67NVIDIAPowering tech’s
evolution
Under CEO Jensen
Huang, chipmaker
NVIDIA’s processors
have quietly become
essential to every-
thing from crypto-
currency mining and
NFTs to self- driving
cars. Although the
$600 billion chip titan
failed to achieve market
domination this year—
it abandoned a planned
$40 billion acquisi-
tion of British rival Arm
over potential antitrust
concerns—its invest-
ments in AI and experi-
mental technology are
undoubtedly shaping
the future. NVIDIA’s
processors will eventu-
ally render human effort
obsolete in many sec-
tors, predicts executive
vice president Jay Puri:
“Anything that moves
will be autonomous.”
—Eloise BarryTIM COOKDISNEY
RELAXING
RESTRICTIONS
In February, Disney ended masking and
distancing requirements at its theme
parks, even before relaxed guidance
from U.S. public-health ofi cials. Given
Disney’s prominence in the hospitality
industry—the company’s parks business
made $2.5 billion in operating income
last quarter—the move set the tone
for other hotels and theme parks.
Meanwhile, Disney and CEO Bob Chapek
have been criticized for what detractors
called a tepid response to a controversial
Florida bill that blocks educators from
teaching young students about LGBTQ+
issues. —Nik PopliMICROSOFT
GAME ON
Xbox maker Microsoft stunned gamers in
January by announcing plans to acquire
Activision/Blizzard, publisher of Call of
Duty and Overwatch. The company says
the nearly $70 billion deal would help
it serve the world’s 3 billion gamers.
However, the planned tie-up, which
sparked a wave of similar moves across
the $200 billion gaming industry, has
invited regulatory scrutiny. More broadly,
CEO Satya Nadella’s Microsoft has been
on a hot streak, beating expectations
with $51.7 billion in revenue in the most
recent quarter. —E.B.NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
BIG RETURNS
It’s not easy to get two-thirds of the U.S.
population to do the same thing at the
same time. But that happened on Feb. 13 ,
when 208 million Americans tuned in
to Super Bowl LVI. The country’s most
valuable sports league , the National
Football League attracted 18.2 million
fans to stadiums in 2021; its games
represented 75 of the 100 most watched
U.S. broadcasts—and the league just
signed a new $113 billion TV contract.
Football is just a game, but commissioner
Roger Goodell’s NFL makes it a big one.
—Jeffrey KlugerAPPLE
FLEXING ITS MUSCLES
Apple and CEO Tim Cook last year took the
momentous step of allowing users to block
advertising companies from tracking their
app use, a technique used for ad targeting.
Apple marketed the change as a win for
user privacy—and users appear to agree,
with most opting out. Many antisurveillance
activists welcomed the development, but
others noted that it underlined Apple’s
huge power. And in earnings calls after
the changes, ad-dependent tech giants
like Meta and Snap blamed Apple’s move
for “headwinds” that resulted in tens of
billions of dollars in losses. —B.P.JENSEN HUANGWALMART
INVESTING IN WORKERS
Amid a red-hot labor market, Walmart
last summer expanded its education
program to cover full college tuition for
associates, promising nearly $1 billion
over ve years. (Target swiftly unveiled
a similar program.) Walmart hopes
employees will pursue degrees in elds
like cybersecurity and supply-chain
management, then work in related roles
for the chain. The retail giant is also
giving more part-timers full-time jobs
and has raised its average hourly wage
to $16.40, though its minimum still lags
behind competitors’. —D.S.NETFLIX
EXPANDING VIEWERS’
HORIZONS
Facing sluggish growth—it added
18 million subscribers last year, compared
with 2020’s 37 million, amid the rise
of rivals like Disney+ and Amazon
Prime Video—Netl ix turned abroad for an
answer. It found it in hits like South Korea’s
Squid Game and France’s Lupin, which
have resurrected the streamer’s fortunes
and proved to a skeptical Hollywood
that Americans will watch subtitled
content. Foreign lmmakers as well
as subscribers stand to be enriched.
—Eliana DocktermanMETA: MICHAEL NAGLE—BLOOMBERG/GETTY IMAGES; APPLE: MARCIO JOSE SAN
CHEZ—AP; NVIDIA:
PATRICK T. FALLON—BLOOMBERG VIA GETTY IMAGES; NETFLIX: ILLUSTRATION BY LAURIE AVON FOR TIME