GoKawiil
Tech News
A commentary piece argues that many biotech, SaaS and health companies are branding themselves as AI companies primarily to attract investor capital rather than because of genuine AI capability. It compares this trend to past speculative waves, such as firms adding '.com' to their names during the dot-com boom and rebranding around blockchain a decade later.
Former WIRED editor Shoshana Berger and cofounder Nina Willdorf started the Aged Intelligence Society, an invite-only dinner series where women experiment with AI tools to tackle midlife challenges. The events have drawn oversubscribed crowds, coverage from The New York Times, and a Substack newsletter that has surpassed 1,000 subscribers, including a New Yorker writer and a small-town mayor.
The Financial Times reports that 47 large data center projects have fallen through this year, citing data from RegLayer. Bernstein analysts estimate only about 35 percent of currently planned facilities are actually feasible, with people involved in the buildout telling the FT that high interest rates and volatile bond markets are threatening their plans.
An analysis argues that the biggest financial winners of the current AI investment surge are not AI companies themselves, but businesses in adjacent sectors benefiting from the spending wave. The piece suggests AI adoption is reducing direct payments between people and companies, shifting economic value elsewhere.
HSBC CEO Georges Elhedery told CNBC that AI is transformational and will boost productivity across the bank, but warned investors to be selective when backing data center infrastructure. He said quality of tenancy agreements and contract pricing vary widely, with some deals far less sound than others.
China's economy grew 4.5% in the third quarter, up from a three-year low but down from 5% in the first quarter, according to official data. Exports of high-tech goods rose 14.3% and production of batteries and industrial robots grew over 29%, while property investment fell more than 20% in the first nine months of the year.
Milan-based holding company Bending Spoons, which went public on Nasdaq in July, disclosed a new $330 million investment from Berkshire Hathaway this week, bringing Berkshire's total stake to more than $900 million. Shares jumped 41% on the news before paring gains, leaving Bending Spoons with a market cap near $30 billion. The company also confirmed layoffs at recently acquired Airtable, following job cuts at other portfolio firms like Evernote, Vimeo and WeTransfer.
Policymakers and financial leaders gathered at the IMF's meeting in Bangkok this week focused much of their discussion on artificial intelligence's economic impact. Conversations ranged from AI's potential to boost productivity and growth to concerns about financial instability and market risks tied to the technology's rapid adoption.
Corsair is now selling its 32GB (2x16GB) Vengeance RGB DDR5-5600 memory kit for $409, a $108 reduction, directly through its own store. The kit features CL40 latency, RGB lighting, and Intel XMP profiles, and has been confirmed as the cheapest currently available memory kit at this speed tier.
ASML's Q3 2026 earnings showed net profit of €4.96 billion on €11.7 billion in sales, with CEO Christophe Fouquet saying customers are already booking advanced lithography machines for delivery in 2029 and 2030. The company will raise prices starting in 2027, fully reflected by 2028, even as it adds 30% capacity in both 2027 and 2028, and lifted its full-year sales guidance to €44-45 billion.
An economic essay by writer Derek Thompson, citing Harvard economist Jason Furman's data, shows data center construction spending surged 64.5 percent over the past year while nearly every other construction category declined. New energy infrastructure grew 4.1 percent to support AI-driven electricity demand, while manufacturing construction fell nearly 24 percent, education fell 12.6 percent, and healthcare and retail construction each dropped about 10.1 percent.
Competing tech companies are striking alliances to secure scarce AI computing resources, according to a report describing a scramble for chips and data-center capacity. The report states that executives have had to step in personally to negotiate access to computing power needed to support AI development.