On May 23, 2026, Meta said it lifted its 2026 capital expenditure outlook to $125-$145 billion, nearly doubling its 2025 capex of $72.2 billion, even as it posted record Q1 results. Q1 revenue rose 33% to $56.3 billion and profit climbed 61% to $26.8 billion, but the shares fell 6% after hours as investors questioned when AI spending will translate into returns.

Ericsson said on May 22, 2026 that many telecom operators are moving too slowly to deploy AI and advanced 5G capabilities, potentially missing new revenue streams. In a survey of 455 senior telecom executives, 90% expected AI and 5G services to create new revenue, but 70% said their companies have not begun implementing the technologies they view as required.

In May 2026, AI and DePIN tokens outperformed the wider crypto market, with Sahara AI up +42.5% over seven days and Akash Network rising +24.85%. Over the same period, Bitcoin traded between $78,000 and $83,000, while Bitcoin dominance held at 60% and the CMC Altcoin Season Index stood at 39/100. The moves highlight stronger relative interest in projects positioned around working infrastructure and AI-related demand.

Arm Holdings (ARM) surged 16.16% today with massive volume. Discover what Arm does, the drivers behind today’s rally, the 2026 price outlook, and why traders are turning to BingX.

Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) posted an earnings beat, but the stock moved lower immediately afterward, with revenue up 85% and shares falling 2.3% in after-hours trading. The decline later narrowed, yet the stock was still down around 2% at press time, as investors weighed elevated expectations, crowded AI positioning, and questions about how fast growth can continue.

Catena Labs, co-founded by Circle co-founder Sean Neville, raised $30 million in a Series A to build regulated banking infrastructure for AI agents. The company also filed for a national trust bank charter with the OCC, aiming to pair agent identity, spending controls, and compliance with multi-rail payments.

A Federal Reserve Board household survey on U.S. economic well-being in 2025 found that about 25% of American workers used generative AI for work in the prior month, and 81% of users said it saves time. Separate figures cited alongside the report indicate roughly 18% of U.S. firms had adopted AI by the end of 2025, while the Fed estimates 78% of the labor force works at AI-adopting firms.

On May 18, 2026, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said commerce between autonomous AI agents could surpass the size of the human economy, arguing that this shift is "happening on Base." He pointed to Coinbase's Agentic.market and the x402 payment protocol, alongside reported activity such as 169 million transactions totaling $50,338,035.60 and 99.8% of transfers settled in USDC.