Here Come the Robots

Here Come the Robots 

Sweden-based Hexagon has unveiled Aeon, a humanoid robot built on Nvidia’s [NVDA] full robotics stack, designed for repetitive, labor-intensive tasks. Aeon improves over time by using real-world scans to create digital twins in Nvidia Omniverse, enabling continuous self-learning, Seeking Alpha detailed. It will be trialed over the next six months before its commercial roll-out; Hexagon has partnered with Nvidia, Microsoft [MSFT] and Maxon to support its commercialization. 

OpenAI Takes on Tech Giants

“I’ve heard that Meta [META] thinks of us as their biggest competitor,” said OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, accusing the firm of trying to lure his developers with $100m sign-on bonuses as it scrambles to close the artificial intelligence (AI) gap. Elsewhere, the Wall Street Journal reports OpenAI is weighing an antitrust complaint against major investor Microsoft, alleging it may be using its cloud dominance and contract terms to stifle competition, a move insiders call a “nuclear option.” 

Tech Giants Take on AI Legislation

Aiming to preempt the emergence of a patchwork of laws, Amazon [AMZN], Alphabet [GOOGL], Microsoft and Meta are pushing for a 10-year federal ban on US states regulating AI, according to the Financial Times. Lobbyists for the tech firms want the moratorium included in the Senate’s version of US President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful” budget bill. The proposal has divided both the AI industry and the Republican party.

MakeMyTrip to Take Back Control

India’s MakeMyTrip [MMYT] has priced a $1.25bn private offering of 0.00% convertible senior notes due 2030, with an option for an additional $187.5m. The notes convert at around $121.50/share — a 30% premium to recent prices, Seeking Alpha outlined. Net proceeds of up to $1.41bn will fund the repurchase of Class B shares from Trip.com [TCOM], reducing outside influence and potentially boosting shareholder control. OPTO recently detailed the prospects of this under-the-radar but compelling stock.

Amazon CEO: AI Means Job Cuts

“We will need fewer people doing some of the jobs that are being done today, and more people doing other types of jobs,” Andy Jassy, CEO of Amazon, wrote in a memo to staff earlier this week. “It’s hard to know exactly where this nets out over time, but in the next few years, we expect that this will reduce our total corporate workforce” — a rare admission from a tech boss that AI will equate to lay-offs, the Financial Timesreported. 

Can Liu Save JD.com?

JD.com [JD] founder Richard Liu pledged to accelerate global expansion and challenge Meituan [MPNGF] in sectors like food delivery and travel, calling it his boldest turnaround effort yet. At a rare press conference, Liu admitted the past five years were JD’s “least valuable”, as rivals like PDD Holdings [PDD] surged. He now sees future growth in leveraging JD’s logistics network to push into new services, Bloomberg reported.

Is Cisco Looking Attractive Right Now?

Deutsche Bank analysts have said this may be a good time to buy Cisco Systems [CSCO], citing a stronger earnings outlook and projected 7–8% EPS CAGR, and pointing to tailwinds from AI infrastructure, enterprise upgrades and sovereign IT spending. OPTO recently compared Cisco’s outlook to those of two major rivals in the booming HCI field: Nutanix [NTNX] and Broadcom [AVGO].