Crypto News: Investors vie for the hot AI startups

Hi, you're receiving our free Tech In Brief newsletter because you had been getting one of Bloomberg's technology newsletters that are now subscriber-only. You can manage your subscriptions here.

Tech Across the Globe

Apple lowers fees in China: The iPhone maker, in a major concession to Beijing and Tencent, is lowering its App Store fees in the world's biggest smartphone market.

Chat with Google Maps: Google is adding an "Ask Maps" feature to its popular app, which embeds the company's Gemini AI in the product and lets users interact just like they do with a chatbot.

Adobe CEO departs: Shantanu Narayen is stepping down after 18 years leading the creative software giant.

A few weeks after allegations surfaced in the global media that Jeffrey Epstein forced a teenager to have sexual relations with Prince Andrew, the financier contacted tech entrepreneur Peter Thiel to say he had two finance ministers and "a bunch of bankers" for him to meet in New York."does my bad press give you pause." Epstein added in the 2015 message.

A Meta Platforms data center in Virginia, US.

Technology

Microsoft, Meta Fuel $700 Billion Boom in Data Center Leases

Microsoft Corp. and Meta Platforms Inc. each committed nearly $50 billion in additional data center leases in their most recent quarters, underscoring an escalating bet the tech industry is making on artificial intelligence.

Revalued

AI coding startup Cursor is in talks with investors for a funding round that would value the company at $50 billion, a jump of almost 60% from the valuation it secured about four months ago. Cursor's AI coding assistant has helped the company become one of the fastest-growing startups of all time and a key player in the "vibe coding" movement.

Must Read

Ownership has always been of paramount importance to venture capitalists, Natasha Mascarenhas writes in today's Tech In Depth. But the issue is even more central in the age of AI, when the most-sought after companies are raising back-to-back rounds within months — and diluting investors' stakes along the way. That leads to a debate, she writes, about whether it's better to take a smaller slice than desired or stay out and miss what could be a lucrative investment?

Get the Tech In Depth newsletter for analysis and scoops about the business of technology from Bloomberg's journalists around the world.

This Week in Q&AI

The US Defense Department's fight with Anthropic, which led the Pentagon to declare the AI startup a risk to supply chain security, has ignited concerns among military contractors about a chilling effect on their businesses, Shirin Ghaffary reports in this week's Q&AI. She speaks with Dean Ball, a former AI adviser in the Trump administration, about the potential consequences.

You've got questions about AI. We've got answers. Sign up for Bloomberg Technology's weekly Q&AI newsletter.