The US semiconductor designer AMD launched a new chip on Oct. 10. The Instinct MI325X is meant to compete with the upcoming Blackwell line of chips from market leader Nvidia.
Graphics processing chips from Nvidia, AMD, and Intel have been the lifeblood of the artificial intelligence boom, allowing the technology’s developers to train their powerful models and deploy them worldwide to users. Major tech companies have clamored to buy up valuable chips or pay to access large data centers full of them remotely through the cloud.
Lisa Su, CEO of AMD, claimed that the market for AI data centers will balloon by 60% a year and hit $500 billion by 2028. Still, investors weren’t convinced by what AMD showcased: The company’s stock fell 4% in trading Thursday, perhaps because AMD didn’t announce any big new deals with customers, though it bounced back 2% on Friday.
AMD’s new chips feature increased memory and a new architecture that the company promises will improve performance relative to prior models. Nvidia is expected to release its much-anticipated Blackwell chips by early next year, as the rivalry between the two most important AI chip designers in the world only gets hotter.
Microsoft is advancing its efforts to eliminate single-use plastics across its global packaging portfolio through material innovation and design changes across products like Surface and Xbox. By rethinking how packaging works—from cushioning to coatings and structural components—the company is reducing waste and demonstrating how design decisions at scale can deliver meaningful sustainability impact. Last week, Microsoft marked a key milestone in reducing single-use plastic in its packaging to just 0.07%, reflecting significant progress toward its broader commitment to become a zero-waste company by 2030. Read the full story here.
Trump and Cuban Americans are calling 2026 the year of liberation. Historian Michael Bustamante says the reality on the ground tells a very different story.
The latest assassination attempt at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington, D.C., on Saturday shines yet another light on the rising level of political violence in the United States.
Malian soldiers stand near a truck during a patrol following the attack on Mali's main military base in Kati, Mali, on April 27, 2026.
Jihadist insurgents and Tuareg secessionists assassinated Mali’s Defense Minister Sadio Camara at his home in Kati during coordinated attacks across the West African country on Saturday.