Apple’s ultrathin iPhone Air impresses fans, but not investors

Hello. It’s Jeremy here. First up, I want to wish Andrew, who normally writes this newsletter, a big congratulations on the birth of his new baby boy, who made his world debut yesterday!

Andrew had to leave Fortune Brainstorm Tech early to greet his new arrival, but let’s catch him and you up on a few things he missed. Here were some highlights from yesterday:

• Walmart CEO John Furner told Fortune’s Phil Wahba that he expects staffing levels at the retail giant to remain steady, despite the deployment of lots of AI throughout its operations.
• The CEO of electric vehicle maker Slate, Chris Barman, tried to see the silver lining of the elimination of EV tax credits in the U.S., telling the conference that it has opened capacity among suppliers, potentially helping Slate source better and better-priced components, such as batteries. (Lipstick on a pig, anyone?)
• And former NFL wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald Jr. discussed the impact chess, of all things, has had on his life and why he decided to become an investor in chess.com.

And don’t forget that you can watch the livestream of the conference’s final day here.

Apple’s big “awe-dropping” hardware show yesterday ended up being more like a “meh dropping” (doesn’t quite have the same ring to it), at least as far as the company’s investors were concerned. The stock drifted lower in after-hours trading.

While the new iPhone Air is impressively svelte and got phone aficionados talking, many of the other announcements—updated Apple watches, new AirPods—were more niche and unlikely to alter perceptions that the company has lost some of its former mojo. Fortune’s Dave Smith has a breakdown of the announcements below.

Today, the tech world is eagerly awaiting another sort of debut—fintech Klarna’s IPO on the NYSE. The Swedish buy-now-pay-later financing firm is expected to price its shares at $40, valuing the company at about $15 billion. That will earn a nice 6x return for venture capital firm Sequoia, which invested about $500 million in Klarna starting back in 2010, according to a story in The Information. But it’s a lot less than the $46 billion valuation the company achieved in a Softbank-led round in 2021 (a round that Sequoia pointedly did not participate in.) We’ll see how much the stock pops today on opening. Beatrice Nolan has more on Klarna in the news section below.

Before we go, be sure to check out Leo Schwarz’s great profile piece on Ramp, the fast-growing fintech that is automating how corporate finance departments work.

And also worth a read is Sharon Goldman’s feature on Cohere, the Canadian AI company that many considered an also-ran in the AI race but which is making a bid for renewed relevancy with a big hire from Meta, a new CFO, and a $7 billion valuation.

Onwards…

—Jeremy Kahn

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Apple drops 8 new devices

Justin Sullivan—Getty Images

Apple’s “Awe Dropping” event has wrapped—and the focus of Tuesday’s show was mobile devices: the iPhone, the Watch, and AirPods. In total, Apple unveiled eight new products, including a brand-new member of the iPhone family, the iPhone Air.

Highlights include the AirPods Pro 3 with improved ANC, live translation, and built-in heart-rate tracking. Three new Watches, the Series 11 with blood pressure monitoring and better durability, the SE 3 with an always-on display and faster charging, and the rugged Ultra 3 with satellite connectivity and a record 42-hour battery. On the phone side, Apple introduced the iPhone 17 with a ProMotion display, upgraded cameras, and the new iPhone Air as a fresh model in the lineup. The iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max bring lighter builds, ceramic shield backs, major camera upgrades, and the longest iPhone battery life ever.

Here’s the full rundown of everything the tech giant announced at its annual event.

The launches come as Apple leans on hardware innovation to buy time for its delayed AI strategy, with Wall Street watching closely to see if these devices can spark stronger upgrade cycles.

— Dave Smith

Klarna’s IPO—at long last

Klarna’s long-awaited initial public offering (IPO) is finally here. 

The buy-now-pay-later financing firm is expected to price its shares at $40 per share, valuing the company at about $15 billion, significantly lower than the $45 billion valuation it achieved in 2021. Despite the lower valuation, major investor Sequoia is set to gain nearly $3 billion from its $500 million investment in the company over the last 15 years, per The Information.

The fintech, which was once Europe’s most valuable VC-backed company, has been planning the listing for years but economic and political headwinds, including sweeping U.S. tariffs have delayed its market debut several times. Investors are hopeful the company could set a trend for high-growth fintech listings after a period of slowdown in both tech IPOs and M&A activity.

Losses in the first half of the fiscal year and an internal AI pullback could cast a shadow over Klarna’s IPO. Investors will be watching closely to see if the company can pull off a strong market debut.

— Beatrice Nolan

Nvidia labels China chip sales critics AI ‘doomers’

As Congress considers new rules that restrict the sale of AI chips to China, Nvidia has a new strategy to protect the billion-dollar market.

The Senate and the House are weighing rules that would require U.S. companies to prioritize domestic access to the technology before it can be sold abroad. To tackle this and protect the potentially $50 billion market, the chipmaker has painted the limits as left-wing paranoia pushed by a group of AI doomers, according to a report from The New York Times. 

Nvidia’s aggressive push has rattled Republicans backing the restrictions and pulled Washington into what is primarily a Silicon Valley-based clash between “accelerationists,” who want to supercharge AI growth, and “doomers,” who raise concerns about the technology’s risks. 

David Sacks, the White House AI czar, has reiterated Nvidia’s attacks, labeling the regulation advocates a “doomer cult.” On his All-In podcast, Sacks even suggested they should be “Loomered,” suggesting far-right activist Laura Loomer should campaign to get them dismissed. 

The Senate is expected to vote on the amendment, which could reshape the U.S.–China tech relations, as early as Tuesday.

— Beatrice Nolan

Microsoft taps Anthropic’s AI models

OpenAI’s largest investor is working with rival AI lab, Anthropic.

Microsoft is set to use Anthropic’s tech for AI features in Office 365 after executives found Claude Sonnet 4 outperformed OpenAI’s GPT-5 in some tasks, according to a report from The Information. Microsoft has said the $30-per-month Copilot add-on already has over 100 million users, and analysts estimate it could be a $1 billion annual business. Microsoft will access Anthropic’s models through Amazon Web Services, and the move will blend Anthropic and OpenAI’s technology in the apps. 

It’s the latest sign that Microsoft is taking steps to lessen its reliance on its closer partner in the AI space. This isn’t Microsoft’s first pivot away from OpenAI: earlier this year, the company announced that its GitHub Copilot codewriting tools would use Anthropic’s models to power advanced “agent” features, rather than relying solely on OpenAI.

The move comes amid months of negotiations between OpenAI and the tech giant over the ChatGPT maker’s plan to restructure its for-profit division in preparation for a potential public offering.

— Beatrice Nolan

More tech

PwC U.K. cuts entry-level hiring amid AI uncertainty. The firm’s U.K. chief admitted that graduate hiring is “under pressure.”

U.S. tech companies accused of enabling China’s digital police state. An AP investigation found that Amazon, IBM, and Dell helped build China’s surveillance state.

Robinhood says its latest product will fix social media trading. The trading giant has a new app feature called “Robinhood Social” where users can follow prominent traders.

Oracle soars on ambitious cloud growth forecasts. Oracle’s shares surged after projecting $144 billion in cloud infrastructure revenue by 2030.

Meta’s new AI team is stirring up new tensions with old staff. Meta’s recruitment of high-paid AI stars is creating divides within the company. 

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