This significant upswing demonstrates a marked shift in attitudes toward Alphabet after the 2022 introduction of ChatGPT led certain investors to worry the firm had lost its AI advantage, despite having invented much of the foundational technology for generative AI. Alphabet recovered its momentum this year by making its cloud division a key contributor to growth, which attracted an investment from Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, and its new Gemini 3 model is garnering excellent initial reviews.

The milestone, however, could intensify anxieties among some executives who caution that rising valuations have detached market trends from business reality, prompting concerns over an economic bubble reminiscent of the 1990s dot-com era. These bubble fears are also amplified by circular transactions involving OpenAI and Nvidia, two prominent firms in the AI sector. Analysts, nevertheless, maintain that Google is strongly positioned in the AI competition because of its ample cash reserves, its own in-house chip production offering an alternative to Nvidia's expensive processors, and its massive internet search operation, which is already experiencing benefits from AI incorporation.

In October, the moment of truth arrived for the AI tech titans as investors worldwide held their breath after Wall Street's close when Microsoft, Alphabet (Google), and Meta (Facebook) – collectively worth nearly 10 trillion dollars – began releasing their quarterly earnings reports in another attempt to beat forecasts.

Google (through its parent company Alphabet) beat forecasts by 26% ($2.87 per share compared to the $2.27 expected) with revenues of 100 billion dollars. Microsoft also beat forecasts by 14% ($3.72 per share compared to the $3.6 expected). Meta on the other hand had to pay 15 billions in a one-time payment, which resulted in a miss of 84% in the earnings.

Alphabet reported more than $100 Billion of revenue in a quarter for the first time ever. Google parent company Alphabet also reported strong third-quarter results, with revenue climbing 16% year-over-year. Google Search & Other grew 15%, while YouTube Ads increased 15% during the period. Google Cloud posted the strongest growth at 34%, though Google Network saw a 3% decline. The company's EBIT rose 9.5% with a margin of 31%, and earnings per share jumped 35%.

The head of Google's parent firm Alphabet, Sundar Pichai, has recently cautioned the BBC that every company would be impacted if the AI bubble were to burst. Speaking exclusively to BBC News, Pichai acknowledged that while AI investment growth is an "extraordinary moment," there is some "irrationality" in the current boom. Amid fears in Silicon Valley of soaring valuations, Pichai warned, "I think no company is going to be immune, including us."

His wide-ranging interview at Google's California headquarters, reported by the BBC, touched on energy needs, climate targets, UK investment, and AI's effect on jobs, coming as market scrutiny intensifies. Alphabet's shares have doubled in seven months to $3.5 trillion as market confidence in its ability to counter OpenAI grows. A specific focus remains on Alphabet's competition with Nvidia, run by Jensen Huang, which recently hit a $5 trillion valuation, even as analysts question the $1.4 trillion in deals surrounding OpenAI.

Pichai's remarks about "irrationality" echoed Alan Greenspan's 1996 "irrational exuberance" warning during the dotcom boom. Pichai told the BBC the industry can "overshoot" in such cycles. "We can look back at the internet right now. There was clearly a lot of excess investment, but none of us would question whether the internet was profound," he said. "I expect AI to be the same. So I think it's both rational and there are elements of irrationality through a moment like this." His comments follow a similar warning from JP Morgan's Jamie Dimon, who told the BBC some AI investments would "probably be lost." Pichai argued Google's "full stack" model provides a better position to handle turbulence.

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Deployment of the GPUs is expected in phases through 2026. This rollout will occur at IREN's 750MW Childress, Texas campus, alongside new liquid-cooled data centers supporting 200MW of IT load. IREN anticipates funding these capital expenditures through existing cash, customer prepayments, operating cashflows, and other financing initiatives.

"This agreement not only validates IREN's position as a trusted provider of AI Cloud services, but also opens access to a new customer segment among global hyperscalers," Roberts continued, according to GLOBE NEWSWIRE. "It marks another major step forward for IREN as we continue to expand large-scale GPU deployments across our 3GW secured power portfolio in North America, reinforcing our position as a leading AI Cloud Service Provider."

Jonathan Tinter, Microsoft's President of Business Development and Ventures, also provided commentary, GLOBE NEWSWIRE reported. "Together with IREN, Microsoft is delivering cutting-edge AI infrastructure for our customers.

"IREN's expertise in building and operating a fully integrated AI cloud – from data centers to GPU stack – combined with their secured power capacity makes them a strategic partner," Tinter stated, according to GLOBE NEWSWIRE. "This collaboration unlocks new growth opportunities for both companies and the customers we serve," he concluded, as per GLOBE NEWSWIRE.

Meanwhile, Microsoft Corp. said on Monday that it has committed to a substantial $7.9 billion investment in the United Arab Emirates over the next four years, a move set to significantly advance the nation's status as a global technology hub, according to reporting by Bloomberg.

Microsoft stated it intends to expend in excess of $7.9 billion on data centers, cloud-computing, and personnel within the United Arab Emirates during the upcoming four years, Bloomberg reported. This initiative supports the Gulf state's objective of transforming into an international technology center.

The commitment was announced by Microsoft president Brad Smith on Monday in Abu Dhabi, according to Bloomberg. This pledge encompasses intentions to nearly treble the quantity of Nvidia Corp. advanced chips that Microsoft utilizes in the country, importing essential equipment that has faced restrictions from the US government.

"This is not money we're raising here. It's money we're investing and spending here," Smith conveyed to Bloomberg Television during the Adipec oil conference in Abu Dhabi. "We are seeing demand here explode," the Bloomberg Television interview noted.

Access to leading semiconductors in the Gulf state remains a complex issue. Bloomberg reported in October the US approved chip exports to American firms in the UAE following a deal that sparked security concerns, though not yet to Emirati firms like G42. Some US officials have criticized placing critical equipment in the Middle East, fearing the tech could move to China. Microsoft, however, said it received US licenses in September to ship AI chips to the UAE. "They're not just acts of faith," Smith stated, per Bloomberg. "We had to satisfy very strict conditions about the cybersecurity, the physical security, the other security protection of these chips to ensure that they stay under our control."

The company previously deployed 21,500 Nvidia A100-equivalent chips in the UAE and plans to ship 60,400 more, including the GB300, arriving "in months, not years," according to Smith, as cited by Bloomberg. In a separate move reported by Reuters, Microsoft struck a $9.7 billion deal with data-center operator IREN for Nvidia's advanced chips. That agreement, aimed at easing the AI boom's computing crunch, sent IREN shares up over 20%. Dell will provide IREN with $5.8 billion in equipment, including GB300 chips, for Microsoft's use.

The five-year IREN deal highlights the AI industry's need for computing power, Reuters noted, as capacity shortages limit major tech firms. The partnership allows Microsoft to expand capacity without building new data centers or securing power, and it avoids heavy spending on chips that will quickly lose value. IREN, valued at $16.52 billion, operates renewable-energy-powered data centers in North America. IREN said the new processors will be deployed at its Texas campus by 2026, alongside new liquid-cooled data centers. A filing indicated Microsoft's prepayment helps finance IREN's $5.8 billion Dell deal.

Microsoft CFO Amy Hood stated last week that the company's AI capacity crunch is now expected to extend until at least mid-2026, revising an earlier prediction, according to Reuters. Reporting was provided by Deborah Sophia and Aditya Soni in Bengaluru, and the piece was edited by Arun Koyyur for Reuters.

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Meta's recently unveiled smart glasses are equipped with advanced artificial intelligence capabilities, enabling them to identify objects, translate languages in real-time, and even assist with daily tasks. While many see them as a potential competitor to Apple's iPhone, some experts believe the technology could actually serve as a foundation for developing advanced robots.

In contrast, Musk focuses through Tesla on manufacturing humanoid robots, such as "Optimus," intended to perform physical tasks, including factory work and household assistance.

Jeff Cardenas, CEO of Apptronik, an American startup developing humanoid robots, stated that such robots could become personal assistants in the future, particularly for elderly individuals who require daily assistance. According to him, combining advanced artificial intelligence with robotic hardware could enable robots to learn, interact with their environment, and even understand human needs.

The competition between Zuckerberg and Musk isn't new. The two have clashed before over disagreements regarding artificial intelligence, with Musk warning about the dangers of uncontrolled AI development, while Zuckerberg advocated a more optimistic approach. Now, as both entrepreneurs invest in overlapping fields, the competition could accelerate the pace of technological development, but also raise questions about social and ethical implications.

From an Israeli perspective, these developments could impact the local high-tech industry, which already leads in the fields of artificial intelligence and robotics. Israeli companies like Mobileye, which develops autonomous driving technologies, Intuition Robotics, which created the social robot "Eli," or Menteerobots, which developed the humanoid Menteebot, could find new opportunities in a rapidly developing market. However, Israel still faces challenges, including a shortage of skilled AI personnel and the need for greater government investment in research and development infrastructure.

The central question is what the future will look like: Will we rely on smart glasses that help us navigate the world, or will humanoid robots become an integral part of our lives? The answer depends largely on Zuckerberg and Musk's ability to turn their visions into reality – and on society's readiness to accept them.

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The partnership represents one of the largest AI infrastructure investments announced to date, with the first phase targeted to come online in the second half of 2026 using NVIDIA's Vera Rubin platform. The 10-gigawatt deployment will encompass millions of GPUs across AI data centers.

"NVIDIA and OpenAI have pushed each other for a decade, from the first DGX supercomputer to the breakthrough of ChatGPT," said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA. "This investment and infrastructure partnership mark the next leap forward – deploying 10 gigawatts to power the next era of intelligence."

The announcement comes as competition intensifies in the artificial intelligence sector, with companies racing to secure the massive computing resources needed to train increasingly sophisticated AI models. OpenAI has grown to over 700 million weekly active users.

Sam Altman, cofounder and CEO of OpenAI, emphasized the fundamental importance of computational power in AI development. "Everything starts with compute," Altman said. "Compute infrastructure will be the basis for the economy of the future, and we will utilize what we're building with NVIDIA to both create new AI breakthroughs and empower people and businesses with them at scale."

The partnership builds on a decade-long collaboration between the two companies, dating back to OpenAI's early development phases. Greg Brockman, cofounder and president of OpenAI, highlighted this historical relationship in announcing the expanded partnership.

"We've been working closely with NVIDIA since the early days of OpenAI," Brockman said. "We've utilized their platform to create AI systems that hundreds of millions of people use every day. We're excited to deploy 10 gigawatts of compute with NVIDIA to push back the frontier of intelligence and scale the benefits of this technology to everyone."

Under the agreement, OpenAI will work with NVIDIA as a preferred strategic compute and networking partner for its AI infrastructure expansion plans. The companies will co-optimize their development roadmaps, aligning OpenAI's model and infrastructure software with NVIDIA's hardware and software platforms.

The partnership operates alongside OpenAI's existing collaborations with technology giants including Microsoft, Oracle, SoftBank and Stargate partners, all focused on building advanced AI infrastructure. This multi-partner approach reflects the enormous scale and complexity of modern AI development, which requires coordination across hardware manufacturers, cloud providers, and software developers.

NVIDIA's investment structure will be progressive, with funds deployed as each gigawatt of computing capacity comes online. This phased approach allows both companies to scale the infrastructure incrementally while managing the massive capital requirements involved in such a large-scale deployment.

The 10-gigawatt target represents a substantial increase in AI computing capacity. For context, large data centers typically operate in the range of hundreds of megawatts, making this deployment roughly equivalent to dozens of major facilities dedicated specifically to AI workloads.

Both companies indicated they expect to finalize the detailed terms of this strategic partnership in the coming weeks. The agreement supports OpenAI's stated mission to develop artificial general intelligence that benefits humanity while providing NVIDIA with a major customer for its advanced GPU systems. Immediately following the news, NVIDIA's stock shot up by about 4 percentage points.

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Frances referenced statistics illustrating Israel's capabilities: "We are 0.4% of the world, and we lead twenty percent of global innovation. We have 350 international R&D centers, 10% of our workforce in high-tech contributes 18-20% to GDP," Frances stated. He additionally highlighted that 15-25% of Fortune 500 CEOs are Jewish or Israeli, and Israel possesses 46 unicorns – companies valued above a billion dollars – representing the world's highest per-capita ratio.

Frances outlined the Nagel Committee's proposals for a national artificial intelligence strategy, which encompass four components. These initiatives include establishing a national AI headquarters with adequate budgeting for competitive professional salaries, constructing an Israeli supercomputer that requires an investment of 24 billion shekels, providing government database access for AI development, and transforming the educational system to prepare future AI engineers and scientists.

Frances examined regional comparisons with Israel's neighbors, saying that "The UAE, where only 12% of the population was born in the country, has invested hundreds of billions of dollars in artificial intelligence in recent years. Saudi Arabia has a single-digit number of unicorns compared to 46 in Israel," Frances observed. He emphasized that Israel's proposed 24 billion shekel investment represents approximately 3% of the UAE's recent investment magnitude. "It's like 2.5 F-35 squadrons – a relatively small investment that can yield enormous results. The time has come to roll up our sleeves, unite forces, and make artificial intelligence in Israel something sustainable. Israel can lead the global artificial intelligence revolution and become a global AI superpower," he concluded.

Frances' call for AI investment gains additional significance in light of recent warnings from Prime Minister Netanyahu about potential diplomatic isolation that could force Israel to operate under a closed economy and rely primarily on its own resources.

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Video: The video at the Hill and Valley Forum / Screenshot: X/@DrEliDavid

Karp, who was being interviewed at the forum's Rebuilding America session on April 30, was interrupted by a protester, leading to a direct and intense exchange over the company's technology, fending off the baseless accusations of what it allegedly does to the Palestinians because it helps companies streamline their operations with AI.

The disruption began with the heckler directly accusing Karp and his company of getting "wealthy off of killing Palestinians." The women went on to say the company's "AI and technology killing my family in Palestine," even though the company does not have an AI model but just analyzes data given by its clients. "What kind of person are you? How do you sleep at night?," she said.

Karp attempted to respond to the accusations, initiating an explanation: "I think the primary cause of death to Palestinians..." However, his statement was cut short by the heckler, who continued to interject. "Your AI and your technology from Palantir kills Palestinians," she yelled. At this point, he shot back, "Mostly terrorists. That's true." 

Karp attempted to engage the protester, asking, "do you want to hear my answer?" and "do you want to hear the answer or do you want to yell for no reason?". However, the protester continued to vocalize her accusations. During the ongoing interruption, Karp challenged her, stating, "if your argument was so strong wouldn't you let me talk" and later remarking, "I think you came to the wrong event". Security was eventually called, and Karp won applause from the crowd.

Karp elaborated on his perspective, stating, "the primary cause of death to Palestinians" is "the fact that Hamas has realized that there are millions and millions of useful idiots that will–" but she kept interjecting. He described the protester as an "unwitting product of an evil force Hamas".

He further defended the use of advanced technology, arguing that "the obvious solution to war is to have the West having the strongest most precise deadly weapons possible so that we can minimize unnecessary innocent deaths". He posited that strong deterrence, where "you're so strong no one attacks you," is the primary way to minimize these deaths.

The incident occurred as Karp was discussing the central thesis of his book, "The Technological Republic," which posits that Western society's meritocracy, rule of law, and competence has helped it thrive.

Following Karp's statements, Jacob Hellberg, co-founder of the Hill and Valley Forum, intervened to support Karp, calling in security.

He emphasized that without standing up for discursive discussion, those who seek to shut down opposing views will "win". The session then transitioned to discussing Palantir's organizational lessons.

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But after opening the hundredth tab and losing your mind, many simply give up and go to a travel agent.

All that hassle can of course be avoided. ChatGPT may serve as a personal travel assistant, as one finance expert claims he saved up to £700 with it. Casper Opala, known online as Casper Capital, with more than eight million followers, shares savings tips, especially in travel. He claims that with artificial intelligence help, he got a flight that cost him only about £70 instead of more than £700.

His tip includes seven simple commands that can be copied and pasted into the chat search bar – saving time searching across countless different sites. Although some methods have existed for years, and various travel sites wrote about them even before ChatGPT was created, the advantage is that the bot can collect all the information for you in seconds, saving hours of searches.

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In preparation for his upcoming performances throughout Britain, Smith posted a video to his Instagram profile showcasing highlights from his tour activities thus far. The footage displays enthusiastic supporters, numerous individuals visibly emotional, crowding performance venues while brandishing encouraging placards and reaching toward the celebrity, hoping for physical contact during his walkthrough. Yet these hands reveal the troubling truth.

Observant internet users concluded that Smith employed AI technology to manipulate the video content and potentially inserted digitally created "supporters" to populate venues and enhance the emotional impact of his performances. Audience members displaying warped and unclear facial features, along with bodily abnormalities, are a recognized flaw in artificial intelligence-generated content.

To illustrate, the opening segment presents an emotional individual displaying a placard stating, "'You Can Make It' (his debut single from the recent album) helped me survive cancer. Thanks, Will." The issue becomes apparent when examining this person's finger positioning, which appears unnatural and seemingly "blends" into the signage.

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Furthermore, the jewelry worn by the weeping woman positioned before this individual, while grasping his hand, appears to "extend" into another woman's forehead standing behind her.  Regardless of specifics, whether Smith's production team actually "fabricated" these individuals, the distinct impression emerges that these images underwent substantial digital modification and engineering.

Internet users, predictably, offered harsh criticism of this questionable strategy, particularly following Will's accompanying post caption: "My favorite part of tour is seeing you all up close. Thank you for seeing me too." One frustrated commenter on Reddit observed, "I suppose these represent actual people witnessing their potential melted wax figure," while another simply responded with "pathetic."

Smith's representatives have not provided responses to these allegations. Nonetheless, "Based on a True Story" struggles to create a meaningful impact, representing the rapper's initial album failing to achieve prominent chart positions across major markets. Within Britain specifically, it managed only the disappointing 79th position on digital album rankings.

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The AI giant expanded its existing Cosmos world model collection with Cosmos Transfer-2, designed to accelerate synthetic data generation from 3D simulation environments or spatial control inputs, alongside a streamlined version of Cosmos Transfer optimized for enhanced speed performance.

During the SIGGRAPH conference presentation Monday, Nvidia explained these models serve to generate synthetic text, image, and video datasets essential for training robots and AI agents, sources familiar with the announcement told TechCrunch.

Cosmos Reason enables robots and AI agents to perform reasoning functions through integrated memory and physics comprehension capabilities, allowing the system to "serve as a planning model to reason what steps an embodied agent might take next," according to the company. The application extends to data curation, robot planning, and video analytics functions.

The semiconductor manufacturer simultaneously introduced neural reconstruction libraries, incorporating rendering technology that enables developers to simulate real-world environments in three dimensions using sensor data. This rendering functionality integrates with CARLA, a widely-used open source simulator platform, while Nvidia also announced updates to its Omniverse software development kit.

Hardware infrastructure received equal attention with new server solutions tailored for robotics workflows. The Nvidia RTX Pro Blackwell Server provides unified architecture for robotic development workloads, complemented by Nvidia DGX Cloud, a cloud-based management platform for streamlined operations.

These developments represent the semiconductor leader's strategic expansion into robotics applications as it pursues new market opportunities for its AI graphics processing units beyond traditional AI data center deployments.

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The initiative comes as the tech giant faces potential disruption of its lucrative search partnership with Google, which generates approximately $20 billion annually for Apple through default search placement on its devices. Bloomberg detailed how the company's new direction contradicts recent public statements from top software and marketing executives who dismissed consumer interest in chatbot technology.

According to Bloomberg, when Apple introduced its artificial intelligence platform, it explicitly stated there would be no internally developed chatbot. The company instead partnered with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT into the Siri voice assistant, allowing users to access what Apple termed "world knowledge" without creating an in-house product.

Apple's senior software and marketing leaders have consistently argued that consumer interest in chatbots remains limited, Bloomberg noted. These executives have also rejected suggestions that the absence of such technology demonstrates Apple falling behind in artificial intelligence development. Some leaders within the company's AI division have expressed skepticism about ChatGPT-style tools entirely.

However, products like ChatGPT serve hundreds of millions of users globally, with many relying on these tools for mathematical calculations, spreadsheet work, and brainstorming sessions, Bloomberg reported. Others utilize the technology for simpler functions like search capabilities.

Apple Intelligence currently lacks search functionality, focusing instead on notification summaries, text rewriting, Genmoji image generation, and photo cleanup features, according to Bloomberg. The system will soon include message and call translation capabilities but lacks the conversational, AI-powered search experiences available through ChatGPT or Google's Gemini.

Meanwhile, Siri continues to demonstrate inconsistent performance when answering questions, Bloomberg found. While it handles basic queries adequately, it frequently transfers other requests to ChatGPT through a limited interface. Often, it directs users to generic Google web searches, which proves particularly frustrating when using screen-less devices like the HomePod.

This situation places Apple in a precarious position, as the company has never developed its own search engine, Bloomberg reported. This stems partly from Google search's superior performance, but also because Alphabet pays Apple roughly $20 billion annually to maintain default status on Apple devices.

The arrangement faces potential disruption as the US Justice Department is widely expected to force changes to the search agreement, potentially costing Apple billions in annual revenue, Bloomberg noted. During recent earnings calls, Apple's finance chief indicated that the company's services growth closely connects to the Google partnership.

Simultaneously, the search landscape undergoes rapid transformation due to generative AI, making the market more democratized, Bloomberg reported. Users increasingly turn to tools like ChatGPT for purposes extending far beyond traditional search queries. Apple's services head Eddy Cue testified in court that AI-based search represents the future, confirming that Apple explores partnerships, including with startup Perplexity, to advance toward more modern search experiences.

Despite philosophical reservations among certain Apple leaders, the company clearly moves in that direction, according to Bloomberg. Earlier this year, Apple quietly established a new team called Answers, Knowledge and Information, or AKI. This group explores various in-house AI services aimed at creating a new ChatGPT-like search experience.

The AKI team operates under Robby Walker, a senior director reporting to AI chief John Giannandrea, Bloomberg reported. Walker previously managed Siri but lost control following engineering delays. After that reorganization, he received assignment to the new Answers initiative and brought several key team members from his Siri tenure.

While still in developmental stages, the team constructs what it calls an "answer engine" – a system capable of web crawling to respond to general knowledge questions, Bloomberg found. A standalone application remains under exploration, alongside new backend infrastructure designed to power search capabilities in future versions of Siri, Spotlight, and Safari.

Apple recently began advertising job openings for the team on its careers website, stating according to Bloomberg: "Our work fuels intuitive information experiences across some of Apple's most iconic products, including Siri, Spotlight, Safari, Messages, Lookup, and more. Join us in shaping the future of how the world connects with information!"

Several job listings specifically mention experience with search algorithms and engine development, Bloomberg reported. While a finished product may remain distant, the direction appears unmistakable - something resembling a streamlined, Apple-built approach to ChatGPT-like search functionality is in development.

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