03:53 PM EDT, 06/17/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Tech stocks were lower late Tuesday afternoon, with the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) decreasing 0.6% and the SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) shedding 1.3%.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor index was down 0.6%.

In sector news, Elon Musk's startup xAI is in discussions with investors for an equity investment of $4.3 billion, Bloomberg reported, citing information the startup shared with investors.

Separately, US Department of Commerce officials considered new export limits on critical technology headed to China before the recent trade talks held in London, The Wall Street Journal reported. The unit within the agency supervising export controls mulled tougher limits on semiconductors, including terminating sales of a wider range of chip-making equipment, the report said.

In corporate news, Navitas Semiconductor ( NVTS ) shares dropped 4.9% after Deutsche Bank downgraded the stock to hold from buy.

Amazon ( AMZN ) is expanding its use of generative AI across almost all areas of its business, a shift that will reduce some traditional roles while creating demand for tech-driven skills, Chief Executive Andy Jassy said in a company-wide message. Amazon ( AMZN ) shares were down 0.6%.

Red Cat ( RCAT ) shares tumbled 20% after the company struck deals to sell about 6.45 million shares to investors to raise about $46.75 million.

Meta (META) said it's testing a new video generation tool, which lets advertisers use generative AI models to convert different images into multi-scene video ads. Meta was down 0.6%.

Reddit ( RDDT ) shares popped 6.2% following its launch of new AI-backed marketing tools.