dollars

eight trillion dollars in assets

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From politics to finance. If anything has become clear during Donald Trump’s first year in the White House, it is how blurred the separations (if there are any) between geopolitics, defense, economics and taxation are for him. He made it clear shortly after assuming his second term, with the round of tariffs which followed what he baptized as “Liberation Day.” And it has become clear again now with the threats of liens to European countries on account of the tensions created around Greenland, an island that the Republican wants to incorporate to the USA. Against this backdrop, Brussels is asking what response the EU should (can) offer. There is talk of activating tariffs worth 93 billion to punish American companies, to dust off the so-called “commercial bazooka”…and even a financial ‘nuclear bomb’ with which Brussels could pressure Trump, one that amounts to eight trillion of dollars. What has happened? That Trump is not willing to give in to Greenland. And he did not like it one bit that a delegation of eight European countries (and colleagues in NATO) sent a small group of soldiers to the Arctic island to guarantee its defense. The Republican weekend threatened to punish them to all (Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom) true to its style: imposing tariffs on them. The new rates will focus on commercial exports to the US and would be activated on February 1 with a value of 10%, although the idea is to raise them to 25% in June if the outlook does not change in Greenland. The message is clear: the Republican wants the Stars and Stripes flag to fly in Greenland, regardless of who he is, be it Denmark, the greenlanders themselves or other European nations with which it shares an alliance in NATO. “We need Greenland for national security reasons,” ditch the republican. “He will not allow himself to be blackmailed”. Trump threatening tariffs is nothing new. In fact, one of his first star measures shortly after returning to the White House (just a year ago) was to announce a wide range of rates for an even broader list of nations, including the EU. What is more shocking is that it encounters the manifest anger that the EU has shown on this occasion. “Europe will not allow itself to be blackmailed,” he warned shortly after from Trump’s announcement Mette FrederiksenPrime Minister of Denmark. Similar messages (more or less emphatically) have been launched by Emmanuel Macron, Keir Starmer or even the leaders of Norway and Finland, Alexander Stubb, who on other occasions has praised the American for his international policy. Not only the leaders have spoken out. Community parties have also done it, which they seem willing to go beyond rhetoric. How to respond to Trump? That is the debate that has been flying over Europe since the weekend. Bloomberg assures that representatives of the 27 EU countries met yesterday precisely to discuss solutions. This week a new summit will be held with the same objective: to discuss retaliation. For now, the European People’s Party (among other formations) has shown in favor to leave in the air the trade pact reached in the summer with Washington. It talks about restrict access of North American companies to the EU market and imposing tariffs on the US worth 93 billion of euros. all this on the eve of the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos. The clearest and most resounding voice has probably been that of Macron, who has encouraged for the EU to activate its anti-coercive instrument, known as the community “trade bazooka”, which (if applied) could complicate US access to EU markets. Brussels itself clarify that this tool allows it to “launch countermeasures against a non-member country, including a wide range of restrictions related to trade, investment and financing.” These are big words if we take into account that in 2024 transatlantic trade in goods and services between the EU and the US exceeded 1.68 billion of euros. “The biggest lender”. In recent days, another course of action has circulated, much more complex (and emphatic) that focuses on another key link between both territories: the enormous amount of US assets in the hands of Europeans. In a report released yesterday, George Saravelos of Deutsche Bank AG, I remembered that Europe is the largest lender to the US. To be more precise, their countries hoard eight trillion dollars in bonds and stocks. For reference, it assumes almost double than the rest of the world as a whole. “Enjoys influence”. He is not the only one who has slipped that figure. In another report published today by ING Think, Carsten Brzeski and Bert Colijn recall that in recent days there has been talk of “the exposure” of the US to investors on the other side of the pond. “European countries own $8 trillion in US bonds and stocks, making Europe by far the largest US lender. Not only does this illustrate the interdependence between the regions, but Europe also enjoys influence over the US.” Why is it important? Financial Times even goes further and estimates, using data from the Federal Reserve, that the total value of US financial assets in the hands of NATO countries in Europe reaches 12.6 trillion dollars. Savarelos slips that this figure represents a “weakness” of the US that makes it “dependent on others to pay its bills through large external deficits,” and cast a reflection: “In a context where the geoeconomic stability of the Western alliance is seriously disturbed, it is not clear why the Europeans would be so willing to assume this role.” “Danish pension funds were among the first to repatriate money and reduce their exposure to the dollar a year ago. With dollar exposure still very high in Europe, the events of recent days could further drive dollar rebalancing,” duck the analyst. The question therefore is… Does the EU have a secret weapon, a pressure tool in its favor against Trump? Could Europe embark on “an … Read more

one where we pay 20 dollars a month (if we pay) and another where companies pay up to 200 per employee

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The AI ​​industry is forking into two paths. They are non-binary and actors can be in both at the same time, but it was expected that we would see this branching: Products aimed at the general consumer. ChatGPT wins there and Gemini is growing lately. Tools for companies. Gemini and Copilot from Microsoft stand out more there, but Anthropic is growing a lot thanks to Claude Code. This division also marks something else: who is going to capture the real economic value of AI. Why is it important. Companies pay up to $200 per month per employee for the best model. ChatGPT “domestic” users, one tenth. And in business environments, the difference between the best and the second best matters a lot. At least much more than in domestic environments. Yao Shunyu, who worked at OpenAI and is now at Tencent, sums it up: “If your salary is $200,000 and you have 10 tasks a day, an excellent model does eight or nine. A weaker model does five or six. And when you don’t know what those five or six are, you waste time monitoring it.” according to the newsletter ChinaTalk. The contrast. “If you compare the Today’s ChatGPT with the one from a year agothere’s really no perceptible difference,” Yao points out. “On the other hand, AI-assisted programming has already changed the entire coding industry. “People no longer write code, they talk to their computer in natural language.” Most ordinary people still use ChatGPT as a kind of enhanced search engine. In companies, more intelligence directly means more productivity with a clear economic value. Between the lines. Anthropic has bet everything on this. Claude Code has changed the way developers work. And now just launched Coworkwhich seeks to bring that same idea to office workers, outside of programming. They are not going after occasional users: they want entire teams that depend on AI to work. OpenAI dominates in adoption figures and brand recognition, but it has a problem: many users who pay little on average. Companies are increasingly looking for tools that truly improve productivity. The threat. In the business market, whoever has the best model wins. Companies will always pay for number one if its price is comparable to the rest of the proposals. In consumption, something decent is enough and the price sensitivity is greater. And OpenAI needs a lot of money. Training and operating these models costs a lot. The consumer market has a fairly low profitability ceiling, and that is why they seek to shore it up with advertising revenue and pointing towards those of affiliation. And now what. This year we will see it clearly: OpenAI needs to prove that its enterprise agents are worth the money. Anthropic will continue to refine its position in code and productivity. Google is a little late but has hit the nail on the head with Gemini 3. At the end of the year we will know if OpenAI’s generalist strategy works or if the AI ​​business ends up divided between those who dominate the office and those who dominate the couch. In Xataka | OpenAI fully enters health for a simple reason: ChatGPT is already our front-line doctor (although we don’t want to admit it) Featured image | Anthropic, OpenAI, Xataka

A Harry Potter fan fiction was so successful that it changed the names of its protagonists. And thanks to this he earned 3 million dollars

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A Harry Potter fanfic has just become one of the most successful publishing releases of the year. ‘Alchemised‘, SenLinYu’s debut novel, sold 300,000 copies during its first week in bookstores and reached number one on The New York Times bestseller list. But the real impact came days before its publication, when Legendary Entertainment paid more than $3 million for the film rights, setting a record for a debut novel. How it was done. The story behind the book is as notable as its figures: ‘Alchemised’ was originally titled ‘Manacled’, and was a fanfiction that mixed the universe of harry potter with ‘The Handmaid’s Tale‘ by Margaret Atwood, focusing on the relationship between Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy. Over 18 months, SenLinYu transformed his viral story (which racked up millions of reads on the fanfictions Archive of Our Own) in a completely original work, eliminating all traces of intellectual property of JK Rowling and Atwood of the text, but trying to preserve the core of the narrative. The result: Favorite Debut Novel of 2025 at the Goodreads Choice Awards. What is it about? Alchemised follows Helena Marino, an alchemist and healer who awakens after 14 months as a prisoner of war of the necromancers, the victorious side in a devastating civil war. Helena discovers that her mind has been magically altered, erasing crucial memories from a part of her life she doesn’t even remember owning. The book has a violent and dark approach, and that is why SenLinYu rejects the “romance” label despite the love component: “I didn’t write this book with the idea that it would be seen as aspirational.”he states. The author’s past. The appeal of the book lies precisely in that uncompromising darkness. SenLinYu, of Japanese descent, injects into her fantasy elements based on the real horrors of war (her maternal grandmother was in American concentration camps during World War II) and has sought to recover ignored historical perspectives, particularly the experiences of Soviet women on the Eastern Front. That combination of epic fantasy and anti-war criticism has connected with readers who seek more mature and disturbing narratives than those usual in the genre. The paradigmatic case. The path of fanfiction The publishing phenomenon has an inescapable antecedent: ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’. In 2009, EL James began publishing chapters of ‘Master of the Universe’ on Fanfiction.netreimagining the relationship between Edward Cullen and Bella Swan from ‘Twilight’, without vampires but with a domineering billionaire. Reader reaction was so positive that James self-published the story in 2011 after removing explicit references to Stephenie Meyer’s saga and renaming the protagonists Christian Gray and Anastasia Steele. The leap came in March 2012, when Random House acquired the rights of the novel in a seven-figure contract. The result was more than 150 million copies sold globally and a film trilogy that grossed $1.3 billion at the global box office. Even then Jennifer Bergstrom, executive at Simon & Schuster, declared that “the fanfiction It has definitely become part of what we publish. This is changing the industry at a time when traditional publishing needs it most.” For the first time, major publishers were publicly acknowledging that online communities of amateur writers were a legitimate talent pool. Other successes. The success of ‘Fifty Shades’ was not an isolated case. Anna Todd wrote a story about One Direction’s Harry Styles on Wattpad in 2013, publishing it in serial format under the title ‘After’. The story accumulated more than 1,000 million readings on the platform before Simon & Schuster offered him a contract with which sold more than 10 million copies and generated five movies. More recently, Ali Hazelwood transformed her fanfiction of Star Wars centered on Rey and Kylo Ren in ‘The Love Hypothesis’, which It will soon be adapted to film. The journey here. This transformation of fanfiction into a bestseller would not have been possible without the digital ecosystem that supports it. Archive of Our Own It houses more than 13 million works and has become the most important archive of transformative writing. ‘Manacled’ by SenLinYu It was the second most read story in the entire history of the web when it was removed in January 2025, having accumulated more than 10 million views and 84,000 kudos (the equivalent of “likes”). This phenomenon has forced the traditional publishing industry to rethink its methods of attracting talent. Literary agents and editors now systematically scour Wattpad, Archive of Our Own, and Fanfiction.net, identifying high-impact stories before offering contracts. Removing references to other people’s intellectual property is now a standardized process, and thanks to this, trends such as videos on ‘Manacled’ accumulated millions of views years before ‘Alchemised’ hit bookstores. A whole tide of public before the official publication of the book. In Xataka | JK Rowling against fandom: How the Harry Potter universe lost its magic

A Bugatti Mistral costs five million dollars. Launching it includes convincing the police to organize a race

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It’s not every day that you can brand new a Bugatti Mistrala supercar valued at more than five million and that the CEO of Bugatti himself come deliver it to you in person. However, it is not so common that for this delivery, the CEO has to convince the police that it is a good idea to cut off one of Miami’s coastal roads to traffic to debut the supercar by racing between the Mistral and a custom-built sports yacht for the same owner. Although it may seem very bizarre, these things can happen when you are millionaire enough. A very particular premiere in Miami The delivery of a Bugatti Mistral is never a routine event. It’s a exclusive supercar of which only 99 units were manufactured that were they sold the same day that was put up for sale. However, when you pay five million euros for one of these exclusive jewels, the least you expect is that the CEO of Bugatti himself will come to deliver it to you in person. According to published Luxury Launchesthat’s what happened to Anthony Hsieh, a millionaire from Miami who received the exclusive unit of this supercar. The staging, far from being limited to a simple presentation in the dealer who had sold it to himincluded an unusual proposal: a race in front of the sea competing head to head with one of the exclusive yachts for sport fishing that Hsieh’s company builds. Bugatti’s CEO also joins in Mate Rimac, founder of the brand Rimac supercarscurrent CEO of Bugatti and a true speed enthusiast, did not want to miss the race and got so involved that he finally ended up offering to drive the Mistral in its race against the yacht. Obviously, the CEO wasn’t going to risk getting pulled over by the police or having the car’s owner fined, so he opted to convince Miami traffic authorities to close one of Miami’s busy coastal roads for the race, and This is how he told it on his networks social. A routine delivery for a Bugatti. Bugatti Mistral W16 engine The Bugatti Mistral uses the brand’s legendary W16 engine, an engineering gem what brand the end of an era for the brand since this is the last production model that will carry this 8-liter, 4-turbo block that delivers a power of 1,600 hp. Such a beast catapults the Mistral at a speed above 453 km/h. Her opponent was not exactly a cruising yacht. It is about the Badco 50 Gameboata boat designed for sport fishing of tuna and billfish (a large species similar to swordfish) and therefore must have agile and powerful engines that allow it to navigate at speeds of up to 44 knots. Like the Bugatti, the Badco 50 are customized to the owner’s taste with materials of the highest quality and resistance. Saying that the Badco 50 is a simple fishing boat is like saying that the Mistral is just a car. Furthermore, it so happens that the company that manufactures the Badco 50 is Bad Company Fishing Adventures, It is owned by the millionaire who bought the Mistral, so organizing this race, which as you can see in the video that was recordedis more symbolic than real, the brand sought to turn the delivery of the supercar into an unrepeatable experience for its customer. It’s not every day that the head of a supercar brand makes you luxury chauffeur in the car that has just been delivered to you and all followed by a police escort. If at this point you are still wondering who was the overall winner of the racethe answer is more than obvious: Mate Rimac, and not just by driving the car fasterbut because he took in his pocket the five million that the Bugatti Mistral costs and the absolute loyalty of a customer who will never again receive a car like Bugatti did with his Mistral. In Xataka | Bugatti has discovered that millionaires no longer want to buy luxury cars: they want to buy unique works of art Image | Bad Company Fishing Adventures

India has bombed clouds to improve its terrible air quality. They have wasted 400,000 dollars

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The sky of New Delhi is a painting. While half the world is focused on reduce your emissions and improve air quality (something that ultra-polluted giants like China are successfully implementing), the other half continues with inefficient decarbonization policies. India is one of themand the arrival of winter does not help. To combat its poor air quality, the country has “sown its clouds” about New Delhi. And there are voices that suggest that they have spent a fortune and it has not been worth anything. Crisis. The situation of the large cities of India, with the focus on a capital that has more than 28 million inhabitants in its metropolitan area and a density of almost 6,000 inhabitants per km², is really complicated. Vehicle emissions account for 40% of emissions in the city, but there are other sources such as construction dust, inorganic aerosols or industrial activities themselves that contribute a lot. ‘dirt’ in the city air. The quality is not good at any time of the year, but in the post-monsoon season, between October and November, the situation becomes critical. It is when a large amount of rice stubble and other waste is burned, which, together with the rest of the sources of particles since the arrival of cold air traps the pollutants near the ground, causes the amount of particles to skyrocket. And it’s not a joke: esteem that between 2009 and 2019 there were nearly four million deaths in India linked to poor air quality. Figures. To measure this “dirt” in the air, we turn to PM2.5. It is a measure of the amount of fine particles that are suspended in the air, specifically those that have a diameter equal to or less than 2.5 micrometers. They are so small that they can penetrate deep into the lungs, reaching the blood system and posing a serious health risk. That said, PM2.5 levels in Delhi are between 140 and 170 µg/m³, almost 12 times higher than the safe levels set by the WHO, of 15 µg/m³. Petter Ljungman, a researcher at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, analyzed the role of these particles and determined that “each increase of 10 micrograms per cubic meter in the concentration of PM2.5 leads to an 8.6% increase in mortality.” Bombing the clouds. In the face of a crisis like this, two things can be done: become aware and rethink the country’s strategy or resort to desperate measures. As we read in Reutersit seems that the Government has opted for the latter. On October 28, the Delhi government in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur carried out the first tests of cloud seeding. This is India’s first attempt at this technique and it is not about “creating clouds”, but rather making the existing ones release water. Using a series of catalysts launched from aircraft, water droplets contained in a cloud can be made to coalesce into larger, heavier droplets. In this way, and due to their own weight, they fall to the ground in the form of rain. It is not something new because, although it may seem like something out of science fiction, we have been “sowing” clouds for half a century. Negative… results. The problem is that each time we have had more and more evidence that it is something that is of little use. If clouds are good candidates, yes, showers are generated, but the big problem is that it is a very expensive practice for the results obtained and that is the reason why more and more countries have abandoned his projects related to this “creation” of rain. In the case of the Indian experiment, the cost was about $400,000 to put into operation the planes that dispersed sodium chloride and silver iodide over several districts north of the capital. Each of the flights cost about $70,000 and the person who said that it was not of much use was not an external entity or someone critical of the Government: it was the director of IIT Kanpur himself. Manindra Agarwal admitted that the results were “not as desired” because the humidity levels in the clouds were extremely low. It was a crucial error because it is estimated that the minimum for condensing these cloud droplets is 50% and the chosen ones had levels between 15 and 20%. Despite this, Agarwal commented that a reduction of between 6% and 18% was observed in certain particle measurement parameters, but they were at very localized and short-lived moments. deaf ears. And of course, faced with the investment of such a fortune without results, it did not take long for the voices to say “I told you so” to rain down. Climate activists said it, but also two other official bodies: the Indian Meteorological Department and the Air Quality Management Commission. The two organizations indicated That the technique requires specific clouds that are absent during Delhi’s cold, dry winter. Recommendations. In the end, what this action demonstrates is that, in desperate situations, desperate measures only work as a source of funds. The solutions must be considered more in the medium and short term and this is something in which China has served as an example. In the case of India, what is being proposed is control over stubble burning during this autumn season, better waste management and stricter industrial regulations. On the other hand, the country has taken giant steps in recent years in terms of transport electrification is concerned, but progress must also be made in improving urban forestry that “traps” pollution and in the use of large-scale renewable energy. Until they do that, the almost 30 million inhabitants of New Delhi will breathe air equivalent what they would inhale if they smoked seven cigarettes a day. Images | Naomi E Tesla, Submitmpsd In Xataka | The Atacama salt flat is the key on which the electric car industry pivots. And it’s starting to dry

has signed an agreement with Amazon for 38,000 million dollars

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OpenAI has sealed an agreement with Amazon Web Services (AWS) worth $38 billion over the next seven years. This is the first major contract for the company responsible for ChatGPT with Amazon, and marks a turning point in its strategy: stop depending exclusively on Microsoft and, on the other hand, have access to infrastructure and computing capacity at any cost. Alliances. As explained from NYTfrom 2019 to 2023, OpenAI bought all of its computing capacity from Microsoft, its main investor, which has allocated $13 billion to the startup. The contract stated that OpenAI could only contract with other vendors if Microsoft approved. However, last week both companies renegotiated the termseliminating Microsoft’s preemptive right and allowing OpenAI to freely contract with any cloud provider. What does the agreement include?. OpenAI will immediately begin running operations on AWS infrastructure, using hundreds of thousands of Nvidia graphics processing units in the United States. According to Dave Brown, vice president of computing and machine learning services at AWS, “this is completely separate capacity that we are installing. Some of that capacity is already available and OpenAI is using it.” The first phase will employ existing AWS data centers, although Amazon will build additional infrastructure in the coming years. More investment in infrastructure. The movement adds to the race of massive spending by OpenAIwhich in recent weeks has announced deals worth approximately 1.4 trillion dollars with companies such as Nvidia, Broadcom, Oracle and Google. Added to this are projects for build new data centers together with OracleSoftBank and the United Arab Emirates, among others. The company also wanted to reaffirm its commitment to Microsoft, committing to purchase an additional $250 billion in Azure services. Signs of business maturity. For OpenAI, diversifying its cloud providers and ensuring long-term capacity represents a crucial step towards a more than likely IPO. Sam Altman, CEO of the company, recognized recently on a livestream that an IPO is “the most likely path” given the company’s capital needs. Furthermore, just as points out According to CNBC, CFO Sarah Friar said the recent corporate restructuring is a necessary step toward that goal. Doubts about the AI ​​bubble. While OpenAI and Big Tech increase their spending, Amazon, Google, Meta and Microsoft have already allocated more than $360 billion in capital investments last year, and some financial analysts They already warn of a possible bubble. As AI evolves in leaps and bounds and OpenAI generates billions in annual revenue, its huge infrastructure spending makes the company not yet profitable. However, the strong feeling of market enthusiasm around artificial intelligence means that the company continues to increase its value greatly. What it means for Amazon. The pact is significant not only because of its volume, but because AWS has close ties to Anthropicdirect rival of OpenAI. Amazon has invested billions in Anthropic and is building a data center campus of $11 billion in Indiana designed exclusively for your workloads. After now knowing this news, Amazon shares have risen approximately 5%. Cover image | OpenAI and İsmail Enes Ayhan In Xataka | OpenAI has turned ChatGPT into mainstream AI. In the business world the game is being won by its great rival

The United States is offering millions of dollars to quantum companies. In exchange, he wants to keep a piece of each

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The United States has opened a new stage in its industrial policy. This time it is not about aid without return or simple soft loans: Washington is offering millions of dollars to quantum companies in exchange for a share in its capital. The information comes from the Wall Street Journalwhich points out that the agreements seek more than just supporting promising companies. The message is clear: the Government wants to ensure a seat at the table for a technology that can reconfigure the economy and global power for decades to come. The initiative fits into a chain of recent decisions in which Washington has been deepening its presence in sectors considered strategic. The Government transformed almost 9,000 million dollars in previous aid to Intel in a participation close to 9.9% and obtained special rights in US Steel to oversee sensitive corporate decisions. He also supported MP Materials in the critical mineral chain. The signal is clear: when the sector is considered vital, Donald Trump’s White House seeks to stay on board. When public money also buys influence Conversations affect some of the most visible names of the American quantum ecosystem. According to the newspaper, companies such as IonQ, Rigetti Computing and D-Wave Quantum They are negotiating with the Department of Commerce the entry of the State into their capital. Other firms, including Quantum Computing Inc. and Atom Computing, are studying similar deals. Operations would start from a minimum of 10 million dollars per company in this initial phase, with the possibility of more applicants joining as the program progresses. The conditions are not limited to a mere public investment. The Commerce Department is studying formulas ranging from equity stakes to intellectual property licenses, royalties or revenue sharing schemes. The conversations are led by Paul Dabbarformer executive of the quantum sector and current number two in the department, according to published information. At this stage there are no closed agreements, but the approach indicates that the State seeks a tangible return and supervision tools. Washington’s interest is not explained only by financial reasons. Quantum computing is emerging as one of the technologies with the greatest capacity for industrial transformation. These machines promise to solve calculations that would take eons to current systemswith potential applications in fields such as drug design, advanced materials or highly complex chemistry. Adding to this momentum is international competition, with companies like IBM, Microsoft and Google involved and China advancing its own quantum race. The security dimension adds another layer of urgency. Quantum algorithms are projected to They may violate traditional encryption systemsincluding RSA and ECC, exposing both sensitive communications and critical infrastructure. The risk is not limited to the future: the strategy known as harvest now, decrypt later suggests that malicious actors are already collecting encrypted data for decryption when this capability becomes available. Given this scenario, Fortinet highlights the need to move towards post-quantum cryptography and strengthen networks and systems. The practical potential of this technology is well illustrated by the pharmaceutical sector. McKinsey highlights that quantum can transform drug development by enabling precise molecular simulations, something that classical calculus and pure AI fail to always capture. Large companies are already testing these systems to study proteins, evaluate chemical reactions or reduce experimental steps. This ability to model complex structures from scratch promises to accelerate research, improve the success rate in trials and shorten times to market for new therapies. The implementation of this approach is not limited to companies. According to the Wall Street Journal, the Commerce Department reorganized the office responsible for the scientific side of the CHIPS program and recovered several billion dollars that had been allocated to previous technology initiatives. The political message is transparent: the Executive wants public investments to be measurable and for the State to have mechanisms to benefit when the funded projects mature, especially in sectors with high strategic involvement. The shift raises dilemmas typical of a more interventionist model. Public participation can facilitate stability in strategic sectors, but it also opens the door to conflicts between technological, industrial or political priorities. The central doubt is to what extent the presence of the State will affect the pace of decision and the flexibility that the most competitive sectors demand. There are still relevant unknowns. The final percentages that the State could reach or the exact conditions that would accompany the participations are not known. According to the information available, the agreements are still in the negotiation phase and could be modified before being closed. It also remains to be seen what commitments will be required of companies and whether there will be associated performance or governance criteria. At this point, the process is moving forward, but a definitive schedule for awards or formalization of agreements has not yet been announced. Images | Dynamic Wang | D-Wave Quantum | Xataka with Gemini 2.5 In Xataka | The United States and China have finally met to resolve the trade war: one will give in on tariffs, the other on rare earths

AI has been great for Satya Nadella. His salary this year exceeds 96.5 million dollars

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Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella’s salary has reached a new record in 2025: $96.5 million. According to collected Bloombergthe Microsoft executive received a 22% salary increase compared to 2024 that reflects the skyrocketing stocks from the $4 trillion tech giant. Underlying this salary increase lies a debate that has been on the table for some time: the accelerated increase in the wage gap among senior managers of a company and its employees. Work well done pays off. The last fiscal year has been historic for Microsoft and its CEO, Satya Nadella, who will receive the largest salary package since he took office in 2014. According to what Microsoft made public in a document filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the total compensation awarded to Nadella amounts to $96.5 million. This remuneration represents an increase of 22% compared to the previous year, in which a salary of $79.1 million for the CEO. If Microsoft does well, so does its CEO. As stood out Fortunethis salary increase goes hand in hand with the good stock market performance that Microsoft has had in recent months, and the prominence of artificial intelligence in its products and services The company’s board of directors indicates that more than 95% of Nadella’s compensation is linked to the performance of his shares, highlighting financial results, the creation of value for shareholders and leadership in AI as key elements to grant that salary increase to the executive. It’s salary, but not everything is cash. The majority of the compensation Nadella will receive comes from stock awards worth more than $84 million. The bonus that the CEO will receive in cash for different incentives will amount to 9.5 million dollars. For his part, the manager’s base salary It remains at 2.5 million and will obtain $196,000 in other benefits, such as per diems or private jet services. This implies that about 90% of their remuneration is variable and dependent on stock market performance, which means that it is only a valuation that is made at the time it is assigned, but it is an asset that can increase or lose part of its value. depending on your management. This remuneration strategy linked to shares represents an important incentive for the CEO to continue meeting objectives. Salary escalation. Since Satya Nadella took over as CEO of Microsoft in 2014, his salary has continued to increase at the same rate as the company’s stock price. According to the published data by Business Insiderin 2015 Nadella’s total salary was $18 million. By 2022, his compensation had multiplied to $55 million, and increased by 63% in 2024 to $79.1 million. With the 96.5 million, the Steve Ballmer’s successor At the head of Microsoft he has broken his own record. Salary gap and layoffs. This year of prosperity for the CEO of Microsoft occurs in a context of complex internal adjustments in the company he leads, which has announced layoffs that will affect up to 15,000 employees. The difference between Nadella’s salary and that of an average Microsoft employee is significant: the CEO earns 480 times more than the average annual salary of his employees, which is around $200,972. This gap between managers and employees does not only occur at Microsoft, but is another example of an upward trend in large technology companies. According to a study that has analyzed the main companies of the S&P 500, in the last five years the salary of managers has been increased by 35%. A much higher percentage than the salary of its employees has increased. In Xataka | The highest paid Spanish manager in the world does not work in a large technology company: he sells “sugar water” Image | Microsoft

Openai has opted a billion dollars to become the Windows of the AI. Or it goes well or is going to be the mother of all bubbles

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In recent weeks, Openai has signed contracts that total more than one billion dollars (it is not a False Friend) With Nvidia, Oracle and AMD. But for now it continues to burn effective and does not expect to be profitable, at least, until 2030. Why is it important. This is not a growth strategy. It is an existential commitment. Large door or cemetery. Openai can only justify these commitments if it becomes the inevitable platform on which the entire ecosystem of the build. As Windows was for the PC. The general panoramic. Ben Thompson, analyst Stratechery, has defined it perfectly: OpenAI is running Microsoft’s play in the 80s and 90s. He doesn’t want to be a software company. It wants to be the AI ​​operating system. This week has presented native apps within chatgpt: Canva, Zillow, Spotify, Uber or Booking among others are integrated directly into the chatbot. They are not external links but experiences that live within Chatgpt, just like Excel and Word lived within Windows. The difference with being any app changes everything: If you are the platform, capture to users first and developers come later. First you add mass users, then you get free developers for your platform. Chatgpt has hundreds of millions of users. The companies that are integrated this week because Openai controls access to that audience. Exactly as Microsoft controlled access to PC users in the 90s. The figures. The commitments are dizzy. Nvidia will invest up to 100,000 million in OpenAI, which undertakes to fill data centers with millions of its chips. OpenAI has signed 300,000 million with Oracle, which in turn spends billions in Nvidia processors. Monday closed Another agreement with AMD by tens of billions in exchange for Warrants to buy up to 10% of the company. Coreweave has OpenAi contracts for 22.4 billion. The total exceeds billion dollars according to Financial Times. Even distributed in one or two decades, it is a bet that is only supported by absolute domain of the market. Between the lines. The agreement with AMD replicates a historical play. In the 80s, IBM forced Intel to license its processor to a second manufacturer to avoid unique supplier dependence. AMD was that second. OpenAI is using its dominant position in users to force alternatives to NVIDIA and guarantee negotiation power. If OpenNAI controls the software layer that matters, Nvidia pricing power is reduced. As Intel discovered that Microsoft, and not them, really controlled the value in the Wintel era. The key is who captures the value: During the PC era, Intel had huge benefits selling processors. But more value accumulated in Microsoft, which controlled the operating system. OpenAi is positioning to be that Microsoft, not that Intel. That is why the agreement with AMD comes only weeks after Nvidia invested in Openai. The message is clear: Openai controls access to users and that gives the definitive power in the value chain. The threat. Every collapse if Openai does not achieve that domain. Oracle reported yesterday 14% margins in your business Cloud: Win 14 cents for each dollar. The action sank. Paulo Carvao, Harvard researcher, sees the bubble pattern Puntocom: “The circular agreements inflated artificial growth. IA companies have real products, but they spend much more than they can monetize,” he said in Bloomberg. Yes, but. Altman has real users using the product every day. That is what the CEOS Puntocom did not have. Microsoft took a decade to match the Mac, but the two -way base of Apple’s technical superiority irrelevant. Chatgpt already has that advantage. And OpenAi is in explosive growth, not in decline. Decisive moment. We are in bubble territory. The question is what lasting infrastructure will remain when some companies break. The chips do not last. Data centers do not justify pain either. The real and durable prize would be something like a great expansion in electricity generation for half a century. OpenAi has become the axis of all the construction of AI infrastructure. Each announcement triggers the actions of its partners. Is THE NEW KING MIDAS DE THE BAG. At stake. U Openai becomes Windows, or collapse. There is no middle ground. Altman said it this week: “Someday we have to be profitable. But now we are in the investment phase.” That phase exceeds the billion dollars. It only makes sense if Chatgpt becomes as inevitable as Windows in the 90s. It is the biggest bet in the history of technology. In Xataka | 30 years ago the island of Anguilla stayed with the domain .AI by chance. Today it is making gold thanks to the AI Outstanding image | Dima SolominMicrosoft

Openai is already worth half dollars, its employees are selling shares … and the San Francisco Explorado real estate market

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OpenAI has closed a secondary sale of shares of 6,600 million dollars that places its valuation at 500,000 million. In addition to a financial milestone, this is also an earthquake in the San Francisco real estate market, where employees more than two years old are monetizing part of their participations to buy properties. Why is it important. The operation allows current and old workers to sell Equity to investors eager to access the company’s shareholders or increase its presence in it. They are actors like SoftBank, Thrive Capital or MGX of Abu Dhabi. Openai had authorized sales for more than 10,000 million, although it finally only materialized 66% of that amount. A year ago, its valuation was 157,000 million. It rose to 300,000 million in March 2025, and now reaches 500,000 million, surpassing Spacex (456,000 million). The context. San Francisco real estate agents They are seeing something they had not seen before: Buyers who sell shares of private companies to pay tickets of $ 375,000 (the average in certain neighborhoods of the city) or directly buy in cash. Neighborhoods like Hayes Valley (renamed ‘Valley brain‘For the concentration of AI startups), Noe Valley and Mission Bay are receiving direct pressure from these new buyers with a deep pocket. Mechanics. OpenAI and other AI companies remain private (that is, without going to be traded in the stock market) much longer than the technological startups of previous generations. Employees cannot wait years in an IPO to access their paper wealth. So secondary markets, where private shareholders sell to institutional investors, have become the fast road to convert cash actions. Between the lines. This secondary sale fulfills two functions: On the one hand, it is a retention tool in the middle of a brutal war for talent: Goal has signed at least seven OpenAi Top engineers This summer, often with millionaire bonds. On the other, it allows Openai to keep employees happy who could be frustrated by the lack of liquidity, without having to go over or dilute the control. Yes, but. The OpenAI conversion into a profit company It has not been reversed by a final sentence. In March 2025, a federal judge rejected Elon Musk’s request to issue a precautionary measure to block that change, although he allowed several of his claims to proceed to trial. On the other hand, some investment conditions linked fund commitments (for example of softbank) to which OpenAi advanced with its restructuring, so that if certain milestones were not fulfilled, those commitments could be affected. Musk, who co -founded Openai and left the organization in 2018, sued Openai and Altman arguing that they had breached foundational commitments by moving away from his original non -profit mission. The impact. The consequences in San Francisco go beyond buyers with a lot of money: AI companies such as OpenAi, Anthropic and company are causing An increase in housing demand in neighborhoods close to their work. The cycle features: more well -paid employees generate more demand, more pressure on prices, and more need for immediate liquidity to compete in a market where cash offers have an advantage. Real estate professionals point out A change with respect to previous booms technological: Buyers not only have a high heritage, but also have access to immediate liquidity through secondary markets. They sell just enough for entry and closing expenses, and maintain their exposure to the company, but ensure a tangible asset that diversifies their risk. The big question. Is this sustainable? Openai right now is The most valuable startup in the worldbut loses money while competing in an AI infrastructure race that needs almost unlimited money. If the valuation bubble is deflated, thousands of employees with huge mortgages based on overvalued shares could be seen in trouble. At the moment, the secondary market is creating a new class of owners in San Francisco: AI engineers who have turned code into houses without waiting for the Wall Street bell to sound. In Xataka | Openai’s new social network is hilarious and addictive. So much that it is easy to forget what hides behind Outstanding image | Joshua Sortino

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