In Brief Nvidia on Tuesday exceeded Apple’s market capitalization to become the world’s largest company, on the strength of a global AI push. As Bloomberg notes, the chipmaker has experienced an astronomical 850% growth since the tail end of 2022.Nvidia was valued at $3.43 trillion at the close of market, topping Apple’s $3.38 trillion. This isn’t the first time the two have swapped places; Nvidia also pushed past Apple in June, though it only held onto the top spot for a day. Apple recently launched its o ...

Executive Departures - Canoo has lost its chief financial officer, Greg Ethridge, and general counsel, Hector Ruiz, as part of ongoing executive departures amid struggles for mass adoption of its electric work vans [1][2] - Ethridge has been replaced by Kunal Bhalla, who previously served as chief of staff to CEO Tony Aquila, with a base salary of $300,000 [2] - The company has also seen the departure of its last remaining co-founder and chief technology officer around the same time [3] Operational Changes - Canoo has furloughed 30 workers in Oklahoma for 12 weeks as part of a broader realignment of its North American operations [2] - The company closed its original headquarters in Los Angeles to prioritize operations in Texas and Oklahoma [3] Financial Struggles - As of June 30, 2024, Canoo reported approximately $19 million in total cash, with only $4.5 million being unrestricted [4] - In October, Canoo disclosed a loan of around $1.2 million from a fund connected to CEO Aquila at an 11% interest rate, followed by an additional borrowing of $2.7 million from the same fund [4] - Canoo has entered into a revolving credit facility with Aquila's fund [4] Legal Issues - Canoo is facing multiple lawsuits from suppliers alleging unpaid bills, including a recent lawsuit from Kistler Instrument Corporation seeking $56,000 in damages [5]

Core Insights - Google is advancing its AI initiatives by establishing a new data center in Saudi Arabia, despite its slower progress on climate goals [1] - The AI hub will focus on developing Arab language AI models and applications tailored to Saudi Arabia, as announced by the Saudi Public Investment Fund and Google [2] - Aramco, Saudi Arabia's state-owned oil company, is already utilizing AI to enhance its operations, achieving a 15% increase in production at one oil field [2] - Google previously committed to halting the development of algorithms for oil and gas production and aims to reduce its emissions by 50% by the end of the decade [3] - The specifics of "Saudi-specific AI applications" remain unclear, but there is a possibility that they will be related to oil and gas production, given the sector's significance in the Saudi economy [4]

Funding and Valuation - Waymo recently closed a $5.6 billion Series C funding round led by Alphabet, increasing its overall valuation to more than $45 billion [1][5] - Alphabet had previously announced a $5 billion multi-year commitment to Waymo in July, with several prominent venture firms participating in the latest funding round [2] Historical Context - This is Waymo's second external fundraising round, following a $2.25 billion Series B in 2020, which eventually grew to $3.2 billion [3] - The company has shifted its focus from autonomous trucking to its robotaxi ride-hailing service, which has proven successful [3][4] Business Operations - Waymo operates commercial robotaxi services in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix, with plans to expand to Austin and Atlanta [4] - The company provides paid rides to over 100,000 customers weekly in its initial markets and offers airport trips in Phoenix [4]

Meta announced Tuesday that it is extending its restriction on political ads until later in the week, though it did not specify which day the ban would be lifted. When asked for more information, a Meta spokesperson pointed TechCrunch to the announcement about the company working to “protect the integrity of elections on Facebook and Instagram.”  Meta initially announced there would be a ban on new political ads from October 29 until Election Day, and implemented a similar policy in 2020 and 2022 because c ...

In Brief Meta has added another privacy sanction to its extensive collection: South Korea’s data protection agency fined the social media giant around $15.7 million for processing sensitive user data and passing it to advertisers without a proper legal basis, Reuters reports. Seoul’s Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) found Facebook’s parent collected information from about 980,000 users, on sensitive topics such as politics, sexuality and religion, without obtaining their permission. It then ...

A few months after ending its drone-based delivery program, Prime Air, in California, Amazon says that it’s begun making deliveries to select customers via drone in Phoenix, Arizona. Starting today, Amazon customers in the West Valley Phoenix Metro Area have access to a drone-deliverable selection from Amazon’s catalog, including household, beauty, office, health, and tech supplies. Products must weigh 5 pounds or less to be eligible; Amazon says about 50,000 are available at launch. Customers can choose ...

Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft have placed big bets on nuclear power to secure electricity for their data centers as AI and cloud computing have sent power use surging. But as Amazon and Meta discovered last week, those bets are far from a sure thing. A series of recent rulings from regulators dashed their hopes of finding a quick fix for their electricity needs. For now, Microsoft’s plans to revive a reactor at Three Mile Island are moving ahead. Perhaps unexpectedly, the roadblocks have nothing to do with n ...

To combat the perception that its “open” AI is aiding foreign adversaries, Meta today said that it’s making its Llama series of AI models available to U.S. government agencies and contractors working on national security applications.“We are pleased to confirm that we’re making Llama available to U.S. government agencies, including those that are working on defense and national security applications, and private sector partners supporting their work,” Meta wrote in a blog post. “We’re partnering with compan ...

Acquisition Overview - Apple is acquiring Pixelmator, an image editing platform, with no immediate material changes to its apps (Pixelmator Pro, Pixelmator for iOS, and Photomator) [1] - The deal is subject to regulatory approval [3] Integration and Autonomy - Pixelmator's features may soon be integrated into Apple's Photos app, reducing its autonomy [2] - Pixelmator is currently available on iOS, MacOS, iPadOS, and VisionOS, but not Android, and this is unlikely to change [2] Company Background and Impact - Pixelmator was founded in 2007 in Vilnius, Lithuania, and has grown significantly since then [2] - The acquisition will allow Pixelmator to reach a wider audience and have a greater impact on creative professionals globally [3] Apple's Strategic Focus - Apple is increasingly integrating AI into its imaging apps, as seen with the recent rollout of the Clean Up feature in iOS, which competes with Google's Magic Eraser [3] - Apple declined to comment on the acquisition news [4]