WSJ Tech News Briefing
TNB Tech Minute: Norway's Wealth Fund Trims Holdings of U.S. Tech Stocks
29 Jan 2026
Chapter 1: What are Norway's recent changes to its U.S. tech stock holdings?
AI is transforming industries, but the data centers powering it require more energy and water than ever. At the break, join Christoph Beck, Chairman and CEO of Ecolab, for insights on using water effectively while safeguarding this critical resource for future generations.
Here's your morning TNB Tech Minute for Thursday, January 29th. I'm Julie Chang for The Wall Street Journal. Norway's more than $2 trillion oil wealth fund, one of the world's largest investors, paired its exposure to some U.S. tech stocks last year.
Chapter 2: How is Tesla transforming its Fremont factory for Optimus robots?
New figures from the fund show it has trimmed its Nvidia stake to 1.26% by year-end from 1.32% in June. It also paired holdings of Alphabet, Apple, and Microsoft. but the fund raised its stakes in some tech companies like Amazon and Dutch chip machine company ASML. The surge in U.S. tech stocks has benefited the fund, but its CEO expressed uncertainty today about whether it's a bubble.
Tesla plans to convert the factory it uses to produce its Model S and X vehicles into a facility for its Optimus robots. That's according to CEO Elon Musk during a call with analysts.
Chapter 3: What impact will Dow's employee cuts have on its AI strategy?
He said the company is winding down production of those vehicle models at its Fremont factory next quarter, and that it's part of its shift toward eventually making only autonomous vehicles. Musk said Tesla is targeting production of a million units of Optimus a year at the factory over the long term. And Dow is cutting 4,500 employees as part of a cost-saving program that will lean on AI.
The chemicals company said it's embarking on a program dubbed Transform to Outperform, which would employ AI and automation to reduce expenditure and capitalize growth and productivity. It said the program will yield an additional $2 billion in operating earnings before interest, depreciation, and amortization.
These cuts come as Dow's quarterly loss widened due to increased costs and lower revenue, and they will lead to one-time charges between $1.1 and $1.5 billion. And that's your TMB Tech Minute.
Chapter 4: How are data center operators improving sustainability in their operations?
We'll be back this afternoon with more.
How are data center operators working to improve sustainability and water savings at every stage of the data center lifecycle? Here's Ecolab's Christoph Beck with some thoughts.
The Mach 7 or the Mach 4, the ones that are really so focused on high-tech, are the most forward-looking. They have the means, they have the mindset, they have the passion for innovation, and they're really open to try new things as well because everything is new with AI and with that technology as well.
I think even if we're not where we wanted to be with that industry right now, we will be ahead in the next few years because innovation that's coming up right now is working much better than we thought. And it's really thinking in circular ways, being in a data center or in a microchip manufacturing plant.
Chapter 5: What insights does Ecolab's Christoph Beck share about water sustainability?
Learn more about Ecolab at Ecolab.com.
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