Business

Anduril, Qualcomm launch BlueChip, a new kind of US-made laptop

Anduril founder Palmer Luckey is vowing to bring computer manufacturing back to the U.S. And by that, he doesn’t just mean assembly, but the production of every individual component, some of which are exclusively made in China today.
Anduril is partnering with Qualcomm to achieve that mission with a new computer called BlueChip, the companies announced Tuesday. BlueChip will be available for preorder in 2027.
While technical details are scant — Anduril hasn’t even finished contracting with all its component suppliers yet, according to Luckey — this first product will be a hardened laptop. It will be designed to withstand the most grueling physical environments and meet the security-conscious needs of the military, government, first responders and law enforcement.
For the first generation, about 90% of its components will be made in the U.S. or in allied countries, Anduril says, most notably its CPU. BlueChip will run on a Snapdragon X Series built at TSCM’s massive new facility in Arizona. The CPU uses the same architecture that powers other laptops, including the Microsoft Surface, Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon said during the press conference.
“As of right now, the laptop’s bill of materials is about 90% U.S. and allied [ally countries], and we have a technical roadmap to get to 100% domestic over time,” Luckey said. “The intent in the long run is to have an option that is made entirely in the United States, 100% domestic. And I mean everything. I mean the displays. I mean the metallics. I mean the the magnetics. All of it.”
Right now, for instance, Luckey says he’s found an American supplier for the glass that covers the display, but the display itself is one of several components he says are only manufactured in China.
While Luckey says consumers are welcome to order a BlueChip — the company may even create a waiting list for interested consumers — this first PC won’t be designed for them. For one thing, as a hardened computer, it will be heavy and have battery-life constraints because of the engineering required to withstand rain, dust, and other rugged conditions.
The bigger point is to offer U.S. government agencies a product that complies with regulations requiring them to buy U.S.-made computers. In this case, the selling point is a transparent supply chain that customers can track and audit.
“These computers are the anti-surveillance computer. You fully control it,” Luckey described in a recent interview. “You know everything that is in it, every single component, and you know every software component that is running on it.”
Anduril is also working to ensure that the Arm-based machine works well with Windows apps, apps built for certain Linux distributions used by the government, and even archaic software that various agencies still run.
While Anduril hasn’t yet announced pricing, Luckey estimates it will cost about 20% more than typical high-end PCs.
“As much as I love BlueChip, if I was just a normal consumer making a rational decision without a kind of patriotic basis, I’d be better off buying a Dell laptop than an Anduril laptop because it’s going to be cheaper. I’m just talking about your average person consumer, right, who doesn’t have any real need for this,” Luckey said.
But Luckey clearly hopes Anduril will eventually make U.S.-made laptops more in line with consumer desires. He said the product is the first in what he envisions as a full line of BlueChip computers, noting that he began his career making devices virtual reality headsets for consumers.
“I’m buying American cars, and then I buy a computer that’s made on the other side of the world, not just China, but you know, Japan, Korea,” he said. “It’s kind of humiliating that as an American and my birthright is computers, in my opinion, because America invented them, that I’m not able to buy an American computer.”
As for the potentially expensive folly of trying to take on China’s electronics components manufacturing industry single-handedly, Luckey joked about his internal reputation for “being a nut” with such big ideas. (He admits that he pushed his board to spend $900 million to build a factory for a jet before the company had even won a contract.)

Business

UPS Stock: Earnings Beat Delivers Good News for the U.S. Economy

You are now leaving Barron’s website
By clicking on the “Proceed” button below, you will be redirected to a third-party website owned and operated by Hong Kong Tiimoot Information Technology Co., Limited. (“HKT”), which is located in Hong Kong. That website operates independently from Barron’s and Barron’s does not control the website. The privacy practices of HKT are subject to its Privacy Statement, so please read it closely. We are not responsible for HKT’s privacy or other data-related practices.

Business

Nvidia and AMD Take $4B Chunk of Meta’s Equity. They Are Fighting Custom Chips.

Business

S&P 500, Nasdaq advance as oil eases ahead of Fed decision

Summary
Companies
Indexes: Dow down 0.14%, S&P up 0.16%, Nasdaq up 0.38%
Boeing slips after bigger-than-expected Q3 loss
Royal Caribbean gains after raising FY profit forecast
General Motors up after announcing listing switch to Nasdaq
Oct 27 (Reuters) – The S&P 500 and Nasdaq advanced on Tuesday as easing oil prices supported risk appetite ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy ‌decision this week, while investors also assessed a raft of key corporate earnings.
The Fed is widely expected to hold rates steady on Wednesday following an increase last month, though markets are pricing in at least two more hikes by mid-2027 as key inflation indicators remain elevated amid the ongoing US-Iran conflict.
Sign up here.
Brent crude slipped for the second straight session in volatile trading, though it still held near its highest level since late April.
At 09:57 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI), opens new tab fell 73.92 points, or 0.14%, ⁠to 52,287.66. The S&P 500 (.SPX), opens new tab gained 12.45 points, or 0.16%, to 7,689.22, while the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC), opens new tab rose 98.08 points, or 0.38%, to 26,267.46.
A 3.4% drop in shares of paintmaker Sherwin-Williams (SHW.N), opens new tab following a quarterly profit miss weighed on the Dow.
Six of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors advanced, with tech (.SPLRCT), opens new tab leading gains, while energy (.SPNY), opens new tab lagged.
Megacap and growth stocks traded mixed. Tesla (TSLA.O), opens new tab shares climbed close to 3%, building on their more than 5% gain from the previous session.
Chip stocks (.SOX), opens new tab rose 1.8%, up for the third straight day after a bruising few weeks, while neocloud firms CoreWeave (CRWV.O), opens new tab and Nebius (NBIS.O), opens new tab were also trading sharply higher.
Meta (META.O), opens new tab fell 1.1% after the company increased its largest-ever equity fundraising to $97.5 billion to fund AI expansion. The effort has also drawn interest of up to $5 billion in total from Nvidia (NVDA.O), opens new tab, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD.O), opens new tab and Broadcom (AVGO.O), opens new tab.
The plan comes ‌as growing ⁠concerns over the viability of debt-funded spending in the face of rising borrowing costs have weighed on AI trade this month.
Against that backdrop, investors will now look to earnings from hyperscalers Alphabet (GOOGL.O), opens new tab, Microsoft (MSFT.O), opens new tab and Amazon.com (AMZN.O), opens new tab later this week for evidence that hefty AI investments are translating into growth.
“If we see positive surprises and (earnings) raises on any of these AI stocks that are reporting from now until the Anthropic IPO, I think it’s a very ⁠positive environment for the companies,” said Peter Andersen, founder of Andersen Capital Management.
AI lab Anthropic revealed its filing for a US initial public offering on Monday, taking a big step towards a potentially record-breaking listing even as it disclosed steep losses and security concerns.
Among other movers, Boeing (BA.N), opens new tab eased 1.8% after reporting ⁠a bigger-than-expected loss in the third quarter, while water-management company Xylem (XYL.N), opens new tab dropped 8.8% after trimming full-year forecasts.
Royal Caribbean (RCL.N), opens new tab rose 6.5% after the cruise operator lifted full-year profit forecast, while General Motors (GM.N), opens new tab gained 5% following its plan to switch its stock listing to Nasdaq.
Investors are also looking ahead to the ⁠November 3 midterm elections, which will decide control of the US Congress.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.16-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by 1.24-to-1 on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 posted four new 52-week highs and no new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 26 new highs and 127 new lows.
Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan and Utkarsh Hathi in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar

Business

General Motors to move stock listing from NYSE to Nasdaq in technology-focused shift

General Motors announced Tuesday that it will transfer its stock listing from the New York Stock Exchange to Nasdaq next month, a move the Detroit automaker said reflects its growing focus on technology and innovation.
The company said its shares are expected to begin trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on Nov. 17 under the existing ticker symbol “GM.”
“GM’s customer-focused, technology-driven strategy is creating value for our stockholders, making Nasdaq a natural home for our listing as we grow,” GM Chief Financial Officer Paul Jacobson said in a statement. “We’re grateful for our long-standing partnership with the New York Stock Exchange and its remarkable legacy.”
GM, which operates the Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac brands, has increasingly emphasized advanced vehicle technology as a key part of its long-term growth strategy.
GM EXPANDS ‘EYES-OFF’ AUTONOMOUS DRIVING PLANS TO PICKUPS AND SUVS
The listing change comes as GM continues investing in technologies aimed at making vehicles safer, smarter and more efficient, while expanding its electric vehicle offerings.
The transfer could make GM eligible for inclusion in the Nasdaq-100 Index, which tracks 100 of the largest non-financial companies listed on the exchange, but inclusion is not guaranteed.
GM LETTING SOME EV OWNERS SELL ELECTRICITY BACK TO THE US POWER GRID
GM shares will remain listed on the NYSE through the close of trading on Nov. 16.
The automaker said existing shareholders will not need to take any action as a result of the transfer.
CLICK HERE TO GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO
GM did not announce any changes to its business operations in connection with the stock exchange transfer.

Business

Ford’s sub-$30K electric truck puts the home backup inverter right inside the vehicle

Ford’s upcoming electric truck integrates an onboard inverter to dramatically slash the cost, hardware, and utility red tape of home backup power.
Ford’s upcoming electric truck integrates an onboard inverter to dramatically slash the cost, hardware, and utility red tape of home backup power.
The Verge Daily
A free daily digest of the news that matters most.
Email (required)
By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy. We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.