WSJ Tech News Briefing

City officials plan AI literacy classes for students while permitting teacher use for planning.

OpenAI warns its new Astra model can execute cyberattacks, prompting added security measures.

SB Energy, backed by SoftBank, has filed for an IPO aiming to raise up to $7 billion, with Nvidia and OpenAI as key investors.

John Turner officially succeeds Tim Cook as Apple’s CEO, tasked with revitalizing the company’s AI strategy amid falling behind rivals.

This episode examines the shift toward school phone bans, featuring Julie Jargon on how policies like lockable pouches reduce personal device use and…

The FTC, joined by over 20 state attorneys general, filed a major antitrust lawsuit against Amazon, alleging its ad auction practices inflated costs by 50%.

The EU designated ChatGPT, Reddit, and Roblox as very large platforms under the DSA, imposing strict safety obligations.

The episode covers BYD’s strategic pivot to overseas exports, which boosted Q2 profits despite a domestic price war and revenue dip.

WSJ’s Tech News Briefing covers how to safely buy refurbished phones, with Nicole Nguyen warning of malware and warranty pitfalls.

This episode highlights strong market performance for Salesforce, CrowdStrike, and Nvidia, driven by rising AI integration and security demands.

DeepSeek raises funds at a higher valuation with backing from Chinese firms and local governments.

Julie Chang reports that NVIDIA’s record earnings failed to boost its stock amid AI spending concerns and server price hikes.

Danny Lewis reports that Meta agreed to an $18 billion settlement with 48 states over teen safety, including default time limits for users under 18.

OpenAI data center head Chris Malone has departed, adding to leadership exits as the firm prepares for an IPO and plans massive computing spending.

Rocket maker Ursa Major Technologies is set to go public via a SPAC merger, valuing the hypersonic missile developer at $2.

This episode explores AI-powered employee monitoring tools, offering strategies to navigate tracking software and avoid overusing AI to appear productive.

Taiwan prosecutors charged nine individuals, including former NVIDIA and Supermicro employees, for allegedly smuggling advanced AI servers to China via third countries.

SoftBank plans to issue $6.

Private equity giants Blackstone, Hellman & Friedman, and others launched Ode, a $1.

NVIDIA is in advanced talks to invest hundreds of millions in Cloverleaf Infrastructure to secure data center power capacity.

WSJ’s Tech News Briefing examines the nuclear energy race to power AI data centers, featuring Jennifer Hiller on small modular reactors and potential hype cycles.

SpaceX shares dropped after Elon Musk delayed plans to catch the Starship spacecraft, pushing the milestone months away.

Julie Chang reports that Alibaba’s profit plummeted 76% due to heavy AI infrastructure spending, despite revenue growth.

OpenAI promises not to retain business customer data to compete with Anthropic, while the FTC warns companies must disclose when using personal data for personalized pricing.

Julie Chang reports that OpenAI’s Q2 revenue grew 18% to $6.

Pennsylvania restricts data center construction amid local backlash, joining other states in pausing projects.

OpenAI launches a new ChatGPT experience for teens featuring safety settings and age prediction models.

Host Belle Lin discusses AI’s impact on publishing with Anna Silman, covering the rise of low-quality “slop books” and industry efforts to verify human authorship.

This WSJ Tech News Briefing reveals SpaceX’s major investors, including NVIDIA, Google, and Harvard, alongside Elon Musk’s 48.

OpenAI secures a massive 10-gigawatt data center lease in Ohio with NVIDIA backing, while Uber partners with ZipLine for drone deliveries in Texas.

WSJ’s Nicole Nguyen concludes her series on AI’s blurring of reality, featuring digital forensics expert Hani Farid and WSJ photo director Megan Peterson.

This episode highlights that enterprise quantum computing spending hit $300 million in 2025, surpassing government and research labs.

President Trump announced new tariffs on imported drones, imposing up to 100% duties on large models from China to counter its market dominance.

This episode explores how health enthusiasts use AI chatbots to aggregate personal data for hyper-personalized fitness coaching, noting privacy trade-offs and reliability concerns.

OpenAI’s chief revenue officer Denise Dresser is stepping down, following recent departures by other senior executives.

WSJ’s Danny Lewis reports that Apple is negotiating with publishers to pay for content to enhance its upcoming AI-powered Siri.

Bank of America launches a competitiveness initiative involving lending and advisory services, following similar moves by JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley.

New York City officials are scrutinizing crypto firms like Polymarket and Coinbase over earnings and marketing practices.

FlightAware is suing prediction market CalShe for allegedly using its data to facilitate flight cancellation bets, citing safety risks.

NVIDIA unveiled Nemo Switchyard for secure AI model selection, while Meta released its MuseGlimmer model for consumer GPUs.

This episode examines the end of the EV leasing boom as expired tax credits drive up costs, pushing consumers toward hybrids.

Intel announced a $15 billion stock offering to fund AI-driven capital expenditures, raising its annual spending forecast to over $20 billion.

Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg announced new open-weight AI models and a $1 billion fund for data center communities amid investor pressure.

WSJ’s Nicole Nguyen explores how AI-generated political content, from Iranian Lego deepfakes to U.

WhatNot’s valuation surged to $20 billion following a $545 million funding round, driven by record gross merchandise volume and user growth in its live shopping marketplace.

Meta faces a $567 million abatement fund and new safety mandates after a judge ruled against it in underage user lawsuits, prompting plans to appeal.

This episode explores AI-powered dating apps that act as matchmakers to reduce user burnout, featuring insights from WSJ’s Molly Reinman.

SpaceX and Tesla are building a massive $16.

WSJ’s Imani Moise reports on Meta’s new Muse Code agent, a cost-effective coding tool designed to compete with rivals.