The race for AI dominance has certain tech billionaires in a death match. This week I’ll be watching for things to maybe escalate between Mark Zuckerberg and Sam Altman, who are competing for top AI talent.

Today’s tech news below. —Alexandra Sternlicht

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Meta poaches OpenAI researchers for ‘superintelligence’ effort

Though OpenAI founder and CEO Sam Altman had said that Zuckerberg had failed to scoop his talent with $100 million offers, he appears to be—at least partially—incorrect. 

On Saturday, Bloomberg reported that Meta successfully hired four OpenAI researchers to join Alexandr Wang’s “superintelligence” team at Meta.

This is another part of Meta’s aggressive hiring spree to compete in AI. 

In the last month the company acquired 49% of Wang’s Scale AI, bringing Wang aboard to lead the new team at Meta. 

The social media megacap has also hired high profile AI leaders Daniel Gross and Nat Friedman.

Bloomberg also reported that Meta is in talks to acquire PlayAI, an AI voice startup. Safe to say that Meta is playing to win. —AS

Apple’s F1 movie is a (small) win at the box office

Apple’s F1: The Movie generated $55.6 million in U.S. ticket sales over the weekend, per the New York Times. 

The movie, which has received critical accolades, is Apple’s first box office hit, though this isn’t a huge W considering that Apple spent $375 million to make and market the movie.

The tech giant has had small-screen hits, like Severance and Ted Lasso, but it has struggled with feature films. In 2024, the company released box office duds Argylle and Fly Me to the Moon. 

Apple’s entertainment arm is key to its strategy to diversify revenues and produce content meant for consumption on Apple devices.

“We’re thrilled by the global response to ‘F1’ and grateful to the audiences who’ve embraced the film with such enthusiasm,” said Apple’s co-head of entertainment programming Jamie Erlicht in a statement. —AS

Tech royalty take to Venice for Bezos wedding

Tech billionaires descended on Venice to celebrate the nuptials of Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos to journalist Lauren Sánchez. 

The group included Bill Gates, Sam Altman, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, among others. 

Excluding Bezos, who has a net worth of $237 billion, this group is worth a whopping $151 billion, all per Forbes. 

“The wedding is extremely intimate,” Sánchez Bezos told Vogue, noting that 70 of the 200 guests were family. 

Though it’s not terribly shocking that Bezos counts fellow tech billionaires as friends, it is more shocking that aside from this group, guests included Hollywood A-listers like the Kardashian family, Sydney Sweeney, and Leonardo DiCaprio as well as sports figures like Tom Brady. 

I’d pay money to see Kim Kardashian and Bill Gates join hands for the Hora. —AS

More tech

—A $100 million deal for nuclear power. The aptly named Nuclear Company will pay data analytics firm Palantir $100 million over five years to develop AI software for nuclear power. 

—Nvidia nears $4 trillion valuation as investors continue to laud the semiconductor giant. But is it a bubble?

—An American Airlines systems glitch delayed 26% of flights on Friday, highlighting the growing impact of IT reliability in aviation operations.

—Microsoft unveils PadChest‑GR, a new AI diagnostic tool aimed at radiology.

—Elon Musk ousts Tesla’s North America-Europe ops head, reflecting internal upheaval during declining EV sales.

—OpenAI reportedly starts renting Google's TPUs to power ChatGPT, marking its first move away from Nvidia GPUs.

—HP and Juniper Networks reach a settlement with the U.S. DOJ, resolving antitrust concerns and paving the way for their merger.

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