Alphabet2026-07-24 08:05:17Alphabet Jumps 10% After Earnings as Google Cloud Revenue Surges 63%Alphabet rose 10% after reporting Q1 2026 results, with Google Cloud revenue climbing 63% to $20 billion and beating expectations. The company said cloud growth was still limited by compute capacity.210
Google2026-07-24 04:35:15Google Bet $40 Billion on AI Startup Anthropic: $10 Billion Upfront, More ConditionalAlphabet plans to invest up to $40 billion in Anthropic, maker of Claude, with $10 billion in cash upfront and $30 billion contingent on performance milestones, mostly allocated to expand Google Cloud TPU infrastructure.230
AI2026-07-24 04:12:10AI Off-Balance-Sheet Obligations at Five U.S. Tech Giants Reach $1.65 TrillionAlphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta and Oracle have accumulated $1.65 trillion in hidden obligations tied to AI infrastructure expansion, according to a report cited by BlockBeats on July 24. The figure is about eight times higher than it was four years ago and exceeds the group’s combined on-balance-sheet debt of $1.35 trillion over the same period. The obligations stem from long-term data center leases and equipment purchase contracts used to secure computing capacity as AI competition intensifies. Under U.S. GAAP, some undelivered equipment purchases and data center leases that have not yet commenced do not need to be recorded immediately on the balance sheet, and are typically disclosed in footnotes instead. Capital spending across the five companies continues to climb, with Alphabet at $85 billion for fiscal 2025, Microsoft at $34.9 billion in capex for the first quarter of fiscal 2026, Amazon planning about $200 billion in 2026, Meta guiding for $60 billion to $65 billion in 2025, and Oracle projecting $90 billion to $95 billion in fiscal 2027. Moody’s said the five companies have about $662 billion in signed but off-balance-sheet data center lease commitments, equal to 113% of adjusted debt, with more than $500 billion potentially moving onto formal financial statements as leases begin.260
Microsoft2026-07-24 04:10:16Microsoft Launches First Voluntary Retirement Plan: 8,750 Employees Given 30 Days to Decide, AI Investment ContinuesMicrosoft announces its first-ever large-scale voluntary retirement plan for about 8,750 U.S. employees, while also pledging $18 billion for AI cloud infrastructure in Australia, highlighting a dual strategy of workforce reduction and compute expansion.200
Anthropic2026-07-23 18:45:16Anthropic Raises $65 Billion in Series H at $965 Billion Valuation, Surpassing OpenAIAnthropic has closed a $65 billion Series H round at a $965 billion post-money valuation, with proceeds earmarked for AI safety research, compute expansion, and broader product partnerships.560
Anthropic2026-07-23 17:50:15Anthropic in Talks to Lease Microsoft's Maia 200 Chips, Pledges Over $330B in Cloud SpendingAnthropic is negotiating with Microsoft to lease its in-house AI inference chip Maia 200, potentially becoming a key external customer. The firm has committed over $330 billion to three cloud giants, with 2026 compute costs expected to exceed $20 billion, pursuing a multi-chip strategy unlike OpenAI's Nvidia reliance.550
AMD2026-07-23 00:24:07AMD signs multi-billion-dollar AI server deal with Anthropic, with up to $5 billion equity investment tied to milestonesAdvanced Micro Devices (AMD) has signed a multi-billion-dollar AI server partnership with Anthropic, according to The Wall Street Journal. Under the agreement, Anthropic is set to begin buying as much as 2 gigawatts of AMD’s next-generation Instinct MI450 chips for its data centers starting in the first half of 2027. Part of the computing capacity will also be leased through other major cloud service providers or newer cloud companies. The deal includes a financing component as well: if certain compute deployment milestones are met, AMD will invest up to $5 billion in Anthropic in exchange for an equity stake. The report said this would mark AMD’s first investment in an AI company. AMD’s chief executive said the company has long wanted to become a key infrastructure partner for Anthropic, adding that engineering teams from both sides have already been working together for some time.1870
Alphabet2026-07-22 20:26:42Alphabet posts record Q2 revenue as Google Cloud jumps 82%Alphabet reported its 2026 second-quarter results after the U.S. market close on July 22, posting the highest quarterly revenue in its history at $119.8 billion, up 24% from $96.4 billion a year earlier, or 23% on a constant-currency basis. Operating income reached $40.77 billion, while net income surged to $112.1 billion from $28.2 billion in the same period last year. A major driver of that jump was $99.03 billion in gains from equity securities booked under “other income.” CNBC said the figure included both realized and unrealized gains and losses, and noted that Alphabet holds investments in Anthropologie and SpaceX. Google Cloud stood out as the quarter’s main growth engine, with revenue of $24.77 billion, up 82% year over year, helped by demand for AI infrastructure and solutions. Alphabet also said nearly 90% of Fortune 100 companies are using Gemini Enterprise, Gemini models now process up to 22 billion API tokens per minute, and the Gemini app has 950 million monthly active users. Investors are also watching capital spending, after Alphabet raised its 2026 capex guidance to $18 billion-$19 billion and said spending is expected to increase again in 2027.1340
