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1.	Apple and Meta Poised to Settle Antitrust Issues in Europe By Aaron Tilley Source: Financial Times

Apple and Meta are on the verge of settling antitrust cases with European Union regulators over alleged violations of the bloc’s Digital Markets Act, the Financial Times reported.

The EU had already fined the two companies a combined €700 million over alleged violations of parts of the law, which the EU passed in 2022 to open the door to smaller companies seeking to compete against large tech giants.

Apple was making it difficult for consumers to download software for Apple devices outside of its App Store, which the law requires, European regulators claimed. For Meta, regulators sought changes to the company’s new “pay or consent” system, which gives European consumers the option to either permit data tracking to use its social media apps or pay a subscription fee.

As part of the settlement, the two companies will change their business practices, the outlet reported. In the case of Apple, it could mean a viable option for consumers to download apps outside of the App Store and spur the emergence of viable alternative digital app stores on the iPhone.

2.	SoftBank Buys ABB’s Struggling Robotics Unit for $5.4 Billion By Cory Weinberg Source: The Information

SoftBank Group said Wednesday it had purchased the robotics division of Swiss industrial conglomerate ABB for $5.4 billion, the latest big push for the Japanese firm into robotics.

SoftBank will have to turn around the division. ABB said last quarter it generated about $813 million in revenue from “robotics and discrete automation” last quarter, down about 2% a year due to tariff uncertainty “and declines in most end markets excluding consumer electronics.”

SoftBank said in a press release it hoped to “reignite the robotics business’s growth, particularly through investment in cutting-edge technologies such as AI.”

SoftBank has about 20 robotics-related investments, including startup Skid AI, which is building a foundation model for robotics, and publicly traded AutoStore, which makes robots for warehouse storage.

3.	Elon Musk and X Settle Unpaid Severance Lawsuit from Ex-Twitter Executives By Theo Wayt Source: The Information

Elon Musk and his social media site X, formerly known as Twitter, have settled a lawsuit from four top Twitter executives that Musk fired after acquiring the company in 2022.

Former Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal, chief financial officer Ned Segal, chief legal officer Vijaya Gadde and general counsel Sean Edgett reached a settlement with Musk and X, according to California federal court filings. The four executives sued Musk last year over what they said was $128 million in unpaid severance, including a nearly $60 million Agrawal said he was owed. The value and terms of the settlement were not disclosed in the new court filings.

The executives’ initial lawsuit claimed that Musk fired them “for cause” in “sham designed to deprive Plaintiffs of their severance benefits.” Musk had repeatedly criticized Twitter’s former leadership before and after taking over the company.

4.	China Tightens Rare Earth Export Controls By Juro Osawa and Qianer Liu Source: The Information

China on Thursday announced additional export controls on rare earths, expanding restrictions on critical minerals that are used in the manufacturing of everything from gadgets to electric vehicles to defense systems.

Under the new rules, exports for overseas military applications won’t be allowed, while exports for uses in semiconductors and chip manufacturing equipment will require approval on a case-by-case basis, China’s Ministry of Commerce said. The new rules, which expanded from earlier restrictions announced in April, also limit the export of technologies used for rare earth production and recycling.

The new rules could affect chip giants like Nvidia, if the company’s suppliers need to apply for Beijing’s licenses in order to purchase large quantities of rare earths from China. Rare earths are used in several components for Nvidia chips and servers, such as those in the cooling system.

China produces the vast majority of the world’s rare earths. As U.S.-China geopolitical tensions have escalated in recent years, China’s control of rare earths has given Beijing leverage in its trade negotiations with Washington.

5.	Data Streaming Firm Confluent Explores Sale By Valida Pau Source: Reuters

Data streaming platform Confluent is exploring a sale after receiving takeover interest, Reuters reported. Shares of Confluent jumped more than 11% on Wednesday morning.

The Mountain View, Calif.-based Confluent helps companies to process real-time, massive data based on the open-source Apache Kafka technology it commercializes.

Shares of Confluent have been sliding the past year. The company lost one-third of its market value in July after CEO Jay Kreps said in an earnings call that sales growth of their cloud products was declining and the company is losing business from a large AI customer.

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