Meta & Microsoft Post Strong Q2 Results

Meta: Shares jumped nearly 12% after reporting $47.5B in revenue (22% YoY). AI-powered ad tools lifted earnings despite rising infrastructure costs. Capex guidance raised to as high as $72B as Meta doubles down on AI.

Microsoft: Beat forecasts with $76.4B in revenue and strong Azure growth, pushing the company near a $4T market cap. Together, Meta and Microsoft added over $500B in market value in a single day. Microsoft continues integrating OpenAI tools across products.

U.S. Divided on AI Chip Exports to China

The administration reversed a prior ban, allowing NVIDIA to resume selling H20 GPUs to China. Supporters say the move preserves U.S. tech leadership; critics raise national security concerns. In parallel, China accelerates a self-sufficient AI ecosystem as firms like Huawei launch competing AI systems—intensifying the global AI race.

Where ChatGPT Learns From?

Analysis by Profound of 10M citations (Aug 2024–Jun 2025) finds nearly 48% of references come from Wikipedia, with frequent pulls from outlets like Forbes, Reuters, and Business Insider via OpenAI content partnerships.

Big Tech Turns to Nuclear Power

Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon have signed long-term deals with aging U.S. nuclear plants to power energy-intensive data centers. While nuclear offers reliable, low‑carbon energy, critics warn of potential grid stress and price volatility as demand surges.

Palo Alto Networks to Acquire CyberArk for $25B

Palo Alto Networks announced its largest acquisition to date—CyberArk—for approximately $25B in cash and stock. The deal expands deep into identity security to bolster AI‑driven protection across human users, machines, and autonomous AI agents.