tech

Rani Molla1/13/26

Google reaches record high and crosses $4 trillion market cap after major wins for Gemini

Google parent Alphabet closed yesterday at a record-high stock price of $331.86, giving the company a market capitalization just above $4 trillion, as investors reward a string of wins for its Gemini AI model, including high-profile partnerships with Apple and Walmart.

After months of speculation, Apple announced a multiyear partnership to use Gemini to power its AI assistant, Siri, a major endorsement of Google’s AI prowess. That same day, Walmart said it would partner with Google to let customers purchase products directly through the Gemini chatbot, a move that would put Gemini in front of millions of Walmart shoppers and test whether AI chatbots can drive real commerce at scale rather than isolated queries. (Amazon, OpenAI, and Microsoft are experimenting with similar AI shopping tools.)

The stock is up nearly 1% again in premarket trading today. While Microsoft and Apple have both crossed $4 trillion in the past, they’ve since dipped below it, leaving Google and Nvidia as the only companies currently valued above the threshold.

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OpenAI reportedly delaying erotica feature to focus on “gains in intelligence”

OpenAI is delaying its planned “adult mode,” as it seeks to shore up ChatGPT’s core capabilities before the chatbot can generate erotic content.

A source within OpenAI told tech news site Sources that the company will miss its Q1 target for launching the feature:

“We’re pushing out the launch of adult mode so we can focus on work that is a higher priority for more users right now, including gains in intelligence, personality improvements, personalization, and making the experience more proactive.”

The company said it still believes in “treating adults like adults,” but said it wants to get the experience right. OpenAI has been testing user age estimation technology ahead of the planned release.

Liz Reid on where Google Search ends and Gemini begins

Liz Reid on where Google Search ends and Gemini begins

“We’re pushing out the launch of adult mode so we can focus on work that is a higher priority for more users right now, including gains in intelligence, personality improvements, personalization, and making the experience more proactive.”

The company said it still believes in “treating adults like adults,” but said it wants to get the experience right. OpenAI has been testing user age estimation technology ahead of the planned release.

Why Apple is moving into the lower-cost smartphone and laptop markets

The luxury tech maker is heading down-market.

macbook neo 2

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Ads have entered the chat

Advertisers are crowding into the next digital frontier.

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Anthropic will sue the Pentagon over supply chain risk designation, Amodei says

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said in a public post that the company will sue the Pentagon after receiving a letter from the Department of Defense officially designating Anthropic as “a supply chain risk to America’s national security.”

Amodei says that the effect of the unprecedented designation for an American company is more narrow than originally described, and that most of its customers would not be affected.

“With respect to our customers, it plainly applies only to the use of Claude by customers as a direct part of contracts with the Department of War, not all use of Claude by customers who have such contracts.”

Amodei says the company does not “believe this action is legally sound, and we see no choice but to challenge it in court.”

The CEO also apologized for statements he made in a leaked internal memo in which he claimed that the company was targeted because it didn’t show “dictator-style praise” for President Trump.

Where things stand with the Department of War

Where things stand with the Department of War

“With respect to our customers, it plainly applies only to the use of Claude by customers as a direct part of contracts with the Department of War, not all use of Claude by customers who have such contracts.”

Amodei says the company does not “believe this action is legally sound, and we see no choice but to challenge it in court.”

The CEO also apologized for statements he made in a leaked internal memo in which he claimed that the company was targeted because it didn’t show “dictator-style praise” for President Trump.

SoftBank is going to great lengths to double down on OpenAI — including taking on significant debt. After completing a $40 billion investment to become one of the ChatGPT maker’s largest backers, the Japanese conglomerate is now seeking a roughly $40 billion loan with a 12-month term, Bloomberg reports.

The financing would be SoftBank’s largest-ever dollar-denominated deal. The AI investment has helped lift profits, but it is also pressuring SoftBank’s credit profile.

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