Starbucks has named Amazon grocery technology leader Anand Varadarajan as its new Chief Technology Officer. He starts on January 19, 2025, reporting directly to CEO Brian Niccol. The move is a key part of the “Back to Starbucks” turnaround effort launched last September.
Mastercard is partnering with fintech startup MoneyHash to offer a unified payment solution for merchants in emerging markets. The deal aims to tackle notoriously high payment failure and fraud rates by streamlining complex integrations.
The Swedish fintech giant Klarna is diving deeper into crypto. Its new partnership with Coinbase will allow institutional investors to provide capital using stablecoins, a move that follows the launch of its own KlarnaUSD token in late November 2023.
ByteDance has reportedly agreed to divest TikTok’s US operations to a consortium including Oracle and Silver Lake. The deal, set to close by January 22, 2026, aims to address national security concerns but still needs Chinese approval.
A Snowflake software update triggered a 13-hour outage across 10 regions, with no workaround offered. The failure highlights a deep vulnerability in cloud data platforms when logical, not physical, failures occur.
Policymakers and founders gathered in Amsterdam for AI Policy Day, painting a surprisingly optimistic picture of Europe’s AI strengths. The big catch? Getting growth capital beyond €100 million remains a huge hurdle.
Investment in data centers reached a new high this year, fueled by debt financing. However, a reported pullback from a major Oracle project triggered a sell-off in key tech stocks, highlighting growing market nerves.
Rehlko has launched a major expansion of its KD Series generator line, adding models from 60kW to 600kW. The move targets growing demand for energy resilience from data centers, healthcare, and telecoms, with full distribution slated for Q1 2026.
The U.S. government is now formally reviewing applications to sell Nvidia’s powerful H200 AI chips to China. This follows President Trump’s pledge to allow the sales with a 25% fee. The outcome could significantly impact the global AI chip race.
A deal has been struck to sell TikTok’s U.S. operations to an investment group led by Oracle. The move is designed to comply with U.S. national security law and avoid a ban.
