Fortune Tech: Amazon alleged overcharging, Nissan-Honda software collab, EU ChatGPT designation

Recursion Pharmaceuticals (RXRX) shares surged 17.9% after Sanofi initiated development of drug molecules, triggering a $10M milestone payment, totaling $144M received. RXRX may earn over $300M more in milestones and royalties if approved. The collaboration, started in 2022, focuses on AI-enabled small molecule therapies in immunology and oncology. Hedge fund holdings in RXRX increased 16% QoQ to $287.9M, despite a drop in the number of funds invested.

Big Tech companies, including AWS, OpenAI, and Anthropic, are investing heavily to train and deploy specialized AI engineers, called forward-deployed engineers (FDEs), to prove AI investments are paying off. AWS committed $1 billion, OpenAI $4 billion, and Anthropic $100 million. Demand for FDEs is surging, with job postings and salaries rising significantly. Companies like Accenture and Google Cloud are also building FDE workforces.

The UK government plans to require online marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, and Temu to collect VAT from sellers with annual turnover above £90,000. This measure, expected to generate up to £1bn, aims to target overseas sellers avoiding VAT. The revenue will support business rate reductions for high street shops. Amazon welcomed the plan, estimating it could raise about £700m.

The cost of insuring against US tech defaults reached record highs, driven by concerns about AI sector credit risks. Oracle's 5-year CDS spreads were at 288 bps, while SoftBank's widened to 424 bps. CoreWeave's CDS exceeded 1,000 bps, indicating high default risk. CoreWeave's debt prices fell, with 2032 bonds yielding 16%. Other tech giants like Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, and Nvidia also saw record high CDS spreads.

The cost of insuring against US tech defaults has surged to record levels, particularly for data centers. Oracle's 5-year credit default swap spreads widened 26 bps to 288 bps, while SoftBank's spreads increased 24 bps to 424 bps. CoreWeave, a data-center operator, saw spreads exceed 1000 bps and its shares dropped 21% on Wednesday. Investors are concerned about AI's profitability and debt servicing capabilities.

The Nasdaq Composite fell 1.88% to 26,692.87 on October 14, 2026, driven by higher-than-expected inflation data and a warning from ASML about semiconductor demand. Key tech stocks like AMD, Micron, and Nvidia declined, while Apple rose 0.3%. The index is now 3.7% below its 52-week high.