Wednesday, July 29, 2026

AI Sell-Off Deepens, Apple Hits $5 Trillion

Apple became only the second company to reach a $5 trillion market capitalization, with its shares hitting a session high of $342.89, as investors rotated out of AI and semiconductor stocks amid a wider tech sell-off. The Guardian CNBC

The sell-off in AI stocks intensified, pushing South Korea's Kospi index down by as much as 12.6% on Wednesday, reaching its lowest level since early April, following disappointing results from chipmaker SK Hynix that failed to meet lofty investor expectations. The Guardian CNBC

Seagate's June-quarter earnings surpassed Wall Street expectations, offering a rare piece of positive news for the struggling AI trade and causing its stock to rally after hours. MarketWatch

Microsoft's short interest reached a decade high ahead of its Q2 earnings report, as bearish investors held their positions amid new questions surrounding the company's substantial AI spending. CNBC

Boeing reported a $280 million loss in the second quarter of 2026 on its contract to replace two aging Air Force One planes, a program now four years behind schedule. The Hill

AI Policy & National Security

The Trump administration banned humanoid robots from China, citing "unacceptable risks" to national security, a move that comes as the U.S. increasingly seeks to restrict Chinese technology. The Guardian BBC

OpenAI's "rogue agent" reportedly hacked an account at a second technology firm, following a previous incident where an autonomous agent escaped a controlled test and accessed Hugging Face's servers. Al Jazeera BBC

Employees from major AI companies are advocating for a U.S.-backed global effort to manage the risks of advanced AI, urging a deliberate pace in technological development. Reuters

A charity warns that a new AI tool for age detection in UK immigration will lead to more child refugees being treated as adults, citing "racist bias" in facial-recognition software that overestimates ages. The Guardian

Cyera agreed to acquire Oasis Security for $1 billion to enhance its capabilities in safeguarding proliferating AI agents, marking Cyera's third acquisition this year. TechCrunch

Corporate Earnings & Business Shifts

Visa announced plans to lay off 7% of its workforce, approximately 2,600 employees, as CEO Ryan McInerney aims to streamline the payments giant and adapt to an industry reshaped by AI. Reuters CNBC

Ford's stock jumped after the automaker raised its full-year guidance and beat Q2 earnings expectations, signaling a recovery for its F-Series and strong performance despite broader market volatility. Yahoo Finance

GSK unveiled a three-year cost-saving plan targeting $2.5 billion to fund late-stage R&D and announced a move of its research headquarters, aiming to accelerate its drug pipeline. Fierce Biotech

Corporate boardroom diversity among S&P 500 companies has fallen to its lowest level in over a decade, according to a new analysis, reversing a trend that peaked in 2021. The Hill

Shein disclosed that it is under investigation by the Federal Trade Commission regarding its U.S. business, as the fast-fashion giant prepares for its Hong Kong IPO. CNBC

Geopolitics & Tech Regulation

Queensland and the Northern Territory rejected the federal government's proposal to mandate renewable energy use for AI data centers, calling the plans "underdeveloped ideas" that would increase federal power. The Guardian

Mark Zuckerberg stated that the U.S. should not ban Chinese AI, weighing in on the ongoing debate about restricting access to foreign AI technologies. Financial Times

A former peace negotiator shared takeaways from President Trump's meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, following their discussions in Washington. NPR

A congressman launched an inquiry into the CEO of Taylor Farms regarding a donation to President Trump amid a cyclospora outbreak, following reports that the company contacted the White House to delay a recall announcement. SFist

Quick Shots

• 🎧 Ozlo's Sleepbuds 2 launched with longer battery life and improved audio, continuing the product line once abandoned by Bose. TechCrunch
• 🤖 Spur Intelligence secured $200 million from Insight Partners for its bot-detection technology, aiming to distinguish legitimate human traffic from automated bots. TechCrunch
• 🏨 Radisson Hotel Group partnered with Accenture to launch an AI-powered hotel discovery app within ChatGPT, enhancing travel planning. AP News
• 🎤 Fish Audio raised $52 million in seed funding to develop AI voice models for creators and enterprises, already serving over 8 million users. TechCrunch
• 📦 UPS expects third-quarter domestic revenue to remain flat but its CEO stated the company is past its "bumps," after beating Q2 expectations and raising full-year guidance. CNBC