Micron’s Shares Drop as Margin Forecast Dampens AI Prospects

/in /tarafından

Micron Technology’s shares dropped 8% on Friday after the company issued a disappointing margin forecast, overshadowing strong quarterly revenue expectations driven by growing demand for its semiconductors used in artificial intelligence applications.

Despite being one of only three major suppliers of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips for data-heavy AI tasks, Micron’s forecast for adjusted gross margin fell below expectations. The company cited lower pricing for consumer memory chips, particularly NAND flash, as a key factor affecting profitability. NAND flash memory chips, used in products like smartphones and personal computers, remain in oversupply due to aggressive buying during the pandemic, which has led to weak pricing.

Micron projected a third-quarter adjusted gross margin of around 36.5%, slightly below analysts’ forecast of 36.9%. This would represent a 3 percentage-point drop from the previous quarter. The company’s chief business officer, Sumit Sadana, acknowledged the ongoing challenges in the NAND market, with the oversupply continuing to put pressure on margins. Micron has also been reducing NAND production, which has led to underutilization and higher fixed costs per unit.

However, the company’s prospects in AI remain strong, with a forecasted revenue boost driven by high demand for its HBM chips, particularly from key players like Nvidia. Morningstar analysts highlighted HBM as a key growth driver for Micron, with AI and data center demand expected to continue.

OpenAI and Meta in Talks with Reliance for AI Partnerships

/in /tarafından

OpenAI and Meta Platforms have reportedly held separate discussions with India’s Reliance Industries regarding potential partnerships to expand their artificial intelligence offerings in the country, according to a report from The Information on Saturday.

One possibility under consideration involves a partnership between Reliance Jio and OpenAI to distribute ChatGPT in India. Additionally, OpenAI has reportedly discussed lowering the subscription price of ChatGPT to a few dollars per month, although it is unclear if this price reduction is part of the talks with Reliance.

Reliance Industries is also exploring selling OpenAI’s models to its enterprise customers via an application programming interface (API) and has discussed hosting and running OpenAI models locally to ensure data from Indian customers remains within the country. The conglomerate has expressed interest in using a planned three-gigawatt data center, which would be the largest in the world, located in Jamnagar, Gujarat, to run both OpenAI and Meta’s AI models.

Meta has declined to comment on the report, and neither OpenAI nor Reliance have provided immediate responses.

Reliance Industries, led by Mukesh Ambani, is one of India’s largest conglomerates, with operations spanning petrochemicals, refining, telecommunications, retail, and green energy.

Yahoo Sells TechCrunch to Regent Investment Firm

/in /tarafından

Yahoo has reached an agreement to sell its 20-year-old tech news website, TechCrunch, to media investment firm Regent. The deal, announced on Friday, marks a significant shift in the ownership of the popular platform, which provides news and analysis on global tech companies, startups, and entrepreneurs.

TechCrunch, which was previously part of Verizon Communications’ media assets, has been part of the broader portfolio that was acquired by private equity firm Apollo Global Management in 2021 for $5 billion. The assets were later rebranded under the Yahoo name. Regent, known for its recent expansion in the tech news space, also acquired Foundry, the parent company of notable publications such as PCWorld, Macworld, InfoWorld, CIO, and TechAdvisor.

While the financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed, the acquisition is expected to close in the coming weeks. Yahoo expressed confidence in TechCrunch’s future under Regent, noting that the firm’s involvement would help maintain the website’s influence and foster continued growth.

Yahoo continues to operate a range of popular news and service platforms, including Yahoo Finance, Yahoo Sports, and Engadget, as well as services like Yahoo Mail and Yahoo Search.