Meta, Google Reportedly Team Up in $10B Deal

Meta has reportedly agreed to a six-year, $10 billion cloud services pact with Google, centering mainly around artificial intelligence. This is all part of Google’s strategy to gain ground on Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure in the cloud infrastructure space, having already partnered with OpenAI and ChatGPT earlier this summer.

After almost two decades with Under Armour, the University of South Carolina has changed allegiances to Nike with a 10-year deal worth $5 million in cash, $70 million in product, and an additional $2.5 million in “supplemental” product. The school’s Board of Trustees made the news official shortly after meeting on Friday morning. South Carolina Athletic Director Jeremiah Donati told the media after the announcement that Under Armour opted not to match Nike’s offer.

Two movies hit milestones at the box office before even hitting the weekend. Zach Cregger‘s low-budget horror film Weapons, the top movie at the box office the last two weeks, has officially grossed $100 million domestically. Meanwhile, James Gunn‘s Superman eclipsed the $600 million global mark on Friday, becoming the first superhero movie of the year to do so. Keep an eye on F1: The Movie, which is expected to join Superman in the $600 million club by next week.

Between recording sessions, Justin Bieber has been active on social media lately teasing his new brand, SKYLRK. After previewing a cleat-inspired shoe last month, he took his interest in the sport to the next level by posting a photo on Instagram featuring a soccer jersey co-branded with Adidas. While not an official announcement, one thing is clear: Bieber is all in on football.

Waymo may be getting its toughest test yet after receiving its first permit to begin services in New York City, Mayor Eric Adams said Friday. The self-driving vehicle company, and Alphabet subsidiary, will be allowed to begin testing up to eight autonomous cars in the Manhattan and Downtown Brooklyn areas through late September. This will be the first such experiment in NYC.

Trapstar and Ed Hardy are back with their second-ever collaboration, tapping rapper Sheck Wes and English footballer Aaron Wan-Bissaka to front the campaign. “The collection is inspired by my diaspora upbringing and what I saw back home in Ghana, the mix of fabrics like denim, camo, and durable materials, and the idea that when you don’t have much, you make it work,” Mikey Trapstar said.

With the 51st season of Saturday Night Live set to kick off in less than two months, creator Lorne Michaels confirmed to Puck that he’s going to “shake things up” when it comes to the cast. For what it’s worth, no cast members announced they would be leaving the show when Season 50 concluded in May. However, Michaels did say James Austin Johnson would return in his Donald Trump role.

On the heels of closing its merger with Skydance, Paramount is reportedly getting ready to let go of thousands of employees as it works to make up $2 billion in cost savings. According to Variety, the layoffs are expected to take place by November and could affect as many as 3,000 workers. Paramount is set to release its third-quarter earnings report the first week of November.

Formula 1 driver Charles Leclerc is teaming up with filmmaker Antoine Truchet and brand strategist Nicolas Jayr to launch his own creative studio, SIDEQUEST. The studio aims to help brands and creators through strategic storytelling, already boasting clients such as Leclerc’s ice cream brand LEC, Chivas Regal, and APM Monaco.

Tesla’s most expensive Cybertruck just got even pricier in the United States, with the company increasing the cost of the variant model by $15,000 to a total $114,990. While the new version is coupled with the “luxe package,” the price is a far cry from the $40,000 starting point CEO Elon Musk promised in 2019.

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