Chinese automaker Xpeng said its robotics division has raised more than $900 million in its first external funding round, valuing the business at over $6.3 billion. The financing, led by IDG Capital and backed by strategic investors including Tencent and Alibaba, sets a new record for a single private funding round in China’s embodied AI sector. Xpeng said the proceeds will be used to develop robotics hardware and software, improve physical AI models, collect training data, expand mass-production capacity and support international growth. The company is targeting monthly production of 1,000 IRON humanoid robots by the end of this year,…
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Union members at SK Hynix have narrowly rejected a tentative wage agreement that included a 6.3% pay increase and major changes to the company’s profit-sharing bonus structure. According to a source familiar with the vote, 50.08% of 15,045 participating workers opposed the agreement, with the result decided by just 25 votes. The proposed deal would have paid 40% of employee bonuses in cash and 60% in SK Hynix shares. Some workers had raised concerns about receiving such a large portion of compensation in stock because of recent volatility in the company’s share price. SK Hynix has benefited strongly from surging…
Taiwanese prosecutors have indicted nine people, including employees linked to Nvidia and Super Micro, over the alleged illegal export of advanced AI servers to China. The case centers on high-end servers equipped with Nvidia chips that are subject to U.S. export controls. Prosecutors said the defendants used false end-user documents to make it appear that the systems would remain in Taiwan. Authorities allege that 130 B300 servers were ordered from Super Micro for use at a Taiwanese data center, but 74 were later shipped to Chinese customers through routes including China, Indonesia, Japan and Hong Kong. The remaining 56 servers…
Options markets are pricing in a potentially massive move in Nvidia’s market value after the chipmaker reports second-quarter earnings, with traders expecting a 5.4% swing in either direction. That implied move would represent roughly $280 billion in market capitalization, an amount larger than the individual value of most companies in the S&P 500. Despite the scale, the expected move is smaller than ahead of Nvidia’s previous earnings report and below the company’s average post-earnings volatility over the past three years. Analysts say that may reflect growing confidence that Nvidia’s financial performance has become more predictable as the AI boom matures.…
Micron Technology plans to invest $10 billion over the next decade in a new research facility in Boise, Idaho, focused on advanced memory technologies, computing systems and future semiconductor manufacturing. The new Micron Research Labs facility will bring together customers, universities, government agencies and semiconductor partners to accelerate development of next-generation memory products. The investment comes as demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) continues to surge due to rapid growth in AI data centers and advanced computing systems. HBM has become a critical component for feeding data to AI accelerators, benefiting major memory manufacturers including Micron, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.…
A former Meta engineering director has testified that Mark Zuckerberg encouraged a company culture that prioritized growth and engagement over child safety, as Meta faces a major U.S. trial over alleged harms to young users. Arturo Bejar, a former Meta employee and longtime critic of the company’s safety practices, told jurors that major product decisions were highly centralized and that changes moved quickly only when Zuckerberg personally made them a priority. The lawsuit, brought by California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey, accuses Meta of designing Facebook and Instagram in ways that could encourage excessive use among young people while failing…
Chinese robotics companies are increasingly shifting their focus from spectacular demonstrations toward real commercial applications, showcasing humanoid robots performing logistics, factory and household tasks at the World Robot Conference in Beijing. More than 300 companies are attending the event, presenting over 2,000 exhibits and launching more than 150 products as investor interest in humanoid robotics continues to surge. Among the demonstrations, robots were shown sorting parcels, moving warehouse crates, packing smartphones and performing assembly-line work. Companies including Leju, Robotera and DexForce said their machines are already being tested or deployed in logistics facilities and manufacturing plants. Robotera said it has…
France’s consumer watchdog has fined British fast-fashion retailer Boohoo €2.3 million ($2.7 million) for misleading pricing practices and inaccurate product descriptions on its website. The DGCCRF said many of the discounts promoted by Boohoo did not reflect genuine price reductions. Of the promotions examined, 40% were not real discounts, 7% offered smaller reductions than advertised, and 48% actually represented price increases. The regulator also found that Boohoo used descriptions such as “leather” and “suede” for products made from synthetic materials, breaching French product-labeling requirements. Boohoo said the violations related to a period between October 2023 and February 2024 under previous…
Samsung Electronics is reportedly preparing a new shareholder return programme worth more than 100 trillion won ($71.75 billion) as record profits from the AI-driven memory chip boom strengthen its balance sheet. According to South Korean media reports, the company is expected to hold a board meeting at the end of August to approve the plan, which could include a special dividend alongside other shareholder return measures. Samsung is reportedly planning to allocate 50% of its free cash flow to the programme, continuing its efforts to distribute a larger share of profits to investors as semiconductor earnings accelerate. The move follows…
SK Hynix has reached a tentative wage agreement with employees in South Korea that would see 60% of this year’s bonuses paid in company shares, replacing the all-cash structure used last year. The AI-driven memory boom has sharply increased SK Hynix’s profits and employee bonuses. Workers are expected to receive an average payout of about 779 million won ($547,000) for 2026. Under the proposed agreement, employees would receive 40% of their bonuses in cash and 40% in immediately sellable stock. The remaining 20% would be paid as deferred shares, with half vesting after one year and the rest after two…
Unitree CEO Wang Xingxing says humanoid robotics is moving closer to its own “ChatGPT moment,” a breakthrough that could allow robots to handle most everyday tasks through simple voice or text instructions. Speaking at a major robotics conference in Beijing, Wang said the industry is approaching a tipping point where robots could enter unfamiliar environments and successfully complete around 80% of tasks without specialized programming. However, he cautioned that the software needed to reach that level is still developing. In an optimistic scenario, a major breakthrough could arrive within two to three years, while a longer timeline could extend to…
Australia has passed new legislation that will require major technology companies to pay a 2.5% levy on local advertising revenue if they fail to reach commercial agreements with Australian news publishers. The News Bargaining Incentive applies to companies including Meta, Google, TikTok and Microsoft’s LinkedIn if they operate significant social media or search services in Australia and generate more than A$250 million ($178 million) in local advertising revenue. Platforms can avoid the levy by signing qualifying agreements with at least eight publishers before the end of their financial reporting period. Payments to news organizations will be credited against the levy,…