Technology

Apple’s $500 bln reveal has iPhone-like ring to it

24 Feb 2025

The four-year US spending sum includes 20,000 hires, R&D investment and a Houston factory. Boss Tim Cook probably can deliver, unlike many corporate pledges aimed at humoring Donald Trump. As with recent smartphone updates, however, it will create buzz for incremental changes.

Prosus’ delivery M&A makes most sense as a starter

24 Feb 2025

The $105 bln investor is paying $4 bln for Just Eat Takeaway.com. Prosus shares fell, perhaps due to the target’s past struggles and the absence of immediate synergies. But if the Dutch group used its Delivery Hero stake to drive a tie-up with Just Eat it might create more value.

AI agents have clear mission, hazy business model

20 Feb 2025

Companies are building applications based on artificial intelligence to perform tasks on behalf of workers. ‘Agentic AI’ could deliver $52 bln of revenue by 2030, BCG reckons. But developing tech and training staff takes time. Until clients value the benefits, it’s an extra cost.

Beware of Chinese stocks AI siren song

18 Feb 2025

Xi Jinping's meeting with tech bosses caps a rally that added $210 bln of market value to Alibaba and Tencent. The president’s support for private firms builds on DeepSeek's success. It also precedes the next challenges: how to manage price wars and Beijing's strict AI rules.

For TSMC, Trump can make an Intel deal appeal

17 Feb 2025

Taiwan's $840 bln chipmaker might take a stake in its ailing rival's factories at the behest of the US. Such a deal makes no financial sense. But with the president threatening tariffs and more, it may be a small price to pay for the Asian giant to protect its top market.

Torrid AppLovin reignites scorching PAIR trade

13 Feb 2025

Strong results helped the mobile ads outfit add 30% to its valuation. Having already outpaced all tech stocks last year, including Nvidia, the $160 bln company is leading a fiery foursome targeting dominant incumbents. Palantir, IonQ and Reddit are also part of the hot new club.

Paris summits go from green accord to AI discord

11 Feb 2025

A decade ago, France’s capital saw the world unite to fight climate change. In 2025, the US has refused to sign even a vague pledge for ‘inclusive and sustainable AI’ at President Macron’s conflab. Washington is entitled to do as it likes, but the lack of consensus is striking.

Elon Musk vs OpenAI is founder’s syndrome gone mad

11 Feb 2025

The Tesla boss has made a hard-to-compute $97.4 bln bid for control of the ChatGPT maker, furthering his feud with CEO Sam Altman. Valuation games based on wild assumptions about AI are already absurd. Tech barons accustomed to getting their way are taking it to the next level.

Super Bowl mania: media’s defensive line versus AI

10 Feb 2025

Over 100 mln fans may have watched the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Kansas City Chiefs in American football’s big game. Commanding so many eyeballs, broadcasters have jacked up ad prices by 56% in a decade. Even ChatGPT maker OpenAI paid up. This live event is hard to disrupt.

AI’s civil war will force investors to pick sides

7 Feb 2025

In 17th century England, royalist Cavaliers clashed with parliamentarian Roundheads. The future of artificial intelligence faces a similar ideological schism. The release of Chinese startup DeepSeek’s model requires money managers to make a defining choice about the technology.

Power groups’ post-DeepSeek pain looks justified

3 Feb 2025

The Chinese OpenAI rival’s lower costs saw shares in the likes of $57 bln Vistra and $103 bln GE Vernova crater. Scope for demand from AI users to soar may explain why they have partly recovered. But the risk that innovation means less power is real, and warrants a discount.

Masayoshi Son picks odd time to bet big on OpenAI

30 Jan 2025

The Japanese investor may sink $25 bln into the ChatGPT firm. DeepSeek has cast the OpenAI strategy of spending huge volumes of capital on smarter AI models in a new light. SoftBank investors will fret that this may be one of Son’s less successful double-dips.

DeepSeek scrambles AI development reasoning

30 Jan 2025

Breakthrough cost-efficiency claims from the made-in-China model stunned investors expecting a spending splurge, eroding $600 bln of chipmaker Nvidia’s value. In this week’s Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists debate what the advance means for machine-learning hype.

DeepSeek rise blurs ASML’s AI-driven recovery

29 Jan 2025

Booming orders from customers like TSMC sent the $290 bln maker of semiconductor machines’ shares up 8%. But a Chinese model using fewer, less advanced chips is a threat, and may increase the risk of a US export purge. A return to last year’s heady valuation looks harder.

DeepSeek offers no new answers to China’s AI bind

28 Jan 2025

The startup's low-cost model showcases the innovation prowess of the country. Yet it also spotlights how US curbs on high-end chips hold back the People's Republic in the tech race. For Beijing, the smartest way forward is to keep pouring money into its semiconductor industry.

China advance creates more AI winners than losers

27 Jan 2025

The DeepSeek model’s quality and low cost has spurred a selloff in chips and energy stocks. Chinese competition may indeed hit ‘picks and shovels’ players like $3.5 trln Nvidia. But it’s not yet certain, and making AI less the domain of Big Tech may enhance its broader benefits.

Ericsson’s recovery looks tough to maintain

24 Jan 2025

The $27 bln telecoms hardware group, and Finnish rival Nokia, have seen share price gains of over 40% in the past year. They have a rebound in US 5G spending to thank. But as this capex cycle winds down, investors may feel their companies lack a sufficiently compelling plan B.

How China can keep pace in the global AI race

24 Jan 2025

The US is trying to curb Beijing’s progress on artificial intelligence. Yet national champions like Huawei, as well as the military, have racked up some wins. Given the potential $6 trln economic prize up for grabs, the People’s Republic has every reason to find more workarounds.

Xiaomi’s rally will hit valuation potholes

21 Jan 2025

The Chinese group's market capitalisation more than doubled in a year to over $100 bln, thanks to its entry into the electric-car market. That has closed a once-yawning discount to the sum of its parts. Yet valuing a Chinese electronics-to-autos business will rely more on hype.

Spotify’s share surge arrives at AI crossroads

14 Jan 2025

The $92 bln streamer more than doubled its market value last year. A change of pricing structure for artists and subscribers, plus artificial intelligence boosts, suggests CEO Daniel Ek can keep raising revenue and margins. Yet AI is a threat to Spotify as well as an opportunity.