Technology

News on tech innovations and their impact on businesses and markets.

Technology
Tech stocks seen overvalued amid slowing growth
Some United States technology stocks are not pricing in the risk of slowing growth, according to a major U.S.-based and ASX-listed fund manager. GQG Partners (ASX: GQG) Chairman and Chief Investment Officer Rajiv Jain said the fund, which has US$161 billion (A$248 billion) under management, underweights these stocks and struggles to find companies that justify their high valuations. He said that as a ‘bottom-up’ investor GQG’s job was to find investments that provided compound growth at a reasonable rate, which he defined as ‘high single-digit or low double-digit’ rates. “I don’t see how that happens if you are paying very high multiples with slowing growth,” Jain told the Morningstar Investment Conference. Many of the so-called ‘Magnificent Seven’ (Nvidia, Tesla, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Apple and Meta Platforms) companies were mature and had their own issues to deal with. “As somebody said, this almost looks like the ‘nifty 50’ except from the 1970s,” he said, referring to the large blue-chip U.S. companies that investors were comfortable to buy at any price and holding in that era. Jain said some tech businesses were “over-earning” and much more likely to face slower growth in the next three to five years
Technology
Uber says it's ready with driverless taxis for UK
Uber has said it is "ready to go" now with driverless taxis in the United Kingdom, despite delays in governmental approval for completely autonomous cars. While the previous Conservative government had driverless vehicles on track to be "set to be on roads by 2026", the new Labour government is looking towards the latter end of 2027 instead. While limited self-driving is already permitted in the U.K., a human driver still must be at the wheel and responsible for the vehicle. "We are working quickly and will implement self-driving vehicle legislation in the second half of 2027", the Department for Transport said in a statement. “We are also exploring options for short-term trials and pilots to create the right conditions for a thriving self-driving sector.” Speaking to the BBC, Andrew Macdonald, senior vice president of mobility at Uber, said they were ready to launch driverless options for ride sharing as soon as the rules and regulations were in place. "We're ready to launch robotaxis in the U.K. as soon as the regulatory environment is ready for us," he said. Uber is working on partnerships with 18 automated car tech companies, including the U.K. AI firm Wayve, and is already offering automated rides in the
Technology
Telstra 'misled customers' on mobile coverage: Vodafone
Vodafone has escalated its battle with Telstra, urging the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to investigate what it calls misleading mobile coverage claims. The TPG Telecom-owned telco alleges that Telstra has overstated its network reach by up to 40% for more than 15 years, creating an unfair market advantage. At the heart of the dispute is Telstra’s claim that its network covers three million square kilometres and 99.7% of the Australian population - a figure Vodafone argues is inflated by the use of external antennas and boosters, which are costly and rarely used outside remote areas. Vodafone contends that Telstra’s true mobile coverage without external equipment is closer to 1.9 million square kilometres, a discrepancy of nearly one million square kilometres - roughly the size of NSW, Victoria, and the ACT combined. The telco has pointed to years of advertising, sales materials, and annual reports that allegedly misrepresented Telstra’s coverage, potentially misleading consumers into believing they had broader access than reality allowed. Telstra recently updated its website to clarify that its coverage figures depend on external antennas, but Vodafone insists this correction does not fully
Technology
Deep Research AI could change analysis as we know it
Click on any major artificial intelligence tool — including ChatGPT, Google Gemini, or Perplexity — and you might notice a new option known as Deep Research. Companies like OpenAI, Google, Perplexity, xAI, and Microsoft have all rolled out similar Deep Research AI tools in recent months, part of an industry-wide push for autonomous models focused on fact-finding. Deep Research-style models are more accurate and comprehensive than other forms of AI. However, they remain reliant on human fact-checking and guidance, even as their use in business and education has already begun to surge.What is Deep Research?Deep Research tools can investigate a variety of sources to generate a research report. When prompted by a user, these models search the internet for information and produce an analysis of their findings. Offerings from Google, OpenAI, Microsoft, and Perplexity can also recalibrate their research steps, indicate their progress, and accept follow-up questions. “Every output is fully documented, with clear citations and a summary of its thinking, making it easy to reference and verify the information,” OpenAI has said. “It is particularly effective at finding niche, non-intuitive information that would require browsing n
Technology
Meta asks judge to rule on FTC antitrust case mid-trial
Meta has asked a United States federal judge to immediately rule on the Federal Trade Commission’s antitrust case, which would end the case partway through its trial. The case brought by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) alleges Meta gained a social media monopoly through the anti-competitive acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp, and would require Meta to divest from these apps. Meta is now due to respond after the FTC rested its case today, but has filed for an early ruling, arguing that the FTC failed to prove that Meta has a monopoly. “With the close of the FTC’s case, the trial record establishes that Meta Platforms, Inc. acquired Instagram and WhatsApp in order to improve them and expand its own portfolio of services – to better compete against many dynamic, innovative, and fierce rivals,” Meta wrote in its filing. “This Court should grant judgment in Meta’s favour because the FTC has no proof that Meta has monopoly power.” The FTC has argued that Meta purchased Instagram and WhatsApp to stifle looming competition from these social media networks. The agency presented emails from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg shortly before acquiring Instagram in 2012, in which he said the move would “neutralise a potential com

Technology
Ubisoft shares plummet 18%; Shadows fails to boost sales
Shares of French game developer Ubisoft fell as low as 18% after it released its full-year earnings report. Ubisoft, maker of the popular Assassin's Creed game series, reported a 20.5% drop in net bookings for the financial year ended 31 March. This came despite the release of "Assassin's Creed: Shadows" in March, which failed to boost sales by a notable amount and faced consecutive delays to its release date. The reason for the drop in net bookings was reportedly “lower than expected partnerships”, which came in at 1.85 billion euros, down 20% year-on-year.Credit: UbisoftAs a result, Ubisoft shares closed down 18.32%, at 9.55 euros, and over the last year the company’s shares have lost almost 60% of their value. In the same month it concluded its financial report for the year, Ubisoft unveiled plans for a new gaming subsidiary, which would be partially owned by Chinese technology company Tencent, which would run the development and publishing of ‘Assassin’s Creed’ and other top game franchises for the developer. Tencent will receive a 25% stake in its investment of 1.16 billion euros, while Ubisoft will retain majority ownership and earn royalties on sales related to its key franchises. The deal is expected to c
Technology
Despite uncertainty, Siemens keeps its forecast
Siemens delivered a strong Q2 FY25, with net profit surging 11% to €2.4 billion (US$2.7 billion), defying analyst expectations of a decline. Revenue climbed 6% to €19.8 billion, driven by robust demand for mobility and infrastructure, particularly data centres and rail systems. Despite the upbeat results, Siemens flagged “increased uncertainty” in the global economy, citing trade tensions and shifting market dynamics. “We’ve achieved another successful quarter, with orders, revenue and net income all showing clear growth. Our customers continue to rely on our technology, and our global footprint demonstrates our resilience,” said Roland Busch, President and Chief Executive Officer of Siemens AG. “With our ONE Tech Company program, we’re making bold moves to scale our technologies. The acquisition of Altair and the planned acquisition of Dotmatics will bring new AI offerings to our customers and open up new opportunities in growth markets such as life sciences.” The digital industries division struggled, with sales sliding by 5%, prompting 6,000 job cuts — about 2% of Siemens’ global workforce. The company remains committed to streamlining operations, focusing on high-growth sectors while navigating macroeconomic hea
Technology
Take-Two slumps; US$3.6bn writedown, GTA VI delayed
Take-Two Interactive dropped 3% in after-hours trading on Thursday (Friday AEST) after the company reported a significant quarterly loss driven by a multi-billion-dollar writedown, following news that the company will delay the release of Grand Theft Auto VI. The video game publisher posted a fourth-quarter loss of US$3.7 billion (A$5.78 billion), or $21.08 per share, widening from $17.02 a year earlier. Revenue for the quarter rose 13% year-over-year to $1.58 billion, matching growth in Total Net Bookings, which also came in at $1.58 billion, up 17% from the previous fiscal fourth quarter. Despite the financial hit, the biggest headline for Take-Two came nearly two weeks before the results, when it was announced that the highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto 6, developed by Rockstar Games, would be postponed from a planned fall 2025 release to 26 May 2026. The company recorded impairment charges of $3.55 billion related to goodwill and $176.3 million linked to acquisition-related intangible assets, bringing the total writedown to more than $3.6 billion. Recurring consumer spending accounted for 77% of total net bookings, rising 14% from a year earlier. The quarter's top-performing titles included NBA 2K25, Grand Thef
Technology
CoreWeave sees more than 400% revenue for first earnings
CoreWeave, an artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure provider, fell 7% in extended deals after executives projected 2025 capital expenditures of US$20 - 23 billion, surpassing estimates as the Nvidia-backed AI firm ramps up chip purchases. The company's revenue soared a total of 420% for the quarter, compared to the same time last year at US$188.7 million, with this quarter coming in at US$981.6 million compared to the $853 million expected. For the whole of 2024 that totalled 737% growth and management continued to call for further revenue growth again in Q2, with ambitions for US$1.06 billion to $1.1 billion. Another highlight for CoreWeave in Q1 was a five-year deal with OpenAI, which added US$11.2 billion to the revenue backlog. Earnings per share came in at a loss of $1.49. The company’s net loss of $314.6 million widened from $129.2 a year earlier, partly because of $177 million in stock-based compensation costs for awards tied to the initial public offering. “That is a real articulation of new uptake, new clients coming on board to buy more infrastructure from us over the balance of the year,” CEO Mike Intrator said on a conference call.