OpenAI’s Broadcom Bet, Apple’s Identity Switch & Trump’s Gaza Diplomacy

oyinmary321
3 days ago
6 min read

14th October 2025

OpenAI is teaming up with Broadcom to build its first in-house AI chips: a 10-gigawatt leap that could reshape the AI hardware race and challenge Nvidia’s dominance. Apple drops the “Plus” from Apple TV+, rebranding its six-year-old streaming platform with a bold new identity. And in the Middle East, Hamas and Israel exchange nearly 2,000 prisoners under a U.S.-brokered ceasefire as Trump hails a “new dawn” for peace. All this and more in today’s Read It And Eat!

Major Headlines

OpenAI taps Broadcom to build its first AI processor in latest chip deal

OpenAI has partnered with Broadcom (AVGO.O), to produce its first in-house artificial intelligence processors, the latest chip tie-up for the ChatGPT maker as it races to secure the computing power needed to meet surging demand for its services.Shares of Broadcom rose more than 10%. The companies said on Monday that OpenAI would design the chips, which Broadcom will develop and deploy starting in the second half of 2026. They will roll out 10 gigawatts worth of custom chips, whose power consumption is roughly equivalent to the needs of more than 8 million U.S. households or five times the electricity produced by the Hoover Dam.

Most analysts do not expect the deal, the latest effort by a tech company to develop custom AI chips, to challenge Nvidia's (NVDA.O), grip on the AI accelerator market, given the significant challenge of designing, scaling and manufacturing in-house chips from the ground up. The OpenAI-Broadcom deal is the latest in a string of massive chip investments that have highlighted the technology industry's surging appetite for computing power as it races to build the most sophisticated AI systems.

OpenAI last week unveiled a 6-gigawatt AI chip supply deal with AMD (AMD.O), that includes an option to buy a stake in the chipmaker, days after disclosing that Nvidia plans to invest up to $100 billion in the startup and provide it with data-center systems with at least 10 gigawatts of capacity. "Partnering with Broadcom is a critical step in building the infrastructure needed to unlock AI's potential," OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said in a statement.

The 2026 timeline set out by OpenAI for the build-out is aggressive, but the startup is also best positioned to raise the funds required for the project, given the heights of investor confidence, said Gadjo Sevilla, an analyst at eMarketer. Reuters

Madagascar president hiding in 'safe place' as he warns of coup attempt

Madagascar's embattled President Andry Rajoelina has said he is sheltering in a "safe place" after an attempt on his life, following weeks of protests calling for him to quit. In a live broadcast to the nation on Facebook, Rajoelina, 51, said "a group of military personnel and politicians planned to assassinate me". He did not reveal his location, but unconfirmed reports earlier suggested that he had fled the country on a French military aircraft.

It follows a fortnight of nationwide protests, mainly led by young demonstrators, aimed at kicking him out of power. Rajoelina's failed attempts to placate the young protesters - dubbed "Gen Z Mada", saw the president sack his entire government and make other concessions to no avail. He has not been seen since Wednesday, and at the weekend Rajoelina's office said an attempt was under way to force him from power. His address to the nation was delayed several times on Monday amid the chaos, as soldiers threatened to seize the state TV headquarters in the Indian Ocean island. In a Facebook broadcast, he said: "Since 25 September, there have been attempts on my life and coup attempts. A group of military personnel and politicians planned to assassinate me. "I was forced to find a safe place to protect my life."

Following a meeting of military commanders on Monday, the new Chief of Army Staff installed by CAPSAT, Gen Demosthene Pikulas, assured the public that the security forces were working together to maintain order in the island nation. By Monday evening, the general was at state TV headquarters trying to resolve the crisis, according to a statement from the presidency. Speaking on condition of anonymity, a senior leader in Madagascar's largest opposition party, TIM, told the BBC that Madagascar was now effectively being run by the army unit. The TIM party has also said that it plans to bring impeachment proceedings against Rajoelina for "abandonment of post".

France's President Emmanuel Macron refused on Monday to confirm Rajoelina had been evacuated by a French military aircraft. However, he said the "constitutional order" must be preserved in Madagascar. "We have a youth that has expressed itself, that is politicized, that wants to live better, and that is a very good thing," Macron told reporters in Egypt.

"We just need to make sure that it is not taken over by military factions or foreign interference." BBC

Apple TV+ Rebrands to Apple TV, Ditching the Plus Sign for ‘Vibrant New Identity’

Apple has rebranded its six-year-old streaming service Apple TV+ to Apple TV, which is the same name as its connected smart TV device product and app. The tech company quietly revealed the news Monday in a press release announcing the streaming debut for its “F1: The Movie,” stating: “Apple TV+ is now simply Apple TV, with a vibrant new identity.”

Formerly known as Apple TV+, Apple’s paid streaming service launched in November 2019 with “The Morning Show” and a slew of other originals starring A-list talent as its starting lineup, amid the standalone streaming service wars between Disney, Paramount, HBO, Netflix, Amazon and more. This marks the first name change for the platform, while its competitors, including HBO Max and Paramount+, have undergone a couple rounds of switches (and some changing back).

Since the launch of Apple’s streaming service, Apple’s original films, documentaries and series have earned 553 wins and 2,562 award nominations and counting, including the multiple Emmy-winning series “Ted Lasso,” “The Studio” and “Severance,” as well as Oscar best picture winner “Coda.” Other notable Apple TV originals include “Pluribus,” “Slow Horses,” “Presumed Innocent,” “Shrinking,” “Dope Thief,” “Your Friends and Neighbors,” “The Buccaneers,” “Foundation,” “Invasion,” “Loot,” “The Last Frontier,” “Acapulco,” “Chief of War,” “Palm Royale,” “For All Mankind,” “Schmigadoon!,” “See,” “Dickinson” and “Pachinko.” New York Times

Hamas and Israel exchange captives, detainees before Gaza summit

Hamas and Israel have carried out a prisoner exchange deal under a ceasefire agreement that saw the release of nearly 2,000 Palestinians imprisoned in Israeli jails and 20 Israeli captives held in the Gaza Strip. Cheers broke out in Israel early on Monday, as television channels announced that the first lot of seven captives had been handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The Israeli military later confirmed that 13 more captives taken from Israel during the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023 were also transferred.

Later on Monday, Hamas’s military wing said it also planned to hand over the bodies of four dead captives later in the day. The released Palestinians include some 1,700 seized from Gaza during the war and held without charge, as well as 250 held in Israeli prisons. The news of the release was bittersweet for the loved ones of some freed prisoners, as 154 of them were forced into exile.

While key questions remain over the future of Gaza and Hamas’s role in the territory, the exchange of captives and prisoners has raised hopes for ending Israel’s devastating war, which has ravaged the enclave and killed more than 67,806 people. The ceasefire is also expected to allow for a surge of humanitarian aid into Gaza, where famine has broken out amid Israel’s bombardment and blockade of the territory. Many of Gaza’s more than two million people are reported to be on the brink of starvation.

Amid the exchange, US President Donald Trump, whose administration played a leading role in putting together the deal, travelled to Israel to address the Knesset ahead of an international summit in Egypt he is due to co-chair later on Monday. During his wide-ranging address, Trump declared a “historic dawn of a new Middle East” and paid tribute to leaders from Arab and Muslim nations who he said had come “together to press Hamas, to set the hostages free”. Aljazeera

Minor Headlines

Silver prices hit historic high as short squeeze rocks London market. Yahoo.Finance
Beyond Meat plummets after debt swap massively dilutes shareholders. Yahoo.Finance
JPMorgan announced a $1.5T US investment initiative Reuters
Options Pros sees one of the wildest earnings seasons since 2022 Yahoo.Finance
Musk's xAI poached Nvidia talent in race to build 'world models' Financial Times
White House Starts Mass Layoffs of Government Workers Wall Street Journal
Women wielding $365B lead boom in 'sideways' succession Bloomberg
Fortress Co-CEO’s Unexpected Death Rattles $53 Billion Debt Firm Bloomberg