TechCheck

AWS is investing $100M in a center to help its customers use generative AI, in a push to keep up with rivals Microsoft and Google. Deirdre Bosa sits down with AWS CEO Adam Selipsky. Plus, the first of a five-day hearing between Microsoft and the FTC kicked off today, to determine the fate of a $69 billion deal to buy Activision in the U.S. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com

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Alibaba announced this morning Chairman and CEO Daniel Zhang will be stepping down from the company, to be replaced with longtime Alibaba veterans Joe Tsai and Eddie Wu respectively. The installment of two Jack Ma insiders might indicate the tech billionaire is still calling the shots, despite disappearing from public eye the past few years after regulatory scrutiny. 

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By now we've all heard of the Magnificent Seven - the handful of gargantuan tech stocks responsible for the majority of the market's gains. But we dug into the NEXT seven -- filled with legacy tech and AI-related names that are also seeing gains this year. 

 

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Will Adobe earnings after the bell prove it's an AI winner or loser? Bears would argue popular models like Dall-E and Midjourney undermine the company, though bulls might say Adobe represents one of the best professional applications of AI. Plus, analysts have pegged Lyft as a potential acquisition target, with possible buyers including big tech companies like Google and Amazon, automakers, and private equity. 

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Tech has come roaring back in 2023. And the biggest narrative this year – artificial intelligence. If it feels like a moment of gigantic hype – you wouldn’t be mistaken. But so was 1999. This week on TechCheck – comparing two moments of hype: the dot com bubble and AI mania. 

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Intel is reportedly in talks with Softbank to be a strategic investor to anchor chip designer Arm’s IPO. It could be a way for Intel to work with big names like Apple, Amazon, and Meta and others on the back-end. Plus, the Chief Investment Officer of the nation’s second-largest pension fund cautions against the tech rally and warns that AI is overhyped. 

 

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In the battle of the titans, Apple and Meta have long been locking horns on products, privacy, and now the new era of headsets. In leaked audio from an internal all-hands meeting, there were reports that Zuckerberg criticized the Vision Pro, particularly its price tag. The meeting also revealed the tech giant is now working on a Twitter competitor, though many apps have tried and failed. 

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Three different approaches may be emerging for how tech companies are trying to lure employees back into the office. Google – which had been using carrots like a Lizzo concert, is instead shifting to sticks – with a crackdown on office attendance and tracking badges. Salesforce, on the other hand, is trying out altruism – offering to donate $10 to local charities for each day an employee is in the office or attends a company event. 

 

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If "data is gold" in the shift to AI, big tech companies that have been collecting data for decades might have a huge leg up -- if they can balance increased costs as they work on accommodating a new hardware and infrastructure shift. Plus, Roblox CEO Dave Baszucki says developers are flocking to its spatial computing platform, though Apple had only announced it was using Unity Software to bring apps and games to its headset. 

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Sequoia Capital, one of the world’s largest and most successful VC firms, told investors today it will split into three partnerships, separating its China and India units. It’s been a tough first year for U.S. and Europe lead Roelof Botha – the tech market turned, and amid rising geopolitical tensions, he oversaw billions in devalued investments. 

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