Consumer Tech (Oct 12-16): Big Banks Reports Earnings, Anthropic Revenue Jumps 45% & More

President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom project donor list reportedly reveals companies and individuals linked to federal contracts, policy decisions, and a presidential pardon. President Donald Trump’s administration is reportedly planning to move three senior officials from the Commerce Department’s Center for Advancing Innovation and Standards for Super Intelligence (CAISSI) to the White House, after coordination problems with the department. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to visit the world’s largest oil refinery in India, owned by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, as diesel prices rise and economic concerns intensify ahead of the U.S. midterm elections. Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh declined to reveal whether policymakers will raise interest rates again in October, as central banks worldwide confront persistent inflation pressures. Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) warned that deceptive artificial intelligence-generated political advertisements could mislead voters and interfere with elections, urging Congress to address the growing threat through legislation. Software, Semiconductor & Technology NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) stock edged higher Friday after the utility company announced a 20-year power supply agreement with Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) to support its data center campus in northwest Indiana. Microsoft has reorganized its Azure cloud leadership and accelerated its custom AI silicon roadmap—scaling its in-house Maia chip to multi-gigawatt deployments by 2027—in a bid to sharpen its focus on artificial intelligence and tighten control over the infrastructure powering products like Copilot and OpenAI models. Arm Holdings plc (NASDAQ:ARM) stock came under pressure Friday as investors weighed a legal setback in its dispute with Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM), concerns over interest rates and profit-taking following a sharp rally. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. (NYSE:TSM) reported third-quarter revenue of $46.7 billion, up 16.2% sequentially and above the high end of its guidance. Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the Muse Spark AI model is now available as an open-weight model, highlighting its compatibility with Apple Inc.’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) latest Mac Studio and crediting CEO John Ternus. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the company was prepared to write a $100 billion to $200 billion check for its AI ambitions. Sandisk Corp‘s (NASDAQ:SNDK) has secured at least $93.9 billion in expected revenue through multi-year contracts, with financial guarantees designed to protect it if customers fail to meet their commitments. Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang says customers keep ordering more AI chips than the company can supply, even as a steep tech selloff raises doubts about how buyers will finance the industry’s enormous expansion. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) rolled out its Gemini 4 Argon model to developers, enterprises and paying subscribers, extending its AI offering across coding, accounting, legal and other business applications. ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) has secured higher prices for its most critical chipmaking equipment as the artificial intelligence boom strengthens its bargaining power with semiconductor manufacturers. ASML reported strong third-quarter 2026 results and raised the lower end of its full-year sales outlook as accelerating AI investment pushed customers to expand equipment plans. Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE:DELL) CEO Michael Dell warned that semiconductor shortages could worsen in 2027, suggesting memory supply constraints could persist for four years as AI demand outpaces manufacturing capacity. Demis Hassabis, co-founder and chair of Google DeepMind, warned that recent attacks involving AI agents may be early signals of more serious incidents unless companies and governments strengthen security controls. CoreWeave Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWV), backed by Nvidia, is pursuing insurance-industry capital as AI infrastructure expansion increasingly depends on debt financing. Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) announced an AI collaboration with NVIDIA focused on autonomous science. Fermi Inc. (NASDAQ:FRMI) announced a credit support agreement and broader partnership with Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD) to support its artificial intelligence infrastructure project in Texas. D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE:QBTS) and SkyWater Technology announced a multi-year agreement to extend their semiconductor manufacturing partnership and support D-Wave’s quantum computing technology roadmap. Cerebras Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:CBRS) faces more potential selling when up to 19.4 million more shares become eligible for sale on Wednesday under the AI chipmaker’s staggered IPO lock-up. Navitas Semiconductor Corp (NASDAQ:NVTS) shares are moving higher in Monday’s after-hours session after the company announced its latest power delivery board, developed in collaboration with Nvidia. IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) is betting that cybersecurity can become a bigger part of its quantum-computing business, but its $1.3 billion acquisition of Elisity comes with a cost that investors cannot ignore: new shares. Retail, Telecom, Smartphone & Entertainment Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) is under growing pressure to reignite growth and boost viewer engagement as it cuts 1,000 jobs, overhauls its content leadership and bets on YouTube creators to win back audiences. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) will begin accepting preorders for its new iPhone Duo on Friday, October 16, at 5 a.m. Pacific time, offering customers multiple paths to offset the device’s premium starting price of $1,999. Apple is reportedly planning to launch Apple Intelligence in China after two years of regulatory delays. However, Cupertino may leave out some of its biggest AI features. GameStop Corp. (NYSE:GME) CEO Ryan Cohen warned that humans could become so frustrated by increasingly capable machines that they attack robots, potentially triggering a man-versus-machine conflict that he speculated could even become World War III. Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) stock jumped on Thursday after the telecom equipment maker reported better-than-expected third-quarter earnings and revenue, driven by stronger mobile network demand and tighter cost controls. American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) announced Wednesday plans to invest approximately $4 billion in a 702-megawatt fuel cell power project near Cheyenne, Wyoming, to support Google. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew has cautioned users against granting artificial intelligence agents extensive permissions to their accounts and personal information without understanding the risks. Automobile, Spacecraft & Satellite Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ:SPCX) CEO Elon Musk praised Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang as the two companies deepen their collaboration on AI computers designed to operate in space. Space Exploration imposed a 100 mph (160 km/h) speed limit on its military-grade Starlink service in Ukraine early Wednesday, disrupting combat missions, according to a Ukrainian official. Elon Musk is pushing to bring Starlink to India, but rival Bharti Enterprises Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal says his satellite venture has been waiting years longer for final approvals and remains “significantly ahead” in the regulatory queue. Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) has officially unveiled the awaited Roadster high-performance vehicle, showing off the car’s hovering capabilities powered by thrusters from Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ:SPCX). Tesla CEO Elon Musk has highlighted China’s accelerating shift to electric vehicles as battery-powered cars and plug-in hybrids capture most new car sales, even as Chinese EV stocks tumble amid mounting industry pressure. Elon Musk warned that China will be "making a lot" of random-access memory (RAM) by 2028, amplifying concerns that a future chip glut could expose South Korea’s dependence on Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (OTC:SSNLF) and SK Hynix Inc. (NASDAQ:SKHY). Rocket Lab Corp. (NASDAQ:RKLB) pushed the first flight of its Neutron rocket into 2027 late Wednesday, citing a manufacturing flaw in a carbon-composite propellant dome on the first stage. The company expects to complete testing in the first quarter and set a launch date afterward. Lucid Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:LCID) is taking a new step into Europe’s luxury electric vehicle market, with France set to become a larger part of its retail strategy in 2027. Artificial Intelligence (AI), Data Center & Bitcoin Anthropic told prospective investors that its third-quarter revenue rose 45% sequentially to $16.8 billion, up from $11.6 billion in the second quarter and $4.7 billion in the first quarter, Reuters reported, citing attendees at the investor event. Anthropic’s employee-funded political action committee (PAC) spent more than $255,000 during the third quarter, dividing its contributions almost evenly between Republican and Democratic campaigns. Galaxy Digital Inc. (NASDAQ:GLXY) CEO Mike Novogratz warned that stopping the artificial intelligence data-center buildout would slow the U.S. economy, while saying a hypothetical “AI catastrophe” could send the Nasdaq crashing. Hyperscale Data, Inc. (AMEX:GPUS) shares traded higher Thursday after the company reported preliminary third-quarter revenue. Growth across crane operations, defense, lending and trading, and blockchain infrastructure software offset weaker Bitcoin mining revenue. Venture Global Inc. (NYSE:VG) announced Thursday that it has signed agreements with GE Vernova Inc. (NYSE:GEV) and Baker Hughes Company (NASDAQ:BKR) to expand its private power network and support future AI data center development. OpenAI faces mounting legal backlash after eight Republican-led states filed lawsuits alleging its ChatGPT models encouraged self-harm and other dangerous behavior, including providing “dangerous medical advice,” while accusing the company of misleading consumers about the chatbot’s safety and failing to implement adequate safeguards. America’s biggest banks want artificial intelligence to move money, serve customers and make operations more efficient. But as AI agents gain the ability to act on users’ behalf, JP Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon is drawing a line. Photo via Shutterstock