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Nvidia (NVDA) to buy two Israeli startups aiming to run AI models more cheaply. (00:25) META earnings call: More spending on AI ahead before payoff. (01:14) Microsoft-backed Rubrik (RBRK) prices IPO at $32/shr, above indicated range. (02:32)
This is an abridged transcript of the podcast.
Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) is beefing up its dominance in the artificial intelligence space through the acquisition of two Israeli startups.
The company confirmed on Wednesday that it will acquire Run:ai.
In addition, The Information reported citing a person involved in the agreement, Nvidia is said to have reached a deal for another startup Deci.
The goal of the acquisitions is to lower the cost of creating and running AI models.
Run:ai makes AI chips more efficient by enabling multiple workloads to run in parallel, reducing the number of GPU needed to complete tasks.
Meanwhile, Deci modifies AI models to ensure they run more cheaply. Its work is similar to that of OmniML, another startup that Nvidia (NVDA) quietly acquired last year.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) is down 13% in premarket action.
META’s first-quarter earnings beat expectations but appeared to disappoint investors with a lackluster revenue forecast for Q2.
The company also began its conference call with a focus on heavy spending ahead.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg started the call with a decided look forward rather than back. He acknowledged a “good start” to the year but said that he would focus most of the call on the metaverse and the company’s work on artificial intelligence.
“Overall, I view the results our teams have achieved here as another key milestone in showing that we have the talent, data and ability to scale infrastructure to build the world’s leading AI models and services,” Zuckerberg said. “And this leads me to believe that we should invest significantly more over the coming years to build even more advanced models and the largest scale AI services in the world.
Meta’s report also drew attention for increased expenses in part due to infrastructure costs, and a forecast for increased capital expenditures (to $35B-$40B in 2024) based on infrastructure investments to support the AI roadmap.
It’s worth calling out that Meta has seen stock volatility during such investment phases in the product playbook, he added, “where we’re investing in scaling a new product, we aren’t yet monetizing it. We saw this with Reels, stories, as news feed transitioned to mobile and more. And I also expect to see a multi-year investment cycle before we fully scale that AI business APIs and more into the profitable services I expect as well.”
Turning to Meta’s (META) well publicized efforts at boosting the metaverse, Zuckerberg said it was interesting how the theme overlaps with AI now.
Cybersecurity software firm Rubrik (RBRK), announced the pricing of its upsized initial public offering of 23.5 mln shares of its Class A common stock at a price of $32.00 per share.
Microsoft (MSFT) is among Rubrik’s (RBRK) prominent investors.
The company priced its IPO above its previous target range of $28-$31.
In addition, Rubrik has granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 3,525,000 shares of its Class A common stock at the IPO price, less underwriting discounts and commissions.
The shares are expected to begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange today, under the symbol “RBRK.”
The offering is expected to close on April 29.
Other articles on Seeking Alpha:
Walmart, Kroger shares hint at concerns about Amazon’s low-cost delivery plan, UBS says
GDP watch: U.S. economic growth likely slowed in Q1
BHP weighs potential takeover of Anglo American – Bloomberg (update)
Catalyst watch:
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Notable events include annual meetings for Texas Instruments (TXN), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), and Pfizer (PFE).
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The Beijing Auto Show Auto China 2024 will begin. Some of the automakers that are expected to make a splash with new models include Nio (NIO), BYD Company (OTCPK:BYDDF), Mercedes-Benz (OTCPK:MBGAF), BMW (OTCPK:BMWYY), Zeekr, and General Motors’ (GM) Cadillac.
Wall Street on Wednesday seesawed through the regular trading session to eventually end mixed.
The Nasdaq (COMP:IND) closed 0.10% higher. The S&P 500 (SP500) added 0.02%. The Dow (DJI) slipped marginally by 0.11%.
Of the 11 S&P sectors, seven ended in the green.
Now let’s take a look at the markets as of 6 am. Ahead of the opening bell today, Dow, S&P and Nasdaq futures are mixed. Crude oil is up 0.1% at more than $82 per barrel. Bitcoin is down 4.2% more than $63,000.
In the world markets, the FTSE 100 is up 0.7% and the DAX is down 0.4%. The Australia market was closed today for a holiday.
The biggest movers for the day premarket: Ford Motor’s (F) stock rose over 3% after a strong Q1 report. The commercial vehicle division of the company, Ford Pro, saw a 36% jump in revenue and doubled its EBIT, driven by high demand for trucks, vans, and software services.
On today’s economic calendar:
