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Lucid to Buy US-Made EV Batteries from Panasonic
Bloomberg Technology· 2025-07-14 18:35
Battery Supply Chain & Localization - Lucid initially sourced battery supplies from Japan and Korea, but has since invested in localizing production with Panasonic in the US [1] - The collaboration with Panasonic involves co-engineering to optimize battery cell performance based on Lucid's real-world experience and Panasonic's chemistry expertise [2] - Localizing the supply chain, including raw materials like graphite, is crucial to mitigate the impact of tariffs [6][7] - The company is working on further localizing the supply chain for battery cells to avoid tariffs on imported raw materials [6] Production & Scaling - Lucid is ramping up production of the Gravity model and expects significantly higher numbers than in the past [9] - The company aims to reach 20,000 vehicles this year, with efforts focused on resolving supply chain bottlenecks and optimizing plant operations [9][14][16] - The mid-size platform, targeting a $50,000 price range, is on track for next year and is expected to be a key inflection point for volume scaling [8][9][16] - The de plant will supply cells for vehicles sold or delivered starting next year [10] Market Position & Strategy - Lucid Air is the best-selling EV in its segment in the United States, even outperforming ICE vehicles at the beginning of the year [12] - The company is primarily appealing to the higher price segment, as achieving economies of scale in automotive manufacturing is a long-term process [14][15] - Lucid is experiencing increased interest from potential partners motivated by the effort to onshore industry in the US [19] - Lucid is seeing increased interest from Tesla owners [23] External Factors & Challenges - Tariffs increase costs and necessitate rethinking the supply chain, prompting localization efforts [5][25] - The company is less impacted by cost increases compared to other players because it builds everything in the United States [26] - The company believes that vehicles will become more expensive for American consumers under the tariff regime [28]
Meta to Spend Hundreds of Billions on AI, Says Zuckerberg
Bloomberg Technology· 2025-07-14 18:22
AI Investment & Strategy - Meta is projected to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in AI infrastructure, aligning with its aggressive hiring of AI talent for its superintelligence group [1][2][3] - Elon Musk's various companies, including SpaceX (investing $2 billion), are contributing to his AI business, X AI, with potential synergies across Tesla and X [5][6] - Elon Musk is seeking shareholder approval for Tesla to invest in AI, emphasizing the transformative potential of the technology and its benefits for self-driving capabilities [7][8][9] X AI Financials & Business Model - X AI is reportedly burning over $1 billion per month on its AI efforts [10] - X AI's revenue streams are currently limited, primarily from Grok subscriptions on X, raising questions about the long-term financial viability of its AI investments [11][12] Competitive Landscape - Meta's AI investment gains significance as competitors bolster their AI ambitions [4] - The integration of Grok into Tesla vehicles exemplifies potential synergies within Elon Musk's companies [7]
Panasonic Opens Kansas EV Battery Plant
Bloomberg Technology· 2025-07-14 17:57
Production & Expansion - Panasonic aims for full production at its DeSoto, Kansas facility this year, with sales already underway [2] - The company invested $4 billion in the DeSoto facility and is eligible for nearly $7 billion in incentives from the Inflation Reduction Act [15] - Panasonic plans to localize 50% of its supply chain within North America by 2030 to enhance resilience [19] Customer & Market Strategy - Panasonic is diversifying its customer base beyond Tesla to include other established OEMs and startups [8][9] - The company is "very bullish" and not currently experiencing a slowdown in orders from key customers [6] - Panasonic acknowledges the hybrid market's continued relevance alongside EV growth, with EV sales rising by 114% [23] Location & Partnership - Kansas was chosen for its available workforce, infrastructure, and the supportive attitude of state officials [11][12] - Panasonic collaborated with local schools and community colleges to create curriculums to ensure a skilled workforce [14] Supply Chain - Panasonic is actively working to diversify its supply chain to ensure resilience, addressing issues highlighted during COVID-19 [18][20] - The refining process for raw materials is a key focus to ensure the quality needed for battery production [21] Future Outlook - Panasonic's next priority after the DeSoto facility reaches smooth operation is yet to be determined (TBD), focusing on producing quality batteries [22] - The company is hopeful that the 45X manufacturing credit will remain intact, supporting job creation and technology advancement in the US [17]
SAP CEO: Europe Doesn't Need More Data Centers
Bloomberg Technology· 2025-07-13 05:00
AI Infrastructure and Development in Europe - Europe should prioritize developing AI use cases for industries like life science, logistics, and manufacturing rather than competing on infrastructure with the US and China [2] - Focusing solely on building data centers in Europe may not meet current demand; a demand-driven approach from the software and AI layer is needed to stimulate chip demand [5][6] - While infrastructure is necessary, Europe's focus should be on the application layer and building industrial AI, as customers have choices beyond US hyperscalers [4][15][16] AI Regulation and Sovereignty - The primary concern in European AI discussions is often regulation, potentially overshadowing competitiveness and opportunities [7][8] - The EU AI Act, while well-intentioned, risks hindering development if member states create overlapping and inconsistent policies, impeding startup scaling [9][10][11] - Data sovereignty means controlling data location and access, with encryption, rather than solely focusing on the origin of hardware components [14] - Complete technological independence from the US is unrealistic; hardware components will inevitably come from various global sources [13][14]
How SAP Became Became the Tech Engine Behind Global Business
Bloomberg Technology· 2025-07-12 06:00
Once overshadowed by luxury icon. LVMH and pharmaceutical titan Novo Nordisk, SAP has risen steadily to the top - and is now worth over €300 billion. Its business enterprise software powers the inner workings of more than 90% of Fortune 500 companies, including Coca-Cola, Apple, Walmart and Nestlé.The SAP story started in 1972 when a group of former IBM engineers set out to build something revolutionary software that could integrate all of the company's operations and process data in real time. By the mid-s ...
Nvidia's Huang Meets With Trump, Tesla Taxis Move West | Bloomberg Tech 7/11/2025
Bloomberg Technology· 2025-07-11 20:42
>> “BLOOMBERG TECH” IS LIVE FROM COAST-TO-COAST. WITH CAROLINE HYDE IN NEW YORK AND ED LUDLOW IN SAN FRANCISCO. ED: BLOOMBERG -- ROMAINE: NVIDIA CEO MEETING WITH U.S. PRESIDENT TRUMP AT THE WHITE HOUSE YESTERDAY.THAT IS OUT OF A BIG TRIP PLANNED NEXT WEEK TO CHINA. WE ARE LOOKING AT TESLA, WANTS TO BRING DRIVERLESS TAXES TO CALIFORNIA AND ARIZONA, AFTER LAST MONTH'S ROLLOUT IN AUSTIN, TEXAS. CRYPTO WEEK IS UPON US.WE WILL DISCUSS WHAT TO EXPECT FROM CRYPTO FOCUSED BILLS IN WASHINGTON WITH THE HEAD OF THE BL ...
US Unique Among Crypto Framework: Blockchain Assoc. CEO
Bloomberg Technology· 2025-07-11 19:57
Certainty. I haven't heard that word in this space in quite some time. You think we're finally going to get this summer. I think we're certainly going to get it.We will see at least the Genius Act signed into law maybe as early as the end of this week. And we're going to see clarity pass the House floor with bipartisan support and really have that momentum going into the Senate consideration. This is for a lot of folks.They see this as a huge milestone, not just so much in that you're getting guardrails in ...
Tech Efficiencies to Come From AI Impact
Bloomberg Technology· 2025-07-11 19:51
AI 投资与回报 - 行业观察到部分公司通过部署 AI 获得了实际的投资回报,尤其是在云服务领域,预计未来几周的财报将体现这一趋势 [2] - 行业预计云计算公司将实现强劲甚至加速的收入增长,例如亚马逊和谷歌云 [2][3] - 行业正在努力衡量 CapEx 的投资回报率,从单纯的 CapEx 支出转向识别潜在的利润增长点,以便更有效地评估 AI 投资的价值 [10][11][12] - 投资者正在寻找 AI 技术在规模化回报方面的潜力,以及更广泛的 AI 机会 [13] 效率与利润率 - 广告行业正在经历变革,广告的制作和投放方式更加普及,这可能会带来增长动力 [3][4] - 公司正在关注效率提升,通过优化员工配置和流程来改善利润率 [4] - Alphabet 等公司在投资 AI 的同时,也在核心业务中寻求效率平衡,从而实现利润率的提升 [9] 人力资源与成本控制 - 科技行业的新员工招聘速度相对平缓,一些公司出现了裁员现象 [6] - 尽管微软宣布裁员 9000 人,但仍在 CapEx 方面投入巨资以追赶 AI 浪潮,行业关注这种平衡 [7] - 削减数百万美元的工资支出并不一定能抵消数十亿美元的 CapEx 支出,公司需要在两者之间找到平衡 [8] 商业模式与货币化 - 消费者互联网的货币化方式主要有三种:订阅、商业和广告,AI 在消费者领域的应用也将遵循这些模式 [16] - 订阅模式将继续存在,但广告和商业仍然是主要的货币化手段 [17] - 科技行业的订阅费用在过去 20 年里只增不减 [18]
Amazon Prime Day Is About Price: PMG Head of Commerce
Bloomberg Technology· 2025-07-11 19:31
E-commerce & Retail Trends - Amazon's Prime Day, initially a one-day event, has expanded to a four-day event, indicating a shift in consumer shopping behavior [2] - Other major retailers like Walmart, Target, Kohl's, and Wayfair are also running big summer sales, mirroring Amazon's strategy [3] - Retail media, leveraging retailer data for targeted advertising, is growing faster than TV advertising [11] - Amazon's key strengths are selection, price, and convenience, creating a competitive advantage [4][5] - Amazon's logistics capabilities, enabling same-day or next-day delivery, are a significant barrier for other e-commerce companies to overcome [5][6] Advertising & Marketing - Companies are adopting a more holistic and independent approach to advertising, moving away from traditional ad agency models [7] - Retail data is increasingly used to target television advertising, exemplified by Amazon's partnership with Roku [12] - Digital marketing services and technology companies track billions of data points to understand consumer behavior across various channels [8][9] - Brands are focusing on the customer journey across search, social, and retail, with retail and media converging [9] - Return on investment (ROI) is being seen on new ad platforms, with retail media becoming a fast-growing segment [10][11]
Hugging Face Looks to Open-Source AI Robotics
Bloomberg Technology· 2025-07-11 19:20
Product & Technology - The company is developing an open-source, human-robot interaction platform named Richie, designed with emotional expression capabilities [1][2] - Richie is designed as a kit, similar to Lego, to encourage community tinkering and improvement through open-source contributions [3][4] - The platform includes sensors, cameras, microphones, and speakers, and is compatible with AI models for speech and image processing [2] - The company will provide an SDK to facilitate the creation of new robot behaviors and applications, encouraging community sharing and accessibility [6] Market & Business Model - The company aims to provide an accessible platform for building human-robot interactions, differentiating itself from expensive humanoid robots [2][7][9] - The open-source nature of Richie is intended to maximize the value of community-built behaviors and applications [9] Sales & Distribution - The company has already generated $1 million in revenue from this project within a few days of launch [11] - Approximately 60% of initial sales are from the U S market, with the remaining 40% from international markets, primarily Europe, Asia, and South America [11] Manufacturing & Sourcing - The company is exploring local sourcing and manufacturing options in various locations to leverage design simplicity and navigate trade environments [12][13]