MThree hundred thirty-three million dollars to renovate a ballroom at the White House, and the donor list reads like a tech earnings call.
CNvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, Cisco, Palantir, Lockheed. They all chipped in.
MThe Washington Post got an internal spreadsheet. Top donations: twenty-five million each from Nvidia and Apple.
CTwenty-five million for a ballroom. That's not a donation, that's a down payment on a wing.
MAnd here's the part that should make everyone pause: regulators are approving deals involving these same companies right now.
COkay, but NPR looked at this. No evidence of a quid pro quo. The donations are legal, no campaign finance limits.
MLegal, sure. But you don't write a twenty-five million dollar check to a ballroom fund out of love for chandeliers.
CSo what's the argument? That every tech company donating to a White House project is buying influence?
MThe argument is the timing! Regulators green-lit deals worth far more, and the spreadsheet shows who paid. That's not nothing.
CIt's also not proof. Companies donate to both parties all the time. It's gross, but it's not new.
MIt's the scale. A third of a billion dollars from the exact companies waiting on merger approvals. Come on.
CI'm not saying it smells great. I'm saying 'smells' isn't the same as 'proved.'
MFine. But if I'm a regulator looking at the next big tech merger, I'm remembering this spreadsheet.
CAnd if I'm a tech CEO, I'm wondering why I only gave five million when Apple gave twenty-five.
MThere it is. The real competition.
CSpeaking of money moving around, there's a post floating around claiming Morgan Stanley raised its Amazon price target to three-fifty and Microsoft unveiled some new AI chip.
MI saw that. Couldn't confirm either one. No official word from Morgan Stanley or Microsoft.
CRight, so treat it as rumor mill stuff. Amazon did have a good Monday, but the price target part? Unverified.
MAnd the Maia 300 chip with multi-gigawatt deployment? That's a big claim with no source behind it.
CMulti-gigawatt. That's not a data center, that's a small country.
MExactly why I'd wait for Microsoft to actually say it. Until then, it's just a post.
CDifferent world entirely: a robotics company called Eka is working on the hardest part of a robot's job.
MThe final moment of a grasp. That split second when the robot's fingers close around an object.
CThey're combining a force-sensitive gripper with simulation-trained control. The idea is to handle varied objects without crushing them.
MThat's actually the unsung problem. Picking up an egg versus a brick. Most robots are terrible at both.
CRight, and if they crack this, warehouse robots get a lot more useful. Less broken glass, fewer dented cans.
MOr at least fewer viral videos of robots smashing things.
CThose videos are half the fun, though.
MAnd on the other end of the robot spectrum, someone on Bluesky is just sick of bots in their notifications.
C'I open up my notifs and it feels like this.' No specifics, just exhaustion.
MHonestly, that's the most relatable tech post of the day. Bots replying to bots, engagement farming.
CThe internet's just two bots arguing about a third bot's post now.
MAnd somewhere, a fourth bot is writing a summary of the argument.
CWhich a fifth bot will fact-check incorrectly.
MWe've come full circle. Anyway, one more from the money world: a Tesla bear on Bluesky says the stock keeps underperforming while the taxi and robot businesses stay 'wet dreams.'
CThat's opinion, not analysis. But the underperformance part? That's been real for a while.
MThe argument is that Tesla's EV sales are falling behind the market, and the robotaxi and Optimus stuff hasn't turned into revenue yet.
CBut that's always been the Tesla playbook. Promise the future, sell the present. It's worked for years.
MUntil it doesn't. If the core car business slows and the moonshots stay moonshots, the stock story gets thin.
C'Wet dreams' is a bit much, though. I'd settle for 'delayed.'
MFair. But the market's not known for patience.
CNo, the market's known for panic and euphoria, usually in the same week.
MAnd right now, it's leaning panic on Tesla. We'll see if the robotaxi launch changes that.
CIf it ever launches. That's the whole bear case in one line.
MAlright, that's the tech money roundup. Ballrooms, rumors, robots, and bots.
CSounds like a normal Thursday.