FTI Consulting News Bytes – 14 March 2025

FTI Consulting News Bytes

We start the week with Intel’s appointment of a new CEO, tasked with spearheading the company’s latest turnaround effort. We then move to a group of North Korean hackers who successfully cashed out $300 million from the record-breaking $1.5 billion crypto heist of ByBit Exchange before considering the latest hype in AI, Manus, an “agentic” AI platform that has captured industry attention. Finally, the Financial Times considers the outlook for gaming and also reports on Amazon, Google and Meta’s call for more nuclear capacity by 2050. 

This week’s news

All change at Intel

Wall Street cheered news of Lip-Bu Tan becoming Intel’s new CEO with shares rising by 13% following the news. Deutsche Bank analyst Ross Seymore called the appointment a “desirable outcome.” Tan’s semiconductor industry experience and prior board position also prime him to “meet the demands” of the role, he added. Tan previously served as CEO of chip software maker and Intel supplier, Cadence Design Systems and will rejoin the board after departing last year. He replaces interim co-CEOs David Zinsner and MJ Holthaus who took over the helm after former CEO Pat Gelsinger was ousted in December. CNBC add the news “brings an end to a tumultuous period for the once iconic American semiconductor company that’s shed billions in market value as it has largely sat out the AI boom that has lifted the broader industry.” 

Crypto heist hackers cash out

A group of North Korean hackers have successfully cashed out $300 million from the record-breaking $1.5 billion crypto heist of ByBit Exchange that occurred last week. The BBC reports that Lazarus Group, believed to be working for the North Korean government, was able to convert some of the funds into usable cash. ByBit CEO Ben Zhou has remained defiant, stating they are now “waging war on Lazarus” and announcing a bounty programme to trace $90 million still said to be missing. North Korea is said to be the only country in the world using hacking powers for financial gain.

Manus – is it worth the hype?

Manus is an “agentic” AI platform that last week, launched in preview. Praise from industry figures includes “the most impressive AI tool I’ve ever tried”, “the most sophisticated computer using AI.” Its discord server has swelled to 138,000 members in just a few days. Invite codes are reportedly selling for thousands on Chinese reseller apps. TechCrunch however, says it’s “not clear the hype is justified.” Alexander Doria, the co-founder of AI startup Pleias, said in a post on X that he encountered error messages and endless loops while testing Manus. Other X users pointed out that Manus makes mistakes on factual questions and doesn’t consistently cite its work — and often misses information that’s easily found online. TechCrunch, via its own testing, found that it could sometimes fail straightforward requests such as “order a fried chicken sandwich from a top-rated fast food joint in my delivery range.” They conclude the platform as it currently stands, “appears to be a case of hype running ahead of technological innovation.”

Gaming investors risk missing forest for trees

The Financial Times’ Lex Column argues that despite the recent sell-off, the broader outlook for gaming remains strong. The latest escalation in US tariffs present a “rare challenge” that raises concerns over cost pressures and supply chain disruptions, they say. Tariffs on Chinese goods are a direct threat to the console market – a significant share of gaming consoles are manufactured in China. Nintendo they add is particularly exposed with customers who are historically price sensitive but Sony’s console sales demonstrate “exceptional sales momentum” and China outside of manufacturing is growing “as a valuable market for reaching gamers.” Additionally, the fact that gaming companies now more than ever are developing new revenue streams such as subscriptions, exclusive and expansion into emerging markets, “investors offloading console stocks due to tariff concerns may be overlooking the bigger, high-stakes game that lies ahead.”

Amazon, Google and Meta back need for more nuclear capacity

In coordination with the World Nuclear Association, a host of big tech firms have signed a pledge supporting tripling of nuclear capacity by 2050 to meet growing energy demands and combat climate change. According to the Financial Times, the likes of Amazon, Google and Meta believe nuclear plants will be critical to meet rising electricity demand and a potential need for them to support data centres. Meta’s Head of Energy, Urvi Parekh added that, “the announcement was aimed at encouraging governments to smooth regulation for nuclear power expansion and to signal to utilities that there would be buyers for their electricity.”

Top Tweets of the Week

• Seth Abramson, New York Times bestseller tweets: “As a Musk biographer, I told you all he was going mad—the cause being a combination of depression, stress, med misuse and illicit use of illegal drugs. His Twitter feed is a testament to this derangement. Someone who cares about him needs to take him off the internet permanently.”
• Joanna Sopinska, Chief Trade Correspondent at Mlex tweets: “The EU will tomorrow morning announce its retaliation package in response to the US steel and aluminium tariffs that are set to kick in at midnight. Firm but proportionate measures will be enacted later upon approval by the EU countries. The idea is to push the US to the negotiating table.”
• ITV News tweets: “UK’s poorest households now worse off than poorest households in Slovenia. Analysis reveals if wage growth continued in line with the pre-2008 trend, the average worker in the UK would be earning £12,000 more per year today, @ITVJoel reports.”

Number of the week

£3.5bn The amount Saudi-owned developer Scopely has agreed to pay to acquire Pokemon Go and other apps from Niantic (BBC).