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Billionaire David Tepper Is Selling Nvidia, AMD, and TSMC, and Loading Up On Shares of This Trillion-Dollar Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stock Instead

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  • Quarterly-filed Form 13Fs provide a way for investors to track which stocks Wall Street’s leading asset managers are buying and selling.

  • Appaloosa’s David Tepper has been a persistent seller of AI stocks over the last year, including hardware giants Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices, as well as Taiwan Semiconductor.

  • Only 11 public companies have ever reached the trillion-dollar valuation plateau — and one of these companies has been on Tepper’s buy list.

  • These 10 stocks could mint the next wave of millionaires ›

For some investors, earnings season is the pinnacle of each quarter. This six-week period, where many of Wall Street’s most influential businesses lift the hood on their operating results, provides investors with invaluable information.

However, an equally strong argument can be made that the quarterly filing of Form 13Fs with the Securities and Exchange Commission is just as important as earnings season. A 13F offers investors a way to see which stocks Wall Street’s top money managers have been buying and selling. In other words, these filings clue investors in to the stocks, industries, sectors, and trends that have piqued the interest of highly successful asset managers.

Arguably no trend has been hotter than the rise of artificial intelligence (AI). Empowering software and systems with the tools to make split-second decisions without human intervention is a multitrillion-dollar global opportunity, which explains why AI stocks have soared.

Image source: Getty Images.

But not all of Wall Street’s prominent billionaire fund managers are along for the ride.

Based on 13Fs filed in mid-May that detail first-quarter trading activity, Appaloosa’s billionaire chief David Tepper has been a big-time seller of three red-hot AI stocksNvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA), Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD), and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE: TSM), or TSMC — over the previous year. Curiously, though, Tepper has been loading up on another AI stock that somewhat recently joined the exclusive trillion-dollar club.

Tepper and his team tend to be fairly active and are regularly building up or reducing their existing stakes. Rather than looking at changes from the prior three-month period, more wisdom can often be gained by examining year-over-year changes to Appaloosa’s more than $8 billion dollar investment portfolio.

Between April 1, 2024, and March 31, 2025, Tepper oversaw a significant reduction in, or the complete exit from, three of the AI revolution’s top companies:

  • Nvidia: 4,120,000 shares sold (93% reduction), which has been adjusted to account for Nvidia’s 10-for-1 stock split in June 2024.

  • Taiwan Semiconductor: 230,000 shares sold (46% reduction).

  • Advanced Micro Devices: 1,630,000 shares sold (completely exited position).

All three of these companies have been successful in their own right within the AI arena. Nvidia’s graphics processing units (GPUs) account for the bulk of GPUs deployed in AI-accelerated data centers, while AMD’s Instinct series chips are slowly adding market share. Meanwhile, TSMC is the world’s leading chip-fabrication company, with its chip-on-wafer-on-substrate capacity rapidly expanding to satiate growing enterprise demand for AI infrastructure.

If everything is going to well for Nvidia, AMD, and TSMC, the question that has to be asked is: Why did billionaire David Tepper sell over a 12-month period?

Simple profit-taking is one of the more logical answers. All three companies have seen their shares appreciate noticeably over the trailing-three-year period, and Tepper has demonstrated he’s not shy about locking in gains. What’s worrisome is there may be more to this persistent selling activity than just a desire to take some chips off the table.

For example, every next-big-thing technology since (and including) the proliferation of the internet in the mid-1990s has navigated its way through a bubble that eventually burst. In plainer English, investors continually overestimate the adoption rates and/or utility of game-changing technological advances. It’s going to take time for AI to mature as a technology and for businesses to figure out how to optimize their solutions and generate a positive return on their investments. This suggests another bubble may be brewing.

Whereas Taiwan Semiconductor is a diversified company that generates a meaningful percentage of its net sales from fabricating chips for smartphones, Internet of Things, and automotive, Nvidia and AMD are increasingly reliant on enterprise GPU orders. If an AI bubble were to form and burst, these two companies would be hit hard.

Valuation may have also come into play for Appaloosa’s billionaire chief. Historically, industry-leading businesses thriving on the heels of a next-big-thing trend have topped out at 30 to 40 times trailing-12-month sales. Nvidia’s price-to-sales (P/S) ratio is 31, as of this writing.

With the stock market also historically pricey, Tepper may view Nvidia, AMD, and TSMC as being on shakier ground than their respective share prices would indicate.

An engineer checking wires and switches on an enterprise data center server tower.
Image source: Getty Images.

Whereas billionaire David Tepper has been an undeniable seller of artificial intelligence stocks over the trailing year, based on 13F filings, there’s one trillion-dollar AI stock that’s managed to buck the trend. During the March-ended quarter, Appaloosa gobbled up 130,000 shares of Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO), which is one of only 11 public companies around the world to have ever reached a $1 trillion valuation.

While Nvidia and AMD have locked down the lion’s share of GPU market share in AI-accelerated data centers, Broadcom is the preferred choice for its host of AI networking solutions. Its products are capable of connecting tens of thousands of AI-GPUs in order to maximize compute capacity, as well as minimize tail latency. Put simply, Broadcom’s hardware reduces lag, which facilitates the split-second decisions that need to be made by AI-empowered software and systems.

Broadcom is also making a name for itself thanks to its custom AI chips. During the company’s fourth-quarter conference call in late 2024, CEO Hock Tan opined that a few of its hyperscaler clients could spend anywhere from $60 billion to $90 billion in fiscal 2027 (its fiscal year ends in late October or early November). As long as AI remains a hot trend, Broadcom is expected to be one of the more unstoppable stocks.

But what Appaloosa’s Tepper might appreciate most about Broadcom is that it’s much more than just an AI-driven company. While AI is, unquestionably, Broadcom’s most meaningful growth driver at the moment, it has plenty of other channels that generate sales and positive operating cash flow.

Before AI became the hottest thing on Wall Street, Broadcom was known for its lead role in developing wireless chips and accessories used in next-generation smartphones. Even though smartphones aren’t the growth story they were a decade ago, the ongoing expansion of 5G service globally provides a modest growth opportunity for Broadcom.

In addition, it offers an assortment of solutions for industrial product lines and automobiles, as well as owns an enterprise cybersecurity solutions division. The point being that if the AI bubble were to burst, Broadcom would, in all likelihood, be in better shape to navigate the coming storm than hardware giants Nvidia and AMD.

Lastly, Tepper may have found Broadcom’s valuation more palatable than the likes of Nvidia. As of this writing on Aug. 5, Broadcom is valued at 35 times forward-year earnings, but appears to be sporting a sustainable annual growth rate of 20% or greater.

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Sean Williams has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices, Nvidia, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool recommends Broadcom. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Billionaire David Tepper Is Selling Nvidia, AMD, and TSMC, and Loading Up On Shares of This Trillion-Dollar Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stock Instead was originally published by The Motley Fool



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Metal Gear Solid back with remake years after Kojima left Konami

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Tom GerkenTechnology reporter

Konami A video game character rendered in modern, high-quality graphics. She has long dirty blonde hair and blue eyes. She is wearing a jacket and has goggles hanging around her neck.Konami

EVA, one of the main characters in the remade game (image brightened from source)

Metal Gear is one of the best-selling video game series in history, shifting more than 60 million copies.

The series pioneered cinematics in gaming by blending cutting-edge cutscenes, voice acting and dynamic camera angles to create something that would have looked more at home on the big screen at the time.

Metal Gear tackled themes not commonly seen in games, such as nuclear disarmament and child soldiers, and posed philosophical questions while also leveraging offbeat humour.

The games would often break the fourth wall and ask players to find solutions to puzzles in unusual ways – such as looking on the back cover of the game’s physical box.

The series’ significant place in gaming history meant fans were stunned when its creator Hideo Kojima quit game publisher Konami in an acrimonious split in 2015.

One of gaming’s biggest titles was left directionless – and there’s been no game in the best-selling series since.

But now, a decade later, Konami has released a remake of the third game in the series: Metal Gear Solid Delta.

So what happened between Konami and Kojima, and how does the new game hold up without its original creator?

Why did Kojima leave Konami?

“The impact Metal Gear has had on game-making makes it one of the most heralded entertainment franchises in the world, and made Hideo Kojima one of the industry’s most famous creators,” industry expert Christopher Dring told the BBC.

With such success, you might think it was a match made in heaven, but there were issues bubbling under the surface.

While nothing has been said publicly, one generally accepted theory behind the split relates to the spiralling cost of 2015’s Metal Gear Solid V, estimated by some at more than $80m (£59m) – a very significant development cost at the time.

It is not known exactly what happened between Konami and Kojima, but the studio was clearly fed up with the amount of money he was spending to make a single game – with Kojima’s internal studio actually removed from promotional materials for Metal Gear Solid V at the time.

Konami got the game out the door, but it seemed to be scaled back from its original vision despite the high cost, with repeated levels and a third chapter that never emerged.

Even so, the game still received excellent reviews and won several awards, but the rift between company and creator seemed unfixable.

And in an act that proved highly controversial – and perhaps shows how heated things had become behind the scenes – when Metal Gear Solid V won an award, Konami informed the developer he was not allowed to collect it.

Getty Images Hideo Kojima. He has black hair in a short cut and wears large black glasses. He is smiling while he talks at a conference. He is wearing a trim black jacket and black t-shirt.Getty Images

Hideo Kojima has become one of the most famous names in gaming over the past three decades

A few months later, Kojima was gone, and in the years that followed, his former studio pivoted.

“Konami shifted its strategy for a while, away from console games, and focused its efforts on the amusements markets, things like pachinko machines,” Mr Dring said.

“They also focused increasingly on mobile.”

It meant Konami’s other classic franchises like Castlevania and Silent Hill also went without new games for a decade.

Meanwhile, Kojima’s new studio signed a blockbuster deal with Sony to develop the monster hit Death Stranding for PlayStation, followed by a sequel this year.

Why a remake now?

Gaming has pivoted towards remakes in recent years.

High-profile games like Resident Evil 4, Final Fantasy VII and Demon’s Souls, all classics in their day, have been remade with the benefits of modern graphics and game design to big fanfare – and strong sales figures.

“It’s a hugely lucrative and growing sector,” said Mr Dring.

“The industry is getting older, gamers are entering middle age and are nostalgic for classic titles.

Mr Drings points out that one of the best-selling games of the year so far is Elder Scrolls V: Oblivion Remastered, a remake of a classic Role-Playing Game (RPG) from 2007, selling millions of copies since its release in April.

Konami has begun a return to publishing games by focusing in this area, with a Silent Hill remake coming last year and a new Survival Kids game released earlier in 2025.

So it is a potentially lucrative move – but is Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater the right game to remake?

Konami A jungle scene from a video game. It is instantly recognisable as an older video game, with blocky rocks and pixel-y trees.Konami

A jungle scene from Metal Gear Solid 3’s original release in 2004. Believe it or not, these were considered ground-breaking graphics at the time

Fans of the series told the BBC Metal Gear Solid 3 was chosen for good reason.

YouTuber Zak Ras said there was “immense significance” behind the game.

“Most people will say their favourite entry to the series is either Metal Gear Solid 1 or 3,” he said.

“Story-wise, given that it’s the first prequel set at the very beginning of the series timeline, it’s one of the few entries you can go into completely blind with absolutely no required knowledge of the series, other than very first Metal Gear from 1987.”

Ras said Metal Gear Solid 3 struck a good balance between gameplay and cinematic storytelling, making it a good choice for people who have never played a game in the series before.

For example, the game opens with an introduction heavily influenced by James Bond films, meaning new fans are eased into the series’ weirder elements.

And the brothers behind PythonSelkan Studios – known as Python & Selkan to their 122,000 YouTube subscribers – agreed.

“Completing the game was an incredible experience in itself,” they said. “Snake Eater’s gut-wrenching ending is what stood out most, leaving an impact on us that no other game had ever left before.”

“This game holds a special place in our hearts,” they added.

Metal Gear without Kojima

The brothers said, as lifelong fans of the series, they were “incredibly excited” by the announcement.

The pair are currently playing the remake, and have been “very impressed” by its improved graphics and audio.

They described the game as a “truly a faithful recreation”, adding that it improved “the essence of the original without changing its fundamental structure”.

Konami A jungle scene rendered in a video game. In the foreground, photo-realistic plants grow in front of a large tree. Several trees in the background are broken up by a beam of light.Konami

The game’s lush jungle setting has benefitted from two decades of improvements in graphical fidelity

So far so good for Metal Gear Solid without Hideo Kojima – which Ras put down to the game being true to the original.

One example he highlights is that the voice performances have been kept the same, and players can choose whether to use the original control scheme or a more modern take.

“There’s no doubt it is Kojima’s directorial ‘genes’ that are being dominantly expressed here,” he said.

“Kojima expressed a desire to move on from Metal Gear since as early as MGS2 and leave the series in the hands of others to continue.

“It may have taken him another 14 years and five director credits for that to happen, but it is now reality.”

And however the remake fares with fans, one household won’t be picking up a new copy – Kojima himself has laughed off the suggestion that he would play the new game.

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Bitcoin Proxy’s Chief Seeks Funding Fix as ‘Flywheel’ Falters

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Simon Gerovich, who turned a struggling Japanese hotelier into a Bitcoin stockpiler and investor darling, is feeling the heat.



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Anthropic Settles Landmark Artificial Intelligence Copyright Case

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Anthropic’s settlement came after a mixed ruling on the “fair use” where it potentially faced massive piracy damages for downloading millions of books illegally. The settlement seems to clarify an important principle: how AI companies acquire data matters as much as what they do with it.

After warning both the district court and an appeals court that the potential pursuit of hundreds of billions of dollars in statutory damages created a “death knell” situation that would force an unfair settlement, Anthropic has settled its closely watched copyright lawsuit with authors whose books were allegedly pirated for use in Anthropic’s training data. Anthropic’s settlement this week in a landmark copyright case may signal how the industry will navigate the dozens of similar lawsuits pending nationwide. While settlement details remain confidential pending court approval, the timing reveals essential lessons for AI development and intellectual property law.

The settlement follows Judge William Alsup’s nuanced ruling that using copyrighted materials to train AI models constitutes transformative fair use (essentially, using copyrighted material in a new way that doesn’t compete with the original) — a victory for AI developers. The court held that AI models are “like any reader aspiring to be a writer” who trains upon works “not to race ahead and replicate or supplant them — but to turn a hard corner and create something different.”

(For readers unfamiliar with copyright law, “fair use” is a legal doctrine that allows limited use of copyrighted material without permission for purposes like criticism, comment, or — as courts are now determining — AI training. A key test is whether the new use “transforms” the original work by adding something new or serving a different purpose, rather than simply copying it. Think of it as the difference between a critic quoting a novel to review it versus someone photocopying the entire book to avoid buying it.)

After ruling in Anthropic’s favor on this issue, Judge Alsup drew a bright line at acquisition methods. Anthropic’s downloading of over seven million books from pirate sites like LibGen constituted infringement, the judge ruled, rejecting Anthropic’s “research purpose” defense: “You can’t just bless yourself by saying I have a research purpose and, therefore, go and take any textbook you want.”

The settlement’s timing suggests a pragmatic approach to risk management. While Anthropic could claim vindication on training methodology, defending its acquisition methods before a jury posed substantial financial exposure. Statutory damages for willful infringement can reach $150,000 per work, creating potential liability for Anthropic totaling in the billions.

Anthropic is still facing copyright suits from music publishers, including Universal Music Corp. and Concord Music Group Inc., as well as Reddit. The settlement with authors removes one of Anthropic’s many legal challenges. Lawyers for the plaintiffs said, “[t]his historic settlement will benefit all class members,” promising to announce details in the coming weeks.

This settlement solidifies the principles established in Judge Alsup’s prior ruling: how AI companies acquire training data matters as much as what they do with it. The court’s framework permits AI systems to learn from human cultural output, but only through legitimate channels.

For practitioners advising AI projects and companies, the lesson is straightforward: document data sources meticulously and ensure the legitimate acquisition of data. AI companies that previously relied on scraped or pirated content face strong incentives to negotiate licensing agreements or develop alternative training approaches. Publishers and authors gain leverage to demand compensation, even as the fair use doctrine limits their ability to block AI training entirely.

The Anthropic settlement marks neither a total victory nor a defeat for either side, but rather a recognition of the complex realities governing AI and intellectual property. It also remains to be seen what impact it will have on similar pending cases, including whether this will create a pattern of AI companies settling when facing potential class actions. In this new landscape, the legitimacy of the process matters as much as the innovation of the outcome. That balance will define the next chapter of AI development. Under Anthropic, it is apparent that to maximize chances of AI models constituting fair use, developers should use a bookstore, not a pirate’s flag.



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