Alibaba Group's financial report for the fourth quarter of 2024 reveals an 8% year-over-year revenue increase, driven by the year-end shopping season. The revenue totaled CNY280.2 billion (US$38.6 billion), registering the fastest growth rate in over a year. This reflects strong performance in its core e-commerce and cloud computing sectors.
A recent summit for private entrepreneurs in Beijing, attended by tech leaders including Alibaba founder Jack Ma and Huawei founder Zhengfei Ren, has drawn attention to the notable absence of Baidu founder Robin Li. Market observers speculate this absence may be linked to the mounting challenges facing Baidu.
The Chinese computing power market has experienced significant growth following the debut of DeepSeek R1. According to market sources, the end of the Lunar New Year holidays has increased activity as Internet and cloud service providers integrate with DeepSeek, driving heightened demand for Nvidia H-series GPUs.
During a speech at the Deloitte Future Talk summit held by Deloitte Taiwan on February 13, Jyh-huei Kuo, Minister of Economic Affairs for Taiwan, said Taiwan will enter the top three globally for AI software in 2027.
Microsoft Corp. is under investigation from the French antitrust authority amid concerns the US tech giant is degrading the quality of results when smaller rivals pay to use Bing technology in their own search-engine products.
DeepSeek has achieved a significant breakthrough in China's artificial intelligence landscape amid escalating technological tensions with the US. The company's self-developed deep learning framework has successfully integrated with multiple domestic CPUs and GPUs, marking a crucial step in bridging China's AI software and hardware industries.
DeepSeek's conclusion of its promotional trial period brings substantial price increases to its API services, potentially shifting enterprise strategies toward on-premise deployments while easing competitive pressure on public cloud providers. The move signals a broader transformation in AI investment strategies as demand continues to grow.
Elon Musk said he isn't interested in buying TikTok, the popular social video app the US has tried to ban over national security concerns with its Chinese owner Bytedance Ltd.
Alibaba Group (Alibaba) has announced that its upgraded Qwen 2.5 Max model has achieved superior performance over the V3 model from Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) startup DeepSeek in several third-party benchmark tests. The achievement marks a significant milestone as Qwen 2.5 Max has emerged as the top-ranked non-reasoning model from China in prominent benchmarking and ranking platforms.
Recent financial reports reveal decelerating revenue growth for leading cloud service providers, despite maintaining double-digit expansion. Industry perspectives are being shaped by DeepSeek's skepticism toward large hardware investments and an increasing focus on software and AI innovations. Additionally, uncertainty looms over potential new restrictions on AI infrastructure, including chips, that may be implemented by the Trump Administration.
In its latest earnings report, Amazon revealed that its cloud division delivered a robust performance over the past quarter, even amidst macroeconomic uncertainties. Despite this positive development, the company's cautious outlook suggests a potentially volatile geopolitical climate in the near future.
The cloud computing industry has evolved for nearly two decades, with Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and subscription-based business models maturing steadily. However, with the recent surge of generative AI development, industry experts are debating whether AI will serve as an enabler or a hindrance to the SaaS sector.
China has launched an antitrust probe into Google as its first major countermeasure against US President Donald Trump's latest tariffs on Chinese imports. On February 1, 2025, Trump announced a 10% tariff hike on Chinese goods, further intensifying trade tensions between the world's two largest economies.
China's antitrust watchdog is evaluating a possible investigation into Apple's App Store policies and developer fees, a move that could heighten tensions between Beijing and Washington in an escalating trade conflict, according to Bloomberg News and Reuters.
Taiwan-based Kdan Mobile Software has established itself as one of the world's top five PDF document service providers through consistent international expansion. While initially focused on mobile applications, the company has successfully shifted toward the global corporate market, with North America now representing about 30% of its total revenue.
Alphabet's most recent earnings report indicates that its cloud business is beginning to show signs of slowing amidst growing competition in the AI sector. Nevertheless, the company is continuing to increase its capex investments.
Alphabet is intensifying its focus on AI by allocating more resources and integrating AI into its products. Consequently, the company has decided to increase its capex. This decision comes despite facing new challenges from emerging competitors such as DeepSeek.
DeepSeek, a Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) startup, has stirred industry discussion with the announcement of its new "high-efficiency AI" model. The company claims this new model delivers performance comparable to ChatGPT at a dramatically lower cost—generating significant interest across the industry. According to DeepSeek, the breakthrough stems from substantially reduced training costs, a development that could reshape the AI landscape. However, industry experts remain cautious, emphasizing that further validation is needed before drawing any conclusions.
China's AI startup DeepSeek has emerged as a significant player in the AI landscape. While some US government offices have restricted DeepSeek's use, Amazon's AWS and Microsoft have announced support for DeepSeek models. Recent earnings reports from Meta and Microsoft demonstrate continued investment in AI innovation and infrastructure, with capital expenditures showing no signs of deceleration. Google, set to release its earnings shortly, has yet to declare its position.
Taiwan Premier Jung-tai Cho convened a council meeting on January 3, 2025, where officials decided to impose a blanket ban on DeepSeek services across all public agencies. The decision, aimed at safeguarding government data security, addresses concerns over potential cybersecurity risks.
In a bold reset of America's artificial intelligence strategy, President Trump has begun dismantling the regulatory framework of the previous administration, while simultaneously launching one of the most ambitious AI initiatives in US history. His first move: was revoking Executive Order 14110 on AI policy, while keeping intact the more recent Executive Orders 14141 (2025 AI Infrastructure EO) and 14144 (2025 Cybersecurity EO).
Chinese startup DeepSeek has disrupted the AI industry with its low-cost, open-source model, prompting industry giants to reassess their approaches. Sega Cheng, AI expert, and iKala co-founder, emphasized the importance of reinforcement learning (RL) while noting ongoing debate over DeepSeek's actual GPU usage. He expects US tech giants, particularly Meta Platforms, to reconsider their open-source strategies.
In a recent interview, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman unveiled plans to develop a generative AI-powered device aimed at replacing smartphones. Through this ChatGPT-optimized device, OpenAI seeks to establish dominance in both AI software and hardware markets.
