Microsoft Offers Buyouts to 60,000 Staff to Fund AI – DTH

Microsoft Offers Voluntary Buyouts to 60,000 Employees

Microsoft is offering voluntary buyouts to approximately 60,000 employees, over a quarter of its global workforce, to manage costs while funding massive capital expenditures in AI. The time-limited program targets eligible roles up to level 70 across Canada, India, the UK, and the US, spanning teams such as Windows, Xbox, AI, finance, and HR.

Source: Reuters

Meta Commits $825 Billion to AI Infrastructure and Announces Stock Split

Meta has committed approximately $825 billion toward AI infrastructure and data centers, causing its first negative quarterly free cash flow in over a decade ($2.12 billion cash burn) despite strong early traction from its Muse AI agent. To support its revised annual capital expenditure forecast of $135–$145 billion, fund acquisitions, retain top talent, and keep CEO Mark Zuckerberg in California ahead of a potential wealth tax, Meta announced a 2-for-1 stock split via Class C shares in January 2027.

Source: Reuters

Apple Introduces 14-Inch MacBook Pro With M6 Chip

Apple has announced the new 14-inch MacBook Pro powered by the M6 chip, offering significant performance gains in CPU, graphics, and on-device AI workloads. Built for students, professionals, and creators, it features up to 24 hours of battery life, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, a Liquid Retina XDR display, a 12MP Center Stage camera, and macOS 27 integration. Available in space black and silver, pre-orders start October 28, with full availability beginning November 6.

Source: Apple

Apple Releases iOS 27.2 With Siri AI Enhancements and Security Fixes

Apple has released iOS 27.2, introducing Siri AI enhancements such as expanded language support and conversational memory, along with Apple Pencil support for the iPhone Duo. Additional features include Dual Capture for FaceTime, Multiview sports streaming, and over 160 security updates, including a critical backported fix for targeted exploits.

Source: TechCrunch

Microsoft Issues Emergency Windows Certificate Update

Microsoft released an out-of-band Windows update to refresh the Certificate Trust List (CTL) on devices disconnected from automatic updates, removing seven certificates linked to compromised eMudhra keys. The update includes previously released October 13 changes and their associated known issues, such as VPN and Exchange Server breakages, but does not resolve them.

Source: The Register

OpenAI Announces New Discoveries in Mathematics, Computer Science, and Physics

OpenAI announced new AI-generated discoveries across mathematics, computer science, and physics, expanding on its recent mathematical breakthroughs. To review and explain these complex outputs—including manuscripts targeting Sogge’s local smoothing conjecture and challenging the Exponential Time Hypothesis—OpenAI has engaged external expert collaborators who will author writeups, receive academic credit, and ensure proper attribution to past research.

Source: Engadget

iPhone 18 Pro Sales Rise 3.1% Globally, Driven by China

According to Counterpoint Research, global sales of Apple’s iPhone 18 Pro series rose 3.1% in its first three weeks compared to the iPhone 17 Pro, driven primarily by strong 29% growth in China alongside solid performance in India. However, sales in the U.S. and Japan declined by 4% and 27% respectively due to higher prices and minimal feature upgrades, while the Pro Max model remained the top seller at 56% of total series sales.

Source: Reuters

Opera Introduces WebAI for Running AI Models Locally in Browsers

Browser maker Opera has introduced WebAI, an open standard that enables users to run AI models—such as Google’s Gemma and Apple’s on-device foundation model—locally within the browser without relying on cloud infrastructure. Available as an opt-in preview in Opera One and coming soon to Opera GX and Neon, WebAI offers enhanced privacy, cost savings, and developer flexibility by keeping data on the device, though performance will depend on individual computer hardware.

Source: TechCrunch

Nvidia Invests $3 Billion in Meta as AI Partnership Expands

Nvidia and Meta are expanding their partnership on Meta’s Muse AI agent, with Meta deploying Nvidia’s next-generation Vera Rubin infrastructure and Nvidia investing $3 billion in Meta’s equity fundraise. To finance its massive AI infrastructure investments, Meta announced plans to raise up to $95 billion through public stock offerings, including upsized tranches of Class A common stock and convertible preferred stock.

Source: The Wall Street Journal

CISA Orders Emergency Patching of Critical PHP Vulnerabilities

U.S. cybersecurity agency CISA has warned federal agencies to patch two critical PHP vulnerabilities,dubbed PHP2Shell, within three days due to active exploitation in the wild. Undiscovered or deprioritized for years, the dormant flaws in the widely used web language were recently shown to be exploitable using AI models, highlighting ongoing risks for under-resourced open-source infrastructure.

Source: TechCrunch