Business & Media Markets

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Media Giant Mulls Sale

Warner Bros. Discovery said yesterday it is weighing a full or partial sale after receiving unsolicited interest. The news comes roughly four months after the conglomerate announced plans to split its struggling cable networks from its more profitable studio and streaming arms, creating two publicly traded companies. The HBO and CNN parent company did not disclose potential buyers, but Skydance Media founder David Ellison has reportedly expressed interest. Ellison, the son of Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison, acquired CBS owner Paramount for roughly $8B in August, forming Paramount Skydance. He also bought conservative news startup The Free Press for about $150M this month. Streaming company Netflix and NBC owner Comcast are reportedly interested parties as well. Explore how the media industry has consolidated over the last quarter-century here. Warner Bros. Discovery said it will continue working toward splitting the company by mid-2026 as it evaluates offers. Separately, the company yesterday raised prices for HBO Max streaming plans. Shares closed up 11%.

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? Hollywood's big bidding war

Data: Financial Modeling Prep. Chart: Kavya Beheraj/Axios A trio of Hollywood power players submitted bids to buy all or part of Warner Bros. Discovery yesterday, launching a dramatic and historic media merger fight, Axios Media Trends author Sara Fischer writes. Why it matters: In a hyper-competitive streaming environment, scale matters. WBD includes the nation's top-performing movie studio this year (Warner Bros. Pictures), a prestige streamer (HBO Max) and a major news network (CNN). ? Zoom in: WBD's board set a deadline for takeover bids that expired yesterday and received three different propositions, sources confirmed to Axios. Paramount, which already owns a top movie studio (Paramount Pictures), a major streamer (Paramount+), a broadcaster (CBS) and a slew of cable networks, has submitted a bid for all of WBD, including its cable channels like CNN and TBS. Netflix — which doesn't own a movie studio or TV networks, but has one of the largest subscription streaming bases in the world — submitted a bid solely for WBD's streaming and studio businesses. Comcast, which also owns a top movie studio in Universal, similarly is vying solely for WBD's streaming and studios businesses. Between the lines: President Trump is seen as favoring a Paramount bid over one by Comcast, given his alliance with Paramount CEO David Ellison's father Larry Ellison — and his public disdain for Comcast boss Brian Roberts. Keep reading.

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? Stat du jour

Illustration: Maura Losch/Axios

Eli Lilly reached a market valuation of $1 trillion in trading yesterday, becoming the first health care company and only non-tech company other than Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (counting Tesla as tech) in the trillion-dollar club. Since the launch of its flagship obesity drug, Zepbound, two years ago, Lilly's shares have risen more than 75%, Axios' Jeffrey Cane writes. Go deeper.

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Young investors on the clock

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

While blue-collar workers try to reclaim pensions, young Americans are increasingly planning for retirement by investing in the stock market while putting off homeownership, Axios markets reporter Madison Mills writes. By the numbers: About a third of 25-year-olds have investment accounts today, a sixfold increase from a decade ago. ? Financial assets and investments are "taking a bigger share" of the wealth picture for young people, says George Eckerd, research director at JPMorgan Chase Institute. Zoom in: While stocks can be volatile, housing values have (mostly) remained strong. ? Homeownership accounts for nearly half of Americans' wealth, and a home is the average American's most valuable asset. Reality check: The barriers to homeownership keep rising, while investing has never been easier or cheaper. Trading doesn't require credit checks, brokers, paperwork or a huge down payment — just a few clicks from your phone and a few hundred dollars. What to watch: It may not be that young people have abandoned housing as a wealth builder; it's just unaffordable right now, Eckerd says. That could change as interest rates fall. Go deeper.

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Netflix to acquire Warner Bros. studio and streaming business for $72 billion

NEW YORK (AP) — Netflix struck a deal Friday to buy Warner Bros. Discovery, the Hollywood giant behind “Harry Potter” and HBO Max, in a $72 billion deal that would bring together two of the biggest players in television and film and potentially reshape the entertainment industry.

https://apnews.com/article/netflix-warner-acquisition-studio-hbo-streaming-f4884402cadfd07a99af0c8e4353bd83?

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Paramount goes hostile in bid for Warner Bros., challenging a $72 billion offer by Netflix

NEW YORK (AP) — Paramount on Monday launched a hostile takeover offer for Warner Bros. Discovery, initiating a potentially bruising battle with rival bidder Netflix to buy the company behind HBO, CNN and a famed movie studio along with the power to reshape much of the nation’s entertainment landscape.

https://apnews.com/article/paramount-warner-bros-discovery-netflix-trump-347540ae7a4f83fced833fe882f25680?

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Warner Bros recommends investors reject Paramount’s offer in favor of Netflix’s

NEW YORK (AP) — Warner Bros. Discovery is recommending its shareholders reject an unsolicited buyout offer from Paramount Skydance in favor of a rival bid from Netflix it said will better serve their interests and the entertainment company’s audiences.

https://apnews.com/article/warner-bros-paramount-skydance-netflix-d025a585f7a77cb9d8b066e65576101f?

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Ellisons' media power test

Photo illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios. Photos: Chris Kleponis and Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Once the dealmaking dust settles, the father and son duo of Larry and David Ellison will face an even bigger obstacle: proving they can run a sprawling media empire, Axios' Christine Wang writes. The Ellisons' portfolio spans CBS News, Paramount Pictures, and a piece of TikTok U.S. — and if they ultimately win the battle for Warner Bros. Discovery, could add CNN and HBO. Paramount has already cut splashy deals, including UFC rights, after closing its merger with Skydance. ?️ The big picture: There are plenty of difficult macro trends to navigate, including falling linear TV ad revenue, heavy spending on streaming, fierce competition for costly live sports rights, and a domestic box office that hasn't returned to pre-pandemic highs. Keep reading.

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> US stock markets continue decline Friday (S&P 500 -1.3%, Dow -1.0%, Nasdaq -1.6%) on weak February job numbers, concern over fallout from Iran war (More)

> Media conglomerate Axel Springer to acquire Telegraph Media Group for nearly $770M (More)

> Investment platform Robinhood debuts publicly listed fund allowing retail investors to buy into a portfolio of privately held startups; shares fall 16% on first day of trading (More)

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👩‍💻 Anthropic pulls ahead

Data: Ramp. Chart: Madison Mills/Axios Anthropic passed OpenAI in business adoption in April for the first time, Madison Mills reports from Ramp's latest AI Index. 📈 By the numbers: Anthropic adoption among businesses using Ramp, an expense management tool, rose 3.8%, to 34.4% overall. OpenAI adoption fell 2.9%, to 32.3%. 🤖 It's a notable plot twist in the AI world, where OpenAI was once viewed as the category leader. Yet OpenAI remains a giant consumer brand — and has said that it's on pace to generate more revenue than Anthropic this year. An OpenAI spokesperson tells Axios: "We are driving enterprise transformation at scale. These are not engagements where customers pay with a credit card," referring to how Ramp acquires its data. Go deeper.

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⚡️Deal to watch: Utility mega-merger

Illustration: Allie Carl/Axios

America's biggest utility company, Florida-based NextEra, is near a deal to combine with Richmond-based Dominion Energy in what the Financial Times says would be "one of the largest deals of all time." The announcement could come as soon as tomorrow, The Wall Street Journal reports. Why it matters: The merger would create a $400 billion behemoth at a time of roaring demand for electricity to power AI data centers. NextEra has announced ambitious plans to generate power for data centers, including through partnerships with Google. Dominion is one of two electricity providers in Loudoun County, home of Data Center Alley. Keep reading: WSJ gift link ... FT gift link.

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• 🔌 U.S. power giants NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy announced plans to merge, marking the modern AI era's largest electricity deal by far and creating what the companies called the "world's largest regulated electric utility." Go deeper.

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😳 AI sticker shock hits corporate America

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Stock: Getty Images

Corporate leaders are starting to question whether soaring AI spending is delivering meaningful returns, Axios' Madison Mills writes. Why it matters: Companies that rushed to embrace AI are now confronting ballooning IT costs, uncertain productivity gains and growing employee skepticism. Uber's COO said AI costs are getting "harder to justify." Microsoft canceled most of its Claude Code licenses, in part over costs, according to The Verge. An AI consultant tells Axios one of their clients recently spent half a billion dollars in a single month after failing to put usage limits on Claude licenses for employees. Companies are citing AI's ability to automate jobs as a cause for layoffs. Anuj Kapur, CEO of CloudBees, told Axios that workforce cuts may be "the only lever they can pull" to offset their AI bills. 💸 What's happening: The enterprise is undergoing a "healthy swing" away from AI overuse — or "tokenmaxxing," the push to burn as many AI tokens as possible — Ali Ansari, CEO of model training firm Micro1, told Axios. He hopes this correction will push companies toward more efficient AI use.

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🤖 Anthropic drops big Claude update

Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios 🚀 Bulletin! Anthropic today passed OpenAI as the world's most valuable AI startup: Anthropic said it raised $65 billion at a $900 billion valuation, putting it ahead of OpenAI's $730 billion. —N.Y. Times Also today, Anthropic released Claude Opus 4.8, an upgrade to its flagship AI model with better coding and knowledge work skills, Axios' Madison Mills reports. 💪 The company says Opus 4.8 beats competitors on several key benchmarks, including agentic coding, reasoning, financial analysis and knowledge work. It scores well on "prosocial" traits, like supporting user autonomy and acting in users' best interest. "One of the most prominent improvements in Opus 4.8 is its honesty," Anthropic says. "Early testers report that Opus 4.8 is more likely to flag uncertainties about its work and less likely to make unsupported claims." ✨ Opus 4.8 underperforms Mythos, Anthropic's most advanced model. The company says Mythos-class models are expected "in the coming weeks." Go deeper ...

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OpenAI sees bio as the next cyber

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

OpenAI is launching a tool to help develop new biodefense and pandemic preparedness capabilities, according to an announcement shared first with Axios' Maria Curi. Why it matters: AI has massive implications for biosecurity, including the creation of biological weapons. OpenAI's new Rosalind Biodefense Program will offer its GPT-Rosalind model for life sciences research to "trusted developers" operationalizing biodefense tools. 👓 What's next: OpenAI said it briefed the White House and several federal agencies, and is in the process of involving public-health-focused federal offices.

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🏷️ CEOs go AI bargain hunting

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios Yesterday, Axios' Madison Mills told you about how corporate leaders are getting squeamish about ballooning AI bills. This morning, she explains how they're adjusting: Corporations are looking to offload AI tasks to cheaper models as usage blows out IT budgets and returns on investment haven't solidified. Why it matters: The search for cheaper subscriptions could threaten the three biggest AI labs' near-trillion-dollar valuations right as they near record IPOs. 🚀 NEW: SpaceX is targeting a valuation of at least $1.8 trillion in its IPO, down from the original goal of $2 trillion, Bloomberg scoops (gift link). Anthropic raised $65 billion in its latest funding round, pushing its valuation to $965 billion yesterday and eclipsing OpenAI's latest valuation of $730 billion. As executives grow concerned about their AI costs — closely monitoring usage or even switching to cheaper models — the tension could pressure the revenue projections of these AI companies.

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Nvidia's new frontier

The company best known for powering the AI boom is coming for the PC: Next week, Nvidia is expected to debut the first Windows computers that use its chips as the main processor, sources confirm to Axios' Ina Fried.

• Why it matters: Microsoft's first AI PC push stumbled. But Nvidia's arrival gives it a second chance, this time with the world's hottest chipmaker attached.

Nvidia and Microsoft will unveil their joint work and the first computers running the chips at two key industry conferences — the Computex trade show in Taiwan and Microsoft's Build developer conference in San Francisco.

• Nvidia-powered PCs are expected from both Microsoft's homegrown Surface brand and other computer makers, including Dell, sources confirmed.

Microsoft is also expected to debut software that makes it easier for people to have AI agents do work locally on their Windows computer.

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💸 Anthropic's IPO lead

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Anthropic looks like the strongest of the three AI giants aiming to go public this year with $1 trillion-plus valuations, at least for now, Axios' Lucinda Shen and Madison Mills write: Anthropic — which filed to go public yesterday — is on track for nearly $50 billion in annual revenue and its first ever profitable quarter. Anthropic keeps beating its own growth metrics, while competitor OpenAI is reportedly missing internal revenue targets. Both are growing faster than SpaceX, whose AI business is now driven by compute sales to Anthropic. Anthropic is the fastest-growing company in modern American history. 🥊 Reality check: The AI race has seen leadership change every few months. Companies — Anthropic's biggest customers — are waking up to how much they're spending on Claude. If they dial down AI spending, that could weaken the AI lab's revenue just as it prepares to go public. Go deeper: Anthropic faces AI spending backlash … Get Axios Pro Deals. 💰 Speaking of AI riches: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) argues in a New York Times op-ed that the public should own half of America's biggest AI companies. Sanders says he'll introduce the American A.I. Sovereign Wealth Fund Act, to impose a one-time 50% tax on OpenAI, Anthropic and xAI — paid with their stock. "Since AI is built on the collective knowledge of humanity, the wealth it generates must benefit humanity," Sanders writes. Keep reading (gift link).

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🤖 Startup brings AI to real world

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Stock: Getty Images

Morph, an AI company coming out of stealth today, says it's tackling one of the next frontiers in technology: not just bringing it to the physical world, but in a way that flexibly adapts — inspired by the octopus. Why it matters: Today's LLMs, as fast as they're advancing, still haven't fully bridged the gap to the way we move and build. How it works: Morph, based in London, describes itself as a "physically intelligent soft robotics platform." It says it's launching the "world's first shape-shifting soft robotics cells platform to bring physical AI into real-world applications." The company's investors include Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale's 8VC and Equinox Group executive chairman Harvey Spevak, among others.

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📈 Jensen Huang's hot stock tip

Data: Financial Modeling Prep. Chart: Emily Peck/Axios Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said yesterday that Marvell Technology is the "next trillion-dollar company," and investors listened: The stock soared nearly 33% in a day, writes Axios' Emily Peck. Why it matters: As leader of the most valuable company in the world, Huang is one of a select few who can move markets simply by saying stuff — a kingmaker of sorts. Speaking at a trade show alongside Marvell CEO Matt Murphy, Huang said the company's chips were "essential" to data centers. Shares of Marvell — which makes semiconductors and high-speed networking technology used in data centers — jumped to $290.79 from $219.43 the day before. Its market cap shot up to just under $250 billion. Last year, it was $53 billion. Screenshot: @sama/X OpenAI CEO Sam Altman — who endorsed the executive order on AI that President Trump signed yesterday — will be in D.C. today for meetings at the White House, and with House and Senate leaders of both parties. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) told CNN he'll meet with Altman today at Altman's request. Sanders on Monday proposed a one-time 50% tax on AI companies (paid in stock) to create an American AI sovereign wealth fund.

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AI could start evolving on its own

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Stock: Getty Images Anthropic believes that AI may soon be able to advance itself autonomously, Axios' Ashley Gold reports. Co-founder Jack Clark writes today in a blog post: "In the near future, AI systems could become capable enough to autonomously design, build and train more capable successors on their own." "If that happens, each new version of Claude could be built by the version before it, without human involvement." 🦾 The company says that its latest research shows that process — recursive self-improvement — may come sooner than expected. Clark tells Axios in an interview: "We've always found that the best thing to do is to socialize the concept and basically give people a sense of what's coming." "As organizations and eventually probably as societies," Clark continued, "we need to figure out the tools to validate and verify that the stuff being done by these AI systems is correct and is aligned with human intentions, aligned with a thriving society." 🤖 What's next: Anthropic plans to engage lawmakers about recursive self-improvement. Read the post, "When AI builds itself" ...

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💻 Anthropic inside NSA

Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios

Anthropic is helping the National Security Agency use Mythos AI — its most powerful model — for offensive cyber operations, the Financial Times reports ($). The AI company installed about half a dozen staff within the NSA as forward-deployed engineers to guide the use of the technology and customize models for specific applications, the FT says. 🥊 Anthropic is still fighting the Pentagon, which oversees the NSA, in court over its designation as a "supply chain risk." I'm told the White House wants that resolved.