Dr. Robot

Dr. Robot

Alibaba-linked [BABA] fintech titan Ant Group yesterday unveiled its new humanoid robot, the R1. Designed by the firm’s Shanghai Ant Lingbo Technology unit, also known as Robbyant, R1 is able to deal with end-to-end planning of complex tasks, Seeking Alpha detailed, meaning it can work as a tour guide, sort medicine in pharmacies, carry out basic culinary tasks and even provide medical advice. 

Buy Klarna Now, Profit Later?

Klarna’s [KLAR] shares jumped on their US debut earlier this week, valuing the Swedish buy-now, pay-later lender at over $19bn. The year’s biggest IPO so far raised $1.37bn at $40 a share, with CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski calling it “fuel” for further global expansion. Founded in 2005, Klarna has 93 million users across 26 countries and handled $105bn in transactions last year. 

New Crypto Vehicle on the Cards

Avalanche Foundation, which is behind the blockchain used by BlackRock [BLK] and Visa [V], is in talks to launch two US crypto-treasury vehicles, aiming to raise $1bn, the Financial Times reported. The funds will be used to purchase millions of Avax, the cryptocurrency associated with the Avalanche ledger. Avalanche is being tested by firms like Apollo [APO] and Wellington, though Avax has lagged behind the gains seen in Ethereum and Solana-linked tokens.

Oracle Earnings Review: a “Historic” Q1

The top-line news was underwhelming. Revenue of $14.93bn was lower than analysts’ consensus of $15.04bn, while EPS came in $1.47, slightly lower than the $1.48 consensus. Nevertheless, revenue was up approximately 12% year-over-year, while multi-cloud database revenue from hyperscalers Amazon, Alphabet’s [GOOGL] Google and Microsoft soared by 1,529%. For more detail, head over to OPTO’s analysis on Foresight.

Nebius Debt Offering

The artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure firm [NBIS] has priced a private debt offering worth $2.75bn, which includes $1.375bn of 1.00% notes due 2030 and $1.375bn of 2.75% notes due 2032. The offering comes alongside a separate $1bn public offering of Class A shares. Net proceeds from the offerings are expected to fund the purchase of compute power, hardware and land following the company’s five-year, $17.4bn AI infrastructure agreement with Microsoft [MSFT].

Ellison Surfs the AI Tsunami

Oracle’s [ORCL] co-founder benefitted from record share prices following Q1 2026 earnings to briefly become the world’s richest man on Wednesday. The software veteran is positioning itself to compete with giants such as Amazon [AMZN] and Microsoft for data center contracts. Regarding the impact of AI, Ellison said on the earnings call that “not everyone fully grasps the extent of the tsunami that is approaching”.

Zscaler is a Trailblazer, But How Long Can It Stay Ahead?

Zscaler [ZS] reported Q4 and FY 2025 earnings on September 2. The company reported revenues of $719.23m for the quarter, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.84% and up from $592.87m a year earlier, marking the fourth quarter in a row in which it surpassed revenue forecasts. OPTO reflects on how — through a pivot from a firewall vendor to a full-stack, AI-powered cyber security provider — Zscaler is leading the evolution of the sector.