Meta approached artificial intelligence startup Perplexity AI about a potential takeover bid before ultimately investing $14.3 billion into Scale AI, CNBC confirmed on Friday.
The two companies did not finalize a deal, according to two people familiar with the matter who asked not to be named because of the confidential nature of the negotiations.
One person familiar with the talks said it was “mutually dissolved,” while another person familiar with the matter said Perplexity walked away from a potential deal.
Bloomberg earlier reported the talks between Meta and Perplexity. Perplexity declined to comment. Meta did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
Meta’s attempt to purchase Perplexity serves as the latest example of Mark Zuckerberg‘s aggressive push to bolster his company’s AI efforts amid fierce competition from OpenAI and Google parent Alphabet. Zuckerberg has grown agitated that rivals like OpenAI appear to be ahead in both underlying AI models and consumer-facing apps, and he is going to extreme lengths to hire top AI talent, as CNBC has previously reported.
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Meta now has a 49% stake in Scale after its multibillion-dollar investment, though the social media company will not have any voting power. Scale AI’s founder Alexandr Wang, along with a small number of other Scale employees, will join Meta as part of the agreement.
Earlier this year, Meta also tried to acquire Safe Superintelligence, which was reportedly valued at $32 billion in a fundraising round in April, as CNBC reported on Thursday.
Daniel Gross, the CEO of Safe Superintelligence, and former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman are joining Meta’s AI efforts, where they will work on products under Wang. Gross runs a venture capital firm with Friedman called NFDG, their combined initials, and Meta will get a stake in the firm.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said on the latest episode of the “Uncapped” podcast, which is hosted by his brother, that Meta had tried to poach OpenAI employees by offering signing bonuses as high as $100 million with even larger annual compensation packages.
“I’ve heard that Meta thinks of us as their biggest competitor,” Altman said on the podcast. “Their current AI efforts have not worked as well as they have hoped and I respect being aggressive and continuing to try new things.”
Super Micro Computer shares slid 15% in extended trading on Tuesday after the server maker reported disappointing fiscal fourth-quarter results and issued weak quarterly earnings guidance.
Here’s how the company did in comparison with LSEG consensus:
Earnings per share: 41 cents adjusted vs. 44 cents expected
Revenue: $5.76 billion vs. $5.89 billion expected
Super Micro’s revenue increased 7.5% during the quarter, which ended on June 30, according to a statement.
For the current quarter, Super Micro called for 40 cents to 52 cents in adjusted earnings per share on $6 billion to $7 billion in revenue for the fiscal first quarter. Analysts surveyed by LSEG were looking for 59 cents per share and $6.6 billion in revenue.
For the 2026 fiscal year, Super Micro sees at least $33 billion in revenue, above the LSEG consensus of $29.94 billion.
Super Micro saw surging demand starting in 2023 for its data center servers packed with Nvidia for handling artificial intelligence models and workloads. Growth has since slowed.
The company avoided being delisted from the Nasdaq after falling behind on quarterly financial filings and seeing the departure of its auditor.
As of Tuesday’s close, Super Micro shares were up around 88% so far in 2025, while the S&P 500 index has gained 7%.
Executives will discuss the results on a conference call starting at 5 p.m. ET.
Hinge Health co-founders, Gabriel Mecklenburg and Daniel Perez celebrate its initial public offering at the New York Stock Exchange on May 22, 2025.
NYSE
Shares of Hinge Health popped 6% in extended trading on Tuesday after the digital physical therapy company reported quarterly results for the first time since its debut on the New York Stock Exchange in May.
Here’s how the company did based on average analysts’ estimates compiled by LSEG:
Loss: Loss per share of $13.10. That may not compare with the 9 cents per share earnings expected
Revenue: $139 million vs. $125 million expected
Revenue at Hinge increased 55% in the second quarter from $89.8 million during the same period last year, according to a release.
Hinge reported a net loss of $575.65 million, or $13.10 per share, compared to a loss of $12.93 million, a loss of 96 cents per share, during the same period a year earlier. The company said its GAAP loss from operations was $580.7 million, which included $591.0 million from stock-based compensation expenses.
“We’re still introducing ourselves to the world,” Hinge CEO Daniel Perez told CNBC in an interview on Tuesday. “The most important thing I’d hope for people to take away is the long-term potential of using software and connected hardware to automate care delivery itself.”
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Hinge, founded in 2014, uses software to help patients treat acute musculoskeletal injuries, chronic pain and carry out post-surgery rehabilitation remotely.
It finished the second quarter with 2,359 clients, up 39% from 1,785 clients during the same period last year.
Hinge said it expects to report revenue between $141 million and $143 million during its third quarter. LSEG analysts were expecting $129 million. For the full year, the company said it expects revenue of $548 million to $552 million, which also beat the $511 million expected by LSEG analysts.
The stock opened at $39.25 in May, rising 23% from its $32 IPO price. Shares of Hinge closed at $48.22 on Tuesday.
“We believe we’re fundamentally reshaping how care can be delivered more effectively and efficiently,” Perez said during the company’s quarterly call with investors.
Lisa Su, CEO of Advanced Micro Devices, and Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, testifiy during the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee hearing titled “Winning the AI Race: Strengthening U.S. Capabilities in Computing and Innovation,” in Hart building on Thursday, May 8, 2025.
Tom Williams | CQ-Roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images
Advanced Micro Devices reported quarter earnings on Tuesday that missed estimates. The stock slid about 4% in extended trading.
Here’s how the chipmaker did versus LSEG expectations for the quarter ended June:
Earnings per share: 48 cents adjusted versus 49 cents expected
Revenue: $7.69 billion versus $7.42 billion expected
For the current quarter, AMD expects sales of $8.7 billion, plus or minus $300 million, versus expectations of earnings of $8.3 billion.
AMD reported net income during its fiscal second quarter of $872 million, or 54 cents per share, increasing from $265 million, or 16 cents per share in the year-ago period. Nvidia’s overall sales rose 32% in the period from $5.84 billion a year earlier.
AMD is the second-biggest maker of graphics processing units (GPUs) for artificial intelligence behind Nvidia, which has the vast majority of the market. But big AI customers such as Meta and OpenAI are increasingly looking to AMD to provide an alternative to Nvidia’s pricey chips, especially for inference, or when AI models are deployed to the public.
During the quarter, AMD announced new AI chips called the MI400 that are expected to hit the market next year. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman committed to using AMD’s newest GPUs.
AMD is also grappling with chip export controls which have been placed on some of its AI chips because the U.S. government worries that powerful GPUs could be used by adversaries to surpass American capabilities or be used for military purposes.
The MI308 was previously barred for export to China in April, which the company said cost it $800 million in the June quarter. However, the company said in July that it expected shipments to resume after the Trump administration signaled that it would approve waivers. AMD said its outlook doesn’t include any revenue from its China-focused AI chip called the MI308 and its license applications are currently being reviewed by the Department of Commerce.
AMD’s adjusted gross margin during the quarter was 43%. The company said it would have been 54% if not for export control costs.
AMD’s main business, aside from GPUs, is making central processors, called CPUs, which compete with Intel to power more traditional servers.
Both are reported in the company’s data center segment, which had $3.2 billion in revenue, up 14% on an annual basis.
The other major segment for AMD is called Client and Gaming, which includes the company’s CPUs for laptops and desktops, and its GPUs for 3D gaming. That was up 69% on an annual basis to $3.6 billion. Client revenue by itself rose 57% to $2.5 billion, in line with the StreetAccount expectations of $2.56 billion, partially driven by strong demand for the company’s latest desktop CPUs, which it calls AMD Ryzen Zen 5.
Gaming revenue by itself was up 73% year-over-year to $1.1 billion, versus StreetAccount estimate of $784 million, with its growth due to increased demand for custom chips for game consoles and gaming GPUs, AMD said.