What we’re reading (10/24)
“How Intel Got Left Behind In The A.I. Chip Boom” (New York Times). “In 2005, there was no inkling of the artificial intelligence boom that would come years later. But directors at Intel, whose chips served as electronic brains in most computers, faced a decision that might have altered how that transformative technology evolved. Paul Otellini, Intel’s chief executive at the time, presented the board with a startling idea: Buy Nvidia, a Silicon Valley upstart known for chips used for computer graphics. The price tag: as much as $20 billion…As [Intel’s’ valuation has sunk, some big tech companies and investment bankers have been considering what was once unthinkable: that Intel could be a potential acquisition target.”
“New ‘Call Of Duty’ Tests Microsoft’s $75 Billion Bet On Future Of Videogames” (Wall Street Journal). “The tech giant’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, the biggest deal in its history, was a wager on the future of how people will access and pay for videogames. Microsoft sought to position itself as a disrupter, believing the streaming revolution would migrate from television and film toward a growing, interactive medium with billions of rabid fans.”
“Capri Stock Craters 46% After Judge Blocks $8.5 billion Tapestry Deal” (Yahoo Finance). “Tapestry and Capri had announced their proposed merger last year. The combination would have brought together six high-profile fashion brands under one roof: Tapestry’s Coach, Stuart Weitzman, and Kate Spade with Capri’s Versace, Jimmy Choo, and Michael Kors.”
“Paul Singer Settles For Torturing Southwest CEO Rather Than Firing Him” (Dealbreaker). “Unlike former Starbucks CEO Laxman Narasimhan (and his outgoing chairman, Gary Kelly, who’s now stepping down next month as opposed to next year), Southwest Airlines CEO Robert Jordan gets to keep his job. This is because his board of directors, faced with a do-or-die showdown with activist hedge fund Elliott Management in early December at which Elliott would seek to fire eight of its members, at last—like so many others before it—recognized the folly of playing chicken with Elliott chief Paul Singer and gave him five seats. Whether Jordan will ultimately want to keep that job is another matter. Elliott has accused him of presiding ‘over a period of stunning underperformance’ and being ‘incapable of delivering on Southwest’s potential’[.]”
“Painting By AI Robot Ai-Da Could Bring More Than $120,000 At Sotheby’s” (The Art Newspaper). “Sotheby’s will sell its first work credited to a humanoid robot using artificial intelligence (AI) later this month. A.I. God. Portrait of Alan Turing (2024) was created by Ai-Da Robot, the artist robot and brainchild of Oxford gallerist Aidan Meller. ‘What makes this work of art different from other AI-generated works is that with Ai-Da there is a physical manifestation, and this is the first time a work from a robot of this type has ever come to auction,’ Meller told CBS MoneyWatch, which first reported the sale.”
