The Pentagon’s Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office (CDAO) has awarded a major $500 million contract to Scale AI, a startup in which Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) holds a minority stake, to support data analysis and AI-driven decision-making. The award marks a fivefold increase from the $100 million agreement signed in September.
Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. have backed a $1 billion investment network targeting industries heavily promoted by President Donald Trump‘s administration, including artificial intelligence, drones and cryptocurrency.
The Donald Trump administration is reportedly inviting several tech and business leaders to accompany the President on his trip to Beijing next week.
U.S.-based employers announced 83,387 job cuts in April, up 38% from March, according to a report released Thursday by Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
U.S. authorities intensified scrutiny of AI chip supply chains after prosecutors alleged that a Thailand-linked network diverted Super Micro Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMCI) servers containing advanced NVIDIA Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) chips to China, with Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) identified as one of several alleged end customers.
The European Union (EU) is reportedly considering implementing regulations that would limit its member governments’ use of U.S. cloud providers for managing sensitive data.
The White House and Pentagon are taking opposing positions on whether federal agencies should use Anthropic’s artificial intelligence systems, escalating a dispute over national security risks and government access to advanced AI tools.
Earnings Snapshot
Innodata Inc. (NASDAQ:INOD) reported first-quarter results that topped Wall Street estimates and raised its full-year 2026 revenue outlook.
Cloudflare Inc. (NYSE:NET) reported a strong first-quarter revenue beat but simultaneously announced it will cut roughly 20% of its global workforce as the web infrastructure giant fundamentally restructures its operations around artificial intelligence (AI).
Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ:AMD) posted first-quarter revenue of $10.25 billion, beating analyst estimates of $9.89 billion. The chipmaker reported adjusted earnings of $1.37 per share for the quarter, beating estimates of $1.29 per share, according to Benzinga Pro.
Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) reported first-quarter results and disclosed that it had ended its relationship with AI search startup Perplexity AI.
Datadog Inc. (NASDAQ:DDOG) reported first-quarter results that topped Wall Street expectations, driven by rising demand for artificial intelligence-enabled cloud security products.
IonQ Inc (NYSE:IONQ) reported first-quarter revenue of $64.67 million, beating analyst estimates of $49.73 million. The quantum company posted a first-quarter adjusted loss of 34 cents per share, beating estimates for a loss of 35 cents per share, according to Benzinga Pro.
Arm Holdings Plc (NASDAQ:ARM) reported fourth-quarter results after Wednesday’s closing bell, beating analyst estimates on the top and bottom lines.
Super Micro Computer Inc. (NASDAQ:SMCI) reported quarterly earnings of 84 cents per share, which beat the consensus estimate of 62 cents by 35.48%. Quarterly revenue came in below expectations at $10.24 billion, which missed the Street estimate of $12.33 billion.
AppLovin Corp (NASDAQ:APP) posted first-quarter revenue of $1.84 billion, beating analyst estimates of $1.77 billion, according to Benzinga Pro. The advertising technology company reported earnings of $3.56 per share for the quarter, beating analyst estimates of $3.38 per share.
Retail & Entertainment
Walt Disney Co. (NYSE:DIS) said ESPN has not yet entered discussions with the NFL about renewing its media rights agreement early, though the company expects its relationship with the league to continue well into the future.
Software & Semiconductor
IREN Ltd. (NASDAQ:IREN) stock soared after the company announced a partnership with NVIDIA and reported third-quarter results after Thursday’s closing bell.
Rackspace Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:RXT) announced a strategic partnership with Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD), and the release of its first-quarter results.
Advanced Micro Devices CEO Lisa Su said surging demand from agentic artificial intelligence is dramatically expanding the long-term server CPU opportunity, prompting the chipmaker to double its market forecast to more than $120 billion by 2030.
ASML Holdings NV (NASDAQ:ASML) CEO Christophe Fouquet addressed the company’s position on export controls and dispelled rumors about reverse-engineering of their machines in China.
Broadcom Inc (NASDAQ:AVGO) shares slid on Thursday after a report said its AI chip partnership with OpenAI ran into an $18 billion financing challenge tied to the first phase of chip production.
Broadcom announced the launch of VMware Cloud Foundation 9.1. This platform is designed to enhance infrastructure for production AI workloads.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (NYSE:TSM) continued to ride the AI semiconductor boom in 2026. However, its latest monthly results signaled moderating growth momentum even as the company expanded partnerships and raised spending plans.
Major global technology companies are reportedly offering rare financial backing to SK Hynix in a bid to secure critical memory chip supply as the AI boom intensifies pressure on an already constrained semiconductor market.
Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE) unveils its new productivity agent aimed at transforming how users create and share information.
Alphabet‘s Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG) is reportedly developing an AI personal agent for its Gemini app, capable of performing tasks on behalf of the user.
Automobile & Aerospace
Toyota Motor Corp (NYSE:TM) says that the automaker has recorded an impact of over $4.3 billion due to the war in the Middle East as tensions between Washington and Tehran continue to surge.
Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:UBER) strengthened its growth outlook after delivering better-than-expected first-quarter 2026 results. CEO Dara Khosrowshahi sees massive potential in the self-driving sector in the near future as the ride-hailing giant posts strong first-quarter 2026 earnings.
Uber and Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) announced a Europe-focused financing initiative.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on Tuesday issued a recall for 218,868 Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) vehicles over an issue with the rearview camera.
Lucid Group Inc. (NASDAQ:LCID), during its first-quarter 2026 earnings call on Tuesday, said that its sub-$50,000 midsize EV could help the automaker increase volumes in the market.
Artificial Intelligence & Capital Market
Artificial intelligence startup Anthropic reported explosive growth in the first quarter of 2026, with CEO Dario Amodei saying the company achieved an “80-fold” annual increase in revenue and usage, far beyond “10-fold” expectations.
Anthropic has partnered with SpaceX to significantly expand the computing power behind its Claude AI models, prompting Elon Musk to praise Nvidia’s latest GB300 systems as “the best AI computer.”
Anthropic committed to spend $200 billion with Google Cloud over five years as part of a recent agreement.
Elon Musk‘s legal battles are spreading across multiple fronts. And according to a report from The Information, the fight against OpenAI may be getting harder for Musk’s side to win. But while the headlines focus on courtrooms, compensation fights and AI lawsuits, the quieter winner may be Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT).
Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) is leaning harder into prediction markets, derivatives and commodities trading as speculative crypto activity slows, with executives pitching the company as an “everything exchange” after reporting weaker-than-expected quarterly results.
SoftBank Group Corp. (OTC:SFTBY) is reportedly scaling back plans for a margin loan backed by its stake in OpenAI after some lenders raised concerns over the valuation of the privately held artificial intelligence startup.
OpenAI‘s exodus continues as two senior officials departed, including head of private equity Paul Zimmerman, who joined Google as Managing Director and Global Head of Private Equity after just over a year at the company, according to his LinkedIn.
OpenAI is reportedly moving faster on plans to develop an AI agent smartphone that could enter mass production by 2027, marking a potential expansion from software into consumer hardware.
Freshworks Inc. (NASDAQ:FRSH) has cut hundreds of jobs as it accelerates its shift toward artificial intelligence (AI), with leadership saying automation is now deeply embedded in how the company builds and runs its business.
Microsoft, Google, and Elon Musk’s xAI have pledged to grant the U.S. government early access to their latest artificial intelligence models to facilitate preliminary national security risk assessments.
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