Oracle Shares Surge 6% After Laying off thousands of Employees

Posted on April 1, 2026 by Olumide Adesina

Oracle started informing workers that their positions were being eliminated. Although the company has not formally confirmed an exact global total, thousands of positions across multiple divisions—including some in Oracle Health and other units—are affected by the cuts.

Investors’ bets that Oracle is becoming leaner and more focused on its high-stakes AI ambitions are reflected in the stock’s 6% increase. In addition to positioning itself for what it (and many analysts) see as the next major growth wave in enterprise AI and cloud computing, the company hopes to offset the massive capital costs of data centers by reducing headcount.

Investors saw the action as an attempt by management to keep costs under control. Senior manager Michael Shepherd announced on LinkedIn on Tuesday that “senior engineers, architects, operations leaders, program managers, and technical specialists” had been fired.

Oracle executives have previously claimed that the company’s internal use of AI tools enables fewer employees to accomplish more tasks.

Another Oracle co-chief executive, Mike Silicia, said earlier this month, “Oracle’s use of AI coding tools is enabling smaller engineering teams to deliver more complete solutions to our customers more quickly.”

Silica noted at the time that these AI tools had aided in the creation of new techniques for automated Oracle service sales and lead generation. According to him, the company just created its new corporate logo.

It’s estimated that 10,000 employees have lost their jobs thus far due to a decline in the company’s use of Slack, Oracle’s internal messaging system. According to Shepherd, the “significant reduction in force” had nothing to do with worker performance. The impacted individuals were not released due to their actions or inactions,” he continued.

His post was one of many that detailed the layoffs. Kendall Levin, a former Oracle employee, stated on LinkedIn that she was “eliminated as part of the company’s mass reduction in force” from her position.

OpenAI Closes Record $122 Billion Funding Round at $852 Billion Valuation

Posted on April 1, 2026 by Olumide Adesina

OpenAI has closed a deal to raise $122 billion from investors at a valuation of $852 billion. This represents the company’s largest funding round to date and supports its expensive pursuit of additional chips, data centers, and talent.

Three major tech companies provided the majority of the funding after months of planning. Amazon. com, decided to contribute $50 billion to the funding round, while Nvidia and SoftBank Group Corp.

Each contributed $30 billion. Amazon’s $35 billion investment is largely dependent on OpenAI going public or achieving the technological milestone of artificial general intelligence. A long list of other notable backers, such as Andreessen Horowitz, Abu Dhabi’s MGX, and D.E, provided funding to the ChatGPT creator. TPG, Shaw Ventures, and T. Price Rowe. The funds raised are part of the company’s valuation.

The funding “blows out of the water even the largest IPO that’s ever been done,” according to OpenAI Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar. According to her, the agreement is intended to provide the company with “a lot of flexibility” to invest in computing resources and its AI roadmap during a period of increased market uncertainty, including that resulting from the Iran war.

The AI developer has previously stated that it will invest more than $1.4 trillion in physical infrastructure over the next few years to support its AI software. An overlapping group of venture funds and tech companies, including their cloud and chip suppliers like Amazon and Nvidia, has been enlisted by OpenAI and rival Anthropic PBC to fund those bets.

Ripple Teams Up with Ex-Western Union Business Convera to Boost Stablecoin Payments

Posted on April 1, 2026 by Olumide Adesina

Ripple Labs and Convera announced a partnership for international payments. The two businesses stated that they will enhance international money transfers by utilizing blockchain technology and stablecoin.

Convera operates in about 200 countries and territories and manages transactions in over 140 currencies. Western Union Business Solutions was the previous name. It changed its name to Convera after being purchased by a private equity group in 2021 for $910 million

Before joining the fintech company, its current CEO, Patrick Gauthier, oversaw Amazon Pay. The two businesses refer to the structure at the center of their collaboration as a “stablecoin sandwich.” Stablecoins manage the intermediary transfer, while fiat currency is used to initiate and complete payments.

The model is intended to provide businesses with quicker settlement without requiring them to hold or manage digital assets. Businesses want speed and flexibility, according to Aaron Slettehaugh, senior vice president of product at Ripple.

According to Gauthier, Ripple’s standing in the cryptocurrency payments industry made it an exceptional partner. “Ripple is a clear leader in the crypto space and a natural fit for Convera,” he declared in a statement.

Additionally, he mentioned that Convera has been keeping an eye on the development of the digital currency market while paying attention to what its clients require. In addition to creating and managing the XRP Ledger, Ripple also issues the U.S.-pegged RLUSD stablecoin.

The business joined the BLOOM initiative of the Singapore central bank last week. Using the XRP Ledger and RLUSD, the program is testing programmable cross-border trade settlements. The Convera agreement continues Ripple’s strategy of growing through focused alliances and comes after that announcement in Singapore

. The arrangement has instant operational scale thanks to Convera’s presence in almost all major currency markets. The financial terms and the launch date of the first live payment corridors under the agreement were not disclosed by the companies.

Tesla Buyers Face Obstacles as Stock TSLA Climbs on Margins Improvement and China Demand

Posted on March 31, 2026 by Skerdian Meta

Tesla’s stock moved higher this week, supported by strong China sales, improving margins, and a broader market rally fueled by easing geopolitical tensions. Continue reading “Tesla Buyers Face Obstacles as Stock TSLA Climbs on Margins Improvement and China Demand” →

Palantir Stock Rebounds Strongly but Faces Resistance – Can PLTR Overcome or Fail?

Posted on March 31, 2026April 1, 2026 by Skerdian Meta

Palantir’s stock is navigating a complex mix of geopolitical catalysts, strong business momentum, and rising skepticism toward AI valuations. Continue reading “Palantir Stock Rebounds Strongly but Faces Resistance – Can PLTR Overcome or Fail?” →

Dow Jones Biggest Rally Since May 2025 Despite Monthly Loss, DJIA Faces Resistance

Posted on March 31, 2026April 1, 2026 by Skerdian Meta

The anticipation that international tensions would ease fueled a broad market rise that saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average soar in its highest performance since May 2025. Continue reading “Dow Jones Biggest Rally Since May 2025 Despite Monthly Loss, DJIA Faces Resistance” →