Sign in Subscribe

Explainer

Why Is Big Tech 'Acquiring' AI Startups Without Actually Buying Them?

Last week, Meta Platforms Inc. announced a stunning $14.3 billion investment for a 49% stake in Scale AI, one of the key startups providing data-labeling services for training AI models. As part of the deal, Scale’s founder and CEO, 28-year-old Alexandr Wang, will join Meta to work on
Why Is Big Tech 'Acquiring' AI Startups Without Actually Buying Them?

Apple's Research Reveals the Limits of the AI Reasoning Model

For the past year, the AI industry has been captivated by a new frontier: reasoning models. Led by OpenAI's powerful "o-series" and Google's Gemini, these models promised to do more than just generate text; they could "think," breaking down complex problems and
Apple's Research Reveals the Limits of the AI Reasoning Model

What's Behind DeepSeek's R1 Model Upgrade and Its Rapid Ascent?

Just months after triggering a trillion-dollar stock market meltdown with its debut, Chinese AI startup DeepSeek is again proving it can compete with Silicon Valley’s best. The latest version of its reasoning model, R1, recently tied for first place with models from Google and Anthropic in a real-time coding
What's Behind DeepSeek's R1 Model Upgrade and Its Rapid Ascent?

Nvidia-backed Startup Bets on Synthetic Data for AI

This week, SandboxAQ, an artificial intelligence startup spun out of Alphabet and backed by Nvidia, released a trove of 5.2 million “synthetic” molecules. The data, generated by computers rather than discovered in a lab, is designed to train other AI models to drastically speed up the discovery of new
Nvidia-backed Startup Bets on Synthetic Data for AI

Why Is Nvidia Courting China Despite US Chip Sanctions?

In a move that Beijing hailed as a “vote of confidence,” US semiconductor giant Nvidia confirmed it will attend China’s flagship supply chain expo in July. The appearance comes even as Washington intensifies a campaign to hobble China’s technological advancement, implementing sweeping export controls aimed squarely at Nvidia’

Why Is the TikTok Sale Taking So Long?

For the 170 million Americans who use TikTok, the saga over the app's future feels like a story on loop. President Donald Trump has once again extended the deadline for its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell its US operations, this time for another 90 days. The move

What Is Behind AWS's Push for a Custom AI Chip?

For years, Nvidia has been the undisputed king of the artificial intelligence boom, supplying the powerful graphics processing units (GPUs) that serve as the engine for services like ChatGPT. But a new front has opened in the AI arms race, and it’s being led by Nvidia’s own biggest

Why Are Investors Still Pouring Billions Into Self-Driving Cars?

The self-driving car industry just received another major vote of confidence from investors. Automotive software supplier Applied Intuition announced it had raised $600 million, valuing the company at a staggering $15 billion. The funding, co-led by giants like BlackRock and Kleiner Perkins, signals a powerful belief in the future of
Why Are Investors Still Pouring Billions Into Self-Driving Cars?

Why Is Meta Betting Big on AI Advertising?

Just a few years ago, Meta was betting its future on the metaverse. Now, it’s going all-in on artificial intelligence. The latest evidence came this week with the announcement of a new tool that allows advertisers to use AI to instantly create video ads from still product images. The
Why Is Meta Betting Big on AI Advertising?

DeepSeek Was Just the Beginning: China's AI Race Explained

Just months after Chinese AI startup DeepSeek rattled Wall Street with a model that challenged Silicon Valley’s giants, a domestic rival is already claiming to have beaten it. This week, Shanghai-based MiniMax unveiled its M1 reasoning model, asserting that it outperforms DeepSeek’s latest release while using significantly fewer
DeepSeek Was Just the Beginning: China's AI Race Explained