Rafe Uddin
@rafeuddin.ft.com
FT San Francisco Correspondent | Signal: rafeuddin.01 | +1 (415) 718-5729 | Tips: rafe.uddin@ft.com
Oracle slightly living down to investor worries over AI: higher than expected capex, lower than expected revenues. Shares down in afterhours, @rafeuddin.ft.com reports www.ft.com/content/3633...
Oracle shares slide as data centre spending mounts
Larry Ellison’s company is investing billions to supply huge amounts of computing power to AI groups such as OpenAI
ft.com
New: Big Tech is spending billions on data centres in the US to train and deploy AI models. But these plans could fail due to a power bottleneck. w/ @financialtimes.com visual storytelling and energy colleagues. Full article: ig.ft.com/ai-power/
The power crunch threatening America’s AI ambitions
A lack of electricity for new data centres could deflate the AI ‘bubble’
ig.ft.com
FT Edit@ftedit.ft.com · 8mo agoBig Tech is spending billions on US data centres to fuel the AI race. But these grand plans face a problem: access to power. Estimates show the industry could be 40% short of the power it needs by 2028. Will this be the stumbling block that bursts the AI bubble? An #FTEdit 🧵on AI’s power problem 👇
I've been working with colleagues for several months to tell the story of Larry Ellison's institute in Oxford. It's a tale of grand vision and turbulent management. Please reach out on Signal at rafeuddin.01 or via email at rafe.uddin@ft.com if you have relevant information. on.ft.com/4pkBtF2
Larry Ellison scales back £10bn Oxford science institute in leadership rift
[FREE TO READ] Trump-supporting billionaire narrows EIT’s ambitions by cutting initiatives and tightening control
on.ft.com
Breaking news: Amazon’s cloud business was hit by an outage on Monday. Websites including Snapchat, Lloyds Bank and BT were all suffering from disruption www.ft.com/content/f9d1...
Salesforce boss Benioff walks back Trump praise after widespread backlash on.ft.com/4ojL2n0
Salesforce boss Benioff walks back Trump praise after widespread backlash
Venture capitalist Ron Conway resigns from board of company’s philanthropic arm in protest at comments
on.ft.com
NEW: Larry Ellison was back in the spotlight this week with Oracle hitching its wagon to OpenAI with a $300bn five-year deal. Can it deliver? Can the start-up afford it? Investors think so. Fun to help Richard Waters on the @financialtimes.com Person in the News. on.ft.com/46eLlIj
Larry Ellison, the tech world’s great survivor
[FREE TO READ] At 81, Oracle’s co-founder has reinvented himself as a power in AI to become (briefly) the richest person in the world
on.ft.com
NEW: Earlier this year the FT launched an investigation into UK City Minister Tulip Siddiq’s links to alleged embezzlement in Bangladesh. Our investigation contributed to her resignation, but also invited us to take a deeper look at the alleged looting of billions of dollars. on.ft.com/4pjqCMi
Bangladesh’s missing billions, stolen in plain sight | FT Film
[FREE TO READ] Over $200bn was allegedly plundered from Bangladesh during Sheikh Hasina’s time as prime minister
on.ft.com
I had a lot of fun dragging a cofounder to go and catch Cofounders the Musical. A show that reminds audiences that trillions of dollars in market cap runs on cringe. Column includes thoughts from show-backer Reid Hoffman and co-writer Ryan Nicole Austin.
Financial Times@financialtimes.com · 12mo agoSilicon Valley gets the ‘Hamilton’ treatment on.ft.com/4mC3k2s | opinion
NEW: During a hearing in London, Meta sought to block the disclosure of docs in a employment tribunal. Following a application by the FT, we were able to report claims Meta inflated its ad performance and bypassed Apple’s privacy rules. w/@mshannahmurphy.bsky.social on.ft.com/4mBbAQf
Meta inflated ad performance and bypassed Apple’s privacy rules, tribunal hears
[FREE TO READ] Former product manager alleges social media platform misled marketers in push for revenues
on.ft.com
New visual story: Inside the relentless race for AI capacity The quest for superintelligence is spurring a data centre boom — but critics question the cost, environmental impact and whether it is all needed ig.ft.com/ai-data-cent...
The FT's Visual Storytelling team has published the first part in a trilogy exploring the relentless race for AI capacity and the data centres at the heart of hundreds of billions of dollars in capital investment. It's a tale of breathless ambition: ig.ft.com/ai-data-cent...
Inside the relentless race for AI capacity
The quest for superintelligence is spurring a data centre boom — but critics question the cost, environmental impact and whether it is all needed
ig.ft.com
We've encouraged recent visitors to the FT's San Francisco bureau to hail a ride with Waymo. The experience is proving popular in the tech-forward city but how will robotaxis meaningfully scale across the globe? Story with @tim.fo and Stephen Morris on.ft.com/4lKMy0P
What will it take for robotaxis to go global?
[FREE TO READ] The concept has been proved, but scaling up services beyond a handful of cities will require tens of billions in new investment
on.ft.com
Uber agrees multibillion deal with Lucid for electric robotaxi fleet https://on.ft.com/3GTjvIZ
Uber agrees multibillion-dollar deal with Lucid for electric robotaxi fleet
Ride-hailing app to buy 20,000 EVs and invest $300mn in Lucid alongside partnership with self-driving start-up Nuro
on.ft.com
NEW: Google is expected to agree a discount deal with the General Services Administration over current cloud contracts. Amazon and Microsoft to follow suit as Trump presses Big Tech, according to a senior GSA official. Story with @joemillerjr.ft.com and Stephen Morris
Financial Times@financialtimes.com · last yr.Google to agree cloud discount as US government squeezes Big Tech https://on.ft.com/4lmv1M1
NEW: Amazon is discussing plans to invest billions more into AI start-up Anthropic as it tries to position itself ahead of Google and capitalise on Microsoft’s fraying OpenAI relationship. Story with @criddle.bsky.social and @georgehammond.bsky.social
Financial Times@financialtimes.com · last yr.Amazon weighs further investment in Anthropic to deepen AI alliance https://on.ft.com/44DBJ9n
NEW: Tony Blair's staff took part in a BCG project for the redevelopment of Gaza along the lines of the 'Trump Riviera' plan www.ft.com/content/0b1b...
Tony Blair’s staff took part in ‘Gaza Riviera’ project with BCG
Former UK prime minister’s institute participated in meetings on plan to turn shattered enclave into trading hub
ft.com
SCOOP! Sachin Duggal, founder and "chief wizard" of the now defunct tech unicorn Builder.ai, made $20mn from selling shares in the company Builder.ai collapsed last month, after raising half a billion dollars, when revenues had to be dramatically restated With @bondhack.ft.com on.ft.com/4k8t44A
Builder.ai ‘Chief Wizard’ Sachin Dev Duggal made $20mn in share sales
[FREE TO READ] Former chief executive of collapsed Microsoft-backed start-up also borrowed against holdings
on.ft.com
After months of reporting (and even my own attempt at a jiu jitsu class), my FT Magazine cover story on Mark Zuckerberg’s metamorphosis to red-blooded “Maga Mark” is out! Is this political expediency, a midlife crisis or who Zuck has been all along? on.ft.com/4nsoktx
How Mark Zuckerberg unleashed his inner brawler
[FREE TO READ] The boss’s transformation shocked liberals at Meta, but his closest allies say this is who he was all along
on.ft.com
EXC: Microsoft has considered walking away from talks with OpenAI over the future of their partnership, instead sitting on a favourable contract that runs until 2030. Story from @criddle.bsky.social, @tabbykinder.bsky.social and @georgehammond.bsky.social on.ft.com/3ZCHyCp
Microsoft prepared to walk away from high-stakes OpenAI talks
[FREE TO READ] ChatGPT maker’s plans to convert into a for-profit leads software giant to make contingency plans
on.ft.com
Barbie-maker Mattel partners with OpenAI to make artificial intelligence child’s play https://www.ft.com/content/7a9d0c47-5294-46b7-9d06-181654129d43
Barbie-maker Mattel partners with OpenAI to make artificial intelligence child’s play
Toymaker and tech group team up to ‘bring the magic of AI to age-appropriate play experiences’
ft.com
Oracle shares jump after upbeat forecast for cloud division https://www.ft.com/content/dadc5cbe-67a5-44c9-9b7b-5c23bf4e77ee
Oracle shares jump after upbeat forecast for cloud division
Chief says cloud infrastructure business was expected to grow more than 70% in the next fiscal year
ft.com
Microsoft to rank ‘safety’ of AI models sold to cloud customers https://www.ft.com/content/02f39b33-fa6e-4bb7-b1f4-8171b50738af
Microsoft to rank ‘safety’ of AI models sold to cloud customers
Tech group’s corporate clients use its ‘leaderboard’ to assess rival offerings by likes of OpenAI and Elon Musk’s xAI
ft.com
Uber looks to be readying for life after Dara Khosrowshahi, but one former executive tells the FT that they can't conceive of a business where he might hold the same amount of control.
Financial Times@financialtimes.com · last yr.Uber brings back chief operating officer role as Khosrowshahi loosens grip https://www.ft.com/content/753d15a8-5659-4869-a8c6-ca2da223bd25
FT Wealth is out in today’s paper, with a fresh redesign and fabulous stories, from India’s Instagram prince to the chances of a billionaire tax. You can read all the stories here too www.ft.com/ft-wealth
Humanoid robots spark debate about safety, form and function https://www.ft.com/content/02f72125-dbc9-451d-84f8-1dc9e8bfb8ee
Humanoid robots spark debate about safety, form and function
Demand for humanlike two-legged machines is growing fast
ft.com
This week various tech chiefs gathered on screen at Microsoft's Build dev conference in Seattle, reflecting how dependent they've become on a half-century-old software giant. The likes of Elon Musk, Sam Altman and Jensen Huang are relying on Microsoft to make AI work.
Financial Times@financialtimes.com · last yr.‘Microsoft is the AI ringleader’: tech rivals flock to software giant’s stage https://www.ft.com/content/9f6225c5-38e7-46a1-a920-e05a9a8df319
