Sep 2, 2025

Chinese AI chip maker Cambricon hits $81B valuation despite revenue risks

Cambricon Technologies, a Beijing-based AI chip designer, has seen its stock price soar to a market valuation of approximately $81.2 billion, surpassing established companies like MediaTek and SMIC despite generating significantly lower annual revenue. The meteoric rise reflects investor enthusiasm for China's domestic AI hardware ecosystem, though questions remain about the sustainability of its growth amid heavy client concentration and geopolitical pressures. The big picture: Cambricon's financial turnaround has been dramatic, generating RMB28.81 billion (approximately $4.03 billion) in revenue during the first half of 2025—more than 40 times the figure from a year earlier. The company also achieved profitability with...

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AI shopping traffic surged 4,700% in July 2025, Adobe reports

Adobe's latest data reveals that AI-powered shopping traffic to U.S. retail sites surged 4,700% year-over-year in July 2025, based on analysis of over one trillion visits to retail websites. This dramatic growth signals that generative AI discovery tools—systems that help consumers research products using conversational interfaces—are rapidly becoming central to how consumers find deals and make purchasing decisions, fundamentally reshaping the retail landscape. What you should know: AI-referred shoppers demonstrate significantly more engaged behavior than traditional traffic sources. These consumers spend 32% longer on retail sites, view 10% more pages, and bounce 27% less than visitors from other channels. The...

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Anthropic raises $13B, valuation nearly triples to $183B

Anthropic has raised $13 billion in a new funding round that values the AI startup at $183 billion, nearly tripling its valuation from $61.5 billion just six months ago. The massive valuation surge reflects the unprecedented investor appetite for artificial intelligence companies, as tech giants and venture capital firms pour hundreds of billions into AI development amid questions about the sustainability of the current boom. The big picture: AI spending has reached record heights in 2024, with five major companies—Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, and OpenAI—planning to spend over $300 billion combined on data centers for AI development before year-end.• That's...

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Soft skills outperform tech expertise in AI-driven workplace, claims Harvard study

A new Harvard Business Review study reveals that soft skills like collaboration, adaptability, and mathematical thinking are more valuable for career advancement than specialized technical knowledge as AI reshapes the workplace. The research, conducted by scientists from Northwestern University and Harvard, analyzed millions of U.S. job data points from 2005 to 2019 and found that workers with strong foundational skills earn higher wages, advance faster, and adapt better to industry changes than those with deep technical expertise. The big picture: As AI accelerates workplace technology adoption, the "half-life" of specialized technical skills has plummeted from 10 years in the 1980s...

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Switzerland launches Apertus, world’s first open-source national AI model

Switzerland has launched Apertus, an open-source national Large Language Model developed by public institutions including EPFL, ETH Zurich, and the Swiss National Supercomputing Centre. The move positions Switzerland as the first country to offer a fully transparent AI model as public infrastructure, potentially setting a new standard for how nations approach AI development and data sovereignty. What you should know: Apertus represents a completely open approach to AI development, with full transparency across its entire training process. Users can inspect any part of the model's training, access comprehensive documentation, source code, and the datasets used to build it. The model...

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Dolby Vision 2 uses AI “content intelligence” to fix TV motion smoothing issues

Dolby has unveiled Dolby Vision 2, the next generation of its HDR format that incorporates AI-powered optimization and filmmaker-controlled motion smoothing features. The upgrade represents a significant evolution beyond traditional HDR by introducing "Content Intelligence" tools that automatically adjust TV settings based on viewing conditions and content type, while addressing the controversial motion smoothing issue that has long frustrated filmmakers. What you should know: Dolby Vision 2 introduces AI-driven features that go far beyond basic HDR tone mapping to optimize the entire viewing experience.• The new "Content Intelligence" tools automatically adjust TV settings based on what you're watching, your viewing...

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Spiritual influencers, including a former “Love Island” star, are selling AI chatbots as divine guides

Spiritual influencers are positioning AI chatbots as sentient spiritual guides capable of revealing life's mysteries, with some claiming these tools can access otherworldly knowledge and provide personalized enlightenment. This emerging techno-spirituality movement capitalizes on AI's mysterious inner workings and human tendencies toward mystical thinking, raising concerns about users developing delusional relationships with artificial intelligence. The big picture: Prominent social media figures are co-opting New Age spirituality language to market AI as a gateway to transcendent wisdom, blending Silicon Valley's techno-theological ethos with alternative spiritual practices. Robert Edward Grant, who has 817,000 Instagram followers, created "The Architect" GPT after claiming to...

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Indigenous youth use AI to preserve languages disappearing every 2 weeks

Young Indigenous technologists are developing AI-powered tools to help preserve and revitalize endangered languages in their communities, addressing a crisis where the UN estimates an Indigenous language dies every two weeks. These projects, led by individuals like Danielle Boyer with her SkoBot language-learning robot and Jared Coleman's AI-powered Paiute translator, represent a growing movement to reverse generational language loss while maintaining ethical control over cultural resources. The big picture: Indigenous communities worldwide are racing against time to preserve languages that colonization systematically suppressed, with half of all global languages projected to disappear by 2100. How the technology works: Boyer's SkoBot...

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AI startup “WagerGPT” and more chase $150B sports gambling market with mixed results

A growing number of entrepreneurs are developing AI-powered gambling tools, betting that artificial intelligence can give ordinary bettors an edge in the rapidly expanding online sports betting market. While some claim success rates of 56-60 percent compared to standard odds of 52 percent, the field remains largely experimental with no clear wave of newly minted millionaires emerging from AI-assisted gambling. The big picture: The convergence of America's booming $150 billion sports betting industry with the AI gold rush has created a cottage industry of startups promising to turn bots into winning bet-makers. Americans spent over $150 billion on sports-related wagers...

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Creative Runway AI expands into brass tacks robotics and self-driving car simulation

Runway AI, the $3 billion video generation company, is expanding beyond creative tools into robotics and autonomous vehicle training after receiving inbound interest from firms in those industries. The move leverages the company's existing world models to tap into rapidly growing simulation markets, with backing from major investors including Nvidia, Alphabet, and General Atlantic. The big picture: Runway's pivot reflects how generative AI is increasingly shaping robotics and self-driving development, positioning the company to capture demand in markets projected to grow from $16.5 billion combined in 2025 to over $51 billion by 2034. Market opportunity: The numbers underscore significant growth...

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Your prompt is showing: Therapists secretly using ChatGPT during sessions raises privacy concerns

Some therapists are secretly using ChatGPT and other AI tools during sessions and in client communications, often without disclosure or consent. Multiple clients have discovered their therapists using AI through technical mishaps or telltale signs in communications, leading to feelings of betrayal and damaged trust in relationships where authenticity is paramount. What you should know: Several clients have caught their therapists using AI tools in real-time during sessions or in email responses. Declan, 31, watched his therapist input his statements into ChatGPT during a video session when screen sharing was accidentally enabled, with the AI providing real-time analysis and suggested...

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Eager to tri it? Samsung’s $2.9K Galaxy Z TriFold launches September 29…in South Korea

Samsung has announced plans to launch its dual-hinged Galaxy Z TriFold smartphone on September 29 in South Korea, according to new leaks from industry sources. The device, which could be priced upwards of $2,930, represents Samsung's ambitious entry into the emerging tri-fold smartphone market and will debut alongside the company's Project Moohan XR headset and potentially new AI-powered smart glasses. What you should know: The Galaxy Z TriFold will be Samsung's first dual-hinged foldable device, offering users a triple-screen experience when fully unfolded. Previous leaks suggest the device will be priced upwards of 4 million KRW (~$2,930), reflecting the complexity...

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Award-winning film examines AI’s reliance on marginalized data-labelers

Indian filmmakers Kiran Rao and Biju Toppo have joined as executive producers on "Humans in the Loop," the Fipresci India Grand Prix-winning feature about an indigenous Adivasi woman working as an AI data-labeller. The move represents a significant boost for the indie drama, which explores how technological progress can entrench exclusion while sidelining indigenous knowledge systems—themes increasingly relevant as AI's hidden labor force gains scrutiny. What you should know: The film follows Nehma, an Oraon Adivasi woman whose AI data-labelling work exposes the hidden labor powering "smart" technologies in Jharkhand, northern India.• Adivasis are India's indigenous tribal communities, comprising roughly...

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Tesla bets 80% of future value will come from robots, not cars

Tesla has unveiled "Master Plan 4.0," marking a dramatic pivot from its electric vehicle roots toward artificial intelligence and robotics as the company's primary growth engine. The new strategy positions the humanoid Optimus robot at the center of Tesla's future, with CEO Elon Musk expecting approximately 80% of the company's value to eventually come from robotics rather than automotive sales. The big picture: Tesla is fundamentally reimagining itself as an AI and robotics company rather than an electric vehicle manufacturer, betting that humanoid robots will drive exponentially greater value than cars. Key details: The Master Plan 4.0 document prominently features...

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Israeli VCs embrace AI tools while maintaining human-first investing

Israeli venture capital leaders are adapting their investment strategies to incorporate AI tools while maintaining that human judgment remains irreplaceable in venture capital decisions. A new survey from CTech, an Israeli technology publication, reveals how three prominent firms—Red Dot Capital Partners, HiCenter Ventures, and Blumberg Capital—are using AI to enhance their operations while emphasizing that successful AI investments still depend on human trust, commercial focus, and long-term defensibility. What they're saying: Industry leaders consistently emphasize that AI enhances but doesn't replace human decision-making in venture capital. "AI is already woven into our daily work … helping us process information faster,...

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Bristol, UK council’s AI art on creative course guides sparks artist backlash

Bristol City Council sparked controversy after using AI-generated artwork on the cover of a course guide promoting adult creative learning classes, with local designers arguing the decision undermines the very skills being taught. The backlash highlights growing tensions between cost-cutting AI adoption and preserving opportunities for human creative professionals. What happened: Bristol City Council distributed 72,000 course guides in July featuring an AI-generated cover image to promote adult learning workshops, including creative classes. Illustrator Adam Birch complained that using AI to promote creative workshops "devalues" the classes being advertised. The AI-generated cover contained telltale errors, including a figure with only...

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Salesforce cuts 4K support jobs as AI handles 50% of customer service

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff revealed that the company has eliminated 4,000 customer support jobs this year after deploying AI agents to handle nearly half of all customer interactions. The workforce reduction, which cut the support team from 9,000 to 5,000 employees, demonstrates how AI automation is directly replacing human workers at one of San Francisco's largest private employers while allowing the company to reallocate resources to sales and growth areas. The big picture: Salesforce's AI transformation represents a concrete example of how enterprise automation is reshaping workforce dynamics in real time. AI agents now handle 50% of all customer conversations,...

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Welcome to AI Hammy: Will Smith posts bizarre AI cat concert video after fake fan controversy

Will Smith posted a bizarre AI-generated concert video featuring a crowd of distorted cats, confirming suspicions that his team has been using artificial intelligence to enhance footage from his recent tour. The latest video comes after widespread criticism of an earlier concert clip where AI was allegedly used to add fake enthusiastic fans to sparse audience footage, highlighting a growing trend of celebrities embracing low-quality AI content. What happened: Smith's Instagram account featured a new video showing him performing on stage before panning to reveal an audience composed entirely of AI-generated cats with distorted features. The video was co-posted with...

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Eggs, basket: Just 2 customers drive 39% of Nvidia’s record $46.7B quarterly sales

Nvidia disclosed that just two customers accounted for 39% of its record-breaking $46.7 billion second-quarter revenue, highlighting the chip giant's heavy dependence on a narrow customer base. The revelation underscores the concentration risk facing the AI chip leader, even as demand for its data center hardware continues to surge. What you should know: Nvidia's customer concentration extends beyond the top two buyers, creating significant revenue dependency on a small group. One customer alone represented 23% of Q2 revenue, while another accounted for 16%. Four additional customers each contributed between 10-14% of quarterly revenue. For the first half of fiscal 2026,...

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OpenAI adds parental controls to ChatGPT after teen suicide lawsuits

OpenAI announced it will launch parental controls for ChatGPT "within the next month," allowing parents to manage their teen's interactions with the AI assistant. The move comes after several high-profile lawsuits alleging that ChatGPT and other AI chatbots have contributed to self-harm and suicide among teenagers, highlighting growing concerns about AI safety for younger users. What you should know: The parental controls will include several monitoring and management features designed to protect teen users. Parents can link their account with their teen's ChatGPT account and manage how the AI responds to younger users. The system will disable features like memory...

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Chile develops Latam-GPT, a 50B-parameter AI model for Latin America

The Chilean National Center for Artificial Intelligence is developing Latam-GPT, an open-source large language model specifically designed for Latin America and trained on regional languages and contexts. The project aims to help the region achieve technological independence by creating AI that understands local dialects, cultural nuances, and historical contexts that global models often overlook. What you should know: Latam-GPT represents a collaborative effort across Latin America to build regionally-focused AI capabilities. The model contains 50 billion parameters, making it comparable to GPT-3.5 in scale and complexity. It's trained on over 8 terabytes of text data from 20 Latin American countries...

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Alibaba shares surge 19% as cloud growth and AI chip development fuel rally

Alibaba's Hong Kong-listed shares surged more than 19% on Monday following strong quarterly results driven by its cloud computing division and reports of new AI chip development. The rally represents the stock's highest level since March, as investors respond positively to the company's accelerating cloud growth and strategic AI investments that position it to compete with tech giants like Microsoft and Google. What you should know: Alibaba's cloud computing unit delivered impressive growth that exceeded previous quarters and fueled investor confidence. Cloud revenue jumped 26% annually, marking an acceleration from the previous quarter's growth rate. AI-related product revenue "maintained triple-digit...

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Gatineau, Canada transit deploys $1M AI system to predict bus breakdowns by 2026

The Société de transport de l'Outaouais (STO), Gatineau's public transit authority, plans to deploy AI-powered sensors across its entire bus fleet by 2026 to monitor engine conditions and predict maintenance needs. The initiative, backed by a three-year, $1 million contract with Memphis-based Preteckt, aims to improve service reliability as the transit authority grapples with an aging fleet and operational challenges. What you should know: STO's predictive maintenance system will use real-time data collection and AI analysis to detect potential engine failures before they occur. Sensors will continuously monitor engine conditions and alert maintenance teams when vehicles are at risk of...

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China invests $84B in SCO countries as Xi pushes against “Cold War” attitudes

Chinese President Xi Jinping called for strengthened artificial intelligence cooperation among Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) members while rejecting "Cold War mentality" at the largest SCO summit to date in Tianjin. The gathering, featuring over 20 foreign leaders including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, represents China's broader effort to position itself as a global peacemaker amid ongoing tensions with the United States and various international conflicts. Key financial commitments: Xi announced that China has invested $84 billion in other SCO countries and pledged support for 10,000 students to participate in Beijing's "Luban" vocational education program. The...

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