October 21, 2025, 1:02 AM EDT. AMD and NVIDIA have struck multi-billion deals with OpenAI, steering capital into rapid growth. NVIDIA's agreement could total up to $100B for 10GW of chips, tying its products to OpenAI's self-build data centers and expanding its premier co-design program with hyperscalers. AMD's deal, worth about $90B-$100B for 6GW, includes warrants granting OpenAI up to ~10% of AMD and gives AMD an anchor tenant as it pushes to be a full system builder to compete with NVIDIA. The moves spark a debate on vendor financing risk and bubble-like funding, even as AMD's stock rallies and NVIDIA's dips. Wall Street remains cautiously optimistic, with some analysts forecasting stronger EPS in 2027.

October 21, 2025, 1:00 AM EDT. Today's research notes compile top upgrades and downgrades from major firms. Highlights include Loop Capital upgrading Apple (AAPL) to Buy with a $315 target, citing ongoing iPhone shipment growth through 2027. BNP Paribas Exane lifts Lululemon (LULU) to Neutral with a $146 target, while TD Cowen raises Ally (ALLY) to Buy and BMO Capital upgrades Prologis (PLD) to Market Perform, both pointing to stronger fundamentals and AI-linked demand. Goldman Sachs upgrades Darden (DRI) to Buy with a $225 target, citing market-share gains. On the downgrades side, Rivian (RIVN) is trimmed to Underperform as EV demand cools and IRA credits wind down; Lumentum (LITE), Progressive (PGR), Marvell (MRVL), and Astera Labs (ALAB) are also moved to more cautious views. The moves reflect shifting leverage on AI demand, supply chains, and consumer demand dynamics.

October 21, 2025, 12:58 AM EDT. Leaked specs for the OnePlus 15 point to a 7,300mAh battery paired with 120W wired charging and 50W wireless charging. The phone is slated to launch in China on October 27, with a US rollout expected soon after. While the numbers sound impressive on paper, the writer jokes that a real full day of battery life will be a stretch, given the extreme charging speeds. If the US version mirrors the Chinese spec, users could see dramatically shortened refills-possibly limited by regulatory/safety constraints. Still, the potential for rapid top-ups means shorter downtime and more time with the device. The official launch timing remains to be confirmed, but anticipation for the OnePlus 15 continues to grow as more battery details surface.

October 21, 2025, 12:56 AM EDT. In a CNBC interview, Julia Boorstin chats with SoundPatrol co-founders Michael Ovitz and Walter De Brouwer about how their startup is tackling AI copyright infringement. SoundPatrol uses neural fingerprinting to identify media even when it's distorted by AI tools, helping rights holders track unauthorized uses. The segment discusses how this tech enables faster license enforcement and royalties in a rapidly evolving AI landscape. Ovitz, a veteran Hollywood agent and VC investor, and De Brouwer explain how their approach could shape policy and due-diligence for creators, studios, and platforms as AI-generated content proliferates.

October 21, 2025, 12:54 AM EDT. A team from the University of Maryland, with DARPA, is turning a robot dog named Spot into a first responder capable of talking to and assessing patients. The system uses a large-language-model AI similar to ChatGPT, plus sensors and a heavy computer mounted on the dog, to determine a casualty's condition. An aerial drone maps the scene, then Spot searches for victims, gathers vitals, and feeds medics real-time data via a medic's chest-mounted display. The setup fuses data from multiple cameras, depth sensing to create a 3D image, and an inference engine to combine evidence. The dogs can call for help with phrases like Medic, medic! and operate autonomously to triage in crises, potentially becoming deployable in the next few years.