Long-time Adobe chief executive Shantanu Narayen announced his intention to step down on Thursday US time, but will remain chair of the company.
Narayen – who joined the company in 1988 as vice-president and general manager before becoming CEO in December 2007 – reported he would step back after a successor has been found. No timeline was given.
On behalf of the board, Adobe independent director Frank Calderoni recognised Narayen’s contributions to Adobe.
Adobe’s earnings, which were reported the same day, beat market expectations, with revenue for the first quarter of the 2026 financial year up 12% year on year to US$6.4 billion ($10.93b). Second-quarter revenue was forecasted to total between US$6.43b and US$6.48b.
Shares closed 1.4% lower while markets were open, but fell 7.2% in after hours trading.
Adobe CEO and chair Shantanu Narayen.
Microsoft backs Anthropic
In other news, Microsoft has thrown its weight behind fellow tech company Anthropic, as the latter sues the Trump administration over blacklisting.
This week, Anthropic reported it had filed a lawsuit in California against the Trump administration after the company was blacklisted and declared a “supply chain risk” by the Pentagon earlier this month.
Anthropic had signed a US$200 million ($338.52m) contract with the Department of Defense (DoD) last year, but was labelled a threat to US security on March 4 after terms of contract renegotiations hit a roadblock. The DoD wanted unrestricted access to Anthropic’s AI models while Anthropic wanted assurance those models wouldn’t be used for fully autonomous weapons or domestic mass surveillance.
On top of the lawsuit, Anthropic also sought a stay from the US Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit this week regarding the Pentagon’s decision. In that filing, Anthropic said the Pentagon’s supply-chain designation would cause the company “irreparable harm”.
“By Anthropic’s best estimate, for 2026, the government’s adverse actions risk hundreds of millions, or even multiple billions, of dollars in lost revenue,” lawyers for the AI firm wrote.
Microsoft waded into the discussion and filed an amicus brief (a legal document filed by a party not named in a case) in support of Anthropic, advocating for a temporary restraining order while the case was under consideration.
Microsoft – which integrates the AI lab's products and services into technology it provides to the US military – said that it was directly affected by the DoD designation. It added that, while the Pentagon gave itself six months to phase out Anthropic, it did not provide the same transition period for contractors that use Anthropic's products or services to perform under DoD.
Microsoft further strengthened its ties to Anthropic this week, when it reported that it would add Anthropic’s AI technology to Microsoft’s own technology, Copilot. Microsoft was also making the latest models of Anthropic’s chatbot Claude available to Copilot users when it had previously depended on OpenAI’s GPT models. Microsoft holds a 27% ownership stake in OpenAI.
A group of least 37 researchers and engineers from OpenAI and Google also filed an amicus brief in support of Anthropic.
Anthropic co-founders Dario Amodei and Daniela Amodei.
Revolut banking license
In the UK, fintech company Revolut secured a full UK banking licence after a years-long process.
Revolut co-founder and chief executive Nik Storonsky said launching the UK bank had been a long-term strategic priority for Revolut, and marked a significant moment in its journey. “This is a vital step in our mission to build the world’s first truly global bank,” he said.
The licence meant the company could start to offer new products, including lending. It had previously been granted a licence with restrictions in mid-2024.
Revolut launched in New Zealand during 2023 but, since it didn’t hold a banking licence, customer funds were held in an ANZ account. In December 2024, Revolut applied to become a registered bank in New Zealand, a process that is still ongoing.
Last week, it was reported it was preparing to expand its New Zealand offering from consumers to small businesses over the coming months.
Revolut was valued at US$75b last year, making it one of Europe's most valuable private tech companies.
Atlassian’s Mike Cannon-Brookes.
Software job slashes
Meanwhile, Nasdaq-listed software company Atlassian reported plans to cut about 1600 jobs, equating to at least 10% of its total workforce.
About 480 employees based in Australia – roughly 30% of the affected positions – would be cut.
An all-staff email from chief executive Mike Cannon-Brookes said the company was reframing itself as an ‘AI-first’ company and, while artificial intelligence would not directly replace the roles, it was the core trigger for the change.
“I believe this is the right decision for Atlassian,” Cannon-Brookes said. “But that doesn’t mean it’s easy. Far from it. I know this has a huge impact on each of you, and it weighs heavily on me and Atlassian today.”
The company reported the cuts would help self-fund further investment in AI and enterprise sales while strengthening its financial profile. It would result in US$225m to US$236m in charges and should be mostly done by the end of June.
Cannon-Brookes co-founded the business in 2002 alongside Scott Farquhar. The Australian Financial Review’s 2025 Rich List valued Cannon-Brookes’ wealth at A$12.8b ($15.5b) – halved due to his pending divorce – while Farquhar’s wealth was valued at A$21.42b.
