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IBM soars on US quantum computing investment
IBM shares soared after the United States Government announced it would invest in nine quantum-computing companies, including a new entity majority-owned by the technology giant. The U.S. Department of Commerce said the Government would spend about US$2 billion (A$2.76 billion), of which IBM would receive $1 billion to set up a company to build America's first dedicated quantum chip manufacturing ⁠facility. The Department did not disclose how much the Government would own of the new company, Anderon, but IBM will reportedly have control. “With today’s CHIPS Research and Development investments in quantum computing, the Trump administration is leading the world into a new era of American innovation,” Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick was quoted saying in a Financial Times article. “These strategic quantum technology investments will build on our domestic industry, creating thousands of high-paying American jobs while advancing American quantum capabilities.” IBM Chief Executive Officer Arvind Krishna said the new firm would offer its chipmaking technology to outside customers and was talking to potential clients. "They're going to get the exact same capability that we have for ourselves," Krishna was quoted as sa
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NVIDIA guides to US$91bn Q3 as hyperscaler capex rolls on
The world's largest company beat the Street for the 19th time in 20 quarters, printing a Q2 guide of US$91 billion, and announced a 25-fold dividend increase - with China Data Centre revenue excluded from the forward outlook entirely. NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) reported revenue of $81.6 billion for the three months ended 26 April 2026 - up 85% year-on-year and 20% from the prior quarter - clearing consensus estimates of $79.2 billion. Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share came in at $1.87 against a Street consensus of $1.77, extending the chipmaker's unbroken run of exceeding Wall Street forecasts to four straight quarters, with the topline topping estimates by just over 3%.Data centre pulls further aheadThe segment posted $75.2 billion for the period - up 92% year-on-year and 21% sequentially - while the networking sub-line reached $14.8 billion, up 199% from a year ago. Data Centre compute revenue came in at a record $60.4 billion, up 77% year-on-year and 18% sequentially, driven by Blackwell architecture absorption across hyperscale and enterprise deployments. "We should be growing faster than hyperscale capex," NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang told analysts on the earnings call, putting combined hyperscaler spend at ro
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John Ternus to takeover from Tim Cook as Apple CEO
Apple announced that John Ternus will become Chief Executive Officer (CEO) after Tim Cook stepped down from the top job. Ternus will assume the role of CEO on 1 September 2026 and will work alongside Cook over the coming months to ensure a smooth transition. Cook will then become the executive chairman of Apple’s board, after 15 years as CEO. “It has been the greatest privilege of my life to be the CEO of Apple and to have been trusted to lead such an extraordinary company,” Cook said. “I love Apple with all of my being, and I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to work with a team of such ingenious, innovative, creative, and deeply caring people who have been unwavering in their dedication to enriching the lives of our customers and creating the best products and services in the world.” Cook also expressed confidence in Ternus’ appointment to the role. “He is a visionary whose contributions to Apple over 25 years are already too numerous to count, and he is without question the right person to lead Apple into the future,” he said. Ternus said he is “filled with optimism” about what Apple can achieve in the years to come. “I am humbled to step into this role, and I promise to lead with the values and
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Meta court case loss could see corners cut on AI safety
Experts have expressed concerns that a landmark court ruling against Meta could spell trouble for the future of AI and social media harm research. The court ruling saw a young woman sue the platform for creating deliberately addictive social media, damaging her childhood and mental health. Jurors ruled in her favour, against both Google, as the owner of YouTube, and Meta, as the owner of WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook, marking a landmark case outcome, which both tech giants have disagreed with and pledged to fight. While the ruling is likely to influence similar cases, researchers into social media safety say they are worried it could create blocks to continuing their work. “Companies may now view ongoing research as a liability, but independent, third-party research must continue to be supported,” said Kate Blocker, director of research and program at Children and Screens: Institute of Digital Media and Child Development, in the wake of the ruling. She specifically has concerns about the ability to research artificial intelligence safety, the new frontier of digital popularity, just like social media before it. “AI companies seem to be mostly studying the models themselves – model behavior, model interpretabil
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Apple adds four major partners to US supply chain
Apple has added four new major partners to its United States supply chain as it continues to bolster its domestic manufacturing programs. The company will work with Bosch, Cirrus Logic, TDK, and Qnity Electronics to expand manufacturing in the U.S., it said. It plans to spend US$400 million on these new programs through 2030. “At Apple, we believe in the power of American innovation and manufacturing, and we’re proud to partner with even more companies to produce critical components and cutting-edge materials for our products right here in the U.S.,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook. “Today, we’re joining with world-class partners like Bosch, Cirrus Logic, TDK, and Qnity Electronics to further expand Apple’s U.S. supply chain through our American Manufacturing Program. This is another powerful example of what is possible when we invest in American ingenuity, and we’re excited to build the future together.” TDK, a longtime Apple supplier, will manufacture sensors for Apple in the U.S. for the first time. Bosch will collaborate with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. to produce integrated circuits at TSMC’s Washington state plant. Cirrus Logic will establish new semiconductor process technologies alongside GlobalFoundries,

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Microsoft chief diversity officer exits in HR overhaul
Microsoft chief diversity officer Lindsay-Rae McIntyre will leave the company as it overhauls its human resources structure, following a series of high-profile departures in recent months. A number of human resources teams will be combined, according to chief people officer Amy Coleman, including merging all engineering human resources efforts. McIntyre will depart on 31 March to join another organisation as chief people officer. “We're in a time when technology, the way we work, and our org structures are all evolving. The pace of change is exceeding what our current operating model and decision rhythms were built for,” wrote Coleman in an internal memo. “To accelerate the business, we have to simultaneously build experiences that reflect how employees and leaders actually work today and that anticipate their needs tomorrow.” McIntyre joined Microsoft eight years ago. Leslie Lawson Sims will take over the chief diversity officer role under the title VP, People & Culture, and the Culture & Inclusion and HR4HR teams will be consolidated into one team under Lawson Sims. The People Analytics team will also merge with the Employee Experience team, which Coleman said would support Microsoft’s artificial intelligence offe
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Meta lays off hundreds amid plans to cut 20% of workforce
Meta is reportedly laying off several hundred employees across a range of segments amid plans to offset the costs of its high artificial intelligence spending by cutting staff. Layoffs today affected segments including Facebook, global operations, sales, and its virtual reality arm Reality Labs, per The Information. Meta has been planning layoffs that could affect as much as 20% of the company, Reuters reported two weeks ago. “Teams across Meta regularly restructure or implement changes to ensure they're in the best position to achieve their goals. Where possible, we are finding other opportunities for employees whose positions may be impacted,” Meta said in a statement. Meta had also laid off around 10% of its staff in its Reality Labs segment in January. The company announced last week that its Horizon Worlds virtual reality platform would shut down in June, though it later said that existing user-created spaces would be maintained with limited support. According to Meta, it had almost 79,000 employees at the end of 2025. The layoffs come as Meta surges its investments in AI. It hired the staff of AI startup Dreamer this week, and acquired AI agent social network Moltbook earlier this month. Meta’s capital spen
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Foreign chipmakers soon to land in Trump tariff crosshairs
The semiconductor industry has spent the first quarter of 2026 bracing for an escalation that has nothing to do with Iran, and will put Taiwanese and South Korean chipmakers firmly within the Trump administration's crosshairs. On 14 April, the United States Trade Representative and Commerce Department must deliver a report to President Trump on the status of negotiations with key chip-producing nations under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act. That report will determine whether Washington moves to Phase Two - broader tariffs on semiconductors "at a rate of duty that is significant", according to the January proclamation. Phase One, which took effect on 15 January, was deliberately narrow: a 25% tariff on a small category of advanced computing chips not intended for use in the United States. The practical target was high-performance AI accelerators like Nvidia's (NASDAQ: NVDA) H200 and AMD's (NASDAQ: AMD) MI325X that were being routed through U.S. facilities and on to China. The broader semiconductor supply chain was left untouched while the White House negotiated investment commitments from Taiwan, South Korea and Japan. Taiwan moved first, with TSMC (NYSE: TSM) at the centre of a US$250 billion investment co
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Figma stock drops following Google announcement
Figma stock has plunged, as concerns surrounding AI mount and Google introduces a new AI-powered design product. Google Labs introduced a new beta product called Stitch, which allows users to enter a prompt and create a design for their projects. Google said the feature is a “design agent” that can give real-time design critiques and respond to voice. The tech giant isn’t charging for Stitch, but also doesn’t make promises about the availability of the service. This announcement has caused shares of the AI-design platform, Figma, to drop. The Figma Make tool allows people to type in a few words and have AI models from Anthropic and Google come up with or modify app designs. At the time of writing, Figma (NYSE: FIG) stock fell 4.12% to US$24.22. However, it has ticked up 0.25% to US$24.28 in after-market trading. Over the past year, shares for the cloud-based design company have fallen 36.26%. This also comes after Google and Figma announced an expanded partnership that involved more of Google’s generative AI technology being added to Figma’s platform.