Consumer Tech News (May 18-22): Meta Cuts 8,000 Jobs, Nvidia Posts Strong Earnings & More

The Trump administration‘s Golden Dome missile-defense plan is drawing fresh fire from Democrats and arms-control advocates, who argue the proposed shield could become a trillion-dollar catalyst for a new nuclear arms race while opening a multiyear revenue opportunity for defense contractors.

Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) warned that artificial intelligence will significantly reshape the U.S. economy and national security, urging safeguards to protect privacy and workers while supporting innovation.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) warned that the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) could lead to widespread job losses and called for sweeping policy changes to protect workers if that scenario becomes reality.

Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) introduced legislation aimed at making major artificial intelligence companies pay a larger share of energy costs as electricity demand from AI systems grows.

A bipartisan bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Rep. Sam Graves (R-MO) and Rep. Rick Larsen (D-WA) would levy an annual fee on EV owners to fund road maintenance.

Elon Musk-led SpaceX has written a letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), urging the agency to end the High-Cost program aimed at providing connectivity to rural areas via subsidies for internet service providers (ISPs).

Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said he personally built a customized AI-powered diplomatic assistant to help manage the cognitive demands of global diplomacy.

China confirmed a 200-aircraft order from Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) following President Donald Trump‘s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping last week.

Earnings Snapshot

Nvidia Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) reported first-quarter revenue of $81.615 billion, up 85% year-over-year. The revenue figure beat a Street consensus estimate of $78.796 billion, according to data from Benzinga Pro. The company reported earnings per share of $1.87, beating a Street consensus estimate of $1.76.

Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU) reported first-quarter revenue of $4.65 billion (32.08 billion yuan), down 1.2% year over year and slightly below analyst estimates of $4.66 billion. Adjusted earnings came in at $1.75 per American depositary share, topping consensus estimates of $1.69.

Bilibili Inc. (NASDAQ:BILI) reported revenue of $1.08 billion (7.47 billion yuan), up 7% year over year but slightly below analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. Adjusted earnings came in at 19 cents per ADS, beating Wall Street estimates of 12 cents.

Intuit Inc (NASDAQ:INTU) reported third-quarter revenue of $8.56 billion, beating analyst estimates of $8.53 billion. The QuickBooks, Credit Karma and TurboTax parent company posted third-quarter adjusted earnings of $12.80 per share, beating analyst estimates of $12.28 per share.

Keysight Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:KEYS) reported quarterly earnings of $2.87 per share, which beat the analyst consensus estimate of $2.32. Revenue clocked in at $1.72 billion, which beat the analyst consensus estimate of $1.71 billion.

Analog Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADI) eported second-quarter adjusted earnings of $3.09 per share, beating analyst estimates of $2.90. Revenue rose 37.2% year over year to $3.62 billion, ahead of the $3.51 billion consensus estimate.

NIO Inc (NYSE:NIO) reported quarterly revenue of 25.53 billion Chinese yuan ($3.701 billion), up 112.2% year over year (Y/Y). The figure exceeded the analyst consensus estimate of $3.550 billion. Excluding one-time items, adjusted earnings came in at 0.02 yuan per ADS.

Smartphones, Network & Retail

An Indian court has reportedly directed Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) to "fully cooperate" with antitrust investigators probing the iPhone app market, rejecting the company's bid to suspend proceedings as it challenges the country's penalty calculation law.

Apple unveiled a broad set of accessibility updates powered by Apple Intelligence, expanding capabilities across iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Vision Pro.

Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) launched its AI Networking Innovation Lab. The new facility is aimed at accelerating co-innovation with AI and cloud partners and advancing next-generation networking solutions for AI infrastructure.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) announced the release of a new, more powerful artificial intelligence chip on Wednesday.

Automobile & Aircrafts

Ryanair Holdings plc (NASDAQ:RYAAY) shared that it anticipates no jet fuel supply shortages despite the challenges presented by the ongoing Iran war.

XPeng Inc. (NYSE:XPEV) disclosed the official rollout of its first mass-produced Robotaxi, which is a significant step in its autonomous vehicle strategy.

Stellantis N.V. (NYSE:STLA) announced plans to launch a new affordable compact electric vehicle project in Europe, with production scheduled to begin in 2028 at its Pomigliano plant in Italy.

ChargePoint Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CHPT) announced it is partnering with OBE Power to install about 2,500 EV charging ports at multifamily residences.

Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ:PLUG) said a final investment decision had been reached for the 30-megawatt Barrow Green Hydrogen project in the U.K., where it will supply electrolyzers.

International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) announced the latest expansion of its enterprise security program, which includes partnerships aimed at enhancing defenses against AI-driven cyber threats.

Software & Semiconductors

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has finalized its phased exit from Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by selling its remaining stake in the tech giant.

Applied Digital Corp (NASDAQ:APLD) announced it entered into a long-term lease agreement with the same undisclosed hyperscaler that previously signed a deal at the company's Delta Forge 1. 

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd.’s (NYSE:TSM) Japan subsidiary, Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing Inc. (JASM), posted its first quarterly profit since beginning mass production at the end of 2024.

Taiwan Semiconductor is reportedly planning the development of 1-nanometer chips even as its first 2nm chips are expected to enter production later this year.

Starting May 20, Meta Platforms, Inc (NASDAQ:META) is laying off approximately 8,000 employees, representing about 10% of its workforce. The company also canceled plans to fill 6,000 open positions.

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) said they are forming a new artificial intelligence cloud and data center venture in the U.S.

Google and Samsung Electronics Co. (OTC:SSNLF) have unveiled new AI-powered smart glasses featuring Gemini integration, real-time translation and deep Android XR support, marking a major push into next-generation wearable computing.

Nearly 48,000 employees of Samsung are preparing to strike following unsuccessful payment discussions.

UiPath Inc. (NYSE:PATH) announced the launch of its UiPath Automation Cloud on the Microsoft's Azure platform in South Korea.

Microsoft‘s subsidiary GitHub is investigating a suspected cyberattack after the threat actor known as TeamPCP claimed to have stolen internal source code and data tied to thousands of repositories from the platform.

CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD) signed a deal with Germany’s SVA System Vertrieb Alexander GmbH to deliver the AI-native CrowdStrike Falcon platform to public sector, enterprise, and mid-market customers across Germany.

Artificial Intelligence

Anthropic has reportedly agreed to brief leading finance ministries and central banks on cyber vulnerabilities identified by its general-purpose generative AI model Claude Mythos Preview.

Anthropic is reportedly on track to post its first quarterly operating profit as booming demand for its Claude AI models drives revenue sharply higher. It has also agreed to a multibillion-dollar infrastructure partnership with SpaceX.

French artificial intelligence startup and leading European rival to OpenAI and Anthropic, Mistral AI‘s CEO, Arthur Mensch, warned Europe has a two-year window to build an independent AI infrastructure before losing control to American tech giants.

Elon Musk’s xAI has added 19 portable natural gas turbines at its Colossus 2 data center in Southaven, Mississippi, between late March and early May during an ongoing lawsuit tied to the violation of the Clean Air Act. 

Elon Musk said he would appeal a California jury verdict that dismissed his lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft, accusing the ChatGPT-maker of creating a precedent that could allow nonprofits to be exploited for private gain.

Google DeepMind has reportedly agreed to hire more than 20 researchers from AI startup Contextual AI and license its technology in a deal valued between $80 million and $90 million.

 WeWork and Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) CEO said artificial intelligence (AI) is putting pressure on entry-level hiring for Gen Z workers, while companies increasingly shift toward freelance and AI-skilled labor.

OpenAI and Alphabet are both deepening their Singapore AI investment commitments. Together, the two deals signal something far bigger than bilateral agreements.