Business Articles

China has launched its third and biggest semiconductor investment fund, committing a hefty CN¥344 billion (about $47 billion) to boost its chip industry. The initial $12.685 billion is set to focus on key areas like manufacturing equipment and essential materials, competing with similar initiatives like the U.S. CHIPS Act.

Lenovo is currently selling its expensive flagship business laptop, the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13, with very limited options. That is about to change: WUXGA IPS displays, Ultra 5 CPUs and 5G/4G enabled models of the premium ThinkPad laptop are on the way.

The HP EliteBook 845 G11 is still a very good business laptop with AMD processors including the fast HS-series chips. However, the cooling performance struggles a bit with the fast CPU options, so we would recommend a U-series chip like the Ryzen 7 8840U.

While the U.S. tech industry is projected to reach $537 billion in revenue in 2025, proposed tariff policies could significantly impact consumer spending, potentially reducing tech purchases by up to $143 billion.

China just launched a major consumer electronics subsidy program, allowing shoppers to snag up to 15 percent off smartphones and other gadgets. That could mean saving as much as 500 yuan (about $68) on a single purchase.

According to APS Asset Management founder Wong Kok Hoi, SMIC could potentially match TSMC's trillion-dollar market value despite current technological barriers.

Asus' latest Expert P Series PCs are intended to appeal to budget-conscious IT departments as they top out at Intel Core i7-13620H processors in terms of performance and emphasis on durability. Nevertheless, the ExpertCenter P500 Mini Tower is rated to maximize focus with "exclusive" thermal- and noise-management features, while the ExpertBook P3 is designed to feel like an enterprise-grade splurge with a thin and light metallic unibody.

As part of the quest to strengthen its foothold in the rapidly evolving automotive industry, Dutch chipmaker NXP Semiconductors is moving to acquire Austrian automotive safety software company TTTech Auto for no less than $625 million. This cash deal should now pass regulatory approval.

Sony fans have reason to celebrate: The company has announced two films and an anime series inspired by some of the most beloved franchises from the PlayStation universe.

Lenovo's new ThinkVision P-series displays are high-quality monitors targeted at professional users. The P34W-40 and P34WD-40 are ultrawide displays with variable refresh rates and AI features that offer a dynamic viewing experience.

Codenamed ZA2, the upcoming BMW M4 Electric Coupe is expected to arrive in 2029. Until then, the German brand will launch the BMW M3 Electric (ZA0). However, while the M3 lineup will also get several models with combustion engines, the M4 family is expected to use only electric powertrains.

The Pentagon has added a few big names to its list of Chinese companies with military ties, including tech powerhouse Tencent, battery manufacturer CATL, and chipmaker CXMT. At the same time, six other companies were taken off the list.

As semiconductor manufacturing advances, TSMC's wafer costs have skyrocketed, now topping $18,000—more than three times what they used to be for older nodes.

The Nvidia Project DIGITS desktop supercomputer with 20-core ARM CPU and Grace Blackwell GPU gives AI researchers the ability to develop 200-billion-parameter large-language models with a single unit, 405-billion-parameter models with two networked.

As part of a new deal between the two automakers, XPeng and Volkswagen will install at least 20,000 charging piles in 420 Chinese towns. The two carmakers are also considering the construction of co-branded charging stations, which would obviously be accessible to owners of both brands.

The Z Captis system is used in conjunction with Adobe Substance 3D Sampler to capture highly detailed scans of object textures, including the grain of luxury leather bags or the weave of fabrics. This allows 3D modelers to create digital twins for use in virtual clothing try-on, shopping, and interior design apps.

HP has another Lunar Lake EliteBook in tow for CES, besides the EliteBook Ultra G1i. The new HP EliteBook X G1i and its 2-in-1 version HP EliteBook X Flip G1i are the successors of the EliteBook 1040 G11.

Strix Halo goes ZBook: HP is one of the launch partners of AMD for its new Ryzen AI Max Platform. The new HP ZBook Ultra 14 G1a is a compact workstation that may compete well against the Apple MacBook Pro 14.

Royal Enfield has announced that its impending line of Flying Flea motorcycles will be smart as well as electric. The brand has partnered with Qualcomm to power its first-gen vehicles with a new chipset, optimized for two-wheelers and with support for the latest "connected experiences" such as the new Snapdragon Car-to-Cloud Platform.

Garmin's automotive division has just unveiled its new Unified Cabin, a next-gen way to get the same generative AI-powered UI and UX on all the screen in a car via a single module. It is powered by Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon Cockpit Elite, the first digital in-car platform to have the same Oryon cores as some of the latest PCs and smartphones.

Qualcomm claims that it is ready to make the concept of a Home Service Robot a reality with its new dedicated QCS8550 platform. The SoC is touted to let the smart droid 'see', move and complete your chores reliably and effectively. It will also use Qualcomm's latest developments in AI chatbot technology to respond to and converse with the user.

Capcom has announced that the Resident Evil 4 remake has sold 9 million copies worldwide. The game launched in 2023 to a glowing critical reception and sold over 5 million copies by the end of that year.

The Xiaomi Public Network Intercom Mini will soon begin crowdfunding in China. The in-ear communication device allows users to communicate over 4G, with up to 5,000 km (~3,107 miles) range. Plus, the push-to-talk over cellular gadget offers app-based controls and is relatively lightweight.

MediaTek's upcoming Dimensity 9500 will feature TSMC's N3P process and a new 2+6 core architecture with Cortex-X930 cores capable of exceeding 4 GHz. When it launches in October 2025, the processor aims to compete with Samsung's Exynos 2600.

Samsung accelerates its HBM4 memory development, aiming to start production by late 2025—shaving six months off its original timeline. This next-gen memory is set to deliver a 66 percent boost in data transfer speeds compared to HBM3E, along with higher storage capacity.

Cybersecurity company Lookout Incorporated has just published the latest version of its Mobile Threat Report. According to the report, attackers are increasingly turning to phishing to gain access to sensitive data. End devices from a particular manufacturer are particularly affected.

Mobile offices, entertainment spaces or relaxing lounges, all modular and powered by AI. With its innovative Mobility Experience (MX) platform, LG aims to transform vehicles into seamless extensions of the smart home.

Meta's president of global affairs, Nick Clegg, has announced he is leaving the company. Clegg was previously the UK's deputy prime minister. He will be succeeded by Joel Kaplan, Clegg's deputy and a prominent US Republican.

Apple has agreed to a $95 million settlement in the class action lawsuit that claims Siri recorded private conversations when activated accidentally. The suit says Apple shared these recordings with third-party advertisers.

After showcasing its capabilities at a BMW plant, the humanoid robot Figure 02 has now been delivered to a customer for the first time. This marks a significant milestone for Figure AI, achieving rapid commercialization of its product.

A new report by the Financial Times says that phishing attacks, personalized using AI, are now targeting high-level executives at firms like eBay and Beazley.

Several setbacks delayed the grid connection of Flamanville 3 and increased its final cost fourfold. The nuclear reactor is the largest in the country and is gradually ramping up its energy production.

The Indian government has delayed the implementation of market caps for UPI payment apps to December 2026. The proposal, made in 2020, suggested a hard cap market share for UPI payment companies, prohibiting them from taking more than 30% of the market.

GTA 6 is one of the most hotly anticipated games of all time, as fans have been waiting for a new entry in the long-running Grand Theft Auto series for over a decade. This pent up demand could result in GTA VI brining in more than double the amount of cash of GTA V in its first year.

Nvidia has completed its acquisition of Israeli AI start-up Run:ai after approval from the EU. The start-up has said it will open-source its software "to help the community build better AI, faster."

The dispute between semiconductor developer Qualcomm and licensor ARM has been settled. According to the Delaware District Court, Qualcomm's takeover of Nuvia did not infringe the licensing agreement with ARM. An important legal dispute has thus been resolved in Qualcomm's favor.

Xiaomi's first-gen electric vehicle (EV) has now officially reached the end of its first year on the market far ahead of its original estimated delivery volume, adding nearly 20,000 more units to the total in December 2024 alone. Now, the OEM has unveiled a new target for the car that is over 2x the milestones it has already passed.

The DRAM market is taking a notable hit in Q1 2025, with prices tumbling across the board. PC DRAM is feeling the brunt of it, with a steep 13 percent drop. A surge in DDR4 production by Chinese manufacturers, combined with sluggish demand, is driving the slide.

A new leak says Intel could launch an enterprised-focused Battlemage GPU in 2024. It will feature 24 GB of VRAM and will likely launch under the Arc Pro lineup for data centre and AI applications.

Cariad, the software side of Volkswagen, has suffered a self-inflicted data leak. Due to a what seems to be a configuration error, the company left sensitive data about a number of its customers and their vehicles available online for months.

The AgiBot World Alpha dataset includes trained actions such as folding clothes. Over 100 scenarios, ranging from home to work environments, were trained with humans demonstrating correct outcomes. AI humanoid developers can use the dataset for free.

The Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 5 AMD is one of the more popular ThinkPad laptops, as it marries the traditional T series with AMD's Ryzen platform. With the latest generation, Lenovo restores upgradeability and the device also offers a great performance. Unfortunately, it can get pretty toasty.

Qualcomm’s decision to move its flagship Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 over to TSMC’s 3nm process deals another blow to Samsung’s foundry business. However, the company is gearing up to bounce back with its 2nm tech and a new manufacturing plant in the United States.

Despite recent advances, ASML CEO highlights China's significant technological gap in semiconductor manufacturing. Chinese firms face major hurdles without access to crucial EUV technology, even as they represent nearly half of ASML's current sales amid growing geopolitical tensions.

OpenAI plans major restructuring into a Delaware Public Benefit Corporation, removing profit caps for investors while maintaining its mission of developing beneficial AGI. Despite $3.7 billion in revenue, the company faces $5 billion in losses amid soaring AI development and infrastructure costs.

The iPhone lineup has been reduced effective today, and Apple certainly wouldn't have wanted things to go this way. Whilst this involuntary downsizing of the iPhone range isn’t entirely uncontroversial, the company itself is partially to blame.

Elon Musk, widely recognized for leveraging his media influence to address political issues and stir social debates, has called for a boycott of Wikipedia on X. His criticism stems from a presentation of Wikipedia’s budget, which he deems both unbalanced and overly “woke.”

In order to meet the energy demand for its data centers, Google entered a partnership aiming to meet the growing energy demands of sectors like AI while improving grid resilience and sustainability.