Israel Hosts Wartime Visit by Elon Musk, Eyes Starlink for Gaza 

Tesla and SpaceX's CEO Elon Musk pauses during an in-conversation event with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in London, Britain, Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023. (Reuters)
Tesla and SpaceX's CEO Elon Musk pauses during an in-conversation event with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in London, Britain, Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023. (Reuters)
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Israel Hosts Wartime Visit by Elon Musk, Eyes Starlink for Gaza 

Tesla and SpaceX's CEO Elon Musk pauses during an in-conversation event with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in London, Britain, Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023. (Reuters)
Tesla and SpaceX's CEO Elon Musk pauses during an in-conversation event with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in London, Britain, Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023. (Reuters)

Israel hosted Elon Musk on Monday, saying it had reached an agreement in principle for using his SpaceX company's Starlink communications in the Gaza Strip, where a pause to the war against Hamas coincided with the tech entrepreneur's visit.

Musk's office has yet to comment on the trip.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog has scheduled an afternoon meeting with Musk. They will be joined by relatives of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza and will also discuss "the need to act to combat rising antisemitism online", Herzog's office said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is also due to meet Musk on Monday to discuss the security aspects of artificial intelligence and hold a live online discussion, Netanyahu's office said.

When they last met, in California on Sept. 18, Netanyahu urged Musk to strike a balance between protecting free expression and fighting hate speech after weeks of controversy over antisemitism on X - the former Twitter.

Last month, as the war raged following a Hamas killing and kidnapping spree in southern Israel, Musk proposed using Starlink to support communication links in the blackout-hit Gaza enclave with "internationally recognized aid organizations".

At the time, Israeli Communications Shlomo Karhi objected, saying "Hamas will use it (Starlink) for terrorist activities".

But in a new tack, Karhi said on Monday that Israel and Musk had reached an agreement in principle whereby "Starlink satellite units can only be operated in Israel with the approval of the Israeli Ministry of Communications, including the Gaza Strip".

In an X post addressed to Musk, Karhi said he hoped the visit to Israel "will serve as a springboard for future endeavors, as well as enhance your relationship with the Jewish people and values we share with the entire world".

Musk has said he is against antisemitism and anything that "promotes hate and conflict" - including on X.

Antisemitism and Islamophobia have risen worldwide, including during the seven-week-old Gaza war. Israel and Hamas are now in a temporary truce, with some Gaza hostages and Palestinians held by Israel for security offences going free.

On Nov. 15, Musk agreed with a post on X that falsely claimed Jewish people were stoking hatred against white people, saying the user who referenced the "Great Replacement" conspiracy theory was speaking "the actual truth".

The White House condemned what it called an "abhorrent promotion of antisemitic and racist hate" that "runs against our core values as Americans".

Major US companies including Walt Disney, Warner Bros Discovery and NBCUniversal parent Comcast paused their advertisements on his social media site.

The "Great Replacement" conspiracy theory holds that Jewish people and leftists are engineering the ethnic and cultural replacement of white populations with non-white immigrants that will lead to a "white genocide."

Following the outbreak of the Gaza war, antisemitic incidents in the United States rose by nearly 400% from the year-earlier period, according to the Anti-Defamation League, a nonprofit organization that fights antisemitism.

Musk has said X should be a platform for people to post diverse viewpoints, but the company will limit the distribution of certain posts that may violate its policies, calling the approach "freedom of speech, not reach".



Dell Raises Forecasts as Demand Surges for Nvidia Powered AI Servers 

The logo of Dell Technologies at the Milipol Paris in Villepinte near Paris, France, November 15, 2023. (Reuters)
The logo of Dell Technologies at the Milipol Paris in Villepinte near Paris, France, November 15, 2023. (Reuters)
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Dell Raises Forecasts as Demand Surges for Nvidia Powered AI Servers 

The logo of Dell Technologies at the Milipol Paris in Villepinte near Paris, France, November 15, 2023. (Reuters)
The logo of Dell Technologies at the Milipol Paris in Villepinte near Paris, France, November 15, 2023. (Reuters)

Dell Technologies raised its annual revenue and profit forecasts on Thursday, buoyed by demand for its AI-optimized servers that are powered by Nvidia's powerful chips, sending its shares up about 3% in extended trading.

Dell's infrastructure solutions group, which includes Nvidia-powered servers, surged 38% to a record revenue of $11.65 billion in the second quarter.

The company's servers are engineered to handle AI systems' intense computational demands, including training large language models.

"Enterprise remains a significant opportunity for us, as many are still in the early stages of AI adoption," Chief Operating Officer Jeff Clarke said in a post-earnings call.

Clarke said that Dell sees an emerging opportunity in "sovereign AI" by leveraging the company's strong relationships with governments globally.

Nvidia on Wednesday said nations building AI models in their own languages were turning to its chips, and that this would contribute about low double-digit billions to its revenue in the financial year ending in January 2025.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang called out the partnership with Dell earlier this year, saying they were helping businesses create their own "AI factories."

Dell's stock has risen 45% this year.

Dell said on Thursday it now expects annual revenue outlook to be between $95.5 billion and $98.5 billion, up from $93.5 billion and $97.5 billion previously. It also raised its annual adjusted profit per share forecast to $7.80, plus or minus 25 cents.

Demand for its AI-optimized servers rose about 23% sequentially to $3.2 billion in the second quarter. The backlog for these AI servers was $3.8 billion.

"Our pipeline has grown to several multiples of our backlog," Clarke said in a statement.

Revenue for the second quarter ended Aug. 2 rose about 9% to $25.03 billion, beating analysts' average estimate of $24.14 billion, according to LSEG data. It reported adjusted profit per share of $1.89 per share, compared with estimates of $1.71 per share.

While AI server demand soared, Dell's PC business struggled, losing market share to rivals. However, a strong refresh cycle for

AI PCs are expected next year after Microsoft ends support for Windows 10.

Revenue for the client solutions group - home to PCs - fell about 4% to $12.41 billion.

"Dell lost PC shipment shares in key markets in the second quarter. It is the top vendor in the US business market, but its competitors have shown growth and gained more shares than they did a year ago," said Mikako Kitagawa, director analyst at Gartner.

The company took a $328 million charge for workforce reductions in the second quarter.

Separately, Reuters exclusively reported earlier on Thursday that Dell is again exploring a possible sale of cybersecurity firm SecureWorks, following previous unsuccessful attempts to find a buyer.