Huawei-Backed Aito Enters Middle East With UAE Dealer Deal

/in /tarafından

Chinese automaker Seres said its electric vehicle brand Aito has signed an agreement with Abu Dhabi-based dealer group Performance Plus Motors to begin sales in the United Arab Emirates, marking the brand’s first export move outside China. The partnership gives Aito an initial foothold in the Middle East as it looks to expand beyond China’s highly competitive EV market.

Performance Plus Motors, a unit of Abu Dhabi Motors, will handle sales, delivery and after-sales service of Aito’s luxury intelligent vehicles in the UAE. Seres did not provide a timeline for the official launch, but said vehicles have already arrived at Dubai port and test drives of the flagship Aito 9 SUV are underway.

Aito is the most successful brand under Huawei’s Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance and has rapidly grown in China. Seres said the UAE agreement represents a key step in Aito’s globalization strategy, with plans for broader Middle Eastern expansion that could support entry into neighboring markets.

Previously sold only in China, Aito showcased its global lineup at the Munich car show last September. The brand sold more than 420,000 vehicles in 2025, becoming the main growth driver for Seres, whose total EV sales rose more than 10% last year.

Inside SpaceX’s xAI Deal: Tax, Debt and Legal Advantages

/in /tarafından

The sale of xAI to SpaceX delivers significant tax, financial, and legal benefits for investors, according to people familiar with the transaction. The deal uses a triangular merger structure that allows SpaceX to acquire xAI as a wholly owned subsidiary—rather than fully merging operations—thereby avoiding immediate repayment of billions in debt and limiting legal exposure.

The structure keeps xAI’s liabilities, contracts, and debt ring-fenced from SpaceX, insulating the parent from potential litigation tied to xAI’s social media platform X and its Grok product. M&A attorneys say this approach is commonly used to preserve corporate insulation while enabling operational independence.

Financially, the transaction qualifies as a tax-free reorganization. xAI shareholders can defer taxes on the SpaceX shares they received until they sell. The deal also avoided triggering change-of-control provisions in xAI’s debt—critical as the company carries billions from prior financings—by routing the acquisition through intermediary entities. As a result, bondholders were not entitled to repayment, and xAI bonds rose following news of the deal.

The all-stock transaction values xAI at $250 billion and SpaceX at $1 trillion, making it the largest M&A deal on record, according to LSEG. Importantly, securities lawyers say the structure may help SpaceX avoid added disclosure hurdles ahead of a potential IPO later this year if xAI does not meet the SEC’s “significant subsidiary” threshold.

While some investors worry the added complexity could complicate valuation—combining rockets, satellites, defense contracts, AI, and social media—others say confidence in Elon Musk’s execution outweighs those concerns as SpaceX moves toward a historic public offering.

AI Method Helps Identify Which Dinosaurs Made Fossil Footprints

/in /tarafından

Scientists have developed a new artificial intelligence method that helps determine which dinosaurs made specific fossilized footprints, addressing a long-standing challenge in paleontology. Footprints are among the most common dinosaur fossils, yet matching them to the correct species has often relied on subjective interpretation. The new approach uses AI to analyze eight measurable traits in each footprint, offering a more objective classification system.

The research, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, analyzed nearly 2,000 footprint silhouettes spanning 150 million years. The algorithm identified key features such as toe spread, heel position, load distribution, and left-right asymmetry, which together explain differences in footprint shape. Experts then mapped these traits to known dinosaur groups to guide identification of future discoveries.

Researchers say the method does not eliminate uncertainty, as footprint shape can vary depending on behavior, ground conditions, burial processes, and erosion. Still, it provides a consistent framework to compare tracks across time and locations. One notable result supported earlier findings that certain 210-million-year-old footprints from South Africa resemble bird tracks, despite predating the earliest known bird fossils by tens of millions of years.

The findings suggest AI can become a powerful tool in paleontology, helping scientists reconstruct ancient ecosystems and better understand dinosaur diversity, even when bones are absent and only footprints remain.