Disney’s $60 Million Character.AI Deal, Meta’s Brazil Scrutiny and Anthropic’s IPO Ambitions: This Week in Tech
Artificial intelligence (AI) remained the dominant business storyline this week, stretching from corporate staffing decisions and election scrutiny to semiconductor investment and consumer software launches.
Meanwhile, AI companies continued courting investors. One prominent model developer reported sharply higher revenue and adjusted profitability, while another prepared for a possible public listing.
Disney’s Character.AI Deal Raises Eyebrows
Walt Disney Co. plans to pay $60 million annually for 66 Character.AI employees, shortly after reducing its own workforce. The compensation arrangement was disclosed in a Chapter 11 filing by Character.AI’s parent company.
Meta Faces Renewed Brazil Election Scrutiny
Meta Platforms, Inc. denied political bias after internal communications reportedly highlighted restrictions affecting President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s Instagram accounts. Employees also discussed recommendations promoting challenger Flávio Bolsonaro’s profile and WhatsApp channel, Reuters reported, citing Brazilian newspaper Folha de S.Paulo.
TSMC Commits to An AI-heavy future
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. shares declined Friday even as the chipmaker reported record profits. Bullish analysts said the company is doubling down on capital expenditures as demand for agentic AI expands, making investment plans a central focus.
Apple’s China Rollout Comes With Major Omissions
Apple Inc. reportedly plans to introduce Apple Intelligence in China with iOS 27.3 in December, following two years of regulatory delays. The initial release is expected to offer limited capabilities, including photo-editing tools, while AI Siri and Genmoji may be excluded, Bloomberg reported.
Anthropic Strengthens Its Investor Pitch
Anthropic reported that third-quarter revenue climbed 45% sequentially to $16.8 billion, up from $11.6 billion in the second quarter and $4.7 billion in the first. The Claude maker also reported improved adjusted profitability as CEO Dario Amodei courts investors ahead of a potential public listing.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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