The AI Hardware Shakeout: Four Tech Names To Watch After The Selloff

AI infrastructure stocks just got hit hard. A hot inflation print revived Fed-hike bets, analysts started downgrading hardware names, and storage, server and fiber stocks are now 15% to 45% off their highs.

Four names, very different setups, each with a catalyst close enough to matter. You get the thesis, the damage, and the risk on each.

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Foundation Models

Microsoft Completes Pretraining of a 2.8 Trillion-Parameter AI Model

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) has completed pretraining of MAI-Base-2, an in-house AI model containing 2.8 trillion total parameters. The company says the model surpassed every open-weight system included in its internal testing.

MAI-Base-2 uses a mixture-of-experts architecture that activates only 80 billion parameters for each task.

Selective activation allows the model to draw from a much larger system without using all 2.8 trillion parameters every time it produces a response.

Built on 50 Trillion Training Tokens

Microsoft trained the model using 16,000 NVIDIA GB200 GPUs over 38 days. Its training dataset contained roughly 50 trillion tokens, with the amount of unique material growing 36 percent from the earlier MAI-Base-1 model.

The dataset also included original material rather than knowledge distilled from competing AI systems. Images accounted for 18 percent of the training mixture, giving MAI-Base-2 native visual capabilities alongside text processing.

Efficiency Becomes the Main Claim

Microsoft says its training approach required between 4.2 and 12.3 times less computing power than DeepSeek-V4-Pro-Base across four evaluations.

Its updated training process was also between 6.3 and 12.7 times more compute-efficient than MAI-Base-1.

MAI-Base-2 is now entering post-training, where Microsoft will refine its behavior and specialized capabilities. Microsoft has not announced pricing or commercial availability, but work on MAI-Base-3 is already underway.

Software

Google Launches Universal Cart Across Search and Gemini

Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) has launched Universal Cart across Google Search and the Gemini app in the United States.

The new system stores products from different retailers inside one persistent cart instead of separating them across websites, browser tabs, and Google services.

Products added through AI Mode in Search remain available when shoppers later open Gemini. Universal Cart uses the Universal Commerce Protocol to connect product discovery, cart management, and checkout across participating retailers. 

The Shopping Graph Works in the Background

Universal Cart connects to Google’s Shopping Graph, which contains more than 60 billion product listings that are continually refreshed. The system monitors saved products and sends notifications when prices drop or unavailable items return to stock.

Google also uses AI reasoning to identify promotional codes and compare benefits attached to payment cards stored in Google Wallet. Relevant savings appear directly in the cart, while products from different merchants stay organized together.

Retailers Stay Inside the Transaction

Users can complete supported purchases through Google Pay without leaving Universal Cart. Products can also be transferred directly to a retailer’s website when the merchant handles checkout through its own system.

Nike, Target, Walmart, Sephora, Wayfair, Ulta Beauty, and several Shopify merchants support these simplified purchasing options.

Retailers remain responsible for sales, confirmations, and customer support, while Google provides the software that connects the shopping process.

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Smartphones

Apple Takes the iPhone Into Foldable Hardware

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) is opening preorders for iPhone Duo, its new foldable smartphone built around the company’s largest iPhone display.

The inner screen measures 7.58 inches and provides 50 percent more display space than the iPhone 18 Pro Max.

When folded, iPhone Duo uses a compact 5.4-inch outer display that retains 90 percent of the screen area found on iPhone 18 Pro. A precision-engineered hinge connects both sides and keeps the phone thin when fully opened. 

New Hardware Runs Beneath the Hinge

Apple’s A20 Pro chip powers the device, while a dual-battery architecture distributes power across its folding body. The phone also carries an IP68 rating for water and dust resistance despite the additional moving components.

Its camera system includes 48-megapixel main and ultra-wide cameras, an optical-quality 2x telephoto option, and an inner FaceTime camera.

The device can remain partially folded and support itself during video calls, photography, or media playback.

iOS Learns a New Shape

Apple redesigned iOS 27 to react as iPhone Duo opens, closes, rotates, or switches between its two displays.

Split View lets two applications run side by side, while StandBy can run on either screen without requiring the phone to be charging.

Siri AI can stay visible beside an app and use on-screen information to answer questions or complete actions.

Apple has turned the foldable display into a new software environment instead of treating it as a larger version of the existing iPhone screen.

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Everything Else

• 📊 Great stocks tend to look boring right when they matter most, and our analysts flagged 7 still building scale outside the spotlight heading into 2026.

• 🤖 ServiceNow launched its AI Passport platform, giving businesses greater control over AI agents' access to sensitive data and helping shares outperform the broader tech selloff.

• 📡 Ericsson surged on stronger quarterly results, gaining nearly 7% as improved network sales and cost reductions lifted profitability.

• 💾 Semtech raised its revenue outlook to approximately $417.5 million for its fiscal third quarter, while also increasing its adjusted earnings guidance.

• 💻 Intuit jumped more than 6% during Thursday's session as enterprise software stocks rebounded despite continued weakness among semiconductor companies.

• 🖥️ Aixtron plunged 13% in Thursday's trading, leading European technology losses as concerns about AI infrastructure spending weighed on chip-equipment suppliers.