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Last quarter, Nvidia said tech giant Microsoft was deploying “tens of thousands” of its GPUs in its cloud unit Azure to train and use AI. Microsoft-backed OpenAI's ChatGPT runs entirely on Nvidia chips, Piper Sandler analyst Harsh Kumar said. Revenue from the data center business was $3.62 billion for the fourth quarter, slightly below analyst estimates of $3.84 billion. Gaming chip sales were $1.83 billion, beating analyst estimates of $1.52 billion, according to Refinitiv data. Adjusted profit was 88 cents per share for the fourth quarter, beating analyst estimates of 81 cents.

☆ Nvidia forecasts first-quarter revenue above expectations
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 22 (Reuters) - Chip designer Nvidia Corp (NVDA.O) forecast first-quarter revenue above Wall Street estimates on Wednesday, expecting the artificial intelligence boom to drive up sales of its data center chips, sending its shares up nearly 7% in extended trading. Analysts believe Nvidia is best placed to capitalize on this boom as it dominates roughly 80% of the GPU market. The company forecast current-quarter revenue of $6.50 billion, plus or minus 2%. Analysts on average expect $6.33 billion in revenue, according to Refinitiv data. Revenue in the quarter ended Jan. 29. was $6.05 billion, compared with analysts' average estimate of $6.01 billion.

☆ Wall St slightly higher as investors focus on Fed minutes
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Johann M Cherian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

U.S. stocks shed more than 2% on Tuesday after a rebound in business activity in February stoked fears of interest rates staying higher for longer. New York Fed President John Williams, a voting member of the rate-setting committee this year, is scheduled to speak later in the day. Following a market rout in 2022, the three major indexes logged monthly gains in January as investors hoped the Fed would pause its rate hikes and perhaps pivot around year-end. However, stocks have had a volatile run in February, leaving the Dow flat for the year as traders priced in higher interest rates for longer, assuming that inflation remains higher in a sturdy economy. The S&P index recorded three new 52-week highs and one new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 21 new highs and 92 new low.

☆ Wall St set for higher open as investors focus on Fed minutes
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Johann M Cherian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SummarySummary Companies Fed minutes due at 2:00 p.m. U.S. stocks shed more than 2% on Tuesday as investors worried that a rebound in U.S. business activity in February could mean interest rates might need to stay higher for longer. ET (1900 GMT), are expected to detail the breadth of debate at the central bank over how much further interest rates may need to be raised to slow inflation. However, stocks have had a volatile run in February as traders priced in higher interest rates for longer, considering inflation remains above the 2% target in the face of a sturdy economy. Money market participants expect rates to peak at 5.35% by July and stay around those levels till the end of 2023.

☆ Wall St inches higher as investors focus on Fed minutes
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Johann M Cherian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SummarySummary Companies Fed minutes due at 2:00 p.m. U.S. stocks shed more than 2% on Tuesday after a rebound in business activity in February stoked fears of interest rates staying higher for longer. "We expect all indicators to point to the Fed remaining hawkish in its inflation fight." However, stocks have had a volatile run in February as traders priced in higher interest rates for longer, considering inflation remains elevated in the face of a sturdy economy. Money market participants expect rates to peak at 5.35% by July and stay around those levels till the end of 2023.

☆ Nvidia stock rises after slight beat driven by A.I. chips
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Kif Leswing | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Nvidia reported $0.57 in GAAP net income per share. Gaming revenue was down, as expected, as sales were highly elevated in the past few years. Nvidia reported $1.83 billion in fourth-quarter gaming revenue, a 46% drop from the same time last year. Nvidia also said that it shipped fewer chips for game consoles during the quarter, which is also reported inside the gaming category. Other categories, including professional visualization and automotive chips, remain much smaller than the company's gaming and data center businesses.

☆ Microsoft's president to push Activision deal at EU hearing; Google, Nvidia also present
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Smith will lead a delegation of 18 senior executives, including Microsoft Gaming Chief Executive Officer Phil Spencer, while Activision will be represented by its CEO Robert Kotick according to a European Commission document seen by Reuters. Alphabet's (GOOGL.O) Google and chip designer and computing firm Nvidia Corp (NVDA.O), which has a gaming business, will also be taking part in the hearing, the EU document showed. "The European Commission asked for our views in the course of their inquiries into this issue. We will continue to cooperate in any processes, when requested, to ensure all views are considered," a Google spokesperson said. The European Games Developer Federation (EGDF), which has said the deal will allow Microsoft to challenge Apple (AAPL.O), Google and Tencent, is one of the participants.

☆ Microsoft Signs ‘Call of Duty’ Pacts With Nintendo and Nvidia as Activision Deal Faces Scrutiny
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Sarah E. Needleman | Kim Mackrael | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The deal would give Nintendo access to new ‘Call of Duty’ games on the same day Microsoft’s Xbox system does. Microsoft Corp. signed pacts to give Nintendo Co. and Nvidia Corp. access to “Call of Duty” games for a decade if its $75 billion deal to buy the game’s developer, Activision Blizzard Inc., gets approved, part of the software maker’s efforts to relieve regulators’ concerns about the transaction. In a tweet Tuesday, Microsoft Vice Chairman and President Brad Smith said the commitment with Nintendo, first proposed late last year, is now solidified. It means that Nintendo would gain access to new “Call of Duty” games the same day they appear on Microsoft’s Xbox system.

Microsoft President Brad Smith told a news conference on Tuesday he was now more optimistic of getting the Activision acquisition done after the Nvidia deal and a similar arrangement with Nintendo Co Ltd (7974.T). Instead, Nvidia's 25 million customers will need to pay Nvidia for access to its cloud gaming platform and pay Microsoft for its games. Shares of Microsoft fell 2%, Nvidia dropped 3.4% and Activision fell 0.7% in a broadly lower market on Tuesday afternoon. Nvidia said it now supports the Xbox maker's bid to purchase Activision, but the deal could still be a hard sell with regulators. Smith said he hoped that rival Sony Group Corp (6758.T) will consider doing the same type of deal with Nvidia.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq (.IXIC) recovered after a weak open, boosted by 4% gains in Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) and Nvidia Corp (NVDA.O). Ten of the 11 major S&P sectors rose, with consumer discretionary (.SPLRCD) and technology (.SPLRCT) leading the gains. "I don't think (this report) moves the needle for the Fed, and I suspect they're taking a hard look at the data. The rally, however, stalled last week on signs of a tight labor market and hawkish commentary from Fed policymakers. Money market traders have priced in at least two more 25 basis point rate hikes this year and see interest rates peaking at 5.2% by July.

[1/2] AI chip startup Rebellions co-founder and chief executive Park Sunghyun works at the company headquarters in Seongnam, South Korea February 2023. SEOUL Feb 13 (Reuters) - South Korean startup Rebellions Inc launches an artificial intelligence (AI) chip on Monday, racing to win government contracts as Seoul seeks a place for local companies in the exploding AI industry. "But it's not set in stone because AI chips can carry out different functions and there aren't set boundaries or metrics." A100 is the most popular chip for AI workloads, powerful enough to create - in industry lingo, "train" - the AI models. Rebellions declined to give a forecast for its AI chip venture.

The layoffs come as SoftBank tries to set up a public listing for Arm this year. Before the layoffs, Arm China had about 700 employees; there were no layoffs last year when parent Arm Ltd had global layoffs affecting up to 15% of its workforce, according to one of the sources. Arm China declined to comment. Arm China is the exclusive distributor of Arm licenses in China. One of the sources said some customers are concerned about Arm potentially changing how it charges royalties, as well as U.S.-China geopolitical tensions that could cut off access to Arm technology.

☆ The AI craze has sent some stocks soaring up to 300%. This list of over 74 stocks across 5 categories features the top picks from the sector's leading fund managers.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Laila Maidan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

These 74 stocks are picked by AI ETF managers. What she believes is unique about her fund is its heavy focus on quantum computing technology, making up 41.22% of the fund. While big data is used for different technologies, it enables AI to work with massive data sets in its machine-learning process. TipRanks, a financial technology website that uses AI to analyze financial data, created a stock list for what they deem are the best AI stocks based on popularity. TipRanks' list of nine of the best AI stocks have large market caps and are likely to remain relevant for a long time.

☆ SoftBank Q3 seen under pressure from tech weakness, Arm IPO eyed
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Kiyoshi Takenaka | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SoftBank has said the initial public offering (IPO) is unlikely to take place during the current business year that ends in March due to market conditions. SoftBank is expected to post a net profit of 103.7 billion yen ($806.13 million) for the latest quarter, according to analysts' average estimate compiled by Refinitiv. That compares with a 29 billion yen profit a year earlier. SoftBank bought Arm, whose technology underpins the global smartphone industry and is used in supercomputers, for $32 billion in 2016. read moreOne notable change to SoftBank's quarterly announcement this time around is the lack of founder and chief executive Masayoshi Son's colourful presentation, which has been a regular feature of SoftBank's earnings disclosure.

☆ The Club's worst performing stocks in 2022 helped fuel January's rally. Can it last?
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Kevin Stankiewicz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Wall Street finished the first month of 2023 on a high note, with the S & P 500 rising 6.2% for its best January performance since 2019. The 10 worst-performing stocks in Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust in 2022 climbed an average of 21% in January. Those holdings, which climbed an average of 39.8% in 2022, only rose an average of 0.9% in the first month of this year. Of the S & P 500's 11 sectors, energy was the only one to finish 2022 in positive territory, gaining 59%. But it remains to be seen whether January's market leaders will continue to power the S & P higher as the year progresses.

☆ Factbox: Chinese chipmakers caught in U.S.-China tech spat
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Josh Horwitz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

TSMC is the world's most valuable chipmaker and counts Apple Inc (AAPL.O) and Nvidia Corp (NVDA.O) among major clients. Its government-backing and ambition to make high-end chips caught the attention of the United States which put the firm on its Entity List in 2020. To date, most of SMIC's sales are made using the outdated 45 nanometer process node and above. Since late 2020, this specialisation in older chips has proven a boon due to a global shortage of lower-end chips. It produces DRAM at the 19 nanometer node and is moving into the 17 nanometer node - process nodes behind the industry leading-edge.

☆ China’s Top Nuclear-Weapons Lab Used American Computer Chips Decades After Ban
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( Liza Lin | Dan Strumpf | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A Nvidia GeForce RTX graphics card. Nvidia said the semiconductors used in the Chinese institute’s research were general-purpose graphics chips. SINGAPORE—China’s top nuclear-weapons research institute has bought sophisticated U.S. computer chips at least a dozen times in the past two and half years, circumventing decades-old American export restrictions meant to curb such sales. A Wall Street Journal review of procurement documents found that the state-run China Academy of Engineering Physics has managed to obtain the semiconductors made by U.S. companies such as Intel Corp. and Nvidia Corp. since 2020 despite its placement on a U.S. export blacklist in 1997.

A new trading year kicked off just weeks ago. After languishing throughout last year, growth stocks have zoomed higher. Tesla Inc. and Nvidia Corp., for example, have jumped more than 30%. The outlook for bonds is brightening after a historic rout. Even bitcoin has rallied, despite ongoing effects from the collapse of the crypto exchange FTX.

REUTERS/Andrew KellyOAKLAND, Calif/BANGALORE, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Microprocessor giant Intel Corp (INTC.O) says it will regain its footing against AMD and other chip rivals which are gobbling up market share, but Wall Street is skeptical. That's a headwind for Intel and AMD, both of which are rolling out new chips, but Intel is facing a larger inventory correction. Intel still dominates the markets for PC and server processing chips, with a market share greater than 70%, tech research firm IDC calculated. Chipmaker shares were hammered across the board on Friday, but Intel led the decline, slumping by 10% while AMD lost 1.8%. AMD set to overtake Intel in market cap, again AMD set to overtake Intel in market cap, againReporting By Jane Lanhee Lee and Chavi Mehta; Editing by David Gaffen, Peter Henderson, Kirsten Donovan and Jonathan OatisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

"Everything hinges on the PC market recovery. Meanwhile, the data center market has also slowed from double-digit growth as businesses cut costs to ride out an economic slowdown. The company forecast first-quarter revenue in the range of about $10.5 billion to $11.5 billion. The company expects an adjusted loss of 15 cents per share versus expectations of a 24 cents per share profit. Revenue in the fourth quarter fell 32% to $14 billion.

"Everything hinges on the PC market recovery. AMD isn’t immune to this either," said Wayne Lam, an analyst at CCS Insight about Intel rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD.O). Shares of other microchip companies fell as well, with AMD down 2.4% and Nvidia Corp (NVDA.O) down 2%. PC shipments fell 16.5% to 292.3 million units in 2022, per data from research firm IDC, forcing chipmakers to cut back production and slash revenue forecasts. Meanwhile, the data center market has also slowed from double-digit growth as businesses look to cut costs to ride out an economic slowdown.

Industrial conglomerate 3M Co (MMM.N) fell 4.7%, leading the decliners among Dow components in premarket trading, after reporting a fall in quarterly profit. General Electric Co (GE.N) rose 2.2% as it topped quarterly profit estimates, boosted by strong demand for its engines and after-market services. Wall Street's main indexes started the earnings-heavy week on solid ground amid renewed appetite for growth stocks following a battering last year. Shares of Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O), which is scheduled to report quarterly earnings after the bell, were flat. Big Tech earnings could also determine whether renewed enthusiasm for growth stocks will be sustained.

☆ Nvidia CEO says AI will need regulation, social norms
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Supantha Mukherjee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

STOCKHOLM, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Nvidia Corp (NVDA.O) Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang on Tuesday said that the burgeoning field of artificial intelligence will create powerful tools that require legal regulation and social norms that have yet to be worked out. Huang said engineering standards bodies would need to establish standards for building safe AI systems, similar to how medical bodies set rules for the safe practice of medicine. But he also said laws and social norms would play a key role for AI. What the legal norms (are) for using it have to be developed," Huang said. Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Stockholm; writing by Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; editing by Stephen CoatesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Bullish analyst note gives troubled chipmakers a much needed boost. Here's our view
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Zev Fima | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

In the back half of 2023, analysts expect an acceleration in capex spending in both the U.S., "and potentially in China." Also supportive of AMD shares, the analysts believe that the PC inventory glut should bottom out in the current quarter. QCOM YTD mountain Qualcomm (QCOM) YTD peformance One key driver of end market improvement is headwinds in China turning to tailwinds in the second half of the year. We continue to hold that view and note again that much of the Barclays analysts' optimism is predicated on their second-half 2023 view. (Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust is long QCOM, AMD, NVDA, EMR, CAT.

☆ U.S. startup Outrider raises $73 mln to scale up autonomous yard trucks
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Nick Carey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 19 (Reuters) - U.S. self-driving truck firm Outrider said on Thursday it has raised $73 million in funding to scale up its autonomous trucks operating in distribution yards for customers in e-commerce, manufacturing and other industries. It also includes fresh funding from American venture capital fund New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and the venture capital arm of industrial conglomerate Koch Industries. Outrider says its self-driving yard truck "hitches to and unhitches from trailers, robotically connects and disconnects trailer brake lines, backs semi-trailers with precision, interacts safely with loading docks, and keeps track of trailer locations throughout the yard." The company says its customers represent more than 20% of all yard trucks operating in North America, and have invested in joint product testing and pilot operations since 2019. Yard trucks are designed to move trailers and cargo containers in distribution yards.

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