Micron stock jumps; OpenAI hit by lawsuit; British Lithium’s joint venture

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Micron up on earnings beat; Nvidia warns on ban

Micron Technology [MU] beat estimates when it reported earnings, with performance driven by higher demand for artificial intelligence (AI) memory chips. The company’s stock was up 3% in extended trading hours, but it cautioned that China’s ban on its chips was a major headwind. On a related note, Nvidia [NVDA] has warned that a US ban on semiconductor exports to China could have a lasting impact on the US chip sector.

Lawsuit claims OpenAI violated privacy laws

A suit has been filed against ChatGPT’s Microsoft [MSFT]-backed creator OpenAI, which it accuses of violating privacy laws to train its AI models; Microsoft was also named as a defendant. Elsewhere, OpenAI is to open its first corporate office outside the US in London. Founder Sam Altman met with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on a recent visit. AI start-up Typeface has raised $100m from backers including the investment arms of Salesforce [CRM] and Alphabet’s [GOOGL] Google.

Ad industry demands refunds from YouTube

Alphabet-owned streaming service YouTube is in hot water with advertisers, after analysis firm Adalytics found that millions of ads are hidden from users, breaching the platform’s policies. YouTube’s TrueView system, a core product, lets users skip an advert after five seconds. However, Adalytics found that on hundreds of thousands of websites the ads play imperceptibly in the background, and noted that ads by brands such as JPMorgan Chase [JPM] and Johnson & Johnson [JNJ] were affected.

Sanofi says new mRNA tech needed to fight flu

French drugmaker Sanofi [SAN.PA] has said that the mRNA technology behind Covid-19 vaccines will not work against influenza: its trials have shown that it is effective against A strains of the virus, but not against less common B strains. The company’s head of vaccines Thomas Triomphe told Reuters has said that it is already working on “the next generation of mRNA technology”. Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation is set to label aspartame, a sweetener widely used in fizzy drinks, as a possible carcinogen.

British Lithium partners with Imerys

French miner Imerys [NK.PA] and British Lithium are to set up a joint venture to exploit granite deposits in Cornwall, the largest lithium deposit in the UK. Together, the two companies hope to generate some 20,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate annually, reported the Financial Times; this will be enough for batteries for 500,000 electric cars. The project is set to cost around £575m.