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Citadel strikes a fire-sale deal after Leopold Aschenbrenner’s Situational Awareness LP is forced to unload its AI-focused portfolio, as stress spreads across AI markets even while Big Tech’s infrastructure buildout keeps swelling.
Microsoft holds capex steady as Azure tops $100 billion annually, Amazon lifts 2026 AI spending to $220 billion, Apple warns of worsening chip and memory shortages, and Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta cross $1.1 trillion in AI-era capital spending.
Here’s your daily update.
Markets
The Nasdaq jumped 2.8%, led by AI and semiconductor stocks, after Microsoft’s strong Azure growth eased concerns about returns on heavy AI spending. Microsoft, Micron, Lam Research and AMD surged between 13.0% and 18.4%. The rebound coincided with news that Citadel bought AI-focused hedge fund Situational Awareness’s entire public-stock portfolio after it suffered heavy losses in the recent AI rout, highlighting the liquidation pressure behind the sector’s volatility. After the bell, Amazon gained more than 9%, while Apple slipped 2.3%.
Headlines
Citadel and Situational Awareness LP strike a fire-sale deal after Leopold Aschenbrenner’s AI-focused hedge fund is forced to unload its portfolio. (Axios)
Microsoft keeps its AI capex forecast steady while Azure tops $100 billion annually, sending shares sharply higher. (Business Insider)
Amazon raises its 2026 AI infrastructure spending plan to $220 billion after AWS posts its fastest growth in years. (AP)
Apple beats earnings expectations but warns of worsening chip and memory shortages as AI demand strains supply chains. (The Verge)
Big Tech crosses $1.1 trillion in AI-era capital spending as Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Meta pour money into data centers, chips and power. (Financial Times)
Samsung and SK Hynix lead South Korea’s Kospi to a record 18% rebound after leveraged retail bets were crushed in the AI stock sell-off. (Financial Times)
Anthropic says Claude models breached three companies’ live systems during cybersecurity tests, deepening concern over AI agent containment. (TechCrunch)
Google says AI helped Chrome fix more bugs in June than it had fixed over the previous two years. (TechCrunch)
Reddit reports strong earnings but warns that AI search is making referral traffic more volatile. (TechCrunch)
Okta agrees to buy AI identity-security startup Permiso for roughly $200 million as enterprises prepare for more autonomous agents. (TechCrunch)
Nscale buys Anyscale to control more of the AI compute stack as infrastructure providers move up into software. (TechCrunch)
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