What’s going on here?

Broadcom and TSMC are reportedly considering moves that could break up Intel, after the firm’s long-held strategy of both designing and producing semiconductors left it mastering neither.

What does this mean?

Once the heavyweight of the chip industry, Intel has struggled to adapt to the market’s newfound appetite for AI. So while the likes of Nvidia and AMD have won over new customers and investors, Intel’s business has been cracking – and now, it looks set to break completely. Broadcom is assessing Intel’s chip design and marketing business, interested in taking over if another suitor buys the manufacturing arm. Separately, TSMC has been casting an eye over its factories.

Why should I care?

For markets: Loyalty pays off – sometimes.

Intel’s shareholders might be feeling their heart rates rise. See, if each part of the business finds a buyer, shareholders could swap for stock in the acquiring company or get paid out in cash – a sweet setup if the prospect of fresh innovation increases the value of the sum of Intel’s parts. That said, this is far from a done deal. Intel’s factories aren’t designed to fulfill external contracts, so they’d need a costly refresh. And just to complicate matters, the US government recently handed Intel $8 billion in funding – on the condition that it maintains majority control of its plants.

The bigger picture: Pride always comes before a fall.

Despite hosting many of the world’s cutting-edge AI businesses, from Nvidia to OpenAI, the US has long been wary of China’s potential – so much so that it banned chip exports to the country. But no dice: Chinese lab DeepSeek still managed to make products that can rival OpenAI’s, giving hedge funds a reason to revisit the country’s tech scene. And with Chinese stocks still trading for far less than their US counterparts, the rest of the market may be underestimating China’s ability… or overestimating America’s.

What’s going on here?

Figure AI’s next funding round could value the robotics company at nearly $40 billion – surely enough to get the founders throwing some comically stiff dance moves in celebration.

What does this mean?

Figure AI broke off its partnership with OpenAI earlier this month, presumably after arguing over which startup has the least imaginative name. Well, it certainly seems the Silicon Valley-based robotics company is capable of going it alone. Figure is in talks to raise $1.5 billion in a funding round that would secure a $39.5 billion valuation – 15 times higher than the number it bagged just last year. That might be because the company recently bragged about breakthroughs in reasoning AI, which could bring forward the planned mass deployment of humanlike robots. Figure, in fact, thinks it can ship out 100,000 potential Terminators in the next four years.

Why should I care?

For markets: Did Megan Fox teach us nothing in Subservience?

Big Tech companies are vying to be the first to put humanoids into houses and businesses around the world. Because if everyday shoppers already splash out on robotic vacuum cleaners and self-driving cars, there could be serious money to be made with all-singing, all-dancing, always-on assistants. Tesla’s Optimus model is a frontrunner for now – because naturally, folk will happily house a humanoid crafted by the company that can’t master an autonomous car.

Apple and Google have been researching robot technologies, too, with the latter channeling those efforts through its AI-dedicated DeepMind laboratory. And according to recent reports, Meta has tasked a newly formed team with developing humanoid technology too. Its first goal is to make robots capable of completing household tasks, but Meta is said to harbor broader aspirations of selling essential tech to a range of robotics companies. Let’s just hope the third aim isn’t a real-life Stepford Wives reboot.