Intel shares popped more than 14% after the struggling chipmaker named Lip-Bu Tan its new CEO and Wall Street cheered the turnaround attempt.
TakeAway Points:
- Intel shares popped more than 14% after announcing Lip-Bu Tan as its new CEO.
- Wall Street cheered the chipmaker’s attempt to revitalize its business, calling the move a positive for the company
- Google launched two new AI models tailored for robotics applications on Wednesday based on its Gemini 2.0 model, as it looks to cater to the rapidly growing robotics industry.
- Meanwhile, Microsoft is the subject of an ongoing antitrust investigation by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, which was initiated during the final days of the Biden administration.
Intel shares pop
Tan previously served as CEO of chip software maker and Intel supplier Cadence Design Systems, and will rejoin the board after departing last year. He replaces interim co-CEOs David Zinsner and MJ Holthaus who took the helm of the company after former CEO Pat Gelsinger’s ousting in December.
The news brings an end to a tumultuous period for the once-iconic American semiconductor company that has shed billions in market value as it largely sits out the artificial intelligence boom that has lifted the broader industry. Intel’s board forced out Gelsinger late last year as confidence dwindled in his ability to turn around the company.
Wall Street appeared to support Intel’s decision, with Deutsche Bank analyst Ross Seymore calling the appointment a “desirable outcome.” Tan’s semiconductor industry experience and prior board position also prime him to “meet the demands” of the role, he added.
UBS analyst Timothy Arcuri also called attention to Tan’s relationships with China and Taiwan and “history of creating shareholder value” as another potential positive for Intel.
Tan “is likely to bring a customer service mindset to the company that is increasingly important to their goals but which has been lacking,” wrote Bernstein’s Stacy Rasgon. “We like him; he was at the top of our list of candidates from a desirability point of view, and we are genuinely happy for the company that he has taken the job.”
Intel stock has gained about 3% this year after shedding nearly two-thirds of its market value in 2024. In August, the stock dropped to its lowest level in more than a decade and suffered its worst decline in 50 years after cutting 15% of its workforce and issuing disappointing results.
The company’s underperformance and struggling business has also made it a potential takeover target, with CNBC confirming in September that Qualcomm had approached the company about a takeover. Last month, The Wall Street Journal reported that Broadcom and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing were weighing independent deals to break up Intel.
Google introduces new AI models for robotics industry
Alphabet’s Google on Wednesday released two new AI models for robotics applications based on its Gemini 2.0 model.
Alphabet’s Google launched two new AI models tailored for robotics applications on Wednesday based on its Gemini 2.0 model, as it looks to cater to the rapidly growing robotics industry.
The robotics field has made large strides over the past few years with increasing advancements in AI and improving models, speeding up commercialization of robots largely in industrial settings, according to industry experts.
Trump’s FTC advances broad antitrust probe of Microsoft
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is moving ahead with an antitrust probe of Microsoft that was opened in the waning days of the Biden administration, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The FTC staff have in the recent weeks been meeting companies and other groups to gather information, the report said. Britain’s antitrust regulator said its inquiry group had found the mobile browser market, dominated by Apple and Google, was not working well for consumers and businesses, supporting its decision to launch an investigation into the sector in January.
A final report by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) independent inquiry group said most of its concerns related to Apple’s policies about accessing the internet on its devices using its Safari browser.
