Thai Liang Lim/iStock via Getty Images Shares of inflammatory and immunology concern Apogee Therapeutics, Inc. ( APGE ) have roughly doubled since October 2025 as the lead asset zumilokibart continues its trend towards best-in-class. To date, the much less frequent maintenance dosing candidate for atopic dermatitis matched or bettered approved therapies with more frequent dosing schedules on multiple measures. With a valuation of $4.8 billion net of cash, a pivotal atopic dermatitis trial expected to start this year, and pipeline-in-a-product expectations for zumilokibart, Apogee’s rally merited a deeper dive. An analysis follows below. APGE Stock Chart (Seeking Alpha) Company Overview: Apogee Therapeutics, Inc. is a Waltham, Massachusetts-based clinical-stage biopharmaceutical concern focused on the development of biologics for the treatment of inflammatory and immunology (I&I) conditions. The company is currently advancing zumilokibart (formerly APG777) monotherapy against I&I indications—the most advanced of which is atopic dermatitis (eczema or AD)—as well as one zumilokibart combination therapy. Apogee was formed in 2022 and went public in 2023, raising net proceeds of $315.4 million at $17 per share. Its stock trades around $81.00 a share and sports an approximate market cap of $6.1 billion. Approach The company’s strategy is to leverage its knowledge of advanced antibody engineering to improve upon the efficacy and dosing schedules of existing antibodies in the I&I space. From this approach, Apogee has developed zumilokibart, which it believes will ultimately target nine or more indications. Zumilokibart Zumilokibart (henceforth "zumi") is a monoclonal antibody targeting interleukin-13 (IL-13) that is currently being investigated for the treatment of AD and asthma. The more advanced of these indications is AD, for which zumi monotherapy is undergoing Phase 2 evaluation with encouraging results to date. 2026 Company Presentation Backing up a bit, the 2024 glob...

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) speaks during a press conference at the U.S. Capitol on April 22, 2026 in Washington, DC. Heather Diehl | Getty Images The Senate on Thursday is preparing to consider a package that would fund immigration enforcement agencies within the Department of Homeland Security , as Democrats look to force Republicans into tough votes on some of President Donald Trump 's more controversial priorities. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer , D-N.Y., said Democrats will use a marathon voting procedure — known as a vote-a-rama — to force Republicans to weigh in on politically fraught topics, like Trump's proposed White House ballroom and a recently announced $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization" fund that could be used to pay out the president's allies purportedly targeted by the Biden administration . "In the coming debate, the contrast between Democrats and Republicans will be on full display. All of America will see it," Schumer said Thursday as a press conference on the Senate steps with Democrats from the House and Senate. Read more CNBC politics coverage Trump’s face doesn’t belong on U.S. passport, senators tell Rubio Jan. 6 police officers sue Trump to block $1.8B ‘lawfare’ fund Breakthrough agreement in housing bill gives investors wins Democrats make demands of U.S. trade representative ahead of U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement review Republicans are seeking to kickstart the process on the Senate floor to pass a $72 billion budget package that would fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Security. Democrats have refused to fund both DHS subagencies in response to t wo civilian deaths at the hands of federal agents during an immigration crackdown in Minneapolis in January, setting off a monthslong partial government shutdown. In April, Congress passed and Trump signed a law to fund the rest of the agency, effectively ending the partial shutdown, as Republicans sought to make up funding for ICE and CBP via the b...

White House postpones Trump's AI signing ceremony, say sources Reuters

Agent Blueprint Language™ (ABL) compounds returns and compresses agent delivery from months to days SAN MATEO, Calif., May 21, 2026--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Kore.ai, the global leader in agentic platforms and applications, today launched the new-generation Kore.ai Agent Platform Artemis edition, the AI-programmable, AI-native foundation that builds, governs, and optimizes the agents, systems, and workflows running across the enterprise. The platform launches initially on Microsoft Azure, with broader cloud availability to follow. The new-generation Kore.ai Agent Platform enables enterprises to deploy production-ready multiagent AI systems in days instead of months, with governance, observability, and operational control enforced before any agent goes live. Three core innovations make the platform fundamentally AI-native: Agent Blueprint Language™ (ABL): ABL is a compiled, declarative language that standardizes how AI agents, systems, and workflows are defined, validated, and governed. Six built-in orchestration patterns (supervisor, delegation, handoff, fan-out, escalation, and agent-to-agent federation) enable resilient, production-grade multiagent systems at scale. Arch™: Kore.ai’s AI agent architect translates business objectives into production-ready ABL, supports the full agent lifecycle, designs the underlying agent topology, and continuously refines agents using real-world production traces. Dual-Brain Architecture: Two cognitive engines (combining agentic reasoning and deterministic flows) operate in parallel through shared memory, authored in a unified language and governed by a single runtime. The platform operates independently of the model, keeping AI systems predictable, auditable, and scalable from experimentation to production-grade operations. "Enterprise AI is entering its third wave, where governance, observability, and trust define success at scale," said Raj Koneru, CEO and Founder, Kore.ai. "The Kore.ai Agent Platform reflects this shift by bringing an...

[21/5 23:50] 天文台：與高空擾動相關的雷雨區正影響珠江口一帶，預料未來兩三小時本港部分地區雨勢較大及有幾陣狂風雷暴，市民請留意天氣變化。

We just covered the 10 Best Pick and Shovel AI Stocks to Buy for the Long Term. Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) ranks #10 (see 5 Best Pick and Shovel AI Stocks to Buy for the Long Term). Short Interest: 1.7% Arista makes high-speed switches and routing systems used by major cloud players like Microsoft Azure, Meta Platforms, Amazon Web Services, and Google Cloud to connect massive server and GPU clusters. On the software side, it runs its Extensible Operating System that helps automate networks and manage traffic at scale. The company is seeing strong demand as AI infrastructure buildouts accelerate. Its recent results showed revenue rising about 35% year over year, and it raised its full-year growth outlook to around 28% from 25%. So why did the stock fall after the results? Expectations were high. Its Q2 guidance came in slightly below estimates, missing by roughly $200 million, which was enough to disappoint investors despite strong fundamentals. The real driver behind Arista Networks growth is the shift in how data centers are built for AI. Unlike traditional cloud setups, AI workloads require all-to-all networking, where GPUs constantly communicate with each other. That requires high-performance switching and routing. Arista Networks operates right at this layer—its products ensure GPU clusters are fully utilized with minimal idle time. That matters because GPUs are expensive, and companies want to maximize efficiency from every unit. While we acknowledge the potential of ANET as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: 33 Stocks That Should Double in 3 Years and Cathie Wood 2026 Portfolio: 10 Best Stocks to Buy. Disclosure: None. Follow Insider Monkey on Google News.

Image source: The Motley Fool. Thursday, May 21, 2026 at 11 a.m. ET CALL PARTICIPANTS Chief Executive Officer — Andrew J. Leaver Chief Financial Officer — Nicholas Pointon Chief Financial Officer — Rob Russell TAKEAWAYS Revenue -- $623 thousand for the first half, up from $67 thousand in the comparable period, driven by revenue from 11 contracts versus 6. -- $623 thousand for the first half, up from $67 thousand in the comparable period, driven by revenue from 11 contracts versus 6. Contract Activity -- 11 contracts executed, with 3 in telecom and 8 in government, defense, and enterprise segments; 2 contracts expected to be imminently renewed and upsized. -- 11 contracts executed, with 3 in telecom and 8 in government, defense, and enterprise segments; 2 contracts expected to be imminently renewed and upsized. Administrative Expenses -- $33.9 million, up from $20.2 million, reflecting higher headcount and share-based compensation, partially offset by lower property and FX costs. -- $33.9 million, up from $20.2 million, reflecting higher headcount and share-based compensation, partially offset by lower property and FX costs. Share-based Compensation -- Noncash charge of $12.7 million versus $872 thousand in the prior period, included in administrative expenses. -- Noncash charge of $12.7 million versus $872 thousand in the prior period, included in administrative expenses. Operating Loss -- $33.7 million, compared with $20 million prior period, due to rising operating costs outpacing revenue growth. -- $33.7 million, compared with $20 million prior period, due to rising operating costs outpacing revenue growth. Loss Before Tax -- $33.1 million, compared with $19.5 million, impacted by higher expenses and lower finance income. -- $33.1 million, compared with $19.5 million, impacted by higher expenses and lower finance income. Cash and Equivalents -- $28.9 million as of March 31, rising to $35.9 million by May 20, providing more than 14 months of financial runway. -- $...

Somewhere between a thought experiment and a margin call, SpaceX has a price. On Hyperliquid, a decentralized derivatives venue, a synthetic contract called SPCX-USD recently changed hands around $203. Plug that price into the company’s share count and the implied valuation lands at roughly $2.4 trillion. At that level, a SpaceX initial public offering would ... SpaceX Is Quietly Trading at a Price That Would Make It 23x Bigger Than Facebook’s IPO

After any stock experiences a major (and apparently durable) rise, it's almost inevitable that some people will start discussing the possibility that the company will consider a stock split. Case in point: A year ago, Micron (MU +1.74%) was trading for around $100 per share, a price that's relatively accessible to retail investors. Now, however, after it has risen by more than 600% in just 12 months to over $700 per share, such a move seems more reasonable. So, could Micron be splitting its stock soon? It has been a long time since Micron split its stock It has been more than 25 years since Micron's last stock split. In May 2000, it split its stock 2-for-1, following another 2-for-1 split in 1995. Stock splits were a lot more common back then, and there's no indication of how Micron will act now. However, once a stock nears $1,000, the general mood of most management teams is to enact a stock split. This makes it more affordable for the company to include stock options in employee compensation plans; otherwise, options contracts (which are usually for 100 shares) would be quite expensive to hand out. Expand NASDAQ : MU Micron Technology Today's Change ( 1.74 %) $ 12.73 Current Price $ 744.72 Key Data Points Market Cap $825B Day's Range $ 732.26 - $ 764.90 52wk Range $ 90.93 - $ 818.67 Volume 757K Avg Vol 46M Gross Margin 58.54 % Dividend Yield 0.07 % So, can Micron keep running to $1,000 per share? I think it can. Micron is a memory chip producer, and the supply of server memory chips is essentially sold out, and future production has been bought in advance, thanks to insatiable AI data center demand. Even regular PC memory, which used to be quite cheap, has skyrocketed in price due to the supply crunch. This has allowed Micron and its peers to radically boost their prices, so its revenues and profits are soaring. The memory chip shortage is likely to continue for some time, as it will take a few years for more production capacity to come online. Furthermore, Micron...

NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "overweight" rating reissued by research analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $350.00 target price on the computer hardware maker's stock. Cantor Fitzgerald's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 59.41% from the company's previous close. A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on NVDA. Mizuho set a $300.00 price objective on shares of NVIDIA in a report on Thursday. KeyCorp set a $310.00 price objective on shares of NVIDIA in a report on Thursday. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $360.00 price objective (up from $350.00) on shares of NVIDIA in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of NVIDIA from $287.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $282.00 target price on shares of NVIDIA and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-eight have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $298.58. Get NVIDIA alerts: Sign Up Get Our Latest Research Report on NVDA NVIDIA Stock Down 1.7% NVDA traded down $3.91 during trading on Thursday, hitting $219.56. The company had a trading volume of 106,111,869 shares, compared to its average volume of 169,671,422. The company has a market cap of $5.32 trillion, a PE ratio of 44.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 2.25. The business has a 50-day moving average of $194.82 and a 200-day moving average of $188.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 3.91 and a quick ratio of 3.24. NVIDIA has a 1-year low of $129.16 and a 1-year high of $236.54. NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA ...

周四（5月21日），土耳其伊斯坦布尔证交所全国100指数收跌6.05%，报13163.88点，整体持续走低，北京时间22:20以来加速下跌，逼近4月7日收盘位12921.56点。 伊斯坦布尔证交所银行指数收跌8.63%，报14947.10点，逼近11月18日收盘位14472.10点。。 土耳其里拉兑美元反弹至45.5811里拉刷新日高，北京时间22:32曾跌至45.6269里拉创历史新低。 与此同时，风险指标进一步恶化。土耳其五年期信用违约互换上涨12个基点，至253个基点，表明投资者对该国前景的担忧加剧。截至伊斯坦布尔时间晚上7:25，里拉汇率变动不大，报1美元兑45.6133里拉。 风险提示及免责条款 市场有风险，投资需谨慎。本文不构成个人投资建议，也未考虑到个别用户特殊的投资目标、财务状况或需要。用户应考虑本文中的任何意见、观点或结论是否符合其特定状况。据此投资，责任自负。

Even as broader equities continue to perform well, several otherwise quality stocks have been left behind due to various headwinds. That's the case with Intuitive Surgical (ISRG 2.86%) and Microsoft (MSFT 0.41%). However, given their long-term prospects, these market leaders can bounce back and deliver excellent returns to patient investors, making them particularly compelling buys on the dip. Here is why Intuitive Surgical and Microsoft are excellent picks. 1. Intuitive Surgical Steep tariffs are harming Intuitive Surgical's financial results. And by the looks of it, the company will have to deal with this issue for a little while longer. Even so, the medical device specialist continues to post strong financial results, driven by increased adoption of its famous da Vinci system. In the first quarter, Intuitive Surgical's revenue and procedure volume both grew at a good clip. It also expanded its installed base, helping cement its lead in the robotic-assisted surgery (RAS) niche as new competitors try to eat into its market share. Intuitive Surgical's future still looks bright because of the large RAS addressable market, even before we account for the world's aging population, which will further expand its opportunities. Expand NASDAQ : ISRG Intuitive Surgical Today's Change ( -2.86 %) $ -12.86 Current Price $ 436.17 Key Data Points Market Cap $159B Day's Range $ 435.24 - $ 447.36 52wk Range $ 417.74 - $ 603.88 Volume 30K Avg Vol 2M Gross Margin 66.28 % Meanwhile, the company is still earning new indications. In December, it announced that the da Vinci SP had secured clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for inguinal hernia repair, cholecystectomy, and appendectomy. A growing number of indications helps boost the company's revenue while making it even harder for the competition to catch up. Further, Intuitive Surgical's newest model of its famous device, the da Vinci 5, is still gaining significant traction. It accounted for almost 54% of the company'...

Key Points Several issues have affected both companies. Still, their businesses and financial results remain solid. They still have attractive growth runways along with strong moats. 10 stocks we like better than Intuitive Surgical › Even as broader equities continue to perform well, several otherwise quality stocks have been left behind due to various headwinds. That's the case with Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ: ISRG) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT). However, given their long-term prospects, these market leaders can bounce back and deliver excellent returns to patient investors, making them particularly compelling buys on the dip. Here is why Intuitive Surgical and Microsoft are excellent picks. Will AI create the world's first trillionaire? Our team just released a report on the one little-known company, called an "Indispensable Monopoly" providing the critical technology Nvidia and Intel both need. Continue » 1. Intuitive Surgical Steep tariffs are harming Intuitive Surgical's financial results. And by the looks of it, the company will have to deal with this issue for a little while longer. Even so, the medical device specialist continues to post strong financial results, driven by increased adoption of its famous da Vinci system. In the first quarter, Intuitive Surgical's revenue and procedure volume both grew at a good clip. It also expanded its installed base, helping cement its lead in the robotic-assisted surgery (RAS) niche as new competitors try to eat into its market share. Intuitive Surgical's future still looks bright because of the large RAS addressable market, even before we account for the world's aging population, which will further expand its opportunities. Meanwhile, the company is still earning new indications. In December, it announced that the da Vinci SP had secured clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for inguinal hernia repair, cholecystectomy, and appendectomy. A growing number of indications helps boost the company's revenue whi...

Aflac Incorporated AFL returned to Japan’s bond market on Thursday, raising ¥65.9 billion, or roughly $415 million, through a four-part yen bond offering, according to Bloomberg. The insurer has tapped the Japanese debt market several times before, though this year’s deal came in smaller than the ¥74.9 billion it issued in 2025. Bloomberg also reported that the 10-year tranche carried a coupon of 3.482%, showing that Aflac was still able to secure funding on favorable terms despite rising borrowing costs globally. The deal also points to continued demand from Japanese investors, who remain eager to buy debt from established foreign companies offering higher yields. Aflac’s latest issuance comes as more overseas borrowers turn to Japan’s credit market for funding. Berkshire Hathaway Inc. BRK.B and Alphabet Inc. GOOG, the parent company of Google, have both expanded their activity in the country recently. Alphabet made headlines last week after selling ¥576.5 billion worth of bonds in its first-ever yen offering, marking the largest yen bond sale by a non-Japanese company. The company is raising capital as spending tied to artificial intelligence and data center expansion continues to climb. Aflac remains heavily tied to Japan through its insurance operations. The company generates a significant share of earnings from the region through supplemental health and life insurance products. In the first quarter, adjusted net investment income at Aflac Japan rose 0.9% year over year to $591 million. Net earned premiums slipped 6.4% to $1.6 billion, though new annualized premium sales jumped 25.5%, supported by strong demand for products, including Anshin Palette, Miraito and Tsumitasu. Price Performance Shares of Aflac have gained 6.3% in the year-to-date period compared with the 6.1% growth of the industry. Zacks Investment Research Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Zacks Rank & A Key Pick Aflac currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). A better-ranked stock in the broade...

SpaceX is marketing itself to IPO investors as an artificial intelligence play targeting a $26.5 trillion potential market opportunity, positioning itself to wrest business from investor darlings whose valuations have soared. The company, formally known as Space Exploration Technologies Corp., leaned heavily on its ambitions in the ever-expanding AI market in its initial public offering filing Wednesday. Out of a $28.5 trillion total addressable market across its businesses, SpaceX sees AI opportunities accounting for 93%, with enterprise applications accounting for the vast majority. Space, Starlink internet and mobile would contribute close to $2 trillion. Elon Musk ’s rocket, satellite and AI company is effectively basing its pitch for the biggest IPO in history on the idea that it can capture a huge share of the market from the likes of OpenAI , Anthropic PBC and Alphabet Inc. ’s AI systems: technology that will eventually automate large swaths of white-collar and administrative work, creating a massive market for software that can perform digital tasks traditionally handled by humans. “We believe we have identified the largest actionable total addressable market (‘TAM’) in human history,” the company said in its preliminary prospectus. “We leverage our leading frontier models and compute infrastructure to deliver consumer and enterprise applications.” Wall Street is now workshopping financial models to calculate how SpaceX fits into a sector whose aggregate valuation has already soared into the trillions of dollars. The shift in emphasis represents a pivot from how analysts viewed the company just a few months ago, and reflects which themes are resonating with starry-eyed investors. “They’re leveraging the fact that this is the market they’re in today and they’ll need to spend to deliver the growth,” said Franco Granda , a senior analyst at PitchBook . The massive market potential is “irrefutable right now because everyone else is talking about it.” Read More: ...

TD (NYSE: TD) offers autocallable notes paying ~19% linked to AMZN, NVDA, TSLA Stock Titan

格隆汇5月21日｜美国国务卿鲁比奥周四向记者表示，如果德黑兰方面在霍尔木兹海峡实施收费制度，美国与伊朗之间的外交协议将难以达成。鲁比奥城：“全世界没有人支持这种收费制度。这绝不可以发生。这是不可接受的。如果他们继续推行这一做法，将使达成外交协议变得不可行。因此，如果他们试图这样做，这将对世界构成威胁，且完全是非法的。”他还向记者透露，在与德黑兰就结束美以对伊战争的谈判中已取得一些进展，但华盛顿方面正面对“一个本身有些支离破碎的体系”。“有一些积极的迹象，”鲁比奥表示，“我不想过于乐观……所以，让我们看看未来几天会发生什么。”

Jarrod Agen, Executive Director of National Energy Dominance Council and President Trump's energy advisor joined Bloomberg Open Interest to talk about how gas prices will drop fast once the Strait of Hormuz reopens. He also defends the administration’s aggressive “Drill Baby Drill” agenda. Agen touts record oil lease sales, LNG expansion, Alaska drilling, and a possible gas tax holiday as America races for “energy dominance.” (Source: Bloomberg)

AMD (NASDAQ: AMD) has a 24/7 Wall St. price target of $600 over the next 12 months, with the stock currently trading at $447.58. That implies roughly roughly 34% upside, and we are rating the shares buy with high confidence. AMD now combines a hyperscaler-anchored AI roadmap, an inflecting CPU franchise, and guidance that just ... Will AMD Stock Reach $600 This Year? The Answer May Not Surprise You

Will AMD Stock Reach $600 This Year? The Answer May Not Surprise You 24/7 Wall St.

SA analyst upgrades/downgrades: TGT, GOOG, ZIM, NBIS MSN

Sundry Photography/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Shares of Walmart ( WMT ) plunged more than 6% Thursday, marking the retailer’s worst trading day in 13 months as investors reacted to signs that U.S. consumers are increasingly under pressure. The selloff came after Walmart executives said during the company’s earnings conference call that shoppers are showing signs of financial strain, reinforcing concerns that inflation and higher borrowing costs continue to weigh on household budgets. The sharp decline stunned traders because Walmart had become one of Wall Street’s favorite defensive stocks over the past year. Investors had flocked to the retail giant on expectations that consumers seeking lower prices would continue driving traffic to stores even amid economic uncertainty. Instead, the company’s cautious tone triggered a wave of profit-taking after a prolonged rally that had pushed shares to record highs earlier this year. Market analyst Mike Zaccardi highlighted the move on social media, noting the stock was on pace for its steepest one-day drop in over a year. Despite the decline, Walmart remains one of the strongest performers in big-box retail, though Thursday’s selloff suggests investors may be reassessing whether expectations for consumer resilience had become too optimistic. Here is the chart: Mike Zaccardi More on Walmart Walmart Earnings Preview: Short-Term Gas Impact Vs. Longer-Term Advertising And Flywheel Trends Walmart: Get Out Before The Correction Walmart: Consolidation In Uptrend Means New Highs Likely (Technical Analysis) Walmart slides and weighs on the retail sector as it warns of consumer pressures Walmart falls after issuing cautious guidance amid the high gas price environment

Investors are in a new age of commercial space activity—and a new era of personal wealth. Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, already the world’s richest person, is now the world’s first trillionaire. On Wednesday, his rocket company, SpaceX, released its initial public offering registration statement to the public.

is a senior reporter covering technology, gaming, and more. He joined The Verge in 2019 after nearly two years at Techmeme. As part of a new “Reserved” program, Spotify is going to start offering concert tickets for “real fans” of participating bands that are going on tour. The idea with the Reserved program is to give people an option to buy tickets without the hassle and stress that often comes with securing a spot for a popular act. But you’ll have to be a Spotify Premium member to be eligible, and how exactly Spotify determines who is a real fan is a touch murky. We’ll identify real fans based on factors like streams, shares, and other Spotify activity, and will also monitor the activity of Premium users to ensure these are real human fans and not bots. If you’re one of an artist’s most dedicated fans, you’ll have the opportunity to purchase two tickets during a dedicated window, typically around a day. If you’re picked to get tickets, you’ll get an email and a notification in the app. Spotify says to “make sure” your location is enabled in its Live Events Feed so it can determine if you’re near a touring artist and that you have notifications turned on so that. However, Spotify cautions that “there will be significantly more superfans than there are seats available on a tour, so not every fan will receive an offer.” The Reserved program will kick off this summer, with Spotify saying that “newly announced tours for select artists will be able to dedicate tickets to true fans through Reserved.” Down the line, Reserved will expand to “more tours of all sizes, including many of the most sought-after shows on the road.” Spotify won’t add fees for tickets purchased via Reserved. Initially, the Reserved program will be available in the US, but Spotify says it will come to more markets in the future.

Studio by Spotify Labs is a new standalone AI app that generates a daily briefing, podcasts, and playlists on your PC using chatbot prompts. The AI-generated content draws from your Spotify listening history, as well as info from apps you connect to it, like your email inbox, calendar, and notes. Spotify says its AI can also “take action on your behalf,” such as “researching topics, using a web browser, organizing information, and helping complete tasks.” Any content you generate in Studio, like a daily briefing podcast, can be saved to your Spotify library. It will be launching “in the coming weeks” as a research preview for users 18 and older. Spotify is launching other AI podcast features, too, like a chatbot available for Premium users starting today that can answer questions about the podcasts you’re listening to, such as finding timestamps for specific topics in an episode. Spotify recently began allowing users to save AI-generated podcasts from OpenClaw and Claude to their libraries, and next month it’s launching Personal Podcasts, which generates AI episodes based on users’ prompts directly inside the Spotify app. Spotify isn’t the only one promising customized AI-generated podcasts — Google has had a similar feature in NotebookLM since 2024, while Amazon and Microsoft recently launched their own AI podcast features in Alexa Plus and the Edge browser. Some users of the features swear by them as ways to quickly catch up on news or learn about new topics, but it’s unclear how many people are using them currently. However, unlike those companies, Spotify’s users are already coming to it for audio content, although not necessarily AI-generated audio. Spotify says its new Studio app is just for generating daily briefings, podcasts, and playlists, not music. I usually listen to podcasts because I want to hear what a show’s specific creators have to say about something. Would an AI-generated podcast of my next road trip itinerary be more engaging? Probably not for ...