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Apple CEO Tim Cook greets customers purchasing Apple’s new iPhone 15 during a launch event at the Fifth Avenue Apple Store on September 22, 2022 in New York City. 

Alexi Rosenfeld | Getty Images

Apple CEO Tim Cook opened the company’s Fifth Avenue store Friday in New York to celebrate the official release of the iPhone 15 lineup, the Apple Watch Series 9 and the Apple Watch Ultra 2.

Customers flocked to the store to get their hands on the new devices, and the line stretched around the corner of 58th Street from Fifth Avenue to Madison Avenue. One man told CNBC’s Steve Kovach that he had been waiting in line since 8 p.m. the night before. Cook unlocked the store and took selfies with people as they entered.

Apple announced its new devices at its annual launch event earlier this month, and preorders opened on Sept. 15. Analysts and investors are watching closely to see whether the new iPhones can reignite the global smartphone market, which is on track to hit a decade low this year, according to an August report from Counterpoint Research.

In a Thursday note, before the launch of the devices in stores, analysts at Bank of America wrote that ship dates for the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max models were extended but “somewhat lower” on average compared to the pre-order cycle last year.

Shares of Apple were up less than 1% Friday morning. The company did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.

The new iPhone 15 lineup starts at $799 and features a USB-C charging port and a new titanium exterior. CNBC’s Kif Leswing tested the two new Pro iPhones, which start at $999 and $1,199, and found that the titanium is a “huge upgrade” because it makes the phone feel much lighter.

Customers can purchase the new devices at their nearest Apple Store or online.

iPhone 15 goes on sale: Apple CEO Tim Cook opens Fifth Avenue Apple store

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Nvidia’s Huang says he’s surprised AMD offered 10% of the company in ‘clever’ OpenAI deal

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Nvidia's Huang says he's surprised AMD offered 10% of the company in 'clever' OpenAI deal

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang: Surprised AMD gave away 10% of the company in 'clever' OpenAI deal

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said Wednesday that he’s surprised Advanced Micro Devices offered 10% of itself to OpenAI as part of a multibillion-dollar partnership announced earlier this week.

“It’s imaginative, it’s unique and surprising, considering they were so excited about their next generation product,” Huang said in an interview with “CNBC’s Squawk Box.” “I’m surprised that they would give away 10% of the company before they even built it. And so anyhow, it’s clever, I guess.”

OpenAI and AMD reached a deal on Monday, with OpenAI committing to purchase 6 gigawatts worth of AMD chips over multiple years, including its forthcoming MI450 series. As part of the agreement, OpenAI will receive warrants for up to 160 million AMD shares, with vesting milestones based on deployment volume and AMD’s share price.

If OpenAI exercises the full warrant, the company could acquire roughly 10% ownership in AMD.

AMD shares have soared since the announcement and were up 5% Wednesday, rising a staggering 35% so far this week. Nvidia shares were nearly 3% higher on Wednesday following Huang’s comments.

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The deal challenges Nvidia’s dominance in the AI chip industry, a market where AMD has sought to catch up, alongside cloud providers which are developing their own chips.

Nvidia late last month announced it planned to invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI over the next decade. OpenAI agreed to build and deploy Nvidia systems that require 10 gigawatts of power, which Huang said at the time of the announcement is equal to between 4 million and 5 million graphics processing units (GPUs).

Huang said the investment is “very different” from OpenAI’s deal with AMD in that it allows Nvidia to sell directly to the ChatGPT creator.

Nvidia’s investment in OpenAI has underscored concerns about the “circular nature” of some AI infrastructure deals.

Asked how OpenAI will fund the deal with Nvidia, Huang said, “They don’t have the money yet.”

“They’re going to have to raise that money through, first of all, their revenues, which is growing exponentially, equity or debt,” Huang said. “They gave us the opportunity to invest alongside other investors when the time comes.”

Huang added that after Nvidia previously invested in OpenAI, his “only regret is that we didn’t invest more.”

Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, speaking on CNBC’s Squawk Box on Oct. 8th, 2025.

CNBC

Huang also confirmed Nvidia’s involvement in xAI’s latest funding round, in which Elon Musk’s AI startup is reportedly seeking to raise about $20 billion, according to Bloomberg. He said he’s “super excited” about the financing opportunity, adding that he wishes he could give Musk more money.

“Almost everything that Elon is part of, you really want to be part of as well,” Huang said.

Nvidia has also backed AI data center operator CoreWeave, which Huang said he considers one of several “terrific investments” made by the company recently.

“[They’re] really special companies, and they’re building, they’re part of our ecosystem building out the AI infrastructure for the world,” Huang said.

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Amazon launches prescription vending machines at One Medical clinics in Los Angeles

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Amazon launches prescription vending machines at One Medical clinics in Los Angeles

Amazon is launching prescription drug kiosks at some One Medical offices in Los Angeles, the company announced Wednesday, in a move that could disrupt brick-and-mortar pharmacy businesses.

The kiosks are operated by Amazon Pharmacy and work similar to a vending machine, disbursing prescriptions for patients “within minutes” of their doctor visit, the company said.

Each machine can stock hundreds of prescriptions, such as antibiotics, inhalers and blood pressure treatments, with inventory that’s tailored to specific locations.

“We know that when patients have to make an extra trip to the pharmacy after seeing their doctor, many prescriptions never get filled,” said Hannah McClellan, Amazon Pharmacy’s vice president of operations. “By bringing the pharmacy directly to the point of care, we’re removing a critical barrier and helping patients start their treatment when it matters most — right away.”

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The company is deploying its prescription vending kiosks as pharmacy chains, including Rite Aid, CVS and Walgreens, have struggled with falling drug margins. They also face growing competition for sales of higher-margin items like candy and paper towels from players such as Amazon and Walmart.

Rite Aid last week closed all of its remaining stores after more than 60 years in business, while Walgreens and CVS have also shuttered locations in recent years.

Amazon has for years worked to push deeper into multitrillion-dollar U.S. health-care industry, which is notoriously complex and inefficient.

The company in 2018 acquired online pharmacy PillPack for about $750 million, and launched its own offering two years later called Amazon Pharmacy. It then bought primary-care clinic One Medical in 2022 for $3.9 billion, the third-largest acquisition in its history. Amazon also experimented with its own telehealth service before shuttering it in 2022.

Earlier this year, Amazon restructured its health-care businesses into six units “to move faster and continue to innovate,” after a handful of top health executives departed, CNBC previously reported.

Amazon will start rolling out the kiosks at One Medical clinics in downtown LA, West LA, Beverly Hills, Long Beach and West Hollywood. The company said it expects to add more One Medical offices and other locations “soon after.”

“Over time, we see real potential for this technology to extend to other environments — anywhere quick access to medication can make a difference,” McClellan said in an email.

Amazon pharmacy kiosk.

Courtesy: Amazon

Before patients can use the kiosk, their provider must first send a prescription to Amazon Pharmacy, where it’s verified by one of the company’s pharmacists. Users complete their order in the Amazon app, then scan a QR code at the kiosk.

A remote pharmacist completes a final check of the order before the medication is dispensed, the company said. Patients can also speak with the pharmacist through the kiosk via video or phone call.

McClellan said the kiosks aren’t meant to replace pharmacists “but to bring their expertise closer to the point of care.”

“This model keeps pharmacists at the center of the care experience while expanding how and where they can support patients,” she added.

At launch, the kiosks won’t be available to telehealth patients, only those who receive in-person care at One Medical. Patients aren’t required to be a One Medical member to use the kiosks.

WATCH: Google and Amazon race to upgrade voice assistants with AI

Google and Amazon race to upgrade voice assistants with AI as OpenAI raises the stakes

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Anthropic to open first India office as rival OpenAI boosts presence in the country

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Anthropic to open first India office as rival OpenAI boosts presence in the country

Samuel Boivin | Nurphoto | Getty Images

Anthropic on Wednesday said it plans to open its first office in India, entering a market where artificial intelligence usage is growing and its rival OpenAI is already making headway.

The Amazon-backed AI firm, valued at $183 billion, said it plans to open an office in Bengaluru in early 2026. It will be the company’s second office in Asia after Tokyo, Japan.

Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, is visiting India this week to meet with public officials and enterprise partners, the company said.

AI adoption among both consumers and businesses is expected to ramp up quickly in India. More than 90% of workers in the county already use AI, according to Boston Consulting Group, marking the highest adoption in the world.

“India is compelling because of the scale of its technical talent and the commitment from the Indian government to ensure the benefits of artificial intelligence reach all areas of society, not just concentrated pockets,” Amodei said in a press release.

Anthropic said its focus in India will be deploying AI for “social impact” in sectors like education and healthcare, as well as “supporting key industries through strategic partnerships.”

Claude is Anthropic’s key product and challenger to OpenAI. Anthropic said it would launch “enhanced performance” in Hindi for Claude, as well as nearly a dozen other languages spoken in India. Anthropic said India currently ranks second in terms of Claude usage, behind the U.S.

The company’s expansion into India comes as rival OpenAI has stepped up its push into the country this year. OpenAI launched a low-cost subscription plan for its flagship ChatGPT product and is also reportedly planning to open an office in the country.

Anthropic has some catching up to do, however. Claude was downloaded 118,000 times in August in India, versus 10.3 million ChatGPT downloads and 6.4 million of Perplexity, according to analytics firm Appfigures.

The India push is part of a broader global expansion plan for Anthropic as it grows its international workforce and looks to onboard more enterprise customers.

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