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Explainer

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

What's Behind Apple's AI Strategy in China?

Alibaba this week launched a new version of its flagship artificial intelligence model, Qwen3, with a key feature: compatibility with Apple’s own MLX architecture. The move, which enables Alibaba’s AI to run efficiently on everything from iPhones to MacBooks, is the clearest signal yet that Apple has found
What's Behind Apple's AI Strategy in China?

Why Is Microsoft-OpenAI Partnership Cracking?

What began as the foundational partnership of the modern AI era is showing signs of a spectacular collapse. OpenAI executives have reportedly discussed accusing their biggest financial backer, Microsoft, of anticompetitive behavior, a move that could unravel the most pivotal alliance in technology. The news, first reported by the Wall
Why Is Microsoft-OpenAI Partnership Cracking?

US Pressure on Vietnam Signals a Deeper Tech Decoupling

The U.S. is reportedly using the threat of crippling tariffs to pressure Vietnam, a key electronics manufacturing hub, to reduce its use of Chinese-made components in goods destined for America. This move marks a significant escalation in the U.S.-China tech rivalry, expanding the battlefield from a targeted
US Pressure on Vietnam Signals a Deeper Tech Decoupling

How US Chip Sanctions Are Building a Fortress for Huawei

In a rare interview last week, Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei made a startling admission: his company’s advanced AI chips “still lag behind the US by a generation.” Yet in the same breath, he insisted there was “no need to worry” about US sanctions. This apparent contradiction gets to the

What Is at Stake in Taiwan’s Ban on Huawei and SMIC?

Taiwan’s decision yesterday to add Chinese tech giants Huawei and SMIC to its trade blacklist marks a formal, and forceful, alignment with U.S. policy. The move, which tightens loopholes and raises the stakes for any Taiwanese firm supplying the two blacklisted companies, is more than a symbolic gesture.
What Is at Stake in Taiwan’s Ban on Huawei and SMIC?