By Foo Yun Chee BRUSSELS (Reuters) -The two co-chief executives of Universal Music Group’s Virgin Music Group on Thursday pushed back against critics of its $775 million acquisition of Downtown Music, saying the deal would create a company providing a wide range of services to independent labels. The European Commission is currently reviewing the deal…
(Reuters) -Microsoft will lay off nearly 4% of its workforce, the company said on Wednesday, in the latest job cuts as the tech giant looks to rein in costs amid hefty investments in artificial intelligence infrastructure. The company, which had about 228,000 employees worldwide as of June 2024, had announced layoffs in May, affecting around…
(Reuters) -OpenAI has recently begun renting Google’s artificial intelligence chips to power ChatGPT and other products, The Information reported on Friday, citing a person involved in the arrangement. The move, which marks the first time OpenAI has used non-Nvidia chips in a meaningful way, shows the Sam Altman-led company’s shift away from relying on backer…
(Reuters) -Microsoft’s next-generation Maia AI chip is facing a delay of at least six months, pushing its mass production to 2026 from 2025, The Information reported on Friday, citing three people involved in the effort. When the chip, code-named Braga, goes into production, it is expected to fall well short of the performance of Nvidia’s…
(Reuters) -Texas Instruments said it would spend more than $60 billion to expand its U.S. manufacturing footprint, the latest chipmaker to ramp up domestic production amid pressure from the Trump administration to reshore the semiconductor supply chain. The funds will be used to build or expand seven chip-making facilities in Texas as well as Utah,…
(Reuters) -VinFast said on Wednesday its first dealership in San Diego, California, is set to begin operations this month, as the Vietnamese electric-vehicle maker doubles down on the dealer model in a bid to boost sales. Backed by Vietnam’s largest conglomerate, Vingroup, VinFast has faced challenges including softer demand, stiff competition and the fallout of…
(Reuters) -The total market capitalization of stablecoins surged to a record high on Wednesday, data showed, as the U.S. Senate passed a bill to regulate the sector, a major step towards legitimising a once-niche but now fast-growing corner of the crypto market. According to CoinDesk data, the market capitalization of stablecoins hit an all-time high…
(Reuters) -Waymo will expand into more areas of the San Francisco peninsula and parts of Silicon Valley, as the sole commercial robotaxi operator in the U.S. seeks to scale up operations, the Alphabet unit said on Tuesday. The self-driving technology firm had received approval from California last month to expand operations, just as Tesla prepares…
By Jonathan Saul LONDON (Reuters) -War risk insurance premiums for shipments to Israel are as much as three times higher than a week ago as the war between Israel and Iran entered its fifth day, industry sources said on Tuesday. The cost of a seven-day voyage to Israeli ports was quoted between 0.7% and 1.0%…
(Reuters) -Rollout of generative AI and agents will reduce Amazon’s total corporate workforce in the next few years, Andy Jassy, CEO of the online retailer wrote in a note to employees on Tuesday. Artificial intelligence is reshaping the global workforce by automating routine and repetitive tasks, and industry leaders expect this to prompt a reduction…
