Consumer Tech News (Sep. 15 – Sep. 19): Fed Rate Cut Lifts Wall Street To Records As Meta Unveils Smart Glasses, Nvidia-Intel Forge Chip Pact – Robo.ai (NASDAQ:AIIO), Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)

U.S. stocks surged to fresh record highs after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates for the first time in nine months and hinted at more easing ahead.

The S&P 500, Nasdaq 100, Dow Jones, and Russell 2000 all closed at all-time highs.

On the corporate front, Meta unveiled two new smart glasses at its Connect 2025 event, while Nvidia and Intel announced a major partnership to jointly develop future data center and PC products.

See Also: Trump To Seal US-UK Tech Pact On AI, Chips And Quantum Computing During London Visit: Report

Earnings

General Mills, Inc. GIS reported  first-quarter adjusted earnings per share came in at 86 cents per share, topping analyst estimates of 81 cents per share, while revenue of $4.52 billion edged past projections of $4.51 billion.

FedEx Corporation FDX reported  first-quarter adjusted earnings per share of $3.83, beating the consensus estimate of $3.62. In addition, FedEx reported sales of $22.20 billion, beating the consensus estimate of $21.66 billion.

Darden Restaurants, Inc. DRI  reported first-quarter adjusted earnings per share of $1.97, missing the analyst consensus estimate of $2.00. Quarterly sales of $3.004 billion missed the Street view of $3.040 billion.

Technology

Meta Platforms, Inc. META unveiled two new smart glasses at its Connect 2025 event: the $499 Oakley Meta Vanguard for athletes and the $799 Ray-Ban Display with built-in AR features.

U.S. President Donald Trump said he and Chinese President Xi Jinping made progress on a TikTok deal and agreed to meet in South Korea in just over a month.

Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN said it has expanded its multi-channel fulfillment or MCF to support sellers on SHEIN, Shopify Inc SHOP, and Walmart Inc WMT. The program already connects with eBay, Etsy, Temu, and TikTok Shop.

Reddit, Inc. RDDT is in early discussions with Alphabet Inc’s GOOG GOOGL Google to renegotiate its content-sharing agreement, seeking a structure that better captures the growing value of its data for search and generative artificial intelligence applications.

NVIDIA Corporation NVDA is in advanced talks to make a $500 million investment in the U.K. autonomous driving startup Wayve, signaling a strategic expansion of its influence in the thriving artificial intelligence sector.

Nvidia and Intel Corporation INTC announced a major partnership on Thursday to co-develop multiple generations of custom data center and PC products.

Alphabet’s Google has opened a major data center in Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire, as part of a 5 billion pounds (~$6.818 billion), two-year investment plan in the United Kingdom. The new hub is intended to power the nation’s growing demand for artificial intelligence and cloud services.

Broadcom Inc. AVGO has expanded its long-running partnership with Lloyds Banking Group through a multi-year agreement aimed at accelerating the bank’s digital transformation strategy.

CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. CRWD unveiled new AI-security moves alongside Nvidia and disclosed a deal to acquire AI security firm Pangea.

The launch of Apple Inc. AAPL iPhone 17 series in China, India on September 19 has seen an enthusiastic response, with the Pro Max model leading the sales.

Alibaba Group Holding Limited BABA is intensifying its challenge to U.S. technology leaders with the debut of a high-performance processor designed to rival Nvidia’s H20 graphics chip, alongside an open-source artificial intelligence agent positioned against OpenAI’s Deep Research platform.

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. WBD announced that it will extend its global streaming footprint next month, bringing HBO Max to 14 additional Asia Pacific markets on October 15.

SoundHound AI, Inc. SOUN has agreed to acquire Interactions Corporation, a privately held artificial intelligence company focused on customer service and workflow orchestration, in a deal valued at up to $85 million.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company TSM said that construction of its second advanced packaging plant in Chiayi County remains on schedule, countering reports that the project had been suspended and its equipment diverted to the U.S.

Robo.ai Inc AIIO announced a strategic investment in Arkreen through the DePIN technology firm aitos.io, aiming to connect artificial intelligence and blockchain infrastructure.

Artificial Intelligence

AI-generated campaign videos featuring U.S. President Donald Trump, billionaire Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos made headlines in India after they were used to influence voting in Delhi University’s student elections.

Softbank Group Corp (SFTBY) plan to form a joint venture with OpenAI to deliver artificial intelligence services to corporate customers in Japan has fallen significantly behind schedule. 

Mark Zuckerberg has acknowledged the possibility of an AI-driven market bubble, comparing today’s frenzy to the dot-com era, but said failing to invest aggressively would be an even bigger mistake.

Automobile

Ford Motor Company F confirmed plans to cut up to 1,000 jobs at its electric vehicle plant in Cologne, Germany.

Tesla, Inc. TSLA has been given the green light to start testing self-driving robotaxi cars with safety monitors in Arizona. This is another step in the company’s effort to roll out its ride-hailing services across the country.

Tesla’s Gigafactory near Berlin in Germany has said that it would adjust its production figures, anticipating a surge in demand during the third and fourth quarters of the year.

Tesla is considering a redesign for the electronic door handles on its vehicles amid NHTSA’s probe into the door handles’ safety risk.

Uber Technologies, Inc. UBER partnered with Flytrex to launch its first drone delivery program, expanding Uber’s logistics strategy.

XPeng Inc. XPEV is taking the flying car dream seriously. Its Advanced Air Mobility subsidiary, AeroHT, is pushing the envelope on modular eVTOLs, blending intelligent vehicles with electric vertical takeoff-and-landing aircraft.

Lyft, Inc. LYFT announced it will partner with Waymo to roll out autonomous ride-hailing services in Nashville in 2026, sending the stock soaring after the announcement.

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