Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang appears to have struck a deal with the Trump administration to avoid export restrictions on the company’s H20 AI chips.The H20, the most advanced Nvidia-produced AI chip that can still be exported from the U.S. to China, was reportedly spared thanks to a promise from Huang to invest in new AI data centers in the U.S. According to NPR, Huang made the proposal during a dinner at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort sometime last week. Nvidia declined to comment.Many in the semiconductor industr ...

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) may have to pay a fine of $1 billion or more to resolve a U.S. export control investigation related to a chip it made that was used in a Huawei AI processor, according to a report by Reuters.TSMC did not provide any further comments as it is now “in [a] quiet period,” a spokesperson for the chipmaker said in an emailed statement to TechCrunch. It’s the latest development in a situation that first came to light in late 2024 involving TSMC, Huawei, and Xiamen ...

Zoox, Amazon’s autonomous vehicle unit, is deploying a small fleet of retrofitted test vehicles on the streets of Los Angeles starting Tuesday – a modest, yet meaningful step as the company inches toward offering public rides in Las Vegas and San Francisco later this year. The data-collection effort marks Zoox’s entrance into its sixth city and lays the groundwork for a future robotaxi service. Unlike rival Waymo, which is already providing paid robotaxi rides in LA, Zoox is still in the early stages. This ...

In Brief Apple is considering importing more iPhones from India to side-step the 54% additional tariffs on goods imported from China that U.S. President Donald Trump announced last week, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing anonymous sources. The company sees this as a short-term measure while it seeks to negotiate with the Trump administration to get an exemption from the tariffs, as it doesn’t yet want to revamp its supply chain built around China, the report said. Compared to the new 54% tariffs on ...

Core Insights - IBM has launched the z17 mainframe, designed to enhance AI adoption with capabilities for over 250 AI use cases, including generative AI [1] - The mainframe market was valued at approximately $5.3 billion in 2024, with 71% of Fortune 500 companies utilizing mainframes [2] Product Features - The z17 can process 450 billion inference operations daily, marking a 50% increase from its predecessor, the IBM z16 [3] - The system integrates seamlessly with various hardware, software, and open-source tools [3] - The z17 is equipped to support 48 IBM Spyre AI accelerator chips at launch, with plans to increase this to 96 within a year [5] Development Background - The z17 upgrade took five years to develop, with extensive customer feedback collected during the process [4] - The development timeline predates the recent surge in AI interest, which began with the release of OpenAI's ChatGPT in November 2022 [4] Energy Efficiency and Performance - The z17 is designed to be more energy-efficient than its predecessor and competitors, achieving a seven and a half times increase in AI acceleration while consuming five and a half times less energy compared to other platforms [6][7] - The mainframe will be generally available starting June 8 [7]

Core Points - Microsoft terminated the roles of two software engineers who protested against the company's dealings with the Israeli military during a recent event [1][2] - The protests included vocal interruptions during keynotes and panels, highlighting internal dissent regarding the company's policies [2] Group 1 - Microsoft stated that one of the terminated employees could have raised concerns through proper channels instead of disrupting the event [2] - The protests were led by Ibtihal Aboussad and Vaniya Agrawal, who made public statements during high-profile speeches by Microsoft executives [2] - Aboussad later sent an email claiming the company silenced dissenting voices, linking to a petition from a group opposing Microsoft's work with Israel [2]

Group 1: Apple - Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives has reduced the price target for Apple stock from $325 to $250 per share due to the impact of President Trump's tariffs, which Ives describes as an "economic Armageddon" for the company [1] - Apple is significantly affected by these tariffs, with 90% of its iPhones produced and assembled in China, leading to a 4.3% decline in its share price, trading at $180 [1] Group 2: Tesla - Ives has also cut Tesla's price target from $550 to $315, which remains above the current share price of $233.94 [2] - The price cut for Tesla is attributed not only to tariffs but also to CEO Elon Musk's political affiliations, which have created a brand crisis and negatively impacted sales in the U.S. and Europe, while pushing Chinese consumers towards domestic brands like BYD [3] - Tesla is perceived as a political symbol globally, and Ives urges Musk to take a leadership role during this uncertain time [4] - Tesla shares experienced a nearly 10% drop compared to the previous closing price but have shown some recovery as of Monday afternoon [4]

Core Viewpoint - The U.K. government has lost its attempt to keep the details of a surveillance order against Apple confidential, leading to parts of the legal case being made public despite government objections [1][2]. Group 1: Legal Proceedings - The Investigatory Powers Tribunal ruled that revealing the basic details of the case would not harm public interest or national security [2]. - This ruling marks the first public acknowledgment of the case, although specific details remain undisclosed [2]. - The case reportedly involves a U.K. legal demand for Apple to grant access to encrypted cloud data of any Apple customer globally [2][4]. Group 2: Apple's Response - Following the legal demand, Apple stated it could no longer offer Advanced Data Protection to users in the U.K., which allows for enhanced encryption of files [3]. - Apple has consistently maintained that it has "never built a backdoor or master key" for its products and services, and it will not do so in the future [6]. Group 3: Public and Political Reactions - There is a coalition of privacy advocates, news outlets, U.S. lawmakers, and intelligence officials calling for transparency in the legal hearings [5]. - Neither Apple nor the U.K. Home Office has commented on the specifics of the case due to national security regulations [4][5].

Group 1 - IBM announced the acquisition of Hakkoda, a data and AI consultancy, to enhance its consulting capabilities in various industries including financial services, public sector, and healthcare [1][2] - The acquisition aligns with IBM's strategy to increase investments in AI and automation technologies, following previous acquisitions such as DataStax and HashiCorp [2] - In Q4 2024, IBM reported its largest revenue increase in five years, with AI bookings and sales exceeding $5 billion [3] Group 2 - Hakkoda, co-founded in 2021, specializes in helping clients migrate data to the cloud, particularly using the Snowflake data cloud, and has raised $5.6 million in venture capital [4] - Hakkoda's consultants from various regions will integrate into IBM Consulting as part of the acquisition [5] - Hakkoda's mission is to actively shape the transformation in the data consulting industry, aligning well with IBM's innovative heritage and client partnerships [6]

Core Points - Meta will eliminate fact-checkers in the U.S. starting Monday, as announced by Chief Global Affairs Officer Joel Kaplan [1] - This policy change aligns with a broader shift in content moderation rules, which were loosened in January [1][4] - The timing of this change coincides with significant political events, including President Trump's inauguration, which Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg attended [2] Content Moderation Changes - Meta's new approach to content moderation will model after Community Notes from Elon Musk's X, shifting some responsibility to users rather than relying on paid professionals [3][4] - The first Community Notes will gradually appear across Meta's platforms, including Facebook, Threads, and Instagram, without penalties for users [4] - The reduction in content moderation is expected to increase user engagement by allowing more posts to be visible, as Meta's news feed favors content that generates strong reactions [5] Impact on Misinformation - As Meta rolls back its fact-checking programs, there has been a noticeable increase in the spread of false information [6] - The company is removing restrictions on topics like immigration and gender identity, which are often subjects of political debate [6]