Reddit Stems the AI Tide
Reporting earlier this month, Reddit [RDDT] beat Q4 expectations with EPS of $1.24 versus $0.94 forecast and revenue of $726m versus $665m. Part of this growth is related to the fact that the site does not allow content generated by artificial intelligence (AI). “The internet has become a place that maybe isn’t all that human in authenticity, which was maybe the original promise… but Reddit has preserved that”, Jen Wong, Chief Operating Officer, told the BBC.
ByteDance Under Fire Over AI Video Tool
ByteDance is rushing to add safeguards to Seedance 2.0, the latest version of its AI video tool, after Disney [DIS] and Paramount Skydance [PSKY] sent cease-and-desist letters over alleged copyright infringement. Studios claim users were creating AI videos featuring characters like Spider-Man, Darth Vader and SpongeBob, with Disney accusing ByteDance of treating its IP as “free public domain clip art”, Ars Technicareported.
Seeking Alpha’s AI Hardware Picks
Seeking Alpha analysts argue AI’s real monetization bottleneck sits below applications, in infrastructure, memory and connectivity. Their preferred picks include IES Holdings [IESC] and Vertiv [VRT] for data center plumbing; Texas Instruments [TXN] and Analog Devices [ADI] for power management; Micron Technology [MU] for memory bandwidth; and Marvell Technology [MRVL] for high-speed networking at scale.
Are Fears of a SaaS-pocalypse Justified?
Many software-as-a-service (SaaS) and SaaS-related stocks have fallen since the launch of Claude Cowork, including the shares of private credit lenders that provide capital to SaaS companies. Some of the hardest-hit stocks include SaaS bellwethers Salesforce [CRM] (down 26.86% in the past month) and ServiceNow [NOW] (down 24.93%), as well as AI insurance firm Lemonade [LMND] (down 26.3%). On Foresight, OPTO asks if this is just a blip, or the start of a terminal decline.
Adani Wades into the AI Arms Race
Adani Group plans to invest $100bn by 2035 to build green, AI-ready data centers, aiming to position India as a global hub for AI and cloud computing, Bloomberg reported. Adani Enterprises [ADANIENT:NS] expects the move to catalyze a further $150bn in server manufacturing, electrical infrastructure and related sectors. This aligns with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision for a tech-forward India.
Strategy Projects Confidence Amid BTC Decline
Bitcoin-focused Strategy [MSTR] has reassured investors that it can weather any volatility in bitcoin [BTC]. “Strategy can withstand a drawdown in $BTC price to $8K and still have sufficient assets to fully cover our debt,” the firm said in a post on X seen by Seeking Alpha. Led by Michael Saylor, the firm holds 714,644 BTC, worth about $49.3bn at current prices; its shares are down nearly 60% over the past year.
CSCO Rides the AI Wave
Founded in 1984, Cisco [CSCO] made its name manufacturing and selling modems and routers during the dot-com bubble of the late 1990s and early 2000s. Now, as tech companies race to get a slice of the $600bn-plus AI infrastructure buildout pie, Cisco has set its sights high. With a new AI networking chip and quantum computing software in the works, OPTO examines if Cisco could be the tech darling of yesterday, today and tomorrow.
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