TechCheck

Come Election Day, the future of big tech won’t be decided by either presidential candidate. Instead, OpenAI co-founder and CEO Sam Altman has emerged as one of the most powerful people shaping AI policy. He’s put on a masterclass in wooing Washington, learning from Mark Zuckerberg and social media’s missteps on the Hill. And he’s turned OpenAI into a lobbying powerhouse, bringing on staff with deep ties to DC like its head of Global Affairs Chris Lehane. But just like when social media was in its early stages, lawmakers don’t have a handle on AI yet as the stakes only grow larger. Can we trust the people behind the curtain? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com

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Shares of Alphabet jumped after reporting a big Q3 beat, reporting strong growth in cloud, search and YouTube. But one number you might not have seen yet: over 25% of all new code at Google is generated by AI. We dive into what that could mean for big tech earnings ahead and their push to be more efficient. 

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A big check on AI demand and spending is coming after the bell when Alphabet and AMD both report third-quarter results. Investors are looking to AMD’s print to see how it’s faring in its uphill climb to compete against Nvidia. Alphabet’s capex spending could also be a bellwether for how the rest of big tech earnings will shape up

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As power-hungry tech companies work to fuel AI data centers, the race for nuclear energy is on. Amazon led a $500 million investment into X-Energy, which develops small modular reactors. We spoke with CEO Clay Sell on what’s behind the nuclear craze. Plus, AI startup Sierra just raised a new $175 million in capital, quadrupling its valuation from January to $4.5 billion. We sit down with co-founder Bret Taylor on the age of the AI agents. 

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Alphabet -owned Waymo just announcing a new $5.6B funding round led by its parent company with participation from investors including Fidelity, a16z, Silver Lake and Tiger Global. The robotaxi service has seen daily rides grow ten-fold in the past year, to more than 100,000 weekly paid trips. 

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As AI becomes more mainstream, the debate on how to regulate it is starting to take center stage. Recently OpenAI hired Chris Lehane as its head of global affairs with the goal of having a say in how these policies and regulations are formed. He sat down with Deirdre Bosa for a wide ranging interview about the company’s goals and why we need to think big and act fast. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com

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Apple CEO Tim Cook is in China for the second time this year, meeting with officials and pledging increased investment as the iPhone-maker faces growing competition and pressure in the world’s largest smartphone market. Local rival Huawei front ran the latest iPhone announcement and is again ahead of the release of Apple Intelligence by releasing upgrades to its Harmony OS system. 

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Would you give AI permission to take over your computer? The startup Anthropic hopes so, unveiling a new "Computer Use" tool that would let its Claude chatbot analyze your computer screen and even act on your behalf, getting control over the cursor, keyboard, browser, calendar and more. It’s the latest move in an escalating battle between megacaps and startups over AI-powered agents, which can help automate tasks. 

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Google shares fell on news of an AI reorganization, announcing it’s moving the Gemini Apps team under DeepMind and shifting a search and ads executive to a Chief Technologist role. But investors might be missing the bigger picture – instead of viewing it as an example that Google is increasingly willing to sacrifice some of its search advantages for an edge in AI. 

 

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Shares of Uber and Expedia were on the move today’s session after reports that Uber had explored a takeover bid for Expedia. Plus, Google’s realistic AI-generated podcast tool as gone viral, and the company is now unveiling new features to make the product even more customizable. Google Labs Vice president Josh Woodward joined us for a closer look at the technology. 

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