Enthusiasm fades for foldable phones

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Tech Across the Globe

Sony weighs chip future: Sony is said to be considering whether to spin off its semiconductor unit. The potential move to streamline its business and focus on entertainment was among the actions Sony resisted when pushed more than five years ago by activist investor Dan Loeb’s Third Point.

ChatGPT adds shopping tool: OpenAI’s ChatGPT will now let consumers shop for items in a handful of categories, including fashion and electronics, and make a purchase through a link to an external website. The move is an effort to expand the reach of the popular chatbot and compete with rivals like Google.

NXP names new CEO: The Dutch chipmaker said it was navigating “a very uncertain environment” amid US tariffs and announced that Chief Executive Officer Kurt Sievers would step down later this year. Sievers, who has been in the post since 2020, will be succeeded by Rafael Sotomayor, an NXP executive who joined the company more than a decade ago.

Revalued

FPV Ventures has raised a second venture capital fund of $525 million that will look to invest in startups with strong products that incorporate the latest technology, including artificial intelligence. FPV is run by Wesley Chan, a former investor at Felicis Ventures and a current Canva Inc. board member, and Morgan Stanley alum Pegah Ebrahimi. The firm raised its first fund of $450 million three years ago. 

Must Read

Takashi Mochizuki writes in today’s Tech In Depth that he was an early enthusiast for foldable phones. But now, after having one for more than two years, he finds he really doesn’t use the larger, inner screen. While interest is expected to revive when Apple introduces its model — thought to be next year — maybe the device isn’t really necessary, he writes. For more Bloomberg coverage of the tech industry, subscribe here: 

This Week in Power On

Apple has begun breaking up its artificial intelligence and machine learning organization, Mark Gurman reports in this week’s Power On. Apple’s AI efforts had been spread across the company until John Giannandrea was hired in 2018 to pull the work together under one umbrella. Now, as Apple falls behind rivals, the company is going back to a system that has worked before with AI spread across units, he writes. For more of Mark’s coverage of Apple, subscribe here.

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