AI One-Upsmanship

Quantum computing stocks surged after the US announced $2B in grants with equity stakes. Spotify jumped 13% on 2030 guidance targeting $100B in revenue. Anthropic expects $10.9B in Q2 revenue and its first-ever operating profit, while Trump pulled back an AI executive order after calls with Musk and Zuckerberg. Shares of quantum computing companies surged Thursday after the US government announced grants with equity stakes: D-Wave closed up 33%, Rigetti 30%, IBM 12% (CNBC) Spotify closed up 13% on Thursday after announcing new features and 2030 guidance, forecasting a compound annual growth rate in the mid-teens (CNBC) Workday reports Q1 revenue up 13% YoY to $2.54B vs. $2.52B est., and lifts its full-year forecast, saying its AI strategy is working; WDAY jumps 9%+ after hours (CNBC) Sources: Trump delayed signing the AI EO because "he just hates regulation"; there were questions about the EO giving the Treasury Department a leading role (Axios) Investor disclosures: Anthropic says it expects to generate $10.9B in revenue in Q2, up 127% from $4.8B in Q1, and turn a $559M operating profit, its first ever (WSJ) Longreads In more than two-thirds of the world's countries, birthrates have fallen below replacement, and researchers increasingly point the finger at smartphones and social media (FT)