Court documents obtained by The New York Times reveal a closer-than-expected relationship between Google and San Francisco-based AI startup Anthropic. The filings show Google currently holds a 14% stake in Anthropic and plans to invest a further $750 million this year through a convertible debt agreement. This brings Google's total investment in Anthropic to over $3 billion. Image caption: Image generated by AI, licensed through Midjourney.

Tech giant Microsoft recently announced a $298 million investment in South Africa to build artificial intelligence and data center infrastructure. This initiative aims to boost South Africa's digital economy and provide better technology support and services to local businesses and individuals. With the global demand for AI increasing, Microsoft's investment will help strengthen South Africa's competitiveness in this field. Microsoft's investment plan includes not only financial contributions but also technology transfer and talent development. Through collaborations with local businesses and educational institutions, Microsoft hopes to foster growth and innovation within South Africa's technology sector.

The Department of Justice, according to latest court filings, is still seeking to force Google to divest its Chrome web browser. The proposal, initially suggested last year under President Biden, has persisted through the second Trump administration. However, the DOJ is no longer seeking divestiture of all AI investments, including Google's multi-billion dollar investment in Anthropic. The DOJ stated in court filings that Google's illegal conduct has created an economic behemoth that has severely impacted the market, ensuring that Google remains...

2024 was a landmark year for the AI industry. According to TechCrunch, 49 startups secured over $100 million in funding, with seven raising over $1 billion and three securing multiple mega-funding rounds. This momentum continues into 2025. Despite it being early in the year, the number of US AI companies receiving over $100 million in funding is nearing double digits, with at least one round exceeding $1 billion. The following are the companies that have secured over $100 million in funding so far in 2025...

Shenzhen's State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) announced plans to establish a 500 billion yuan ($69.4 billion USD) state-owned fund to focus on cutting-edge technologies, including artificial intelligence and robotics. The fund aims to support technology companies at all stages of development, from seed and angel rounds to Series A, B, C, and even IPO. This initiative is part of a broader strategy to build a comprehensive technological innovation fund network, encompassing a '20+8' full industrial chain, aligning with the city's government policies. Image caption omitted.

Anthropic, a leading AI company, has announced a significant $3.5 billion funding round, boosting its valuation to $61.5 billion. This substantial investment underscores the intense competition and rapid growth within the AI sector.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the world's largest semiconductor manufacturer, announced plans to invest at least $100 billion in the United States over the next four years to build multiple new chip fabrication facilities. The announcement was made at a press conference with former US President Trump. TSMC CEO C.C. Wei stated that the investment would primarily focus on expanding its Arizona facilities. Wei added, "We will produce many AI chips to support the progress of Artificial Intelligence." This new commitment builds upon TSMC's previous pledge of a $65 billion US investment.

According to Reuters, citing sources and a report by The Information, SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son is reportedly planning to borrow $160 billion for investments in artificial intelligence (AI). The report states that company executives confirmed this intention during talks with banks last week. This move signals SoftBank's continued expansion in the AI sector, particularly amid intensifying global tech competition. Beyond the planned $160 billion, SoftBank is projected to have...

With the rapid development of AI large language models in China, the investment and wealth management field is undergoing an unprecedented transformation. More and more investors are relying on AI for wealth management. Through "AI for financial planning", they find that AI can provide efficient investment advice and risk management solutions, helping them better seize market opportunities. In this new era, AI is no longer just a buzzword in the tech world; it's increasingly becoming the "financial advisor" in the hands of investors. Many experienced investors have noted AI's powerful information processing capabilities.

At MWC2025 in Shanghai, Honor's new CEO, Jian Li, unveiled the company's ambitious new AI strategy: the Alpha Plan. This plan commits $10 billion over the next five years to building a global AI device ecosystem in collaboration with worldwide partners. This marks Honor's significant transformation from a smartphone manufacturer to a global AI terminal ecosystem company.

Xiaomi Group CEO Lei Jun announced at the launch event for the Xiaomi 15 Ultra and Xiaomi SU7 Ultra that Xiaomi's R&D investment is expected to exceed 24 billion yuan in 2024 and reach 30 billion yuan in 2025. Approximately a quarter of the 2025 R&D budget will be allocated to AI and related businesses. Lei Jun also stated that the projected R&D investment will reach 105 billion yuan over the next five years.

The rapid advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI) large language model technology in recent years has led to a price war intensifying market competition. DataBao's latest statistics indicate this downward price trend will continue in 2025. Recently, companies like ByteDance and Alibaba Cloud have announced price reductions for their AI large language models, attracting significant industry attention. For example, ByteDance's Doubao large language model announced a price cut in December last year, reducing the price of its visual understanding model to 0.003 yuan/thousand tokens.

According to CNBC, Perplexity, the AI search engine developer, is raising a $50 million seed and pre-seed investment fund. The fund is largely capitalized by limited partners, with Perplexity contributing a portion of its previous funding as cornerstone capital. In December, Perplexity successfully raised $500 million, valuing the company at $9 billion. This investment fund is managed by two...

Apple is reportedly building a new 250,000-square-foot facility in the Houston area to assemble servers for its data centers, specifically those supporting Apple smart devices. This represents a significant move towards bringing server production back to the US, as these servers were previously largely manufactured overseas. The plant is expected to be operational by 2026.

Amidst the intensifying global competition in AI technology, the Indian government has launched a significant artificial intelligence project called BharatGen. Supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology, this project has allocated approximately ₹23.5 billion (approximately $27 million USD) to build India's own foundational AI models, aiming to secure the country's technological sovereignty. Image Note: Image generated by AI, image licensing service provider Midjourney. The BharatGen project's development is not coincidental. It follows China's DeepSeek...

Delta Electronics recently unveiled its D-Bot series of collaborative robots (Cobots) and several new products for the smart manufacturing market at ELECRAMA2025 in India. The event, held in Noida, northern India, aims to promote automation in smart factories. Image Note: Image generated by AI, image licensing provider Midjourney. The D-Bot series robots are specifically designed for automated tasks in smart factories and feature advanced safety mechanisms. These 6-axis collaborative robots boast a payload capacity of up to 30 kg.