What’s New Today: Microsoft is integrating OpenAI’s custom chip designs into its semiconductor plans through 2030 to boost AI infrastructure.
Fast-Track Insights: AI search startup Parallel Web Systems raised $100M in a Series A round, aiming to enhance AI-driven live web search and content solutions.
Here’s a quick rundown of the biggest tech headlines making waves today, from AI chip breakthroughs to graduate hiring trends and crypto regulation updates.
Microsoft announced it will integrate OpenAI’s custom chip designs into its semiconductor strategy through 2030, gaining access to hardware and software research to boost AI infrastructure. CEO Satya Nadella described the move as strategic for building a full‑stack AI system, from silicon to data centres.
Former Twitter chief Parag Agrawal’s startup Parallel Web Systems has raised $100 million in a Series A round, valuing the company at around $740 million. It builds APIs that enable AI agents to search the live web for current data rather than relying on traditional search results. The funds will fuel product growth, customer acquisition, and solutions around content paywalls.
Employers anticipate only a 1.6% increase in hiring graduates from the class of 2026 compared with last year, according to a survey by National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). Sixty percent of companies expect hiring to stay the same, while 25% plan to increase and 15% foresee cuts. The outlook reflects a shift from recent years as the entry‑level job market is now rated ‘fair’ rather than ‘good.’
Artificial intelligence is shifting the work in small businesses from manual execution to oversight, as routine tasks become automated and employees focus on supervision, judgment and strategy. Adoption is growing, one survey found 31% of small and medium‑sized enterprises use generative AI, and while job numbers aren’t falling yet, the required skills and roles are changing rapidly.
The US government shutdown has ended after President Trump signed a funding bill that resumes federal operations and gives Congress more time to craft long‑term funding. With agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) returning to work, crypto industry watchers say momentum now shifts back to regulatory approvals and stablecoin rule‑making despite the crypto markets reacting calmly.