Apple / Alphabet AI Deal?

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Apple to Adopt Alphabet’s AI?

Shares in Alphabet [GOOGL] jumped more than 7% on Monday morning, after Bloomberg reported that it was in “in active negotiations” with the Cupertino company [AAPL] over the possibility of integrating Gemini — Google’s set of generative artificial intelligence (AI) models —into the software of the next iPhone. Nothing has been finalised, however, and Apple has reportedly been in discussions with Microsoft-backed [MSFT] OpenAI over integrating its AI model.

TSMC Surge Continues; is India a Challenger?

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s [TSM] record rally is continuing, with the stock at a two-year high, buoyed by the ongoing frenzy for anything AI-related. According to Pictet Asset Management, the firm has over 90% share in manufacturing advanced semiconductors used for AI, reported Bloomberg. Taiwan currently holds about 46% of global semiconductor foundry capacity, followed by China (26%) and South Korea (12%), although India aims to be among the top five within the next five years, CNBC reported.

AI Woodstock Kicks Off

This year’s GTC conference — called the Woodstock festival of AI by Bank of America analysts — will draw in some 300,000 virtual and in-person attendees; a major pull will be the launch of Nvidia’s [NVDA] B100, the latest generation of its AI accelerators. CEO Jensen Huang is lined up to make a keynote speech on Monday. Nvidia recently backed Yotta Data Services, an Indian start-up which aims to spearhead the country’s AI industry.

New EV Charging Network

Billionaire Pham Nhat Vuong, Founder and Chairman of Vietnamese electric vehicle (EV) maker VinFast [VFS], has launched an EV charging station company, Reuters reported. Called V-Green, it will principally support VinFast vehicles, although after five years it might be expanded to other EV makers. Elsewhere, Chinese EV giant BYD [BYDDY] has fired another shot in the ongoing EV price war, releasing a new version of its Destroyer 07 hybrid car, at a 11.3% lower price than its predecessor, Reuters calculations showed.

Pfizer to Slash Haleon Stake

Top US pharma Pfizer [PFE] is to reduce its stake in consumer healthcare firm Haleon [HLN] to around 24% — down from its current 32%. Pfizer had already announced that it would reduce its ownership in a “slow and methodical” way. Haleon is the maker of products including Sensodyne toothpaste and Advil painkillers; it was spun out of British drugmaker GSK [GSK] in 2022. Shares in the firm dropped by 2.2% in early trading on Monday.