Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney in Oakland, California on May, 14, 2021. (Photo: Nina Riggio/Bloomberg/Getty Images)Nina Riggio/Bloomberg/Getty Images

At long last, Epic Games and Google have reached a settlement in the U.S.

Five years ago, the maker of the popular Fortnite franchise sued Google alleging that the tech giant maintained an illegal monopoly over how users access and make purchases in apps in the Android mobile operating system. (Epic also sued Apple that year for similar reasons.)

On Tuesday, the companies jointly filed a settlement in federal court in San Francisco, agreeing to changes that lower fees and expand choice for developers and users.

The proposal still requires the approval of District Judge James Donato.

It’s been quite the journey for Donato. In 2023, the judge oversaw a jury trial that Epic won. Last year, he issued an injunction forcing Google to open its Play store to competition through a flurry of reforms. (Google subsequently appealed but failed.)

In the new proposal, Google would make it easier for users to download and install third-party app stores. It would also allow developers to direct users to alternative payment methods and cap service fees on transactions in apps distributed in the Play store. 

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney—never one to pull a punch—called the new proposal “awesome.” No word on whether he added, “GG EZ.” —AN

Things are getting testy again between China and the U.S.

As the two nations continue their spectacular competition for global AI supremacy, the Chinese government is reportedly leaning into a familiar tactic: Made in China.

According to a new Reuters report, Beijing regulators will require new data center projects that have received state funds to use domestically-made AI chips.

The mandate affects cloud computing facilities that are less than 30% complete “to remove all installed foreign chips”—that is, those made by AMD, Broadcom, Intel, and Nvidia—“or cancel plans to purchase them,” according to the report. 

Anything further along will be sorted on an individual basis.

Aggressive? You betcha—particularly since it’s been just one week since Xi Jinping and Donald Trump met in South Korea and agreed to ease some of the trade hostilities between the two nations.

This is, of course, precisely what Jensen Huang had feared. The Nvidia CEO argued earlier this year that U.S. restrictions on the export of the most advanced U.S.-made AI chips to China would backfire by encouraging the Chinese government to invest in domestic firms. 

A Chinese sort-of ban on coveted American-made chips—including products the U.S. has itself barred from export for competitive reasons—just adds more fuel to the fire. —AN

An ominous sign of weakening consumer spending in the U.S., or just jittery investors in an uncertain climate?

DoorDash shares dropped 19%, to about $193, on Wednesday—before recovering halfway—in the wake of the San Francisco delivery company’s third-quarter earnings report.

It wasn’t the company’s Q3 results that had investors scrambling. DoorDash reported quarterly revenue up 27% to $3.45 billion, above expectations of $3.36 billion. Orders jumped 21% to 776 million, besting estimates of 770 million. 

So why the drop? Q4. DoorDash said it expects adjusted EBITDA for the fourth quarter of about $760 million; Wall Street was looking for $807 million.

In the broader context of a weak earnings period for consumer food purveyors—Chipotle and Cava are trading lower than they have been all year amid signs they’re losing business from lower-income customers to home cooking—a tepid outlook for DoorDash, which has otherwise soared over the last three years, left investors feeling surprisingly hungry. —AN

—Apple will reportedly pay Google $1 billion for Gemini for use in a revamped Siri.

—AI bubble watch: Deutsche Bank may “hedge its exposure to data centers, like shorting AI stocks.”

—France gives Shein 48 hours to prove it scrubbed sex dolls from its marketplace.

—Pinterest shares drop 20% after the social media company offers a weak Q4 outlook amid tariff-related ad pullback.

—Robinhood Q3 revenue jumps 100%, to $1.27 billion, beating expectations.

—Bumble offers weaker-than-expected Q4 revenue outlook, sending shares down by as much as 17%.

—Why did Roelof Botha step down? The outgoing Sequoia Capital chief was reportedly “asked to step aside” after partners questioned his “leadership style.”