Connect with us

Published

on

 U.S. President-elect Donald Trump smiles at the crowd during the National Guard Association of the United States’ 146th General Conference & Exhibition at Huntington Place Convention Center on Aug. 26, 2024 in Detroit, Michigan.

Emily Elconin | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos have a particularly sketchy past with President-elect Donald Trump. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is in a heated legal battle with Elon Musk, who became one of Trump’s biggest backers and is poised to have an outsized role in his second administration.

That all helps explain announcements this week regarding donations to Trump’s inauguration fund.

“President Trump will lead our country into the age of AI, and I am eager to support his efforts to ensure America stays ahead,” Altman said in a statement Friday. Altman said he’s planning to make a personal donation of $1 million to the fund, the company confirmed.

Meta donated $1 million to the inauguration, the company confirmed to CNBC, weeks after Zuckerberg dined with Trump privately at his Mar-a-Lago resort. Amazon is also planning to donate $1 million, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.

Trump has been a vocal critic of tech companies, and he signaled earlier this month that he won’t shy away from antitrust enforcement. The incoming president nominated Gail Slater, who advised Trump on tech policy during his first term, to head the Department of Justice’s antitrust arm.

“Big Tech has run wild for years, stifling competition in our most innovative sector and, as we all know, using its market power to crack down on the rights of so many Americans, as well as those of Little Tech!” Trump wrote in a Dec. 4 post on Truth Social announcing Slater’s nomination. “I was proud to fight these abuses in my First Term, and our Department of Justice’s antitrust team will continue that work under Gail’s leadership.”

Some of Trump’s most hostile words in the past have been directed at Amazon and Meta.

In his first term, Trump repeatedly attacked Bezos and his companies, Amazon and The Washington Post, accusing them of dodging taxes or publishing “fake news,” among other things. Trump also repeatedly pointed the finger at Amazon for its use of the U.S. Postal Service to deliver packages to customers, claiming the company contributed to the post office’s budget problems.

The animosity went both ways. In 2019, Amazon blamed Trump’s “behind-the-scenes attacks” against the company for its loss of a multibillion-dollar Department of Defense contract, then called JEDI. And prior to the 2016 election, Bezos criticized Trump’s behavior, saying it “erodes our democracy.” After the then-Republican candidate accused Bezos of using the Post as a “tax shelter,” Bezos, who also owns the Blue Origin space company, in a tweet offered to send Trump into space on one of his rockets.

Blue Origin competes for government contracts with Musk’s SpaceX.

Jeff Bezos: Blue Origin could be best business I've been involved in

At The New York Times’ DealBook Summit on Dec. 4, Bezos said he expects a more friendly regulatory environment in the upcoming administration.

“I’m actually very optimistic this time around,” Bezos said on stage. “He seems to have a lot of energy around reducing regulation. If I can help do that, I’m going to help him.”

Trump has called Bezos “Jeff Bozo.” His preferred nickname for the Meta CEO is “Zuckerschmuck.”

Following Trump’s loss in the 2020 election, he sued FacebookTwitter and Google, as well as their respective CEOs in class-action lawsuits. All three companies booted Trump’s accounts from platforms after the Jan. 6, 2021, riots at the Capitol.

Trump has long accused Facebook of silencing conservative voices. In March, he called the platform “the enemy of the people along with a lot of the media,” in an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”

Now that Trump is heading back to the White House and has been cozying up with Musk, the rest of the tech sector seems keen on currying favor. Apple CEO Tim Cook, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Google CEO Sundar Pichai and others all publicly congratulated Trump following his victory in November.

Microsoft declined to comment on whether it’s contributing to the inauguration. Representatives from Apple and Google didn’t immediately respond to CNBC’s requests for comment.

For OpenAI and Altman, the concerns are a bit different. Altman and Musk were co-founders of OpenAI, which initially was a nonprofit. The two have since publicly split, with Altman remaining as CEO of OpenAI and Musk starting a rival artificial intelligence company called xAI.

In March, Musk sued OpenAI — and co-founders Altman and Greg Brockman — alleging breach of contract and fiduciary duty. He claimed the project had been transformed into a for-profit entity that’s largely controlled by principal shareholder Microsoft, and is suing to thwart the change in structure.

OpenAI clapped back on Friday, claiming in a blog post titled “Elon Musk wanted an OpenAI for-profit,” that in 2017 Musk “not only wanted, but actually created, a for-profit” to serve as the company’s proposed new structure.

Altman’s coming concern is that Musk spent more than $250 million to help boost Trump’s campaign, and is now poised to help lead the “Department of Government Efficiency.” In that role, Musk could influence how AI is regulated in ways that favor his businesses.

On Dec. 5, Trump announced that venture investor and podcaster David Sacks, a friend of Musk’s, will join the Trump administration as the “White House A.I. & Crypto Czar.”

WATCH: Trump’s Cabinet will have more billionaires than any in history

President-elect Trump's cabinet to have more billionaires than any in history

Continue Reading

Technology

Amazon faces FAA probe after delivery drone snaps internet cable in Texas

Published

on

By

Amazon faces FAA probe after delivery drone snaps internet cable in Texas

Amazon’s new MK30 Prime Air drone is displayed during Amazon’s “Delivering the Future” event at the company’s BFI1 Fulfillment Center, Robotics Research and Development Hub in Sumner, Washington on Oct. 18, 2023.

Jason Redmond | AFP | Getty Images

Amazon is facing a federal probe after one of its delivery drones downed an internet cable in central Texas last week.

The probe comes as Amazon vies to expand drone deliveries to more pockets of the U.S., more than a decade after it first conceived the aerial distribution program, and faces stiffer competition from Walmart, which has also begun drone deliveries.

The incident occurred on Nov. 18 around 12:45 p.m. Central in Waco, Texas. After dropping off a package, one of Amazon’s MK30 drones was ascending out of a customer’s yard when one of its six propellers got tangled in a nearby internet cable, according to a video of the incident viewed and verified by CNBC.

The video shows the Amazon drone shearing the wire line. The drone’s motor then appeared to shut off and the aircraft landed itself, with its propellers windmilling slightly on the way down, the video shows. The drone appeared to remain in tact beyond some damage to one of its propellers.

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the incident, a spokesperson confirmed. The National Transportation Safety Board said the agency is aware of the incident but has not opened a probe into the matter.

Amazon confirmed the incident to CNBC, saying that after clipping the internet cable, the drone performed a “safe contingent landing,” referring to the process that allows its drones to land safely in unexpected conditions.

“There were no injuries or widespread internet service outages. We’ve paid for the cable line’s repair for the customer and have apologized for the inconvenience this caused them,” an Amazon spokesperson told CNBC, noting that the drone had completed its package delivery.

Amazon delivery drone snaps internet cable in Texas

The incident comes after federal investigators last month opened a separate probe into a crash involving two of Amazon’s Prime Air drones in Arizona. The two aircrafts collided with a construction crane in Tolleson, a city west of Phoenix, prompting Amazon to temporarily halt drone deliveries in the area.

For over a decade, Amazon has been working to realize founder Jeff Bezos’ vision of drones whizzing toothpaste, books and other goods to customers’ doorsteps in 30 minutes or less. The company began drone deliveries in 2022 in College Station, Texas, and Lockeford, California.

But progress has been slowed by a mix of regulatory hurdles, missed deadlines and layoffs in 2023 that coincided with broader cost-cutting efforts by Amazon CEO Andy Jassy.

The company has previously said its goal is to deliver 500 million packages by drone per year by the end of the decade.

The hexacopter-shaped MK30, the latest generation of Amazon’s Prime Air drone, is meant to be quieter, smaller and lighter than previous versions.

Amazon says the drones are equipped with a sense-and-avoid system that enables them to “detect and stay away from obstacles in the air and on the ground.” The company recommends that customers maintain “about 10 feet of open space” on their property so drones can complete deliveries

The company began drone deliveries in Waco earlier this month for customers within a certain radius of its same-day delivery site who order eligible items weighing 5 pounds or less. The drone deliveries are supposed to drop packages off in under an hour.

Amazon has brought other locations online in recent months, including Kansas City, Missouri, Pontiac, Michigan, San Antonio, Texas, and Ruskin, Florida. Amazon has also announced plans to expand drone deliveries to Richardson, Texas.

Walmart began offering drone deliveries in 2021, and currently partners with Alphabet’s Wing and venture-backed startup Zipline to make drone deliveries in a number of states, including in Texas.

WATCH: Amazon unveils satellite terminal for enterprise customers — but Starlink still dominates

Amazon unveils satellite terminal for enterprise customers — but Starlink still dominates

Continue Reading

Technology

CNBC Daily Open: Nvidia’s crown looks increasingly uneasy on its head

Published

on

By

CNBC Daily Open: Nvidia's crown looks increasingly uneasy on its head

Jensen Huang, chief executive officer of Nvidia Corp., during the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) sports day event in Hsinchu, Taiwan, on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025.

Lam Yik Fei | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.

Shares of artificial intelligence czar Nvidia fell 2.6% on Tuesday as signs of unrest continued rippling through its kingdom.

Over the month, Nvidia has been contending with concerns over lofty valuations and an argument from the “The Big Short” investor Michael Burry that companies may be overestimating the lifespan of Nvidia’s chips. That accounting choice inflates profits, he alleged.

The pressure intensified last week in the form of a potential challenger to the crown. Google on Nov. 18 announced the release of its new AI model Gemini 3 — so far so good, given that Nvidia isn’t in the business of designing large language models  — powered by its in-house AI chips — uhoh.

And on Monday stateside, Meta, a potential kingmaker, appeared to signal that it is considering not just leasing Google’s custom AI chips, but also using them for its own data centers. It seemed like Nvidia felt the need to address some of those rumblings.

The chipmaker said on the social media platform X that its technology is more powerful and versatile than other types of AI chips, including the so-called ASIC chips, such as Google’s TPUs. Separately, Nvidia issued a private memo to Wall Street that disputed Burry’s allegations.

Power, whether in politics or semiconductors, requires a delicate balance.

Remaining silent may shroud those in power in a cloak of untouchability, projecting confidence in their authority — but also aloofness. Deigning to address unrest can soothe uncertainty, but also, paradoxically, signal insecurity.

For now, the crown is Nvidia’s to wear — and the weight of it is, too.

What you need to know today

And finally…

Lights on in skyscrapers and commercial buildings on the skyline of the City of London, UK, on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025. U.K. business chiefs urged Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves to ease energy costs and avoid raising the tax burden on corporate Britain as she prepares this year’s budget.

Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images

The UK’s Autumn Budget is coming

The run-up to this year’s U.K. Autumn Budget has been different from the norm because so many different tax proposals have been floated, flagged, leaked and retracted in the weeks and months leading up to Wednesday’s statement.

It has also made it harder to gauge what we’re actually going to get when Finance Minister Rachel Reeves finally unveils her spending and taxation plans for the year ahead.

— Holly Ellyatt

Continue Reading

Technology

Workday stock slips on light quarterly margin guidance

Published

on

By

Workday stock slips on light quarterly margin guidance

Workday CEO Carl Eschenbach, right, walks to the morning session during the Allen & Co. Media and Technology Conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, on July 11, 2025.

David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Workday shares slid more than 5% in extended trading Tuesday after the finance and human resources software maker issued quarterly margin guidance that came in below Wall Street projections.

Here’s how the company did in comparison with LSEG consensus:

  • Earnings per share: $2.32 adjusted vs. $2.18 expected
  • Revenue: $2.43 billion vs. $2.42 billion expected

The company forecast a fourth-quarter adjusted operating margin of at least 28.5% and $2.355 billion in subscription revenue, according to a statement. The StreetAccount consensus was a 28.7% margin and $2.35 billion in subscription revenue.

Workday’s revenue grew about 13% year over year in the quarter, which ended on Oct. 31. Net income of $252 million, or 94 cents per share, was up from $193 million, or 72 cents per share, in the same quarter a year ago.

Subscription revenue in the third quarter totaled $2.24 billion, with an adjusted operating margin of 28.5%. Analysts polled by StreetAccount had anticipated $2.24 billion in subscription revenue and a 28.1% margin.

During the fiscal third quarter, Workday announced artificial intelligence agents for analyzing employee performance testing financial health, and the company revealed plans to buy AI and learning software startup Sana for $1.1 billion. Also, activist investor Elliott Management said it had built a Workday stake worth over $2 billion.

Workday has seen its stock decline this year as pundits discuss the risk of generative AI tools threatening the growth prospects for cloud software incumbents. Company shares have fallen 9% so far in 2025, while the Nasdaq Composite index has gained 19%.

WATCH: Workday CEO Carl Eschenbach: There’s a narrative that AI is eating into software, that is false

Workday CEO Carl Eschenbach: There's a narrative that AI is eating into software, that is false

Continue Reading

Trending