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CHENNAI, India, July 26 (Reuters) - A Foxconn (2317.TW) subsidiary is in talks with India's Tamil Nadu state to invest up to $200 million to build a new plant for electronic components in the southern region, two sources with direct knowledge told Reuters on Wednesday. Foxconn, the world's largest contract electronics manufacturer, and a spokesperson for Tamil Nadu's industries department declined to comment. Foxconn already has a sprawling campus near Chennai city in Tamil Nadu where it assembles Apple's (AAPL.O) iPhones. Foxconn is also in talks with western Gujarat state as it eyes entry into India's semiconductor sector. Last week, Karnataka state government in south India said it held talks with FII, which had committed to invest $1.07 billion for a new plant.

Persons: Brand Cheng, Foxconn, Young Liu, Praveen, Sarah Wu, Aditya Kalra, Richard Chang Organizations: Reuters, Foxconn Industrial, Tamil, FII, Thomson Locations: CHENNAI, India, Tamil, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Karnataka, Bengaluru, Taipei

☆ Alphabet rallies as Google Search unfazed by challenge from Microsoft's Bing
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

July 26 (Reuters) - Alphabet (GOOGL.O) rallied nearly 7% on Wednesday on signs its dominant Google Search business was faring well in an uncertain advertising market and remained unscathed in the face of competition from an AI-powered Microsoft Bing. Wall Street analysts said the company's better-than-expected quarterly earnings showed the strong position of Google Search, steady growth in the cloud business and that Alphabet was well placed to compete with Microsoft in AI. "Don't call it an AI comeback," said analysts at Jefferies, adding that Google has been AI-first company seven years. The median price target on Alphabet now stands at $138, which is nearly 13% higher than the stock's last close. The company has a 12-month forward price-to-earnings ratio of 20.51, compared with Microsoft's 31.11 and the industry median of 15.29.

Persons: Microsoft Bing, Jefferies, Aditya Soni, Saumyadeb Organizations: Google, Microsoft, Wall Street, Jefferies, Windows, Thomson

☆ Tomato price shock hits Indian restaurants, cheaper puree sales boom
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Riddhima Talwani | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Milk and vegetable retailer Mother Dairy has seen a 300% jump in tomato puree sales in the last 15 days in New Delhi, a spokesperson said. Amazon said demand for tomato puree on its platform rose five times over the past month, while ketchup sales rose 30%. Packs of puree typically contain around 40% tomato paste and the rest water, and cost 130 rupees/kg. Google Trends data shows the number of online searches for terms "tomato puree" and "tomato puree 1kg price" in recent weeks in India have been highest in the last five years. Food sellers - big and small - are battling high tomato prices.

Persons: Dairy, BigBasket, Seshu Kumar, Pravieen Sridhar, Price, gesturing, Pradeep Shetty, Raj Kumar, Riddhima Talwani, Aditya Kalra, Kim Coghill Organizations: Google, Restaurant Association of Western, Thomson Locations: DELHI, New Delhi, Indian, Chennai, India, Birju, Restaurant Association of Western India, Delhi

☆ Seagate forecast disappoints on China weakness, weak enterprise spending
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 26 (Reuters) - Seagate Technology (STX.O) forecast first-quarter revenue below market estimates on Wednesday on weakness in major market China and lower tech spending by businesses worried about an uncertain economy. The midpoint of that was below the analysts' estimate of $1.74 billion, according to Refinitiv data. The "performance reflected the uneven pace of economic recovery in China, cloud inventory digestion, and cautious enterprise spending amid the uncertain macroeconomic environment," CEO Dave Mosley said. In the quarter to June 30, Seagate's revenue sank by nearly 40% to $1.60 billion, missing estimates of $1.68 billion. The company's gross margin shrank to 19% from 28.9% a year ago as an oversupply of data storage equipment weighed on prices.

Persons: Dave Mosley, Aditya Soni, Arun Koyyur Organizations: Seagate Technology, Seagate, Thomson Locations: China, Bengaluru

[1/3] Visitors gather at Applied Materials and Micron Technology kiosks before the start of 'SemiconIndia 2023', India's annual semiconductor conference, in Gandhinagar, India, July 25, 2023. REUTERS/Amit DaveGANDHINAGAR, India July 26 (Reuters) - Top executives from Foxconn and semiconductor firms Micron and AMD will this week attend a conference in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state, as the government tries to lure investments into India's nascent chip industry. Modi will inaugurate the annual SemiconIndia conference in Gandhinagar, in western state of Gujarat, on Friday. The event comes just weeks after Foxconn backed out of a $19.5 billion chips joint venture with Vedanta, saying "the project was not moving fast enough". Which explains the skepticism of global chip giants to come here and set shop," said Arun Mampazhy, a former India manager of U.S.-based chipmaker GlobalFoundries.

Persons: Amit Dave GANDHINAGAR, Narendra Modi's, Modi, Young Liu, Sanjay Mehrotra, Mark Papermaster, Foxconn, Arun Mampazhy, Munsif, Sumit Khanna, Aditya Kalra Organizations: Materials, Micron Technology, REUTERS, Micron, AMD, Vedanta, Devices, Semiconductor, Thomson Locations: Gandhinagar, India, Taiwan, Gujarat, Bengaluru

☆ Amazon lowers iRobot deal price by 15% after Roomba maker incurs fresh debt
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 25 (Reuters) - Amazon.com (AMZN.O) has slashed the price it will pay for iRobot (IRBT.O) by about 15% to around $1.42 billion after the maker of Roomba vacuum cleaners incurred fresh debt, the companies said on Tuesday. Under the amended deal, Amazon will pay $51.75 in cash for each share of iRobot, compared with the original price of $61.00. The deal price change will be largely offset by the planned increase in iRobot's net debt after it entered a $200 million financing facility to fund its operations, the companies said. "We've reached an amended agreement with Amazon that reflects the incurrence of iRobot's new debt," said Colin Angle, chairman and CEO of iRobot. Amazon and iRobot said on Tuesday they were working with the relevant regulators in their review of the merger.

Persons: We've, Colin Angle, iRobot, Aditya Soni, Shounak Dasgupta Organizations: iRobot, Amazon, European Commission, Thomson Locations: Europe

☆ TikTok launches text-only posts to rival Elon Musk's Twitter
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 25 (Reuters) - Chinese short-video app TikTok is allowing users to create text-only posts, in the latest attempt by a social media firm to capitalize on the turmoil at Twitter since its buyout by Elon Musk last year. The move, announced on Monday, would allow TikTok users to choose from a variety of backgrounds for their text posts that can feature hashtags and allow people to tag other users. The posts, which look similar to Instagram Stories, have a 1,000-character limit, according to tech news website the Verge. Meta Platforms (META.O) Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg launched Threads in July, another text-only application that could pose a threat to Musk's Twitter. Musk on Monday renamed Twitter to X, and removed the iconic blue bird logo, in his bid to create "an everything app".

Persons: Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Musk, Aditya Soni, Zaheer Kachwala, Anil D'Silva Organizations: Twitter, Elon, Thomson

NEW DELHI, July 24 (Reuters) - Tesla representatives are set to meet India’s commerce minister this month to discuss plans to build a factory to produce what the company has described as an all-new $24,000 car, a person with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters. The meeting with the commerce minister would be the highest level discussions between Tesla and the Indian government since June when Elon Musk met India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said he intended to make a significant investment in the country. The $24,000 target price for the new Tesla vehicle was reported earlier this month by The Times of India newspaper. Reuters reported in May that Tesla executives visited India and held talks with officials on establishing a manufacturing base for cars and batteries in India. As part of that, Tesla representatives are set to meet Indian commerce minister Piyush Goyal, the first person said, and discussions are expected to centre around setting up an EV supply chain and discussing land allotment for a factory.

Persons: Tesla, Elon Musk, Narendra Modi, Piyush Goyal, Shivangi Acharya, Nikunj, Kevin Krolicki, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: Reuters, India's, EV Tesla, The Times, Thomson Locations: DELHI, India, China, New Delhi

Both Amazon and Alphabet will likely report their lowest-ever growth for the cloud computing business at 9.8% and 24.4%, respectively, according to analysts polled by Refinitiv. Meanwhile Microsoft Intelligent Cloud, home to Azure, is expected to grow at 13.7%, the slowest rate since 2017. The digital ad market recovery will also aid Alphabet, whose Google Search has so far avoided any meaningful market share loss to Microsoft's AI-powered Bing. Alphabet is expected to report 4.5% revenue growth in the April-June period, its best in three quarters. Microsoft and Alphabet will report quarterly results on July 25, Meta on July 26 and Amazon on Aug. 3.

Persons: Lucy Nicholson, Kingsley Crane, Rishi Jaluria, Jaluria, Bernstein, Yuvraj Malik, Aditya Soni, Shounak Dasgupta Organizations: Los Angeles , California U.S, REUTERS, Microsoft, Google, Refinitiv, RBC Capital, Facebook, Meta, BofA Global Research, Thomson Locations: Los Angeles , California, Bengaluru

A Subway outlet at a Delhi airport terminal announced the "Temporary Unavailability of TOMATOES" in a sign saying the restaurant could not get enough supply that passed its quality checks. Two weeks ago McDonald's restaurants in India dropped tomatoes from their burgers and wraps in many parts of India due to quality issues. In the capital New Delhi, tomatoes was retailing for about 168 rupees ($2.05) a kg (93 cents a pound) on Saturday, after touching around 240 rupees. The government blames the higher prices of tomatoes on a lean production season as monsoon rains disrupt transport and distribution. The government in recent weeks has organised mobile vans to supply tomatoes at cheaper rates, with hundreds queuing each day.

Persons: Krishn Kaushik, Riddhima Talwani, Aditya Kalra, Sriram Mani, Dhwani Pandya, Praveen Paramasivam, Euan Rocha, William Mallard Organizations: Subway, Brands, KFC, Thomson Locations: DELHI, Subway India, Delhi, New Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Chennai, India

☆ India's biggest cinema operator banks on "Barbenheimer" after Bollywood flops
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Dhwani Pandya | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MUMBAI, July 21 (Reuters) - India's biggest cinema operator PVR Inox (PVRL.NS) is banking on Hollywood's "Oppenheimer", "Barbie" and unlimited popcorn to pack theatres after a string of Bollywood flops kept away those patrons who still favour going to the movies over streaming services. For the opening weekend, some theatres will also run an "Oppenheimer" movie marathon, with back-to-back shows over a 24 hour period. With 1,702 screens, PVR Inox is India's largest cinema operator. A PVR Inox staff member in Mumbai said several "Oppenheimer" shows - including the midnight and 7 a.m. screenings on Friday - were fully booked. India's online movie ticket booking service BookMyShow said this week 8% those who bought "Oppenheimer" tickets also booked to watch "Barbie", many on the same day.

Persons: Oppenheimer, Barbie, Gautam Dutta, Dutta, hasn't, BookMyShow, Dhwani Pandya, Aditya Kalra Organizations: Marvel, Netflix, Dhwani, Thomson Locations: MUMBAI, Mumbai

NEW DELHI, July 21 (Reuters) - Tiger Global, Peak XV and Steadview Capital are among 30 foreign and domestic investors asking Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to review a 28% gaming tax, saying the levy would adversely impact $4 billion in prospective investments, a letter showed. India last week announced the tax on the funds that online gaming companies collect from their customers. Games such as fantasy cricket have become increasingly popular in recent years, but have also raised concerns about addiction among players. Tiger Global and Peak XV, previously known as Sequoia Capital India, have invested in Indian gaming companies such as Dream11 and Mobile Premier League. Over 100 gaming firms wrote a letter recently to the finance ministry with a similar request, saying the tax will stifle foreign investment and put $2.5 billion already invested in the sector at risk.

Persons: Narendra Modi, Aditya Kalra, Chris Thomas, Tanvi Mehta, Savio D'Souza, Kim Coghill, Muralikumar Organizations: Tiger, Steadview, Indian, Reuters, Tiger Global, Sequoia Capital, Mobile Premier League, Thomson Locations: DELHI, India, Sequoia Capital India, New Delhi

Getting more cars on the road would help Tesla maintain its dominant U.S. market share in "turbulent times" and give it access to precious usage data needed to train the artificial intelligence models behind its self-driving technology. The billionaire believes full self-driving (FSD) could one day account for most of Tesla's value and give it a cushion rivals lack as they try to turn their EV operations profitable. "They're not an AI play the way Microsoft or Nvidia is an AI play," said Thomas Martin, senior portfolio manager at Tesla shareholder Globalt Investments. "They're more of an AI play the way a regular business is an AI play, except that this race to full self-driving has always been an AI issue, and it's always been based on data. Wells Fargo analysts said FSD's adoption could be impeded by its price, which Musk said was low.

Persons: Elon, Musk, Tesla, Gene Munster, Lucy Nicholson, John Tomlinson, Thomas Martin, it's, Wells, Peter Henderson, Aditya Soni, Akash Sriram, Dhanya Ann Thoppil Organizations: Tesla, Deepwater Asset Management, REUTERS, Global, Research, Beta, Microsoft, Nvidia, Globalt Investments, Dojo, Thomson Locations: Los Angeles , California, U.S

[1/5] A Domino's staff member stands next to a sign for a 49-rupee pizza at a restaurant in Noida, India, July 4, 2023. A: With the world's cheapest Domino's pizza. "You are coming to the store or open the app, because there is a 49-rupee callout," he said, adding that Domino's global team supported the plans. Domino's global HQ referred queries about India to its local franchisee. When Khetarpal visited Domino's stores in Chennai and other cities, he said he saw customers emptying out their pockets and only being able to scrape together 49 rupees.

Persons: Adnan Abidi, Sameer Khetarpal, Khetarpal, Merrill Pereyra, They'll, Akshay Jatia, Westlife, It's, Devanshu Bansal, Kiran Raj, Praveen Paramasivam, Aditya Kalra, Saurabh Sharma, Jatindra, Brenda Goh, Hilary Russ, Abhirup Roy, Miyoung Kim, Pravin Organizations: REUTERS, U.S, India, Sapphire Foods, Domino's, Burger King's, Restaurant Brands, Euromonitor, Yum Brands, Global Financial Services, Pravin Char, Thomson Locations: Noida, India, CHENNAI, DELHI, America, Shanghai, San Francisco, Burger, zeroing, Pizza, New Delhi, Chennai, Burger King's India, United States, U.S, Lucknow, Bhubaneswar, New York, Singapore

☆ Google says court order on Disney app fee in India temporary
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Disney in India has gone to court in what is the latest and most high-profile challenge to Google's policy of imposing a "service fee" of 11-26% on in-app payments. The service charge was introduced after an antitrust directive ruled against Google's earlier 15-30% fee and forced Google to allow third-party payments. An Indian court on Tuesday said Google should receive a lower 4% fee for in-app purchases from Disney+ Hotstar, and cannot remove Disney's app from its India app store, in what is a significant challenge to Google's payments business model. Disney, which runs the popular Disney+ Hotstar streaming app in India, has challenged Google's new billing system in a court in India's Tamil Nadu state. Its lawyers had argued Google was threatening to remove the Hotstar app if it didn't comply with new payments system.

Persons: Aditya Kalra, Tanvi Mehta, Rama Venkat, Nivedita Bhattacharjee Organizations: NEW, Google, Disney, Thomson Locations: NEW DELHI, BENGALURU, India, India's Tamil Nadu, New Delhi, Bengaluru

☆ Activision, Microsoft extend deal deadline to secure UK approval
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Aditya Soni | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

July 19 (Reuters) - Activision Blizzard (ATVI.O) and Microsoft (MSFT.O) on Wednesday extended the deadline for the close of their $69 billion deal by three months to Oct. 18 as the American companies work to secure UK approval for the biggest gaming deal in history. The extension will "provide ample time to work through the final regulatory issues," Microsoft President Brad Smith said in a tweet. Strength in those titles helped Activision beat market estimates for second-quarter net bookings and adjusted profit in the second quarter, it announced on Wednesday. The deadline extension came after the companies had to contend with varying concerns from regulators in the UK and the United States. Microsoft responded to these concerns by offering 10-year licensing deals to rivals after the deal closes.

Persons: Brad Smith, Bobby Kotick, Chavi Mehta, Yuvraj Malik, Devika Organizations: Activision, Microsoft, Reuters, HK, Sony, Diablo, FTC, Nintendo, PlayStation, CMA, Sony Group, Xbox, Thomson Locations: United States, Bengaluru

Tesla's earnings on Wednesday are expected to show its gross profit margin declined to 18.9% in the second quarter, according to 19 analysts polled by Visible Alpha. "Tesla's market share for the EV segment is likely to decline over time," said Morningstar analyst Seth Goldstein said. "However, I think the more appropriate metric to look at is Tesla's total auto market share, which continues to grow as they continue to grow deliveries." Reuters GraphicsCHARGING AHEADAs EV sales slow, Tesla has been moving aggressively to capture a larger share of the U.S charging market in a bid to diversify its revenue. Piper Sandler estimates Tesla's revenue from its charging network to hit $9.65 billion in 2032, with more than half the sales coming from EVs made by other carmakers using its network.

Persons: Elon, Tesla, Vitaly Golomb, Seth Goldstein, Piper Sandler, EVs, Akash Sriram, Aditya Soni, Vinay Dwivedi Organizations: stoke, Ford, Visible Alpha, Reuters, Reuters Graphics, General Motors, Thomson Locations: BYD, China, U.S, Bengaluru

☆ Netflix shielded from Hollywood strike by global crew, strong pipeline
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Samrhitha A | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Some of the people on strike are also picketing the Netflix offices in Los Angeles. Netflix's international production capabilities are a "huge differentiator", and a lot of their content comes from countries that are not involved in the strike, analysts at SVB MoffettNathanson, Credit Suisse and Insider Intelligence said. Netflix is expected to have added a net 1.77 million subscribers, according to Refinitiv, in what is typically a weak quarter due to school holidays. The company lost nearly 1 million subscribers in the year-ago period. The second quarter also featured some strong programming from Netflix, including hits like "Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story" and "Never Have I Ever Season 4".

Persons: Gal, Michael Nathanson, Nathanson, Jamie Lumley, Charlotte, Samrhitha, Aditya Soni, Shounak Organizations: Netflix, U.S, Credit Suisse, Insider Intelligence, Disney, Reuters, Macquarie, Intelligence, Thomson Locations: Hollywood, Los Angeles, United States, U.S, Bengaluru

☆ India will account for 20% of Apple's user growth over the next five years, Morgan Stanley estimates
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Cook officially opened Apple Inc.'s first company-owned store in India, betting the iPhone maker's retail outlets will help accelerate sales growth. Photographer: Indranil Aditya/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesIndia will likely be a major driver of Apple's five-year revenue and installed base growth, Morgan Stanley analysts said in a note Monday, citing Apple's investment in manufacturing in India and the country's "economic boom." Morgan Stanley analysts forecast that over the next five years, the country could account for 15% of Apple's revenue growth — in contrast to 2% in the past five years and $6 billion today — and 20% of the company's installed base growth. The revenue growth, which Morgan Stanley forecasts at $40 billion over the next 10 years, would be the "equivalent to Apple ramping an entirely new product category." A survey commissioned by Morgan Stanley suggested Indian consumers have an increased desire and ability to purchase iPhones.

Persons: Tim Cook, Cook, Indranil Aditya, Morgan Stanley, Morgan Organizations: Apple Inc, Apple, Bloomberg, Getty Images Locations: Mumbai, India, Getty Images India, China

But while 44% of India's smartphones sales are now online, the brick-and-mortar segment remains the bigger play and Xiaomi expects it to grow further. "Our market position in offline is substantially lower than what it is online," Xiaomi's India head, Muralikrishnan B., said in an interview on Friday. The South Korean giant has a 20% market share in India, while Xiaomi, which historically focussed on budget phones, has 16%. Xiaomi plans to hire more store promoters - salespeople who lure, pitch and sell phones to prospective buyers inside outlets. Another significant India challenge for Xiaomi is a federal agency's $673 million freeze on its bank assets since last year.

Persons: Xiaomi, Flipkart, Muralikrishnan, Tarun Pathak, We'll, Aditya Kalra, Munsif Vengattil, William Mallard Organizations: DELHI, HK, South, Samsung, Research, Thomson Locations: India, Hong Kong

☆ Indian gaming firms say new tax will stifle foreign investment
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-15 | by ( Aftab Ahmed | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW DELHI, July 15 (Reuters) - India's new 28% tax on online gaming companies will stifle foreign investment and put $2.5 billion already invested in the sector at risk, more than 100 gaming firms have said in a letter to India's finance ministry. India this week announced the tax on the funds that online gaming companies collect from their customers. Games such as fantasy cricket have became increasingly popular in recent years, but have also raised concerns about addiction among players. Top investors including Tiger Global and Peak XV, previously known as Sequoia Capital India, have invested in Indian gaming companies such as Dream11 and Mobile Premier League. Many Indian ministers view bets on online gaming platforms as a "social evil", Malhotra had said.

Persons: MPL, Sanjay Malhotra, Malhotra, Arpan Chaturvedi, Aftab Ahmed, Aditya Kalra, David Holmes Organizations: Tiger Global, Sequoia Capital, Mobile Premier League, Federal, Reuters, Indian Premier League cricket, Thomson Locations: DELHI, India, Sequoia Capital India

The proposal was delivered to the streaming platforms at a June 20 meeting at the Information and Broadcasting Ministry. The government highlighted the need for a "more proactive approach" to ensure that streaming content, "including international content", aligns with a so-called code of ethics, the minutes showed. That code already mandates providers to exercise caution on content that could incite violence or be sensitive for religious reasons. The proposal also comes as streaming giants protest a government order to add 50-second tobacco health warnings in each piece of content, and two years after India ordered the setting up self-regulatory bodies for complaints about streaming content. Suhasini Maniratnam of the Digital Publisher Content Grievance Council, told the gathering pre-censorship could hurt the industry growth and cost jobs, and that given the high volume of content "there is a need to specifically act" against obscene and vulgar content.

Persons: OTT, Anurag Thakur, Thakur, Suhasini, Aditya Kalra, Robert Birsel Organizations: Netflix, Disney, Information and Broadcasting Ministry, Reuters, Media Partners, Amazon, Apple, Industry, Broadcasting, Thomson Locations: India, DELHI, New Delhi, Bengaluru

☆ US FTC opens investigation into OpenAI over misleading statements -document
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The FTC this week sent a 20-page demand for records about how OpenAI - the maker of generative artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT - addresses risks tied to its AI models. The agency is probing if OpenAI engaged in unfair practices that resulted in "reputational harm" to consumers. According to the FTC's demand for information sent to OpenAI, one of the questions has to do with steps OpenAI has taken to address its products' potential to "generate statements about real individuals that are false, misleading, or disparaging." The FTC declined comment, while OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment. OpenAI in March also ran into trouble in Italy, where the regulator had ChatGPT taken offline over accusations OpenAI violated the European Union's GDPR - a wide-ranging privacy regime enacted in 2018.

Persons: OpenAI, Lina Khan, Dado Ruvic, Chuck Schumer, ChatGPT, Diane Bartz, Mrinmay Dey, Samrhitha Arunasalam, Aditya Soni, Nivedita Bhattacharjee, Mark Porter, Maju Samuel Organizations: U.S . Federal Trade Commission, Microsoft, FTC, Activision Blizzard, Washington Post, REUTERS, Reuters, U.S ., Thomson Locations: United States, Italy, U.S, Washington, Bengaluru

☆ Elon Musk launches AI firm xAI as he looks to take on OpenAI
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

In a Twitter Spaces event Wednesday evening, Musk explained his plan for building a safer AI. Rather than explicitly programming morality into its AI, xAI will seek to create a "maximally curious" AI, he said. Musk in March registered a firm named X.AI Corp, incorporated in Nevada, according to a state filing. The firm lists Musk as the sole director and Jared Birchall, the managing director of Musk's family office, as a secretary. Dan Hendrycks, who will advise the xAI team, is currently director of the Center for AI Safety and his work revolves around the risks of AI.

Persons: Elon Musk, Musk, xAI, that's, Igor Babuschkin, DeepMind, Tony Wu, Szegedy, Greg Yang, Jared Birchall, Google's Bard, Microsoft's, Bing, Bard, Dan Hendrycks, Tesla, Akash Sriram, Chavi Mehta, Yuvraj Malik, Aditya Soni, Anna Tong, Shailesh Kuber, Leslie Adler Organizations: SpaceX, Twitter, Microsoft, Google, X.AI Corp, Center, AI Safety, X Corp, Thomson Locations: OpenAI, Nevada, San Francisco Bay, Bengaluru, Anna, San Francisco

☆ India's Gujarat in talks with Foxconn for its semiconductor plant
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Sumit Khanna | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

AHMEDABAD, India July 12 (Reuters) - India's Gujarat state is holding talks with Foxconn over a semiconductor plant, a top government official told Reuters, days after the Taiwanese giant broke off a $19.5 billion joint-venture plan with India's Vedanta. "We are in touch with multiple prospective investors, including Foxconn ... Gujarat is uniquely positioned to attract top chipmakers," said Vijay Nehra, secretary of the science and technology department in Gujarat. Foxconn (2317.TW) this week exited its project with Vedanta (VDAN.NS), which was also planned for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state of Gujarat, citing issues such as slow progress. The breakup of the JV was a setback for Modi's vision to establish India as a semiconductor manufacturing hub. Its talks with Gujarat come weeks after Micron Technology (MU.O) said it will invest up to $825 million in a semiconductor testing and packaging facility in the state.

Persons: Vijay Nehra, Narendra Modi's, Foxconn, Modi, Lee, Munsif Vengattil, Aditya Kalra, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Reuters, Vedanta, JV, IGSS Ventures, ISMC, LinkedIn, Micron Technology, Thomson Locations: AHMEDABAD, India, Gujarat, ., Foxconn, Singapore

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