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  • A timeline of the US semiconductor market in 2025 | TechCrunch

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    Last year was a tumultuous one for the U.S. semiconductor industry.  

    From leadership changes at legacy companies to continuously changing dialogue around AI chip export controls, a lot has happened. If the first few weeks of 2026, which saw new chip tariffs and international semiconductor deals, are any indicator — this year will be as unexpected as the last.  

    But before we get too deep into 2026, here is a final look at everything that happened in the U.S. semiconductor industry in 2025:  

    December

    Nvidia finds gold with Groq 

    December 24: Nvidia announced that it struck a non-exclusive licensing deal with chip maker Groq. While this wasn’t an acquisition, Nvidia hired Groq’s founder and president, in addition to other employees. The company also bought $20 billion worth of Groq’s assets.  

    Chips to China 

    December 8: The U.S. Department of Commerce decided that Nvidia and AMD can send AI chips to China after all, a stark reversal to past messaging. The U.S. government specifically said Nvidia could sell its H200 chips, which are much more advanced than its H20 chips, to approved customers.  

    November 

    Nvidia keeps climbing 

    November 19: Nvidia reported record results in its third-quarter earnings report. The company racked up $57 billion in revenue in Q3, a 66% increase over the same quarter in 2024. A large portion of that revenue came from Nvidia’s data center business.  

    October

    Intel makes processor progress 

    October 9: Intel announced a new processor, dubbed Panther Lake, that is part of the company’s Intel Core Ultra processor family. This will be the first one built on the company’s 18A semiconductor process and will be exclusively made at Intel’s Arizona fab factory.  

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    September

    A taste of tariffs 

    September 26: We got the first inkling of what the Trump administration’s semiconductor tariffs could look like at the end of September. Rumors started swirling that the administration would require semiconductor companies to produce the same volume of chips domestically as they do internationally, or they would otherwise be subject to tariffs.  

    China shuts out Nvidia 

    September 17: China’s campaign against Nvidia continued when the country told its domestic companies not to buy Nvidia’s chips. The Cyberspace Administration of China banned local companies from buying Nvidia’s chips in an effort to boost domestic chip sales.  

    China calls out Nvidia

    September 15: Despite being given a loose green light to start selling chips again in China, the process was not going to be smooth sailing for Nvidia. China’s State Administration for Market Regulation ruled that Nvidia violated the country’s antitrust regulations regarding the company’s 2020 acquisition of Mellanox Technologies.  

    A leadership shakeup

    September 9: Just a few short weeks after the U.S. government took an equity stake in Intel, the company made some notable leadership changes. Michelle Johnston Holthaus, the chief executive officer of Intel products, departed after three decades. The company also created a central engineering group.  

    August

    Nvidia reports record quarter

    August 27: The turmoil in the semiconductor market over the year had clearly not hurt Nvidia. On August 27, the company reported that it had record sales in the second quarter. The highlights were the growth of its data center business, which saw its revenue grow 56% year over year.

    U.S. Government takes equity stake in Intel

    August 22: The U.S. government announced it was converting existing government grants into a 10% stake in Intel. The deal was structured to penalize Intel if the company’s ownership in its foundry program dropped below 50%.

    SoftBank takes a stake in Intel

    August 18: Japanese conglomerate SoftBank announced it was taking a $2 billion stake in Intel. SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son called the deal “strategic.” The transaction was announced as rumors were swirling that the U.S. was going to take a stake in the company.

    Chip companies strike a deal to sell in China

    August 12: Nvidia and AMD announced that they struck a deal with the U.S. government to gain the necessary license to sell their AI chips in China. Both companies agreed to pay the U.S. government 15% of revenue from their chip sales in China.

    Trump and Lip-Bu Tan meet

    August 11: Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan went to the White House to meet with President Trump. The pair talked about Tan’s past and how Intel can help the U.S. with its goal of bringing semiconductor manufacturing back to the U.S. Both called the conversation productive.

    Trump comes for Lip-Bu Tan

    August 7: President Donald Trump demanded that Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan “resign immediately” due to “conflicts of interest” in a Truth Social post. While Trump didn’t clarify what the conflicts of interest were, this came the day after Republican Senator Tom Cotton sent a letter to Intel’s board of directors inquiring about Tan’s ties to China.

    Trump says tariffs are coming for the industry

    August 5: President Donald Trump told CNBC’s Squawk Box that he was planning to announce tariffs on the semiconductor industry as soon as the following week. At the time, he didn’t mention specifics on what these tariffs could look like. As of September 5, no tariffs have been announced for this industry.

    July

    Intel spins out business unit

    July 25: Just one day after its second-quarter earnings call, Intel confirmed that it was spinning out its Network and Edge group, which is responsible for making chips for the telecom industry. The business unit produced $5.8 billion in revenue for the semiconductor company in 2024.

    Intel continues to look for efficiency

    July 24: Intel announced that it was pulling back on some of its manufacturing operations. The company said it will longer pursue its previously announced projects in Germany and Poland and that it was consolidating its test operations. Intel also announced it plans to end this year with around 75,000 employees.

    Trump’s AI Action Plan

    July 23: The Trump administration unveiled its much-anticipated AI Action Plan alongside multiple related executive orders. While the plan included a lot regarding the need for U.S. chip export controls and for the U.S. to coordinate with its allies on this effort, it didn’t provide concrete information on what those restrictions would look like.

    Groundbreaking UAE AI deal reportedly on hold

    July 17: The Trump administration helped foster a groundbreaking deal in May that resulted in a commitment from the United Arab Emirates to buy billions of dollars’ worth of AI chips from Nvidia. But now that deal was reportedly on hold as the U.S. worked through national security concerns and fears that those chips could be smuggled from the Middle East to China.

    Nvidia is a bargaining chip

    July 16: A day after semiconductor firms like Nvidia and AMD got the green light to resume selling certain AI chips to China, we found out why. U.S. Commerce Security Howard Lutnick said the plans to allow U.S. companies to start selling AI chips in China are tied to ongoing trade discussions between the U.S. and China regarding rare earth elements.

    U.S. chips head back to China

    July 14: Nvidia said it was filing an application to restart sales of H20 AI chips in China, confirming rumors from a few weeks prior. The company also announced that it would be selling a new chip, the RTX Pro, which was designed specifically for the Chinese market.

    Malaysia fights chip smuggling

    July 14: Malaysia announced that it was launching trade permits for U.S.-made AI chips. Under this new restriction, any individual or business would need to give the Malaysian government 30 days’ notice before exporting any U.S. AI chips.

    June

    Intel appoints new leadership

    June 18: Intel announced four new leadership appointments that Intel said will help it move toward its goal of becoming an engineering-first company again. Intel announced a new chief revenue officer in addition to multiple high-profile engineering hires.

    Intel began layoffs

    June 17: Intel began laying off a significant chunk of its Intel Foundry staff in July, according to various media reports. The company later confirmed it was restructuring. Reports said it planned to eliminate 15% to 20%, of workers in that business unit. These layoffs weren’t a shock: Layoffs were rumored back in April, and Intel’s CEO Lip-Bu Tan had said he wants to flatten the organization.

    Nvidia won’t report on China

    June 13: Nvidia wasn’t counting on the U.S. backing off from its AI chip export restrictions. After the company took a financial hit from the newly imposed licensing requirements on its H20 AI chips, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said the company will no longer include the Chinese market in future revenue and profit forecasts.

    AMD acquired the team behind Untether AI

    June 6: AMD made another acquisition — this time focused on talent. The company acqui-hired the team behind Untether AI, which develops AI inference chips, as the semiconductor giant continues to round out its AI offerings.

    AMD is coming for Nvidia’s AI hardware dominance

    June 4: AMD continued its shopping spree. The company acquired AI software optimization startup Brium, which helps companies retrofit AI software to work with different AI hardware. With a lot of AI software being designed with Nvidia hardware in mind, this acquisition isn’t surprising.

    May

    Nvidia laid out the impact of chip export restrictions

    May 28: Nvidia reported that U.S. licensing requirements on its H20 AI chips cost the company $4.5 billion in charges during Q1. The company expected these requirements to result in an $8 billion hit to Nvidia’s revenue in Q2.

    AMD acquired Enosemi

    May 28: AMD kicked off its acquisition spree. The semiconductor company announced that it acquired Enosemi, a silicon photonics startup. Enosemi’s tech, which uses light photons to transmit data, is becoming an increasing area of interest for semiconductor companies.

    Tensions started to flare between China and the U.S.

    May 21: China’s Commerce Secretary didn’t like the U.S. guidance, issued on May 13, that warned U.S. companies that using Huawei’s AI chips “anywhere in the world” was a U.S. chip export violation. The commerce secretary issued a statement that threatened legal action against anyone caught enforcing that export restriction.

    Intel began the process to offload units

    May 20: Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan seemingly got right to work on his plan to spin out Intel’s non-core business units. Back in May, the semiconductor giant was reportedly looking to offload its Networking and Edge units, which make chips for telecom equipment, and was responsible for $5.4 billion of the company’s 2024 revenue.

    The Biden administration’s AI Diffusion rule was officially dead

    May 13: Just days before the Biden administration’s Artificial Intelligence Diffusion Rule was set to go into place, the U.S. Department of Commerce formally rescinded it. The DOC said that it plans to issue new guidance in the future, and in the meantime, companies should remember that using Huawei’s Ascend AI chips anywhere in the world is a violation of U.S. export rules.

    A last-minute reversal

    May 7: Just a week before the “Framework for Artificial Intelligence Diffusion” was set to go into place, the Trump administration planned on taking a different path. According to multiple media outlets, including Axios and Bloomberg, the administration wouldn’t enforce the restrictions when they were supposed to start on May 15 and is instead working on its own framework. 

    April

    Anthropic doubles down on its support of chip export restrictions

    April 30: Anthropic doubled down on its support for restricting U.S.-made chip exports, including some tweaks to the Framework for Artificial Intelligence Diffusion, like imposing further restrictions on Tier 2 countries and dedicating resources to enforcement. An Nvidia spokesperson shot back, saying, “American firms should focus on innovation and rise to the challenge, rather than tell tall tales that large, heavy, and sensitive electronics are somehow smuggled in ‘baby bumps’ or ‘alongside live lobsters.’” 

    Planned layoffs at Intel

    April 22: Ahead of its Q1 earnings call, Intel said it was planning to lay off more than 21,000 employees. The layoffs were meant to streamline management, something CEO Lip-Bu Tan has long said Intel needed to do, and help rebuild the company’s engineering focus. 

    The Trump administration further restricts chip exports

    April 15: Nvidia’s H20 AI chip got hit with an export licensing requirement, the company disclosed in an SEC filing. The company added that it expected $5.5 billion in charges related to this new requirement in the first quarter of its 2026 fiscal year. The H20 was the most advanced AI chip Nvidia can still export to China in some fashion. TSMC and Intel reported similar expenses the same week. 

    Nvidia appears to talk its way out of further chip exports

    April 9: Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang was spotted attending dinner at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, according to reports. At the time, NPR reported Huang may have been able to spare Nvidia’s H20 AI chips from export restrictions upon agreeing to invest in AI data centers in the U.S. 

    An alleged agreement between Intel and TSMC

    April 3: Intel and TSMC allegedly reached a tentative agreement to launch a joint chipmaking venture. This joint venture would operate Intel’s chipmaking facilities, and TSMC would have a 20% stake in the new venture. Both companies declined to comment or confirm. If this deal doesn’t come to fruition, this is likely a decent preview of potential deals in the industry to come. 

    Intel warned it will spin off non-core assets

    April 1: CEO Lip-Bu Tan got to work right away. Just weeks after he joined Intel, the company announced that it was going to spin off non-core assets so it could focus. He also said the company would launch new products, including custom semiconductors for customers. 

    March

    Intel names a new CEO 

    March 12:  Intel announced that industry veteran and former board member Lip-Bu Tan would return to the company as CEO on March 18. At the time of his appointment, Tan said Intel would be an “engineering-focused company” under his leadership. 

    February

    Intel’s Ohio chip plant gets delayed again

    February 28: Intel was supposed to start operating its first chip fabrication plant in Ohio this year. Instead, the company slowed down construction on the plant for the second time in February. Now the $28 billion semiconductor project won’t wrap up construction until 2030 and may not even open until 2031.

    Senators call for more chip export restrictions

    February 3: U.S. senators, including Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo), wrote a letter to Commerce Secretary Nominee-Designate Howard Lutnick, urging the Trump administration to further restrict AI chip exports. The letter specifically referred to Nvidia’s H20 AI chips, which were used in the training of DeepSeek’s R1 “reasoning” model. 

    January 

    DeepSeek releases its open “reasoning” model

    January 27: Chinese AI startup DeepSeek caused quite the stir in Silicon Valley when it released the open version of its R1 “reasoning” model. While this isn’t semiconductor news specifically, the sheer alarm in the AI and semiconductor industries DeepSeek caused continues to have ripple effects on the chip industry. 

    Joe Biden’s executive order on chip exports

    January 13: With just a week left in office, former president Joe Biden proposed sweeping new export restrictions on U.S.-made AI chips. This order created a three-tier structure that determined how many U.S. chips can be exported to each country. Under this proposal, Tier 1 countries faced no restrictions; Tier 2 countries had a chip purchase limit for the first time; and Tier 3 countries got additional restrictions. 

    Anthropic’s Dario Amodei weighs in on chip export restrictions

    January 6: Anthropic co-founder and CEO Dario Amodei co-wrote an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal endorsing existing AI chip export controls and pointing to them as a reason why China’s AI market was behind the U.S. He also called on incoming president Donald Trump to impose further restrictions and to close loopholes that have allowed AI companies in China to still get their hands on these chips.

    This story was originally published on May 9, 2025, and is regularly updated with new information.

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    Rebecca Szkutak

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  • Intel spinout Articul8 raises more than half of $70M round at $500M valuation | TechCrunch

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    Articul8, an enterprise AI company spun out of Intel in early 2024, has secured more than half of a planned $70 million funding round at a $500 million pre-money valuation, according to its CEO, as it looks to capitalize on growing demand for AI systems in regulated industries.

    The Series B funding round is structured in two installments, with the first led by Spain’s Adara Ventures, Articul8 founder and CEO Arun K. Subramaniyan (pictured above, center) said in an interview. He declined to disclose the size of the initial installment, but said the company expects to close the round in the first quarter of this year.

    Articul8’s valuation for its current funding round marks a roughly fivefold increase from the company’s $100 million post-money Series A valuation in January 2024. Since then, the Santa Clara-based company said it has surpassed $90 million in total contract value — the cumulative value of all signed customer contracts — from 29 paying customers, including Hitachi Energy, AWS, Franklin Templeton, and Intel.

    Subramaniyan told TechCrunch that Articul8 was not under pressure to raise capital, describing the company as revenue-positive following a series of large enterprise contracts.

    “We are not cash-strapped,” he said.

    The company expects to finish the year with annual recurring revenue of just over $57 million, Subramaniyan said, with roughly 45% to 50% of that already recognized.

    Articul8 develops specialized AI systems that operate within customers’ own IT environments, rather than relying on shared, general-purpose models. Instead of selling standalone models, the company packages its technology as software applications and AI agents tailored to specific business functions, targeting regulated industries such as energy, manufacturing, aerospace, financial services, and semiconductors, where accuracy, auditability, and data control are critical.

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    Articul8’s knowledge graph viewImage Credits:Articul8

    “Our competition is pretty much everybody,” said Subramaniyan. “But today, the major competitors are the cloud service providers, because they have realized that their model, as the general-purpose [offerings], are all commodities.”

    He added that Articul8’s focus on specialized systems appeals to customers who need predictable results and clear audit trails, something that is harder to achieve with general-purpose models run on shared cloud platforms.

    Articul8 plans to use the Series B proceeds primarily to expand research and product development and to scale its operations internationally, with a focus on Europe and parts of Asia.

    Adara Ventures’ participation will help speed-up the European expansion plan, as the European Investment Fund backs the Madrid-based VC firm’s energy fund, Subramaniyan said. The company is also looking to scale in markets including Japan and South Korea, where it has begun working with large enterprise customers, he noted.

    India’s Aditya Birla Ventures also participated in the ongoing round, Subramaniyan stated.

    Articul8 works with large tech groups including Nvidia and Google Cloud, Subramaniyan said, adding that Amazon Web Services is both a customer and a partner for the company on some deployments.

    The company employs 75 people, with about 80% focused on R&D, and teams spread across the U.S., Brazil, and India.

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    Jagmeet Singh

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  • Filipino engineer and entrepreneur dies at 79

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    Filipino tech entrepreneur Diosdado “Dado” Banatao died at the age of 79.

    Banatao is known for pioneering the technology that made personal computers possible, thus putting Silicon Valley on the map. He also co-founded three technology companies and started a nonprofit to help support Filipinos in STEM fields.

    “Rising from humble beginnings in Cagayan, he went on to co-found transformative technology companies and played a pivotal role in advancing the global semiconductor and graphics industries,” said the National Federation of Filipino American Associations on LinkedIn in honor of Banatao’s passing. “Just as importantly, he invested deeply in people opening doors, mentoring founders and strengthening communities.”

    According to a post on his website by his family, Banatao passed away peacefully on Christmas Day, surrounded by family and friends. His family said he “succumbed to complications from a neurological disorder that hit him late in his life.” He would have been 80 in May.

    His family wrote, “We are mourning his loss, but take comfort from the time spent with him during this Christmas season, and that his fight with this disease is over.”

    Banatao was born to a rice farmer and housekeeper in Iguig, Cagayan, according to ABS-CBN. According to his 2015 documentary, he didn’t have access to electricity growing up and was taught math using bamboo sticks. He said it was typical for his classmates to stop going to school after sixth grade to help their parents work in the fields, but his father told him to continue studying.

    He developed a love for engineering and graduated with a degree in electric engineering from Mapua Institute of Technology, a private research university in Manila. He said in his documentary that there were no design jobs for engineers in the Philippines, so he moved to the U.S. and pursued a master’s degree in electrical engineering and computer science at Stanford University. He graduated in 1972.

    Soon after college, Banatao worked as a design engineering at Boeing. ABS-CBN reported that he then went on to work for other technology companies, like National Semiconductor and Intersil. While at Commodore International, he designed the first single chip, 16-bit microprocessor-based calculator.

    He is credited with developing the first 10-Mbit ethernet CMOS chip in 1981 while working at Seeq Technology. He also developed the first system logic chipset for IBM’s PC-XT and PC-AT and one of the first graphics accelerators for personal computers. These inventions allowed for faster computer performance, according to Inquirer.net. The Harvard Club of Southern California credited Banatao for bringing GPS technology to consumers.

    “Dado is the man who invented a graphical chipset that took us from black screens with green writing to the dynamic displays we have today,” the club wrote for a description of a lecture he gave in 2017 for the Harvard Business School Association of Orange County.

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    Nollyanne Delacruz

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  • This 26-year-old was laid off from his ‘dream job’ at PwC building AI agents. He’s worried the tech he built has led to more job cuts | Fortune

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    Titans of industry like Salesforce, Microsoft, and Intel have all been slashing staff, and employees are hand-wringing about being next on the chopping block. Donald King, a 26-year-old who built AI agents for PwC, never thought he’d be the next one out the door—but he soon realized why consultants are called “hatchet-men.”

    After graduating with a degree in finance from the University of Texas at Austin in 2021, King landed a job at one of the “Big Four” consulting giants: PwC. He packed his bags and moved to New York to start his role as an associate in technology consulting, working with major clients, including Oracle, during his first year. But everything changed when PwC announced a $1 billion investment in AI; King was already intrigued by the tech, so he pitched himself to join the company’s AI factory team. Working 60 to 80 hours a week, he immersed himself in the tech, even throwing knowledge-sharing AI agent block parties within the firm that drew up to 250 participants. King logged a ton of hours—sometimes at the expense of his weekends—but was confident he was excelling in his role as a product manager and data scientist.

    “I was coding and managing a team onshore and offshore. It was crazy, it’s like, ‘Give this 24-year-old millions of dollars of salary spent per month to build AI agents for Fortune 500 [companies],’” King tells Fortune. “[It was] my dream job…I won first place in this OpenAI hackathon across the entire firm.”

    Although King was proving himself as a key AI talent for PwC, he did begin to question the impact of his work. The AI agents King was building for major corporations could undoubtedly automate swaths of human roles—perhaps even entire job departments. One Microsoft Teams agent his group created mimicked an actual person, and King was a little spooked. 

    “We had a late night call with all the boys that are building this thing, like, ‘What the hell are we building right now?’” King says. “Just saying ‘Treat them like humans’ is probably not the best way to think about it.”

    Behind the scenes, a layoff was brewing—but this time, for King. In October 2024, just eight months into his final role at PwC, the Gen Zer presented his winning project from the OpenAI hackathon: a fleet of AI agents that automated manual tasks. King was proud and felt confident in his place at the firm, but two hours later, PwC called King to inform him he was being laid off. The 26-year-old recorded the meeting and posted it on TikTok, raking up more than 75,000 likes and 2.1 million views. Commenters under his videos expressed shock that King would be let go after winning the hackathon.

    “I thought I was safe, especially after I won first place,” King says. “I just got a little blindsided.”

    King clarifies he doesn’t think there were any “nefarious” intentions behind his layoff, reasoning he was likely a random staffer dismissed after the firm had overhired in previous years. However, he does connect the dots between the AI agents he built for PwC customers and the layoffs that soon ensued at those client companies. 

    Fortune reached out to PwC for comment. 

    King believes his AI agents may have been connected to layoffs 

    While King doesn’t believe his former role at PwC was automated, he recognizes that the AI agents he built likely had an impact on others. The year after his layoff, King observed that some of the Fortune 500 clients he served were implementing staffing cuts. Those AI agents he helped create may have had a hand in the layoffs. 

    “It’s 100% connected,” King says. “I knew that consulting was a hatchet-man type job, I knew you’re going in to potentially lay people off, but I didn’t think it was going to be like this.”

    While King believes AI agents are akin to the reasoning power of a five-year-old, they still know “all the corpus of information in the world” and can automate mundane tasks. Oftentimes, that means entry-level jobs are most at risk of being disrupted. 

    “It’s automating tasks, 100%, those are gone,” King says. “If your job is doing those menial types of things, if you’re just emailing a spreadsheet back and forth, you can kiss your job goodbye.”

    Pivoting to his new life purpose: founding a marketing agency 

    While being on PwC’s AI team may have once been his dream job, the layoff didn’t crush his spirit. 

    “I’m grateful for it happening…It was the worst thing that ever happened to me, but then it turned into the best thing,” King says. “Overall, [I’m] very grateful that I got laid off.”

    In the aftermath of being let go, King says he was inundated with job offers from major tech companies to join their AI operations. However, the scrappy young entrepreneur sidelined the idea of returning to a nine-to-five gig; instead, King started his own marketing agency, AMDK. The business officially launched in December last year, less than two months after being laid off from PwC. 

    So far, King says AMDK has roped in clients ranging from small companies to billion-dollar enterprises, many of whom are looking for AI agents of their own. His end goal is to build a swarm of agents that help companies with their back ends—but after his experience on PwC’s AI team, he says he’s being cautious about the ramifications of his creations. He’s still learning the ropes of entrepreneurship, but wouldn’t trade the highs and lows for a salaried corporate job.

    “This is my purpose in life, versus this is someone else’s purpose,” King says. “[I’m] way happier.”

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    Emma Burleigh

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  • How Twelve Labs Teaches A.I. to ‘See’ and Transform Video Understanding: Interview

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    Soyoung Lee, co-founder and head of GTM at Twelve Labs, pictured at Web Summit Vancouver 2025. Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Web Summit via Sportsfile via Getty Images

    Sure, the score of a football game is important. But sporting events can also foster cultural moments that slip under the radar—such as Travis Kelce signing a heart to Taylor Swift in the stands. While such footage could be social-media gold, it’s easily missed by traditional content tagging systems. That’s where Twelve Labs comes in.

    “Every sports team or sports league has decades of footage that they’ve captured in-game, around the stadium, about players,” Soyoung Lee, co-founder and head of GTM at Twelve Labs, told Observer. However, these archives are often underutilized due to inconsistent and outdated content management. “To date, most of the processes for tagging content have been manual.”

    Twelve Labs, a San Francisco-based startup specializing in video-understanding A.I., wants to unlock the value of video content by offering models that can search vast archives, generate text summaries and create short-form clips from long-form footage. Its work extends far beyond sports, touching industries from entertainment and advertising to security.

    “Large language models can read and write really well,” said Lee. “But we want to move on to create a world in which A.I. can also see.”

    Is Twelve Labs related to Eleven Labs?

    Founded in 2021, Twelve Labs isn’t to be confused with ElevenLabs, an A.I. startup that specializes in audio. “We started a year earlier,” Lee joked, adding that Twelve Labs—which named itself after the initial size of its founding team—often partners with ElevenLabs for hackathons, including one dubbed “23Labs.”

    The startup’s ambitious vision has drawn interest from deep-pocketed backers. It has raised more than $100 million from investors such as Nvidia, Intel, and Firstman Studio, the studio of Squid Game creator Hwang Dong-hyuk. Its advisory bench is equally star-studded, featuring Fei-Fei Li, Jeffrey Katzenberg and Alexandr Wang.

    Twelve Labs counts thousands of developers and hundreds of enterprise customers. Demand is highest in entertainment and media, spanning Hollywood studios, sports leagues, social media influencers and advertising firms that rely on Twelve Labs tools to automate clip generation, assist with scene selection or enable contextual ad placements.

    Government agencies also use the startup’s technology for video search and event retrieval. Beyond its work with the U.S. and other nations, Lee said that Twelve Labs has a deployment in South Korea’s Sejong City to help CCTV operators monitor thousands of camera feeds and locate specific incidents. To reduce security risks, the company has removed capabilities for facial and biometric recognition, she added.

    Will video-native A.I. come for human jobs?

    Many of the industries Twelve Labs serves are already debating whether A.I. threatens humans jobs—a concern Lee argues is only partly warranted. “I don’t know if jobs will be lost, per se, but jobs will have to transition,” she said, comparing the shift to how tools like Photoshop reshaped creative roles.

    If anything, Lee believes systems like Twelve Labs’ will democratize creative work traditionally limited to companies with big budgets. “You are now able to do things with less, which means you have more stories that can be created from independent creatives who do not have that same capital,” she said. “It actually allows for the scaling of content creation and personalizing distribution.”

    Twelve Labs is not the only A.I. player eyeing video, but the company insists it serves a different need than its much larger competitors. “We’re excited that video is now starting to get more attention, but the way we’re seeing it is a lot of innovation in large language models, a lot of innovation in video generation models and image generation models like Sora—but not in video understanding,” said Lee, referencing OpenAI’s text-to-video A.I. model and app.

    For now, Twelve Labs offers video search, video analysis and video-to-text capabilities. The company plans to expand into agentic platforms that can not only understand video but also build narratives from it. Such models could be useful beyond creative fields, Lee said, pointing to examples like retailers identifying peak foot-traffic hours or security clients mapping the sequence of events surrounding an accident.

    While A.I. might help a Hollywood director assemble a movie, Lee believes it won’t ever be the director. Even if the technology can provide narrative options, humans still decide which story is most compelling, identify gaps and supply the footage. “At the end of the day, I think there’s nothing that can replace human creative intent.”

    How Twelve Labs Teaches A.I. to ‘See’ and Transform Video Understanding: Interview

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    Alexandra Tremayne-Pengelly

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  • Windows 10 users face ransomware nightmare as Microsoft support ends in 2025 worldwide

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    NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

    Microsoft’s blog recently gave a firm warning: unsupported systems aren’t just outdated, they’re unprotected. That message targets anyone still using Windows 10, and it’s serious. In Microsoft’s Digital Defense Report, over 90% of ransomware attacks hit unsupported PCs. That statistic alone should make every Windows 10 user think twice.

    When an operating system stops receiving updates, it becomes an open door for hackers. Security patches dry up, and vulnerabilities grow. So while your computer might seem fine today, it could already be compromised without your knowledge.

    Sign up for my FREE CyberGuy Report

    Get my best tech tips, urgent security alerts and exclusive deals delivered straight to your inbox. Plus, you’ll get instant access to my Ultimate Scam Survival Guide — free when you join my CYBERGUY.COM newsletter

    10 WAYS TO SECURE YOUR OLDER MAC FROM THREATS AND MALWARE

    Why are unsupported systems dangerous

    Unsupported Windows 10 systems no longer get the updates that keep you safe. Without those patches, ransomware and malware have easy access to your files. Once inside, attackers can encrypt your personal data or steal credentials and banking details.

    It’s not just about losing files. Identity theft and financial fraud often start with outdated systems. The older the software, the easier it is for cybercriminals to exploit weaknesses that will never be fixed.

    The “just one more year” trap

    Many people tell themselves they’ll upgrade later. Microsoft calls this “just one more year” thinking. The problem is that every delay increases your risk. Extended security updates only offer limited coverage, and they don’t stop new types of attacks.

    Without Microsoft’s regular monitoring, new vulnerabilities stay hidden. You could be using your computer for months while attackers quietly collect your data. That’s a frightening thought, especially when most of it can be prevented by upgrading.

    Upgrading to Windows 11 keeps your system protected with ongoing security updates. (Microsoft)

    MICROSOFT SOUNDS ALARM AS HACKERS TURN TEAMS PLATFORM INTO ‘REAL-WORLD DANGERS’ FOR USERS

    The hidden costs of waiting to upgrade to Windows 11

    It’s easy to think upgrading costs too much. But what about the cost of losing your photos, business files or financial information? Data recovery, fraud resolution and downtime can cost far more than a new device.

    Hackers know users delay updates, and they actively look for outdated systems. Even one unsupported device in a home or office network can create a weak spot that exposes everything else.

    How to stay safe from unsupported Windows 10 security risks

    You can protect yourself right now with a few smart steps. These actions reduce your exposure, tighten your online defenses and prepare you for a smooth upgrade to Windows 11. The good news is that most of these changes only take a few minutes but make a major difference in your security.

    1) Upgrade your system to Windows 11

    HACKERS FOUND A WAY TO TURN OFF WINDOWS DEFENDER REMOTELY

    Start by checking whether your PC can handle Windows 11. Most modern AMD and Intel processors already meet the system requirements. Upgrading keeps your computer protected with ongoing updates that patch vulnerabilities and improve overall performance. It’s one of the simplest ways to defend against ransomware and malware before they strike.

    2) Watch out for phishing scams and install strong antivirus software

    Be cautious with every link and attachment you receive. Cybercriminals love sending fake update notifications that look like official Microsoft messages. These phishing scams often contain malicious links that install malware in seconds. Before you click, hover over links to verify their source and only download updates directly from Microsoft’s official site. To add an extra layer of protection, install strong antivirus software that can detect and block malicious files before they infect your system.

    The best way to safeguard yourself from malicious links that install malware, potentially accessing your private information, is to have strong antivirus software installed on all your devices. This protection can also alert you to phishing emails and ransomware scams, keeping your personal information and digital assets safe.

    Signage outside the Microsoft Campus

    Delaying your Windows 11 upgrade only gives cybercriminals more time to strike. (Photographer: Chona Kasinger/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

    Get my picks for the best 2025 antivirus protection winners for your Windows, Mac, Android and iOS devices at Cyberguy.com.

    3) Use a data removal service

    HOW A SINGLE MACBOOK COMPROMISE SPREAD ACROSS A USER’S APPLE DEVICES

    Use a personal data removal service to take your information off people-search and data broker websites. These services help remove your name, address, phone number and other personal details that scammers often use for phishing or social-engineering attacks. By limiting what’s publicly available about you, you make it much harder for cybercriminals to target you, especially if your older, unsupported Windows 10 system is ever exposed online.

    While no service can guarantee the complete removal of your data from the internet, a data removal service is really a smart choice. They aren’t cheap, and neither is your privacy. These services do all the work for you by actively monitoring and systematically erasing your personal information from hundreds of websites. It’s what gives me peace of mind and has proven to be the most effective way to erase your personal data from the internet. By limiting the information available, you reduce the risk of scammers cross-referencing data from breaches with information they might find on the dark web, making it harder for them to target you.

    Check out my top picks for data removal services and get a free scan to find out if your personal information is already out on the web by visiting Cyberguy.com.

    4) Secure your logins

    Strong logins make a huge difference. Turn on two-factor authentication (2FA) for your most sensitive accounts, such as banking and email. Also, create strong passwords for your accounts and devices, and avoid using the same password for multiple online accounts. Consider using a password manager, which securely stores and generates complex passwords, reducing the risk of password reuse. This extra layer stops hackers, even if they manage to steal a password.

    WINDOWS 10 SUPPORT ENDS: UPGRADE TO WINDOWS 11 SAFELY

    Next, see if your email has been exposed in past breaches. Our #1 password manager (see Cyberguy.com) pick includes a built-in breach scanner that checks whether your email address or passwords have appeared in known leaks. If you discover a match, immediately change any reused passwords, and secure those accounts with new, unique credentials.

    Man typing on his laptop.

    Without Windows updates, hidden vulnerabilities give hackers easy access to your data. (Felix Zahn/Photothek via Getty Images)

    Check out the best expert-reviewed password managers of 2025 at Cyberguy.com

    5) Back up your data regularly

    Think of backups as your safety net. Save copies of important files to an external hard drive or a trusted cloud service. Schedule automatic backups so you don’t have to remember to do it yourself. If your PC ever gets locked by ransomware, a clean backup means you can restore everything without paying a cent.

    6) Stay informed and proactive

    Cyber threats evolve every day, and knowledge is your best defense. Keep an eye on official Microsoft announcements and alerts. Small changes, like applying updates quickly and revisiting your privacy settings, can keep you a step ahead of attackers.

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    Kurt’s key takeaways

    Unsupported systems might look harmless, but they create silent risks that grow over time. Every day you stay on Windows 10 after support ends, you depend on luck instead of protection. Upgrading isn’t just about staying current; it’s about keeping your data safe and your privacy intact.

    Is holding on to Windows 10 worth risking everything stored on your computer? Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy.com.

    Sign up for my FREE CyberGuy Report

    Get my best tech tips, urgent security alerts and exclusive deals delivered straight to your inbox. Plus, you’ll get instant access to my Ultimate Scam Survival Guide — free when you join my CYBERGUY.COM newsletter.

    Copyright 2025 CyberGuy.com. All rights reserved.

    Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson is an award-winning tech journalist who has a deep love of technology, gear and gadgets that make life better with his contributions for Fox News & FOX Business beginning mornings on “FOX & Friends.” Got a tech question? Get Kurt’s free CyberGuy Newsletter, share your voice, a story idea or comment at CyberGuy.com.

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  • A Dreamy Cocktail Bar Will Float Into West Town

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    A new cocktail bar from veteran bartender Katie Renshaw is on its way to West Town. Bar Bambi, located at 1703 W. Chicago Avenue, will highlight classic drinks reimagined through molecular techniques, like fermentation, clarification, and forced carbonation — think a martini as a sparkling highball or an old fashioned transformed into a clarified whiskey sour. There will also be spirit-free cocktails, natural wines, Champagne, and bar snacks such as wings and burgers.

    Bar Bambi will be designed to feel ethereal and dreamlike, blending playful, whimsical elements with grounded industrial touches. A mirrored back bar with neon accents and floor-to-ceiling front windows complement an adjustable electric light installation that lets the room shift with the hour and mood. Renshaw, who has worked at Moneygun, Billy Sunday, GreenRiver, and the Aviary, and was named the 2019 U.S. World Class Bartender of the Year, says in a release that the space balances surreal, otherworldly details with a sense of comfort, creating a lounge that feels both magical and distinctly Chicago. Bar Bambi is scheduled to open in late 2025 or early 2026.

    West Lawn restaurant rallies community to help put food on the table

    Iconic hot dog manufacturer delays new headquarters

    One of 2025’s most anticipated openings has been pushed back to next year. Vienna Beef’s Bucktown cafe and factory store is now slated to open by mid-2026. The long-delayed project at 2501 N. Damen Avenue will offer hot dogs, Italian beef, corned beef sandwiches, soups, desserts, and beers on tap from local breweries, along with indoor and outdoor seating and a rentable event space. There won’t be a museum on site but visitors will be able to check out historical artifacts on display as well as experiences like build-your-own Chicago-style hot dogs.

    An Ethiopian favorite is expanding to Bronzeville

    Ethiopian stalwart Demera is headed to the South Side. After almost two decades in Uptown, the restaurant is planning a second Chicago location at 4528 S. Cottage Grove Avenue. The new Bronzeville spot, part of a mixed-use building with residential units above it, is expected to be completed in 12 to 18 months. Demera previously expanded with a Time Out Market Chicago outpost, which closed earlier this year.

    Wicker Park Indian restaurant shifts to takeout-only service

    Vajra is closing its bar and dining room but will continue takeout service. The Indian restaurant had resumed sit-down dining in 2024 after years of carryout-only operations in West Town and its current Wicker Park location, following pandemic closures. The team has also teased a new takeout-only spot on Instagram, Oma Mediterranean by Vajra.

    Windy City Smokeout announces 2026 music lineup

    Windy City Smokeout, the barbecue and country music festival put on by Lettuce Entertain You, will return Wednesday, July 8 through Sunday, July 2026. Taking place on the grounds outside the United Center, the event will feature headlining performances by Lainey Wilson, Jordan Davis, Hootie & the Blowfish, Treaty Oak Revival, and a to-be-announced artist. Tickets are on sale now.

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    Jeffy Mai

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  • From retail to tech, here are the 10 corporations that recently announced mass layoffs | Fortune

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    Amid wider economic uncertainty, some analysts have said that businesses are at a “no-hire, no fire” standstill. That’s caused many to limit new work to only a few specific roles, if not pause openings entirely. At the same time, some sizeable layoffs have continued to pile up — raising worker anxieties across sectors.

    Some companies have pointed to rising operational costs spanning from President Donald Trump’s barrage of new tariffs and shifts in consumer spending. Others cite corporate restructuring more broadly — or, as seen with big names like Amazon, are redirecting money to investments like artificial intelligence.

    In such cases, “it’s not so much AI directly taking jobs, but AI’s appetite for cash that might be taking jobs,” said Jason Schloetzer, professor business administration at Georgetown University’s McDonough School. He pointed to wider “trade offs” from employment to infrastructure investment seen across companies today.

    Federal employees have encountered additional doses of uncertainty, impacting worker sentiment around the job market overall. Shortly after Trump returned to office at the start of the year, federal jobs were cut by the thousands. And many workers are now going without pay as the U.S. government shutdown nears its fourth week.

    “A lot of people are looking around, scanning the job environment, scanning the opportunities that are available to them — whether it’s in the public or private sector,” said Schloetzer. “And I think there’s a question mark around the long-term stability everywhere.”

    Government hiring data is on hold during the shutdown, but earlier this month a survey by payroll company ADP showed a surprising loss of 32,000 jobs in the private sector in September.

    Here are some companies that have moved to cut jobs recently.

    Amazon

    Amazon said Tuesday that it will cut about 14,000 corporate jobs, close to 4% of its workforce, as the online retail giant ramps up spending on AI while trimming costs elsewhere. A letter to employees said most workers would be given 90 days to look for a new position internally.

    CEO Andy Jassy previously said he anticipated generative AI would reduce Amazon’s corporate workforce in the coming years. And he has worked to aggressively cut costs overall since 2021.

    UPS

    United Parcel Service has cut about 34,000 jobs since the start of this year as part of turnaround efforts, amid wider shifts in the company’s shipping outputs.

    The layoffs, disclosed in a regulatory filing on Tuesday, are notably higher than the roughly 20,000 cuts UPS forecast earlier this year. On Tuesday, UPS said it also closed closed daily operations at 93 leased and owned buildings during the first nine months of this year.

    Target

    Last week, Target that it would eliminate about 1,800 corporate positions, or about 8% of its corporate workforce globally.

    Target said the cuts were part of wider streamlining efforts — with Chief Operating Officer Michael Fiddelke noting that “too many layers and overlapping work have slowed decisions.” The retailer is also looking to rebuild its customer base. Target reported flat or declining comparable sales in nine of the past eleven quarters.

    Nestlé

    In mid-October, Nestlé said it would be cutting 16,000 jobs globally — as part of wider cost cutting aimed at reviving its financial performance.

    The Swiss food giant said the layoffs would take place over the next two years. The cuts arrive as Nestlé and others face headwinds like rising commodity costs and U.S. imposed tariffs. The company announced price hikes over the summer to offset higher coffee and cocoa costs.

    Lufthansa Group

    In September, Lufthansa Group said it would shed 4,000 jobs by 2030 — pointing to the adoption of artificial intelligence, digitalization and consolidating work among member airlines.

    Most of the lost jobs would be in Germany, and the focus would be on administrative rather than operational roles, the company said. The layoff plans arrived even as the company reported strong demand for air travel and predicted stronger profits in years ahead.

    Novo Nordisk

    Also in September, Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk said it would cut 9,000 jobs, about 11% of its workforce.

    Novo Nordisk — which makes drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy — said the layoffs were part of wider restructuring as the company works to sell more obesity and diabetes medications amid rising competition.

    ConocoPhillips

    Oil giant ConocoPhillips has said it plans to lay off up to a quarter of its workforce, as part of broader efforts from the company to cut costs.

    A spokesperson for ConocoPhillips confirmed the layoffs on Sept. 3, noting that 20% to 25% of the company’s employees and contractors would be impacted worldwide. At the time, ConocoPhillips had a total headcount of about 13,000 — or between 2,600 and 3,250 workers. Most reductions were expected to take place before the end of 2025.

    Intel

    Intel has moved to shed thousands of jobs — with the struggling chipmaker working to revive its business as it lags behind rivals like Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices.

    In a July memo to employees, CEO Lip-Bu Tan said Intel expected to end the year with 75,000 “core” workers, excluding subsidiaries, through layoffs and attrition. That’s down from 99,500 core employees reported the end of last year. The company previously announced a 15% workforce reduction.

    Microsoft

    In May, Microsoft began began laying off about 6,000 workers across its workforce. And just months later, the tech giant said it would be cutting 9,000 positions — marking its biggest round of layoffs seen in more than two years.

    The latest job cuts hit Microsoft’s Xbox video game business and other divisions. The company has cited “organizational changes,” with many executives characterizing the layoffs as part of a push to trim management layers. But the labor reductions also arrive as the company spends heavily on AI.

    Procter & Gamble

    In June, Procter & Gamble said it would cut up to 7,000 jobs over the next two years, 6% of the company’s global workforce.

    The maker of Tide detergent and Pampers diapers said the cuts were part of a wider restructuring — also arriving amid tariff pressures. In July, P&G said it would hike prices on about a quarter of its products due to the newly-imposed import taxes, although it’s since said it expects to take less of a hit than previously anticipated for the 2026 fiscal year.

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    Wyatte Grantham-Philips, The Associated Press

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  • Gear News of the Week: There’s Yet Another New AI Browser, and Fujifilm Debuts the X-T30 III

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    An increasingly popular solution is the inclusion of a solar panel to keep that battery topped up, enabling you to install and potentially never touch the camera again. Both Wyze and TP-Link just revealed interesting solar-powered cameras this week. Let’s talk about Wyze first.

    The Wyze Solar Cam Pan ($80) is a 2K outdoor security camera that can pan 360 degrees and tilt 70 degrees. It is IP65-rated, easy to mount, and sports a small solar panel that Wyze reckons can keep the camera running on just one hour of sunlight a day (we shall see as I test through the gray depths of a Scottish winter). The Solar Cam Pan also features AI-powered person tracking, two-way audio, color night vision, a spotlight, and a siren, though you need a subscription, starting from $3 per month, to unlock smart features and get cloud video storage.

    Wyze also announced a new, impressively affordable Battery Video Doorbell ($66). We started testing Wyze cameras again recently after it beefed up its security policies, but the repeated security breaches, exposing thousands of camera feeds to other customers, may still give you pause.

    Meanwhile, TP-Link is the first manufacturer to combine solar power with floodlight capability in its new Tapo C615F Kit. The similar-looking but larger Tapo C615F is another 2K camera, but it pans 360 degrees, tilts 130 degrees, and, most importantly, has an adjustable 800-lumen floodlight.

    TP-Link says its solar panel only needs 45 minutes of sun a day to keep the camera ticking, and it comes with a handy 13-foot cable, so you can install the solar panel in the best spot to catch those rays. The Tapo C615F ($100) is available now, and you can use the promo code 10TAPOFLDCAM to get $10 off if you’re quick. —Simon Hill

    Fujifilm Updates Its X-T30 Line

    Courtesy of Fujifilm

    Fujifilm has released the X-T30 III, an update to the company’s entry-level, SLR-shaped mirrorless X-T30 line. The third iteration of the X-T30 pairs Fujifilm’s familiar 26-MP X-Trans APS-C sensor with the latest Fujifilm processor, the X-Processor 5. The latter means that the X-T30 III is now roughly the same as the X-M5 and X-T50 in terms of internal features. All of Fujifilm’s film simulations are available, as are the subject-recognition AF modes. Video specs also see a bump up to 6.2K 30 fps open gate, and 4K 60 fps with a 1.18X crop.

    The body is nearly identical to the previous model; the size, weight, and button/dial layout are the same as on the X-T30 II. The one change is that the control dial is now a film simulation dial, with three options for custom film recipes. The X-T30 III goes on sale in November at $999 for the body, or $1,150 for the body and a new 13- to 33-mm F3.5-6.3 zoom lens (20 mm- to 50 mm-equivalent). —Scott Gilbertson

    Intel’s AI Experience Stores

    In time for the peak shopping season, Intel is launching a variety of “AI Experience Stores” at a few key locations around the world. We don’t know exactly what they’ll be like, but Intel says these pop-ups will include an “AI-powered shopping experience” of some kind and are based on the initial launch of the trial run store in London last year.

    If it keeps that same design ethos intact, these stores will be fairly immersive experiences. There will be lots of AI-driven demos on devices from the wider Windows laptop ecosystem, presumably to help drive interest and curiosity in what PCs can do. Interestingly, it comes on the back of a significant marketing push by Microsoft with its new Windows 11 AI experiences, trying to convince buyers to upgrade and explain some of the new AI features.

    Here are the dates and locations below for when Intel’s stores will be open. —Luke Larsen

    • New York City: 1251 6th Avenue (10/29 to 11/30)
    • London: 95 Oxford Street (10/30 to 11/30)
    • Munich: Viktualienmarkt 6 (10/30 to 12/9)
    • Paris: 14 Boulevard Poissonniere (11/4 to 11/30)
    • Seoul: OPUS 407, 1318-1 Seocho-dong (10/31 to 11/30)

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    Julian Chokkattu

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  • With an Intel recovery underway, all eyes turn to its foundry business | TechCrunch

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    Intel’s third-quarter earnings beat Wall Street expectations Thursday, results buoyed by a bump in revenue combined with larger cuts, and multiple, sizable investments over the last two months as CEO Lip-Bu Tan looks to turn around the struggling semiconductor giant.

    Intel’s revenue results and its $4.1 billion in net income provides a far rosier view than its string of quarterly losses. But the company’s recovery story deserves several chapters dedicated to cost cutting via layoffs and other reductions as well as a series of high-profile investments from Softbank, Nvidia, and the U.S. government.

    Intel added $20 billion to its balance sheet during the third quarter, the company announced on its third-quarter earnings presentation on Thursday, sending its stock soaring. This growth was largely due to three sizable investments in the company over the last three months.

    In August, SoftBank invested $2 billion. A few days later, the U.S. Government took an unprecedented 10% equity stake in Intel. The company has received $5.7 billion of the planned $8.9 billion from the U.S. Government thus far. Nvidia also bought a $5 billion stake in Intel in September as part of a broader deal to develop chips together over time.

    “The actions we took to strengthen the balance sheet give us greater operational flexibility and position us well to continue to execute our strategy with confidence,” Tan said on the company’s earnings call. “In particular, I’m honored by the trust and confidence President Trump and Secretary [Howard] Lutnick have placed in me. Their support highlights Intel’s strategic role as the only U.S.-based semiconductor company with leading edge logic, [research and development] and manufacturing.”

    The company also received $5.2 billion from closing the sale of its ownership stake of Altera, a hardware company it had owned since 2015, on September 12. It also sold its stake in Mobileye, an autonomous driving tech company.

    Intel grew its quarterly revenue by $800 million in the third quarter to $13.7 billion, compared to $12.9 billion. Intel had net income of $4.1 billion in the third quarter, a steep reversal from the $16.6 billion loss it reported in the same year-ago period.

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    The foundry biz

    Despite the strong quarter, there weren’t many details on what will happen next with Intel’s foundry business, which makes custom chips for customers. The business has floundered from the start and has been a focus of Tan, who initiated significant layoffs in its foundry business this summer.

    The business appears to be a priority of the Trump administration; a key condition of the government’s investment in Intel includes language that it will penalize Intel if it divested from its foundry business over the next five years.

    Wall Street is keeping a close eye on foundry for signs of the company’s long-term growth. Intel analysts told TechCrunch in August that the company did not need cash to turn itself around but rather a strategy to get its foundry business on track.

    Tan said that Intel thinks its foundry business is “uniquely positioned” to capitalize on the swelling demand for chips but was light on the details — beyond saying that the company is actively engaging with potential foundry customers — and added that the growth of the foundry business would remain disciplined.

    “Building a world-class foundry is a long-term effort founded on trust,” Tan said. “As a foundry, we need to ensure that our process can be easily used by a variety of customers, each with their unique way of building their own products. We must learn to delight our customers as they count on us to build wafers, to meet all their needs for powerful performance, yield, cost, and schedule.”

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  • Trump’s Investment in Intel Is Paying Off

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    The Trump administration’s investment in Intel appears to be paying off, but the once-mighty chipmaker has a long way to climb back to industry dominance.

    In August, the US government announced it was converting about $9 billion in federal grants that Intel had been issued during the Biden administration into a roughly 10 percent equity stake in the company. During its third-quarter earnings on Thursday—its first financial update since President Trump’s surprise investment—Intel reported that it earned $13.7 billion in revenue over the past three months, a 3 percent increase year-over-year. It’s the fourth consecutive quarter that Intel has beat revenue guidance.

    Intel’s stock price is up more than 90 percent since it made the deal with Trump over the summer. Back then, the company’s shares were trading around $20. On the heels of its earnings report today, its stock price had risen to $38.16.

    The White House announced it was investing in Intel weeks after Trump publicly called for CEO Lip-Bu Tan to resign over his alleged problematic ties to China. The president changed his stance only days later, however, after having what he described as a positive meeting with Tan.

    On the earnings call, Tan said he was “honored by the trust and confidence” that Tump and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick had placed in him. He added that Intel was “fully committed to the Trump administration’s vision and proudly welcomes the US as an essential partner in our efforts.”

    Intel’s stronger-than-expected revenue suggests that global demand for x86 chips, the kind that Intel specializes in, continues to rise as the tech industry invests heavily in AI infrastructure. While GPUs, such as Nvidia’s H100s, continue to be the gold standard for training AI models, data center buildouts include a combination of GPUs and x86 CPUs, which power different AI workloads.

    Intel noted in the earnings call that it hasn’t been able to supply its device customers with enough older chips, which aren’t as advanced as newer generations of AI semiconductors. This is partly because consumer demand for AI-powered PCs isn’t particularly strong, so device manufacturers are still seeking older—and cheaper—chips.

    Intel also reported a net income of $4.1 billion. A year ago, the company said it had more than $16 billion in losses. Under Tan’s leadership, Intel has aggressively tried to cut costs, including by laying off 15 percent of its workforce.

    The past few months have been busy for Intel. Along with the Trump administration, GPU giant Nvidia and the multinational tech conglomerate Softbank also funneled money into the company in exchange for common stock. During the most recent quarter, Intel received $5.7 billion from the US government, $5 billion from Nvidia, and $2 billion from Softbank. It received an additional $5.2 billion by selling off stakes in chipmaker Altera and the autonomous driving company Mobileye.

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    Lauren Goode

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  • Legendary Chicago Pizzeria Goes Thin With Tavern Style

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    One of the city’s most famous stuffed pizza chains has added tavern-style pies to its menu. Giordano’s is serving Chicago thin crust for the first time ever, using a “technique inspired by croissant-making,” with mozzarella folded into the dough for a crunchy bite, according to the company. The new pizzas feature topping combinations such as bacon barbecue chicken, margherita, and spinach and cheese, and are available at all locations across the city and suburbs.

    A fine dining destination is ready to make its official return

    Atelier, the Michelin-starred destination that recently relocated in Lincoln Square, will formally debut on Tuesday, November 4. The restaurant had a soft opening in early October, offering an a la carte menu while awaiting its liquor license. Starting next month, guests can sit down to chef Bradyn Kawcak’s tasting menu, along with wine selections and cocktails curated by beverage director Ali Martin. The a la carte menu will continue to be served at the bar.

    Portillo’s is headed to Wrigleyville

    Chicago-based chain Portillo’s will open its fourth city location near Wrigley Field. The company is reportedly eyeing a spot at 3519 N. Clark Street, a space that used to house a 7-Eleven. Details are still scarce, including a timeline for the opening. Portillo’s is already in River North, South Loop, and Avondale, as well as various suburbs. The menu highlights iconic local dishes like the Italian beef sandwich and Chicago-style hot dogs. The chain recently introduced secret menu items.

    Three new restaurants are joining a Fulton Market food hall

    Time Out Market Chicago is expanding its lineup in November with three new additions. Tacotlán will serve its signature quesabirria tacos and other Mexican favorites, while Craft & Carvery, from the team behind Wicker Park’s Botanero, will feature rotisserie-cooked meats in sandwiches. Upstairs on the second floor, chef Christian Hunter will debut his first solo project, Hooligan, a seafood and wine bar.

    Willis Tower welcomes a popular sandwich chain

    Two months after debuting in River North, Mendocino Farms will open its second Chicago location inside Willis Tower on Tuesday, October 28. The new outpost from the California-based fast-casual chain — known for offerings like the “Not So Fried” chicken sandwich and an avocado and quinoa salad — will be the company’s first to feature self-order kiosks. It will also offer a patio for warm-weather dining.

    A Humboldt Park favorite now serves alcohol

    Humboldt Park’s Spinning J has secured its liquor license and is now pouring wines, Bloody Marys, spiced cider spritzes, and more. Open since 2015, the retro-themed cafe is popular for its pies, pastries, house-made sodas, and all-day breakfast options.

    Boka co-founder shares behind-the-scenes stories in new book

    James Beard Award-winning restaurateur Kevin Boehm, the co-founder of Boka Restaurant Group, will release his memoir The Bottomless Cup: A Memoir of Secrets, Restaurants, and Forgiveness on Tuesday, November 4. The book dives into his career and offers insider tales from the culinary world. Boka is behind notable Chicago restaurants like Girl & the Goat, Momotaro, and Swift & Sons.

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    Jeffy Mai

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  • Gear News of the Week: Intel’s New Chips Arrive, and Apple May Debut iPads and MacBooks This Month

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    Intel’s future has never seemed so uncertain. But most of the company’s roller-coaster ride of a year has been a lead-up to its next-gen CPU launch, announced this week. The chips will be known as Intel Core Ultra Series 3, codenamed Panther Lake, and they’re being manufactured in its new Arizona-based fabrication plant.

    Intel claims the first configurations will ship before the end of the year and then more broadly starting in January 2026. We don’t have a complete lineup yet, but Panther Lake will include up to 16-core CPUs with a “more than 50 percent faster CPU” performance over the previous generation. Intel claims that the new integrated GPU with have up to 12 GPU cores that are also 50 percent faster than the prior generation, boosted by a new architecture.

    Intel is fighting back against the stiff competition. Qualcomm dramatically entered the Windows laptop race in 2024 with its Arm-based, highly-efficient Snapdragon X chips, doubling the battery life of current Intel-powered laptops in some cases. While Intel was able to respond to the battery-life competition with its Core Ultra Series 2 V-series chips in late 2024, performance took a hit on these laptops, and the efficiency only applied to flagship, thin, and light laptops. Budget-level and high-performance laptops used a different architecture and therefore didn’t get that same bump in efficiency.

    That made shopping for a laptop in 2025 even more head-scratching than normal. These next chips will attempt to fix this problem, with the company promising “Lunar Lake–level power efficiency” and “Arrow Lake–class performance.” Intel really needs to achieve that promise, because with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X2 Elite having just been previewed and the Apple M5 on the way, the stakes keep rising. —Luke Larsen

    Apple’s Next Hardware Launch Is Coming Soon

    Tim Cook on stage during the Apple Keynote on September 9, 2025.Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

    If you’re thinking, didn’t Apple just have an event? Yes, the company debuted new iPhones, Apple Watches, and AirPods just last month. But rumors are heating up that the company will announce more products this month, focused on iPads and MacBooks. That’s not unusual, as the company has held October events for the past few years, usually for the tablet and Mac lineups. It’s unclear whether this will be an actual event or a silent launch via press release. The company has done both in the past.

    So what can you expect? The marquee announcement will revolve around the anticipated M5 chipset, which may debut inside a new MacBook Pro and the iPad Pro. The flagship tablet likely won’t look or feel too different from the prior M4 version. MacBooks are a little more up in the air on launch timing; it could be at this event or early in 2026. If they are announced, it’ll be a new 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro with an M5, M5 Pro, and M5 Max chip. Apple has also reportedly been gearing up for a budget MacBook launch powered by an iPhone processor, but this may arrive early in 2026 instead.

    Other hardware that may debut at this October event includes a new Vision Pro powered by an M4 or M5 chip with a comfier head strap, though it’s otherwise the same as the original headset. There may be a new Apple TV with a faster chipset, the new version of Siri (though this won’t come until 2026), and Wi-Fi 7 support. And we may finally see a second-gen AirTag, with a longer range.

    The PlayStation 6 May Arrive in a ‘Few Years’

    Sony published a video to its PlayStation YouTube Channel this week featuring Mark Cerny, the lead architect of the PS5, and Jack Huynh, AMD’s senior vice president. It’s largely technical, digging into graphics technology that the two companies are jointly developing.

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    Julian Chokkattu

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  • ‘Top Chef’s’ Joe Flamm Opening an All-Day Cafe in Fulton Market

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    Top Chef alum and celebrity chef Joe Flamm will open Bar Tutto, an Italian all-day cafe and restaurant in Fulton Market this winter. Located at 1110 W. Carroll Avenue, Bar Tutto draws from Italy’s wine bars, serving breakfast pastries and espresso in the morning and rotating salumi, pastas, and spritzes for lunch and dinner. The space will feature an open kitchen, wood-fired grill, and a piazza-style outdoor patio. This will be Flamm and Day Off Group’s fourth restaurant, joining Rose Mary, BLVD Steakhouse, and Il Carciofo.

    A fire shutters beloved Lakeview restaurant

    Lakeview’s Dear Margaret has temporarily closed following a fire. In an Instagram post, the team shared that no one was injured, but there is “water damage and extensive smoke damage throughout the entire restaurant.” It will remain shut down until insurance assessments and repairs are completed. Dear Margaret opened in 2021, offering French Canadian cuisine rooted in Midwestern ingredients, and earned a Michelin Bib Gourmand designation the following year. A GoFundMe campaign has been launched to support the restaurant and staff.

    Award-winning burgers will be served at a barbecue standout

    Fresh off winning the People’s Choice Award at this year’s Hamburger Hop, Sanders BBQ will offer the crowd-favorite burger for one day only on Sunday, October 19. Guests can enjoy the creation — topped with chipotle mayo, arugula, pickled onions, white cheddar and bleu cheese, bacon onion jam, pickles, and balsamic glaze — paired with fries and a drink during an event from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets are $20 and available here. Sanders BBQ will open a second restaurant, Sanders BBQ Prime, in Hyde Park next year.

    Malört ice cream comes to the Loop

    A popular Italian spot is headed to the west suburbs

    Ballyhoo Hospitality is bringing DeNucci’s to Hinsdale this winter, the third location for the Italian American restaurant. Set to open at 8 E. 1st Street, the new spot joins siblings in Lincoln Park and Highland Park. Guests can expect familiar favorites like branzino piccata, eggplant Parmesan, and veal Marsala, plus nightly specials such as lasagna bolognese. DeNucci’s popular Monday tavern-style pizza will be offered as well.

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    Jeffy Mai

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  • So, Is Intel Still Making Graphics Cards?

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    There’s something strange going on at Intel. The company is looking to get leaner as it simultaneously builds up its chipmaking capabilities. The U.S. chip giant’s nascent venture into graphics cards did not go unappreciated by the PC-buying community, especially the budget-end Battlemage GPUs like the B850. Amid the hubbub of its big Panther Lake announcement, one thing seemed to be missing: a clear idea of its future plans for GPUs, with or without Nvidia’s aid.

    (Full disclosure: Intel invited me to its chipset fab in Phoenix, Ariz. Travel and lodging were paid by Intel, but Gizmodo did not guarantee any coverage as a condition of accepting the trip.)

    With the introduction of Panther Lake and updates to XeSS upscaling software comes Intel’s new Xe3 graphics microarchitecture, which sits under the umbrella of Arc B-Series (Battlemage). Intel said we should expect better performance at lower wattages than its previous Arrow Lake H lineup and much better frame rates in games with the 12Xe core chip variants. But what about everything else? Intel detailed the “Next Arc family” will be labeled Xe3P. No, not Xe4. Will it be a discrete GPU, aka the rumored “Celestial” or C-line of graphics cards?

    The next Xe3P graphics architecture will be a “significant architectural advancement’ for Intel. It may or may not be a discrete GPU. © Intel

    Intel’s head of architecture, graphics, and software, Tom Petersen, told reporters in a roundtable Q&A that Panther Lake would only hint at what’s implied by the name. “Xe3P is a significant architectural advancement from where we are now,” he said. Whether that means it’s a whole family of products, that doesn’t matter. However, it may still be called “Celestial,” more for the sake of continuity than anything.

    “Our naming is not great,” Petersen said. “If we knew what we knew now, we would name those things differently.”

    Even Intel doesn’t know what it will do with Nvidia

    Acer Panther Lake Swift 16 Laptop
    An Acer Swift 16 AI set to debut at the end of this year will include some variety of Panther Lake inside. © Kyle Barr / Gizmodo

    Intel has other things on its mind. The company needs you to know that its Fab 52 in Chandler, Ariz., that’s generating the company’s new 18A process is up and running. So much so, they strapped me and a host of other journalists and analysts in a white bunny suit to inspect the place. Just to enter this temple to silicon, your body is wrapped head to toe in Gore-Tex waterproof layers, your eyes and feet are covered, and you start to blend in with everybody roving those floors. What can I tell you? Not much. How big is the fab floor where they make the chips in square feet? “A shit ton,” or at least that’s what Intel spokesperson Thomas Hannaford was allowed to say. I couldn’t take pictures. I couldn’t tell you how big the lithography machines were. That would give some competitors an edge, perhaps give an indication to the world of how many chips they planned to ship, or so that’s what Intel claimed.

    As I stared up at the flying shuttle robots roving across the ceiling—looking like the two-pronged “Recognizer” vehicles out of a Tron movie—while they carried wafers to and fro across rails in the ceiling, I could tell I was a resource for Intel’s mission statement. Fab 52 has been in production since 2021. Since then, the person who started Intel on this mission for U.S. manufacturing, Pat Gelsinger, was pushed out as CEO and the company went into a year-long spiral that culminated with President Donald Trump pushing the federal government to take a 10% stake in the company. Then, Nvidia came in with its Scrooge McDuck-sized moneybags ($5 billion, to be exact) to pump even more fuel into the chipmaker’s furnaces. Among all the capital changing hands, Nvidia and Intel’s respective CEOs touted a new combo chip that would combine Team Blue’s CPU with Team Green’s GPU.

    Intel Fab Tour Panther Lake 2
    How big are both production floors of Fab 52? A “shit ton” of square feet. © Intel

    The fab is only as important as the chips they make with it. And while I could sit here and wax lyrical about the company’s Clearwater Forest data center chips, the PC-buying public only cares about what’s going to end up in their desktop or laptop. Companies don’t like to talk about their futures, but from what Intel execs said last week, the company itself is still trying to figure out what a partnership means.

    “It’s brand new,” Petersen said, referring to the still unknown chips it could make with Nvidia. “We don’t know all the answers to that. You’ll know more about that relatively soon. We’re still in the figure-it-all-out mode.”

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    Kyle Barr

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  • Inside Intel’s Hail Mary to Reclaim Chip Dominance

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    Everyone who enters the fabs has to wear a bunny suit, and get dressed—or be dressed—in a clean room. Makeup, hair products, perfumes, colognes, and any aerosol products are prohibited. Workers are separated by a metallurgical hierarchy: There are those who work with copper, and those who do not. The copper people wear orange suits, not white, and have to suit up and strip down in their own clean room.

    The Intel fab worker who helped me suit up proudly told me that he has done the same for two US presidents: Obama, who visited Fab 42, and Biden, who visited Fab 52 while it was under construction. As of late September, Trump still hadn’t visited, though Intel spokesperson Cory Pforzheimer said, “We’d eagerly welcome President Trump to see the most advanced R&D and leading-edge semiconductor manufacturing in the US.”

    The workers shuffling around are not pulling levers and grinding away at the gears of manufacturing as much as quietly managing robots. They stand at (sterilized) computer stations while containers called front-opening unified pods, or FOUPs, whoosh by overhead through a labyrinth of robotic tracks. The rows of equipment appear endless. The floor below has been reinforced, then reinforced again, because the tiniest of shakes can ruin a whole batch of chips.

    The lithography section of the facility is awash in a strange glow, which turned our white suits neon green and the copper-suited people pink. Intel demanded that the fab tourists not share the names of its suppliers, with the exception of one: ASML, the Dutch manufacturer of the world’s most cutting-edge lithography machines. WIRED witnessed two massive ASML Twinscan machines that appeared to be operational. The floor next to them was tape-marked with space for two more.

    Intel has not yet publicly said how many semiconductors it expects to successfully yield, or manufacture, at Fab 52 annually. For now, the chips produced there will be used in consumer devices like laptops. But what Intel really needs is the same thing the entire industry is chasing: A hyperscaler customer, a giant data center deal, someone looking to spend billions to get an edge in AI. A whale.

    Design Overhaul

    Intel’s Panther Lake and Clearwater Forest chips will be made using a manufacturing process that tosses aside decades of proven design techniques in favor of two new technologies the company calls RibbonFET and PowerVia. RibbonFet is an architecture for transistors, stacking them in a way that allows for more density, while PowerVia moves the power interconnects from above the silicon stacks in the chip to below them.

    Intel began working on the new design approach in 2021, and early tests have shown that RibbonFet and PowerVia led to performance gains. Reports suggest these new chips also use 30 percent less energy than the prior generation.

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    Lauren Goode

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  • Latest line: A good week for Intel, a bad week for Joel Engardio

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    Intel

    Struggling Santa Clara tech giant gets a big win as rival Nvidia agrees to invest $5 billion in a partnership between both companies to make AI chips for PCs and data centers. Intel stock jumps 23% the next day.

     

     

     

    Joel Engardio

    San Francisco supervisor becomes the latest Bay Area politician recalled from office, as Sunset-area voters angry at his support for more housing and turning the Great Highway into a park vote to remove him.

     

     

     

    Ian Choudri

    California High Speed Rail Authority CEO loses $4 billion after Trump pulls federal funds from the troubled project, but lands $1 billion a year from state lawmakers who extend cap-and-trade program.

     

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    Bay Area News Group

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  • Nvidia To Invest $5 Billion In Intel, Working Together On AI Infrastructure And PCs – KXL

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    (AP) – Nvidia, the world’s leading chipmaker, announced on Thursday that it’s investing $5 billion in Intel and will collaborate with the struggling semiconductor company.

    Nvidia said it will spend $5 billion to buy Intel common stock at $23.28 a share. The investment, which is subject to regulatory approvals, comes a month after the U.S. government took a 10% stake in Intel.

    Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang called it “a fusion of two world-class platforms” that combines Intel’s strength in making conventional computer chips, known as CPUs, that power most laptops, with Nvidia’s focus on the specialized graphics chips that are critical for artificial intelligence.

    “This partnership is a recognition that computing has fundamentally changed,” Huang told reporters Thursday. “The era of accelerated and AI computing has arrived.”

    Intel shares jumped nearly 23%, its biggest one-day percentage gain since 1987. Nvidia shares added more than 3%.

    For data centers, Intel will make custom chips that Nvidia will use in its AI infrastructure platforms. For personal computer products, Intel will build chips that integrate Nvidia technology.

    The agreement provides a lifeline for Intel, which was a Silicon Valley pioneer that enjoyed decades of growth as its processors powered the personal computer boom, but fell into a slump after missing the shift to the mobile computing era unleashed by the iPhone’s 2007 debut.

    Intel fell even farther behind in recent years amid the AI boom that’s propelled Nvidia into the world’s most valuable company. Intel lost nearly $19 billion last year and another $3.7 billion in the first six months of this year, and expects to slash its workforce by a quarter by the end of 2025.

    The U.S. government stepped in last month to secure a 10% stake — 433.3 million shares of non-voting stock priced at $20.47 apiece — making it one of Intel’s biggest shareholders. Federal officials said they invested in Intel in order to bolster U.S. technology and domestic manufacturing. The total value of the U.S. government’s stake in Intel now stands at $13.2 billion, a $2.5 billion increase from what it stood before the Nvidia investment was announced.

    Huang said Nvidia has been in talks with Intel for about a year. Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan, who joined the press call with Huang on Thursday, said he’s been talking to Nvidia since he was named Intel’s new leader in March.

    “This is a very big, important milestone,” Tan said. “I call it a game-changing opportunity that we can work together.”

    The deal is “bullish for U.S. tech,” Wedbush Securities analyst Daniel Ives said in a client note.

    Ives said it brings Intel “front and center into the AI game” and, combined with the U.S. government stake, adds to “a golden few weeks for Intel after years of pain and frustration for investors.”

    Nvidia, meanwhile, has soared because its specialized chips are underpinning the AI boom. The chips, known as graphics processing units, or GPUs, are highly effective at developing powerful AI systems.

    The deal between the two chipmakers comes as China moves to be less dependent on U.S. semiconductor technology. This week, Chinese officials reportedly forbade several large domestic technology companies from purchasing Nvidia chips, and China-based Huawei announced that it was expanding its development of AI chips and manufacturing.

    While Nvidia and Intel, both headquartered in Santa Clara, California, will work together to develop new chips, a manufacturing deal has yet to be struck between the two. The potential access to Intel’s chip foundries by Nvidia poses a risk to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, which currently manufactures the tech giant’s flagship processors. Huang emphasized Thursday that both his company and Intel remain “very successful customers” of TSMC.

    Of Nvidia’s own Intel stake, Huang said “the Trump administration had no involvement in this partnership at all,” though “would have been very supportive, of course.”

    Huang has been in Britain on a visit that coincides with Trump’s trip to the country, and he has been attending events with the president along with other Silicon Valley bigwigs.

    At a signing ceremony for a trans-Atlantic tech partnership on Thursday with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Trump mused that AI was “taking over the world.”

    “I’m looking at you guys. You’re taking over the world, Jensen,” Trump said.

    Huang and Trump also both attended a royal banquet, prompting the tech mogul to dish about the Windsor Castle event to Intel’s CEO in the seconds before their press event.

    “The cognac was excellent, but just not enough of it,” Huang told Tan. “I guess the cognac was from 1912.”

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    Jordan Vawter

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  • A Barbecue Standout is Expanding to Hyde Park

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    Beverly’s lauded barbecue smokehouse is launching a new restaurant

    One of the best barbecue restaurants in Chicago is expanding. Chef-owner James Sanders is opening Sanders BBQ Prime in Hyde Park, filling the space beneath music venue the Promontory. Set to debut in about six months, the sequel to Sanders BBQ Supply Co. will trade counter service for plated dinners, with a menu of barbecue classics alongside steaks, refined appetizers, desserts, and even complimentary beef tallow–smoked popcorn. Sanders told Crain’s Chicago it will be his “signature restaurant” — a bigger, flashier follow-up to the Beverly original that’s drawn national acclaim.

    Popular soup dumplings coming to Chicago

    New York’s Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao, famous for its soup dumplings, is opening its first Chicago location to River North. The restaurant, which started in Queens and has since expanded to several U.S. cities, is set to occupy the space at 609 N. Dearborn Street, according to a listing on its official site. The menu features handmade xiao long bao, noodles, all-day breakfast options, and other Shanghainese specialties.

    A pair of Chicago food legends team up

    Chicago loves a good food collab, and the latest brings together two iconic dishes. Stuffed pizza specialist Giordano’s has teamed up with South Side institution Jim’s Original for a 10-inch pie layered with Polish sausage, caramelized onions, and a mustardy sauce. Available for a limited time, the pizza can be ordered online and shipped nationwide. It follows a string of buzzy mashups, including Lou Malnati’s and Portillo’s Chicago-style hot dog deep dish and Garrett Popcorn’s Chicago pizza popcorn with Home Run Inn this past summer.

    Portillo’s drops breakfast service

    Portillo’s is ending its breakfast menu pilot after introducing it earlier this year. The morning offerings were available at two Chicago restaurants and a handful of suburban locations. Items included a Polish sausage with egg and cheese sandwich; hash brown bites served with a cup of cheese; and a chocolate cake doughnut from Stan’s Donuts. This comes on the heels of the company recently announcing the addition of a secret menu.

    A swanky pop-up speakeasy is back for another season

    Mile High Cocktail Club is making its return to the Four Seasons Hotel Chicago this fall. Perched on the hotel’s 46th floor in a transformed suite, the 30-seat lounge is once again a collaboration with Mexico City’s acclaimed Handshake Speakeasy. From October 2 through December 31, guests can enjoy sweeping city views alongside a cocktail menu from Handshake’s bar director Eric van Beek, featuring fan favorites like the Olive Oil Gimlet and new creations such as the Tarragon Fizz. Latin-inspired small plates from chef Olimpia Calderon Ibarra, Patron-based cocktails, a warm, golden-hued setting, and live Latin jazz on weekends will round out the experience.

    Local restaurant and bowling chain knocked down

    Pinstripes, the Northbrook-based chain that fuses bowling, bocce, and Italian cuisine, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and abruptly closed 10 of its 18 locations, including its Streeterville outpost. The company, which went public less than two years ago, owes $143 million in secured debt, according to the Tribune. Three suburban venues — Northbrook, Oak Brook, and South Barrington — will remain open while Pinstripes heads to a bankruptcy auction next month.

    Downtown cocktail bar gets a refresh

    Broken Shaker, the cocktail bar inside Freehand Chicago, has a new look and menu thanks to Authentic Hospitality — the New York team behind spots like Ray’s, Jac’s on Bond, and Pebble Bar. The group has reimagined the River North spot with a lush garden-style front room, moody speakeasy-style back bar, and a refreshed cocktail program featuring drinks like the Gracing the Lilly (bourbon, Aperol, mango, cinnamon) and Up On The Roof (mezcal, Chambord, watermelon, basil). The food menu nods to Chicago with a dragged-through-the-garden hot dog alongside shrimp ceviche and crispy cheese mushroom tacos.

    A Mediterranean hot spot is headed to the North Shore

    One Off Hospitality will open Avec in north suburban Highwood next spring. This will be the Mediterranean-influenced restaurant’s third location, joining the West Loop flagship and a River North outpost that debuted in 2021. The space will have a main dining room with seating for 70, and a bar area that can accommodate an additional 45 guests. First launched in 2003 by chef Paul Kahan and restaurateur Donnie Madia, Avec is one of the city’s most popular spots, known for signature dishes like chorizo-stuffed Medjool dates and slow-roasted pork shoulder, plus an award-winning wine program. The restaurant also appeared on season two of FX’s hit series The Bear.

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    Jeffy Mai

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  • Google Won’t Have to Sell Chrome Browser After All (But There’s a Catch)

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    A federal judge ruled in a high-profile antitrust case against Google on Tuesday with some good news and bad news for the tech giant. The good news for Google is that it won’t have to sell off its Chrome browser, which was a very real possibility. Google’s stock soared in after hours trading on the news.

    The bad news for Google was that it will be required to share data with its rivals and can’t sign many of the exclusive contracts that helped the company become so dominant in the industry.

    The ruling, which is available on Court Listener, comes from Judge Amit P. Mehta of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, who first ruled in Aug. 2024 that Google’s search business was an illegal monopoly.

    “Google will not be required to divest Chrome; nor will the court include a contingent divestiture of the Android operating system in the final judgment,” the ruling states. “Plaintiffs overreached in seeking forced divesture of these key assets, which Google did not use to effect any illegal restraints.”

    The Chrome browser has about 3.5 billion users, which is pretty impressive when you remember that there are only about 8.1 billion people on the entire planet. And AI company Perplexity even made an unsolicited offer to by Chrome last month, though it was considered to be a stunt by many tech industry watchers. Perplexity was offering $34.5 billion but was only valued at the time at about $18 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal.

    Tuesday’s ruling explained that Google will need to share “search index and user-interaction data, though not ads data,” with “qualified competitors.” The ruling also says the company “will be barred from entering or maintaining any exclusive contract relating to the distribution of Google Search, Chrome, Google Assistant, and the Gemini app,” though there are a lot of carve outs that will allow Google to enter contracts in order to not harm downstream businesses.

    Google also won’t be required to present users with “choice screens on its products or encourage its Android distribution partners to do the same,” according to the ruling. And it won’t have to underwrite a nationwide public education campaign. The U.S. government has presented various remedies after Google was found to be a monopoly, but the judge considered some to be “improper” demands.

    Reached for comment over email, a spokesperson for Google directed Gizmodo to a statement published online:

    Earlier today a U.S. court overseeing the Department of Justice’s lawsuit over how we distribute Search issued a decision on next steps.

    Today’s decision recognizes how much the industry has changed through the advent of AI, which is giving people so many more ways to find information. This underlines what we’ve been saying since this case was filed in 2020: Competition is intense and people can easily choose the services they want. That’s why we disagree so strongly with the Court’s initial decision in August 2024 on liability.

    Now the Court has imposed limits on how we distribute Google services, and will require us to share Search data with rivals. We have concerns about how these requirements will impact our users and their privacy, and we’re reviewing the decision closely. The Court did recognize that divesting Chrome and Android would have gone beyond the case’s focus on search distribution, and would have harmed consumers and our partners.

    As always, we’re continuing to focus on what matters — building innovative products that people choose and love.

    At least one of Google’s competitors was unhappy with the ruling for being too lenient on the tech company. “We do not believe the remedies ordered by the court will force the changes necessary to adequately address Google’s illegal behavior,” a spokesperson for DuckDuckGo told Gizmodo in an email Tuesday.

    “Google will still be allowed to continue to use its monopoly to hold back competitors, including in AI search,” the spokesperson continued. “As a result, consumers will continue to suffer. We believe Congress should now step in to swiftly make Google do the thing it fears the most: compete on a level playing field.”

    It seems very likely that Google will engage in some lobbying of the Trump administration behind the scenes as this case is appealed. President Trump has made no secret of the fact that he regularly meets with powerful people in the business world, whether it’s behind closed doors like he did with Intel CEO Lip Bu-Tan or more publicly like he did with Apple CEO Tim Cook.

    Trump publicly lambasted Bu-Tan but then met with the head of Intel, leading to the U.S. government taking a 10% stake in the company. The move shocked many on Wall Street, even among people who support the president. But it seems like Trump is more than willing to intervene in private businesses when he thinks it’s to his advantage.

    Will Trump make a play for Google in some way? The tech giant doesn’t need a cash injection like Intel. But there’s always something to trade when powerful interests need a favor. Google contributed $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund and Google CEO Sundar Pichai visited Trump at Mar-a-Lago not long after the election.

    Pichai was even spotted at the church service on Jan. 20, 2025 before Trump’s inauguration, right there behind Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Tim Cook, and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

    Meta and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg (L) CEO of Apple Tim Cook, Founder of Amazon and Blue Origin Jeff Bezos attend services as part of Inauguration ceremonies at St. John’s Church on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. © Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

    It should be very interesting to see what happens as Google appeals this one.

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    Matt Novak

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