business

Max Knoblauch7/22/25

BNSF is reportedly also eyeing a major railroad merger, but Buffett throws some cold water

The rails are alive with the sound of consolidation.

Semafor on Tuesday reported that Berkshire Hathaway-owned railroad giant BNSF is working with Goldman Sachs to explore a potential megamerger with a rival like Norfolk Southern or CSX.

Speaking to CNBC Tuesday, Berkshire CEO Warren Buffett poured some cold water on the reports, or at least the part where Berkshire was working with an intermediary like Goldman on the deal. He told CNBC that nobody from Goldman had spoken with him or Berkshire CEO in waiting Greg Abel, and added that he wouldn’t seek advice from external bankers on deals.

The news comes just five days after reports that Union Pacific is looking into purchasing Norfolk Southern.

Shares of CSX were up 1.5% in morning trading; Norfolk Southern was up 0.7%.

Railroads are facing pressure as tariffs drag on traffic. Meanwhile, safety scrutiny stemming from Norfolk’s toxic and costly derailment in Ohio in 2023 still lingers.

Berkshire-owned BNSF taps bankers for its own rail acquisition

Berkshire-owned BNSF taps bankers for its own rail acquisition

Speaking to CNBC Tuesday, Berkshire CEO Warren Buffett poured some cold water on the reports, or at least the part where Berkshire was working with an intermediary like Goldman on the deal. He told CNBC that nobody from Goldman had spoken with him or Berkshire CEO in waiting Greg Abel, and added that he wouldn’t seek advice from external bankers on deals.

The news comes just five days after reports that Union Pacific is looking into purchasing Norfolk Southern.

Shares of CSX were up 1.5% in morning trading; Norfolk Southern was up 0.7%.

Railroads are facing pressure as tariffs drag on traffic. Meanwhile, safety scrutiny stemming from Norfolk’s toxic and costly derailment in Ohio in 2023 still lingers.

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business

Tom Jones5/19/26

Demis Hassabis, Google DeepMind’s CEO and founder, was also an early Anthropic investor

A chess prodigy and an actual a knight of the realm in the UK, it’s perhaps no surprise that Demis Hassabis has made some strategic moves about his exposure to AI upside. According to people familiar with the matter, the influential AI architect became an angel investor in Anthropic, currently behind many of the leading AI models, per Arena AI leaderboards.

The Nobel Prize winner’s position in the Claude creator was previously undisclosed and, per the Financial Times, highlights Hassabis’ “growing influence across the AI industry.”

Google, which bought DeepMind, the company that Hassabis cofounded and heads to this day, for a reported ~$400 million in 2014, is also a key Anthropic investor. The tech giant reportedly plans to invest up to $40 billion in the AI company as part of the mutually beneficial relationship the pair have forged, with reports that Anthropic has committed to spending $200 billion in the other direction on Google’s cloud services over the next five years.

I’m playing all sides, so I always come out on top

In addition to his financial support for Anthropic, Hassabis has also invested in a range of AI startups launched by colleagues, such as Inflection AI, a company set up by DeepMind cofounder Mustafa Suleyman (who is now CEO of Microsoft AI), as well as efforts from other collaborators, like David Silver’s Ineffable Intelligence.

Hassabis also emerged as a recurring figure on the fringes of the recent Elon Musk v. Sam Altman trial, cropping up repeatedly in testimonies and court documents and appearing to live, as The Verge put it, “rent-free” in Musk’s head.

Founded in 2021, Anthropic has recently raised funding at a reported $900 billion valuation, sending it soaring ahead of competitor OpenAI.

Google DeepMind’s Demis Hassabis emerges as early Anthropic investor

Google DeepMind’s Demis Hassabis emerges as early Anthropic investor

The Nobel Prize winner’s position in the Claude creator was previously undisclosed and, per the Financial Times, highlights Hassabis’ “growing influence across the AI industry.”

Google, which bought DeepMind, the company that Hassabis cofounded and heads to this day, for a reported ~$400 million in 2014, is also a key Anthropic investor. The tech giant reportedly plans to invest up to $40 billion in the AI company as part of the mutually beneficial relationship the pair have forged, with reports that Anthropic has committed to spending $200 billion in the other direction on Google’s cloud services over the next five years.

I’m playing all sides, so I always come out on top

In addition to his financial support for Anthropic, Hassabis has also invested in a range of AI startups launched by colleagues, such as Inflection AI, a company set up by DeepMind cofounder Mustafa Suleyman (who is now CEO of Microsoft AI), as well as efforts from other collaborators, like David Silver’s Ineffable Intelligence.

Hassabis also emerged as a recurring figure on the fringes of the recent Elon Musk v. Sam Altman trial, cropping up repeatedly in testimonies and court documents and appearing to live, as The Verge put it, “rent-free” in Musk’s head.

Founded in 2021, Anthropic has recently raised funding at a reported $900 billion valuation, sending it soaring ahead of competitor OpenAI.

business

Max Knoblauch5/18/26

Jury rules against Musk in lawsuit against OpenAI and Altman

Jurors in Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s lawsuit against Sam Altman, Greg Brockman, and OpenAI found the defendants not liable on all claims on Monday.

In a unanimous verdict reached after less than two hours of deliberation, the Oakland jury found that Musk had waited too long to bring his case forward, exceeding the statute of limitations.

Musk had alleged that OpenAI abandoned its founding mission as a nonprofit dedicated to developing AI for humanity and instead became a profit-driven company closely tied to Microsoft.

The verdict caps off a three-week blockbuster tech trial that could have seen Altman and Brockman removed from OpenAI leadership.

Jury tosses Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI and Sam Altman

Jury tosses Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI and Sam Altman

Musk had alleged that OpenAI abandoned its founding mission as a nonprofit dedicated to developing AI for humanity and instead became a profit-driven company closely tied to Microsoft.

The verdict caps off a three-week blockbuster tech trial that could have seen Altman and Brockman removed from OpenAI leadership.

Swatch’s collaboration with Audemars Piguet could help bring hype back to its bottom line

The rival watchmakers have teamed up on a buzzy new collection that’s sparking a global consumer frenzy.

Swatch x Audemars Piguet "Royal Pop" watches

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