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☆ The Pentagon is 'not really' worried about China's new H-20 stealth bomber, defense official says
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-23 | by ( Ella Sherman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A US defense official downplayed the threat of China's new Xi'an H-20 bomber. AdvertisementChina's new bomber, the Xi'an H-20, is intended to rival America's new stealth bomber, but a US defense official told reporters on Monday it's "not really" a concern. A B-2 Spirit takes off for Red Flag-Nellis 24-1 training at Nellis Air Force Base on Jan. 16. A former US Air Force commander said previously that it wasn't "anything to lose a lot of sleep over." The Pentagon unveiled a new stealth bomber in 2022 that is currently in production and will eventually replace B-1 and B-2 fleets.

Persons: —, it's, William Lewis, It's, Wang Wei, David Swanson, Northrop Grumman Organizations: Service, Breaking Defense, Flag, Nellis, Nellis Air Force Base, US Air Force, Liberation Army Air Force, Hong, Hong Kong Commercial Daily, China Aviation Industry Corporation, Northrop, Air Force, United States Air, REUTERS, Pentagon Locations: Xi'an, Jan, China, Hong Kong, Palmdale , California, U.S

☆ Russia's hunted A-50 command planes are its eyes over Ukraine. Here's how it compares to the Boeing E-3 Sentry.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-17 | by ( Benjamin Brimelow | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Ukraine's most significant aircraft kills in 2024 are two Russian A-50 command planes. AP PhotoThe MainstayAEW&C aircraft are aerial radar stations meant to detect and track enemy weapon systems — namely aircraft, missiles, and naval ships. An E-3 Sentry takes off at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada in January 2024. Last November, the Russians threatened to destroy a French Air Force E-3 that was operating over the Black Sea in what a French military spokesman described as "a particularly aggressive radio exchange." AdvertisementLast year, the US Air Force announced that it had selected the Boeing E-7 Wedgetail as the E-3's intended replacement.

Persons: —, Tupolev, William R, Park Chung, hee, Anwar Sadat, Joseph Barron, hasn't, Benjamin Brimelow Organizations: Service, Russian Aerospace Forces, Soviet Union, Machulishchy, State TV, Radio Company, AP, Western Allies, Beriev, Ilyushin, NATO, Nellis Air Force Base, US Air Force, System, Boeing, Air, Air Force, North American Aerospace Defense Command, NORAD, Saudi, Royal Air Force, Control Force, NATO Air Base, U.S . Air Force KC, US Air Force Ukraine, Ukrainian Air Force, Allied, French Air Force, Global Affairs, Fletcher School of Law, Diplomacy, Business, Modern, Institute Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Soviet, Minsk, Belarus, Ukrainian, USSR, China, India, Turkey, Chechnya, Georgia, Syria, Syrian, Nevada, American, Latin America, South Korea, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, France, Chile, NATO, Germany, Europe, Azov, Russia, Poland, Romania, Australia, West

☆ The once-forgotten flying wing has taken over the US's bomber fleet
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-09 | by ( Ben Brimelow | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Originally designed before America's entry into the Second World War, the YB-49 flying wing was intended to be America's first intercontinental bomber. US Air ForceThe flying wingThe YB-49 was the final iteration of a flying wing bomber concept created by legendary aircraft designer Jack Northrop, founder of the Northrop Corporation. A larger test aircraft, the N-1M, was tested in July of 1940, proving the potential of the flying wing design. The problems with aerial instability could now be solved by computers utilizing fly-by-wire technology and differential thrust, and so a flying wing design was submitted. In order to maintain a powerful bomber force and to keep up with technological innovation, the Air Force launched the Long Range Strike Bomber program in 2011.

Persons: —, Northrop Grumman, Jack Northrop, Northrop, Dunne, elevons —, William Lewis, Defense Lloyd Austin Organizations: Service, US Air, US Air Force, Northrop Corporation, United States Army Air Forces, US Army Air Forces, Britain, USAAF, Air Force, Flag, Nellis, Nellis Air Force Base, Raider, Technology Bomber, Northrop, ATB, Defense Locations: Nazi, Europe, British, Jan, Yugoslavia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya

☆ US Air Force F-35s are training for threats even tougher than what jets in Ukraine are facing. Pilots say they're 'surviving' but 'not every day is a win.'
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

US Air Force fighter jets recently took part in the Red Flag air combat exercise. These scenarios are meant to prepare pilots for threats tougher even than what pilots are facing in Ukraine. AdvertisementThis year's event involved airmen from the 421st Fighter Squadron and 421st Fighter Generation Squadron, as well as over a dozen F-35A Lightning IIs from Utah's Hill Air Force Base. A Royal Australian Air Force F-35A lands at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, Jan. 10, 2024 in preparation for Red Flag-Nellis 24-1. AdvertisementAn F-15E Strike Eagle assigned to Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, South Carolina, taxis prior to take off for a for Red Flag-Nellis 24-1 mission at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, Jan. 17.

Persons: —, William R, Lewis, Nathan Heguy, Heguy, we're, Lockheed Martin, haven't, Bryan Butler Organizations: US Air Force, Flag, Service, Nellis Air Force Base, 388th Fighter Wing, 421st Fighter Squadron, 421st Fighter Generation Squadron, Utah's Hill Air Force Base, 3rd, Joint Base Elmendorf, Nellis, Nevada, Air Force, Royal Australian Air Force, NATO, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, Lockheed Locations: Ukraine, Nevada, Utah , Nevada, California, Richardson , Alaska, Russian, Red Flag, Russia, Flag, China, Washington, South Carolina

☆ IBM shows new quantum computing chip, targeting 2033 for large systems
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( Stephen Nellis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

International Business Machines’ (IBM) Quantum System Two computer containing three "Heron" processors is seen in this undated handout photo. Courtesy of International Business Machines/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsDec 4 (Reuters) - International Business Machines (IBM.N) on Monday showed a new quantum computing chip and machine that it hopes will serve as the building blocks of much larger systems a decade from now. Researchers around the world are trying to perfect quantum computing, which relies on quantum mechanics to reach computing speeds far faster than classical silicon-based computers. The challenge has been to create quantum computers that are reliable enough in the real world to consistently beat conventional computers. Microsoft (MSFT.O), Alphabet's Google (GOOGL.O) and China's Baidu (9888.HK), along with startups and nation states, are all racing to develop quantum machines.

Persons: Baidu, Dario Gil, IBM's, " Gil, it's, Stephen Nellis, Diane Craft Organizations: Machines, IBM, Business Machines, REUTERS, Microsoft, Google, HK, Reuters, Thomson Locations: San Francisco

Nov 29 (Reuters) - Synopsys (SNPS.O) on Wednesday forecast first-quarter revenue above Wall Street expectations, as artificial intelligence (AI) adoption boosted demand for the company's chip designing software. Synopsys forecast current-quarter revenue between $1.63 billion and $1.66 billion, above analysts' average estimate of $1.60 billion. The rise in custom chip design efforts by firms like Microsoft (MSFT.O) and Alphabet (GOOGL.O) has also boosted demand. "You need a very specific silicon in order to power that (AI) training," Sassine Ghazi, the company's president and chief operating officer, said of the boom in AI chips in an interview. Ghazi told Reuters that increased use of Synopsys AI services helped boost the value of some of its contracts by 20% at renewal time.

Persons: Sassine Ghazi, Ghazi, Aart de Geus, Synopsys, Harshita Mary Varghese, Shailesh Kuber, Deepa Babington Organizations: Design, Microsoft, Intel, Mercedes, Benz, Reuters, Revenue, Thomson Locations: Sunnyvale , California

☆ Amazon announces new data center chip as Microsoft rivalry intensifies
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

The logo of Amazon is seen at the company's logistics centre in Boves, France, October 6, 2021 REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNov 28 (Reuters) - Amazon.com (AMZN.O) on Tuesday introduced its newest data center chip for its cloud computing service as competition with Microsoft (MSFT.O) to dominate the market for artificial intelligence heats up. At a conference in Las Vegas, Amazon Web Services Chief Executive Adam Selipsky announced Graviton4, the cloud firm's fourth custom central processor chip, which it said is 30% faster than its predecessor. The news comes weeks after Microsoft announced its own custom chip called Cobalt designed to compete with Amazon's Graviton series. Reporting by Yuvraj Malik in Bangalore and Stephen Nellis in San FranciscoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Pascal, Adam Selipsky, Graviton4, Amazon's, Yuvraj Malik, Stephen Nellis Organizations: Microsoft, Web Services, Thomson Locations: Boves, France, Las Vegas, Bangalore, San Francisco

A smartphone with a displayed NVIDIA logo is placed on a computer motherboard in this illustration taken March 6, 2023. But the red-hot market for AI chips is playing out in the context of vastly expanded U.S. export controls on what Nvidia can sell to China. Jacob Bourne, analyst at Insider Intelligence, said that those China-focused chips could consume vital research resources at Nvidia for products that could end up banned just like its first round of China market chips. Rival Advanced Micro Devices (AMD.O) had earlier touted the quantity of high-bandwidth memory on one of its competing AI chips. Chinese tech company Huawei's (HWT.UL) AI chip is also gaining traction from local firms as U.S. pressure makes it hard to access Nvidia chips.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Nvidia, Jesse Cohen, Colette Kress, Jacob Bourne, Bourne, Chavi Mehta, Max A, Stephen Nellis, Arun Koyyur, Sayantani Ghosh, Matthew Lewis Organizations: NVIDIA, REUTERS, Wall, Nvidia, LSEG, Insider Intelligence, Devices, Google, Microsoft, San, Thomson Locations: China, Israel, Gaza, United States, Bengaluru, Max, San Francisco

U.S. oversight of Big Tech financial services is fragmented. The CFPB rule would toughen up supervision, requiring Big Tech to comply with its rules on privacy protections, executives' conduct and unfair and deceptive practices. Without regulatory scrutiny, they could leverage their growing dominance of consumer payments to capture other services like lending and card issuing, analysts said. 'LEG UP'Representatives for Big Tech have accused the CFPB of trying to protect traditional lenders. While Big Tech companies have deep pockets and plenty of resources to handle the new scrutiny, the rule could limit how they use and protect consumer data.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Rohit Chopra, Todd Phillips, Dodd, Frank, It's, Paige Pidano Paridon, Chopra, John Coleman, Hannah Lang, Stephen Nellis, Michelle Price, Richard Chang Organizations: Apple, REUTERS, Wall, Big Tech, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Google, Georgia State University, PayPal, Federal, McKinsey, Bank, BPI, Banks, Representatives, Big, Herrington, Thomson Locations: U.S, Washington

☆ Xi tells US firms China ready to be partner and friend
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( Michael Martina | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Xi received a standing ovation as he entered the room, and two more before and after he took the stage to speak. "Whatever stage of development it may reach, China will never pursue hegemony or expansion, and will never impose its will on others. China does not seek spheres of influence, and will not fight a cold war or a hot war with anyone," Xi said. China and the U.S. reached an agreement to curb fentanyl production in earlier talks between Xi and Biden. Analysts have said Xi's speech alone is unlikely to dramatically alter U.S. business sentiment about China.

Persons: Xi Jinping, Carlos Barria, Xi, Joe Biden, Biden, Tim Cook, Laurence Fink, Broadcom's, Hock Tan, Ray Dalio, Albert Bourla, Gina Raimondo, Mike Gallagher, Gallagher, Gary Dvorchak, Dvorchak, Michael Martina, Valerie Insinna, Stephen Nellis, Lisa Baertlein, Niket, Ethan Wang, Liz Lee, Stephen Coates Organizations: National Committee, China Relations, China Business Council, Economic Cooperation, REUTERS, Apple, BlackRock, Pfizer, SAN FRANCISCO, U.S, Beijing, Congress, Bridgewater Associates, Commerce, U.S . House, Representatives, Muslim, U.S ., Communist Party, Thomson Locations: Asia, San Francisco , California, U.S, China, United States, San Francisco, Beijing, Washington, China . U.S, Iowa

☆ Synopsys, Microsoft team up for a chip-design assistant
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Stephen Nellis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

But Synopsys (SNPS.O) on Wednesday said it has worked with Microsoft to create its own Copilot to help with designing computer chips. Synopsys trained the system on huge troves of data it has accumulated over decades in business to help with that. "But if you're not generating (chip design work) that is over 99.9% accurate, you're introducing a bug in your chip, which is worth hundreds of millions of dollars." Fixing bugs is one of the lengthiest and costliest parts of the chip design process. Microsoft said it has already started to test the Synopsys system with its own chip design teams, which on Wednesday unveiled the company's first in-house data center chips.

Persons: Steve Marcus, Synopsys, Shankar Krishnamoorthy, Krishnamoorthy, Erik Berg, Stephen Nellis, Nick Zieminski Organizations: REUTERS, Microsoft, Wednesday, San, Thomson Locations: Las Vegas , Nevada, U.S, San Francisco

☆ Microsoft introduces its own chips for AI, with eye on cost
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Stephen Nellis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Microsoft said it does not plan to sell the chips but instead will use them to power its own subscription software offerings and as part of its Azure cloud computing service. Microsoft and other tech giants such as Alphabet are grappling with the high cost of delivering AI services, which can be 10 times greater than for traditional services such as search engines. The Maia chip, they said, is optimized for that work. Microsoft also said that next year it will offer its Azure customers cloud services that run on the newest flagship chips from Nvidia (NVDA.O) and Advanced Micro Devices. He said the Maia chip would allow Microsoft to sell AI services in the cloud until personal computers and phones are powerful enough to handle them.

Persons: Maia, OpenAI, Scott Guthrie, Ben Bajarin, Bajarin, Microsoft's Guthrie, Guthrie, Rani Borkar, Borkar, Stephen Nellis, Edmund Klamann Organizations: Reuters, Microsoft, REUTERS Acquire, Wednesday, Ignite, Nvidia, Devices, Amazon Web Services, Arm Holdings, Amazon, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Thomson Locations: Redmond , Washington, Seattle, San Francisco

☆ Tricky politics on menu for China's Xi at US business dinner
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( Michael Martina | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

But the event, yet to be formally announced by hosts U.S.-China Business Council (USCBC) and the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations (NCUSCR), also presents uneasy optics. The USCBC and NCUSCR both declined to comment on the planned dinner. Xi has overseen a crackdown on U.S. consultancy and due-diligence firms, a further blow to investor confidence. Jeff Moon, a former U.S. trade official turned business adviser, said China's goal would be to soften Xi's image and attract investment, but that the dinner was unlikely to "move any needles." "They have come to accept that there's no substitute for hearing and seeing and observing what Xi Jinping is doing," said Patel.

Persons: Carlos Barria, Xi Jinping, Joe Biden, Xi, MIGNON, Jeff Moon, mignon, Mike Gallagher, Biden, Janet Yellen, Nirav Patel, Jinping, Patel, David Brunnstrom, Stephen Nellis, Michelle Nichols, Lincoln Organizations: APEC, Economic Cooperation, REUTERS, FRANCISCO, Wednesday, Reuters, U.S, China Business Council, National Committee, China Relations, Muslim, Asia, Thomson Locations: Asia, Pacific, San Francisco , California, United States, San Francisco, U.S, China, Washington, Muslim Uyghurs, Beijing

☆ Nvidia upgrades flagship chip to handle bigger AI systems
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( Stephen Nellis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The H200, as the chip is called, will overtake Nvidia's current top H100 chip. The primary upgrade is more high-bandwidth memory, one of the costliest parts of the chip that defines how much data it can process quickly. Nvidia dominates the market for AI chips and powers OpenAI's ChatGPT service and many similar generative AI services that respond to queries with human-like writing. The H200 has 141-gigabytes of high-bandwidth memory, up from 80 gigabyte in its previous H100. Nvidia also buys memory from Korea's SK Hynix (000660.KS), which said last month that AI chips are helping to revive sales.

Persons: OpenAI's, Stephen Nellis, Sam Holmes Organizations: Nvidia, Google, Oracle, Nvidia's, Micron Technology, Korea's SK Hynix, Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, Lambda, Thomson Locations: San Francisco

☆ The US Air Force is training to take down Chinese warships, but China's military has built a 'wicked' problem for it to overcome
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

That's not a new task for the US Air Force, but it faces a 'wicked' threat from China's air defenses. AdvertisementAdvertisementThe US Air Force is working on improving its ability to sink well-defended warships, a reflection of the US military's concern about the growing size and increasing capability of China's navy. US Naval History and Heritage CommandUS pilots have trained to sink warships since the early 1920s, well before the Air Force's founding in 1947. US Air Force A-10s at Naval Air Station North Island in California for Green Flag-West in November 2022. Wilsbach said in September that training by Pacific Air Forces has emphasized "stacking effects" to bring more weapons to bear.

Persons: That's, —, Nancy Pelosi's, Pelosi, Gen, Kenneth Wilsbach, we've, Wilsbach, Sun, Brendan Mulvaney, Mulvaney, eng.chinamil.com.cn, Yang Yunxiang, that's, Mark Kelly, Kelly, hasn't, Lyle Goldstein, TENGKU BAHAR, Goldstein, they've, John Baum, Baum, Zachary Rufus, Col, Daniel Lehoski, William R, Lewis, Lockheed Martin, Lindsey Heflin Organizations: US Air Force, Service, US Pacific Air Forces, an Air and Space Forces Association, China News Service, Getty, China Aerospace Studies Institute, Department of, Air Force, United, and Space Forces Conference, Air Combat Command, Defense, Heritage Command US, Air, Navy, Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, Naval Air Station, Green Flag, West, US Army, Air Force Weapons, Weapons, Flag, Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada ., Pacific, US Navy, Squadron, Force, Missiles, Ship, Lockheed, Command, Lindsey Heflin Air Force, Pacific Air Forces, Army Locations: China, Taiwan, Pacific, United States, Ukraine, Asia, Hong Kong, Liaoning, Shandong, Fujian, Iraq, Afghanistan, California, Nevada

☆ Wearable 'Ai Pin' launched by Humane, backed by ex-Apple execs and Microsoft
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Stephen Nellis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Ai Pin, as the device is called, is designed to be worn on clothing and can be tapped to talk to a virtual assistant powered by technologies from ChatGPT-creator OpenAI and cloud computing power from Microsoft (MSFT.O). Founded by ex-Apple (AAPL.O) veterans who worked on the iPhone, Humane is one of many companies in Silicon Valley angling to find the next wave of consumer devices. Instead, Humane is offering a device with no traditional screen that relies almost entirely on artificial intelligence to interact with the user. "Ai Pin is the embodiment of our vision to integrate AI into the fabric of daily life, enhancing our capabilities without overshadowing our humanity," Chaudhri said in a statement. The company said the Ai Pin will be available in the United States from Nov. 16.

Persons: Imran Chaudhri, Ai, Chaudhri, Sam Altman, Stephen Nellis, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: Microsoft, Apple, Humane, Thomson Locations: Silicon, United States, San Francisco

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration Acquire Licensing RightsNov 8 (Reuters) - Semiconductor company Arm Holdings (O9Ty.F), on Wednesday gave a fiscal third-quarter sales outlook below Wall Street estimates, with the company attributing the forecast to a large deal that will likely land later than expected. Arm became publicly listed again in September after Japan's SoftBank Group (9984.T), which still owns more than 90% of Arm, sold off some of its shares. For the current fiscal third quarter, Arm expects a revenue range with a midpoint of $760 million, below analyst estimates of $767.84 million, according to LSEG data. Arm said that royalty revenue for the fiscal second quarter declined to $418 million, below analyst expectations of $420.3 million, according to data from Visible Alpha. Child told Reuters that Arm's second quarter royalty revenues still reflected a chip glut that affected the chip industry broadly.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Japan's, Ben Bajarin, Jason Child, Child, Stephen Nellis, Max A, Yuvraj Malik, Aurora Ellis, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: REUTERS, - Semiconductor, Arm Holdings, Wednesday, Analysts, Creative, Reuters, Nvidia, Intel, Alpha, Thomson Locations: San Francisco, Bengaluru

☆ Aeva to supply self-driving sensors to NTT-backed May Mobility
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Stephen Nellis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Sensor is seen on a vehicle at Aeva Inc, a Mountain View, California-based startup that makes lidar sensors to help self-driving vehicles see the road in an undated handout photo provided September 4, 2020. Courtesy of Aeva Inc/Handout via REUTERS/ File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNov 8 (Reuters) - Aeva Technologies (AEVA.N) on Wednesday said it has inked a deal to supply May Mobility with a key sensor for its self-driving shuttles. Silicon Valley-based Aeva has developed what is known as a lidar sensor that helps self-driving vehicles gain a detailed, long-range view of the road. Under the deal, Aeva will supply multiple sensors for "thousands" of May Mobility vehicles through 2028, Aeva Chief Executive Officer Soroush Salehian told Reuters in an interview. He said May Mobility will need to rewrite some of its software to use the Aeva sensors but that they will eventually improve the long-range sensing of its shuttles, which are based on Toyota Sienna minivans.

Persons: Cruise, Soroush Salehian, Edwin Olson, Olson, Stephen Nellis, Mark Potter Organizations: Aeva Inc, REUTERS, Aeva Technologies, Mobility, Motors, Japan's Nippon, Telephone, NTT, Toyota, Aeva, Reuters, May Mobility, Toyota Sienna, San, Thomson Locations: , California, Silicon, Michigan, San Francisco

☆ Aeva inks sensor deal with Nikon for industrial machines
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Stephen Nellis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Courtesy of Aeva Inc/Handout via REUTERS/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsNov 6 (Reuters) - Aeva Technologies (AEVA.N) on Monday said that it has signed a deal to produce sensors for Nikon (7731.T) industrial machines that can scan objects like cars coming off an assembly line for microscopic defects. While Aeva is targeting the automotive market, its sensor can also be used in other applications that require three-dimensional scanning, and in 2021 the company said it was working with Nikon to improve the Japanese firm's industrial equipment. The Aeva sensor aims to make the machines smaller and cheaper so that more vehicles can be inspected. Aeva said it expects to start supplying sensors to Nikon next year, with Nikon products with Aeva sensors hitting the market in 2025. Salehian declined to say how many sensors Aeva will ship or how much revenue the company expects from the Nikon deal.

Persons: Salehian, Aeva, Stephen Nellis, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: Aeva Inc, REUTERS, Aeva Technologies, Nikon, Reuters, Thomson Locations: , California, View , California, San Francisco

A woman looks at a new iPhone 15 Pro and a Huawei Mate 60 Pro as Apple's new iPhone 15 officially goes on sale across China, at an Apple store in Shanghai, China September 22, 2023. Research firm Canalys estimated that overall smartphone sales in China fell 3% in July-September from a year earlier as consumers bought fewer smartphones as an economic recovery was choppy. On the other hand, analysts estimate that Huawei's China smartphone sales grew strongly in the quarter. Apple said on Thursday that its overall sales in China dipped 2.5% but it blamed tough Mac computer and iPad sales for that. Aggressive discounting on the iPhone 15 series in the run up to the annual Singles Day shopping festival by major Chinese online retailers is also encouraging demand.

Persons: Aly, Tim Cook, Apple, Cook, Canalys, Apple's, Huawei's, Yuvraj Malik, Bengaluru ， Stephen Nellis, Yelin, Arsheeya Bajwa, Harshita Varghese, Sayantani Ghosh, Gerry Doyle Organizations: Huawei, Apple, REUTERS, Huawei Technologies, Reuters, Research, HK, Taobao, Pro Max, Qualcomm, Thomson Locations: China, Shanghai, Bengaluru ，, San Francisco, Yelin Mo, Beijing, Bengaluru

Apple shares, which have risen 37% so far this year, dropped 3.4% after-hours, following the forecast. Maestri said Apple expects to have higher iPhone sales for the fiscal first quarter, even though this year's holiday quarter has one fewer week of sales than the year-ago. Cook said the company's new high-end handset models - the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max devices - are facing supply constraints. Apple's sales in China fell to $15.08 billion from $15.47 billion in the fourth quarter a year ago. Cook said that after accounting for foreign-exchange rates, Apple's business in China grew year-over-year, driven by iPhone sales and services revenue.

Persons: Tim Cook, Apple, Cook, Luca Maestri, Bob O'Donnell, Davidson, Tom Forte, Aly, Max, Nabila Popal, Lionel Messi, Stephen Nellis, Yuvraj Malik, Sayantani Ghosh, Peter Henderson, Matthew Lewis, Leslie Adler Organizations: Huawei, Apple, TECHnalysis Research, Mac, REUTERS, Huawei Technologies, U.S, Reuters, Pro, Apple Watch, Thomson Locations: China, Cupertino , California, Shanghai, San Francisco, Bengaluru

☆ US lawmakers press Biden for plans on Chinese use of open chip technology
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( Stephen Nellis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

RISC-V, pronounced "risk five," is a free open-source technology that competes with costly proprietary technology from British semiconductor and software design company Arm Holdings (O9Ty.F), and Intel Corp (INTC.O). It can be used as a key part of anything from a smartphone chip to advanced processors for artificial intelligence. U.S. firms such as Qualcomm (QCOM.O) and Alphabet's (GOOGL.O) Google have embraced RISC-V, but so too have many Chinese companies. Reuters last month reported that at least four influential U.S. lawmakers view Chinese use of the technology as a potential national security threat because RISC-V is not captured by the sweeping export controls the U.S. has imposed on sending chip technology to China. They also asked the Biden administration about how it might apply an existing executive order to require U.S. companies to get an export license before working with Chinese companies on RISC-V technology.

Persons: Florence Lo, Biden, Raimondo, Stephen Nellis, Jamie Freed Organizations: REUTERS, FRANCISCO, Reuters, Arm Holdings, Intel Corp, Qualcomm, Google, Republican, Representatives, Commerce, Thomson Locations: U.S, China, New Jersey , Florida , Michigan, Indiana, San Francisco

☆ LinkedIn hits 1 billion members, adds AI features for job seekers
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( Stephen Nellis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A keyboard is placed in front of a displayed LinkedIn logo in this illustration taken February 21, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNov 1 (Reuters) - LinkedIn, the business-focused social network owned by Microsoft (MSFT.O), on Wednesday said it now has more than 1 billion members and is adding more artificial intelligence features for paying users. About 80% of recent members are signing up from outside of the United States, the company has said. LinkedIn has a free tier of membership but also offers subscriptions from $30 per month. The system can also recommend profile changes to make the user more competitive for a job.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Tomer Cohen, Stephen Nellis, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: REUTERS, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Thomson Locations: United States, San Francisco

Chipmakers have been grappling with a smartphone market slump. Last week, Qualcomm rival MediaTek (2454.TW) said it saw sales growth in its smartphone chip business. Qorvo (QRVO.O), another important smartphone chip supplier, on Wednesday projected revenue growth for fiscal 2024, sending its shares up slightly. In Qualcomm's intellectual property licensing business, sales of $1.26 billion were in line with estimates of $1.25 billion according to FactSet data. In its chip business, Qualcomm said fourth-quarter revenue from smartphone handsets was $5.46 billion, beating analysts' expectations of $5.34 billion according to FactSet data.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Qualcomm, MediaTek, FactSet, Chavi Mehta, Stephen Nellis, Richard Chang Organizations: Qualcomm, REUTERS, Wall, Apple, LSEG, Huawei Technologies, U.S ., Samsung Electronics, IDC, Microsoft, Thomson Locations: San Diego , California, Bengaluru, San Francisco

The logo of NVIDIA as seen at its corporate headquarters in Santa Clara, California, in May of 2022. Nvidia's stock fell to as low as $392.30, down 4.7%, to the lowest level since mid-June. "The stock is getting oversold," said Tom Plumb, chief executive and lead portfolio manager at Plumb Funds, which has Nvidia as one of its largest holdings. "Previously, Nvidia has said this is not going to have a short-term impact but it's more in the long term. "These new export controls will not have a meaningful impact in the near term," the Nvidia spokesperson said in a statement.

Persons: Tom Plumb, Plumb, Biden, Thomas Hayes, Chibuike Oguh, Stephen Nellis, Amruta, Lance Tupper, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: NVIDIA, Handout, REUTERS, Nvidia Corp, Nvidia, Alibaba, HK, Baidu, U.S . Commerce Department, Wall, Nasdaq, Plumb Funds, Beijing, Great, Thomson Locations: Santa Clara , California, China, U.S, Iran, Russia, New York, San Francisco, Bengaluru

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