TechCheck

The world has gone crazy for Nvidia -- or at least, Wall Street has. The stock has almost single-handedly lifted the entire market due to its monster valuation and latest, monster quarter. But the largest companies in the world are also typically the most well-known… and Nvidia is far from being a household name. And the last time a tech company without mass brand recognition became the most valuable in the world? That was Cisco in the late 90s. Is another bubble brewing? This week on TechCheck, the stock everyone owns and no one knows. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Japanese tech investor Softbank is now backing Perplexity with a $10 million to $20 million fresh round of funding, valuing Perplexity AI at $3 billion and making it one of the most valuable startups in the space. It shouldn’t come as a surprise, since Masayoshi Son and his team have been saying for months now that they’re going on the AI offensive, but is another sign of the red hot funding environment for AI startups.   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

CNBC's Dierdre Bosa is at Figma's "Config" Conference in San Francisco with Figma CEO Dylan Field. Following a regulatory block of Adobe’s $20 billion acquisition of Figma last December, the San Francisco software design firm received a $1 billion breakup fee and is forging ahead with product launches and further software partnering with Google. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Another major antitrust charge is coming out of the European Union today, saying that Microsoft’s bundling of Teams with other software like Office 365 is an unfair distribution advantage. It comes a day after the EU hit Apple with the first charge under the new Digital Markets Act, accusing its App Store policies of violating competition rules. Investors don’t seem to be worried, but this new chapter in European regulation could lead to tens of billions of dollars in fines.   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Apple is being hit with the first charge under the EU’s new Digital Markets Act, with regulators accusing the tech giant of preventing app store customers from being steered to customers alternative, cheaper options. It could have key implications for Apple’s AI strategy, as it reportedly holds talks with longtime rival Meta to form an unlikely alliance, potentially offering Meta’s large language model Llama to Apple Intelligence.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

As Nvidia turns lower today, Softbank's Masayoshi Son expressed regret over selling his shares too soon - a stake that would have been worth $160B today. He also doubled down on the narrative that he's now going on the AI offensive, with a new strategy built around the company’s crown jewel and largest holding, Arm.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Retail investors have been crowding into a few pockets of big tech, including the Mag 7, Nvidia, and riskier, turbo-charged Nvidia plays through long-leveraged semiconductor ETFs like NVDL and SOXL, according to new data from Vanda. So far, this narrow strategy has been working, with retail outperforming the S&P, but there is risk in being so indexed to big tech and the AI story, and could add to volatility in these names.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The U.S. Surgeon General is now calling for a warning label to be applied to social media apps, similar to those on alcohol and tobacco products. He says immediate action is needed to protect young people from the potential mental health harms of social media. But the demand would require congressional action, which historically has not acted to curb social media usage in the past. Plus, political deepfakes are now circulating online as election campaigns heat up. We discuss with former North Dakota senator Heidi Heitkamp and a professional of artificial intelligence.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Apple has now leapfrogged leaders Microsoft and Google in the high-stakes AI race by promising the first killer use of AI - a true personal assistant, in the form of.... the iPhone. Even the stock, once a laggard, has jumped to historic highs, anchored by Apple's singular combination of hardware, software and data. But its biggest edge over AI devices like the Humane pin and Rabbit R1 is that it's already in billions of consumers' pockets. This week on TechCheck, Apple takes the AI lead. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Shares of Apple are hitting fresh highs today after showcasing at WWDC that it is not only catching up to the other megacaps, but may actually have leapfrogged the leaders. Its edge is its 2.2 billion install base and its focus on making AI usable by integrating it with your personal information. A slew of bullish commentary from the Street is also helping sentiment, outlining how Apple’s AI features will drive hardware sales later this year. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.