This week was all about money and hardware: Alphabet showed off a cloud business that doubled in a year, Microsoft revealed for the first time how much it makes off OpenAI, and Apple shipped a MacBook Pro with a touch OLED screen. Meanwhile, AI agents are moving into messaging apps, and regulators are cracking down on kids' chatbots.
🤖 AI
You can now message OpenAI's Dot agent in iMessage
OpenAI gave some US Pro subscribers the ability to chat with Dot over iMessage and RCS: you can send a task as text, a photo, or voice, and Dot will message you first once it's done. We've previously covered how Altman uses a similar agent, Dotty, in his daily work. Memory is shared with ChatGPT; Dot isn't available on the Plus plan yet.
New York requires chatbots to protect kids
Governor Kathy Hochul signed a law: bots can't pose as humans, can't push kids toward self-harm, and can't engage in sexualized conversations, and companies have to verify users' ages. Violations carry fines up to $25,000; the law takes effect in six months.
💻 Software
Chrome's autofill learned to read your Gmail
Google hooked Gemini up to autofill: the browser now pulls booking confirmations, order and tracking numbers, addresses, and card details straight from your inbox. The feature only works in the US and has to be turned on in settings.
⚙️ Robots and hardware
MacBook Pro gets a touchscreen OLED display
Apple unveiled the MacBook Pro with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, a touch-enabled PROLED XDR OLED screen, and a Dynamic Island around the camera. The 14-inch model weighs about 3 pounds (1.4 kg) and starts at $2,899; the 16-inch starts at $3,399.
Tesla fires up volume production lines for Optimus
In its third-quarter report, Tesla said production of Optimus has started on high-volume lines at its Fremont plant. The company called these units its first "production-quality" robots.
💰 Business
OpenAI brought Microsoft $10 billion this quarter
Microsoft disclosed that it earned $10 billion from its commercial agreements with OpenAI — almost 11% of its $92.3 billion in quarterly revenue. For the entire prior fiscal year, that figure was $24.1 billion, and Microsoft's stake in OpenAI has slipped to 24%.
Google's cloud business grew 103%
Alphabet reported quarterly revenue up 25% to $127.6 billion, with Google Cloud up 103% to $30.7 billion on demand for AI infrastructure.
Oracle caps new borrowing at $20 billion
Oracle pledged not to raise more than $20 billion in new financing through fiscal year 2030, and expects to turn free-cash-flow positive in the second half of FY2028.
🎭 Behind the scenes
xAI is buying out its data center's neighbors
An xAI entity has offered to buy homes from residents of Southaven, Mississippi, in exchange for them dropping a lawsuit over noise from gas turbines. The number of turbines named in the suit has grown from three to 69.
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