The Nintendo Switch posted impressive out-of-the-gate sales, and could potentially outsell the life-to-date numbers of its predecessor within its first year. Put another way: Nintendo Switch, in one month, sold more hardware than the Wii U did in its first year. Whether Switch will top the first year sales of the storied Nintendo Wii is still questionable. While Nintendo has called Switch “the fastest selling console” it has ever made, the Wii sold 5.84 million units in its first two quarters. I

Apple previously held talks with banks about such a service back in 2015, but did not end up launching anything. Apple is looking for new ways to boost usage of Apple Pay and the debit card could be one way to do that. Long-time Apple analyst Gene Munster recently told the Wall Street Journal that he estimates Apple saw $36 billion in 2016 Apple Pay transactions, well below his original prediction of $207 billion. Apple charges banks 0.15 percent of each Apple Pay credit card transaction in the

Tesla executive Klaus Grohmann was ousted last month after a clash with Chief Executive Elon Musk over the strategy of Grohmann’s firm, which Tesla had acquired in November, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. At the time of the purchase, it described Klaus Grohmann and the company he founded as a “world leader in highly automated manufacturing”. Reached by phone, Klaus Grohmann declined to comment on the circumstances of his leaving, citing confidentiality clauses. As pressure grew

Facebook is pressing its enforcement against what it calls “information operations” — bad actors who use the platform to spread fake news and false propaganda. The company said Thursday it’s adding new technologies to find fake accounts and detect abuse on its platform. In particular, Facebook will improve security around data hacks and “fake amplification,” instances when false accounts spread incorrect information in order to manipulate public opinion. Other previous improvements have allowed

“I think this could decimate start-ups,” Altman said. But Altman disagreed, noting that power companies do not charge different rates for powering light switches and toasters. He said that internet companies should have to compete based on who is the best, not who is favored by regulation. “This is critical to the internet,” Altman said. Disclosure: Comcast, an internet service provider, is CNBC’s parent company.

Apple Music chief Jimmy Iovine was already an Apple veteran when he sold Beats for $3 billion in 2014. “I’ve always known in my heart that Beats belonged with Apple,” Iovine had said in a statement after the acquisition. But the Netflix talks provide an interesting tidbit, considering that Iovine said earlier this year that Apple Music has “nothing to do with what Netflix is doing.” Variety asked if he sees Apple Music attempting to become competitive with Netflix, and he replied. Apple’s Eddy C

Its life-sciences arm Verily, anti-aging initiative Calico, urban planning group Sidewalk, and investment arms GV and CapitalG are all aggressively hiring health professionals. In a letter to shareholders before earnings on Thursday, Alphabet Google cofounder Larry Page put these initiatives in the spotlight. Page describes Calico, the most mysterious of Google’s other bets, as a “research and development company,” rather than a pharmaceutical or biotech company. When it comes to its other healt

Microsoft’s cloud business is likely to unlock a powerful profit stream for the business over the next few years, according to analyst Michael Nemeroff. Nemeroff, a banker at Credit Suisse, wrote that Microsoft is in the early innings of its commercial cloud business, while Office 365 also has the potential for revenue and profit growth. Microsoft’s cloud services, Azure, currently leads the market, beat only by Amazon’s Web Services as far as revenue. Salesforce is another “colossus of the clou

Google may be Larry Page’s best-known project, but it’s Alphabet’s “other bets” that took the spotlight in his 2016 shareholder letter. “The new structure has helped entrepreneurs build and run companies with the autonomy and speed they need,” he wrote. I also think we have learned a lot about how to set up new companies with a structure for success,” Page wrote. Page also highlighted the connection between Google’s core search business and Alphabet’s wide-reaching swath of kooky projects: artif

Artificial intelligence (AI) is the wave of the future, the influential technologist told CNBC, calling it the “singular thing that will be larger than all of human tech revolutions added together, including electricity, [the] industrial revolution, internet, mobile internet — because AI is pervasive.” “It is the decision engine that will replace people,” Lee said, adding that AI capabilities far exceed those of humanity. “These are things that are superhuman, and we think this will be in every

Facebook says some groups tried to use its platform to sway the outcome of the U.S. presidential election. The case study was included in Facebook’s white paper on “information operations.” It also detected fake accounts created to share this private information, as well as pages to further propagate news accounts sharing the stolen content. Because of the boost in attention, other real accounts began to share the private information as well, Facebook said. Facebook also acknowledged it saw grou

The Class of 2017 will graduate into one of the rosiest job markets in recent memory. But that doesn’t mean they can expect the job offers to pour in. Three-quarters of employers plan to hire recent college grads this year, up from 67 percent last year, according to a new survey from CareerBuilder. Companies expect to pay those entry-level workers more, too. CareerBuilder polled 2,380 hiring managers and HR professionals during mid-February to early March, with a margin of error of plus or minus

Anthony Levandowski, the head of Uber’s self-driving efforts, is stepping away from his role “through the remainder of the Waymo litigation,” according to a letter that he sent to staff. “As you know, I currently don’t provide input on detailed LiDAR design choices,” Levandowski wrote. “But making this organizational change means I will have absolutely no oversight over or input into our LiDAR work. Levandowski is at the center of a lawsuit levied against Uber by his former employer, Alphabet. C

The company said first quarter ad sales on its properties rose 21 percent during the period, while those on its partners’ sites climbed just 8.6 percent. Google’s own sales now comprise 81 percent of the ad revenue derived from its online network, at $17.4 billion, up from 71 percent a year ago. Total ad sales from all sources rose almost 19 percent to $21.4 billion. “The increase in (Google) sites revenue reflects healthy growth in mobile search,” Alphabet CFO Ruth Porat said on a conference ca

Amazon’s strong first quarter earnings can be partially attributed to international growth in India, a country that Netflix also needs to boost its subscriber numbers. Amazon posted higher than expected revenue of $35.7 billion on Thursday, compared to a $35.3 billion Thomson Reuters consensus estimate. Bezos credited India as one of the reasons for its success in a press release, pointing out the company announced 18 Indian original TV series. Many have to look overseas in highly populated regi

Microsoft just reported earnings for the quarter ended March 31, and the stock dipped about 1.5% on a slight revenue miss. Surface revenue dropped 26% to $831 million, its lowest figure in more than a year, in part because of more competition from other similar devices and ahead of expected new models expected out later this year. Microsoft said it was encouraged by sales of devices from other manufacturers — revenue from sales of Windows to other manufacturers was up 5% in constant currency, ah

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt will not attend an Oklahoma Republican Party fundraising event over concerns the appearance would run afoul of a federal law. Pruitt, the former Oklahoma attorney general, had been slated to keynote the annual Oklahoma Republican Party Gala. The organizers billed the appearance as “a once in a lifetime event” to hear from the current EPA chief. On Tuesday, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse said the language in the invitation amounted to “a brand o

Sen. Heitkamp: Don’t think there will be government shutdown, deal has been done 3 Hours Ago | 03:44A deal between Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill to avert a government shutdown is “pretty much done,” Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., told CNBC on Thursday. Earlier Thursday, Sen. Mitch McConnell said theSenate expects to pass a short-term funding bill ahead of the late Friday deadline to keep the government open. Heitkamp said after a couple of big concessions were made, the path for a deal

Alphabet, the public holding company of Google, makes most of its money from advertising in its core search function and on YouTube. Those ads made headlines over the last two months after The Times of London’s investigation found Google’s YouTube video site ran ads for major brands next to neo-Nazi and jihadist videos. In response, major brands around the world like AT&T and Johnson & Johnson announced they would suspend some digital advertising as Google made changes to its system. Traffic acq

Amazon reported first-quarter sales and earnings that topped analyst estimates, as the company’s e-commerce and cloud-computing businesses continued to take business from rivals. The stock climbed 4.7 percent after hours. Sales jumped 23 percent to $35.7 billion and earnings per share climbed to $1.48 from $1.07. AWS sales increased 42 percent to $3.66 billion, even as the company slashed prices. Unlike Amazon’s retail business, AWS turns a big profit, giving CEO Jeff Bezos more of a cushion to