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Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov

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Russia on Tuesday issued words of caution to France over its detainment of Pavel Durov, the CEO and founder of messaging app Telegram, suggesting the move may be politically motivated.

On Saturday, the Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office issued a warrant for Durov’s arrest over an investigation opened on July 8 into organized crime, drug trafficking, fraud, and the distribution of pornographic images of minors on the platform.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on a Tuesday call with journalists urged Paris to provide evidence to support its allegations against Durov, Reuters and Russian state news agency TASS reported.

“The charges are very serious indeed,” Peskov told reporters, according to Reuters-translated comments. “They require a no less serious basis of evidence. Otherwise they will be a direct attempt to limit freedom of communication.”

Peskov suggested that Durov’s arrest could be viewed as both restricting freedom of speech and an act of intimidation if France fails to provide serious evidence of his guilt, Reuters and TASS reported.

Although born in Russia, Durov holds citizenship of France and the UAE. Peskov indicated that Russia still considers him a citizen, however, and that the country stands ready to support him with necessary assistance — although Peskov admitted the situation was complex.

On Tuesday, the UAE said in a statement it had submitted a request to French officials offering Durov diplomatic assistance “in an urgent manner,” and was “closely following the case.”

Durov, 39, is one of Russia’s most prominent technology billionaires. He founded Telegram in 2013, marketing it as an uncensored and neutral platform, accessible to people from all walks of life and views.

Durov is estimated to have a net worth of about $15.5 billion, according to Forbes, making him the world’s 121st wealthiest person.

Russia blocked access to Telegram in 2018 and has fined the company several times for failing to delete allegedly illegal content. In 2020, access to Telegram was restored in Russia, sparking speculation that Telegram could have ties to the Russian government — something that Telegram has denied.

The social media app, which counts 800 million users globally, is widely used in Russia, as well as in Ukraine. The app is used by government officials and the military on both sides of the Russia-Ukraine war.

Before he landed at France’s Le Bourget airport on his private jet, Durov had visited Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, according to several media outlets. CNBC was not able to independently confirm this.

There had been speculation that he was due to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, however Peskov told the BBC that a meeting never took place.

Russia’s warnings to France come as relations between the two nations remain sour amid Putin’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. In April, Macron — a key supporter of Ukraine among Western leaders — said there was a “risk our Europe could die” if it doesn’t make reforms to help it defend Ukraine.

“The principal danger for European security is the war in Ukraine,” Macron said during a speech at the time.

– CNBC’s Ying Shan Lee and Natasha Turak contributed to this report

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Amazon extends Prime Day to four days, starting July 8

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Amazon extends Prime Day to four days, starting July 8

An Amazon worker moves boxes on Amazon Prime Day in the East Village of New York City, July 11, 2023.

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Amazon is extending its Prime Day discount bonanza, announcing that the annual sale will run four days this year.

The 96-hour event will start at 12:01 a.m. PT on July 8, and continue through July 11, Amazon said in a release.

For the first time, the company will roll out themed “deal drops” that change daily and are available “while supplies last.” Amazon has in recent years toyed with adding more limited-run and invite-only deals during Prime Day events to create a feeling of urgency or scarcity.

Amazon launched Prime Day in 2015 as a way to secure new members for its $139-a-year loyalty program, and to promote its own products and services while providing a sales boost in the middle of the year. In 2019, the company made Prime Day a 48-hour event, and it’s since added a second Prime Day-like event in the fall.

Prime Day is also a significant revenue driver for other retailers, which often host competing discount events.

WATCH: How Amazon is using AI to revolutionize robotics

How Amazon is using AI to revolutionize robotics

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SK Hynix shares extend gains to over 2-decade highs as parent group reportedly plans AI data center

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SK Hynix shares extend gains to over 2-decade highs as parent group reportedly plans AI data center

Illustration of the SK Hynix company logo seen displayed on a smartphone screen.

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Shares in South Korea’s SK Hynix extended gains to hit a more than 2-decade high on Tuesday, following reports over the weekend that SK Group plans to build the country’s largest AI data center.

SK Hynix shares, which have surged almost 50% so far this year on the back of an AI boom, were up nearly 3%, following gains on Monday. 

The company’s parent, SK Group, plans to build the AI data center in partnership with Amazon Web Services in Ulsan, according to domestic media. SK Telecom and SK Broadband are reportedly leading the initiative, with support from other affiliates, including SK Hynix. 

SK Hynix is a leading supplier of dynamic random access memory or DRAM — a type of semiconductor memory found in PCs, workstations and servers that is used to store data and program code.

The company’s DRAM rival, Samsung, was also trading up 4% on Tuesday. However, it’s growth has fallen behind that of SK Hynix.

On Friday, Samsung Electronics’ market cap reportedly slid to a 9-year low of 345.1 trillion won ($252 billion) as the chipmaker struggles to capitalize on AI-led demand. 

SK Hynix, on the other hand, has become a leader in high bandwidth memory — a type of DRAM used in artificial intelligence servers — supplying to clients such as AI behemoth Nvidia. 

A report from Counterpoint Research in April said that SK Hynix had captured 70% of the HBM market by revenue share in the first quarter.

This HBM strength helped it overtake Samsung in the overall DRAM market for the first time ever, with a 36% global market share as compared to Samsung’s 34%. 

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OpenAI wins $200 million U.S. defense contract

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OpenAI wins 0 million U.S. defense contract

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman speaks during the Snowflake Summit in San Francisco on June 2, 2025.

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OpenAI has been awarded a $200 million contract to provide the U.S. Defense Department with artificial intelligence tools.

The department announced the one-year contract on Monday, months after OpenAI said it would collaborate with defense technology startup Anduril to deploy advanced AI systems for “national security missions.”

“Under this award, the performer will develop prototype frontier AI capabilities to address critical national security challenges in both warfighting and enterprise domains,” the Defense Department said. It’s the first contract with OpenAI listed on the Department of Defense’s website.

Anduril received a $100 million defense contract in December. Weeks earlier, OpenAI rival Anthropic said it would work with Palantir and Amazon to supply its AI models to U.S. defense and intelligence agencies.

Sam Altman, OpenAI’s co-founder and CEO, said in a discussion with OpenAI board member and former National Security Agency leader Paul Nakasone at a Vanderbilt University event in April that “we have to and are proud to and really want to engage in national security areas.”

OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Defense Department specified that the contract is with OpenAI Public Sector LLC, and that the work will mostly occur in the National Capital Region, which encompasses Washington, D.C., and several nearby counties in Maryland and Virginia.

Meanwhile, OpenAI is working to build additional computing power in the U.S. In January, Altman appeared alongside President Donald Trump at the White House to announce the $500 billion Stargate project to build AI infrastructure in the U.S.

The new contract will represent a small portion of revenue at OpenAI, which is generating over $10 billion in annualized sales. In March, the company announced a $40 billion financing round at a $300 billion valuation.

In April, Microsoft, which supplies cloud infrastructure to OpenAI, said the U.S. Defense Information Systems Agency has authorized the use of the Azure OpenAI service with secret classified information. 

WATCH: OpenAI hits $10 billion in annual recurring revenue

OpenAI hits $10 billion in annual recurring revenue

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