Getty Images

Crunch Compute

Taco Bell wants to make fast food even faster — Nvidia says it can help

The US fast-food business is more productive than it’s been in decades — and Taco Bell is betting on AI to stay ahead.

3/21/25 7:34AM

Taco Bell is about to get an AI makeover from one of the biggest names in the game.

Yum! Brands, the owner of Taco Bell, KFC, and Pizza Hut, announced it is teaming up with Nvidia to bring the chip giant’s AI technology to its drive-thrus and restaurant operations — upgrading and expanding Taco Bell’s existing voice AI.

According to Tuesday’s announcement, Nvidia’s AI software will be integrated into Yum’s in-house tech platform, enabling voice assistants to take orders more smoothly, smart cameras to track bottlenecks in real time, and AI analytics to help managers optimize operations.

Yum has already tested the technology at select Taco Bell and Pizza Hut locations, and plans to expand it to 500 restaurants across its four brands in the second quarter. Indeed, Taco Bell could really use the boost.

Taco Bell <> Nvidia collab — Sherwood News

According to the 2024 QSR Drive-Thru Report, the chain lags its biggest competitors like Wendy’s and McDonald’s, taking one to two minutes longer to complete orders per car — while ranking worst in order accuracy among the 10 major fast-food chains surveyed.

These rivals aren’t slowing down on AI either: Wendy’s is scaling up its voice AI ordering from 100 to 500 to 600 drive-thru locations by year-end. Meanwhile, McDonald’s is planning to use AI across all 43,000 of its stores after scrapping an earlier drive-thru AI trial that struggled with accuracy.

The AI push comes at a time when restaurant labor productivity is soaring in the US, after staying flat for nearly 30 years. According to a new NBER study, fast-food labor productivity jumped over 15% during the pandemic as more customers chose takeout and delivery, spending less time in-store.

Max Knoblauch

Delta, boosted by premium ticket sales, says customers who go Comfort+ don’t go back

Delta’s third-quarter revenue beat Wall Street estimates on Thursday, led by 9% growth in its premium ticket category.

Tom Jones13h

Domino’s just announced its first rebrand in 13 years — maybe a new, “doughier” font will help sales pick up

Shaboozey! Domino’s Sans! Hotter colors as a nod to the melty heat of a pizza pulled fresh from the oven!

In a buzzword-laden justification of its rebrand yesterday, Domino’s laid plain its new aesthetic direction, coined the term “Cravemark,” and announced it would be bringing the focus back to its food, having (at least in its executive vice president’s words) become known as “a technology company that happens to sell pizza” over the last decade.

It can’t go any worse than Cracker Barrel’s refresh efforts, at least...

The raft of changes, which will roll out across the US and other international markets in the coming months, includes a new “audio and visual expression” of the brand’s name (throwing a few extra M’s on the boxes and getting country/hip-hop artist Shaboozey to elongate the letter in a jingle); brighter packaging and hotter colors; “more youthful” team uniforms (company-color Salomons and an apron with “pizza is brat” on it, maybe?); and a new “Domino’s Sans” font, which is “thicker and doughier” and has circles and semicircles “in nod to pizza, with lots of personality baked right in!”

Domino’s is down about 2% so far this year.

Domino's® New Craveable Brand Refresh Makes You Say "Mmm" | Domino's Pizza

Domino’s is down about 2% so far this year.

Claire Yubin Oh15h

Ferrari sinks after unveiling first electric car; 2030 strategic plan and guidance underwhelms investors after halving its EV target

Ferrari is 14% in the red in premarket trading after unveiling its first electric car, while simultaneously scaling back its electrification plans to focus on its petrol and hybrid lineup until 2030.

In an event at its headquarters in northern Italy, the company lifted the hood on its new, production-ready “Elettrica” model, finally offering a glimpse into the iconic carmaker’s progress on its EV plan, which was announced back in 2022. The Elettrica is due to be delivered from late 2026, per the company’s 2030 strategic plan.

Still, as Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna was keen to emphasize, “The EV is an addition, not a transition,” suggesting that the new electric model will complement, not replace, the company’s existing lineup.

In the carmaker’s 2030 plan, released later in the day, Ferrari disclosed that it aims for a lineup made up of 40% internal combustion engine models, 40% hybrids, and 20% fully electric cars by 2030 — dialing down its 2022 ambitions for electrification, when the targets for EVs and ICE models were flipped.

Though Ferrari has ramped up its hybrid production since 2022, shipments have plateaued in recent quarters.

Ferrari hybrid vs petrol engine — Sherwood News

Delta Airlines Withdraws 2025 Guidance Citing Tariff Disruptions

Delta climbs after beating on both sales and profit, forecasts a strong end to 2025

It’s been a turbulent ride for Delta this year, but shares are rising in early trading on Thursday.

Max Knoblauch16h

Max Knoblauch10/8/25

After upsetting GOP senators, GM scraps its EV tax credit extension plan

Roughly a week after it was first reported, GM’s plan to extend the now expired $7,500 US federal EV tax credit to customers through a leasing program is no more.

Last week, Republican Senators Bernie Moreno (Ohio) and John Barrasso (Wyoming) wrote a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urging him to change the IRS rule that they said allowed automakers to game the law that ended the tax credit, “bilking” taxpayers.

Automakers GM and Ford, which each saw juiced-up EV sales ahead of the tax credit’s expiration, sought to extend the subsidy by using their financial arms to put down payments on electric vehicles already on their dealers’ lots. Those payments would qualify for the credit prior to its expiration, and the automakers would pass the savings along to lessees for several more months.

GM will now instead fund the incentive through the end of October without claiming the tax credit, Reuters reports.

Ford did not respond to a request for comment on whether it will similarly scrap its plans.

Exclusive: GM backtracks on plan to claim last-minute EV tax credits