Big tech companies are expected to spend over $1 trillion on AI infrastructure by 2028, up from approximately $593 billion in 2025. Major players like Alphabet and Amazon have increased their capital expenditure budgets for AI data centers, with Alphabet planning $85 billion and Amazon planning $118 billion for the year. Nvidia has benefited significantly from AI spending due to high demand for its GPUs, with revenue and profits growing 69% and 57% year over year, respectively. However, the article identifies three alternative investment opportunities: Marvell Technology, Micron Technology, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), which are seen as better value investments due to their roles in custom AI chips, memory solutions, and advanced chip fabrication. Marvell designs XPUs for Amazon and Microsoft, with projected $55 billion in customer spending by 2028. Micron supplies high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips to AMD, with HBM4 chips expected to offer 60% performance improvement and 20% lower power consumption. TSMC, the world's largest chip fabricator, is set to ramp up production of its 2nm process, supported by Intel's exit from next-gen fabrication and a U.S. tariff exemption due to its Arizona factory commitments. All three companies are positioned to benefit from rising AI spending, with Marvell and Micron trading at lower price-to-earnings multiples than competitors.

Artificial intelligence startup Perplexity has proposed a $34.5 billion acquisition of Google's Chrome browser, arguing that an independent operator would enhance user safety, promote open web access, and increase user choice. The bid was sent to Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai and has drawn skepticism from industry experts, who believe it significantly underestimates Chrome's value and is more of a publicity stunt than a viable transaction. Google has not responded and maintains that spinning off Chrome would harm users and weaken online security. Perplexity, valued at $18 billion in July, plans to keep Google as the default search engine in Chrome and continue supporting the open-source Chromium framework. The company has also launched its own AI-powered browser, Comet, and previously made a bid for TikTok's US operations.

Duolingo's stock declined 6.2% in the afternoon session following a previous week's significant rally driven by strong Q2 2025 earnings, which reported a 41% year-over-year revenue increase and a 46% rise in subscription revenue. The decline is attributed to competitive pressure from OpenAI's GPT-5, which demonstrated a French language app and foreign language assistance, as well as profit-taking by investors after a sharp price increase. The stock closed at $322.88, down 5.2% from the previous close. Market volatility is high, with 33 moves exceeding 5% in the past year. Weaker-than-expected U.S. labor market data, including a July Nonfarm Payrolls report showing only 73,000 jobs added (below 110,000), has increased expectations for a Federal Reserve interest rate cut in September, which could positively impact growth-oriented stocks like Duolingo. Despite the recent drop, the stock is trading 40.4% below its 52-week high of $540.68 and has declined 1% year-to-date.

The article highlights several technology and finance-related stock movements and market expectations, focusing on potential rallies or corrections for companies such as IBM, Qualcomm, AMD, CrowdStrike, Oklo, Alphabet, and Apple. It discusses market sentiment around key earnings reports, valuation tests, and investment projections, including a speculative mention of a $100B investment between Apple and Trump linked to tariffs. The piece does not provide specific financial data, dates, or detailed events beyond general market commentary.

Perplexity AI has made an unsolicited all-cash offer of $34.5 billion for Alphabet's Chrome browser, a bid significantly exceeding its own valuation. The move aims to gain access to Chrome's over three billion users to strengthen its position in the AI search market. Perplexity, founded by Aravind Srinivas, already operates an AI browser called Comet and has raised approximately $1 billion in funding from investors including Nvidia and SoftBank. The offer includes a commitment to keep Chromium open source, invest $3 billion over two years, and maintain Chrome's default search engine. Google has not responded to requests for comment and is expected to appeal a U.S. court ruling that found it held an unlawful monopoly in online search. Regulatory pressure, including a potential Chrome divestiture sought by the Justice Department, may influence the outcome. Analysts believe Google is unlikely to sell Chrome and would likely pursue a lengthy legal battle. Perplexity's bid is below the $50 billion valuation suggested by DuckDuckGo CEO Gabriel Weinberg for a forced sale.