Google and “Fortnite” maker Epic agree to settlement over app store reforms

Google and “Fortnite” maker Epic Games have proposed a settlement to end their long-running app store dispute. The deal would let Android users more easily download third-party app stores and allow developers to use alternative payment methods both within apps and through external web links, with capped fees of 9% or 20%. After Epic won a 2023 jury trial, US District Judge James Donato issued an injunction ordering Google to open the Play app store to competition; the same judge must approve the new agreement.

Google proposes app store reforms in settlement with ‘Fortnite’ maker Epic Games

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Rani Molla46m

Dan Ives expects “overwhelming shareholder approval” of Tesla CEO pay package

Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives, like prediction markets, thinks Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s $1 trillion pay package will receive “overwhelming shareholder approval” at the company’s annual shareholder meeting Thursday afternoon. The Tesla bull, like the Tesla board, has maintained that approval of the performance-based pay package is integral to keeping Musk at the helm of the company, which in turn is integral to the success of the company. Ives is also confident that investors will back the proposal allowing Tesla to invest in another of Musk’s companies, xAI.

“We expect shareholders to show overwhelming support tomorrow for Musk and the xAI stake further turning Tesla into an AI juggernaut with the autonomous and robotics future on the horizon,” Ives wrote in a note this morning.

The compensation package has received pushback, including from Tesla’s sixth-biggest institutional investor, Norway’s Norges Bank Investment Management, and from proxy adviser Institutional Shareholder Services.

Rani Molla2h

Tesla has a new EV, robotaxi, humanoid robot, AI chip, and flying car competitor

An electric vehicle maker is not content to merely manufacture cars, but has far greater ambitions that involve robotaxis, humanoid robots, and even flying cars.

Sound familiar? It’s not Tesla.

Rather, Nasdaq-listed Chinese EV maker XPeng announced that next year it will launch three robotaxis made with in-house AI chips and begin mass production of its humanoid robots. It’s also developing a flying car — a concept Tesla CEO Elon Musk has only hinted at.

Tesla has been facing increased competition from Chinese automakers like XPeng and BYD, though neither can sell in the US — and neither has a Musk. Still, XPeng Co-President Brian Gu seems to share some of his gumption. “We didn’t want to be a traditional automaker or EV maker from the very beginning,” Gu said. “The future of cars is not electrification, but intelligence.”

Chinese EV maker Xpeng to launch robotaxis, humanoid robots with self-developed AI chips

Jon Keegan20h

Anthropic projections for 2028: Up to $70 billion in revenue, could be profitable by 2027

Anthropic’s Claude API business is doing so well with enterprise customers, the company is upping its revenue forecasts significantly. According to a report from The Information, the company’s robust corporate sales have caused it to revise its most optimistic forecast up to $70 billion in sales by 2028.

Anthropic estimates its API business will be double that of OpenAI’s API sales. OpenAI is currently burning through much more money per month than Anthropic, and reportedly expects to spend as much as $115 billion through 2029, while Anthropic is forecasting that it could be cash positive by 2027, per the report.

Anthropic Projects $70 Billion in Revenue, $17 Billion in Cash Flow in 2028

Rani Molla21h

Amazon, which is developing AI shopping agents, doesn’t want Perplexity’s AI shopping agents on its site

Amazon has sent a cease and desist letter to Perplexity AI, demanding that it stop letting its AI browser agent, Comet, make online purchases for users, Bloomberg reports.

Amazon, which is developing its own AI shopping agents and is having “conversations” with builders of third-party agents, accused the AI startup of “committing computer fraud by failing to disclose when its AI agent is shopping on a user’s behalf, in violation of Amazon’s terms of service.”

Perplexity, in response, said Amazon is attempting to “eliminate user rights” in order to sell more ads.

Amazon Demands Perplexity Stop AI Agent From Making Purchases

Perplexity, in response, said Amazon is attempting to “eliminate user rights” in order to sell more ads.

Jon Keegan21h

Apple to challenge Google Chromebooks with low-cost Mac laptop, Bloomberg reports

Apple is designing a new sub-$1,000 Mac laptop aimed at the education market, Bloomberg reports.

Google’s low-cost Chromebooks currently dominate the K-12 education market, and Apple’s reentry into the education market that it once owned could disrupt the sector’s status quo.

According to the report, Apple plans on using the custom mobile chips it currently uses in iPhones to power the more affordable devices.

Apple’s recent earnings demonstrated that iPhone sales have been steady, and the tech giant is looking to find new areas of growth, like services. A low-cost Mac could be popular with consumers, in addition to education buyers.

Apple Prepares to Enter Low-Cost Laptop Market for First Time

According to the report, Apple plans on using the custom mobile chips it currently uses in iPhones to power the more affordable devices.

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