AI Diplomacy: Microsoft Invests $1.5bn in UAE

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AI Diplomacy: Microsoft Invests $1.5bn in UAE

The UAE’s leading artificial intelligence (AI) firm, G42, held a series of behind-the-scenes negotiations with the US government, Bloomberg reported Monday. The company eventually agreed to divest from China and adopt US technology. Now, Microsoft [MSFT] has announced it is to invest $1.5bn in the company; the deal will see Microsoft President Brad Smith join G42’s board, and G42 use Microsoft’s Azure cloud for its AI applications. Elsewhere, Intel [INTC] last week announced it is to release two reduced-capacity AI chips for China.

Ernie Tops 200 Million as Baidu AI Push Continues

In the opening speech of Baidu’s [BIDU] AI Create conference on Tuesday, CEO Robin Li announced that the company’s ChatGPT-like AI bot Ernie now has more than 200 million users. Li also said that the company is to hold another round of its AI development competition, with a RMB50m prize, and demonstrated three AI development tools — AgentBuilder, AppBuilder and ModelBuilder.

Where’s the Upside in Defence?

Saying that ‘under-owned’ defence stocks may see growth in this ‘dangerous’ world, on Monday JPMorgan upgraded Lockheed Martin [LMT] from ‘neutral’ to ‘overweight’. Also on Monday, the defence firm announced it had secured a $17bn US Missile Defense Agency contract to develop the next generation of interceptors The multi-year contract will contribute to the modernising of the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense programme.

EVs: Everything That Happened Yesterday

Japan's Honda Motor [HMC] announced it is to launch six next-generation electric vehicle (EV) models in China by 2027; Tata Motors-owned [TATAMOTORS:NS] Jaguar Land Rover has developed a mobile energy storage unit in partnership with UK start-up Allye Energy; the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened a preliminary evaluation of claims related to loss of brake assist for 3,322 General Motors [GM] EVs; lastly, Nissan [7201:T] is to follow Tesla’s [TSLA] example and adopt gigacasting to make EV parts.

Zuckerberg Dodges Liability in Meta Safety Suit

A US District Judge has ruled that, because Mark Zuckerberg does not have a “special relationship” with Meta’s [META] Facebook and Instagram users, he will not be liable for failing to address repeated warnings around safety hazards for children. Some claims have been permitted to proceed against the companies, which deny any wrongdoing. Meanwhile, Meta’s Oversight Board is looking into the company’s policies on deepfake pornography.