Evening Scan

Big Tech spent the day proving that pay packages and pricing sheets can be news: Ternus got his number, Dell blew past estimates, and Cognition doubled its valuation in four months. The machinery of 2026 tech is grinding forward at full RPM.

Dell reports Q2 revenue up 58% YoY to $46.97B, beats estimates, forecasts $192B for FY2027

AI server demand is still the primary driver — stock jumped 9%+ after hours. (CNBC)

Cognition raising ~$1B at a $47B valuation, up from $26B in May (paywall)

Nearly $10B in investor interest for a round less than half that size — the coding-agent hype cycle remains hot. (Bloomberg)

OpenAI says Astra is its first model to hit "Critical" on its cyber threshold

Public release is coming "soon," but the sharp end stays locked to select partners for now. (Axios)

Apple Maps renames Lake Ontario to "Lake America" for US users

Today's palate cleanser: a cartography change born entirely of politics rather than geography. (AppleInsider)

“With the right tools and access, Astra can find previously unknown security flaws and develop ways to exploit them.” — Amelia Glaese, OpenAI