TechCheck

Sam Altman’s post-DeepSeek mea culpa, Plus Ontario axes Starlink deal 2/3/25

03 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman saying in a Reddit AMA Friday that his company has been ‘on the wrong side of history’ on open source AI as DeepSeek continu...

Big Tech rushes to adopt DeepSeek 01/31/25

31 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Chinese startup DeepSeek sparking a sell off this week that sent Nvidia and Microsoft shares slipping downward. We look at how even as the new open-so...

How DeepSeek kicked off a new AI race 1/29/25

29 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Tech stocks mixed today as the AI trade tries to adjust to a new normal post-DeepSeek. We look at why the AI race will never be the same, and why Open...

Aaron Levie on the AI paradigm shift after DeepSeek, plus Kyle Bass sounds off on the China threat 1/28/25

28 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

DeepSeek has upended the conventional wisdom about what it takes to make an advanced large language model, but as the market reacts, Box CEO Aaron Lev...

How China’s DeepSeek upended the AI landscape 1/27/25

27 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

China’s DeepSeek model sent markets reeling Monday as investors digest the impressive performance and reportedly low cost of the advanced large lang...

TechCheck Takes: Why China’s DeepSeek is putting America’s AI lead in jeopardy 1/27/25

27 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

An AI lab out of China has ignited panic throughout Silicon Valley after releasing AI models that can outperform America’s best despite being built ...

TechCheck+ Databricks CEO Ali Ghodsi 1/23/25

23 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Ali Ghodsi, Databricks CEO, joins Deirdre Bosa to discuss Databricks recent investment from Meta, and much more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz comp...

Tech CEOs sound alarm on Chinese AI breakthroughs 1/23/25

23 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Chinese internet firm ByteDance unveiling a new top-performing model that escalates the AI competition between China and the U.S. We look at how key A...

Trump revokes Biden’s AI safety order as Chinese competition grows 1/21/25

21 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Key guardrails around advanced AI models are now gone after President Trump revoked Biden’s executive order on AI safety. Critics claimed the E-O st...

Behind the scenes at a quantum lab, SandboxAQ CEO on outlook, plus the U.S. TikTok alternatives users are flocking to 1/17/25

17 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Behind the scenes at a quantum lab, SandboxAQ CEO on outlook, plus the U.S. TikTok alternatives users are flocking toDescription: Quantum computing st...

OpenAI’s unveils new rival to Siri, Alexa 01/15/25

15 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

2025 is expected to be the year of the AI Agent and ChatGPT developer OpenAI making the first move. We look at their new ‘Tasks’ feature that Open...

TikTok “Refugees” stream to Chinese app RedNote 01/14/25

14 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A report out today claims China is exploring a sale of TikTok’s U.S. operations to Elon Musk.  With just days to go before the ban is set to take e...

Critics pan Zuckerberg’s move towards MAGA 1/13/25

13 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg continuing his MAGA makeover in a recent podcast appearance with Joe Rogan where he slammed Apple for a lack of innovation. W...

Nvidia slams newly reported AI chip export limits 1/10/25

10 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

AI chip giant Nvidia coming out hard against newly reported AI chip export limits that the Biden administration is expected to announce. The three-tie...

TikTok Shop rival Whatnot raises $265M 1/8/25

08 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Just days before the Supreme Court hears the TikTok ban, TikTok Shop rival Whatnot announcing they’ve hit a nearly $5B valuation as part of its late...

Zuckerberg’s Trump turn pressures Google 1/7/25

07 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Mark Zuckerberg and Meta continuing their Trump charm offensive with an announcement today that the social media giant is ending fact checking. As mor...

Sam Altman hints AI's next key breakthrough is within reach 1/6/25

06 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This weekend OpenAI CEO Sam Altman saying that Artificial General Intelligence – a metric that would mean AI has caught up to human reasoning – is...

AI results in focus for CES 2025 1/3/25

03 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Next week one of the biggest tech events of 2025 kicks off in Las Vegas. The Consumer Electronics Show – better known as CES – showcases some of t...

Robotaxis pit Tesla against Uber 1/2/25

02 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Tesla’s self-driving robotaxi technology may define the company in 2025, but it also puts them in direct competition against rideshare giant Uber. W...

New Chinese AI Model Threatens American AI Dominance 12/30/24

30 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

DeepSeek v3 is a new AI model developed by a Chinese lab, built in just 2 months with less-performant GPUs and for a fraction of what it cost Google, ...

OpenAI unveils plans for for-profit restructure 12/27/24

27 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

OpenAI laid out its plan for converting into a for-profit company in a blog post Friday morning. The Generative AI darling says their existing for-pro...

The 2025 chip trade outlook 12/23/24

23 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Increased competition is already impacting the chips trade, and that’s expected to continue into next year. But the biggest risk could be geopolitic...

Next phase of AI takes shape 12/19/24

19 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Micron shares tumbling today on weak guidance, but what the drop doesn’t reflect are signs of strength in the chipmaker’s AI data center business....

Options boom drives Big Tech volatility 12/18/24

18 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Mega Caps stocks are popping this month, and the trend is being propelled by more than just traditional trading. We dig into how bullish options activ...

TechCheck+ Databricks CEO Ali Ghodsi 12/18/24

18 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

CNBC’s Deirdre Bosa sits down with Databricks CEO Ali Ghodsi to talk its mega funding round, what it means for AI enthusiasm and more. Hosted by Sim...

Databricks’ mega funding round 12/17/24

17 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Databricks is announcing an eye-popping $10 billion funding round at a $62 billion dollar valuation, one of the largest in Silicon Valley history. Inv...

Masayoshi Son’s $100B U.S. Investment 12/16/24

16 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son joined President Trump at Mar-a-Lago this morning to announce a $100 billion dollar investment in the U.S. over the next fo...

Tech executives ‘Kiss the Ring’ ahead of Trump 2.0 12/13/24

13 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Tech leaders are previewing their playbook for Trump’s second term. Including trips to Mar-a-Lago, and larger donations to the inaugural fund. So wi...

Cisco CEO on Business Outlook, Plus the Future of M&A in Trump 2.0 12/12/24

12 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Deirdre Bosa sits down with Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins to talk the outlook for business under a new Trump Presidency and how AI is creating a boom for ne...

Google’s AI Edge: Consumer Reach 12/11/24

11 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Google is announcing its more powerful Gemini 2.0 model, which will power its AI search tool “Overviews.” It means the company is now getting new ...

TechCheck+ Are AI advancements already slowing down? 12/11/24

11 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Generative AI has developed so quickly in the past two years, massive breakthroughs seemed more a question of “when” rather than “if.” But in ...

Venture Capitalists Mold Trump 2.0 12/6/24

06 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

President-elect Trump has selected venture capitalist David Sacks as his pick for White House AI & Crypto Czar, a role that involves two of the most i...

The Race for AI World-Generating Models, Plus OpenAI’s Two Launches 12/5/24

05 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The new frontier emerging in AI is 3D world-generating models, where you input text, an image or a video and generate a modifiable 3D world. Plus, Ope...

Google AI Podcast Tool’s New Audience and OpenAI’s 12 Days of ‘Ship-Mas’12/4/24

04 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Spotify is now jumping on the AI hype train, teaming up with Google to use their viral AI podcast tool for the 2024 Wrapped, helping users generate cu...

Intel Board’s Technical Inexperience 12/3/24

03 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Shares of Intel are extending yesterday’s drop after popping initially on the news of Pat Gelsinger’s retirement. It could be because investors ar...

Google Subpoenas AI Rivals, Plus Amazon’s NFL Black Friday Game 11/27/24

27 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Google’s latest move after losing its antitrust case over search is subpoenaing AI rivals, trying to rebuff the Justice Department’s efforts to fo...

Nvidia’s AI Moonshots 11/26/24

26 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Nvidia is showing off a new AI audio generator tool they’re calling Fugatto, capable of creating never-before heard sounds through text and audio pr...

Huawei’s Tech Advancements, U.S. Chip Revival Snag 11/25/24

25 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Apple CEO Tim Cook is visiting China for at least the third time this year as he looks to shore up relations ahead of a potential trade battle under P...

Elon Musk as Tech Policy’s Newest Wildcard 11/20/24

20 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Elon Musk is emerging as a new wild card for big tech in Trump’s second administration. His empire of companies and ventures compete with megacaps o...

Impact of a Google Chrome Spin-off 11/19/24

19 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Shares of Alphabet moved higher today despite reports that the Justice Department is planning to force a sale of the Google Chrome browser. It’s par...

Waymo’s Advantage with Potential Federal Self-Driving Rules 11/18/24

18 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A federal framework for regulating self-driving technology instead of state-by-state ones is more likely to benefit the current and arguably underappr...

The Year That Changed OpenAI 11/15/24

15 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

One year ago this week we saw the dramatic ousting of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and reinstatement just days later. Back at the helm, he has reshaped the c...

The Amazon Bull Case Under Trump 11/14/24

14 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Shares of Amazon have seen a boost since Donald Trump was elected, but the e-commerce giant has had a tense relationship with the President-elect. Wil...

Softbank To Get First Nvidia Blackwell Chips 11/13/24

13 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Tech giants and AI startups have all been working to get their hands on Nvidia’s upcoming Blackwell chips – but it’s the Japanese tech conglomer...

TechCheck+ Box CEO Aaron Levie 11/12/24

12 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Box CEO Aaron Levie joins CNBC’s Deirdre Bosa to discuss why software stocks have been performing so well, how a new Trump term will impact tech reg...

Approaching a GenAI Plateau? 11/11/24

11 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Traffic to ChatGPT is booming, now ranked the 8th most-visited website worldwide, according to Similarweb. But its incredible rise comes right as conc...

Why AI’s Next Phase Could Break Nvidia’s Moat 11/8/24

08 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The next phase of AI development involves inference, the stage in which the models that have been trained are applied and generate responses. There, s...

Gig Economy and Ride-sharing Under Trump 11/7/24

07 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The incoming Trump administration and Elon Musk’s role in it could be a new catalyst in the equation of how robotaxis will impact ridesharing. Lyft ...

AI Trade Acceleration Under Trump 11/06/24

06 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The impact of a second Trump administration on the AI trade: less regulation, potentially more volatility, and the China threat could all mean faster,...

Defense Adoption of AI Technology 11/5/24

05 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The focus for big tech this earnings season has been finding ways to monetize AI – and one use that’s emerged is the military. Shares of Palantir ...

AI Search Faces Election Test 11/4/24

04 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As users search for election and voting information in new ways, generative AI startups may have the solution -- proving nimbler with less to lose tha...

Cloud Strength Justifies AI Spend 11/1/24

01 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

AI is the next catalyst for growth for the hyperscalers Amazon, Microsoft and Google – but whether it can offset spending is still unsettled. Alphab...

Apple’s AI Differentiation, Plus OpenAI Takes on Google Search 10/31/24

31 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The market still hasn’t seen any examples of huge success in AI monetization for consumer-facing products, but Apple is differentiated in that its A...

TechCheck+ How OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's lobbying power tamed Washington 10/31/24

31 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 emerg...

AI Helps Google’s Efficiency Push 10/30/24

30 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

Alphabet and AMD Q3 On Deck 10/29/24

29 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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’...

X-Energy CEO on Amazon Investment, Plus Bret Taylor on Sierra’s New Funding Round 10/28/24

28 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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, wh...

Waymo Closes $5.6B Funding Round 10/25/24

25 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Alphabet -owned Waymo just announcing a new $5.6B funding round led by its parent company with participation from investors including Fidelity, a16z, ...

TechCheck+ OpenAi’s Head of Global Policy Chris Lehane 10/24/24

24 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 gl...

Apple’s AI Hurdles in China 10/23/24

23 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 growi...

Anthropic Pulls Ahead in AI Agent Race 10/22/24

22 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 Claud...

Google’s Reorganization Puts AI In Front 10/18/24

18 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 executi...

Uber Explores Expedia Takeover Bid, Plus Google Exec on Viral AI Podcast Tool 10/17/24

17 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 realis...

Amazon Lands Databricks Chips Deal 10/15/24

15 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The mad dash to develop and deploy AI chips is intensifying, with Amazon now inking a new deal with the startup Databricks in which it’ll use Amazon...

California Rejects More SpaceX Launches, Plus Nextdoor’s Hurricane Response 10/14/24

14 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A big step this weekend for SpaceX's bid to develop reusable rockets, successfully catching a descending rocket booster on the launch pad with mechan...

Waymo Pulls Ahead in Robotaxi Race 10/11/24

11 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

After Tesla’s Robotaxi day, the focus has been on Uber with shares up 8%. But the biggest winner is with the widest lead is actually Alphabet’s Wa...

OpenAI Report Outlines Dangers of AI-Generated Misinformation 10/10/24

10 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A new report from OpenAI on cyber operations and dangerous actors' use of AI could be a signal that companies are feeling the pressure to take AI-gen...

Google’s Regulatory Overhangs, Plus Hindenburg Shorts Roblox 10/8/24

08 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Google’s regulatory headaches continue. A judge, yesterday, ordered the Alphabet-subsidiary to open up its Google Play app store as part of the Epic...

Presidential Election Divides Silicon Valley 10/7/24

07 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The presidential election is continuing to sow divisions in Silicon Valley. Two giants of the tech industry are now coming out on opposite sides, afte...

TechCheck+ Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang 10/4/24

04 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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Google’s Viral Podcast Tool 10/3/24

03 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Google recently released a new AI-generated podcast-making tool called NotebookLM – and it’s gone viral on X and in the tech world. We tested it o...

Nvidia Looks to Expand AI Adoption with Accenture Deal 10/2/24

02 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Nvidia and Accenture announced a partnership today, aiming to set the blueprint for how to begin integrating AI into the workplace and drive productiv...

AI Safety Regulation Bill Blocked 9/30/24

30 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A controversial AI safety bill died on California governor Gavin Newsom’s desk over the weekend  -- a sweeping bill would have been one of the firs...

Microsoft’s New Antitrust Chapter 9/25/24

25 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Google has filed a complaint in the EU against its rival Microsoft, accusing it of unfairly locking clients into using its cloud product. But the suit...

New Threats to Google’s Ad Dominance, Plus Sam Altman’s Growing Empire 9/23/24

23 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In a new threat to Google’s ad dominance, AI search startup Perplexity is in talks with major brands on a new advertising model for sponsored questi...

Temu’s Growth Slowdown 9/20/24

20 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Shares of Facebook parent company Meta are still hitting fresh all-time highs today. But one potential headwind could be a slowdown in growth at one o...

23andMe’s Downward Spiral 9/19/24

19 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

23andMe could get delisted from the Nasdaq after all 7 members of its board resigned this week. CEO Anne Wojcicki is a big name in Silicon Valley but ...

White House Meets with Top AI Leaders on Energy Demand 9/12/24

12 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The AI boom is putting a big strain on America’s energy grid, as big tech companies scramble for more energy capacity by buying up nuclear-powered d...

Waymo’s Robotaxi Race 9/11/24

11 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The race to perfect the robotaxi is on. Tesla is prepping for its October 10 self-driving event as Waymo raises industry standards with a brand new sa...

Glean Funding Round, Plus Oracle’s AI Boom 9/10/24

10 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Funding for AI startups is still white hot. The search startup Glean just announced a new funding round that would double its valuation in just six m...

Apple’s Growing China Competition, Plus Google’s New Ad Tech Battle 9/9/24

09 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Apple’s biggest competition in China, Huawei, is trying to upstage the company with a smartphone event showdown. Its triple-folding phone is unveili...

Tesla’s AI Promises, Plus Apple’s High-Stakes Event 9/6/24

06 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Shares of Tesla are sinking today, giving back its gains for the week but still outperforming the rest of the megacaps as investors bank on its propos...

AI Startup’s $1 Billion Seed Round 9/5/24

05 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Valuations for AI startups are continuing to skyrocket. This time, OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever raising a whopping $1 billion as a seed round for ...

Google’s Big Antitrust Week, Plus VC Take on IPO Pipeline 9/4/24

04 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Antitrust pressure against Google is ramping up this week, with a joint filing today from Google and the DOJ outlining their timeline for remedies fro...

TechCheck+ Big Tech’s AI Talent Raid 8/30/24

30 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Megacaps including Microsoft, Google and Amazon have been getting creative with how they’re poaching talent from top AI startups. Google with Charac...

Klarna to Halve Workforce with AI, Plus Box CEO Post-Earnings 8/28/24

28 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Salesforce earnings tonight a major test of AI's impact on the software winter, especially after the CEO of Buy Now Pay Later giant Klarna said he aim...

Tech Divided Over AI Regulation 8/27/24

27 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Elon Musk has now come out in support of a California bill to regulate AI safety, in stark contrast to big names including Google, Meta, OpenaAI and A...

Telegram CEO Arrest Sparks Free Speech Debate 8/26/24

26 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Telegram CEO Arrest Sparks Free Speech Debate Description: The founder of the Dubai-based app Telegram was arrested in France this weekend as part o...

Chinese E-commerce Headwinds, Plus AI’s Copyright Crisis 8/21/24

21 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

There were more headwinds today for China’s already-slumping consumer and e-commerce demand, after Walmart announced it was completely offloading it...

Elon Musk’s Twitter Deal Weighs on Bank Lenders, Plus Shein Sues Temu 8/20/24

20 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Some of the world’s biggest banks loaned Elon Musk $13 billion to secure the social platform Twitter, now X. But according to new data from Pitchboo...

Google’s IPO 20 Years Later 8/19/24

19 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

20 years ago today, Google debuted on the Nasdaq with a $23 billion market cap as a mere search engine company. Today, it’s now ballooned to a $2 tr...

TechCheck+ Big Tech: Too Big to Split 8/16/24

16 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

After losing a landmark antitrust case over its dominance in the search market, Google is now facing the real threat of a court-mandated breakup of th...

Waymo’s Speed Bumps 8/15/24

15 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Waymo’s self-driving cars are all over San Francisco roads. But at night, they park themselves and recently have been honking and keeping one neighb...

Google’s Tries to Meet the AI Moment 8/13/24

13 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Google’s hardware event, Made by Google, kicked off today where the megacap unveiled new AI-focused features including Gemini Live, a conversational...

Tech’s Outsized Role in the 2024 Election 8/12/24

12 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As election campaigning heats up, tech has been playing an outsized role in the elections. For Vice President Harris, who has deep roots to San Franci...

The Megacap Startup Diet 8/7/24

07 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

GenAI startup darlings are dropping like flies. Some of the most promising are increasingly being swallowed up by megacaps as they struggle to find vi...

Big Tech’s $1 Trillion Wipeout 8/5/24

05 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The extent of the tech sell-off today has been staggering, with billions of dollars wiped out from the Magnificent 7 alone in just the first two hours...

Intel Shares Freefall on Q2 Miss, Massive Cost-Cutting Plan 8/2/24

02 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Shares of Intel are on pace for their worst day in 50 years after a tough second-quarter result. The chipmaker also announced a massive, $10 billion c...

Apple Earnings on Deck: What to Watch 8/1/24

01 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Some key themes to watch ahead of Apple earnings include signs the iPhone sales slump is coming to an end, whether new AI features will drive an upgra...

JD Vance Visits Silicon Valley 7/29/24

29 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In Palo Alto, the epicenter of tech and VC money, JD Vance is headlining a fundraiser tonight hosted by a cryptocurrency executive where tickets are g...