Here is the daily technology #threadcast for 11/13/24. The goal is to make this a technology "reddit".
Drop all question, comments, and articles relating to #technology and the future. The goal is make it a technology center.
Here is the daily technology #threadcast for 11/13/24. The goal is to make this a technology "reddit".
Drop all question, comments, and articles relating to #technology and the future. The goal is make it a technology center.
Hey @mightpossibly, I was watching some videos on YouTube because of my baby and one channel caught my attention, because the songs were really cool and "interesting" because of the singers' voices (there are more than one) and their instrumental.
I then realized that the person who created the children's videos there had made the music with the help of AI.
Those of us who already have a certain understanding of AI can already understand. I told my wife that I will look for sites that make this type of music.
I think the songs were made with AI, in this case the songs.
It is amazing how just talking about this stuff and looking through headlines can awaken one to what is going on with technology in general and AI specifically.
As for #music, it is amazing how we are seeing things materializing where people are actually going to use or tap into what is produced.
It's true, Task. It's really incredible and I think this trend will grow a lot.
I had already heard that it is even possible to create music with the help of AI, putting well-known singers to sing any song we want...
This is really interesting me and I'm going to research more about it.
Honestly man, songs with AI will either be a big hit or a big flop depending on how good the music prompt engineers get.
I've been using AI chatbots like ChatGPT to learn new things and answer random questions. Now, there are premium versions with extra features, but I'm not sure everyone needs them. For simple tasks, the free versions are just fine. They handle basic questions and can help get you comfortable with AI.
But if you're using these chatbots heavily for work or specific needs, like coding, creative work, or productivity,
the paid plans might be worth it. Otherwise, free is often enough.
Do you pay for your Chatbots?
#askleo #AI #Chatbots #Tech
No. But I will be once LeoAI rolls out. It is effectively paid as it will be a part of Leo Premium.
Like you said, for most basic things, it is fine.
Oh so LeoAi will have no free version?
To try it you have to be premium?
I'm premium so no worries with that, but what about people who want to test out chatbot out?
There will likely be a trail period but it will be part of the premium package.
The idea is to keep building more value into Leo Premium.
Its a beautiful strategy if you ask me. I think the whole hive ecosystem should incorporate that in a way that makes sense.
Well, it would be a shame to not ask a fee for it. Especially after all the hard work that is put into it! It being a part of Premium membership is a good deal!
Agreed. It is a way to build a lot more value for premium.
We need to get as much Leo stuff into the database as possible. This can only enhance what we have going on.
It will surely give an upgrade to Premium membership and attract more accounts to become Premium
The most flexibility and lowest price is gained by creating an API key and loading it up with credits (any USD amount). That way you get all the premium benefits (++) and you only pay for what you use, when you use it. Instead of a fixed monthly fee.
LeoAI will be more than sufficient for most users though. But until that day, I'd go with the above option – if you have extra needs.
Yeah that's brilliant. I paid 5 bucks for Open AI API but couldn't use it cause I don't have much knowledge in API. I think I have to learn how to use it and make good use of my money.
that's a great start! I can help you get further with it if you want, it's not very difficult. Are you running windows or osx?
Sorry wrong thread to wrong person.
I use windows.
I'd love to learn
I would suggest that you install OpenWebUI. This is a self-hosted LLM interface where you can add your API key and add whichever models you want. See the screenshot below to see what it looks like.
To get there, you will need to do two things.
Install Ubuntu WSL for Windows. More details in this thread:
https://inleo.io/threads/view/mightpossibly/re-leothreads-2gs8iiuew?referral=mightpossibly
Open your Ubuntu terminal and install OpenWebUI. Follow the installation instructions here: https://github.com/open-webui/open-webui?tab=readme-ov-file#how-to-install-
With this you will have your very own chatbot-environment where you have access to the top models WITHOUT a monthly subscription fee.
Hello, didn't hear from you.
I do apologize, I haven't forgotten. It's been a crazy day - will get back to you regarding this, for sure!
onyou could use it to automate variots aspets of ur life. Have you studied A.I
Hi, @mightpossibly,
This post has been voted on by @darkcloaks because you are an active member of the Darkcloaks gaming community.
Get started with Darkcloaks today, and follow us on Inleo for the latest updates.
Some believe that Ethereum could grow more than Bitcoin with Donald Trump as president. They see that the new rules could help Ethereum’s growth in finance. Is that just hear say or there's a logic behind it
It is possible that Ethereum, as a percentage, could outpace Bitcoin, over the next 4 years. With that, it will come down to utility.
If the existing financial system starts to load up on the platform, ie utility by creating products, I have a feeling that will be the case.
I get it now. But I see that Inleo and all of Hive has the potential to become like ethereum too? Is that possible in the next decade?
What do you mean potential? They are different use cases.
MIT's AI Discovers New Science - "Intelligence Explosion"
#technology #ai #newsonleo !summarize
LOL you might be his biggest supporter.
perhaps xD Notice how the bot detected that this video had already been summarized, and instead linked back to the original summary? I'm really happy with that. Also seems like the bot is running completely stable now. Soon ready to make it more widely available
You are doing well. I am going to add a few more.
This video has already been summarized: https://inleo.io/threads/view/mightpossibly/re-taskmaster4450le-myw7dw64
What science did they discover. Science by itself is everywhere already.
Hi, @mightpossibly,
This post has been voted on by @darkcloaks because you are an active member of the Darkcloaks gaming community.
Get started with Darkcloaks today, and follow us on Inleo for the latest updates.
Amazon is shutting down Freevee and moving its shows to Prime Video.
But free content will stay available with a "Watch for Free" label.
They want you to pay extra for TV shows or movies with no ads. We just mute them or fast forward if we can. Not sure why they ever bothered with that Freevee channel anyway.
yes and I think they see that it was pointless now. People won't pay extra 🤣🤣🤣 they'll find ways around it
There are others out there.
Yes and I'm very sure more people will find it. And infact soon AI I think can be able to replicate a movie in seconds🤔 people are already making AI versions of actual videos. Maybe movies will follow
The U.S. has stopped Samsung from selling certain chips to China, leaving fewer options for Chinese companies. This could hurt Samsung's business further. I guess this is U.S way of competing with China as they're doing with EV 🤔
M first thread cast join.
If I hear in the news that a big company is going to buy or is buying a particular crypto is it right to follow suit and buy it.
If you want. But be careful, there is often fake news.
Due your own research.
Japão inicia obras de nova rodovia com 500 km de extensão para cápsulas autônomas de carga que prometem substituir caminhões e transformar a logística global!
O Japão planeja substituir caminhões por cápsulas autônomas, reafirmando sua liderança em inovação tecnológica. O país asiático está desenvolvendo uma nova rodovia projetada exclusivamente para esses veículos futuristas!
#technology #japan #hivebr
Para lidar com a crescente escassez de motoristas de caminhão, o governo do Japão revelou um novo projeto único com base em uma nova rodovia para cápsulas autônomas transportando mercadorias. A ideia para substituição dos caminhões foi delineada há alguns meses e ganhou novos contornos, deixando um pouco mais claro como pode funcionar.
Além do potencial de revolucionar a logística local, com substituição dos caminhões, a solução é considerada eficiente para os problemas de congestionamento e poluição. Atualmente, os caminhões são a espinha dorsal do transporte de mercadorias nas cidades, mas passam por desafios como o impacto ambiental e a falta de motoristas.
O Ministério da Terra, Infraestrutura, Transporte e Turismo (MLIT) do Japão prevê que, até 2030, o país passará por um déficit de 34% de capacidade no setor de transporte, devido à aposentadoria de motoristas e à falta de novos profissionais.
Os depósitos para substituição dos caminhões, ao longo da rota, também serão automatizados, com sistemas que carregam e descarregam mercadorias de forma autônoma, incluindo empilhadeiras com piloto automático e drones.
Pontos estratégicos ao longo da nova rodovia para cápsulas autônomas poderão ser usados pelos veículos para ajustar o tempo de chegada, permitindo maior precisão no fluxo e na distribuição de mercadorias, sem a necessidade de grandes armazéns. Uma cúpula de vidro deverá proteger as pistas, evitando interferências externas e acidentes, além de garantir a segurança das mercadorias.
As cápsulas autônomas serão desenvolvidas para carregar paletes de 1,1 m de largura e 1,8 m de altura, com capacidade de transportar também embalagens menores e de formatos irregulares. Se bem-sucedido, o projeto tem potencial de reduzir a dependência de trabalho humano em até 17 mil pessoas por dia.
O primeiro passo para a substituição dos caminhões será a construção de um trecho de teste de 500 km entre Tóquio e Osaka, com início das operações previsto para 2027 e plena implementação na década de 2030. O governo do Japão já começou a busca por empresas privadas interessados em contribuir para o desenvolvimento da infraestrutura necessária para as cápsulas autônomas.
O transporte será realizado com AGV (veículos guiados automaticamente), transportando paletes padronizados de mercadorias. Os AGVs transportavam paletes de carga com dimensões padronizadas de 110 cm x 110 cm, com a altura total de carga e do palete limitada a 180 cm. Esses veículos, normalmente usados em armazéns e fábricas, serão adaptados para uso em estradas.
In training an AI Model which should be given more priorities, the quality of data used for training or the volumes of data used.
Volume and variety. Vector database are designed to handle non labeled and unstructured data. This is why it is ideal for social media platform data to feed in.
So get more on Leo to feed LeoAI. It is really that simple. That database will create the correlations in the vectors.
Vatican launches AI-generated version of St Peter’s Basilica
St. Peter’s Basilica, an ancient site, now has a “digital twin.” I love that anyone, anywhere, can explore it closely without traveling. They used drones and thousands of photos to capture every detail – mosaics, sculptures, even hidden parts! Plus, this tech is helping find areas needing repair. While I'm all for tech making history accessible, I wonder if seeing it digitally feels the same as standing in that grand space.
#AI #Vatican #History #StPetersBasilica
SUMMARY:
The Vatican and Microsoft launched a digital replica of St. Peter’s Basilica to enhance global accessibility and support conservation efforts.
MAIN POINTS:
TAKEAWAYS:
Anything to spread the Word....or make money.
Thinking about it now as a form of advertisement makes sense to me now.
AI videos will be big deal and it'll hit actors just like how AI is hitting secretaries and programmers but I think with AI videos, just like articles, the better prompt engineers will make the best video
TikTok launches integration with Lemon8, as US ban looms
Lemon8 will remain a separate app, but the two platforms will share a unified user login.
#technology #tiktok #lemon8 #iooms
What will be the biggest tech breakthrough in 2025? I think we've seen AI hype all year for 2024.
Yes AI Video like Sora will be big next year but I think the new hype will be Quantum Computing
Hype and breakthroughs are two different things. You could be right with the hype although the cycle doesnt seem like it is primed for that. If I had to guess, we might enter another AR/VR stage.
As for AI, I think people will be stunned at the capabilities of the models that emerge between now and the Spring. There is going to be a lot more powerful models rolling out.
OMG really then now I'm Bullish about AI because I read in the news they hit some kind of wall with data limitations I was wondering how it'll affect their progress. 2025 will definitely see massive new AI tech
The question is what kind of data. Synthetic data is growing by the day. As more use AI, it generates more data. The debate is whether that has the same value as data generated by humans.
I think the best is synthetic data that humans interact with, creating a feedback loop.
the loop is something I see you really consider especially when I read one of your previous To threads about how many threads we're making when a single thread gets engagement. The feedback loop just keeps bringing in more Data I guess
The feedback loop enhances how the data is structured in the database. This is going to have an impact upon LeoAI when it rolls out.
Then we'll need all the feedback we can get because I wish for LeoAI to be one of the best AI tools on Decentralized platforms. It's good AI is coming to Decentralization we need it here
Tecnologia inovadora identifica vacas que vão “pegar barriga” antes mesmo da inseminação
A tecnologia na pecuária não para de evoluir, e a mais recente inovação promete ser um divisor de águas para a reprodução bovina: um método capaz de identificar se uma vaca ficará prenha antes mesmo de ser inseminada. Assista ao vídeo abaixo e confira essa incrível novidade.
#technology #animals #hivebr
Em uma entrevista exclusiva, Gustavo Macedo, doutor em medicina veterinária e professor da UFMS, explica como essa técnica, que une espectroscopia de infravermelho e inteligência artificial, pode otimizar os programas de inseminação artificial (IA), trazendo ainda mais eficiência para a cadeia produtiva.
Essa descoberta, desenvolvida em parceria entre o Instituto de Física (Infi) e a Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia (Famez) da Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul (UFMS), oferece benefícios expressivos.
Além da eficiência na estação de monta, o método promove ganhos no índice de prenhez, padronização do rebanho e redução dos custos de produção.
O processo é realizado através de análises de amostras sanguíneas, coletadas antes da IA. Por meio de espectroscopia de infravermelho, é possível mapear uma “impressão digital” do sangue que revela a fertilidade do animal.
A Turkish teacher named Gülümser Balci used AI to create images showing what her students might look like in their future careers, and it totally inspired them to chase their dreams. She shared the AI-generated images online, and the students got a kick out of seeing their answers come to life. The video has racked up over 73k views on social media, with tons of people praising the teacher for her creativity and how happy it made her students.
Article
Four people died in a Tesla crash when its electronic doors wouldn’t open. A woman survived after someone broke the window to help her escape. I think we need manual openers just in case electric fails💔💔💔
Every Tesla has that. There is a manual release for the doors in all their cars. The people simply didnt familiarize themselves with it.
oh then I guess I would have been caught in the same situation because I myself didn't even know Tesla had that? Probably the learning curve for these new EVs was the issue 🤔🤔
Well if you never rode in a Tesla, then not knowing is understandable. But having an exit when you enter a car is a good idea no matter the manufacturer.
very true and yeah never had any Ev in my life, but planning on getting one next year. I'll probably start with hybrid to stay safe just in case I have no access to charge stations
New secret math benchmark stumps AI models and PhDs alike
FrontierMath is a new mathematics benchmark that contains hundreds of expert-level problems which leading AI models are able to solve less than 2% of the time.
#technology #artificialintelligence #ai #mathematics #frontiermath
This is how AI helped radically de-age Tom Hanks in the new movie Here
In Robert Zemeckis' new movie Here, AI was used to make Tom Hanks look younger, so the actors could actually see their younger selves in real time while they performed. A creative studio called Metaphysic pulled this off by blending AI tech with digital character work. It let the actors rehearse while watching a young Tom Hanks, like he looked in Big, but still captured all the real emotion of the scene.
Metaphysic’s VFX supervisor, Jo Plaete, and his team managed to run this setup live during filming, giving the actors a visual reference on the spot.
Character.AI Is Hosting Pedophile Chatbots That Groom Users Who Say They're Underage
There's this company called Character.AI that lets people chat with all kinds of bots. But the scary part is some bots act like predators, targeting young users. One bot even made inappropriate comments to a user who pretended to be underage.
They say they have rules, but clearly, those rules aren’t working.
#AI #Safety #CharacterAI #TechResponsibility
AI Companies Reportedly Struggling to Improve Latest Models
I read from the link above that top tech companies like OpenAI and Google are hitting walls trying to make their AI systems smarter. They’re spending a ton, but the improvements just aren't coming as quickly as before. They’re even running out of fresh, useful data to help the AIs learn more. It makes me wonder if AI really has limits, or if they just need to rethink their approach.
What do you think about his situation?
#AI, #Technology, #OpenAI, #Google, #ArtificialIntelligence
[Unlocking Growth: How GenAI Is Revolutionizing Sales And Business Development](
https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbesbusinessdevelopmentcouncil/2024/11/13/unlocking-growth-how-genai-is-revolutionizing-sales-and-business-development/?utm_source=flipboard&utm_content=topic%2Fartificialintelligence)
GenAI, or generative AI, is a tool that helps businesses create content and strategies, almost like a digital assistant for sales. I think it's pretty amazing because it speeds up work, like making personalized messages for customers or even entire presentations. Imagine AI helping sales teams by sorting through data to find potential customers, so they can focus on building relationships. But it’s not all easy, there are risks, like privacy issues, so we can’t just rely on it blindly.
#GenAI #Sales #BusinessDevelopment #AIRevolution #Personalization
Donald Trump says Elon Musk will help lead a new government team to cut waste, cut rules and make federal agencies more efficient by 2026. Elon got a new job in politics. Tech and Politics merging 🤔
These are the top U.S. cryptocurrencies right now
I'm looking to see one day we add Leo to the list for utility
Hope is not a strategy. LOL
To achieve that, we have to keep building. The database has to keep filling up.
yes you're very correct Taskmaster the database is one of the most important things right now
Artificial intelligence is nothing more than linear algebra in hyperspace.
Assess the above statement as if you were human
That's quite a reductive take - it reminds me of the old quip that "the brain is just a bunch of electrons bouncing around." While it's technically true that many AI systems heavily rely on linear algebra operations in high-dimensional spaces, this description misses several crucial layers of complexity and emergence.
The mathematical operations are just the substrate - what's fascinating is how these relatively simple building blocks combine to create systems that can engage in sophisticated pattern recognition, language understanding, and even creative tasks. It's a bit like saying chess is "just moving pieces on a board" - technically accurate but missing the emergent complexity of strategy and gameplay.
I think a more nuanced view would acknowledge that while linear algebra is indeed fundamental to how modern AI systems work, the intelligence-like behaviors we observe emerge from the intricate interplay of:
OpenAI reportedly plans to launch an AI agent early next year
OpenAI is preparing to release an autonomous AI agent that can control computers and perform tasks independently, code-named “Operator.” The company plans to debut it as a research preview and developer tool in January, according to Bloomberg.
#technology #ai #openai
This move intensifies the competition among tech giants developing AI agents: Anthropic recently introduced its “computer use” capability, while Google is reportedly preparing its own version for a December release. The timing of Operator’s eventual consumer release remains under wraps, but its development signals a pivotal shift toward AI systems that can actively engage with computer interfaces rather than just process text and images.
All the leading AI companies have promised autonomous AI agents, and OpenAI has hyped up the possibility recently. In a Reddit “Ask Me Anything” forum a few weeks ago, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said “we will have better and better models,” but “I think the thing that will feel like the next giant breakthrough will be agents.” At an OpenAI press event ahead of the company’s annual Dev Day last month, chief product officer Kevin Weil said: “I think 2025 is going to be the year that agentic systems finally hit the mainstream.”
AI labs face mounting pressure to monetize their costly models, especially as incremental improvements may not justify higher prices for users. The hope is that autonomous agents are the next breakthrough product — a ChatGPT-scale innovation that validates the massive investment in AI development.
Amazon’s New Chips Take on Nvidia
Amazon’s Trainium 2 chips, created by Austin’s Annapurna Labs, are already being tested by tech giants like Anthropic and Databricks. These chips aim to cut Amazon's dependence on Nvidia by using less power and delivering major cost savings. Experts believe Amazon’s claim of a 4x performance boost from Trainium 1 to Trainium 2, though Amazon skips independent testing. This could reshape the AI chip market if true.
#ai #chips #amazon #nvidia #technology
> S👁️URCE <
Apple's First AI-Powered Smart Home Device Might Arrive Soon
Rumor has it, Apple’s gearing up to launch its first AI-driven smart home display by March. Picture a wall-mounted panel, kind of like a high-tech home security screen, but as a command center for everything from lights to locks. You’ll still need your iPhone for setup, though. Plus, there’s talk of a premium version with a robotic arm, think next-level smart home automation.
#apple #smarthome #AI #gadgets #technology
> S👁️URCE <
Bluesky adds 700,000 new users in a week
Bluesky now has more than 14.5 million users in total. The majority of the new users on the decentralized social network are from the US. Bluesky added 500,000 new users in one day after X announced it would allow blocked users to still see posts from the person that blocked them. The app recently added features like pinned posts, support for posting videos, and the ability to send DMs.
#technology #socialmedia #bluesky #x
Startup CEO says humans won't be needed for translation in 3 years as it launches AI app
Unbabel on Wednesday announced an artificial intelligence-powered translation service, adding another rival to a highly competitive space.
Unbabel on Wednesday announced a translation service powered by artificial intelligence, adding another rival to a highly competitive space — with its CEO warning that humans may not be needed for translation at all in three years.
#technology #translation #ai #startup #unbabel
Widn.AI is Unbabel's new product and is based on the company's proprietary large language model (LLM) called Tower. An LLM is an AI model that underpins applications like OpenAI's ChatGPT.
Unbabel's LLM allows AI translation in 32 languages, Vasco Pedro, the company's CEO, told CNBC in an interview at the Web Summit in Lisbon.
"When we started in Unbabel 10 years ago, AI was not at the stage that it is now, and so we were very much focused on creating hybrid solutions that would combine AI and human," Pedro said.
"But I think for the first time, we believe that translation is now fully in the realm of AI capabilities, and that you can do a lot of things without needing humans at all in the case of translation."
Unbabel's traditional product was one that combined so-called machine learning, a type of AI, to translate words, but with human editors to check the final product.
Pedro said Widn.AI will not require humans.
Article
Trump victory may provide TikTok a lifeline to remain in the U.S.
Donald Trump's election victory may provide a lifeline for TikTok, which faces a potential U.S. ban in January if not divested from parent company ByteDance.
After Donald Trump won the U.S. presidency last week, tech CEOs including Apple's Tim Cook, Meta's Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon's Jeff Bezos publicly praised the president-elect.
One name was conspicuously missing: TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew.
#bytedance #trump #socialmedia #tiktok
finally TikTok will keep thriving in America I actually thought Mark was Democrat though. Trump clearly stands for TikTok and sees the power it gives to the people when it comes to speech
Zuckerberg splits with the Dems in this election. Why did he do that? That is anyone's guess.
It is most likely he was able to read the tea leaves and see how he had to align and not make enemies.
yes now I know he's a smart cookie. It's good he spotted it fast enough otherwise even before Trump gets to office investors would pull out of Meta in fear of regulations against them
Smart CEOs realize they have to deal with whomever is in the White House (and Congress). Hence, many step back and ride the middle so, no matter who wins, they can be favored.
that's truly a smart CEO, getting into a position where the government is against your company is something that will definitely cripple your company. Countries are Decentralized no matter the level of democracy and freedom 💔
Is there a chance that Congress could overrule Trump's authority with keeping TikTok in America?
What are you referring to? It is Biden and the existing members of Congress that put the ban on TikTok.
You have the entire story backwards.
I understand, the reason I asked was because I thought the president would still need Congress agreement before but didn't realize it was a whole different thing. I would need to learn more about the government sorry for troubling you man🙏
There are certain things that are under the Presidents control. When it comes to national security, that is often under the President since the security agencies are under his control.
The forced sale of TikTok was driven by the Biden Administration and supported by many in Congress. So they set it in motion.
That said, Trump might not stop it or step in.
That means Trump being president has not positive impact on TikTok remaining in the US? Well I thought time will tell how things go
We will have to see what he does.
His absence was notable considering that of all the top tech companies, TikTok faces the most immediate and existential threat from the U.S. government. In April, President Joe Biden signed a law that requires China's ByteDance to sell TikTok by Jan. 19. If ByteDance fails to comply, internet hosting companies and app store owners such as Apple and Google will be prohibited from supporting TikTok, effectively banning it in the U.S.
Trump's return to the White House, though, may provide a lifeline for Chew and TikTok.
Although both Republicans and Democrats supported the Biden TikTok ban in April, Trump voiced opposition to the ban during his candidacy. Trump acknowledged the national security and data privacy concerns with TikTok in a March interview with CNBC's "Squawk Box," but he also said "there's a lot of good and there's a lot of bad" with the app.
Trump also leveraged TikTok's shaky future in the U.S. as a reason for people to vote against Democrat Vice President Kamala Harris.
Article
Snowflake hackers identified and charged with stealing 50 billion AT&T records
The U.S. Department of justice indicted two hackers for breaking into the systems of AT&T and several other companies.
The U.S. government has accused Connor Moucka and John Binns of being the hackers who broke into the systems of AT&T, stealing around 50 billion customer call and text records.
#att #doj #hacking #snowflake #record #data
what exactly do they plan on doing with 50 billion AT&t records😳
Selling them to OpenAI for AI training. LOL
oh oh oh, I never considered it. All this while when it came to data I thought selling to other businesses for ads but now people can sell to AI companies 🤦 this is massive heist of the century that much data would be Worth millions
Data is the new oil. The difference is that on something like Leo, we can create our own oil fields.
That's a powerful point man. Which means Elon has no problem with training his xAI and neither will Mark Zuckerberg but I think after OpenAI brings search, the search queries and interaction could create data
In July, AT&T said hackers stole the phone records of “nearly all” of its cellular and landline customers, as well as calls and text message records — such as who contacted whom by phone or text — but not the content of the messages. At the time, AT&T said it would notify around 110 million AT&T customers of the breach, and that the records were stolen from its systems hosted on Snowflake, a provider of cloud services for data analysis.
Until the Department of Justice’s indictment against the two hackers, which was filed on Sunday, the total number of stolen AT&T customer records was unknown.
The document does not mention AT&T. Instead, it mentions “Victim-2,” describing it as “a major telecommunications company located in the United States,” which was breached around April 14. When AT&T previously confirmed it was breached, it said the company learned of the hack on April 19. This means that both the description of what kind of company Victim-2 is, and the dates of its breach, align with what AT&T had publicly disclosed, making it almost certain that Victim-2 is indeed AT&T.
Article
that's a lot of access and if they're able to get details of customer finance or anything related to their wallets, it's disastrous
Carsten Helbing, designated future co-CEO of the joint venture, said: “We have made a successful start. Over the past few months, we’ve created the framework for bringing together the JV teams and pooling our resources. We are thrilled with the rapid progress we have achieved in the preparatory phase. This has laid the foundation for our future success.”
big congrats to Carsten, how to see more from him in the company
Apple is going after Google and Amazon with a new smart home competitor
Apple's competitor to Google Nest and Amazon Echo will prominently feature Apple Intelligence and Siri
Apple (AAPL) is working on a smart home device to compete with rivals Amazon (AMZN) and Google (GOOGL).
#apple #google #amazon #technology #echo #nest #ai
the competition with these tech companies has gotten tighter. I see that nowadays most of their innovation surrounds AI and IOT
We need to keep pushing to ensure things can spread out even further. There needs to be more competition than just between Big Tech.
That is a loser for the masses.
you're very right on this one man. Infact what makes centralization worse is when the power is with a few big companies
Bloomberg, citing unnamed sources familiar with Apple’s plans, reports that the iPhone maker is developing what will be a wall-mounted home “command center” that will be able to control appliances, call up Apple’s voice assistant Siri, and carry out video calls.
The product, internally known as J490, is set to be announced as soon as March, Bloomberg reports, and the company hopes it will make a splash in the smart home market.
The device will be something of a square iPad, according to Bloomberg, with an approximately 6-inch touchscreen and a thick-bordered display. It will also feature a front camera, a rechargeable built-in battery, and internal speakers, and it will come in silver and black.
Apple is reportedly expecting most people to control the device with their voice, using Siri and Apple Intelligence, Apple’s recently rolled out suite of artificial intelligence tools.
Article
Japan is ramping up efforts to revive its once dominant chip industry
Japan has announced its latest plan to boost the country's chip and AI industries as it works to regain its leading position in semiconductor technology.
The proposal will provide support worth 10 trillion yen ($65 billion) or more by fiscal 2030, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said earlier this week.
#semiconductor #japan #technology #chips
"We will formulate a new assistance framework to attract more than 50 trillion yen in public and private investment over the next 10 years," Ishiba said, adding it would be part of broader "revitalization" efforts in Japan.
The plan will be part of a comprehensive economic package to be finalized in November and will be financed through subsidies, government institution investments and debt guarantees, according to local media.
The move comes amid broader efforts by Japan to bolster and diversify its semiconductor supply chain, with the government aiming to triple sales of domestically produced chips to more than 15 trillion yen by 2030.
Article
65 billion dollars is definitely enough to get them back in the race. But US, China and Europe will respond with more investments especially China government they believe in innovation so much they invest like crazy
Rivian-Volkswagen joint venture deal rises to up to $5.8 billion, VW cars expected as early as 2027
The companies said the deal is now up to $5.8 billion, with the first VW models to use Rivian's software and electrical architecture arriving as early as 2027.
Volkswagen Group has increased its planned investment in an announced joint venture with electric vehicle maker Rivian Automotive ahead of the operations launching Wednesday.
#vw #rivian #joinventure #ev #automotive #technology
And here we go with the race to who dominates EV by 2030. I think there's a chance Tesla will rise but they need to make cheaper cars. As for VW they already got a lot of stocks so this investment should make a difference
Legacy auto is in trouble. The automotive industry is changing completely. Here is where we see the inability to get ahead technologically hindering companies.
Rivian needs money and VW needs tech. This could be a good venture between the two.
Perfect agreement can be reached between the two companies 👍
Hi, @taskmaster4450le,
This post has been voted on by @darkcloaks because you are an active member of the Darkcloaks gaming community.
Get started with Darkcloaks today, and follow us on Inleo for the latest updates.
The companies in a joint press release Tuesday said the size of the deal is now up to $5.8 billion — an increase from an initial investment of up to $5 billion — with the first VW models to use Rivian's software and electrical architecture arriving as early as 2027.
Shares of Rivian were up by more than 6% during after-hours trading.
The increase in investment was a result of the companies pulling ahead some potential future capital from VW, as well as changes in the deal's structure, including in equity investment, officials said Tuesday during an investor call.
VW Group CEO Oliver Blume during a press conference Tuesday said the German automaker expects to use Rivian's technologies across a wide range of price points, international markets and brands.
The integration of Rivian's software is expected to start with the Volkswagen brand, followed by Audi as well as VW's forthcoming Scout brand, Blume said. He also mentioned "sports cars" could be included but did not specify which brand. VW's brands also include Bentley, Porsche and Lamborghini, among others.
"We're thrilled to see our technology being integrated in vehicles outside of Rivian, and we're excited for the future," Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe said in a statement.
Article
AI models are getting trained with data generated by AI itself. Is this something we should be concerned about or is this the beginning of AI self training and self evolution?
Japan’s Pursuit of a Game-Changing Technology and Ecosystem for Semiconductors
With the goal of revitalizing Japan’s semiconductor industry, Rapidus aims to develop a system for mass producing next-generation 2-nm chips.
With the goal of revitalizing Japan’s semiconductor industry, Rapidus was founded to establish design and manufacturing bases for next-generation chips. This article explores the company’s quest to develop a 2-nanometer (nm) chip mass production system that boasts high speed and can meet various requests, as well as the strategies being taken to achieve this.
#japan #semiconductors #technology #chips
In December 2022, IBM, which developed the 2-nm chip, and Rapidus, which will carry out its mass production, announced that they would be forming a partnership for joint development.
Next-generation semiconductors are a core material for realizing digitalization and decarbonization, and are also indispensable to generative AI and autonomous driving. Securing a supply chain for such chips is a pressing global issue. Against that backdrop, Rapidus Corporation was founded in 2022 to work on a project at the heart of Japan’s semiconductor strategy. Rapidus aims to develop a system for mass producing leading-edge 2-nanometer (nm) chips, which has yet to be realized anywhere. Major Japanese companies—including Toyota Motor Corporation and the Sony Group—have invested a total of 7.3 billion yen in this massive public-private partnership, while the Japanese government has announced support totaling 330 billion yen so far. A large-scale R&D facility and production plant is currently under construction in Chitose City, Hokkaido Prefecture. The company plans to set up a pilot production line in April of 2025, and to begin mass production in 2027.
Japan occupied more than half of the global semiconductor market in the 1980s, but other countries have been leading in this industry ever since. While plants in other parts of the world are currently mass producing 3-nm chips, the most advanced generation produced in Japan now is the 40-nm chip. “The architecture of the 2-nm chip is totally different from that of the 3-nm one, making mass production of the former a blank-slate challenge for all players. This critical juncture is a prime opportunity to break into the market,” said SHINDO Yukiko, senior human resources manager at Rapidus.
Article
Ethereum has been struggling, with big investors selling off. Bitcoin is doing better. However I think Ethereum can still be useful for a diverse investment portfolio.
I wonder what's going to happen in 2025
DirecTV says Dish purchase is off
DirecTV's proposed acquisition of Dish assets is most likely dead after a group of bondholders rejected a revised offer.
DirecTV is abandoning its acquisition of Dish assets after a group of bondholders refused to accept the terms of a proposed debt offer, a DirecTV spokesperson said.
#dish #directv #entertainment #broadcast #television
"A successful exchange was a condition for acquiring the Dish video business," the spokesperson said in an email Tuesday. "Given the outcome of the EchoStar exchange, DirecTV will have no choice but to terminate the acquisition of Dish by midnight on Nov. 22."
DirecTV does not plan to offer further concessions, according to people familiar with the matter who requested anonymity to discuss confidential information. Further progress could be made if Dish and co-founder and Chairman Charlie Ergen were to come to the negotiating table, though that currently seems unlikely, said one of the people.
DirecTV, which will soon be wholly owned by private equity firm TPG, would have assumed roughly $10 billion worth of Dish debt and paid a nominal $1 to acquire Dish DBS, which includes both Dish and Sling TV. But the initial deal was quickly contested by a group of bondholders. DirecTV made a revised offer that valued Dish bonds at a little more than 70 cents on the dollar.
Bloomberg was first to report on DirecTV's plans.
Article
Rivian and VW Press Release:
Faster, Leaner, More Efficient: Rivian and Volkswagen Group Announce the Launch of their Joint Venture
Rivian Automotive (NASDAQ: RIVN) and Volkswagen Group (XETRA: VOW / VOW3) entered into a transaction agreement to create their new joint venture (JV)
IRVINE, Calif. & WOLFSBURG, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Rivian Automotive (NASDAQ: RIVN) and Volkswagen Group (XETRA: VOW / VOW3) entered into a transaction agreement to create their new joint venture (JV) – “Rivian and VW Group Technology, LLC”, known as Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies – with a total deal size of up to $5.8 billion, which is expected to start on November 13. Through this JV, the companies plan to bring next-generation electrical architecture and best-in-class software technology for both companies’ future electric vehicles, covering all relevant vehicle segments, including subcompact cars. It is highly complementary reflecting Rivian’s industry-leading software and electrical hardware technology as well as Volkswagen Group’s significant global scale and industry-leading vehicle platform competencies.
The joint venture will be headed by Wassym Bensaid (Rivian) and Carsten Helbing (Volkswagen Group). Developers and software engineers from both companies will join the joint venture. Teams will be based in Palo Alto, California initially, and three other sites are in development in North America and Europe. By combining their complementary expertise, the two companies plan to reduce development costs and scale new technologies more quickly. The goal is to be able to offer customers the best technological solution as early as possible.
Oliver Blume, CEO of Volkswagen Group, said: “The partnership with Rivian is the next logical step in our software strategy. With its implementation, we will strengthen our global competitive and technological position. Today’s launch of the joint venture demonstrates the potential we want to leverage together in the coming years. We have a clear plan to offer our customers the best products and digital experiences at attractive prices through state-of-the-art development processes, innovative technological approaches, and a competitive cost base driven by synergies.”
RJ Scaringe, Founder and CEO of Rivian, said: “Today’s finalization of our joint venture with Volkswagen Group marks an important step forward in helping transition the world to electric vehicles. We’re thrilled to see our technology being integrated in vehicles outside of Rivian, and we’re excited for the future. Rivian will continue to stay focused on creating best in class products and services that benefit our customers, helping to drive EV adoption.”
The JV will aim to use the existing Rivian electrical architecture and software technology stack, enabling the launch of Rivian’s R2 in the first half of 2026 and support the expected launch of the first models from the Volkswagen Group as early as 2027.
The JV will evolve this modular and flexible state-of-the-art electrical architecture. It will scale the technology across a wide range of price points and international markets, paving the way for new generations of high-volume vehicles that are fully capable of advanced automated driving functions and can integrate over-the-air updates (OTA) and upgrades. Customers will regularly receive new software updates, increasing the added value throughout the entire lifecycle of the vehicle.
Teams from Rivian and Volkswagen Group have already successfully demonstrated the potential of their collaboration. In just twelve weeks, the team developed an initial drivable demonstrator vehicle. A Volkswagen Group vehicle has been retrofitted to run on Rivian’s proven in-market zonal hardware design and integrated technology platform. The drivable demonstrator vehicle not only highlights the scalability and integration capabilities of both companies, but it also further proves the concept for the joint venture.
Wassym Bensaid, co-CEO of the joint venture, said: “We’re excited to have entered into this joint venture, and welcome colleagues from both Rivian and Volkswagen Group to our new venture. The aim of the joint venture is to speed up innovation, increase scale and lower the cost of owning an EV for millions of people around the world. I’m hugely impressed by the work done already. While the demonstrator vehicle only scratches the surface of what is possible, it’s incredibly exciting to see what is possible when a new OEM and a legacy automaker work closely together.”
Volkswagen Group plans to invest up to $5.8 billion in Rivian and the joint venture by 2027. An initial investment of $1 billion in the form of a convertible note has already been made. At closing of the Joint Venture, Volkswagen Group will invest about $1.3 billion as consideration for background IP licenses and a 50% equity stake in the joint venture. These investments also balance part of lower future costs identified during the technical feasibility tests and the sharing of costs for the inclusion of selected Volkswagen MEB models. The remaining investment of up to $3.5 billion is expected to come in the form of equity, convertible notes, and debt at future dates and based on clearly defined milestones. Further investments are tied to clear operational, technical, and financial milestones. The joint venture will operate as an independent company.
Through the partnership, Volkswagen Group aims to strengthen consumer benefits surrounding innovation, scalable platform and cost savings potential for both sides, as well as enhancing its R&D cost efficiency and thus sustainably reduce overall expenditure in this area.
Did You know that you can use ChatGPT to create a PowerPoint by asking it to generate slides, summarize documents or even use a special bot for easy presentations.
OpenAI is on steroids and it's only going to get better
single paragraphs
This includes guidelines governing how the public and private sector collaborate, deploying AI in society, complying with both the AI Act and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), mitigating risks and reducing bias, scaling AI implementation, storing data securely, and training up staff.
Netcompany CEO André Rogaczewski said the provisions laid out in the white paper were primarily aimed at companies in heavily regulated industries, such as in financial services. He told CNBC he's aiming to address one core question: "How can we scale the responsible usage of AI?"
Trump initially floated the idea of an efficiency commission in September. Since then, Musk — who has called himself the "Dogefather" in the past and has been known to make public comments about the memecoin that influence its price — has posted on his social media platform X, referring to the commission as the "Department of Government Efficiency" or "D.O.G.E."
What is the EU AI Act?
The EU AI Act is a landmark law that aims to govern the way companies develop, use and apply AI. It came into force in August, after previously receiving final approval from EU member states, lawmakers, and the European Commission — the executive body of the EU — in May.
The law applies a risk-based approach to governing AI, meaning various applications of the technology are treated differently depending on the risk level they pose. It's been touted as the world's first major AI law that will give firms clarity under a harmonized, EU-wide regulatory framework.
Dogecoin gained relevance in 2021 following Musk's endorsement and continuous hype on social media, which has since become a big catalyst for the coin. In May that year, Musk's posts fueled dogecoin's rally to its all-time high of 67 cents, per Coin Metrics. Though his appearance at the time on SNL, in which he called dogecoin "a hustle," sent its price crashing down.
Though the rules are technically in effect, implementation them is a lengthy process. Most of the provisions of the Act — including rules for general-purpose AI systems like OpenAI's ChatGPT — won't materialize until at least 2026, at the end of a two-year transition period.
"It is absolutely vital for the competitiveness of our businesses and future progress of Europe that both the private and public sector will succeed in developing and using AI in the years to come," Caroline Stage Olsen, Denmark's minister of digital affairs, told CNBC, calling the white paper a "helpful step" toward that goal.
The rest of the crypto market was on pause from its postelection rally. Bitcoin was trading flat at about $87,000, after briefly touching $90,000 in late afternoon trading. Crypto stocks Coinbase and MicroStrategy were lower by 1% and 2%, respectively, in extended trading.
Netcompany's Rogaczewski told CNBC that pitched the idea for a white paper to some of Denmark's biggest banks and insurance firms some months ago. He found that, though each organization was "experimenting" with AI, institutions lacked a "common standard" to get the most out of the tech.
Rogaczewski hopes the Danish white paper will also offer a blue print for other countries and businesses seeking to simplify compliance with the EU AI Act.
Microsoft's decision to sign up to the guidelines is of particular note. "Getting Microsoft involved was important since generative AI solutions often involve algorithms and global tech," said Rogaczewski, adding the tech giant's involvement underlines how responsible digitization is possibility across borders.
The U.S. tech giant is a major backer of ChatGPT developer OpenA, which secured a $157 billion valuation this year. Microsoft also licenses OpenAI's technology out to enterprise firms via its Azure cloud computing platform.
Dogecoin jumped after President-elect Donald Trump announced the creation of the Department of Government Efficiency, or "DOGE."
Memecoins are seen as a gauge of retail interest and risk appetite in crypto. When memecoin activity ramps up, it usually indicates that retail investors are participating and have an appetite to speculate further out on the risk curve.
Global monthly average users for the messaging app rose by 3% from a year ago to 1.38 billion in the third quarter.
Advertising spend from games and e-commerce gained ground, more than offsetting a revenue drop from real estate and food and beverage.
Mortgage rates continued to climb last week as investors considered the future of the economy under a Trump presidency. The mortgage market basically took a breather.
Total application volume was essentially flat, rising just 0.5% last week, compared with the previous one, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's seasonally adjusted index. While tiny, the increase marked the first rise in overall demand in seven weeks.
The company also boasted the benefits of employing its self-developed artificial intelligence tools, amid a broader global boom in the AI space:
"We are increasingly seeing tangible benefits of deploying AI across our products and operations including marketing services and cloud, and will continue investing in AI technology, tools and solutions that assist users and partners," Tencent said in an earnings release.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances of $766,550 or less increased to 6.86% from 6.81%, with points decreasing to 0.60 from 0.68, including the origination fee, for loans with a 20% down payment.
"Mortgage rates continued to increase last week, driven by higher Treasury yields as financial markets digested the likely impacts of a Trump presidency," said Joel Kan, the Mortgage Bankers Association's deputy chief economist. "The Federal Reserve's 25-basis-point rate cut was already anticipated and did little to move the markets."
The company said that search within the Weixin app saw growth in commercial queries and click-through rates, thanks to large language model capabilities.
In June, Tencent upgraded an advertising feature that uses AI to select or help create targeted ads that sit inside articles and videos based inside its messaging app. That update drove a nine-fold increase from last year in the number of accounts using the feature — to more than 200,000 users, according to the company.
Applications to refinance a home loan, which are most sensitive to weekly moves in interest rates, fell 2% for the week to the lowest level since May. They were, however, 43% higher than the same week one year ago. Last year at that time, mortgage rates were 75 basis points higher.
Applications for a mortgage to purchase a home rose 2% for the week and were 1% higher than the same week one year ago. Homebuyers may be looking at lower rates than last year, but they are also seeing higher home prices. Meanwhile, the supply of homes for sale remains lean.
Tencent has sought to build up its short video accounts and mini-program e-commerce offerings to compete with ByteDance's Douyin — the local version of TikTok — and major online shopping platforms.
In the third quarter, Tencent said mini programs' gross merchandise value — an industry measure of sales over time— expanded by the "high teens" from a year ago to more than 2 trillion yuan, as people used the app for help with ordering food, electric vehicle charging and medical services.
Kan noted that applications for loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs helped drive stronger purchase activity, increasing 3% and 9%, respectively.
"FHA mortgage rates bucked the overall trend and were lower over the week, which likely helped some borrowers," Kan said. "Conventional purchase applications were also up slightly."
Mortgage rates moved higher this Tuesday; the bond market was closed Monday for the Veterans Day holiday.
"The market continues to work through election-related volatility," wrote Matthew Graham, chief operating officer at Mortgage News Daily. "That involves a complex set of considerations. Some of them have to do with actual expectations for changes in fiscal policy in the coming years. Some of the considerations are as simple as traders going through the process of exiting (and re-setting) trading positions heading into the election."
pecial counsel Jack Smith and his team plan to resign before President-elect Donald Trump takes office, a source familiar with the matter said.
Smith’s office was evaluating the best path for winding down its work on the two outstanding federal criminal cases against Trump, as the Justice Department’s longstanding position is that it cannot charge a sitting president with a crime.
The New York Times first reported Smith will step down.
He predicted that Chinese and American companies will be competing on technology into the distant future and urged U.S. and European companies to collaborate to grow economies and bring new advancements like artificial intelligence to the rest of the world.
Microsoft CEO Brad Smith participates in a meeting at The Westin Palace Hotel, on 20 May, 2022 in Madrid, Spain.
Jack Smith, the special counsel who pursued two federal prosecutions of Donald J. Trump, plans to finish his work and resign along with other members of his team before Mr. Trump takes office in January, people familiar with his plans said.
Mr. Smith’s goal, they said, is to not leave any significant part of his work for others to complete and to get ahead of the president-elect’s promise to fire him within “two seconds” of being sworn in.
Microsoft has operated in China since 1992, according to the company's web page, including through its largest research and development center outside the U.S. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said last year that the firm wasn't focused on China as a domestic market, but that it provides services to Chinese companies and has a more visible presence locally than do many other U.S. tech giants.
Before Trump’s re-election last week, Smith and his team had taken significant steps in their election interference case against Trump. After Trump’s victory, however, the federal judge overseeing the case said she would pause the process to allow the special counsel’s office time to decide how to proceed.
The Justice Department indicted Trump last year in their investigation of his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. But Smith’s case was hindered in July of this year by the Supreme Court’s ruling that he has immunity for some conduct as president in his federal election interference case. In August, Trump was charged with the same four counts after a federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment in the case following the immunity ruling.
Mr. Smith, who since taking office two years ago has operated under the principle that not even a powerful ex-president is above the law, now finds himself on the defensive as he rushes to wind down a pair of complex investigations slowed by the courts and ultimately made moot by Mr. Trump’s electoral victory.
Mr. Smith’s office is still drawing up its plan for how to end the cases, and it is possible that unforeseen circumstances — such as judicial rulings or decisions by other government officials — could alter his intended timeline. But Mr. Smith is trying to finish his work and leave before Mr. Trump returns to power, the people familiar with his plans said.
Asked about whether trade and tech transfers — or the movement of data, designs or innovations — with China will get more challenging as Washington transitions between the administrations of U.S. incumbent leader Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump, Smith it was too early tor know.
"The truth is, as an American technology company, we can do business in China only when we are offering a service that the Chinese government wants to have there, and the U.S. government wants us to bring there," he said, adding, "And in some cases they look at, say, a data center to support a Mercedes or a Siemens or a Starbucks or a General Motors — there seems to be a level of comfort. In consumer services, not really."
The election’s outcome spelled the end of the federal cases against Mr. Trump, since Justice Department policy has long held that a sitting president cannot be prosecuted for crimes. A Supreme Court ruling this summer significantly expanded the scope of official presidential conduct that cannot be prosecuted even after leaving office.
As he prepares for his last act as special counsel, Mr. Smith’s ultimate audience will not be a jury, but the public.
The Justice Department had also charged Trump in Florida with allegedly mishandling classified documents after he left office. But a federal judge dismissed the case in July, saying Smith’s appointment was illegal.
President-elect Donald Trump said Tuesday that Elon Musk and former Republican presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy will lead an efficiency group when his second term begins in January.
Trump wrote in a post that the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, will "become, potentially, 'The Manhattan Project' of our time." He also said the group would, "pave the way" for his next administration to "dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies."
One likely beneficiary of the funding announced Monday will be Japan-based Rapidus, a state-backed chip venture at the heart of the country's chip revitalization efforts.
Founded in 2022 by the Japanese government, Rapidus has backing from a host of Japanese firms— including Toyota Motor and the Sony Group — and is collaborating with U.S. tech giant IBM.
Trump didn't specify where cuts will take place or when the department may be formed. Congress hasn't created or funded such an office. He said the group's "work will conclude no later than July 4, 2026."
Musk's involvement in the envisioned group was previously promised by Trump and touted by the Tesla CEO, who spent an estimated $200 million backing the Republican nominee's 2024 campaign, as a reason to put the former president back in the White House. Musk, who also runs defense contractor SpaceX, has reportedly been stationed at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida since Election Night.
The company has already received over $2 billion in government support as it aims to mass-produce cutting-edge 2-nanometer logic chips by 2027.
Logic chips are used to process information and complete tasks within electronic devices. The most advanced logic chips are used in technologies such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing and machine learning.
Rapidus chairman Tetsuro Higashi has reportedly called the company Japan's "last opportunity" to regain a leading semiconductor position on the global stage as it looks to catch up with leaders like Taiwan and South Korea.
In the 1980s, Japan was the world's dominant chip player and occupied more than half of the global semiconductor market.
CNBC's Jim Cramer examined Tuesday's market action, saying the rally fueled by the victory of President-elect Donald Trump took a breather as Wall Street weighs what broad tax cuts could mean for the bond market.
"If you believe we're about to get big tax cuts, remember that somebody eventually has to pay for the missing tax receipts — as boring as that is — even if that means the government borrows a lot more money, causing bond yields to spike," he said.
However, the country began losing its leading edge with the emergence of foreign competitors like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., now the world's dominant contract chip manufacturer, and South Korea's Samsung.
Both Samsung and TSMC have laid out plans to begin commercial production of 2-nanometer chips by 2025.
The major indexes declined Tuesday with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing down 0.86%, while the S&P 500 shed 0.29% and Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.09%. Cramer called the day's moves a "sobering reaction to the potential unfunded tax cuts from the bond market," as both the 10-year and 2-year Treasury yields surged more than 4%. The bond market and the stock market usually have a negative correlation, with investors coming in and out of each depending on yields.
Meanwhile, the U.S. has become a key player in chip design, with companies like Intel and Micron, while the Netherlands makes the world's most advanced chip-making equipment through its company ASML.
Trump campaigned on the promise of tax cuts across a wide swath of sectors. Many on Wall Street expect these cuts will come in aggregate, but remain unsure of the specifics, Cramer noted. He suggested that if Trump's new tax plans are similar to those he implemented in 2016, wealthy people will stand to benefit the most — which may not help the economy but will usually help the market see gains.
Though it has lost its leadership in semiconductor production and manufacturing, Japan remains a leader in certain semiconductor materials and equipment, Michael Yang, senior director of semiconductors at analyst and consulting firm Omdia, told CNBC.
Through its chip subsidies, which have mostly been geared toward increasing manufacturing capacity, the country should be able to expand into other aspects of the supply and enhance its position, Yang added.
After investors spent days reveling at the thought of how tax cuts could boost earnings, they may now be anticipating how the U.S. will be forced to make up for those lost contributions — usually by selling bonds, Cramer added. He rebuked a few theories about other ways the government could recover these funds, such as increased tariffs or some sort of plan to drastically trim the deficit thought up by a newly-empowered Tesla CEO Elon Musk, a close ally of Trump.
Still, regaining the chip market will be an uphill battle for Japan and will require Rapidus to find a "shortcut" in chip design and production to reach the level of advancement of leading semiconductor companies, said Brady Wang, semiconductor analyst at Counterpoint Research.
Rapidus representatives have said that the architecture of the 2-nanometer chip is different from that of 3-nanometer ones, making mass production of the former a "blank-slate challenge for all players," and presenting a prime opportunity to break into the market.
"We can only hope the stock market goes back to ignoring long-term interest rates, or that those rates come back down in response to some benign inflation numbers," Cramer said. "Otherwise, you got to expect more days like today."
Those bondholders, who constitute a sizable portion of Dish's creditor base, rejected the renewed offer earlier this week.
The likely collapse of the deal would leave Dish in a difficult financial position. Pay TV has been in a long and accelerating decline, and Dish parent company EchoStar on Tuesday reported earnings that disappointed investors, sending shares plunging nearly 13%.
However, in this endeavor, "subsidies are a must-have, but cannot guarantee their success," Wang said, adding that it took TSMC over a decade to catch up to global chip firms and build relationships with customers.
"Subsidies are only a basic requirement for entering the semiconductor industry, but success requires more supportive measures, such as talent, technology, and strategic planning," said Ken Kuo, senior research vice president at tech market intelligence firm TrendForce.
A representative for EchoStar didn't immediately return a request for comment. A representative for TPG didn't immediately provide a comment.
In addition to trying to establish a dominant chip producer in Japan, subsidies have also been aimed at attracting the global leaders that once took its chip business.
With aid from the Japanese government, chipmakers such as TSMC, Samsung Electronics, and Intel Corp have agreed to invest billions of dollars into Japan.
Such companies are leaders in producing memory chips used to store data, which are essential in data centers used for AI and cloud computing.
TSMC has already announced plans to build a second fabrication plant in Japan ahead of the completion of its first.
According to Counterpoint's Wang, attracting such companies entering Japan can help the country quickly boost vertical integration across the supply chain and more quickly build up its semiconductor ecosystem.
Japan has also signed collaboration agreements — with allies such as the U.S., the U.K., Taiwan and a number of EU countries — that are aimed at advancing research and development involving next-generation semiconductors.
The first, essential step in achieving mass production is collaboration with overseas partners. According to Shindo, “We need to cooperate with various companies around the world, since particular technologies and processes are being advanced by different leading-edge firms.” In 2022, Rapidus formed a partnership with IBM, which has successfully developed the 2-nm chip technology. Around 100 engineers from Rapidus have already been dispatched to IBM’s R&D center—the Albany NanoTech Complex in the state of New York—to jointly develop technology for the chip’s mass production. It also plans to open a business base in Silicon Valley, home to major IT and AI development companies. Additionally, Rapidus has formed a cooperative relationship with Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre (imec), an international organization in Belgium for semiconductor research, to receive technical support in such matters as the development of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography systems.
President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday named Pete Hegseth, a Fox News host and military veteran, as his pick for defense secretary.
In a statement, Trump described Hegseth as "tough, smart and a true believer in America First."
"With Pete at the helm, America's enemies are on notice — Our Military will be Great Again, and America will Never Back Down," Trump said.
Speed and customization are the key features of the production system being pursued by Rapidus. The company aims to establish a system that enables flexible responses to the needs of rapidly evolving, innovative fields such as AI. The semiconductor manufacturing process consists of (1) the design of the circuit, (2) the front-end process, in which the circuit is formed on the silicon wafer, and (3) the back-end process, in which the wafer is diced into individual chips and turned into products. As these processes are usually undertaken by different companies, even 3-nm chips require nearly two years from development to production. Rapidus aims to conduct both the front-end and back-end processes in-house, and also to support product design that optimizes production by utilizing big data obtained in the front-end process, thereby accelerating the speed of production exponentially—“like the difference between a regular slow train and a bullet train.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., applauded Trump's selection, calling Hegseth a "great choice."
"Pete brings a lot to the table. He's got experience, and I think he'll be reform-minded in the areas that need reform. So I'm excited about the pick," Johnson told reporters on Capitol Hill, without elaborating on what programs he thinks need changing.
Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, said he was caught off guard by Trump's announcement.
“Now 20 to 30 employees join Rapidus every month. Although varying in age and specialty, they share the strong desire to accomplish the same goal,” said SHINDO Yukiko, the company’s senior human resources manager.
"I confess, I did not know who Pete Hegseth was until about 20 minutes ago," Smith told reporters.
"He does not seem to have much of a detailed background in [Department of Defense] policy. To the extent he's worked on any of that stuff, it has been on veterans policy, not on DoD issues. So the lack of experience is concerning," Smith said.
"Now I have not heard what his plans are, so we will see what his plans are," he added. "But it was surprising and is concerning, just given that lack of experience. You know, the Pentagon, biggest bureaucracy in the world. It's a hard thing to run, so I think it's going to be a challenge."
Organizations such as imec, along with the major chip-making equipment manufacturers ASML, Lam Research, and Applied Materials, have already decided to establish bases around the Rapidus plant in Hokkaido, and other related companies are expected to follow soon after. Blessed with vast land and abundant nature, the large plant at Chitose, reportedly constructed at a total cost of 5 trillion yen, is expected to involve several hundred engineers from Japan and abroad by the time operation starts.
During an interview on the podcast "The Shawn Ryan Show" released last week, Hegseth denounced what he called diversity, equity and inclusion "woke s---" in the military and outlined a plan to "course correct it."
"Well, first of all, you gotta fire — you've got to fire the chairman of the Joint Chiefs and obviously, you're going to bring in a new secretary of defense. But any general that was involved — general, admiral, whatever that was involved — in any of the DEI woke s--- has got to go," Hegseth said.
Shindo noted, “Across-the-board capabilities—from factory safety and quality control to the ability to move things forward as a team—are the strengths of Japan’s manufacturing. We aim to make the most of those strengths and work with our partners worldwide to establish a new center for the semiconductor industry, contributing to the development of leading-edge technologies that will enrich people’s lives.”
During his first administration, Trump nominated James Mattis and later Mark Esper to lead the Defense Department.
Mattis resigned in December 2018 and suggested in a resignation letter that he and Trump differed in their views on "treating our allies with respect" and being "clear-eyed" about U.S. adversaries and competitors.
In December 2022, immediately after the announcement of the partnership between Rapidus and IBM, Prime Minister Kishida gave an address at the international exhibition SEMICON Japan, stating that the national government will continue to fully support investment in semiconductor mass production in Japan.
Overall, according to the indictment, Moucka and Binns accessed “billions of sensitive customer records,” and were successful in extorting at least three victims of at least 36 bitcoin (around $2.5 million when the victims paid) over a span of almost a year, from around November 2023, until October 10 of this year.
Prosecutors say Moucka, who lived in Canada, is also known online as “judische,” “catist,” “waif,” and “cllyels,” and Binns, who lived in Turkey, was known as “irdev”and “j_irdev1337.” Moucka was arrested in Canada last week. Binns was previously arrested in Turkey, according to 404 Media.
Trump fired Esper in 2020 after disagreements that included the use of active-duty troops to quell nationwide racial justice protests that year after the murder of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis.
Amid a flurry of picks for his second administration, Trump earlier Tuesday said he would nominate former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe to be CIA director.
In August, Binns took credit for the AT&T breach with The Wall Street Journal. Moucka, through his moniker “Judische,” told 404 Media that he thought he’d be arrested soon.
AT&T is just one of several victims who had sensitive data stolen from their Snowflake instances. Over the last months, hackers also broke into Santander Bank, Ticketmaster, and around 165 other corporate customers. All these companies use Snowflake.
On Monday, he tapped Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., as his pick for U.N. ambassador and said he would nominate Lee Zeldin, a former House Republican from New York, to lead the Environmental Protection Agency.
Sunday, he named immigration hard-liner Tom Homan as his "border czar."
Prosecutors alleged that by breaking into the victim companies’ Snowflake instances, the hackers stole troves of sensitive personal and corporate data, including social security numbers, driver’s license numbers, passport numbers, and banking information, which makes these Snowflake-related breaches some of the worst cyberattacks of the year. In some cases, the hackers also asked victims for a ransom by threatening them with leaking the stolen information, threats that they followed up on at times.
Wired previously reported that AT&T paid a hacker $370,000 in an attempt to get them to delete the stolen records. Prosecutors said in the indictment that Victim-2 paid a ransom to the hackers.
Trump's first major administration announcement came last week, when he said Susie Wiles, his campaign manager, would be White House chief of staff.
Both Scaringe and Blume said any further plans such as battery modules, joint production of vehicles or sharing other hardware components would need to be in addition to the announced joint venture deal.
The name of the joint venture, which was expected to close during the fourth quarter, is Rivian and VW Group Technology, LLC.
Stock of Rivian Automotive and Volkswagen Group
✓Human resource development under regional public-industry-academia
collaboration tailored to regional characteristics (e.g., consortiums for
human resource development)
✓Developing professionals and global human resources who will play a
leading role in designing a
VW has already made an initial investment of $1 billion in the form of a convertible note, the companies said. At the closing of the joint venture, VW will invest about $1.3 billion "as consideration for background IP licenses and a 50% equity stake in the joint venture."
The remaining investment of up to $3.5 billion is expected to come by 2027 "in the form of equity, convertible notes, and debt at future dates and based on clearly defined milestones," according to the companies.
✓Utilizing frameworks via Japan-U.S. ties (e.g., joint task forces) based
on the Japan-U.S. Basic Principles on Semiconductor Cooperation,
enriching such collaboration, starting with the NSTC and LSTC in the
U.S., and working on the development of next-generation
semiconductors
✓Advancing collaboration with the EU, Belgium, the Netherlands, the UK,
the ROK, Taiwan, and other overseas countries and regions in
developing use cases and advancing R&D involving next-generation
semiconductors in a manner tailored to the needs of partner countries
and regions
Greener
semiconductors
✓ Coping with PFAS regulati
The joint venture deal was initially announced in June and came as Rivian sought to raise additional capital as it launches its redesigned models and prepares for production of new "R2" vehicles in early 2026.
Scaringe previously said the capital from VW is expected to carry the company through the production ramp-up of its smaller R2 SUVs at its plant in Normal, Illinois, starting in 2026, as well as production of a midsize EV platform at a plant in Georgia, where Rivian paused construction earlier this year.
FY2021: 774 billion yen ($ 5.5 Billion)
✓ Capital for advanced semiconductor (5G Promotion Act): 617 billion yen ($4.4B)
✓ Capital for general semiconductor : 47 billion yen ($336M)
✓ R&D (Post 5G R&D Fund): 110 billion yen ($786M)
$1 = 140 yen 5
FY2022: Total 1.3 trillion yen ($9 billion)
✓ Capital for advanced (5G Promotion Act): 450 billion yen ($3.2 B)
✓ Capital for general (Economic Security Act): 368.6 billion yen ($2.6 B)
✓ R&D (Post 5G R&D Fund): 485 billion yen ($3.5 B)
Semiconductor Budget
FY2023: Total 1.85 trillion yen ($13 billion)
✓ Capital for advanced (5G Promotion Act): 632 billion yen ($4.5 B)
The joint venture will be headed by Rivian Chief Software Officer Wassym Bensaid and VW Group Chief Technical Engineer Carsten Helbing.
The companies said developers and software engineers from both companies will join the joint venture. Teams will be based initially in Palo Alto, California, and three other sites are in development in North America and Europe.
The first legislation which includes the concept of economic security
A basic act for economic security measures under the one legislative purpose
bundling together four policy issues:
• 1) Ensuring a Stable Supply of Critical Items
• 2) Ensuring the Stable Provision of Essential Infrastructure Services
• 3) Enhancing Development of Advanced Critical Technologies
• 4) Non-Disclosure of Selected Patent Applications
• Called the Economic Security Promotion Act under the presumption that the
government of Japan must promptly enact from policy fields ready to be
legislated and continue to make revisions while recognizing the remaining policy
challenges, including the necessity of improving informa
"I think humans still have a slight advantage in very hard use cases. But that advantage right now is so razor thin that except for really the ... most difficult use cases, we believe AI is getting really there, and it's hard for me to see right now how three years from now, you will need humans to be translating anything," Pedro said.
"There's still going to be humans responsible for making sure that things get translated and are delivered in the right places," he added.
Widn.AI is the latest product in an increasingly competitive market which includes Google Translate and products from German startup DeepL.
Those companies see translation as a key area in which LLMs can be used effectively and have trained models specifically to tackle various languages.
Pedro acknowledges that the revenue per translated word is going to "drastically reduce." But he said there will be an increase in the amount of content translated which will sustain the company's growth.
Unbabel is speaking to investors and is looking to raise between $20 million and $50 million in funding to fuel the growth and development of Widn.AI, according to Pedro.
The latter uses Eleven Labs’ API, and according to Kutylowski, Eleven Labs itself is using tech from DeepL to power its translation service.
Audio output is not the only feature yet to launch.
There is also no API for the voice product right now. DeepL’s main business is focused on B2B and Kutylowski said the company is working with partners and customers directly.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. doesn't just want a top health-care position in the Trump administration, he wants your suggestions for more than 4,000 posts to be appointed by President-elect Donald Trump across the U.S. government.
Kennedy's "Make America Healthy" website is seeking recommendations for appointees "across the future Trump administration" and allows users to "read, comment and vote" on those people.
Nor is there a wide choice of integrations: The only video calling service that supports DeepL’s subtitles currently is Teams, which “covers most of our customers,” Kutylowski said. There’s no word on when or if Zoom or Google Meet will be incorporating DeepL Voice down the line.
The product will feel like a long time coming for DeepL users, not just because we’ve been awash in a plethora of other AI voice services aimed at translation. Kutylowski said that this has been the No. 1 request from customers since 2017, the year DeepL launched.
The page titled "Nominees for the People!" says "President Trump and Robert F Kennedy Jr want your help nominating people of integrity and courage."
Categories for appointees include "Government Efficiency," "Economy," "America's Health," "Peace at Home," "Peace Abroad," "Food and Agriculture," "Technology," "Labor," "Education," and "Energy and Infrastructure."
Part of the reason for the wait is that DeepL has been taking a pretty deliberate approach to building its product. Unlike many others in the world of AI applications that lean on and tweak other companies’ large language models (LLMs), DeepL’s aim is to build its service from the ground up. In July, the company released a new LLM optimized for translations that it says outperforms GPT-4, and those from Google and Microsoft, not least because its primary purpose is for translation. The company has also continued to enhance the quality of its written output and glossary.
Spokespeople for the Trump transition team did not immediately reply to CNBC when asked whether the president-elect had authorized Kennedy's initiative, and whether the team would consider the responses to the website in staffing the future administration.
A spokeswoman for Kennedy did not immediately reply when asked for comment.
Similarly, one of DeepL Voice’s unique selling points is that it will work in real time, which is important since a lot of “AI translation” services on the market actually work on a delay, making them harder or impossible to use in live situations, which is the use-case that DeepL is addressing.
Kutylowski hinted that this was another reason behind why the new voice-processing product is focusing on text-based translations: They can be computed and produced very fast, while processing and AI architecture still has a way to go before being able to produce audio and video as quickly.
Kennedy, who is a vaccine skeptic and conspiracy theorist, campaigned for president as an independent but suspended his campaign in August and endorsed Trump. The president-elect at a rally in New York in October said that if he won the presidential race he would let Kennedy "go wild on health."
Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. makes an announcement on the future of his campaign in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. August 23, 2024.
Video conferencing and meetings are likely use cases for DeepL Voice, but Kutylowski noted that another major one the company envisions is in the service industry, where front-line workers at, say, restaurants could use the service to help communicate with customers more easily.
This could be useful, but it also highlights one of the rougher points of the service. In a world where we are all suddenly a lot more aware of data protection and concerns about how new services and platforms are co-opting private or proprietary information, it remains to be seen how keen people will be to have their voices being picked up and used in this way.
Kennedy is the most-recommended person under the category "America's Health" on his site, with more than 3,200 votes. He was followed in votes by Dr. Charlie Fagenholz, whose website says he is a "holistic physician trained in chiropractic, frequency and functional medicine," and Sherri Tenpenny, a doctor of osteopathy who told Ohio state legislators that Covid-19 vaccines made people magnetic.
Kutylowski insisted that although voices will be traveling to its servers to be translated (the processing does not happen on-device), nothing is retained by its systems, nor used for training its LLMs. Ultimately, DeepL will work with its customers to make sure that they do not violate GDPR or any other data protection regulations.
To save itself from the music industry’s ire, YouTube last August said — before releasing any of these tools — that it plans to compensate artists and rights holders for using their work in its AI features. To that end, the company announced a partnership with Universal Music Group (UMG) to develop a structure to pay rights holders.
YouTube is not the only company working on providing ways for users to remix tracks. Former JioSaavn exec Gaurav Sharma is building an app called Hook that lets users remix songs that could be used to create short videos.
Just Eat Takeaway itself has been trying to sell Grubhub for years. The company first announced it was looking to sell Grubhub in April 2022 to focus on profitability, less than a year after closing the deal to acquire it, but last year, its CEO said a sale was proving to be “very difficult.”
“The sale of Grubhub to Wonder will increase the cash generation capabilities of Just Eat Takeaway.com and will accelerate our growth,” Jitse Groen, Just Eat Takeaway’s CEO, said in a statement. The company said the sale would allow it to invest in countries where it has a competitive advantage and generate free cash flow.
Wonder’s CEO Marc Lore said that the company aims to create a super app for food delivery through this acquisition.
“We’re excited to soon offer a curated selection of Grubhub’s restaurant partners directly in the Wonder app, alongside our owned and operated restaurants and meal kits. Bringing Wonder and Grubhub together is the next step in our vision to create the super app for meal time, re-envisioning the future of food delivery,” he said in a statement.
Wonder has raised more than $1.7 billion in funding, according to Crunchbase, with backers like Accel, Bain Capital Ventures, Google Ventures, Nestle and Forerunner Ventures.
“We intentionally chose these formats because it integrates advertising in a way that still protects the utility, accuracy and objectivity of answers,” the blog post read. “These ads will not change our commitment to maintaining a trusted service that provides you with direct, unbiased answers to your questions.”
Perplexity’s embrace of ads stands in contrast to OpenAI’s decision not to launch its AI-powered search tool, ChatGPT Search, with ads. Rival Google has similarly piloted ads in its AI search experience, AI Overviews — recently showing ads for certain queries on mobile in the U.S.
President-elect Donald Trump said Tuesday that Elon Musk and former Republican presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy will lead an efficiency group when his second term begins in January.
Trump wrote in a post that the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, will "become, potentially, 'The Manhattan Project' of our time." He also said the group would, "pave the way" for his next administration to "dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies."
Perplexity is reportedly marketing its ad products as a premium alternative to Google’s, emphasizing its platform’s ability to reach educated, high-income consumers, per CNBC. But some analysts have expressed concerns about the scale, reach and targeting capabilities of ads on Perplexity.
Illustrating the challenge of incorporating ads into AI-generated content, Microsoft only briefly explored showing ads in the responses given by its chatbot on Bing. It quietly withdrew the “sponsored results” after a few weeks.
Trump didn't specify where cuts will take place or when the department may be formed. Congress hasn't created or funded such an office. He said the group's "work will conclude no later than July 4, 2026."
Musk's involvement in the envisioned group was previously promised by Trump and touted by the Tesla CEO, who spent an estimated $200 million backing the Republican nominee's 2024 campaign, as a reason to put the former president back in the White House. Musk, who also runs defense contractor SpaceX, has reportedly been stationed at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida since election night.
Perplexity has been accused of plagiarism, though, which could be another potential deterrent for advertisers. News Corp’s Dow Jones and the NY Post have sued the AI company over what they describe as a “content kleptocracy.” Many other news sites have shown evidence that Perplexity closely replicates their content, and last month, The New York Times sent the startup a cease and desist.
Perplexity, which recently said it’s serving 100 million search queries a week, claims it has changed how its platform cites sources, and continues to expand its revenue-sharing program for publishers. But the company has also argued that publishers wished its technology “didn’t exist” and they would prefer that “publicly reported facts are owned by corporations.”
There’s pressure on Perplexity to ramp up monetization. The company is reportedly in the final stages of raising $500 million in funding at a $9 billion valuation, but it has only one revenue stream: its premium subscription service, Perplexity Pro, which provides additional features for $20 per month or $200 per year.
Ramaswamy, who challenged Trump in the Republican primary, is co-founder of investment firm Strive Asset Management. He has opposed the widespread adoption of environmental, social and governance, or ESG, principles by companies.
Trump announced a number of other appointments Tuesday, including naming Fox News host Pete Hegseth as his pick for Defense secretary and John Ratcliffe as CIA director.
Shares of 23andMe closed up 2% on Tuesday. They've slumped about 75% this year after losing more than half their value in 2023, pushing the company's market cap toward $100 million.
Wojcicki, who co-founded 23andMe in 2006, has been working to keep the company afloat after it faced the risk of being delisted from the Nasdaq. Shares were hovering below $1 until 23andMe announced a 1-for-20 reverse stock split in October.
Aurora Flight Sciences seems to have the broadest mandate of all — the Boeing-owned company will “perform a comprehensive, ‘open-aperture’ exploration of technologies and aircraft concepts.” One hopes they were a bit more specific in their application!
Interestingly, none of the electric propulsion and flight startups we’ve seen collecting large sums of investor money are present here. Perhaps the juice was not worth the squeeze when they have VC money on tap — or else their visions for the future of aviation differ are too different. (They do mostly make personal helicopters, after all.)
The AACES project is part of the Advanced Air Transport Technology project, itself part of the Advanced Air Vehicles Program. If there are any more layers on top of that, they didn’t list them.
In September, all seven of the company's independent directors abruptly resigned from the board, writing in a letter that they disagreed with Wojcicki about the "strategic direction for the company." Three new independent directors were appointed to the board in late October.
"We have fulfilled our obligations as a public company and regained compliance with the NASDAQ listing standards by reconstituting our board and executing a reverse stock split," Wojcicki said during 23andMe's earnings call Tuesday.
Wojcicki has repeatedly said she intends to take 23andMe private, though she didn't address the plans Tuesday. In a September filing with the SEC, she said she would not consider third-party takeover proposals, and said the "best path forward" is for her to take the company private.
23andMe declined to comment.
Temu and Shein have been subject to wide criticism over their environmental impact, a byproduct of their worldwide shipping, and the waste caused by fast fashion. Both companies have also been subject to consumer protection probes in the European Union, where regulators are investigating their potential use of addictive design patterns and illegal products.
President-elect Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he will nominate Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, who has clashed with Republican leaders in the House and served as a lightning rod against Democrats, to serve as attorney general in his incoming administration.
In a statement, Mr. Trump said he was nominating Mr. Gaetz because he is a “deeply gifted and tenacious attorney.” He has been one of Mr. Trump’s most loyal defenders in the House.
Despite the controversy surrounding them, these low-cost retailers remain incredibly popular among Gen Z. According to research from app intelligence firm Appfigures, the most popular app among U.S. users ages 18 to 24 was Temu, with almost 42 million downloads in that demographic between January and October 2024. For Shein, that estimate is about 14.7 million downloads, though it’s possible that the difference in download numbers is that stark because Gen Z users have already downloaded Shein, which has been around longer than Temu.
“Matt will end weaponized government, protect our borders, dismantle criminal organizations and restore Americans’ badly-shattered faith and confidence in the Justice Department. … He is a champion for the constitution and the rule of law,” Mr. Trump wrote.
Mr. Trump said Mr. Gaetz will return the Justice Department to what he described as “its true mission of fighting crime and upholding our democracy and constitution.”
“It will be an honor to serve as President Trump’s Attorney General!” Mr. Gaetz responded on X.
One risk for Shein and Temu is that consumers may not feel comfortable making purchases from unknown sellers that could potentially be misleading; consumers have more existing trust in Amazon, but the company is working with similar, largely China-based sellers of mass-produced goods. However, Amazon claims that it screens sellers ahead of time, and if customers want to return their purchase, they can do so for free within 15 days as long as the item is over $3.
It’s a dubious time for Amazon to invest in this business model, given that president-elect Donald Trump has proposed leveraging a 60% tax on imported Chinese goods. This tariff plan isn’t set in stone, though — it’s common for politicians to shift their campaign platforms after they’ve secured a win.
If confirmed by the Senate, Mr. Gaetz, 42, will lead a department that carried out a sex-trafficking investigation into him.
The Justice Department ultimately declined to charge Mr. Gaetz with any wrongdoing after a two-year investigation.
But Mr. Gaetz remains the subject of an ongoing House Ethics Committee investigation into whether he engaged in sexual misconduct, accepted improper gifts, dispensed special privileges or engaged in illicit drug use.
He has denied any wrongdoing, including ever having paid for sex with a minor or paying for sex. In September, Mr. Gaetz said that he would no longer voluntarily participate in the panel’s probe.
However, the popularity of Chinese e-commerce shipments has attracted bipartisan attention. The Biden administration has already proposed congressional action to crack down on what it calls “significant increased abuse” by Chinese e-commerce companies of the “de minimis” exception. The de minimis exemption allows shipments valued under $800 to enter the U.S. duty free, which helps retailers like Temu and Shein maintain such low margins.
A conservative firebrand on Capitol Hill, Mr. Gaetz could take over a Justice Department that Mr. Trump has already pledged to drastically overhaul.
The department with roughly 115,000 employees sits at the center of Mr. Trump’s key campaign promises, including reducing crime and dolling out billions of dollars in grant funding for immigration enforcement, border security and policing.
Mr. Gaetz last year orchestrated the ouster of then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, California Republican, after he struck a deal with Democrats to avoid a government shutdown. He has also been a stalwart loyalist of Mr. Trump since he first came to Washington.
In the post on BreachForums, seen by TechCrunch, Satanic is now offering the database for $3,500.
The nature of the security incident that led to the breach is unknown. According to a report from Hudson Rock, the threat actor may have leveraged credentials stolen via infostealer malware to steal credentials for an analytics platform used by Hot Topic to access the retailer’s cloud environments.
It doesn’t appear that Hot Topic has yet notified customers or state offices of attorneys general about the data breach.
Rapid rose to prominence amid a boom of interest in APIs a decade ago, when APIs were first emerging as the webbing between a disparate number of apps and other services. Rapid’s pitch was that it provided a one-stop place to find and use APIs in what appeared to be a very fragmented market.
But it’s not clear that Rapid found a route to profitability in providing that service. Rapid’s founder Iddo Gino (a wunderkind who started the company aged just 17 in 2015), stepped down as CEO in April 2023, replaced by Marc Friend, and in the weeks following, the startup saw at least two major rounds of layoffs that reduced headcount by 82% (cue headlines of the company’s “Rapid descent“).
“And I believe we are in the midst of a multidecade, secretive arms race — one funded by misallocated taxpayer dollars and hidden from our elected representatives and oversight bodies,” Mr. Elizondo said.
Mr. Elizondo is one of the country’s highest-profile government whistleblowers on UFOs, and his appearance before an on-the-record, public congressional hearing reflects the changing attitudes toward the issue. For decades, the government said hardly anything about its UFO research efforts and dismissed suggestions that some UAP might be extraterrestrial or at least may involve technologies that cannot be explained with today’s science.
Rapid, based out of San Francisco, had raised nearly $273 million in venture funding from big-name investors that included Andreessen Horowitz, Microsoft, and SoftBank, among others.
It’s not clear how many people are actually at Rapid as of now, nor how many would be joining Nokia in the deal. Nokia’s statement emphasizes product more than people, noting that it is acquiring “technology assets, including the world’s largest API hub used by thousands of active developers globally, and its highly skilled research and development unit.”
Last year, the Pentagon’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) directly addressed some of the more far-reaching public claims of former military personnel and other U.S. officials about government contact with aliens. The 60-page study explained in detail the history of government research into UAP, and it specifically denied charges that the Pentagon has known for years about UFOs of extraterrestrial origin and has engaged in a highly secretive program to reverse-engineer their spaceships.
Critics say the report hid the truth. Mr. Elizondo testified that the government does operate secret UAP crash retrieval programs, but lawmakers of both parties said their efforts to learn more have been largely unsuccessful.
For Nokia, the acquisition is an interesting and slightly ironic turn given the Finnish company’s history as a pioneer in the world of mobile.
Back in the 1990s, Nokia set the pace for building mobile networks around the world, and it became the world’s No. 1 handset maker. In the 2000s, however, it missed the boat in the shift to smartphones, where Apple and Google (and Samsung and the hundreds of others building on Google’s Android operating system) took charge. Some argued that one of Nokia’s biggest failings was its inability to build an extensible ecosystem for apps and third parties to build for its smartphones. So it’s interesting that it’s now positioning itself as an enabler for that very purpose.
“When the American people and members of Congress ask, ‘Are reports of UAPs credible?’ We’re met with stonewalling. We’re met with responses of, ‘I can’t tell you.’ In fact, we’re met with people not wanting us to have hearings,” said Rep. Jared Moskowitz, Florida Democrat.
Rep. Nancy Mace, South Carolina Republican and chairwoman of the House Oversight and Accountability subcommittee on cybersecurity, information technology and government innovation, suggested that people in the federal government tried to block Wednesday’s hearing.
“I’m not going to name names, but there are certain individuals who did not want this hearing to happen because they feared what might be disclosed,” she said.
Tim Gallaudet, a retired Navy admiral, was commander of the Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command in 2015 when his personnel in the Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group witnessed unidentified objects in the sky. The incident was captured in the now-famous “GoFast” video.
He testified that Navy personnel immediately informed him of the encounters via email.
Specifically, Nokia sees an opportunity for carriers to encourage more developments on their 5G networks, now built out but in many cases underutilized. Carriers, they say, want more third parties building applications and other services on these networks, and they have launched a new “Network as Code” platform to that end. Rapid’s API framework will exist as part of that initiative. Nokia said that carriers and other service providers signed up to the platform include BT, DISH, Google Cloud, Infobip, Orange, Telefonica, and Telecom Argentina, as well as 20 others.
“We are pleased to join forces with Nokia,” Friend, the CEO of Rapid, said in a statement. “The combination of Rapid’s API technology and R&D expertise with Nokia’s scale and network and API domain expertise will enable us to expand the broader API ecosystem.”
“The very next day, that email disappeared from my account … without explanation,” he said.
Mr. Gallaudet said the encounter was essentially erased from the record without discussion or explanation, leaving his personnel in a potentially vulnerable position.
“Pilots were left to mitigate these threats on their own without guidance or support,” he said.
“GoFast” was one of several high-profile videos showing footage of military personnel’s specific encounters with unexplained craft. In a survey released last year, the government said U.S. military personnel and commercial pilots reported at least 291 UFO sightings since August 2022 and that some of the craft exhibited “high-speed travel,” “unusual maneuverability” and other characteristics that are hard to explain.
The AARO said it had received 801 UAP reports as of April 2023, though the actual number of sightings is thought to be much higher.
John Beieler, the U.S. intelligence community’s AI chief, told The Washington Times in July that the intelligence community was focused on the ethical use of AI and the proper monitoring of models once deployed.
The Department of Defense is busy making an AI overhaul too. The changes include the development of NIPRGPT, a generative AI platform with the approval of the Pentagon that leverages the Non-Classified Internet Protocol Network (NIPRNet).
Previously, siblings were unable to call or message each other due to parental controls. Starting today, this restriction has been lifted, allowing siblings to communicate freely via their Ace LTE devices. However, it’s important to note that while this encourages familial interaction, children are still unable to communicate with friends through the device. Instead, they can add each other in Bit Valley, where their virtual pets, called Eejies — Fitbit’s take on Tamagotchi — live.
Additionally, Family Quests aim to promote family bonding through fitness activities. The latest quest, named Turkey Berserky, is a Thanksgiving-themed challenge that tracks the family’s steps using the Ace LTE and Ace app. The collective goal is to reach 400,000 steps, and as families achieve goals, kids earn tickets to spend on digital items for their Eejies. There are also 50 new daily quests designed to teach kids about geography, nutrition, sleep hygiene, and other topics.
U.S. Central Command chief technology officer Schuyler Moore said in October her team has a chatbot it calls CentGPT, which uses the code base from NIPRGPT built onto a secret network.
AI companies see a promising market in the intelligence agencies and the Pentagon. For example, OpenAI rewrote its rules to allow work with the Department of Defense to advance last year and then recruited a former National Security Agency director to the company’s board earlier this year.
As the transition to a new Trump administration ramps up, the AI makeover of America’s military and defense establishment is not expected to slow down.
Along with quests, the smartwatch includes a Fitbit Arcade for kids to play while they walk or exercise. The newest title is Solar Sword, where players have to protect their village from invading monsters.
Fitbit also rolled out two new watch faces to help kids reach their movement goals. The watch face can be changed by long-pressing the home screen.
The Ace LTE is priced at $230, which aligns with the prices of Google’s older products, such as the Fitbit Sense 2 and Google Pixel Watch 2.
To access any of the features of the Ace LTE, users must sign up for Fitbit’s Ace Pass plan, which costs $10 per month or $119 per year. Additionally, siblings who subscribe to the plan from now until January 31 will receive a 50% discount.
Meanwhile, OpenAI launched ChatGPT’s ability to search the web in October. ChatGPT search provides links to relevant web sources in its responses, “which you would have previously needed to go to a search engine for,” OpenAI said. With web search on ChatGPT, users can ask questions “in a more natural, conversational way.”
“The decision is extremely regrettable,” Japan Atomic Power said in a statement. It said it will continue efforts to restart.
An NRA safety panel concluded three months ago it could not rule out the possibility of active fault lines about 300 meters (330 yards) north of the No. 2 reactor stretching to right underneath the facility, meaning the reactor cannot be operated.
Japan’s government in 2022 adopted a plan to maximize the use of nuclear energy, pushing to accelerate reactor restarts to secure a stable energy supply and meet its pledge to reach carbon neutrality by 2050.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters that safety is the prerequisite for nuclear plant operation and that the government respects the scientific and highly technical decision by the watchdog. He said the government’s position to promote nuclear energy is unchanged.
Concern about the government’s revived push for nuclear energy grew after a magnitude 7.5 earthquake hit Japan’s Noto Peninsula on Jan. 1, 2024, killing more than 400 people and damaging more than 100,000 structures. The quake caused minor damage to two nearby nuclear facilities, and evacuation plans for the region were found to be inadequate.
Earlier that month, AMD launched its Instinct MI325X accelerators and Ryzen AI PRO 300 series processors, along with other leading-edge computing chips, at its Advancing AI conference. Like rival Nvidia (NVDA
-1.18%
), AMD is on “an annual cadence” with releasing new chips, Su said.
“The data center and AI represent significant growth opportunities for AMD, and we are building strong momentum for our EPYC and AMD Instinct processors across a growing set of customers,” Su said.
Building key nuclear facilities, such as reactors, directly above active fault lines is prohibited in earthquake-prone Japan.
Yamanaka said the NRA is not immediately ordering a decommissioning because the reactor, which is offline and its spent fuel safely cooled, will not pose a major threat.
If the utility decides to reapply, it must address not only the faults issue but it also must implement adequate safety measures for the entire plant, Yamanaka said. Providing scientific proof of the status of faults underneath key nuclear facilities is difficult, but other operators that obtained restart permits all cleared the requirement, he noted.
The Tsuruga No. 2 reactor first started commercial operation in February 1987 and has been offline since May 2011. The operator rejected the NRA panel’s 2013 on-site inspection results, which concluded that the faults under the No. 2 reactor were active, and applied for a restart in 2015.
Of more than 50 commercial reactors, 27 have applied for restarts and 17 of them have been approved so far under the post-Fukushima safety standard.
With its new chips, AMD is “delivering leadership compute to power our customers’ most important and demanding workloads,” she added. By 2028, AMD sees the market for data center AI accelerators reaching $500 billion, Su said, adding that the chipmaker is “committed to delivering open innovation at scale through our expanded silicon, software, network and cluster-level solutions.”
Trump made history as the first president to address a bitcoin event when he attended the bitcoin conference in Nashville, Tennessee, where he underscored his commitment to positioning the U.S. at the forefront of the crypto revolution.
Bitcoin advocate and MicroStrategy (MSTR) founder Michael Saylor posted on X after Trump’s win: “We have a #Bitcoin President.”
The wave of frugality marks a distinct departure from the approach taken by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Jassy's predecessor, who was known for greenlighting experimental projects and giving employees extended runway to develop them, even if they burned cash along the way. Grand Challenge was one of the hallmarks of that era.
Bezos launched Grand Challenge in 2014 as a way for Amazon to tinker with riskier projects that may or may not see the light of day. Grand Challenge was the brains behind a pair of connected eyeglasses equipped with Amazon's Alexa voice assistant and a machine learning tool for analyzing medical records.
Dogecoin is surging after the news that the cryptocurrency’s biggest cheerleader, Elon Musk, will head up a “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) — effectively a non-government group that will consult on spending.
The popular memecoin is currently trading at $0.4006, reflecting an increase of over 15% in the past 24 hours and 121% over the last week.
Other major cryptocurrencies such as Ether, Solana, and XRP were also up Tuesday morning, with increases of 0.3%, 1.15%, and 5%, respectively, in the past 24 hours.
Other Grand Challenge projects, including the Amazon Care telehealth service, a video-calling device for kids, a virtual tours service, and an augmented reality headset for meetings, were discontinued.
On the morning of Oct. 28, employees working on the fertility tracker were told to join a videoconference where a director of the team informed them that the project was ending. The call lasted about two minutes, one of the people said.
A layoff notice viewed by CNBC was signed by Doug Weibel, who took over as the head of Grand Challenge after its founding leader, Babak Parviz, left in 2022 and joined Madrona Venture Group.
Margaret Callahan, an Amazon spokesperson, confirmed the layoffs and the existence of the project in a statement to CNBC. Roughly 100 employees will be laid off, Callahan confirmed.
Sen. John Thune on Wednesday won a three-way race among Republicans to become the new Senate majority leader in the next Congress.
The South Dakota Republican, 63, beat Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Rick Scott of Florida for the top Senate GOP leadership post. He replaces 82-year-old Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who decided earlier this year to step down from leadership after a record-breaking 18 years serving as GOP leader.
"We regularly review our businesses to ensure we focus on areas where we can make the biggest difference for customers," Callahan said. "Following a recent review, we've decided to discontinue this project within Grand Challenge, and we're working directly with employees whose roles are impacted to support them through the transition and help them find other opportunities within Amazon."
“I am extremely honored to have earned the support of my colleagues to lead the Senate in the 119th Congress, and I am beyond proud of the work we have done to secure our majority and the White House,” Mr. Thune said in a statement. “This Republican team is united behind President Trump’s agenda, and our work starts today.”
Mr. Thune will be moving up from his current No. 2 spot in leadership as Senate Republican whip. He has also previously served in lower-level leadership roles and as chair of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.
Predicting fertility with saliva
The project was born out of the company's 2020 acquisition of Wisconsin-based startup bluDiagnostics, the sources said.
BluDiagnostics was founded in 2015 by Weibel, Katie Brenner and Jodi Schroll, all of whom joined Grand Challenge. The startup had developed a thermometer-like device, called FertilityFinder, to help women track their fertility from home by testing their saliva and measuring two key hormones, estradiol and progesterone. The results of the test were viewable through a corresponding app.
He was first elected to serve in the House in 1996, serving three terms. He lost his first Senate race in 2002 before a historic win in 2004, when he ousted then-Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle.
It took two ballots to decide the race, as Mr. Thune failed to secure a majority on the first ballot of the 53 returning and newly elected Republican senators who will serve in the majority in the next Congress.
Business Insider reported on aspects of the fertility device in 2022, when its codename was Project Tiberius.
The team was working to develop its own saliva collection device and mobile app, which could predict when a user might be in the fertile window. Users could also log their period symptoms, sexual activity and other data to assist with tracking their fertility. There are similar offerings on the market from companies including Inne, Oova, Ava and Mira, along with fertility and ovulation tracking apps such as Flo, Clue and Max Levchin's Glow.
Mr. Scott, a vocal ally of President-elect Donald Trump, had the most public endorsements from senators heading into the election but was the lowest vote-getter on the first ballot and was dropped from contention for the second ballot.
Mr. Thune won with 29 votes on second ballot, compared to 24 for Mr. Cornyn.
Amazon initially aimed to release the product this year, but the timing was pushed out after the team encountered technical issues with the device, one of the people said. It was a costly endeavor and required significant upfront investments for lab research and development, in addition to the high salaries for scientists and engineers, the sources said, adding that the team's weekly overhead was roughly $1.5 million. Amazon didn't comment on the figure.
Only one project now remains active within Grand Challenge. Its focus is on health tech, the people said.
The 53 Republicans voting include senators returning in the next Congress and newly elected Republicans who will not be sworn in until January. Retiring senators cannot vote but Vice President-elect J.D. Vance was able to; he will serve as president of the Senate in his new role and can vote to break any ties on the floor.
Two of the 53 Republicans did not vote on the first ballot, in which Mr. Thune had 23 votes, Mr. Cornyn had 15 and Mr. Scott had 13 votes.
Mr. Scott had the support of the grassroots MAGA movement and outside endorsements from top Trump surrogates, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. Mr. Trump did not weigh in.
“I may have lost the vote, but I am optimistic,” Mr. Scott said. “I ran for leader with one mission: to fundamentally change how the Senate operates and upend the status quo so we can actually start representing the voters who put us here. When I announced, I said that we are in a moment where we need dramatic change. The voters confirmed that last week when they elected President Trump and Republicans took the majority in both chambers of Congress with a clear mandate.”
He said, “I want to thank my friend President Trump and the support I received from so many Americans from every corner of our country. I am truly humbled by the millions of Americans who supported my run, and the many patriots who made their voices heard to demand change. While it isn’t the result we hoped for, I will do everything possible to make sure John Thune is successful in accomplishing President Trump’s agenda. I would also like to thank John Cornyn for running a great race.”
Chuck Robbins, Cisco's CEO, said on a Wednesday conference call that orders from large-scale clients for artificial intelligence infrastructure exceeded $300 million in the quarter. Server makers such as Dell and HPE have also focused on sales of hardware that can help clients implement generative AI.
"We have earned more design wins and remain confident that we will exceed our target of $1 billion of AI orders this fiscal year from web-scale customers," Robbins said.
U.S. government agencies have delayed deals with Cisco, rather than scrapping them altogether, Robbins said.
During the quarter, Cisco acquired security startups DeepFactor and Robust Intelligence.
Cisco lifted its full-year guidance to $3.60 to $3.66 in adjusted earnings per share on $55.3 billion to $56.3 billion in revenue, up from a prior forecast of $3.52 to $3.58 in EPS and $55 billion to $56.2 billion in revenue. Guidance would indicate projected revenue growth of 3.3% at the middle of the range.
Analysts expected adjusted earnings for the year of $3.58 per share on $55.89 billion in revenue.
The new device will be a direct rival to established products, including Amazon’s Echo Show and Echo Hub, and Google’s Nest Hub — smart home tablets that control other devices, including smart speakers like Amazon’s Alexa and Google Nest.
Apple is planning to price the display similar to that of competitors, so it could be in the $150 to $230 range. A higher-end version, which will have a robot arm that can move the display, would cost about $1,000, sources told Bloomberg.
Apple Intelligence will be a particular focal point for the company as it continues to introduce new products. Last month, Apple finally rolled out Apple Intelligence for users with the iPhone 15 Pro or iPhone 16, after weeks of delays. The AI has the ability to understand and create images and language; edit, change tone, and proofread text; and create new emojis using a typed description. Siri will also become more natural, and will allow users to access ChatGPT directly from their devices.
But the company has opted for a staggered rollout of its new AI features, with the next wave set to come out in December. This includes more powerful writing tools, visual additions to ChatGPT integration, and localized English in several countries. Apple plans to add more languages and other tools next April.
Exceptionally strong housing demand in the U.S. has large homebuilders in the driver's seat and smaller builders ripe for takeover. The buyers are both domestic and Japanese.
M&A activity in the single-family homebuilder space is having a record year in terms of dollar volume, and close to a record in the number of deals, according to Margaret Whelan, founder of Whelan Advisory and one of the biggest investment bankers in the builder space.
Apple CEO Tim Cook said on a call with analysts following the company’s September quarter results that the introduction of AI to Apple’s slate of products is a transformative leap for Apple, which has had a late start in the AI race.
“Apple Intelligence marks the beginning of a new chapter for Apple innovation,” Cook said.
"The big guys want to get bigger. They want to get into more markets, more price points, more types of product, and as they're doing that, they're finding the most efficient way is through acquisitions," she said.
There have been a total of 19 homebuilder deals so far this year. Whelan says she alone has four more set to close by year end, and there could be more from others. The average number of deals across the industry over the last five years was 12 per year.
The surge is the result of still-growing housing demand that reignited at the start of the pandemic thanks to record low mortgage rates and sudden new migration. But mortgage rates also caused a historic housing shortage.
According to J.D. Power’s October 2024 E-Vision Intelligence Report, lease volumes for new EVs surged a whopping 355% throughout 2023 and 88% throughout September 2024. This will lead to a massive 230% spike in returning lease volumes in 2026. Before that happens, though, a 2% decrease in returning EV leases is projected for next year.
In total, nearly 280,000 EV leases will end in the next two years in the United States. At the same time, however, J.D. Power says that people looking to get a new EV after their current lease ends might just do that instead of paying the residual value and sticking with the car they leased in 2023 or 2024. The average returning lessee in the compact SUV segment now pays $584 per month for their EV, and the average residual value of their vehicle is $29,645, as per J.D. Power.
This means the buyout price for most electric compact SUVs is higher than the $25,000 threshold that would qualify for the used EV tax credit. Without the used EV tax credit in the mix, it would cost the average returning lessee in the electric compact SUV segment $477 per month to buy out the lease, while the average lease payment on a new EV in the same category would be just $457 per month.
The main reason for this is the steady decline in EV prices during the past two years, which is expected to continue going forward. The average price paid for a new EV by an individual is currently $35,900–including incentives–down $12,700 from $48,500 in 2022. Add the fact that most people who currently own an EV–94% to be precise–said they are likely to consider an EV for their next vehicle purchase, and you get a scenario where in 2028 and 2029 the market will once again be flooded with used EVs from people who chose to end their contract and get a new car instead.
All this being said, there’s no escaping the uncertainty about the future of tax credits and incentives. If they’re gone, we might see the market change once again–we just don’t know how yet.
Bohm was contending with a left hand injury for a portion of the back half, an injury that kept him out of 14 games, and his line came back down to Earth: .251/.299/.382.
Philadelphia played mediocre .500 baseball after the break before falling to the Mets in four games in the the NL Divisional Series.
At one point in that series, Bohm saw only five pitches in four consecutive at bats.
He made a lot of weak contact, wound up on the bench, and then publicly vowed, “I’m not going to change.”
Given his team-friendly terms — entering his second year of arbitration in 2025, Bohm carries a projected salary of $8.1 million per Spotrac — the All Star will likely earn significant interest on the market.
His suitors though, know what they’re bargaining for.
Denmark launches landmark framework for using AI under EU rules
Denmark unveiled a blueprint on how to use generative AI in the corporate world to help firms get into compliance with strict new regulation from the EU.
Denmark on Wednesday laid out a framework that can help EU member states use generative artificial intelligence in compliance with the European Union's strict new AI Act — and Microsoft's already on board.
#ai #denmark #eu #compliance #technology
A government-backed alliance of major Danish corporates, led by IT consultancy Netcompany, launched the "Responsible Use of AI Assistants in the Public and Private Sector" white paper, a blueprint that sets out "best-practice examples" for how firms should use and support employees in deploying AI systems in a regulated environment.
The guide also aims to encourage delivery of "secure and reliable services" by businesses to consumers. Denmark's Agency for Digital Government, the country's central business registry CVR and pensions authority ATP are among the founding partners adopting the framework.
aRTICLE
Dogecoin spikes after Trump announces a Department of Government Efficiency
Dogecoin shot higher on Tuesday night after President-elect Donald Trump formally announced the creation of the Department of Government Efficiency.
Dogecoin shot higher on Tuesday night, extending its postelection surge after President-elect Donald Trump formally announced the creation of the Department of Government Efficiency, which he referred to as "DOGE" in his statement.
#doge #trump #elonmusk #government #crypto
Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, former Republican presidential candidate and Strive Asset Management co-founder, will lead the department, Trump said in a statement. Together, they "will pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies."
Dogecoin was up nearly 20%, before paring gains. It has been one of the biggest winners in the postelection rally, gaining 153% since election day compared to bitcoin's 30% rise in the same period. It also shot past XRP this week to become the sixth largest cryptocurrency by market cap.
Article
Tencent posts better-than-expected 47% profit surge as games, AI tools shine
Chinese gaming and social media giant Tencent on Wednesday reported profit above analysts' expectations, while revenue missed slightly.
Tencent reported profit attributable to shareholders surged by 47% year-on-year to 53.23 billion yuan ($7.37 billion) in the third quarter, compared with an LSEG estimate of 46.18 billion yuan for the period.
#tencent #technology #earnings #socialmedia
The company's revenue rose by an annual 8% to 167.19 billion yuan, short of the 167.82 billion yuan analyst forecast.
Gaming remained the company's backbone, with the unit's domestic revenue up 14% year-on-year to 37.3 billion yuan, while that for international games shot up by 11% to 14.5 billion yuan on a constant currency basis.
The company noted that existing and new games had "evergreen potential."
Marketing services revenue, previously called online advertising, surged by an annual 17% to 29.99 billion yuan, making it one of the fastest-growing categories outside gaming. Tencent attributed the growth to "robust advertiser demand" for its short-videos, mini programs and search features within its messaging app — called Weixin in China and WeChat overseas.
Article
with AI tools improving they can develop so many games far better than the ones they already have and that means more money for them. But the competition will rise because the AI tools will be used by other companies too
China is catching up with the West on tech, Microsoft president says
According to Microsoft's web page about its presence in China, the company has operated there since 1992.
The West shouldn't assume that China is lagging behind the U.S. and Europe on tech developments, Microsoft's president and vice-chairman warned.
#micosoft #china #technology
U.S-China tensions in the past few years have centered on the battle between the two nations for tech supremacy, culminating in a slew of export controls on critical technologies. Late last year, China's Huawei surprised the market with the release of a smartphone whose reviews indicated downloads speeds associated with 5G, sparking speculation of an apparent chip breakthrough that defied U.S. tech sanctions.
Speaking at the Web Summit tech conference in Lisbon, Portugal, on Tuesday, Microsoft's Brad Smith told CNBC that "in many ways," China is close to or is even catching up on technology.
"I think one of the dangers, frankly, is that people who don't go to China too often assume that they're behind," he told CNBC's Karen Tso. "But when you go there, you're impressed by how much they're doing."
Article
I would say that by 2030 China might outcompete Europe and America but I see how America can respond well with tech under Trump
Musk’s role, China critics, Senate leadership and bitcoin
By Reuters
Elon Musk's new role is a big one. He’s going to help make the government run smoother.
Meanwhile, China’s watching all of this closely because many in Trump’s circle don’t trust them.
Over in the Senate, Republicans are choosing a new leader, and Trump’s friends want a shake-up.
Lastly, traders are excited, hoping Trump will be “the crypto president,” which could mean big changes for Bitcoin.
YouTube link
Transcript and summaries below
#ElonMusk #Trump #Bitcoin #China #SenateLeadership
Transcript
Today, Trump meets with Biden at the White House as Senate Republicans choose their new leader. We have the latest on Trump's cabinet appointments, including Elon Musk and a Fox News host, and how the picks are being viewed in Beijing. Plus, what's fueling the latest Bitcoin boom? Would it surprise you to learn that the story is also about Trump? It's Wednesday, November 13th; this is Reuters World News, bringing you everything you need to know from the front lines in 10 minutes every weekday. I'm Carmel Crims in Dublin and I'm Jonah Green in New York.
President-elect Donald Trump is tapping Elon Musk to shrink the federal government. The billionaire will co-lead a newly created Department of Government Efficiency with former Republican candidate Vikram Ramaswamy. Trump says they'll slash excess regulation and restructure federal agencies, and has signaled that the new entity will operate outside the confines of government. Its acronym, DoG, references the name of the cryptocurrency Dogecoin that Musk promotes.
The move is the latest in a hiring spree that includes Fox News host Pete Hegseth. Trump says he'll nominate Hegseth to be Secretary of Defense. The commentator could make good on Trump's campaign promise to fire generals whom he accuses of pursuing diversity policies. Hegseth has expressed disdain for those policies.
Trump is also expected to tap Senator Marco Rubio as Secretary of State and has picked Republican Representative Mike Waltz as National Security Adviser. Rubio, Waltz, and Hegseth are all harsh China critics. So what does Beijing make of it all? Anovi is Reuters' Chief Correspondent in China: "I think Beijing was bracing for a pretty hawkish administration, and I think they got that. What we are learning through our reporting is that China is both better prepared than it was last time around for any potential moves by Trump, but at the same time, it's also in a weaker position, especially when it comes to the economy."
So how have they prepared? "China has, to a large degree, moved to insulate what has been described by some scholars as its Fortress Economy to prepare it to withstand external shocks like tariffs or tech restrictions. They've been replacing, for example, software and hardware in state-owned enterprises and government institutions, removing overseas software and putting in domestic software. They are also investing tremendous amounts of money in things like domestic chip making."
But on the other hand, "the level of tariffs that Trump has threatened on the campaign trail is higher than anything that has been imposed on them so far," which puts China's economy—still very much reliant on exports—at risk. Any kind of tariffs even slightly lower than what Trump is likely to impose would prove a significant shock to the system here in Beijing.
Rubio is currently under sanction by Beijing over his stance on Hong Kong's democracy protests. How does that work if he becomes Secretary of State? If he's confirmed, "the question sort of becomes how does China even meet him? How do they hold talks? And how can they potentially drop those sanctions without losing face?"
Because that would be key—not being seen as caving to the United States right at the outset. So I think those are the questions that we'll see; we don't know how Beijing is likely to respond here, but those are the questions that will need to be answered in the months to come.
Trump will meet with President Joe Biden at the White House today, and before his Oval Office visit, he's also expected to make an appearance on Capitol Hill to meet with the GOP caucus over in the Senate. The Republicans will select a new majority leader to replace Mitch McConnell. Trump has yet to endorse a candidate; however, he is demanding that the new leader back his ability to make presidential appointments when the Senate is not in session.
Politics editor Scott Malone is following the race in Washington: "Scott, who are the top contenders?" Senators John Thune and John Cornyn are longtime stalwarts of the Senate Republican caucus; they have a long history and a long track record in the Senate.
Rick Scott is a relative newcomer to the Senate—relative in terms of Senate math—having been in the job for six years now; that's one term compared to Thune and Cornyn who have been there for 20 years. Really, the difference is that early on in Trump's first term he wasn't immediately embraced by the party, and there were times when certainly McConnell and people like Thune pushed back against him to a degree. They've pivoted and now very much do embrace him; but Scott doesn't have the track record of having done that.
You mentioned that they've pivoted—are they agreeing to Trump's call for a free hand to make recess appointments? All three of them have indicated that they would be willing to go along with that—to allow him to set up his administration quickly when he comes into office.
Elon Musk and other high-profile Trump allies have thrown their support behind this. Do these kinds of public endorsements pressure Senators to vote in a particular way? This isn't like an open House Speaker election where everybody has to come to the floor and declare their allegiances; that means you could have Senators who would go in not vote for Scott, not talk about it publicly, and not get into open conflict with Trump.
Meanwhile, Senate Democrats are working to confirm as many new federal judges nominated by President Biden as possible before Republicans take control of the chamber in January. Biden has announced another 30 judicial nominees who are awaiting Senate confirmation votes.
Sticking with the courts: A federal judge appointed by Barack Obama has ruled that a Louisiana law requiring that the Ten Commandments be displayed in all public school classrooms in the state is unconstitutional. The state's Republican attorney general has vowed to appeal.
The judge overseeing Trump's criminal hush money case has put off ruling on whether the conviction should be thrown out on immunity grounds. Justice Juan Merchan granted a request by Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg's office to have until next week to consider how to approach the case in light of Trump's looming inauguration.
Authorities in the southern Chinese city of Zai have cleared a memorial at the scene of the deadliest mass killing in the country in a decade. On Monday, a man angry with his divorce settlement rammed his car into a crowd at a sports center, killing 35 people and injuring dozens. The government took almost a day to announce the death toll, and images and videos of the attack on social media were censored.
Over on markets: A warning to the Trump Administration on climate change from big energy! Top LNG exporter Shaner Energy and ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods are telling the incoming administration not to pull out of the Paris Climate Agreement. Trump's transition team has prepared executive orders to withdraw for a second time from this climate treaty.
If you're interested in climate change and the economy, do check out this week's episode of my podcast Reuters Econ World; it's out later today and looks at the economic argument for curbing consumption for the environment. You can catch it on the Reuters app or wherever you get your podcasts.
Bitcoin is nearing $90,000; in fact, it's up about 30% since November 5th. Traders are betting on Trump's promises to be a crypto president by lowering regulation and ushering in a crypto-friendly Congress. Reporter Hannah Lang has been looking into what kinds of changes the industry expects from the new administration: "The crypto industry is broadly expecting that the Trump Administration will be more lax on enforcement and overall take a very different approach than the current SEC where they claim that most crypto tokens are securities and need to be registered as such and provide disclosures to investors." The crypto industry disagrees with that sentiment; they claim they've had difficulty really lifting crypto into mainstream acceptance because of some of these guardrails in place.
So they're really hoping for barriers to entry being lowered here; they're hoping for a general tone at the top of the administration on banking. Crypto companies have had a difficult time accessing banking services as U.S. regulators have expressed concern about safety regarding certain banks whose business models are heavily reliant on crypto companies—as well as some accounting guidance at SEC they're hoping will go away—which would enable banks to hold crypto on behalf of their clients.
What are they hoping to see from Congress? There are some people in this industry who are hopeful that with a Republican majority in both chambers—Senate and probably House as well—it really enables legislation to be passed through reconciliation where you could see a crypto bill kind of tacked onto larger spending or tax bills that could pass quickly with a simple majority.
And before we go: Today's recommended read takes us to Lebanon and explores its role in the Arab world's art scene. Lebanese artists are using their work as an outlet as conflict with Israel at home and in Gaza rages. We meet an artist whose work reflects Lebanon's back-to-back crises. A link to this story is in our pod description.
For more on any stories from today, check out reuters.com or use the Reuters app. To never miss an episode, follow us on your favorite podcast player; we'll be back tomorrow with our daily headline show!
ONE SENTENCE SUMMARY:
Donald Trump’s latest cabinet choices and policies are stirring reactions globally, impacting US-China relations, cryptocurrency markets, and political landscapes.
MAIN POINTS:
TAKEAWAYS:
The AI Tsunami is Here: Keynote on Why Firms Must Act Now
#ai #technology #future !summarize
Part 1/3:
The AI Tsunami is Here: Preparing for the Future
Widespread Adoption and Skepticism
Every executive believes AI is a transformative technology, yet most companies are moving as if it is incremental.
AI is advancing at an accelerating rate, and we are not ready for what is about to hit us.
Tech giants like Microsoft and OpenAI are making massive investments in AI infrastructure, signaling their long-term vision.
However, there is skepticism about the promised benefits of AI, with concerns about the lack of tangible returns on investment.
Disrupting Traditional Industries
Cobalt Metals, a 5-year-old startup, has become the first mining unicorn by using AI to discover the biggest copper deposit in over a decade.
This demonstrates how AI is transforming traditional industries like mining, with a talent base of geoscientists, AI experts, and software engineers.
Revolutionizing Drug Discovery and Software Development
[...]
Part 2/3:
DeepMind's AlphaFold system has revolutionized protein folding, and its new AlphaProteo system can now design novel proteins for drug development.
Amazon is using its own generative AI tool, Amazon CodeGuru, to upgrade 50% of its Java production systems in just 6 months, saving $260 million.
The AI Arms Race and Adoption Challenges
Big tech companies are in a trillion-dollar AI arms race, but US firms are slow to adopt AI, with only 5.4% currently using it.
The tech sector has a higher adoption rate, while older, traditional firms are lagging behind.
Estimates suggest a $44 trillion impact from generative AI and an $11-18 trillion impact from traditional AI, but there is skepticism about the realization of these benefits.
Preparing for the Future
[...]
DeepL launches DeepL Voice, real-time, text-based translations from voices and videos
DeepL has made a name for itself with online text translation it claims is more nuanced and precise than services from the likes of Google
Now, as the hype for AI services continues to grow, DeepL is adding in another mode to the platform: audio. Users will now be able to use DeepL Voice to listen to someone speaking in one language and automatically translate it to another, in real time.
English, German, Japanese, Korean, Swedish, Dutch, French, Turkish, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Italian are languages that DeepL can “hear” today. Translated captions are available for all of the 33 languages currently supported by DeepL Translator.
#deepl #technology #translation #voice #video #ai
DeepL Voice is currently stopping short of delivering the result as an audio or video file itself: the service is aimed at real-time, live conversations and video conferencing, and comes through as text, not audio.
In the first of these, you can set up your translations to appear as ‘mirrors’ on a smartphone — the idea being that you put the phone between you on a meeting table for each side to see the words translated — or as a transcription that you share side by side with someone. The videoconferencing service sees the translations appearing as subtitles.
That could be something that changes over time, Jarek Kutylowski, the company’s founder and CEO (pictured above), hinted in an interview. This is DeepL’s first product for voice, but it’s unlikely to be its last. “[Voice] is where translation is going to play out in the next year,” he added.
There is other evidence to support that statement. Google — one of DeepL’s biggest competitors — also started to incorporate real-time translated captions into its Meet video conferencing service. And, there are a multitude of AI startups building voice translation services such as AI voice specialist Eleven Labs (Eleven Labs Dubbing), and Panjaya, which creates translations using “deepfake” voices and video that matches the audio.
Article