THE DAILY BRIEF

Intel shares jumped 23.6% on Friday—their strongest single day in nearly 40 years—as the chip maker shows signs of renewed growth driven by AI demand; the stock is up 124% year-to-date.

► Intel's dramatic comeback challenges the narrative that only Nvidia and AMD can win in AI chips, reshuffling supply chain bets and datacentre procurement plans.

OpenAI released GPT-5.5 (codenamed 'Spud'), its most capable model to date, with the biggest improvements in agentic coding, computer use, and scientific research tasks that demand extended reasoning.

► The shift toward agentic capabilities signals AI is moving from chat assistants to autonomous agents that can run sustained workflows—a fundamental upgrade in production utility.

Google announced plans to invest up to $40 billion in Anthropic, combining cash and compute resources, in a major show of support for the AI safety-focused competitor to OpenAI.

► Google's bet signals deep competitive anxiety about Claude's market traction and willingness to funnel billions outside its own infrastructure—reshaping the AI vendor landscape.

Meta signed a multibillion-dollar agreement to use Amazon's custom chips for AI workloads, diversifying its hardware suppliers beyond Nvidia as both firms compete on AI infrastructure.

► Hyperscalers' shift to custom silicon reduces Nvidia's lock-in and accelerates the commoditization of AI chip design—pressuring margins across the semiconductor stack.