About TechInvestment.com




TechInvestment.com is a long equity investor in NASDAQ and NYSE listed technology companies with a focus on advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), semiconductors (GPU), quantum computing (QC), and robotics.



๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡บ TechInvestment is based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

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  • Technology Trends
  • Meta is building its own AI learning chip, challenging NVIDIA: Yahoo Finance: 12 Mar 2025

    Infrastructure


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    TechInvestment.com was founded in 2010 with investments in Apple and Google. Markets had been shaken by the 2000 Dot.com crash and the 2007-2008 Global Financial Crisis. In the wake of these confidence-busting periods it seemed like the right time to move out of ASX-listed stocks and focus on US technology stocks. So we started with AUD 100,000 in 2010 and that portfolio grew to AUD 30 million by mid Dec 2024. The portfolio has dropped 25% to AUD 22.4 million as a result of US tariff and other US policies.


    This chart (above) shows Apple's stock price since 2000 with a focus on the technology turning point around 2010, related to the release of the iPhone4 on 24 Jun 2010, with continued growth supported by innovation in subsequent releases of phones, iPads, computers and other devices to the present day.

    TechInvestment.com is a member of the American Chamber of Commerce in Australia (AmCham).

    Our Investment Portfolio

    This chart shows the components and structure (weightings) of our portfolio as at 18 Jun 2025

    ๐ŸŒŽ Where we invest

    The largest global technology companies are listed on the NASDAQ and NYSE, and so about 96.26% of our listed portfolio is invested in USA, and the balance is invested in the TWSE (NVDA) and ASX (REA).

    Most of our investments are in NASDAQ and NYSE exchanges in USA


    Our current preference for investment in USA takes into account issues such as market size and policy issues in areas of economic, monetary, government fiscal (incl taxation) and debt directions that impact on the business environment and exchange rates. [USA and Canada: โฏ๏ธ At least we're not Australia"]

    Right now these drivers continue to favour our current investment preference for large innovative technology companies creating and addressing global markets.

    Politics and Economic Outlooks

    The USD has risen on news af a delay in USA's imposition of tariffs on Canada and Mexico. The delay is caused by the need to allow the Commerce Department to develop a plan for tariffs.

    TechInvestment Portfolio (incl Investor Relations and Earnings)

    In early March 2025 we sold down some of our investments (indicated by a 0% weight in the table below) for upcoming rebalancing after recent consequences of international trade, economic, fiscal and other policy impacts on the investment environment.

    On 10 Mar 2025 those US government tariff and other policies and responses by China and other affected governments led US recession fears and more declines in tech stocks. [Reuters: 11 Mar 2025] The European Commission chose that moment to fine Apple and Meta for alleged breaches of the Digital Markets Act. [Reuters: 11 Mar 2025]

    In addition to the EC DMA fines on Apple and Meta, US President Trump has announced tariffs on Apple components manufactured outside of USA.


    [Data is as at 18 Jun 2025]

    Ticker Weight 12 Month Company IR Period Report News
    AAPL 64.01% ๐Ÿ”ป 8.26% Apple IR 2025/Q2 ๐Ÿ“ˆ Earnings ๐Ÿ“ฐ
    AMZN 7.35% โ–ฒ 16.25% Amazon IR 2024/Q3 ๐Ÿ“ˆ Earnings ๐Ÿ“ฐ
    GOOG 3.83% ๐Ÿ”ป 1.40% GOOG (Google) IR 2025/Q1 ๐Ÿ“ˆ Earnings ๐Ÿ“ฐ
    GOOGL 3.81% ๐Ÿ”ป 1.01% GOOGL (Google) IR 2025/Q1 ๐Ÿ“ˆ Earnings ๐Ÿ“ฐ
    IONQ 0.47% โ–ฒ 449.65% โœ… IonQ IR 2024/Q4 ๐Ÿ“ˆ Earnings ๐Ÿ“ฐ
    META 4.82% โ–ฒ 39.30% Meta: Facebook IR 2025/Q1 ๐Ÿ“ˆ Earnings ๐Ÿ“ฐ
    NVDA 2.17% โ–ฒ 7.30% Nvidia IR 2025/Q4 ๐Ÿ“ˆ Earnings ๐Ÿ“ฐ
    PLTR 0.97% โ–ฒ 442.06% โœ… Palantir IR 2024/Q3 ๐Ÿ“ˆ Earnings ๐Ÿ“ฐ
    QBTS 10.99% โ–ฒ 1,254.31% โœ… D-Wave Quantum IR 2024/Q4 ๐Ÿ“ˆ Earnings ๐Ÿ“ฐ
    RGTI 1.57% โ–ฒ 1,058.16% โœ… Rigetti Computing IR 2024/Q3 ๐Ÿ“ˆ Earnings ๐Ÿ“ฐ

    Politics and Economic Outlooks

    The Impact of Feb 2025 Trade Restrictions on the USD/AUD


    Debt to GDP Ratio

    Reducing Public Sector Deficits and Debt

    Congressional Budget Office forecasts: 21 Jan 2025: "... deficit spending for FY25 will reach a staggering $1.9 trillion, the third-highest figure in American history ... The FY 2025 deficit amounts to 6.2% of GDP (the 50-year average is 3.8%). This historically high projection is the product of a 17.1% of GDP revenue projection (roughly equal to the 50-year average of 17.3%) and a higher level of spending, 23.3% of GDP compared to the 50-year average of 21.1%. Annual interest spending has increased by $600 billion or 170% in the 4 years since President Biden took office. Interest costs are projected to increase steadily, from 9% of federal revenue in 2021 to 18% of federal revenue in 2025, to 22% of federal revenue in 2035."

    "Americaโ€™s fiscal deficit is the highest since at least 1975 outside of a crisis period. Debt is on track to grow at double the rate of the economy in the decades ahead. And against this backdrop, Trump has promised tax cuts that would cost in the region of USD 10 trillion over the next 10 years."


    The US federal deficit in the 2025 fiscal year will be USD 1.9 trillion, or 6.2% of GDP โ€“ not too far off from double the 3.8% average over the last 50 years. It is a problem that is not going away. By 2035, the deficit will be USD 2.7 trillion, or 6.1% of GDP."

    6 Feb 2025: Senator Kennedy defends Elon Musk's work at the Department of Government Efficiency

    12 Feb 2025: "The Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency (DOGE) held its inaugural hearing titled 'The War on Waste: Stamping Out the Scourge of Improper Payments and Fraud' to investigate the hundreds of billions of taxpayersโ€™ dollars wasted annually on improper payments and fraud."

    15 Feb 2025: 75,000 (3.26%) of a total 2.3 million US government civilian employees accepted a resignation buyout offer. Many said they were ready to retire.

    The Telegraph: 16 Feb 2025



    โ๏ธ

    US Economic Indicators

    The general impression reported back to investors after the World Economic Forum Davos 2025 event is that the USD is likely to appreciate against other currencies. A higher USD is good for our AUD-denominated portfolio (we get more AUD per USD).

    Exchange Rates - USD/AUD

    US Inflation Report: Jan 2025

    Over the 12 months to end Jan 2025:

    In Jan 2025, the index increased 0.7% prior to seasonal adjustment.

    Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics 12 Feb 2025, CNN: 12 Feb 2025

    12 Feb 2025: Jerome Powell testified before Congress in relation to the inflation report.

    US Advance Monthly Sales for Retail and Food Services

    Mar 2025

    Advance Estimates of U.S. Retail and Food Services Advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for April 2025, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $724.1 billion, up 0.1% (ยฑ0.5%) from the previous month, and up 5.2% (ยฑ0.5 points) from April 2024.

    Total sales for the Feb 2025 - Apr 2025 period were up 4.8% (ยฑ0.5 points) from the same period a year ago. The March 2025 percent change was revised from up 1.5% (ยฑ0.5 percent) to up 1.7% (ยฑ0.2 percent).

    Retail trade sales were down 0.1% (ยฑ0.5 points) from Mar 2025, and up 4.7% (ยฑ0.5 points) from Mar 2024. Motor vehicle and parts dealers were up 9.4% (ยฑ1.8 points) from 2024, while food service and drinking places were up 7.8% (ยฑ1.8 points) from April 2024. US Census Bureau: 15 May 2025

    Jan 2025: Largest Fall in Nearly 2 Years

    Advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for Jan 2025, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $723.9 billion, down 0.9% (ยฑ0.5%) from Dec 2024, and up 4.2% (ยฑ0.5%) from Jan 2024. Total sales for the Nov 2024 through Jan 2025 period were +4.2% (ยฑ0.5%) from the same period a year ago. The Nov 2024 to Dec 2024 change was revised from +0.4% (ยฑ0.5%) to +0.7% (ยฑ0.3 %). US Census Bureau: 14 Feb 2025

    โ๏ธ

    Earnings Reports and Forecasts

    NASDAQ Earnings Calendar: 30 Jan 2025

    Dividend Calendar

    In early Jan 2025 our quantum computing stocks (โœ… D-Wave and โœ… IonQ) took a 30%-40% hit as โœ… Nvidia's CEO Jensen Huang predicted a long road ahead for quantum: USNews 8 Jan 2025. However โœ… โฏ๏ธ D-Wave CEO Alan Baratz disagrees: Bloomberg 15 Jan 2025.

    10 Jan 2025: โœ… D-Wave Announced FY 2024 Bookings Will Exceed USD 23 Million, Up Approximately 120% Over FY 2023

    23 Jan 2025: โœ… D-Wave Announces Successful Completion of USD 150 Million At-the-Market Equity Offering

    27 Jan 2025: Tech markets crashed 17% on the announcement of DeepSeek-R1, but there was a partial recovery on 28 Jan 2025.

    5 Feb 2025: โœ… D-Wave Quantum Inc announced that its Qubits 2025 quantum computing user conference will take place on 31 Mar 2025 - 1 Apr 2025. Themed โ€œQuantum Realized,โ€ Qubits 2025 will feature presentations from D-Wave executives, customers, and industry thought leaders Agenda. D-Wave 5 Feb 2025

    1 Mar 2025: DeepSeek Chinese AI startup DeepSeek on 28 Feb 2025 disclosed some cost and revenue data related to its hit V3 and R1 models, claiming a theoretical cost-profit ratio of up to 545% per day, though it cautioned that actual revenue would be significantly lower.

    Reuters


    Scientific tAmerican: "On common AI tests in mathematics and coding, DeepSeek-R1 matched the scores of Open AIโ€™s o1 model (the latest ChatGPT version). DeepSeek says its chatbot cost USD 6 million to build (compared to USD 100 million to make ChatGPT-4) and uses far less computing power. Itโ€™s also the largest large language model (LLM) that is open-source." MarketScreener attributes Nvidia's bad week to the new version of DeepSeek. DeepSeek is said to be on a par with ChatGPT at a lower cost.

    27 Jan 2025: Tech markets crashed 17% on the announcement of DeepSeek-R1, but there was a partial recovery on 28 Jan 2025.

    29 Jan 2025: Fortune and Korn Ferry World's Most Admired Companies

    โœ… Techinvestment.com is an investor in 5 of these 10 most admired companies.

    31 Jan 2025: Alibaba releases AI model Qwen2.5-Max.

    4 Feb 2024: โœ… Palantir advises clients against using DeepSeek's AI tech Kraneshares 4 Feb 2024

    4 Feb 2024: โœ… Palantir earnings report Q4/2024: Revenue +52% Y/Y to USD558 million, FY 2025 Guidance +31%

    5 Feb 2024: Australia's Federal Government bans use of DeepSeek

    โ๏ธ

    Top 20 AI Platforms [31 Dec 2024]

    ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ On 15 Jan 2025, the White House released a Fact Sheet: "Ensuring U.S. Security and Economic Strength in the Age of Artificial Intelligence". A week later (23 Jan 2025) Donald Trump issued an "Executive Order on Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence".

    ClaudeAI provides the following information about the technical infrastructure used by leading AI companies top 10 AI platforms:

    MICROSOFT AND OPENAI

    GOOGLE/ALPHABET

    NVIDIA

    META

    AMAZON/AWS

    ANTHROPIC

    INTEL

    IBM

    APPLE

    DATABRICKS

    RANKING AI PLATFORMS


    OpenLM has listed a leaderboard of AI products/services. OpenLM Chatbot Arena: 9 Apr 2025

    The top 20 AI platforms focused on large language models, conversational AI, and related services, based on the most relevant criteria of market capitalization, investment, and influence in the AI space, and [previous rank] as at 15 Feb 2025 (ranked by ClaudeAI) are:

    Updates:

    ABOUT OPENAI

    The co-founders of OpenAI were Jack Hughes, Greg Brockman, and Elon Musk.

    The 9 most senior people in OpenAI were:

    OpenAI's expenditure in the 2021-2022 financial year was USD1.2 billion.

    Here's a link to our earliest (not very useful) look at OpenAI and GPT-3 on 4 Nov 2022 (such a short time ago). A few weeks later OpenAI was encouraging people to try Chat_GPT.

    AI Revenue and Profit: 2025

    Question to OpenAI's ChatGPT

    Sam Altman and Elon Musk are debating over a for-profit model for OpenAI. Where does the funding come from for OpenAI's ongoing operations?

    ChatGPT response

    OpenAI's funding comes from a mix of private investments, partnerships, and revenue generation. Initially, OpenAI was founded as a non-profit with the goal of ensuring artificial intelligence (AI) benefits humanity. However, as the scale of AI research and development grew, the organization transitioned into a "capped-profit" model to attract more funding.

    Here are some key sources of funding for OpenAI:

    In summary, OpenAI's funding comes primarily from large investments, particularly from Microsoft, a revenue-generating model through product offerings, and private investors who support its work under a unique capped-profit structure.

    Next Question

    Investments, such as those you have mentioned, need to produce a financial return. How and at what point do OpenAI's investors expect to receive a return on their investments?

    ChatGPT response

    You're right that investments, especially in a for-profit or capped-profit model like OpenAI's, are made with the expectation of financial returns. OpenAIโ€™s investors, particularly Microsoft and other private backers, expect returns on their investments, but under a unique structure. Hereโ€™s how and when they might expect to see those returns:

    1. Capped-Profit Model:

    OpenAI operates under a capped-profit structure. This means that investors can receive a return on their investments, but thereโ€™s a limit to the amount of profit they can earn. Once the cap is reached, any additional profits will go to furthering OpenAI's mission, rather than enriching investors. This model was designed to align the company's long-term goals of safety, ethics, and broad societal benefits with the need to attract private funding.

    Return Cap: The exact cap on returns is not entirely public, but according to OpenAIโ€™s structure, early investors are expected to receive a return of up to 100x on their investment. After reaching that cap, profits from OpenAI's activities would be reinvested into its mission rather than distributed to investors.

    2. How Investors Receive Returns:

    The primary ways OpenAI's investors would expect to receive returns are through monetizing its AI models and offering services that generate revenue. Some of these ways include:

    Four More AIs Not in the Top 20

    Agentic AI

    Trustworthy AI, XAI

    Perplexity AI

    Perplexity AI is in the news because of its proposal to buy or merge with TikTok from ByteBance. This would be funded by a USD 300 million IPO, with the US Government taking a half stake in the merged business. One key objective is to allow TikTok to continue to be available in the USA and elsewhere.

    DeepSeek R1

    โฏ๏ธ Building DeepSeek - and the man that did it: Liang Wenfeng

    In Dec 2024 DeepSeek R1 was reported to be a complex problem-solving model competing with OpenAIโ€™s o1 โ€” which โ€œzoomed to the global top 10 in performanceโ€โ€” yet was built far more rapidly, with fewer, less powerful AI chips, at a much lower cost, according to the Wall Street Journal. Techradar reports that the GPU used by DeepSeek is Nvidia's H800, a cut-down version of the H100. The H800 was launched in Mar 2023.

    Barron's reports that DeepSeek topped the Apple App Store in late Jan 2025, and R1 had already cracked the top 10 of the UC Berkeley leader board Chatbot Arena, a ranking of the top-performing AI assistants. Investorsโ€™ big worry was about costs. DeepSeek said it had spent just USD 5.6 million training R1, although that headline figure excludes research and development expenses.

    DeepSeek said on 27 Jan 2025 it will temporarily limit registrations due to a cyberattack after the company's AI assistant amassed sudden popularity. Reuters 27 Jan 2025

    DeepSeek's low cost chip development triggered a selloff of quantum stocks: QBTS, QUBT, RGTI. Semiconductor developer โœ… NVDA was down more than 16%. The impact on NVDA is surprising, given that DeepSeek used NVDA H800 chips.

    OpenAI and Microsoft are investigating whether their proprietary technology has been acquired in an unauthorised manner through a technique known as distillation. Guardian

    โ๏ธ

    Computers Used By Leading AIs

    Chips that companies in AI-driven fields typically use include:

    Anthropic

    Anthropic, like OpenAI, is likely leveraging cutting-edge hardware for training and deploying its AI models, including the Claude AI family of models. However, specific details about the hardware they use aren't typically disclosed in full. That said, based on industry trends and available information, we can make some educated guesses about the types of processors they likely use for Claude AI:

    โœ… Google and Lightspeed Venture Partners new investments in Anthropic [NBC 22 Jan 2025]: Google has added USD 1 billion to its USD 2 billion investment in Anthropic [Lightspeed valuation: USD 60 billion]. Google has a 10% stake in Anthropic and a large cloud contract with the company.

    Custom Chips Impact on AMD Revenue

    Analysts expect AMD's 2024 December-quarter revenue to surge over 22% to USD 7.53 billion, but the company's growth prospects are shadowed by the dominance of โœ… Nvidia in the AI chip market and the rising trend of tech giants like Microsoft, โœ… Amazon.com and โœ… Meta developing custom chips.

    Investors see "customer silicon and โœ… Nvidia as the AI chip market going forward," said Ryuta Makino, analyst at AMD investor Gabelli Funds. Customer silicon refers to custom chips designed for specific customers, unlike off-the-shelf processors. Reuters: 3 Feb 2025

    Techinvestment Comment: At least a year ago this outcome was identified as a threat to chip makers, whose customers become their competitors. Companies like โœ… Apple have using custom chips to meet their product requirements, rather than building their products around standard chips produced by (for example) โœ… Nvidia and AMD. This caused us to drop AMD from our portfolio, but retain Nvidia.

    TSMC Intends to Expand Its Investment in the United States to USD 165 Billion to Power the Future of AI

    "TSMC has announced its intention to expand its investment in advanced semiconductor manufacturing in USA by an additional USD 100 billion. Building on the companyโ€™s ongoing $65 billion investment in its advanced semiconductor manufacturing operations in Phoenix, Arizona, TSMCโ€™s total investment in USA is expected to reach USD 165 billion. The expansion includes plans for 3 new fabrication plants, 2 advanced packaging facilities and a major R&D team center, solidifying this project as the largest single foreign direct investment in U.S. history." Announcement: 4 Mar 2025 โฏ๏ธ Trump claims credit

    Microsoft is developing AI reasoning models to compete with OpenAI

    Microsoft's AI division is developing in-house artificial intelligence reasoning models to compete with OpenAI and may sell them to developers. MAI has completed the training of an MAI family of models which perform nearly as well as the leading models from OpenAI (ChatGPT) and Anthropic (Claude) on commonly accepted benchmarks. The team is also training reasoning models, which use chain-of-thought techniques โ€” a reasoning process that generates answers with intermediate reasoning abilities when solving complex problems โ€” that could compete directly with OpenAI. Reuters: 8 Mar 2025

    โ๏ธ

    Capabilities of quantum computers

    A Quantum Computer Buyer's Guide - Quera, 28 Dec 2024:

    The table below (prepared by OpenAI - Apr 2025) compares current approaches to fault-tolerant quantum computing.

    The next table outlines some company products and technology characteristics:

    Some issues and terminology:

    โœ… These companies are included in our investment portfolio

    Ticker Company Most Advanced Product [Tier] Max Qubits Quantum Technology Qubit Quality*
    BABA Alibaba Quantum Computer Prototype 300+ Photonic Qubits Excellent photon quality, potential for scalability error correction
    โœ… GOOG/L Alphabet Sycamore [2] 52 Superconducting (transmons) Excellent gate fidelity (99.9%+)
    Moderate coherence time (~10 ยตs)
    โœ… GOOG/L Alphabet Willow [?] "Hundreds" Superconducting qubits Significant focus on improving coherence time, gate fidelity, and error-correction techniques to mitigate errors due to decoherence, noise, and imperfect qubit interactions. While Willow may not yet achieve full fault tolerance, it's expected to improve on previous systems in reducing the need for error correction during computation.
    โœ… HON Quantinuum H1-1 [2], H1-2 [2] (Honeywell Quantum) 56 Trapped-Ion Qubits Exceptional gate fidelity (>99.9% gate fidelity), long coherence times (~10 seconds)
    โœ… IBM IBM IBM Quantum System2 - Condor [?], Hummingbird [2], Eagle [1] - Superconducting (transmon) Moderate fidelity, continuous improvement
    โœ… Intel INTC Tunnel Falls [?] Horse Ridge (Cryogenic Control Chip) 12 Superconducting qubits / superconducting Focus on scalability and cryogenic control, coherence time 100+ ยตs expected
    โœ… IonQ IONQ Harmony, Aria [1], Forte [1] 36 (Forte) โœ… IonQ โœ… AWS Gate-based Ion-trap Very high fidelity (>99.9% gate fidelity), long coherence times (~20+ s)
    IQM Garnet [3] 20 Superconducting Not sufficiently characterized
    โœ… MSFT Microsoft Azure Quantum [?] N/A Topological Qubits (Q# software) Potential breakthrough; quality not yet fully validated
    PsiQuantum Quantum Computer Prototype [?] 300+ Photonic qubits Promising scalability with potential error correction
    โœ… QBTS D-Wave Advantage [1] 5,000 Quantum annealing (superconducting flux) Detail Moderate; specialized for optimization problems.
    CEO Alan Baratz Bloomberg interview 15 Jan 2025
    โœ… QCi QCi Dirac-3 [?] Superconducting transmon qubits Quantum annealing
    โœ… QuEra |QuEra> Aquila
    โœ… RGTI Rigetti Aspen-9 (Quantum Processor) 80 (Aspen-9) [3] Gate-Based Superconducting Qubits High fidelity (~98%), good coherence time (~100 ยตs)
    ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Xanadu Borealis (Photonic Quantum Processor) [3] 216 Photonic Qubits High-quality single-photon generation, low-loss fibers, low-error rates

    โ๏ธ

    Market competitiveness of currently available quantum computers (December 2024)

    AI assessment and ranking of the market competitiveness of the quantum computers listed above (as at 15 Jan 2025):

    ChatGPT assessment and ranking of the market competitiveness of the quantum computers listed above (as at 15 Jan 2025):

    1. โœ… IBM Eagle (127 qubits): IBM has been a pioneer in quantum computing, offering cloud-based access to its quantum processors through the IBM Quantum Experience platform. The Eagle processor, with 127 qubits, represents a significant advancement in qubit count and performance. IBM's established ecosystem, including the Qiskit software development framework, and collaborations with industry and academia enhance its market competitiveness.
    2. โœ… Google Sycamore: Google's Sycamore processor achieved a milestone in quantum supremacy by performing a specific task faster than classical supercomputers. While this demonstrated significant technological capability, Google's quantum computing services are primarily research-focused, with limited direct market offerings compared to IBM.
    3. โœ… Honeywell H1-1 and H1-2: Honeywell's quantum computers utilize trapped-ion technology, known for high-fidelity qubits and low error rates. The H1 series is accessible through the cloud via Microsoft's Azure Quantum platform, making it available for commercial use. Honeywell's focus on error correction and scalability contributes to its market competitiveness.
    4. โœ… IonQ Aria and IonQ Harmony: IonQ's trapped-ion quantum computers are accessible through cloud platforms like Amazon Braket and Microsoft Azure Quantum. IonQ has been actively increasing qubit counts and improving error rates, positioning its systems as competitive options for various applications.
    5. โœ… D-Wave Advantage Series: D-Wave specializes in quantum annealing, which is suited for optimization problems. The Advantage series offers over 5,000 qubits and is available through cloud services like Amazon Braket. While quantum annealing differs from gate-based quantum computing, D-Wave's focus on specific applications provides a competitive niche in the market.
    6. โœ… Rigetti Aspen-9: Rigetti's superconducting qubit-based quantum computers are accessible via its Quantum Cloud Services and through platforms like Amazon Braket. The Aspen-9 system offers a 32-qubit processor, and Rigetti's full-stack approach, including software development tools, contributes to its market presence.
    7. โœ… Microsoft Azure Quantum: Microsoft provides a cloud platform that offers access to various quantum hardware providers, including IonQ and Honeywell. While Microsoft is developing its own topological qubit technology, its current market competitiveness lies in its role as an integrator, providing a unified platform for quantum computing services.
    8. โœ… Intel Tunnel Falls: Intel's Tunnel Falls is a 12-qubit quantum processor based on silicon spin qubits. Intel's approach focuses on leveraging existing semiconductor fabrication infrastructure for scalability. However, as of now, Intel's quantum processors are primarily in the research and development phase, with limited market availability.
    9. IQM Garnet: IQM focuses on superconducting qubit technology and aims to provide on-premises quantum computers for specific industrial applications. .
    10. โœ… QuEra Aquila: QuEra is developing neutral-atom-based quantum computers, with the Aquila system being a 256-qubit analog quantum simulator launched in Nov 2022. While promising, its technology is in the early stages, and market adoption is limited. However Aquila is available via AWS Braket
    11. โœ… QCi Dirac-3: Quantum Computing Inc. (QCi) offers the Dirac-3 system, focusing on quantum-ready software and hardware solutions. However, its market presence and competitiveness are currently limited compared to more established players.
    12. Xanadu Borealis: Xanadu's Borealis is a photonic-based quantum processor accessible through the cloud. While it represents an innovative approach, its market competitiveness is currently limited due to the nascent stage of photonic quantum computing technology.

    Tier factors [Claude]

    1. Demonstrated qubit count and quality (coherence times, gate fidelity)
    2. System reliability and uptime
    3. Commercial availability and ease of access
    4. Software stack maturity
    5. Real-world problem-solving capabilities
    6. Corporate support and development resources

    Quantum Computing Acquisition Strategies

    Case Study: Fidelity Center for Applied Technology (FCAT)

    FCAT worked with the โœ… Amazon's Quantum Solutions Lab to create a Proof of Concept that pushes the boundaries of what is possible today with cloud-based quantum computers. The Amazon Braket service allows FCAT developers to develop hardware agnostic code and change quantum computing backends through a single line of code change. This allows FCAT to research the strengths of different quantum backends and build hybrid workflows.

    Use Case - Synthetic Security Creation and Option Pricing: FCAT's use case was a custom binary quadratic model (BQM) that evaluates a list of potential stocks to determine which mix of those stocks would yield a synthetic security whose cumulative attributes match those of the specified target index. This BQM was then sent to a quantum annealer to find the optimal composition of this new security. Once the composition was determined, the results were then sent to a gate-based quantum computer which used amplitude estimation to calculate the prices of options on that security. More

    Platform: โœ… Amazon Braket is a flexible platform that provides FCAT developers the opportunity to explore the advantages and disadvantages of some currently available quantum computing technologies. It is not clear which quantum computing approach will emerge as the leading solution in the future. FCAT must keep all options open, explore all current solutions simultaneously, and experiment to determine which impact the different approaches have on various use cases.

    Team & Tech: The โœ… Amazon Braket service was used for developing the code and accessing the quantum backends. The annealer used was the D-Wave 2000Q system. The gate-based computer was the โœ… Rigetti Aspen-8 on AWS.

    โ๏ธ

    Examples of Quantum Computers in Actual Use in US Government

    This schedule has been extracted from AI searches of quantum computing use cases.

    โœ… This identifies manufacturers and service providers that are included in our portfolio

    Computer User Use Case
    โœ… D-Wave
    โœ… IBM Quantum
    ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ USAF: U.S. Air Force [7] Quantum computing for optimization problems in logistics, radar, and communications
    โœ… Google (Sycamore)
    โœ… IBM Quantum
    โœ… Rigetti Computing
    ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ DOE: Department of Energy, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory [8] Quantum Simulation for Climate and Environmental Modeling
    โœ… Google (Sycamore)
    โœ… IBM Quantum
    ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ DOE: Department of Energy [3] Quantum Simulations for Energy and Materials Science
    โœ… IBM Quantum
    โœ… Honeywell Quantum Solutions
    ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ NASA: National Aeronautics and Space Administration Quantum AI Laboratory (QAIL) [4] Quantum Computing for Space Exploration and Aerodynamics
    โœ… IBM Quantum
    โœ… Honeywell Quantum Solutions
    and others
    ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ NIST: National Institute of Standards and Technology [6] Quantum Sensing and Metrology
    โœ… IBM Quantum Falcon
    via IBM Quantum Cloud
    ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ DOE: Department of Energy [9] Quantum Simulations for Carbon Capture Technology
    โœ… IBM Quantum Falcon ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ DOE: Department of Energy [10] Quantum Chemistry Simulations for Clean Energy
    โœ… IBM Quantum
    โœ… Honeywell Quantum Solutions
    ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ NSA: National Security Agency [2] Post-Quantum Cryptography Research
    โœ… IBM
    โœ… Google
    ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ DHS: Department of Homeland Security [11] Quantum-safe cryptography to secure critical infrastructure, including power grids, communications, and financial systems. The agency is investigating quantum-resistant algorithms to ensure national security in the face of future quantum threats.
    โœ… IBM Quantum (Q System One) ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ DOD: Department of Defense [1] Quantum Algorithms for Cryptography and National Security
    โœ… IBM Quantum
    โœ… Google (Sycamore)
    ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ DVA: Department of Veterans Affairs [10] How quantum computing can be applied to healthcare and medical research. Use cases include drug discovery, personalized medicine, and optimization of medical records. How quantum-enhanced algorithms may also be used to improve diagnostics and treatment plans.
    โœ… IonQ
    โœ… Microsoft Azure Quantum
    ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ ARL: Army Research Laboratory [5] Quantum Computing for Cybersecurity and Machine Learning

    โœ… Nvidia cuts stake in Arm Holdings, discloses position in China's WeRide

    Nvidia reduced its stake in Arm Holdings by about 44% and exited its holdings in Serve Robotics and SoundHound AI in Q4/2024. Reuters 15 Feb 2025

    Defense Technology

    10 Defense Tech Startups:

    โ๏ธ

    Examples of Quantum Computers in the Non-US Government Sector

    This schedule has been extracted from AI searches of quantum computing use cases.

    โœ… This identifies manufacturers and service providers that are included in our portfolio

    Computer User Use Case
    โœ… D-Wave Advantage ๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ช Volkswagen [6] Materials Science for New Battery Technologies
    โœ… D-Wave Advantage
    via D-Wave Leap
    ๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต City of Tokyo [3] Traffic Flow Optimization and Smart City Development
    โœ… D-Wave Advantage
    via D-Wave Leap
    ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ Lockheed Martin [19] Robust Machine Learning for Cybersecurity
    โœ… D-Wave Advantage
    via D-Wave Leap
    Spacex [22] Enhanced Satellite Communications
    โœ… D-Wave Advantage
    via D-Wave Leap
    โœ… Nvidia [31] Quantum Algorithms for Neural Networks
    โœ… D-Wave Advantage โœ… Amazon [29] Supply Chain Optimization in Retail
    โœ… D-Wave Advantage
    via D-Wave Leap
    ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฌ Singapore City [37] Optimizing Traffic Routing for Smart Cities
    โœ… D-Wave Advantage [5,564-qubit] Forschungszentrum Jรผlich [ ] Quantum Simulation of False Vacuum Decay
    โœ… Google Sycamore
    via Google Cloud
    ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ Google Health [8] Quantum-Enhanced AI for Healthcare Diagnostics
    โœ… Google Sycamore Toyota Research Institute [17] Quantum-Enhanced Artificial Intelligence for Robotics
    โœ… Google's Sycamore processor
    via Google Cloud Quantum AI
    Siemens Healthineers [28] Quantum-Based Image Recognition in Medical Diagnostics
    โœ… Google Sycamore Ocean Infinity [35] Advanced AI for Autonomous Underwater Vehicles
    โœ… Honeywell Quantum Solutions โšก๏ธ Tesla [36] AI-Optimized Smart Grids for Energy Efficiency
    โœ… Honeywell Quantum Solutions โœ… Waymo (Alphabet) [15] Optimization of Traffic Networks in Autonomous Vehicles
    โœ… Honeywell Quantum Solutions Goldman Sachs [2] Financial risk management and portfolio optimisation
    โœ… Honeywell Quantum Solutions cloud [Azure?] Mastercard [25] Quantum-Assisted Fraud Detection in Finance
    โœ… IBM Quantum Eagle
    via IBM Quantum Cloud (bureau)
    ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ Walmart [20] Supply Chain Risk Management in Food Distribution
    โœ… IBM Quantum Eagle
    via IBM Quantum Cloud (bureau)
    ๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ช BASF [7] Optimization of Supply Chains and Logistics
    โœ… IBM Quantum Eagle
    via IBM Quantum Cloud (bureau)
    Airbus [26] Quantum Computing for Aerospace Navigation
    โœ… IBM Quantum Hummingbird ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ JP Morgan Chase [18] Financial Portfolio Optimization
    โœ… IBM Quantum Hummingbird ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ Pfizer [1] Optimisation of Drug discovery
    โœ… IBM Quantum Hummingbird โœ… IBM [30] Enhanced Cyberattack Simulation and Defense
    โœ… IBM Quantum Hummingbird โœ… IBM and The Weather Company [32] Quantum Weather Forecasting
    โœ… IBM Quantum Hummingbird
    via IBM Quantum Cloud
    General Electric [23] Quantum-Accelerated Digital Twins for Manufacturing
    โœ… IBM Quantum Hummingbird
    via IBM Quantum Cloud
    Bayer Pharmaceuticals [27] Quantum Simulation for Protein Folding
    โœ… IBM Quantum Falcon
    via the IBM Quantum Cloud
    General Electric (GE) [34] Optimization of Energy Grid Management
    โœ… IBM Quantum Falcon ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ Boeing [14] Predictive Maintenance for Aerospace
    โœ… IonQ
    โœ… Microsoft Azure Quantum
    ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ Zap Energy [12] Simulation of Nuclear Fusion Reactions
    โœ… IonQ
    โœ… Microsoft Azure Quantum
    โœ… Microsoft and Adaptimmune [16] Gene Editing and Personalized Medicine
    โœ… IonQ
    โœ… Microsoft Azure Quantum
    โœ… Microsoft [4] Climate Modeling and Weather Prediction
    โœ… IBM Quantum Falcon ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ Boeing [14] Predictive Maintenance for Aerospace
    โœ… IBM Quantum Hummingbird ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡บ CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) [38] Quantum-Driven Simulation of Dark Matter and Dark Energy
    โœ… Microsoft [21] Quantum-Enhanced Natural Language Processing (NLP)
    โœ… Microsoft Azure ๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ท AXA Group [9] Improved Risk Simulation for Insurance
    โœ… IonQ
    โœ… Azure Quantum
    ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ Zap Energy [12] Simulation of Nuclear Fusion Reactions
    โœ… Quantum Computing Inc (QCi) ๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ช Siemens [11] Smart Manufacturing and Quality Control


    โ๏ธ

    GPU Semiconductors

    NVIDIA GB10 Grace Blackwell Superchip, Project DIGITS: Powered by the NVIDIA GB10 Grace Blackwell Superchip, Project DIGITS delivers a petaflop of AI performance in a power-efficient, compact form factor. With the NVIDIA AI software stack preinstalled and 128GB of memory, developers can prototype, fine-tune, and inference large AI models of up to 200B parameters locally, and seamlessly deploy to the data center or cloud.

    โฏ๏ธ Jensen Huang Announces Project DIGITS


    โ๏ธ

    News Sources: AI + Quantum + Robotics

    Artificial Intelligence

    Quantum Computing

    Robotics

    Semiconductors/GPU

    More Updates and News

    โ๏ธ

    Product Announcements

    โœ… Meta Increasing AI Capacity With USD65 Billion CAPEX in 2025

    25 Jan 2025: โœ… Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he expects MetaAI will be the leading assistant serving more than 1 billion people, Llama 4 will become the leading state of the art model, and โœ… Meta will build an AI engineer that will start contributing increasing amounts of code to its R&D efforts. To power this, โœ… Meta is building a 2GW+ datacenter that is so large it would cover a significant part of Manhattan. โœ… Meta will bring online ~1GW of compute in โ€™25 and will end the year with more than 1.3 million GPUs.

    โœ… Meta's USD10 billion Data Center

    Facebook and Instagram parent company โœ… Meta announced it will build a massive USD10 billion artificial intelligence data center in northeast Louisiana. Meta projects the data center will support 500 or more direct new jobs in Richland Parish with average salaries that are at least 150% of the state per capita average. Louisiana Economic Development (LED) estimates the project will result in the creation of more than 1,000 indirect jobs, for a total of more than 1,500 potential new jobs in the Northeast Region. The company estimates 5,000 construction workers at peak of construction. [LED 4 Dec 2024]

    OpenAI Will Add Reasoning AI Model o3 Mini 15 Dec 2024

    The o1 models are capable of reasoning through complex tasks and can solve more challenging problems than previous models in science, coding and math, the company had said in a blog post.

    The new o3 and o3 Mini models would be more powerful than the previously launched o1 models, the company had said previously.

    OpenAI said it was introducing a beta feature called Tasks to ChatGPT, signaling its foray into the virtual assistant space, competing with โœ… Apple's Siri and โœ… Amazon's Alexa. OpenAI: 15 Dec 2024

    D-Wave

    22 Jan 2025: โœ… D-Wave Announces New Leap Quantum LaunchPadโ„ข Program to Fast-track Deployment of Quantum Computing Applications

    ... and as of January 2025 there is DeepSeek-R1.

    โ๏ธ

    Supercomputers

    The 9 most powerful supercomputers in Jan 2025 [Keumars Afifi-Sabet, LiveScience]

    1. El Capitan:
      • ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ Location: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory โ€” California, USA
      • Performance: 1,742 petaFLOPS (1.742 exaFLOPS)
      • Components: AMD 4th-Gen EPYC 24-core CPUs in AMD Instinct MI300A APUs
      • First online: November 2024
    2. Frontier:
      • ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ Location: Oak Ridge National Laboratory โ€” Tennessee, USA
      • Performance: 1,353 petaFLOPS (1.4 exaFLOPS)
      • Components: AMD EPYC 64-core CPUs and AMD Instinct MI250X GPUs
      • First online: August 2022
    3. Aurora:
      • ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ Location: Argonne National Laboratory โ€” Illinois, USA
      • Performance: 1,012 petaFLOPS (1.0 exaFLOPS)
      • Components: Intel Xeon Max Series CPUs and Intel Data Center Max Series GPUs
      • First online: June 2023
    4. Eagle:
      • ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ Location: Microsoft Azure โ€” The Cloud / Distributed
      • Performance: 561 petaFLOPS (0.56 exaFLOPS)
      • Components: Intel Xeon Platinum 8480C 48C CPUs and Nvidia H100 GPUs
      • First online: August 2023
    5. HPC6:
      • ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ Location: Microsoft Azure โ€” The Cloud / Distributed
      • Performance: 561 petaFLOPS (0.56 exaFLOPS)
      • Components: Intel Xeon Platinum 8480C 48C CPUs and Nvidia H100 GPUs
      • First online: August 2023
    6. Fugaku:
      • ๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต Location: Riken Center for Computational Science โ€” Kobe, Japan
      • Performance: 442 petaFLOPS (0.44 exaFLOPS)
      • Components: A64FX CPUs
      • First online: June 2020
    7. ALPS:
      • ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ญ Location: Swiss National Supercomputing Centre โ€” Lugano, Switzerland
      • Performance: 270 petaFLOPS
      • Components: Nvidia GH200 Grace Hopper processors
      • First online: September 2024
    8. LUMI:
      • ๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ฎ Location: CSC Data Center โ€” Kajaani, Finland
      • Performance: 380 petaFLOPS (0.38 exaFLOPS)
      • Components: AMD 3rd-Gen EPYC 64-core CPUs and AMD Instinct MI250X GPUs
      • First online: June 2021
    9. Leonardo:
      • ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡น Location: CINECA data center โ€” Bologna, Italy
      • Performance: 239 petaFLOPS (0.23 exaFLOPS)
      • Components: Intel Xeon Platinum 8358 32-core CPUs and Nvidia A100 GPUs
      • First online: November 2022

    News

    Forschungszentrum Jรผlich announced on 13 Feb 2025 that it is permanently incorporating a D-Wave annealing quantum computer after 3 years of successful hosting and usage. It will remain a key part of the quantum computing infrastructure at Forschungszentrum Jรผlich and is expected to become increasingly important. The System will be connected to JUPITER supercomputer, Europeโ€™s first and only exascale HPC, to facilitate breakthroughs in artificial intelligence and quantum optimization applications.

    Political Issues

    2 Feb 2025: UK orders Apple to let it spy on user encrypted data. Donald Trump denies UK order to force Apple to provide it with access to encryted user data. [George Orwell: 1984]

    Donald Trump Floats 25% Tariff on Chips

    Donald Trump said on 18 Feb 2025 that he intends to impose "new 25% or higher" tariffs on a range of product imports including semiconductors, possibly on 2 April 2025. Bloomberg Bloomberg: 18 Feb 2025

    Donald Trump's New and Increased Tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico.

    Update 28 Feb 2025: Tariffs on Canada and Mexico commence on 4 Mar 2025 and an additional 10% tariff will be imposed on China's imports to USA.

    White House announcement 20 Jan 2025. Press coverage:

    โฏ๏ธ Trump has applied 25% tariffs on imports from USA's neighbours, ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฝ Mexico and ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Canada, and an additional 10% tariff on imports from ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ China now 35%) Saturday 1 Feb 2025: Bloomberg 31 Jan 2025. Together, ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ China, ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฝ Mexico and ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Canada accounted for more than 40% of imports into ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ USA BBC 2 Feb 2025.

    ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ The Chinese products that are now subject to the 35% tariff are:

    Reuters reports there's nothing Canada, China or Mexico can do to delay the implementation of tariffs on 1 Feb 2025.

    China Responds to USA's Tariffs With Levies

    China is expected to impose 10%-15% levies on US energy and agricultural goods. Bloomberg 4 Feb 2025

    Tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico delayed until Mar 2025 โฏ๏ธ Bloomberg 13 Feb 2025.

    Trade Restrictions between China and USA

    ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) has added 28 U.S. companies to its "Export Control List" and 4 U.S. companies to its "Unreliable Entities List" "for their selling arms to China's Taiwan region" China Daily 15 Jan 2025, Reuters 15 Jan 2025

    ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ MOFCOM's "Unreliable Entities List" was introduced in 2019 as part of a broader set of measures to counter foreign entities and individuals it deems to be harming Chinese interests. This list includes foreign companies, organizations, and individuals who China believes are engaged in activities that undermine China's sovereignty, security, or development. China Daily

    ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ It seems that MOFCOM's list is intended to identify and obstruct foreign entities and individuals it deems to be harming Chinese interests. This list includes foreign companies, organizations, and individuals who China believes are engaged in activities that undermine China's sovereignty (eg of Taiwan), security, or development. It maintains an "Export Control List", which includes some 20 companies that are blocked from exports of dual-use items.

    ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ US companies that have faced scrutiny from China in the past and may be under consideration or already listed include (sources include ChatGPT):

    The only company included in our portfolio that is directly affected by MOFCOM's policies is โœ… Intel. However collateral impacts may be felt by โœ… TSMC and NASDAQ-listed GPU companies whose supply chains may be impacted by MOFCOM's policies.

    TikTok

    In addition to the examples above is the US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) order: "As of January 19, the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act will make it unlawful for companies in the United States to provide services to distribute, maintain, or update the social media platform TikTok, unless U. S. operation of the platform is severed from Chinese control." In other words SCOTUS ordered that TikTok be shut down for US customers or sold. On 17 Nov 2024 TikTok parent ByteDance valued itself at $300 billion in a buyback offer.

    TikTok ceased to be available in USA on 17 Jan 2025. However on 19 Jan 2025 President-Elect Trump said he would aim to reinstate TikTok to allow the company more time to find a buyer. TikTok defied the Congress bill and, on the basis of Trump's declaration, restored the service to US users. CNN 19 Jan 2025 Trump has previously said that Elon Musk [X] or Larry Ellison [Oracle] would be eligible buyers of TikTok, however the owner of ByteDance has opposed the sale (to any buyers). Bloomberg has recently reported that Chinese officials were considering the possibility of selling TikTokโ€™s U.S. operations to Musk [NBC 22 Jan 2025].

    An alternative may be expressed interest from U.S. company PerplexityAI:

    โ๏ธ

    ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ Assurance of Electrical Power for Both AI and Households

    AI data centers are multiplying across the US and sucking up huge amounts of power. New evidence shows they may also be distorting the normal flow of electricity for millions of Americans Bloomberg: 28 Dec 2024 Bloomberg: 13 Dec 2024

    โœ… Amazon bought more renewable power in 2024 than any other company. As part of it Climate Pledge commitment to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2040, Amazon is supporting renewable energy projects on a global scale. For the fifth year in a row, Amazon is the largest corporate purchaser of renewable energy globally, according to Bloomberg NEF, and supporting more than 600 wind and solar projects. Together these projects will be capable of powering the equivalent of 8.3 million U.S. homes. Amazon 17 Jan 2025

    US President Joe Biden signed an Executive Order on 14 Jan 2025 " directing the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy to lease federal sites where the private sector can build frontier AI infrastructure at speed and scale. These efforts are designed to accelerate the clean energy transition in a way that is responsible and respectful to local communities, and in a way that does not impose any new costs on American families."

    This initiative is intended to "secure American leadership in artificial intelligence (AI) and ensure that the infrastructure needed for advanced AI operations โ€”including large-scale data centers and new clean power infrastructureโ€” can be built with speed and scale here in the United States."

    White House, "Statement by President Biden on the Executive Order on Advancing U.S. Leadership in Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure" 14 Jan 2025

    โ๏ธ

    Stargate AI Project

    President Donald Trump on 21 Jan 2025 announced a new USD 500 billion, private sector investment to build artificial intelligence infrastructure in the US, with Oracle, ChatGPT creator OpenAI, and Japanese conglomerate SoftBank among those committing to the joint venture. โฏ๏ธ Trump, CNN 21 Jan 2024

    The joint venture, called Stargate, is expected to begin with a data center project in Texas, according to CBS News

    Company execs were expected to commit to an initial investment of USD 100 billion at an appearance at the White House Tuesday. Other companies are expected to join the venture and bring investment in the program up to USD 500 billion in the coming years.

    Oracle stock jumped 7% on 21 Jan 2025 and continued its ascent in pre-market trading on 22 Jan 2025, rising over 8%.

    Elon Musk has cast doubts on the Stargate members' ability to pull together funding necessary for the project:

    โฏ๏ธ ElonMusk, CNN 22 Jan 2024 Elon Musk was a co-founder of OpenAI in 2015, but not a founding investor of a specific AI product or startup. He was one of the early significant backers with a commitment in the $1 billion range for OpenAI.

    Bloomberg 24 Jan 2025: โฏ๏ธ "Musk, Altman Spar Over Stargate and Trump"

    โ๏ธ

    BCI: Synchron's Chiral: Cognitive AI Brain Foundation Model

    "Synchron, a category-defining brain-computer interface (BCI) company, today unveiled the roadmap to Chiralโ„ข, a foundation model of human cognitions, marking the emergence of Cognitive AIโ€”artificial intelligence trained directly on human neural activity. Synchron is advancing BCI from supervised to self-supervised learning, accelerating the transition by combining large-scale neural data with advanced NVIDIA AI-powered computing." Business Wire 19 Mar 2025

    โ๏ธ

    France Reports EU109 billion (USD112 billion) in Private Investments in the AI Ecosystem

    On 9 Feb 2025 French president, Emmanuel Macron, reported a total of EUR 109 billion in private investments in the AI ecosystem โ€” or around USD 112 billion at current exchange rates. TechCrunch.

    โ๏ธ

    Apple will spend more than $500 billion in USA over the next 4 years

    Apple 24 Jan 2025: โฏ๏ธ Apple will spend more than $500 billion in the U.S. over the next four years

    โ๏ธ

    ๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต SB OpenAI Japan: OpenAI and Softbank JV for Japanese Business AI

    ๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son said he and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman have agreed to set up SB Open AI Japan, a joint venture to offer AI services to corporate customers. Softbank will pay $3 billion annually to use OpenAI's technology across SoftBank group companies. SoftBank is also considering investing USD 15 billion to USD 25 billion in the company. Reuters 3 Feb 2025 AFR 30 Jan 2025

    โ๏ธ

    ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ Apple iPhone Sales Underperform in China

    Analysts report underperformance of โœ… Apple's iPhone sales is attributable to Apple Intelligence. Market shares: Vivo 17%, Huawei 16%, Apple 15% โฏ๏ธ CNBC: 17 Dec 2024

    โ๏ธ

    ECONOMIC OUTLOOK: 2025, 2026

    ๐ŸŒŽ "Global growth is projected at 3.3% both in 2025 and 2026, below the historical (2000โ€“19) average of 3.7%. The forecast for 2025 is broadly unchanged from that in the Oct 2024 World Economic Outlook (WEO), primarily on account of an upward revision in the United States offsetting downward revisions in other major economies. Global headline inflation is expected to decline to 4.2% in 2025 and to 3.5% in 2026, converging back to target earlier in advanced economies than in emerging market and developing economies."

    Other reports:

    โ๏ธ

    ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡บ AUSTRALIAN FISCAL OUTLOOK 2024-2025

    ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡บ Australia's 2024-2025 National fiscal outlook includes a forecast national net debt that is estimated to reach 36% of GDP by 2027โ€‘28. One of several consequences of this is an increasing burden of debt interest payments (revised up from $48.1 billion by $4.5 billion for 2026โ€‘27, to $52.6 billion) which add to the government's overspending and difficulty in seeing a floor to Australia's debt.

    The impact of increased debt and probable devaluation of the AUD on US investment portfolio is positive. We'd rather see some competent fiscal management, but we're not expecting to see this in the forseeable future as failure to manage increases the debt and the difficulty of reaching a turning point.

    ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ On the other side of the Pacific, USA is also struggling with its fiscal deficits and debt. President Trump's main problem is that he does not have the power to control the US administration's fiscal programs. For example Trump tried to โ€œtemporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance ... to provide the Administration time to review agency programs and determine the best uses of the funding for those programs consistent with the law and the Presidentโ€™s priorities", but found that he does not have that power. In the meantime, USA's debt and interest continue to rise. As at 27 Jan 2025 USA's public debt is USD 36.219 trillion, 123% of USA's GDP in Q3/2025 (USD 29.37 trillion).

    โ๏ธ

    External Papers

    Bloomberg: AI Glossary

    Quantum Insider: Market Intelligence White Paper [Jan 2025]

    World Economic Forum (Davos 2025) and McKinsey: Market Intelligence White Paper [Jan 2025]

    McKinsey Digital: Technology Trends Outlook 2024

    โ๏ธ

    RETROSPECT: EVOLUTION OF WALL STREET TRADING

    Evolution of Wall Street: Behind The Ticker Tape

    Evolution of Wall Street: Evolution Of The Ticker Tape

    Wall Street Today: New York Stock Exchange