comcast plans to spin off cable channels MSNBC, CNBC, E!, Syfy, Golf Channel, Oxygen, and USA into a new separate company, with the process expected to be completed by late 2025 [1] - The new company will be led by Mark Lazarus as CEO and Anand Kini as CFO and COO [1] - NBC, Peacock, and Bravo will remain with NBCUniversal as part of the streamlining effort [1] - The potential $7 billion new company has already positively impacted Comcast's stock in after-hours trading [1] Leadership Changes - Donna Langley will become chairman of NBCUniversal Entertainment and Studios, reflecting her pivotal role in the company's future growth [4][5] - Frances Berwick, previously reporting to both Langley and Lazarus, will now report solely to Langley [5] - Langley's promotion is seen as a recognition of her leadership capabilities and success with projects like Oppenheimer and Wicked [5] Industry Context - The decision to spin off cable channels is driven by the declining value and viewership of cable, with a focus on creating a leaner and more streamlined core business [3] - Comcast's move aligns with industry trends, as peers like Paramount Global and Warner Bros Discovery have also taken significant write-downs on their cable businesses [5] - The new company aims to capitalize on opportunities in the evolving media landscape and create value for shareholders [5] Strategic Rationale - The restructuring is part of Comcast's broader strategy to adapt to the transition in video businesses and optimize its asset portfolio [5] - The new company will be well-capitalized and owned by shareholders, positioning it to leverage its strong portfolio of cable networks [5]

The Mouse is regaining its mojo on Wall Street. Disney stock, which hit a 2024 bottom of $83.91 over the summer, has roared back to life and is seeing a second straight day of significant gains after an upbeat earnings report Thursday morning. Shares were up nearly 4% as of mid-day Friday, reaching a 6-month high north of $113. They have gained 24% in 2024 to date. While there are some reasons for concern (the ongoing meltdown of linear TV assets, the ramp-up in sports rights costs, the challenge of picki ...

Disney CEO Bob Iger had a “hot mic” moment on the company’s fiscal fourth quarter earnings call Thursday morning, questioning aloud whether he should have revealed key streaming numbers. Fielding a question from a Wall Street analyst about the growth outlook and pricing strategy of Disney+, Iger divulged how many Disney+ subscribers take the ad-supported tier in the U.S. (37%) and globally (30%). The disclosure was unusual in the streaming sector. Netflix, for instance, has never broken out a similar perce ...

Just a year ago, Disney CEO Bob Iger was in the midst of an ongoing apology tour for the studio after string of tepid box office returns. At a conference last November, he acknowledged that things had a taken a downturn and promised, as he had been doing regularly, that Disney will be stressing quality over quantity after The Marvels, the latest Indiana Jones and a handful of other films disappointed.  “I’ve been very public about it saying, and I would say right now, my number one priority is to help the ...

Disney‘s process to identify CEO Bob Iger‘s successor will officially include external candidates as well as four current executives. The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday morning on the deliberations extending to outsized candidates. One particular outsider, Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson, was called out in the Journal report and pictured prominently in a photo. When asked by Deadline if that treatment reflected Wilson’s status as a leading candidate in the derby, a Disney rep declined to comment. M ...

Apple stock, which has risen 25% in 2024 to date but largely tracked the Nasdaq 100 Index, pulled back in after-hours trading after the company released solid but far-from-dazzling quarterly results. Revenue rose 6% from the year-ago period to reach $94.9 billion, nipping Wall Street analysts’ estimates. Excluding the one-time charge related to the impact of the reversal of the European General Court’s State Aid decision, diluted earnings per share came in at $1.64. Shares in Apple closed Thursday’s regul ...

Amazon topped Wall Street estimates in the third quarter, posting an 11% rise in revenue compared with the year-ago quarter and diluted earnings per share of $1.43. The earnings figure came in well above the Street expectation of $1.14, while total revenue of $158.9 billion eased past the consensus forecast of $157.3 billion. The company said it expects revenue in the holiday fourth quarter to grow 7% to 11% compared with the same period in 2023, reaching between $181.5 billion and $188.5 billion. CEO And ...