#ai

These days investors only care about AI. Did the private equity miscalculated here and didn't count with AI when they decided to buy Nielsen and do their thing?

I don't think anybody will buy into Nielsen if they decide to IPO today, nobody will care, markets are hot enough as they are already.

What's the plan B?

SCOOP: Major U.S. banks are detecting unauthorized third-party AI agents inside customer accounts, including some attempting to take actions that appear to be independent of user instructions, sources told Axios.

The findings have alarmed banking executives, who are racing to restrict access to their systems as AI moves at a velocity faster than financial institutions can respond, multiple industry and bank executives told Axios.

Several banks are now preparing for worst-case and even “day after” scenarios, including how to rapidly secure or restore customer accounts if things go wrong, the people said.

Several bank executives told Axios they're struggling to distinguish between human users and AI agents. One executive said banks also struggle to determine whether agents are authorized by customers or potentially operating without their permission, more akin to rogue agent behavior.

https://www.axios.com/2026/10/22/ai-agents-banks-unauthorized-accounts-access

Hi everyone, I want to post this as a grievance of my experience after layoff.

It's been over 12 months and I can't find a job or make it past more than 2 rounds in an interview.

I gave usaa over 9 years of my life and thought that the usaa brand would have enough weight to keep me competitive in the market.

At USAA, I did everything from product to marketing to experience owner and even program management.

I felt like the skills i learned and even all the training like the safe agile training would help me in the job market.

After a whole year of searching, interviewing, getting my hopes up, and realizing in those interviews that my skills were dated, I cried.

I don't have anywhere or anyone to help teach me these new skills especially as ai has taken over. All of the stuff USAA did for adopting AI is so far behind. It's so overwhelming to see that the market has moved so far past what we were doing.

How am i supposed to learn how to use AI if I can't even afford a subscription at this point? I have a family to feed and if I spend money on a subscription, it takes away from that because I don't have a job anymore.

I have tried applying to USAA multiple times over the past year but have not gotten a call back.

And the saddest part is that my colleagues that I worked with for almost a decade have become too busy to help me get a foot back in the door. I've helped so many of these people get promotions and advocated for them. It really hurts to have such a big part of my professional identity tied to USAA and I can't even get anyone I thought was a friend on the phone.

I used to think I was good at every role I had at usaa, and that was more than likely true. I was promoted and had great reviews. But after months of rejection, I find myself just questioning if I will ever make it out.

Its lonely out here.
I wish I was back in with the people I used to work with every day.
I wish nothing changed because it was good.

But most of all, I wish that if I got laid off, I would have gotten laid off sooner because then at least I would have an easier time adapting to the market. If you were laid off in the past 16 months, you would know what im talking about.

The job market is different. Companies only want the best now. I even had an interview with a former USAA exec and she told me that she doesn't really hire from usaa because the organization was too slow to market, so most of the skills were built only for usaa.

Ughh. Im just ranting now.

Im sorry guys.

I'm so sick on this AI Slop they keep pushing. They expect us to do in 1 month what previously took 6, while they can't even keep their servers online. I actually LIKE AI, and I use it daily, but they want to replace functional workflows and GOOD harnesses with hallucinated slop so they can throw around words like "agentic". How about we replace these SVPs with agents, we might actually be able to get stuff done. Maybe then leadership might actually be able to provide direction for once

Meta has halted its planned second round of layoffs due to AI's failure to meet performance expectations. Initial plans to replace human workers with AI agents have been suspended as the technology has not advanced as rapidly as anticipated. Microsoft also reported no business improvements despite widespread AI adoption. Both companies are now reassessing their AI strategies and expenditures. This shift indicates a broader trend of tech giants recalculating the true efficiency and impact of artificial intelligence.

Menlo Park, California

https://eu.36kr.com/en/p/4034913072747394

Oracle's significant investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure is raising financial concerns for the company. Reports indicate that AI spending has exceeded initial estimates, prompting questions about growing debt and financing needs. Wall Street is closely monitoring whether profitability and cash generation can keep pace with the aggressive expansion of data centers and cloud services. This financial pressure mirrors trends seen across the tech industry as companies prioritize AI growth. Employees and investors are advised to pay attention to these financial warning signs.

Austin, Texas

https://media.unisba.ac.id/8926a6bf/bf38d23cZZmYPfYkB_w

Three things from OpenText World.

1. The people running product and tech have no engineering background.

Shannon Bell is the new Chief Product & Technology Officer. Her resume is product management at Amdocs, IT at Rogers, then CIO at OpenText. No engineering org, no R&D org, ever. The guy before her, Savinay Berry, actually ran product and engineering at Vonage.

Same story with the new hires. Anupam Khazanchi, the new CIO, came from Rogers IT. Lise Lefaive got bumped to SVP from running a PMO. IT delivery people, not software people.

Compare that to anyone else. SAP's CTO has a PhD in computer science. ServiceNow's Chief Product Officer did 24 years of product development at Oracle. Workday's product and tech president started as a developer.

Every engineer, intern, or internal transfer at OpenText has to prove the skills in an interview before they get the job. Apparently that rule stops at the executive floor. Terrible.

1. They're cutting R&D while promising more AI.

Keynote: agentic AI, a Global Command Center, an AI-first platform. 10-K: R&D spend down 14% in a year ($756M to $648M), last quarter down 20%, EBITDA margin up to 36%.

Two cost programs at the same time. "OpenText Trusts OpenText" wants $1.5B in savings. The Business Optimization Plan is cutting around 2,000 roles, about 1,280 of them this year. Next year's "growth investment" is $100–200M and the only specific line item is sales hiring. Zero number for engineers.

You can't keep cutting the people who build the product and still promise a new platform.

Shannon Bell made her name as CIO by cutting costs with the "OpenText Trusts OpenText" program. That was the right job then. It's the wrong job now. As CPTO her job is to fight for R&D budget, not keep bragging about savings. If she's still on stage talking about $1.5B in cuts instead of what she's spending on engineers, she hasn't made the switch. She's running the product org the way she ran IT: as a cost center.

1. The future is dimmer than the keynote.

Execs with no engineering background, a shrinking R&D budget, and a growth plan that's basically hiring salespeople. That's not an AI strategy. That's a cost-cutting plan with an AI sticker on it. Until someone senior owns R&D investment with an actual number, the AI targets are just slides.

Last year OpenText cut 1,091 R&D heads and 19 in sales and marketing. The plan isn't finished. More layoffs are coming.

So who's responsible for engineering investment, and how much is it?

In the UK, we’ve been told we need to complete AI endorsement.

Who’s been brave enough to give it a go?

How did you find it? Any tips or advice before the rest of us take the plunge?

Just reading the title here will be already have triggered d-mb folks.
The worst thing is that most people reading this think they're above the idea of a union and see it as divisive and crooked. I asked a friend why he thought there wasn't a union here already and his response was that Comcast people are fu--ing awful humans. He's right. The majority of people reading this don't care about anyone else but their worthless selves.
The people who argue in favor of less than 3 days in the office a week being a fireable offense - fu-k you. The people who think AI is a reasonable excuse to lay people off - fu-k you and your kids. The people that don't understand why Comcast was such a good and innovative company 15 years ago - fu-k you.
You're not smart, you're not being "realistic", you're just a filthy human whose death will benefit humanity. I hope you get laid off.

Everyone else, good luck. Let's form a union.

There are going to be layoffs. Significant layoffs. How significant? Some teams have been given 70% targets. Every single team has a target. UHC Commercial is 30%. Just an example. Where did the target come from, and why do these targets exist? Because UnitedHealthcare are facing a $6B+ gap due to a weakened Commercial pipeline, Medicare reimbursement rates, and falling short in Medicare Stars bonuses. There are other reasons. But those are the primary ones. But how will the work get done you ask? Every team must figure out how to use AI to displace employees and how to use Optum Global to displace US-based employees. Teams are encouraged (some are mandated) to take these actions now and before 2027 so that the full "savings" can be captured. The funny part in all of this of course is that the guy who messed up Medicare was somehow promoted CEO, and the guy who hasn't made Medicare better was promoted to President. Make that make sense.

A software company has recently reduced its workforce, occurring shortly after announcing an increased focus on artificial intelligence. This move is seen as a potential real-world demonstration of AI's impact on employment. The company previously held an "AI Week" to train employees on new technologies. Last month, it also acquired another AI-focused firm to accelerate innovation. The exact number of employees affected by these layoffs has not been disclosed.

Colchester, Vermont

https://www.sevendaysvt.com/news/a-colchester-tech-firm-has-been-leaning-into-ai-on-tuesday-it-announced-layoffs/

Compare this to people from NVIDIA, Anthoropic, OpenAI, and Grok discussing AI with these persons invited by OT at OT World 2026. I know one thing: they are unfamiliar with artificial intelligence.

They continue to use the old definition of AI. One suggestion they made was to regulate or audit/monitor these AI. If you look at what NVIDIA CEO mentioned yesterday.

"There's nothing to regulate if the industry doesn't thrive."
"You can't regulate if there's no technology."
"We should be regulating the applications right away."

https://thebaynet.com/fire-rips-through-verizon-facility-in-waldorf-damages-27-vehicles-and-causes-3-8-million-in-losses/

One wonders if there were any fire alarms triggered to NOC/on-call folks as 'most' facilities would have systems designed to send an alert for something like this? Unless the system was never properly tested for alarm.

Cutting humans and 'replacing' or outsourcing to save money looks good on spreadsheet - how will explaining what happened and getting these vehicles replaced look on a spreadsheet? AI was supposed to be superior for most all job duties, including writing poems to everyone's wife.

Deloitte has eliminated approximately 170 positions in Australia. The company is reallocating these roles to its outsourcing division, where it plans to hire over 500 individuals. This strategic shift aims to bolster stable, recurring revenue streams, aligning with industry trends. Deloitte anticipates AI will automate a significant portion of routine consulting tasks. This move is part of a broader strategy to expand its managed services operations.

Sydney, Australia

https://www.goingconcern.com/monday-morning-accounting-news-brief-deloitte-starts-the-week-with-layoffs-ai-agent-audits-are-here-10-19-26/

https://www.businessinsider.com/cisco-president-jeetu-patel-personal-ai-agents-cancel-subscriptions-2026-10

Is anyone surprised by Rich Harbison’s letter acknowledging the deficiencies in this company? Specifically Action taking, AI Impact, Recognition, Career Opportunities, and Ethical Standards amongst the lowest scoring elements.

Expect another wave of people exiting the company after the last sub-executive RSUs are vested and paid. These were "retention" RSUs given during the free fall of 3M stock during period of great uncertainty due to PFAS and ear plug litigation. These are the golden handcuffs for some people. 3M continues to make outside opportunities more attractive to long term employees and rewards those brought in from the outside. Thus, we see a certain group of employees hanging on for dear life until Feb 6.

The jury is still out on BB and team to see if the approach for growth and stock price appreciation is real or just a smoke show. My observations were of too much window dressing and quarterly optimization vs. long term actions and strategy in support of growth.

Company continues to follow consultants to have 3M follow industry standards (by people who tell companies what to do but are not long term accountable). Thus, more outsourcing, "AI" initiatives, and thoughts on cross-selling 3Mers long list of disparate, specialize, premium products. I hope for a good outcome, but I am not a believer.

Any idea why DXC's stock price has gone up from ~8 in May to ~14 now?

While we all know how the company is performing from the inside, wonder what is making investors confident that is spiking up the share price to this level?

How does just making announcements on deploying AI and making deals with anthropic alone lead to such spikes when historically the company has shown poor performance?

Do the C suite pretenders acknowledge all the current research that confirms technology is not helping students learn and in many cases is detrimental? Or, do they just blindly beat the AI drum and clamor for more market share?

The 10/13 earnings call included a statement that employees in operations, customer service, technology and risk should examine closely. Scharf described AI agents capable of performing work in call centers and operations sites. His point was that a large company can deploy technology across a much wider workforce and achieve greater benefits from the same investment. This matters because Wells Fargo is already operating with substantially fewer employees.

THE WORKFORCE CONTEXT

September 2025: 210,821 employees

September 2026: 194,369 employees

That's 16,452 fewer employees over one year, approximately 7.8%.

And Wells Fargo's headcount has declined for 24 consecutive quarters, according to management's six-year statement.

WHICH FUNCTIONS DID MANAGEMENT DISCUSS?

The October earnings call described AI applications across several areas:

1. Software development: Faster coding and autonomous agents where appropriate.

2. Customer service: Automation of common banking activities.

3. Operations: AI agents capable of performing work within operations sites.

4. Cybersecurity: Identifying vulnerabilities and accelerating code development and testing.

5. Risk management: Simplifying existing processes.

6. Underwriting and complaints: Accelerating response times and routine workflows.

7. Financial-advisor support: AI tools that reduce routine administrative work and improve information access.

These are applications management discussed. They are not a confirmed list of departments scheduled for layoffs.

HERE'S THE REAL QUESTION

If AI reduces the time required for routine tasks, what happens to the employees who previously performed them?

There are several possibilities.

The bank could redeploy employees into higher-value work.

It could increase output targets while maintaining existing staffing.

Or it could allow departures to go unfilled as automation takes over portions of the workflow.

All three are possible. Actual decisions depend on the business.

THE CFO'S MESSAGE MAKES THIS MORE IMPORTANT

Discussing 2027 expense planning, Mike Santomassimo said:

"we expect every part of the company to drive meaningful efficiency."

He also explained that next year's expenses would reflect continued efficiency work, investment needs and salary inflation.

Questions:

Ops: Are AI tools reducing staff requirements or simply increasing transaction targets?

CS: Are service expectations changing as more routine customer tasks are automated?

Tech: Are faster coding tools being used to justify larger delivery commitments?

Risk: Are manual reviews disappearing, or are employees still responsible for checking automated output?

Nobody can confirm individual layoff decisions from an earnings call.

But when management identifies specific work AI can perform and simultaneously expects companywide efficiency, employees should be asking where the staffing assumptions are changing.

Sources:

October 13, 2026 earnings call:
https://www.benzinga.com/news/26/10/62329932/full-transcript-wells-fargo-q3-2026-earnings-call

Wells Fargo Q3 workforce and AI analysis:
https://www.grindhotline.com/wells-fargo-2027-job-risk-q3-2026-headcount-ai.html

Disney's September 18 announcement created something important: its first companywide Chief Technology Officer position.

Karandeep Anand, formerly CEO of Character.AI, reports directly to Disney CEO Josh D'Amaro.

His responsibilities cover:

• Enterprise technology
• Infrastructure
• Data and AI platforms
• Product
• Engineering
• Technology teams across Disney's business segments
  This is a broad technology leadership mandate.

THREE NUMBERS WORTH WATCHING

66: Character.AI employees accepted Disney employment offers.

$60 million: Estimated annual compensation run rate for the incoming group.

Several hundred: Positions Reuters reported being eliminated across Disney HR and technology on September 29.

The issue isn't that Disney is hiring engineers. It's that technology investment priorities are changing while existing positions are being removed.

FIVE WARNING SIGNS FOR EXISTING TEAMS

1. Platform ownership moves to a centralized organization.
2. Existing engineering projects lose executive sponsorship.
3. Open positions are canceled while another organization recruits.
4. Teams are consolidated without replacing departing employees.
5. Employees retain legacy system responsibilities while also inheriting new AI-related delivery expectations.
   These are organizational risk indicators, not evidence of a confirmed list of employees selected for layoffs.

THE INTERNAL MOBILITY QUESTION

For Disney employees, an important distinction is whether new technology investment creates opportunities for existing workers or primarily brings in external expertise.

Does the new organization have approved positions that current Disney engineers can apply for?

Are employees receiving paid training or dedicated time to move into AI-related work?

Who will maintain existing platforms while technology modernization happens?

And if teams are combined, will job grades, compensation, and staffing change accordingly?

QUESTION FOR DISNEY TECHNOLOGY EMPLOYEES:

Has the arrival of the new CTO changed reporting structures, hiring approvals, project ownership, or platform funding?

Particularly interested in Disney Streaming, Enterprise Technology, infrastructure, data engineering, cybersecurity, and product teams.

The next organization chart may be more informative than the next corporate announcement.

Sources:

Official Disney CTO appointment:
https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/press-releases/the-walt-disney-company-names-karandeep-anand-to-newly-created-role-of-chief-technology-officer/

Detailed breakdown of the staffing and AI investment:
https://www.grindhotline.com/disney-tech-layoffs-ai-hiring-character-ai-2026.html

Disney employees should be paying attention to what the company's latest AI recruitment deal says about its changing workforce priorities.

The numbers are now public, including details from Character.AI's October 2026 bankruptcy filings.

THE RECRUITMENT NUMBERS

• 66 Character.AI employees accepted Disney employment offers.
• Approximately $60 million: estimated annual compensation run rate for the recruited group.
• Approximately $180 million: estimated total compensation and retention over three years.
• $30 million: retention pool included in the three-year compensation structure.
• $20 million: separate proposed technology licensing transaction involving Character.AI intellectual property.
  The $60 million figure comes from a preliminary estimate covering approximately 65 offered employees. It includes total compensation, not just base salaries.

The $180 million is a three-year estimate that includes retention. It is not an additional $180 million on top of the $30 million retention pool.

NOW LOOK AT THE LAYOFF TIMELINE

September 18: Disney announced Karandeep Anand, Character.AI's former CEO, as its first companywide CTO.

September 29: Reuters reported Disney was eliminating several hundred positions across HR and technology.

October 2: Anand's appointment became effective.

October 13: Bankruptcy filings disclosed details of Disney's recruitment arrangements.

October 16: Business Insider reported on the compensation commitment.

This is a company reducing positions in some departments while making a major financial commitment to technical talent elsewhere.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR EXISTING EMPLOYEES?

Disney clearly considers some technical capabilities important enough to fund aggressively.

But what happens to experienced internal engineers, platform specialists, infrastructure teams, and technology managers whose existing work remains essential?

Are they being retrained and redeployed? Are funded internal positions available? Or are some teams losing investment while new teams are created?

These disclosures do not establish that the Character.AI hires directly replaced laid-off Disney employees.

They do establish that hiring and layoffs are happening alongside each other.

QUESTION FOR DISNEY EMPLOYEES:

Are you seeing technology vacancies frozen while AI positions receive funding?

Are internal employees being offered meaningful opportunities to join the new technology organization?

Or are teams being consolidated while external recruitment continues?

Interested in what people are actually seeing across Disney Technology, streaming, product, engineering, and corporate functions.

Sources:

Disney CTO announcement, September 18:
https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/press-releases/the-walt-disney-company-names-karandeep-anand-to-newly-created-role-of-chief-technology-officer/

Reuters, September 29:
https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/disney-laying-off-several-hundred-employees-variety-reports-2026-09-29/

Detailed analysis and bankruptcy filing references:
https://www.grindhotline.com/disney-tech-layoffs-ai-hiring-character-ai-2026.html

Torani CEO Melanie Dulbecco believes layoffs are a choice, not a necessity, for companies. She has led the syrup brand for 35 years, growing it from $700,000 in annual revenue to over $800 million. During the pandemic, the company faced financial challenges but chose to avoid layoffs by cutting expenses and pivoting to online sales. Dulbecco emphasizes that building resilience and momentum comes from a united team. The company also uses automation and AI to enhance, rather than replace, its employees' roles.

San Leandro, California

https://www.businessinsider.com/torani-ceo-says-layoffs-are-a-choice-2026-10

Agilent Technologies will acquire Proscia for $240 million in cash. An additional $30 million may be paid based on future performance. Proscia provides digital pathology software and AI tools. This acquisition will enhance Agilent's position in the digital pathology market. The deal is anticipated to finalize in early fiscal year 2027.

Santa Clara, California

https://www.modernhealthcare.com/mergers-acquisitions/mh-healthcare-deals-live-updates/

This video examines Broadcom's controversial $61 billion acquisition of VMware in 2023, led by CEO Hock Tan. The deal followed Broadcom's established "franchise business" strategy: acquire companies with essential, deeply embedded technology, aggressively cut costs, and extract maximum revenue from customers who find it too expensive or complicated to leave.

Key impacts on VMware customers:

• Elimination of perpetual licenses: Within weeks of closing the deal, Broadcom moved customers toward subscription-based licensing, disrupting IT budgets and long-term infrastructure planning.
• Drastic price increases: Major customers, including AT&T, Fidelity, and UnitedHealthcare, reportedly faced price increases ranging from 300% to more than 1,000%.
• Forced product bundling: Broadcom consolidated more than 160 products into a handful of core bundles, requiring customers to pay for features and capabilities they may not need.
• Migration roadblocks: Changes to VMware's partner ecosystem and restrictions involving the VDDK (Virtual Disk Development Kit) reportedly made it harder for organizations to migrate virtual machines to competitors such as Nutanix or cloud providers.

Business and legal fallout:

• Several major corporations filed lawsuits against Broadcom over licensing changes, contractual disputes, and threats of service termination. Some cases resulted in confidential settlements.
• Broadcom faced widespread customer backlash and EU antitrust scrutiny, yet achieved its financial targets ahead of schedule.
• Despite the controversy, Broadcom's stock reached record highs, while VMware's operating margins improved significantly under the new ownership.

The central argument is that Broadcom doesn't necessarily need VMware customers to be happy. It needs them to stay. For many organizations, the cost, complexity, and operational risk of migrating away from VMware currently outweigh the financial pain of remaining.

Broadcom is betting that customer dependency, higher recurring subscription revenue, and future demand for AI infrastructure will continue to make VMware a highly profitable acquisition.

The question is whether customers will remain trapped indefinitely or whether Broadcom's aggressive monetization strategy will eventually drive enough organizations toward competing virtualization platforms to undermine its long-term business.

Video Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NH1yGy0JSUA

Last week, Kelly Services celebrated its 80th Anniversary and a new brand. As a return gift, they laid off many employees across many departments. Most of the employees had an AI assessment call with an AI lead 2 weeks ago, just like a meeting to understand their day-to-day duties and workflow, and based on his feedback, they decided what roles can be eliminated.
Well, celebrated the 80th anniversary !!!

It's the end of Oracle. if they think Ai will save them, it's too late now.

Cut engineering by 30% by 2027 due to AI

It’s true. Promise of AI is cheap code. H1B was giving dignified life to some family a human. AI only making few folks rich. but still grudge is against h1 B

It has only just started. Almost everyone I know is already planning to leave the company after multiple rounds of layoffs with no clear strategy. Now, with the push toward agentic AI, R&D teams are being asked to train AI agents to do their jobs, while AEs are expected to test and improve AI workflows that could eventually replace them.
At this point, nobody seems to trust upper management anymore. Let’s see how customers react when there are fewer experienced people available to answer their questions and support their needs. Customer engagement and product adoption could take a serious hit.
Meanwhile, more and more companies are developing AI-powered alternatives that aim to replace the very solutions Synopsys sells. It wouldn’t be surprising if customers increasingly chose to build their own solutions rather than rely on Synopsys tools. The company is heading down a dangerous path.

Do we even know the down AI spend. More AI spend = more layoff

We are making Anthropic, OpenAI and cursor rich

How do you see AI impacting us 5 years from now.

https://www.axios.com/2026/10/16/wall-street-limit-ai-spending-debt

Wall Street appears to be hitting its limit on AI, and financiers are starting to say the quiet part out loud: All of this AI spending doesn't look like it can pay off, at least not for everyone.

Why it matters: The gap between what it costs to build AI infrastructure and what companies are actually paying to use it is widening. Wall Street's anxiety is surging as the debt piling up to fund data centers and chips looks increasingly disconnected from economic reality.

Driving the news: A massive gap is opening up between AI infrastructure spending and expected returns.

While AI providers are projected to spend $7 trillion on infrastructure through 2030, research from Gartner forecasts they will generate no more than $3.6 trillion in related revenue over that same period.
More than $4 trillion in AI infrastructure spending could be at risk of write-downs by the end of 2032 if companies maintain their current investment pace.
Gartner also predicts that more than 80% of specialized AI cloud providers, known as neoclouds, will cease operating independently by 2030.
Case in point: CoreWeave, one of the largest neoclouds with among the closest ties to Nvidia — the AI bo-m's financial and spiritual foundation — has faced a multiday sell-off of its stock and debt.

Yields pushed above 15% and its stock tumbled 15.5% before rebounding after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang spoke up on the company's behalf.
Follow the money: Sources on Wall Street used to tell Axios that as long as the AI buildout was paid for in cash, there was nothing to worry about. But today, a third of the capex being spent on AI is coming from debt, and capital markets are showing signs of severe fatigue.

It's getting harder to secure financing. Global AI-related debt issuance plunged to $23 billion in September 2026, down sharply from $113 billion in June, per the Financial Times.
Banks are actively pulling back to avoid concentration risk, with JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon confirming his bank is tightening up on credit.
Infrastructure projects and providers are struggling: Approximately $18 billion in bank loans for an Oracle data center campus recently slid into stressed territory, while Nvidia-backed AI cloud provider Firmus shelved an IPO that sought a valuation north of $30 billion.
Zoom in: The constant spending relies on the belief that compute demand will never falter — a belief that has structural cracks.

Reflection AI co-founder Ioannis Antonoglou told Semafor that businesses may need "a decade or two decades" to fundamentally redesign their operations around AI.
That's 10 to 20 years of companies slowly adopting the technology that's being built (expensively) today.
Between the lines: This creates a mismatch: Data centers and chips require enormous investment today, but the returns that could justify that spend will take years to materialize.

Put bluntly, there is a massive gap between AI spending and AI revenue, one that won't close for many, many years.
At the same time, companies that are adopting AI quickly are getting smarter about using tools more efficiently, turning to open-weight models that are less compute-intensive to cut costs.
Reality check: Look at Anthropic's latest financials for a counterpoint to the bears.

The company is raking in cash, turning free cash flow positive in the third quarter and growing revenue nearly 50% compared to the April-to-June period.
But even Anthropic's staggering growth has slowed, albeit expectedly because trees can't grow to the sky.
The bottom line: The debt-fueled AI buildout is not an isolated problem for tech investors alone to worry about.

The stock market and economy have become increasingly tied up with the AI bo-m.
If the AI bet doesn't work, markets and the economy could falter as well.

My Lawd, what a waste of time. Wonder how much money we burned for this "enlightenment" training of AI.

It feels like Nike is pushing everyone to use AI so they can figure out how to automate as many roles as possible. Eliminate those roles and then those at the new India campus will be doing a majority of the workload.

https://www.citybiz.co/article/919766/wells-fargo-names-cayetano-gea-carrasco-head-of-ai-and-data-for-consumer-banking/

Soon another Deepseek moment from China is about to rock OpenAI's bet on expensive datacenters. This could be what does Oracle in. Uh oh ;)

possible,” asking for continued patience.

Pulumbarit said within weeks 3M will be able to reach a point “where most people will already know and have been informed” about their future with the company.

In a separate communication with employees obtained by the Minnesota Star Tribune, 3M officials said the moves were “to better position us for the future.”

The reorganization could stretch as far out as 2028, customer service employees were told in Wednesday’s call.

3M, which makes and sells thousands of products and services, has 60,500 employees, including 22,500 in the United States and 38,000 internationally.

3M opened global service centers in Costa Rica, the Philippines and Poland in 2015 and 2016. Customer service representatives at 3M maintain relationships and solve disputes with customers.

Companies across industries have embraced generative artificial intelligence to work more efficiently and productively and in the process have eliminated scores of jobs.

In July, Microsoft and 3M announced a partnership in which Microsoft would use 3M’s expanded beam optical technology, an easier way to install fiber-to-fiber connections within data centers, inside Microsoft data centers.

As part of the agreement, 3M would use AI technology from Microsoft across key business functions to reach business transformation goals, including those for customer service.

“At 3M, we view AI as a powerful tool that can accelerate growth, improve customer experiences and help our teams work more effectively,” said Jon Van Wyck, executive vice president and chief strategy officer at 3M, in a news release. “Our collaboration with Microsoft supports that vision through targeted optimization opportunities.”

Clay Magouyrk, the company's co-CEO, told the audience at Oracle's AI World conference in Las Vegas that OpenAI can "of course" cover its payments, citing ChatGPT's 800 million weekly active users as evidence of OpenAI's own growth. That's a confident answer. It isn't a guarantee, and it isn't backed by anything OpenAI has disclosed about its own balance sheet.

Link: https://startupfortune.com/sps-downgrade-leaves-oracle-financing-openais-bet-years-before-it-pays-off/

A few sources say Alexa/AI teams, Zappos, PXT, and Prime Video will get hit next. Bring it on!