Today’s Cache | U.S. court to hear TikTok ban challenges; Nvidia’s market value nears Apple; OpenAI CEO pledges major wealth donation

U.S. court to hear TikTok ban challenges.
| Photo Credit: REUTERS

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TikTok ban challenge heads to court

A U.S. appeals court has expedited the review of legal challenges to a new law mandating China-based ByteDance to divest TikTok’s U.S. assets by January 19 or face a ban. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia set oral arguments for September after TikTok, ByteDance, and a group of TikTok content creators, joined by the Justice Department, requested a swift schedule. On May 14, a group of TikTok creators sued to block the law, arguing it threatens the app used by 170 million Americans and has significantly impacted American life. TikTok and ByteDance had previously filed a similar lawsuit.

Nvidia’s market value nears Apple

Nvidia’s shares rallied around 6% to hit a record high on Tuesday, leaving the AI chipmaker’s stock market value about $100 billion away from overtaking Apple in a major reshuffle of Wall street’s biggest players. Last trading at $1,128, Nvidia’s market capitalisation reached $2.8 trillion, compared to a market value of $2.9 trillion for Apple, which is Wall Street’s second-most valuable company after Microsoft. Its stock surged as much as 8% to $1,149.39 during the session, an intra-day record high. Apple’s stock was down 0.2% in afternoon trading.

OpenAI CEO pledges major wealth donation

The Giving Pledge announced Tuesday that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has joined its roster of philanthropists committed to donating over half their fortunes. This follows a turbulent six months for Altman, the co-founder of the San Francisco-based company behind ChatGPT and a venture capitalist whose $1 billion net worth, according to Forbes, stems largely from investments. His removal and subsequent reinstatement as CEO last November shocked the rapidly commercializing industry, as internal conflicts threatened to derail one of the leading voices in artificial intelligence.