WSJ Tech News Briefing

An independent space company from New Zealand is looking to take on industry giants like SpaceX and Blue Origin in the rocket launch business. WSJ space business reporter Micah Maidenberg tells us about Rocket Lab and its founder. Plus, President Trump has been sharing AI-generated video memes on his social-media pages, particularly in response to the current government shutdown. WSJ reporter Amrith Ramkumar explains the controversy behind the president sharing this kind of content. Julie Chang hosts. Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plus: Airship AI shares surge after the AI surveillance company is awarded federal contracts. And a trio of immunologists are awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine for breakthroughs in immune-system research. Zoe Kuhlkin hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plus: Europe’s AI startups head to the U.S. for funding. And Verizon names Daniel Schulman as its new CEO. Zoe Kuhlkin hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plus: BlackRock nears deal to acquire Aligned Data Centers for about $20 billion. And AI venture-capital firm Gradient Ventures spins out of Google. Julie Chang hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plus: Delays to Nvidia and U.A.E. chips deal frustrate Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and some senior Trump administration officials. Japanese brewer Asahi Group doesn’t know when its supply chain will be restored after a cyberattack. Julie Chang hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Researchers and companies are designing AI algorithms that can detect signs of breast cancer in mammograms before those signs are visible to the human eye. WSJ reporter Brianna Abbott joins to share how these advanced AI tools compare against current risk-detection methods. Plus, personal tech columnist Nicole Nguyen discusses some features from Google's Gemini and Amazon's Alexa+ that promise to make smart homes even smarter. Peter Champelli hosts. Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plus: Walmart says it will keep hiring developers as the company revamps its workforce for the AI era. And Rivian narrows its 2025 delivery guidance. Julie Chang hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plus: Samsung and SK Hynix strike an agreement with OpenAI for its Stargate project. And Tesla sales rise in the third quarter. Zoe Kuhlkin hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plus: Taliban accused of cutting off internet in Afghanistan. And the U.S. to take equity stake in Lithium Americas and its Nevada mining project. Julie Chang hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plus: Stellantis expands its partnership with Mistral to speed up AI adoption across its operations. And automakers brace for a plunge in EV sales after tax credit expires. Julie Chang hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plus: CoreWeave and Meta sign $14.2 billion AI cloud infrastructure deal. And FuboTV shareholders approve Disney streaming deal. Julie Chang hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plus: DeepSeek releases a new AI model that could cut usage cost in half. And YouTube agrees to pay $24.5 million to settle a lawsuit brought by President Trump over the suspension of his account. Zoe Kuhlkin hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One big drawback of generative artificial intelligence is the vast energy and water that data centers use to power it. But AI also promises to save energy and fuel across industries such as transportation, manufacturing and building maintenance. Amy Myers Jaffe, director of the Energy, Climate Justice, and Sustainability Lab at New York University, tells us how AI could save as much energy as it uses—or more. Plus, WSJ reporter Sebastian Herrera discusses how layoffs of tech workers are affecting Seattle. Peter Champelli hosts. Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plus: The company also plans to release a new version of its Sora video generator that will require copyright holders to opt out. And the White House targets China’s tech sector by expanding its trade blacklist. Julie Chang hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plus: Comcast says its president will serve as co-CEO with longtime Chief Executive Brian Roberts. And tech-bubble fears rise in Deutsche Bank investor poll. Zoe Kuhlkin hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plus: Researchers say coordinated bot campaigns on social-media platforms are becoming more prevalent due to generative AI. And Mistral’s CEO says business data will play a critical role in improving its AI models. Julie Chang hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plus: Meta plans to launch an ad-free version of Facebook and Instagram in the U.K. And Baidu wants driverless robotaxis in Dubai by next year. Julie Chang hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Google X, the tech giant’s “moonshot factory,” is an enigmatic division that has pushed through ideas like Waymo, Alphabet’s self-driving car unit. It’s also chalked up a lot of innovations that haven’t seen the light of day. The WSJ Leadership Institute’s Wendy Bounds lifts the lid on how it builds failure into its workflow. Plus, WSJ reporter Kris Maher goes looking for a proposed-but-delayed $28 billion Intel factory site in the heart of Ohio. Katie Deighton hosts. Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plus: Amazon reaches $2.5 billion settlement with FTC over allegations it misled Prime users. And CoreWeave expands its OpenAI agreement to supply data center capacity by $6.5 billion. Julie Chang hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plus: OpenAI and Databricks strike a $100 million deal to sell AI agents. U.S. senators send letters to big tech companies demanding information on H-1B visa usage. Nvidia-backed AI startup Nscale raises $1.1 billion for data-center rollout. Zoe Kuhlkin hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices