Category: Semafor

China pushed for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz after hosting Iran’s foreign minister, an exchange that reflected Beijing’s fraught position in the conflict. China’s renewed call for a ceasefire comes as the Trump administration has urged Beijing to wield its influence with Tehran to unblock the waterway. The ...

Spending among Americans is holding up despite the volatility of the Iran war — at least according to two giant US consumer brands. Disney said demand at its parks and resorts is healthy, while Uber’s CEO said spending on rides and delivery orders remains “really strong… we don’t see any ...

Novo Nordisk’s new weight loss pill is proving more popular than expected, boosting the company’s shares as it looks to rebound from a prolonged slump. The Danish pharmaceutical giant was briefly Europe’s most valuable firm thanks to Ozempic, but has since struggled to keep up with American rival Eli Lilly. ...

Germany’s chancellor is falling behind on his core goals one year into his tenure, analysts argued. Friedrich Merz took office with the aim of restoring Berlin’s leadership in Europe and bridging a frayed transatlantic relationship. But the center-right leader’s recent comments on the US’ Iran war strategy have antagonized President ...

Rohan’s view The crux of Ryan Cohen’s $55 billion bid for eBay is a letter, signed by a bank and meant to convince the market and eBay’s board that he can pull off an unprecedented takeover of a company four times its size. So where is it? Pioneered by Carl ...

The new, polar bear-esque robot by the inventor of the iRobot vacuum was all over the internet this week — eyelashes beating and tail wagging. Called the “Familiar,” the robot intends to support emotional well-being. The launch of the new venture is just a few months after iRobot filed for ...

The News President Donald Trump’s administration unveiled a new counterterrorism plan on Wednesday that focuses in part on rooting out what it describes as left-wing extremist groups operating domestically and overseas. It’s the first counterterrorism proposal released by the president since 2018, reflecting many of his second-term priorities. Dr. Sebastian ...

Reed’s view Corporate America is incinerating billions of dollars trying to build AI tools that white-collar workers actually want to use. Most of these efforts will fail. The gap between what a well-funded IT department can offer and what an inspired intern can vibe code over a weekend is closing. ...

Startup Intalus raised an $11 million seed round to expand production of ceramic-infused metals, the company exclusively told Semafor. Intalus has been making these materials for years, using waveform energy (think: lasers) to change the internal structure of metals and make them more resistant to heat and corrosion. Metal is ...

Frontier Al labs are slowly encroaching on well-funded startups that have served companies’ industry-specific AI needs. But making inroads is slowgoing and some corporate clients are locked in by existing products. Take investment banking, for example. OpenAl hired more than 100 former investment bankers to train its financial products last ...