November 16, 2025: Rough Week!

Last week, the Dow gained 0.3%, the S&P 500 rose 0.1%, Nasdaq slipped 0.45%, with some tech names bouncing off lows Friday. Looking ahead, Nvidia’s earnings and the delayed September jobs report are likely to be key catalysts. So far, the usually strong November–December seasonal pattern has disappointed, though markets avoided typical September–October volatility. Einride is heading to public markets via a US$1.8 billion SPAC. Travel platform Klook filed for a NYSE IPO on 43% y/y revenue growth. Grayscale filed for an IPO despite lower year-on-year revenue. Grab led a US$60 million+ round into remote-driving startup Vay. Robinhood plans a leveraged, closed-end fund to give retail investors exposure to a concentrated basket of private AI leaders, raising liquidity and governance concerns. Berkshire revealed a new US$4.3 billion Alphabet stake while trimming Apple again. “Big Short”, Michael Burry is shutting Scion after loudly questioning AI-driven earnings quality and hyperscaler depreciation assumptions. SoftBank exited its US$5.8 billion Nvidia stake to fund an “all-in” OpenAI/Ampere strategy. AMD laid out an aggressive target of US$100 billion in annual data-center chip revenue within five years and a US$1 trillion TAM by 2030. CoreWeave sold off on data-center delays and heavy cash burn. Samsung raised certain memory prices by up to 60%. Anthropic announced plans to spend US$50 billion building its own U.S. data centers after disclosing it had cut off China-linked hackers who had jailbroken Claude. In Canada, Stingray agreed to acquire TuneIn for up to US$175 million. Clio raised US$500 million in Series G equity plus US$350 million in debt. Vistara Growth closed a US$321 million Fund V, 66% larger than its predecessor. Among Sophic clients, Intermap reported Q3 results with YTD revenue of US$9.0 million versus US$10.2 million last year, reflecting milestone timing in Indonesia, but reaffirmed 2025 guidance of US$30–35 million revenue and 28% EBITDA margins. Renoworks delivered its sixth straight profitable quarter, with YTD revenue up 15%, recurring licensing and hosting up 36%, and gross margin at 76% as it pivots toward AI-powered SaaS. Cybeats closed a $1.4 million non-brokered financing at $0.12 per share.

Sophic Client Intermap (IMP-TSX, ITMSF-OTC) reports third quarter 2025 results.

During the quarter, Intermap completed a bought deal public offering and concurrent private placement, raising gross proceeds of US$21 million, significantly strengthening its balance sheet, allowing it to invest in commercial markets and positioning the Company to execute large, multiyear contracts. As of September 30, 2025, shareholders’ equity increased to US$27.2 million. Revenue for the quarter was US$1.7 million compared with US$5.0 million for the same period in 2024. Year-to-date revenue was US$9.0 million compared with US$10.2 million for the same period in 2024. Revenue declines were as expected, reflecting the timing of milestone-driven program activity in Indonesia, causing lumpiness as the country tenders for much larger follow-on awards integrating financial support from the World Bank. Data products experienced temporary timing effects from the prolonged U.S. federal government shutdown. The Company completed infrastructure upgrades, incorporating advanced NVIDIA GPUs and encryption methods compliant with NIST requirements for protecting the confidentiality of Controlled Unclassified Information in non-federal systems and organizations. Commercial software revenue grew by 37% over the same period last year, which was more than expected. A significant amount of growth came from Europe, where the Company recently introduced its Risk Assistant platform, leveraging its latest AI advancements. Operating cash flow year to date was US$2 million (excluding US$2.1 million of working capital investment) compared with negative US$1.4 million for the same period last year. Cash flow was reinvested to improve working capital. Operating cash flow during the quarter improved to negative US$1.7 million (excluding working capital) compared with negative US$2.3 million last year. Working capital was US$23.3 million at the end of the quarter, allowing the Company to remove the going concern qualification from its financial statements. The Company is in the process of uplifting its audit to comply with U.S. securities regulations under PCAOB standards. Adjusted EBITDA was negative US$1.0 million for the quarter compared with positive US$1.6 million for 2024. Net loss was US$1.5 million compared with net income of US$1.1 million for the same quarter last year. The Company continues to ramp its operations to qualify for and execute larger government contracts. During the quarter, Intermap submitted multiple bids covering all four lots of Indonesia’s US$200 million Integrated Land Administration and Spatial Planning Project. The Tender Review Committee is evaluating technical submissions with financial evaluation scheduled for this December. Commercial demand remained strong. Intermap expanded recurring data subscriptions and analytics services during the quarter, building on momentum from prior quarters, reflecting ongoing adoption of elevation-as-a-service and risk modeling solutions. Intermap was selected for multiple NOAA contracting teams, including the $250 million Coastal Geospatial Services Contract 5, for which proposals are under review, and the $250 million NGS Shoreline Mapping Support Services IDIQ where the Company is a team member with NV5 and Dewberry. The Company also continued requirements meetings with the U.S. Department of Defense during the government shutdown. Intermap expects U.S. government contracting will accelerate as the government reopens. Operating results for the quarter reflected normal pursuit and transition costs associated with these programs. The Company continues to invest in key contracts and software development that support recurring revenue growth and long-term value creation. Intermap reaffirms its previously announced 2025 guidance of $30–35 million in revenue and a 28% EBITDA margin. https://t.co/lKgSMRyk9L

Sophic Client Renoworks Software Inc. (RW-TSXV, ROWKF-OTC) announces third quarter 2025 financial results.

Highlights for the Nine Months Ended September 30, 2025 (“YTD 2025”) with comparatives for the nine months to September 30, 2024 (“YTD 2024”) are as follows: Total revenue of $6,015,564, up 15% from $5,210,091 in YTD 2024. Recurring Licensing and hosting revenue of $2,672,998, up 36% from $1,961,850 in YTD 2024. Libraries revenue of $703,756, up 41% from $498,537 in YTD 2024. Gross margin improved to 76%, compared to 74% in YTD 2024. Adjusted EBITDA of $196,921, up from $49,793 in YTD 2024. Net income of $113,070, compared to a net loss of $2,333 in YTD 2024. Deferred Revenue of $2,386,726 at September 30, 2025, compared to $2,519,797 at December 31, 2024. Working capital positive at $275,658, compared to a deficit of $121,451 at December 31, 2024. Excluding deferred revenue, a significant non-cash item included in working capital, the Company’s working capital at September 30, 2025, is positive $2,440,210 ($2,157,879 – Dec 31, 2024). Cash balance at September 30, 2025, was $1,548,953, flat from $1,536,671 at year-end 2024. As at Sept 30, 2025, the Company had 40,817,968 common shares issued and outstanding versus 40,664,635 at December 31, 2024. Sixth consecutive quarter of profitability, reflecting disciplined cost management and recurring revenue expansion. Financial Highlights for the Three Months Ended September 30, 2025 (“Q3 2025”) with comparatives for the three months to September 30, 2024 (“Q3 2024”), are as follows: Revenue of $2,002,749, up 6% from $1,894,911 in Q3 2024. Recurring Licensing and hosting revenue of $911,989, up 38% from $662,321 in Q3 2024. Gross margin of 78%, compared to 74% in Q3 2024. Net income of $20,241, compared to $110,364 in Q3 2024. Adjusted EBITDA of $52,563, compared to $125,395 in Q3 2024. Operational Highlights: Revenue mix transformation: Licensing and hosting revenues now account for the majority of the Company’s growth, reflecting strong adoption of Renoworks’ AI-powered visualization, data and analytics, and lead-generation tools. Design Services revenue declined 6% year-over-year, consistent with the Company’s strategic plan to reduce transactional services. Customer concentration improving: Revenue from the Company’s largest customer decreased from 36% in YTD 2024 to 32% YTD 2025 and 28% in Q3 2025, reflecting diversification and successful transition of this key account from Design Services to AI-driven Licensing and Hosting. Outlook: Renoworks expects continued revenue growth driven by customer adoption of AI-powered Licensing and Hosting solutions, despite the offset from the anticipated reduction in Design Services revenue. Management remains focused on strengthening gross margins, expanding recurring revenue streams, and advancing its AI platform capabilities across both Enterprise and Pro customer segments. https://t.co/5ZApp19Fzo

Sophic Client Kraken Robotics (PNG-TSXV, KRKNF-OTC) appoints BlueZone Group as sales representative for Australia and New Zealand.

Kraken Robotics Inc. announces the appointment of BlueZone Group as an authorized reseller of Kraken Synthetic Aperture Sonar (SAS) and the KATFISH towed SAS platform in Australia and New Zealand. This year, Kraken partnered with BlueZone Group to service the Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN’s) KATFISH and ISO20 LARS aboard HMAS Leeuwin. The system is now operational under the management of RAN’s Hydrographic Service. Together, Kraken and BlueZone delivered the first Depot-Level Maintenance service on the KATFISH towed SAS system in under one month, demonstrating the value of in-country supportability facilitated by this partnership. “Kraken’s technologies are deployed globally in support of critical naval operations, making strong local partnerships essential to our success,” said Greg Reid, President and CEO of Kraken Robotics. “Our collaboration with BlueZone Group enhances regional support across Australia and New Zealand, enabling increased access to our advanced SAS systems for mine countermeasure operations, critical underwater infrastructure inspection, and other survey needs.” “This agreement represents an important milestone in our role as a trusted partner supporting advanced maritime technologies,” said Andrew Hazell, General Manager Defence at BlueZone Group. “By becoming Kraken’s authorized reseller, BlueZone Group reinforces its commitment to delivering sovereign capability in the operation and support of hydrographic and oceanographic equipment. This ensures the Australian Defence Force maintains the tools it needs to safeguard our maritime interests and protect critical shipping lanes.” https://tinyurl.com/2s3hmaws

Sophic Client Cybeats Technologies Corp. (CYBT-CSE,CYBCF-OTCQB) closes $1.4 million Non-Brokered Private Placement with U.S. microcap fund.

Cybeats closed its previously announced non-brokered private placement with IFCM MicroCap Fund LP, issuing 12,000,000 common shares of the Company (each, a “Common Share”), at a price of $0.12 per Common Share, for gross proceeds of $1,440,000 (the “Private Placement”). The Common Shares issued in respect of the Private Placement are subject to a hold period of four (4) months and a day from closing in accordance with the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange. https://tinyurl.com/ybx6ezws

Stingray (RAY-A.TS) to buy media streamer TuneIn for US$175 million.

Montréal-based Stingray Group is set to acquire fellow music and media technology company TuneIn Holdings for up to US$175 million ($245 million). “This aligns perfectly with our strategy to meet listeners wherever they are – at home, in the car, or at retail locations.” Stingray expects acquiring the San Francisco-based company to “significantly expand” its global digital audio footprint and growth in streaming services. It also expects to benefit from incorporating TuneIn’s targeted advertisement platform. Stingray will pay US$150 million ($210 million) up front, which it financed through a term loan, and up to US$25 million ($35 million) 12 months after the transaction closes. The transaction’s value is based on TuneIn’s forecasted sales of US$110 million ($154 million) and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) of US$30 million ($42 million) for the twelve-month period ending Dec. 31, 2025, according to Stingray. Following approval by TuneIn shareholders and other closing conditions, the acquisition is expected to complete by the end of the year. https://tinyurl.com/3n2s5v9d

Clio secures US$500 million Series G as it completes vLex acquisition.

Clio has closed a US$500 million Series G round and another US$350 million in debt to complete a landmark deal as part of a transaction that began six months ago. The Burnaby, BC-based legaltech company announced plans in July to buy Spanish-American peer vLex for US$1 billion in cash and stock. The purchase, which has now closed, allows Clio to advance its artificial intelligence (AI) vision while aiding its growth internationally and among large law firms. It further cements Clio’s status as one of Canada’s most valuable tech companies, placing it just behind the likes of Cohere, Hopper, Wealthsimple, and 1Password. Prior to this round, Clio had raised more than US$1.2 billion in total funding. The firm’s US$500 million Series G was led by New Enterprise Associates, with support from fellow existing American backers TCV, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Sixth Street Growth, and JMI Equity, while its US$350 million debt facility was co-led by US-based Blackstone and Blue Owl Capital. Clio recently surpassed US$400 million in annual recurring revenue after doubling since hitting $200 million in summer 2024. Today, Clio caters to more than 400,000 legal professionals. Sigfstead did not share any updated profitability metrics. https://tinyurl.com/56b5xnxp

Vistara Growth closes US$321 million fund after “friend-raising to the max”.

Vancouver-based Vistara Growth has closed its fifth private credit fund at US$321 million ($450 million), ending a nearly two-year fundraising process and freeing up the firm to focus its efforts exclusively on backing mid- and later-stage tech companies. While Vistara fell shy of its initial, “pretty ambitious” US$386 million ($540 million) target, the raise still gives the firm a Fund V that is 66 percent larger than its US$193 million ($270 million) predecessor. Vistara claimed that the vast majority of its limited partners (LPs) from Fund IV have returned and collectively contributed even more capital to the fifth fund. This group includes the Beedie family office, other undisclosed family offices, private foundations, and successful entrepreneurs from fields like tech, real estate, and hospitality. To date, Vistara has completed 42 investments across its five funds. It has exited 23 of them while incurring zero losses and delivering a net annualized internal rate of return of just over 15 percent. Vistara’s current portfolio includes Brim Financial, D3 Security, and Sama. It counts Alida, Martello, Mobify, Reach, and Zafin among its exits. Last year, market research company Preqin ranked Vistara’s second and third funds among the top 10 performers globally in their asset class by vintage and size. Vistara claims it has also already returned 88 percent of its fourth fund to LPs. Since mid-2022, Vistara says it has distributed more than $230 million USD to its investors across 12 exits, despite “choppy” market conditions that have featured little venture capital (VC) liquidity thanks to fewer exits. Vistara has already made eight of a planned 15 to 18 total investments through Fund V thus far, backing companies like Vancouver-based government technology provider Clariti Cloud, Florida software firm DataCore, Columbus-based insurtech Matic, and Philadelphia healthtech company Tendo. The firm expects to build a Fund V portfolio with a 70-to-30-percent split between the US and Canada, where Garg said it would love to do more deals. https://tinyurl.com/uxsm7pz7

CoLab cashes in on AI demand with US$72 million funding round.

St. John’s-based CoLab Software has raised US$72 million ($101 million) in Series C funding as demand balloons for its artificial intelligence (AI)-powered engineering collaboration tool. The round was led by Intrepid Growth Partners, with participation from returning investors Y Combinator, Pelorus VC, Killick Capital, as well as three-time investor Spider Capital, and Insight Partners, which increased its position with a super pro rata investment. https://tinyurl.com/yc2zsfah

Digitail grows Toronto hub as it fetches US$23 million Series B round.

Pet care software startup Digitail is expanding its Toronto hub on the tail of US$23 million ($32 million) in Series B funding. The funding will help Digitail to bring its veterinary software to more clinics across North America to meet what the company says is a need for digital transformation. United States-based private equity firm Five Elms Capital led the all-equity round, with participation from existing investors including European venture firms Atomico, Paris-based Partech, Byfounders, and Google spinout firm Gradient.. https://tinyurl.com/3ehr9pcz

NLPatent’s US$3 million raise helps it power patent research with AI.

The all-equity, all-primary capital round, which closed in September, was supported by existing backers including Miami-based The LegalTech Fund, Toronto’s Storytime Capital, and Calgary-based The51. https://tinyurl.com/utk74cc

Fewer, larger financings give Canadian VC a boost in Q3 as domestic PE stays hot.

Canadian venture capital (VC) market activity showed some “positive signs” and continued challenges during the third quarter after a particularly bleak first half of 2025, according to a new report. The Canadian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (CVCA) tracked $1.8 billion in total VC funding deployed across 123 technology startup deals in Canada in Q3 2025. This represents a continued uptick on a quarterly basis compared to Q1 and Q2, though these amounts have been allocated across progressively fewer companies. On the private equity (PE) side of the equation, major privatizations and steady mid-market activity helped the market sustain its record pace during Q3, with $25.4 billion invested across 151 deals. The report found that average VC deal size during Q3 climbed to $14.7 million, a 20 percent increase compared to the second quarter. In 2025 to date, mega-deals of $50 million or more have accounted for 60 percent of all dollars invested. Third-quarter activity on this front included large financings by Toronto-based large language model developer Cohere, artificial intelligence (AI) tax research platform Blue J, and AI video generation startup Moonvalley. https://tinyurl.com/49e69y8u

Self-driving trucks startup Einride plans to go public via a SPAC.

Einride said Wednesday it plans to go public via a merger with a special purpose acquisition company, just six weeks after the Swedish electric and autonomous truck startup raised US$100 million from investors. The SPAC merger with Legato Merger Corp. values Einride at US$1.8 billion in pre-money equity, according to the companies. The deal is expected to generate about US$219 million in gross proceeds, a figure that doesn’t take into account any redemption of Legato’s public shares. The company is also seeking up to US$100 million in private investment in public equity (PIPE) capital. The merger is expected to close in the first half of 2026, with Einride making its debut on the New York Stock Exchange. Einride was founded in 2016 with an ambition to transform the freight industry, first with electric trucks, then with autonomous electric autonomous pods — vehicles that lack a steering wheel or pedals designed for self-driving. Einride joins other autonomous vehicle companies that have pursued SPAC mergers in recent years to secure additional funding. Aurora, which launched a commercial self-driving trucks operation (with a human observer on board), went public via a SPAC merger valued at US$13 billion in 2021. Self-driving trucks startup Kodiak AI took the SPAC road to the public market earlier this year. https://tinyurl.com/47nbffrd

Crypto asset manager Grayscale shows revenue drop in IPO filing.

Grayscale Investments Inc. filed publicly for an initial public offering, the latest cryptocurrency-linked company to test public markets under an administration more open to digital assets. The crypto asset manager had net income of US$203.3 million on revenue of US$318.7 million for the nine months ended Sept. 30, compared with net income of US$223.7 million on revenue of $397.9 million a year earlier, according to its filing Thursday with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The company in July filed confidentially for a listing. https://tinyurl.com/5y62j7zk

SoftBank-backed travel startup Klook files for New York IPO.

Klook, a Hong Kong-based online travel startup backed by SoftBank Group, filed for an initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange on Monday. Klook’s app, popular in Asia, helps travelers book tickets for all kinds of attractions and other services in their destinations. Its business has enjoyed robust growth in the past few years as the global travel industry recovered from the Covid-19 pandemic. In the first nine months of this year, Klook’s revenue grew 43% to US$407 million, while its operating loss narrowed to US$9.8 million from US$32.7 million a year earlier, according to its filing. Last year, more than 10.7 million users made transactions on Klook’s platform, the company said. Apart from SoftBank, Klooks’ other existing investors include Goldman Sachs, Bessemer Venture Partners and Chinese venture capital firm HongShan. https://tinyurl.com/4spf2kyw

SoftBank sells its entire stake in Nvidia for US$5.83 billion.

SoftBank said Tuesday it has sold its entire stake in U.S. chipmaker Nvidia for US$5.83 billion as the Japanese giant looks to capitalize on its “all in” bet on ChatGPT maker OpenAI. The firm said in its earnings statement that it sold 32.1 million Nvidia shares in October. It also disclosed that it sold part of its T-Mobile stake for US$9.17 billion. “We want to provide a lot of investment opportunities for investors, while we can still maintain financial strength,” said SoftBank’s Chief Financial Officer Yoshimitsu Goto during an investor presentation. “So through those options and tools we make sure that we are ready for funding in a very safe manner,” he said in comments translated by the company, adding that the stake sales were part of the firm’s strategy for “asset monetization.” Nvidia shares dipped 0.95% in premarket trade on Tuesday. While the Nvidia exit may come as a surprise to some investors, it’s not the first time SoftBank has cashed out of the American AI chip darling. SoftBank’s Vision Fund was an early backer of Nvidia, reportedly amassing a US$4 billion stake in 2017 before selling all of its holdings in January 2019. Despite its latest sale, SoftBank’s business interests remain heavily intertwined with Nvidia’s. That Tokyo-based company is involved in a number of AI ventures that rely on Nvidia’s technology, including the US$500 billion Stargate project for data centers in the U.S. “This should not be seen, in our view, as a cautious or negative stance on Nvidia, but rather in the context of SoftBank needing at least US$30.5 billion of capital for investments in the Oct-Dec quarter, including US$22.5 billion for OpenAI and US$6.5 billion for Ampere,” Rolf Bulk, equity research analyst at New Street Research, told CNBC. https://tinyurl.com/4xeac3fc

AMD expects profit to triple by 2030, data center chip market to grow to US$1 trillion.

Advanced Micro Devices said on Tuesday that it expected annual data center chip revenue of US$100 billion within the next five years, and its earnings to more than triple. The Santa Clara, California-based chip designer’s shares were up 4% in choppy post-market trading, after closing down 2.7% at US$237.52. The stock has risen 16% since October 6, when the company signed a lucrative multiyear deal with OpenAI that would bring in tens of billions of dollars in annual revenue. AMD expects the market for the company’s data center chips to grow to US$1 trillion by 2030, CEO Lisa Su said at its analyst day – its first such event in three years – in New York. Artificial intelligence will drive much of the growth to the trillion-dollar figure. That market includes AMD’s plain processor and networking chips, along with its specialized AI chips, Su said. In the next three to five years, AMD expects 35% growth across its entire business each year and 60% in its data center business, finance chief Jean Hu said at the analyst day. The company also expects earnings to rise to US$20 a share in the same three-to-five-year period. LSEG estimates peg AMD’s 2025 profit at US$2.68 per share. Jensen Huang, CEO of AMD archrival Nvidia, has said the broader AI infrastructure market will grow to US$3 trillion to US$4 trillion by 2030. https://tinyurl.com/mtykkyup

Shares of AI cloud firm CoreWeave drop as data center delay tanks revenue growth.

CoreWeave, a cloud provider that rents out Nvidia chips to AI developers like Microsoft, Meta and OpenAI, said Tuesday that revenue rose 134% in the September quarter to nearly US$1.4 billion and its revenue backlog more than doubled to US$55 billion. But shares fell 16% in Wednesday trading in response to a warning from CoreWeave CEO Michael Intrator that the company’s fourth quarter revenue would be “affected by temporary delays related to a third-party data center developer who is behind schedule.“ Even so, fourth quarter revenue is still expected to be double from the same period a year earlier. CoreWeave has borrowed heavily to fund its operations, and it burned about US$1.6 billion in cash to fund its rapid expansion in the third quarter. Nvidia owns a stake in the company. https://tinyurl.com/e7v47ech

Circle drops over lower interest rates, rising costs.

Stablecoin issuer Circle’s revenue jumped 66% in the third quarter, but its shares fell 11% Wednesday, weighed down by concerns over declining interest rates and rising distribution costs to partners like Coinbase. It announced it’s exploring launching a token to incentivize the adoption of its Arc blockchain for stablecoin transactions. Circle reported third-quarter net income of US$214 million on revenue of US$740 million. It makes 96% of its revenue from interest income generated by reserve assets such as short-term Treasuries that back its stablecoin USDC. Its margin – revenue less distribution costs – fell to 39% in the third quarter, down by 2.7% from a year ago. Circle is facing new competition from companies such as Anchorage Digital, which issues stablecoins on behalf of clients like Western Union. It is also paying more of its interest income to partners such as Coinbase. Some new competitors pay most or all of their revenue to their partners. https://tinyurl.com/mvmfkewz

Robinhood wants to allow amateur traders to invest in AI start-ups.

Chief executive Vlad Tenev told the Financial Times that he is more interested in giving “normal people” exposure to the rapid growth of private AI companies than worrying about whether a bubble is forming in the sector. AI is going to create “widescale disruption and we want people to have exposure to the drivers of that disruption”, he said. Robinhood plans to offer tradeable shares in a new fund managed by its subsidiary Robinhood Ventures, which will invest in a highly concentrated portfolio of five or more “best in class” private companies — and may borrow money to boost its return. The trading platform’s move comes as money managers are seeking to tap small investors as a new pool of capital to plough into private markets. President Donald Trump’s executive order in August has made it easier for employers to include assets such as private equity and private credit in retirement plans. Asset managers including Blue Owl, Blackstone and Apollo are moving beyond institutional investors and seeking to appeal to individuals. Public markets have been shrinking for decades, while the number of private companies in the US valued at more than US$1 billion rose above 1,000 in 2024 from 20 in 2016, PitchBook data shows. Robinhood’s move to open the door for small-time investors to back these groups has caused concern, given the proposed fund’s structure and the trading venue’s relative lack of experience managing money. The fund will be closed-end, meaning traders will not be able to quickly redeem their shares at will and could find their money trapped if too many investors rush for the exit. https://tinyurl.com/yk7ted32

Berkshire Hathaway takes US$4.3 billion stake in Alphabet.

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway purchased shares in Google parent Alphabet worth US$4.3 billion at the end of the third quarter, a vote of confidence in the search giant after its shares have surged this year. The investment, disclosed in a quarterly regulatory filing, adds to Berkshire’s exposure to the tech industry, which Buffett once shied from. The firm also owned a US$60.5 billion stake in Apple and a US$2.2 billion stake in Amazon. Buffett, 95, said in May he would step down as CEO by the end of the year, appointing Greg Abel as his successor. Shares in Alphabet have risen 45% this year as investors warm to the company’s artificial-intelligence bets. The stock rose about 1.6% in after-hours trading following the Berkshire disclosure. Berkshire also pared its Apple position during the third quarter. https://tinyurl.com/3ay4m48d

‘Big Short’ investor Michael Burry accuses AI hyperscalers of artificially boosting earnings.

Michael Burry, the investor made famous by “The Big Short” who recently roiled the market with a tech short bet, is accusing some of America’s largest technology companies of using aggressive accounting to pad their profits from the artificial intelligence boom. In a post Monday on X, the Scion Asset Management founder alleged that “hyperscalers” — the major cloud and AI infrastructure providers — are understating depreciation expenses by estimating that chips will have a longer life cycle than is realistic. “Understating depreciation by extending useful life of assets artificially boosts earnings – one of the more common frauds of the modern era,” Burry wrote. “Massively ramping capex through purchase of Nvidia chips/servers on a 2-3 yr product cycle should not result in the extension of useful lives of compute equipment. Yet this is exactly what all the hyperscalers have done.” Burry estimated that from 2026 through 2028, the accounting maneuver would understate depreciation by about $176 billion, inflating reported earnings across the industry. He singled out Oracle and Meta Platforms, saying their profits could be overstated by roughly 27% and 21%, respectively, by 2028. https://tinyurl.com/yekx3vxk

Michael Burry of ‘Big Short’ fame is closing his hedge fund.

Michael Burry, the investor whose successful bets against the U.S. housing market in 2008 were recounted in the movie “The Big Short,” is closing his hedge fund, Scion Asset Management. In a letter to investors dated October 27, a copy of which was seen by Reuters, Burry said he would liquidate the funds and return capital, “but for a small audit/tax holdback” by the end of the year. A person directly familiar with the matter confirmed the contents of the letter. “My estimation of value in securities is not now, and has not been for some time, in sync with the markets,” Burry said in the letter. The Securities and Exchange Commission’s database, opens new tab showed Scion’s registration status as “terminated” as of November 10. Deregistering would imply the fund is not required to file reports with the regulator or any state. In a post on X on Wednesday, Burry said, “On to much better things Nov 25th.” Burry has stepped up criticism of technology heavyweights, including Nvidia and Palantir Technologies , in recent weeks, questioning the cloud infrastructure boom and accusing major providers of using aggressive accounting to inflate profits from their massive hardware investments. https://tinyurl.com/mr2z7hkt

Anthropic to build data centers in Texas, New York.

Anthropic plans to invest US$50 billion building its own data centers, the first time it has done so, in Texas and New York, the AI startup announced in a blog post on Wednesday. Anthropic said it would partner with London-based cloud startup Fluidstack on the data centers. Anthropic said that the projects would create approximately 800 permanent jobs and 2,400 construction jobs, with sites coming online throughout 2026. The company added that the data centers would support President Trump’s goals to strengthen American dominance over the AI market. So far, Anthropic has chosen to rent AI chips from cloud providers like Amazon Web Services and Google. This would be its first foray into building the data centers itself, a similar approach to that of its competitor OpenAI. https://tinyurl.com/3e3fvca4

Singapore’s Grab invests in remote-driving startup Vay.

Grab Holdings, the biggest ride-hailing and food delivery company in Southeast Asia, said Monday that it has agreed to invest in Vay Technology, a Germany-based startup developing technology that allows remote drivers to control electric vehicles from afar. Singapore-based Grab will make an initial investment of US$60 million, which could be followed by an additional investment of US$350 million later if Vay achieves certain milestones, the companies said. Vay operates a car rental service in Las Vegas where a professional “teledriver” remotely drives a car to the location of the customer who requested it. Grab’s investment will enable Vay to expand its operations in the U.S., the companies said. The Vay deal is the latest in a series of strategic investments by Nasdaq-listed Grab in developers of autonomous driving and other mobility-related technologies. Last month, Grab invested in U.S. robotaxi company May Mobility. In August, Grab announced a strategic investment in Chinese robotaxi firm WeRide. https://tinyurl.com/46dyvrs4

FanDuel to debut prediction market app to fend off competitors.

FanDuel, the US online gambling division of Flutter Entertainment Plc, is launching its own prediction market product, which will allow it to open up in states where traditional sports betting is illegal and deal with competitive pressure from new startup exchanges in the space. The company plans to introduce a new mobile app in December, FanDuel Predicts, where users can bet on the outcome of sports and economic indicators, the company announced on Wednesday at the same time that it released quarterly financial results that fell short of analysts’ expectations. Flutter is working with CME Group Inc., the derivatives exchange operator, to offer so-called event-contracts tied to the outcomes of baseball, basketball, football and hockey games, a move that could create conflicts with state regulators who have said prediction markets are illegal. The sports-betting features will only be available in states where traditional online sports gambling, like FanDuel’s current app, is illegal. If states later legalize sports gambling, FanDuel said it will stop offering the sports-related event contracts. FanDuel will also offer event contracts based on the value of oil, gold, crypto tokens and stock indexes and these will be available in “virtually all states,” the company said. The new product represents a significant escalation in the efforts by gambling companies to fend off upstart prediction market exchanges like Kalshi and Polymarket, which have, over the past year, circumvented state gambling laws by offering regulated financial contracts tied to sports games and other events. The shares of FanDuel and its closest competitor, DraftKings, have been falling in recent months as Kalshi and Polymarket have attracted growing volumes and other Wall Street firms have looked to get into the business. https://tinyurl.com/3pha6rbr

Cliff Asness says AQR is exploring a push into sports betting.

Cliff Asness, the billionaire co-founder and chief investment officer of AQR Capital Management, said the hedge fund is weighing an expansion into sports betting, potentially becoming the latest Wall Street firm to move into the booming business. “This is incipient for us,” Asness said on an episode of the Odd Lots podcast recorded as part of the show’s 10-year anniversary celebrations. “We are considering and looking at it.” Interest in sports betting on Wall Street has been booming recently as prediction markets such as Kalshi Inc. and Polymarket have created regulated financial contracts tied to the outcomes of sports games, allowing them to open up betting in states where it has been illegal. Asness didn’t clarify whether AQR is looking at making directional bets on sports games or doing the more short-term work of making markets on exchanges. While baseball has embraced the use of analytics, betting markets probably aren’t as rational yet, Asness said. “Baseball has largely absorbed a lot of these things,” Asness said. “On-base percentage was one of the major insights of Moneyball and nobody’s missing that one anymore. But we still think particularly in the betting markets, they’re not, probably not as rational as Toby’s Scorecasting book. So we do think there might be opportunities there.” Still, Asness, who’s been critical of gambling and what he calls the “gamification” of markets, expressed some hesitations. “I don’t want to overstate it, just because I am cynical about online sports betting,” he said, referring to scandals in the space and losses for the average bettor. https://tinyurl.com/4ybhmbrn

Anthropic says Chinese spies used its AI for cyberattacks.

Anthropic recently cut off access to its AI models for several hackers who were using the technology to carry out cyberattacks and espionage, the company said Thursday. Anthropic said the hackers, who were linked to the Chinese government, used its Claude Code tool to try to hack into 30 targets, including tech companies, financial institutions, and government agencies in mid-September. Anthropic said the hackers succeeded at breaking into targets “in a small number of cases” before the AI startup cut off their access to the tools. The episode illustrates how AI tools are making it faster and easier for hackers to carry out cyberattacks. In this case, the hackers used Anthropic’s models to automatically write code that was used for the hacks, and to connect to other software like password crackers. The hackers were able to “jailbreak” Claude, meaning they overrode Anthropic’s safety guardrails which are supposed to prevent the software from being used for malicious purposes, Anthropic said. The startup said it has since strengthened Claude’s guardrails to prevent similar cyberattacks. https://tinyurl.com/mpx9bnnn

Google goes live with more AI shopping features.

Google unveiled several new AI shopping features Thursday, as the search giant heightens competition with OpenAI and other AI companies working to incorporate more e-commerce features into their products. Google had previously announced some of the features at its I/O developer conference in May, including a “buy it for me” feature that allows users to set up price alerts for items where Google will monitor the price and purchase the items on shoppers’ behalf if they fall below the users’ desired price. The company also launched a feature that will use AI to call stores on behalf of shoppers to check information like in-stock availability and added product listing information to shopping-related queries in Gemini’s mobile app. It also added more shopping features to its “AI Mode” in Google search, which allows shoppers to search for products conversationally. https://tinyurl.com/59jn6d7b

Visa tests stablecoin payments with eyes on global gig economy.

Visa Inc. is testing the ability for businesses to send stablecoins directly to consumers’ cryptocurrency wallets for global payouts, targeting growing demand for the fiat-backed digital tokens among gig workers and digital creators in emerging markets. The payments giant is piloting the feature as part of Visa Direct, the company’s real-time payments service that enables clients to send money to 195 countries. The pilot will use USDC, the US dollar-backed stablecoin issued by Circle Internet Group Inc. Digital platform operators use payout services to pay creators or gig workers. TikTok, for example, pays influencers based on video views through its creator rewards program. Platforms such as Uber and DoorDash, meanwhile, need to disburse earnings to their armies of gig workers around the world. Vendor payments are another possible use case for Visa Direct. Fintech firms are increasingly presenting stablecoins as an attractive place for individuals to park money, especially in countries with volatile local currencies. The digital assets — designed to track the value of fiat currency, typically with one-to-one backing of US dollars through reserves of short-term Treasuries and cash — have been touted as a means to strengthen the dollar’s position as a global reserve currency. The stablecoin payout option comes as both Visa and Mastercard Inc. are increasingly integrating stablecoins into their product suites. Earlier this year, Visa Direct began piloting the ability for clients to pre-fund their accounts with stablecoins to improve cross-border payments. The Visa Direct platform is central to the network’s strategy to move beyond its hallmark credit card business facilitating consumer payments and into capturing other money flows such as business-to-business payments. https://tinyurl.com/24y99352

Samsung hikes memory chip prices by up to 60% as shortage worsens.

Samsung Electronics this month raised prices of certain memory chips – now in short supply due to the global race to build AI data centres – by as much as 60% compared to September, two people with knowledge of the hikes said. The move follows the world’s biggest memory chipmaker’s decision to delay a formal announcement of pricing for supply contracts in October, they said, adding that pricing details are typically announced each month. Soaring prices for these memory chips, which are mainly used in servers, are likely to add to stress for big companies building out data infrastructure. They also threaten to increase the costs of other products like smartphones and computers in which they are also used. https://tinyurl.com/yh5fhumn