Fact Sheet: Trump’s Tech Targets, TikTok Canada Shutdown, Corning Probe, Freshworks Layoffs, Take-Two Outlook

I have been thinking about many things in the wake of the election results. One of them is the voters who feel that the current circumstances are not working for them. By almost any measure the US economy is strong – but it doesn’t feel that way to a lot of people right now, especially in Pennsylvania where I grew up.

Will the continued advance of technology ease or exacerbate these feelings? Will the AI ​​revolution lead to broader, rather than just greater, prosperity? I can’t decide. Reply and share your thoughts; I would love to hear them. – Andrew Nusca

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What Trump means for technology

Donald Trump’s return to the White House is likely to touch every corner of technology.

From artificial intelligence and antitrust to chips and social media– not to mention cars, space and crypto Trump and his backers have policies to push, interests to serve and grudges to pursue.

A few outcomes are very likely, such as the deregulation of crypto and the defense of controversial Federal Trade Commission Chairman Lina Khan, who is arguably Big Tech’s biggest enemy. But the surest thing is that Trump will be as chaotic and unpredictable as ever.

He could ignite a trade war with China, causing huge problems for TSMC and other Taiwanese chipmakers that keep the world going. Or he could use Taiwan as a bargaining chip in a potential deal with Beijing. Either would end up in the chip industry.

Elon Musk may soon be able to favor xAI in his plans for a sweeping reorganization of the US government. Those in Trump’s circle could urge the president to sponsor a Manhattan Project-style project to bring about the creation of superhuman artificial general intelligence. And Trump’s likely avoidance of meaningful AI regulation would be a boon for misinformation and discriminatory use of AI.

Whatever happens, it’s certainly true that people like Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos, who have recently gone out of their way to avoid riling Trump, at least made the right strategic decision. -David Meyer

Canada orders TikTok business closure

Canada has ordered TikTok to dissolve its business in the country, although it did not go so far as to block access to the TikTok app for the nearly six million residents who use it.

The decision to shut down was made for national security reasons and was based in part “on advice from Canada’s security and intelligence community and other government partners,” said Innovation Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne in a statement.

Government officials in Ottawa have been reviewing TikTok’s business plans in Canada since last year. (TikTok is, of course, owned by China’s ByteDance.) The Great White North had already banned the TikTok app from government-issued devices.

TikTok said it would challenge the ruling in court. Meanwhile, the company is fast approaching its January 19 deadline to sell its US business to an approved buyer – again for national security reasons – or face a ban. About 170 million people in the US use the app. – AN

EU opens antitrust investigation against Corning

You don’t often hear about antitrust cases against a 173-year-old glass company, but there is a first time for everything.

Corning—which developed bulb-shaped glass for Thomas Edison, made screens for pretty much every TV in the 1960s, and invented your mom’s Corelle dishes—found a new cash cow in the 21st century with its Gorilla Glass installed on a smartphone near you .

The stuff is so popular, in fact, that the company is now facing antitrust investigation by the European Union over whether it abused its market power — and exclusive deals with phone makers — to outmaneuver the competition.

“The agreements that Corning has entered into with OEMs and refinishers may have excluded rival glass manufacturers from large segments of the market.” reads a statement from the EU Commission“thereby reducing customer choice, driving up prices and stifling innovation to the detriment of consumers worldwide.”

Corning said it would comply with the probe. If found in violation, Corning could be fined up to 10% of its annual global revenue. – AN

Freshworks to lay off 13% of workforce

Silicon Valley cloud software company Freshworks said Wednesday it would lay off 660 people, or 13% of its workforce. It expects to complete its restructuring by December 31.

The news comes in the wake of quite strong quarterly earnings. Demand for its AI-powered services prompted the 14-year-old company to raise its annual revenue and profit forecasts — to as much as earnings of 39 cents on revenue of $716 million — and drove its share price up by double digits to around $15 , in aftermarket trade.

“We are proud of the operational efficiencies we are creating as we scale our business,” CEO Dennis Woodside said on a conference call.

Founded in Chennai, India, Freshworks is the company behind IT service management platform Freshservice and customer service tool Freshdesk. It sells its software to companies including American Express, Databricks, Nucor and Sony and competes with Salesforce and ServiceNow. – AN

Take-Two earnings show that players are willing to spend again

In the coming year, the hopes of the video game industry are based on two things: a sequel to the Nintendo Switch and Grand Theft Auto VI.

But a little confidence doesn’t hurt, does it?

On Wednesday Take-Two Interactive, the New York City gaming company behind GTA franchise, beat Wall Street expectations for quarterly earnings ($1.47 billion) and profit, sending its shares up about 5% to $173.

The company’s long-term prospects are naturally bright. Beyond GTA VIwhich is expected to gross billions of dollars, has Take-Two Borderlands 4 and Mafia: The Old Country in the pipeline.

Take-Two expects to generate up to $5.65 billion this fiscal year — in line with analysts’ estimates — and “sequential increases and record levels” in GTA VI-ful years to come, according to CEO Strauss Zelnick. To quote one of the show’s characters: It’s called capitalism. – AN

More data

—Chat.com is now controlled by OpenAI. Who Said AI Will Kill The Web?

—Twice as many pro-crypto candidates vs. anti-crypto was elected to the US House.

—Arm moderates its expectations for revenue in the 3rd quarter to about $945 million. Sluggish demand for chips to blame.

—JPMorgan’s Onyx blockchain platform now called Kinexys. Marking a shift to asset tokenization in the real world.

—Australia is considering banning social media for children under 16. Enforcement is the trick.

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