Amazon is investing $12 billion in new data center campuses in Louisiana, creating hundreds of jobs and bolstering its AI and cloud services. This move is part of a larger $200 billion capital expenditure plan for the year, aiming to secure AI dominance. Amazon is proactively addressing local concerns regarding energy and water usage, committing to cover infrastructure upgrade costs and utilize sustainable cooling methods. The company partners with Stack Infrastructure for this significant expansion.

IBM shares dropped 11% following Anthropic’s announcement of Claude Code’s new AI capability for automating COBOL modernization. This development highlights the disruption AI poses to legacy systems, which power critical sectors like finance. Anthropic’s AI can now streamline complex code analysis, documentation, and risk identification, potentially reducing modernization costs. This event reflects broader AI-driven market anxieties, impacting tech stocks, and signals growing investor concern over AI’s implications for companies reliant on older technologies.

The Supreme Court struck down Trump’s tariffs, leading to market fluctuations. The ruling’s impact on refunds and trade deals remains uncertain. Meanwhile, a Northeast blizzard disrupted travel, and tech sectors faced scrutiny, with OpenAI revising AI compute forecasts. Hasbro’s strong performance outpaced Mattel in the toy industry.

OpenAI is partnering with Accenture, BCG, Capgemini, and McKinsey to accelerate the enterprise adoption of its AI platform, Frontier. This strategic move aims to embed OpenAI’s advanced AI solutions into businesses globally, leveraging the consulting firms’ expertise and client relationships. The partnerships are crucial for bridging the gap between AI technology and practical business applications, especially amidst intense market competition. Consulting partners are investing in dedicated teams and training to support clients in integrating AI agents into their workflows.

Aalyria, a Google-incubated startup, has secured $100 million in funding, achieving a $1.3 billion valuation. This capital infusion fuels its advanced software and laser communication systems designed to optimize satellite networks for government and commercial use. The investment reflects growing demand for resilient, high-speed connectivity, especially amidst increased defense spending and the expanding satellite communications market. Aalyria aims to use the funds for product development and operational expansion.

Former Citi Global Insights innovation head Rob Garlick predicts AI will outnumber humans in the workforce within decades, driven by businesses prioritizing profitability and efficiency. He argues AI’s ability to perform tasks cheaper and better makes human labor uncompetitive. While some, like Jensen Huang of Nvidia, foresee new high-skilled job creation, others, including the IMF and major corporations, warn of significant workforce displacement and a “tsunami” of layoffs due to AI integration.