Apple's market value soared by $100 billion as it is brewing a major upgrade

Source: Global TMT 2024-04-12 12:26  Tianjin Daily

Apple's market value soared by $100 billion as it mulls a major upgrade

On April 11 local time, after the closing bell of U.S. stocks, Apple rose 4.33% to 175.04,withamarketcapitalizationof2.7 trillion, an increase of $112.1 billion in a single day. Earlier, Mark Gurman revealed that to boost its sluggish computer business, Apple is preparing to overhaul its entire Mac product line, with new Macs equipped with AI-capable M4 chips. Production of the M4 chip, which will come in at least three versions, is nearing completion. Apple plans to gradually release Macs equipped with M4 chips starting from the end of this year until early next year.

Apple will allow repairs using second-hand parts

Apple announced improvements to its existing repair processes. Starting this fall, select iPhone models will support customers and independent repair providers using second-hand Apple parts for repairs. The new process will protect the privacy and security of iPhone users while providing consumers with more choices, extending the lifespan of products and parts, and minimizing the environmental impact of repairs.

Users find Apple's VR headset unfriendly to the eyes

Some users of Apple Vision Pro have found that this virtual reality (VR) headset is ultimately not very friendly to the eyes, with some users experiencing dark circles, headaches, and neck pain. Several early users of Apple's mixed reality headset, Apple Vision Pro, have indicated that the fit has been a "pain point," but they still love this new device. Vision Pro will be available in the Chinese market later this year, and Gaode Map has announced the availability of a Vision Pro version.

Huawei releases its first Pangu large model laptop

On April 11th, at Huawei's Hongmeng Ecological Spring Communication Conference, Yu Chengdong, Huawei's Executive Director and CEO of Terminal BG, announced that the smart experience of the new Huawei MateBook X Pro has been further upgraded. For the first time, Huawei's Pangu large model has been applied, and it is the first to be equipped with Huawei's AI space function. Users can access a wealth of AI applications with one click, select more than 100 intelligent entities, and create a one-stop AI capability aggregation entrance. The product starts at 11,199 yuan.

Huawei releases Hongmeng OS 4.2 upgrade plan for hundreds of devices

Huawei has released the Hongmeng OS 4.2 upgrade plan for hundreds of devices, supporting upgrades for over 180 devices across categories such as phones, tablets, watches, headphones, and smart screens. Devices such as the Huawei Pocket 2, Mate60 series, and P60 series will be the first to start public beta testing. Huawei announced that over 4,000 applications have joined the Hongmeng ecosystem, with a 20-fold increase in two months. The Beta version of HarmonyOS NEXT Hongmeng Xinghe Edition will be launched in June.

ByteDance begins a new round of stock option repurchases

ByteDance has begun its first round of stock option repurchases for 2024. During this repurchase period, the repurchase price for current employees is 170.81pershare,andtherepurchasepriceforformeremployeesis145.19 per share. Compared to the repurchase plan in the second half of last year, which offered $160 per share for current employees, the repurchase price has increased this time. ByteDance initiated a repurchase plan for US employees last month.

Li Yanhong states that open sourcing large models has little significance

Baidu CEO Li Yanhong said in an internal speech that closed-source models will continuously lead in capability, rather than just temporarily. Open sourcing models is not a situation where everyone contributes to make a fire bigger. This is very different from traditional software open sourcing, such as Linux, Android, etc. Li Yanhong said, "Closed-source has a real business model and can make money. Only by making money can we gather computing power and talents. Closed-source actually has an advantage in terms of cost. As long as the capabilities are the same, the inference cost of a closed-source model is definitely lower, and the response speed is definitely faster."

AI expert Andrew Ng joins Amazon's board

Amazon announced that renowned AI expert Andrew Ng will join its board of directors, effective April 9, 2024. Ng is the founder of Deep Learning.ai and a co-founder of the online education platform Coursera. Ng previously served as the founder and head of the Google Brain deep learning project, driving Google's research in the field of artificial intelligence. He also served as Baidu's chief scientist.

Cathie Wood invests in OpenAI

Cathie Wood's Ark Investment Management announced that the company has acquired shares in "Silicon Valley darling" OpenAI. Ark Venture Fund has invested in OpenAI since April 10, 2024, and OpenAI is at the forefront of the AI boom. To date, OpenAI has raised significant funds, mostly from Microsoft, which has invested $13 billion. Informed sources revealed that OpenAI has notified some former employees that they are allowed to sell their company shares.

OpenAI opens GPT-4 Turbo to paying users

OpenAI announced that the new version of GPT-4 Turbo is now open to paying ChatGPT users. Compared to January, the new version improves writing, math, logical reasoning, and coding abilities. OpenAI stated that when writing using the new version, responses will be more direct, with less verbose content, and more conversational language can be used.

Musk's xAI seeks up to $4 billion in funding

Elon Musk's AI startup xAI is seeking to raise 3to4 billion, which would value the company at 18billion,accordingtoinvestorpitchmaterials.Thetermsandamountofthisfundingroundarestilluncertainandsubjecttochange.Previously,itwasreportedthatthecompanywasseeking3 billion in funding.

Nvidia stock enters correction territory

Popular chip stock Nvidia has entered correction territory. Nvidia closed at 853.54onTuesday.Aclosingpricebelow855.02 means the stock has entered correction territory. Entering correction territory refers to a stock price drop of 10%-20% from its bull market high. Previously, Apple's stock price also entered correction territory. Among the other tech stocks in the "Seven Heroes" of US stocks, Tesla is in a bear market, which is 20% lower than its bull market high. The other four companies' stock prices are close to their highs, including Alphabet, Amazon.com, Meta Platforms, and Microsoft.

Delivery waiting time for Nvidia chips has been significantly reduced

An executive from TSMC stated that the delivery waiting time for Nvidia's H100 has been significantly reduced over the past few months, from an initial 3-4 months to the current 2-3 months (8-12 weeks). Server OEMs also revealed that compared to the situation in 2023 where Nvidia H100 was almost impossible to purchase, the current supply bottleneck is gradually easing. Six months ago, the waiting time for H100 was as long as 11 months, and most of Nvidia's customers had to wait for nearly a year to receive their ordered AI GPUs.

Google to Invest $1 Billion to Lay Undersea Cable Between Japan and the United States

Google announced on the 10th that it will invest $1 billion to lay an undersea cable between Japan and the United States. In addition to laying new cables connecting Japan and the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and Japan and Hawaii, other cables will also be extended to expand the communication lines between Japan and the United States. Google stated that this initiative will enhance the reliability of digital communication between the United States, Japan, and other Pacific countries. NEC and KDDI will also assist in the cable construction.

Kakao Joins Open Source AI Alliance Led by IBM and Meta

Kakao, a South Korean internet giant, has joined a global alliance promoting open source artificial intelligence research and development, becoming the first South Korean corporate member of the alliance. Led by IBM and Meta, the alliance was established in December last year and currently has about 100 members. The alliance aims to accelerate open innovation in the field of artificial intelligence technology to improve AI's basic capabilities, safety, and trustworthiness.

Four Directors Expected to Leave Paramount Global

As Paramount Global discusses a merger with Skydance Media, four directors of the Shari Redstone-controlled entertainment company are expected to leave the board soon. Former Spotify executive Dawn Ostroff, lawyer and former Sony Entertainment president Nicole Seligman, veteran investment banker Frederick Terrell, and Redstone's longtime lawyer Rob Klieger are all expected to leave the company's board in the coming weeks. At least one departing board member has raised concerns about a potential deal with Skydance.

Renesas Electronics Restarts Kofu Factory in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan

On April 11th, Renesas Electronics officially restarted its Kofu factory in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan, to meet the surging demand for power semiconductors in electric vehicles and data centers. The factory, which mainly produced semiconductors for personal computers before it closed in October 2014, is expected to double Renesas Electronics' power semiconductor production from next year onward.