Business

By Abhirup Roy NORMAL, Illinois (Reuters) -Electric-vehicle maker Rivian’s drive to cut costs and turn its first profit has removed over 100 steps from the battery-making process, 52 pieces of equipment from the body shop and over 500 parts from the design of its flagship SUVs and pickups. The result of Rivian retooling its manufacturing process is a 35% reduction in cost of materials for vans and savings of “similar magnitude” for its other lines, … Read more…

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – AT&T CEO John Stankey said on Monday that Congress should give the Federal Communications Commission the power to require Big Tech firms to contribute to a government fund that subsidizes access to telecom and broadband services. Under current law, fees are assessed on wireless and landline telephone service subscribers to support the Universal Service Fund. “The seven largest and most profitable companies in the world built their franchises on the internet and … Read more…

By Isabelle Yr Carlsson and Maggie Fick COPENHAGEN/LONDON (Reuters) – Obesity drug-maker Novo Nordisk will spend $4.1 billion to build a U.S. facility to fill injection pens for its hugely popular weight-loss treatment Wegovy and diabetes drug Ozempic, it said on Monday. Construction of the plant at Novo’s existing main U.S. manufacturing site in Clayton, North Carolina, will be completed between 2027 and 2029, and will add 1,000 workers to the 2,500 already employed there, … Read more…

By Andrew Mills DOHA (Reuters) – Nvidia has signed a deal to deploy its artificial intelligence technology at data centres owned by Qatari telecoms group Ooredoo in five Middle Eastern countries, Ooredoo’s CEO told Reuters.     The agreement marks Nvidia’s first large-scale launch in a region to which Washington has curbed the export of sophisticated U.S. chips to stop Chinese firms from using Middle Eastern countries as a back door to access the newest AI technology. … Read more…

(Reuters) -Facebook parent Meta Platforms has discussed integrating Meta’s generative AI model into Apple Inc’s recently announced AI system for iPhones, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday. Apart from Google and Meta, AI startups Anthropic and Perplexity have also been in discussions with Apple to bring their generative AI to Apple Intelligence, the Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Apple, Meta, Perplexity and Anthropic did not respond immediately to requests for comment … Read more…

(Reuters) – Under Armour said on Friday it would settle a 2017 shareholder class action lawsuit that accused the apparel maker and CEO Kevin Plank of intentionally misleading them about the company’s financial health. Under Armour said it intends to pay the settlement amount of $434 million through cash on hand as well as by drawing on its $1.1 billion revolving credit facility. Under Armour added it has consistently denied the accusations and entered into this agreement … Read more…

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States slapped sanctions on 12 people in senior leadership roles at AO Kaspersky Lab on Friday, citing cybersecurity risks a day after the Biden administration announced plans to bar the sale of the Russian company’s antivirus software. The sanctions targeted company leadership including the chief business development officer, chief operating officer, legal officer, corporate communications chief and others. The Treasury Department did not designate Kaspersky Lab, its parent or subsidiary … Read more…

By Foo Yun Chee BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Apple will delay launching three new artificial intelligence features because landmark European Union tech rules require it to ensure that rival products and services can function with its devices, the U.S. tech group said on Friday. Apple underscored its AI push earlier this month with a slew of new features and software enhancements for its iPhone and other devices to bolster sagging sales. It said Apple Intelligence, which … Read more…

By Shariq Khan and Seher Dareen NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. refiners pumped out jet fuel last week at the fastest pace since the pandemic, government data showed, as they look to keep up with forecasts of record air travel this summer. U.S. refiners’ net production of jet fuel hit about 1.9 million barrels per day (bpd) last week, 8% higher than the same time last year and the highest weekly total since January 2020, … Read more…

By Jeffrey Dastin (Reuters) – Anthropic, a startup backed by Google and Amazon.com, on Thursday released an updated artificial intelligence model and a new layout to boost user productivity, continuing an industry sprint to push technology’s frontier. Three months after rolling out its Claude 3 family of AI models, Anthropic said it was launching Claude 3.5 Sonnet. Compared with Claude 3 Opus – which CEO Dario Amodei in March called the “Rolls-Royce of models” – … Read more…