Evening Brief - 5 November 2026

AI spending commitments pile up off the books while companies grapple with converting hype into durable revenue models and practical deployment metrics.

Off-balance-sheet AI obligations at US tech majors hit $3.2 trillion

Major US technology companies now carry approximately $3.2 trillion in off-balance-sheet debt tied to AI commitments, a 90 per cent increase over six months. The obligations cover long-term data centre leases, multi-year chip purchase commitments, and power supply contracts. The figure now equals 80 per cent of asset bases, unsettling equity and credit analysts tracking the sector. Read more →

Palantir's commercial revenue overtakes government sales despite shorter contracts

Palantir posted third-quarter revenue of $2.31 billion, up 96 per cent year-on-year, marking the first time enterprise sales exceeded government revenue. Adjusted earnings per share came in at 44 cents, three cents above consensus. Shares dipped after the announcement as investors noted many enterprises are signing short-term trials rather than lasting deals, raising retention questions. Read more →

AMD's data centre chips now drive 63% of revenue, forecast to hit 80% by 2027

AMD closed its third quarter with $13.4 billion in revenue, the highest in the company's 57-year history. Data centre hardware accounted for $8.5 billion, or 63 per cent of the total. CFO Jean Hu told investors the company expects data centre products to represent more than 80 per cent of revenue by the end of 2027, a rare revenue shift outside mergers or divestitures. Read more →

Former LocalGlobe partner closes £13M first fund for UK and European startups

Yvonne Bajela's Evertrue Capital closed its inaugural fund at £13 million in early November, exceeding the initial £10 million target. The oversubscribed fund attracted five institutional limited partners, including the British Business Bank and Basecamp. Evertrue has already deployed into seven companies, focusing on early-stage AI infrastructure and fintech. Read more →

Agibot proposes Worken standard to measure robot work hours over hardware specs

Shanghai robotics firm Agibot introduced the Worken standard at its Innovation Day on 29 October to measure effective productive hours rather than hardware specifications. The company reported revenue approaching RMB 2 billion in the first half of 2026 and cumulative production of 20,000 general-purpose robots, shifting focus from viral demos to reliable eight-hour shift execution. Read more →

Compiled by OTW Briefing Desk from Opentechwire reporting.