Are Chip Curbs Working?

Are Chip Curbs Working?

It’s looking like they might be: Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) firm DeepSeek has delayed the launch of its R2 model after struggling to train it on Huawei’s Ascend chips, underscoring China’s difficulty in replacing US technology. Persistent technical issues forced the company to revert to Nvidia [NVDA] processors for training and use Huawei’s only for inference, costing it time and competitive ground, the Financial Times detailed.

Should Chinese Giants Focus More on AI?

Elsewhere in China tech, Alibaba [BABA], JD.com [JD] and Meituan [MPNGF] are facing investor pushback as they burn billions on a fierce price war in food delivery and retail. The war — marked by deep discounts, free perks and heavy ad spending — has erased about $100bn in market value since late 2024 and drawn regulator warnings. However, according to Bloomberg, investors would rather they doubled down on AI.

Bridgewater Dumped China Tech in Q2

Its latest 13F shows that Bridgewater Associates rotated heavily into US tech in Q2, adding new stakes in Arm [ARM] and Intuit [INTU], while exiting Chinese names including Alibaba, PDD [PDD], Baidu [BIDU] and JD.com. The fund founded by Ray Dalio also more than doubled positions in Nvidia, Microsoft [MSFT], Alphabet [GOOGL] and Meta [META], boosting its big-cap AI exposure, Seeking Alpha outlined.

Is Rivian on the Road to Profitability? 

Rivian [RIVN] appears to be on a steady path toward turning around its business. The company expects to break even on a gross profit basis this year, compared to negative gross profit of $1.2bn in 2024, and is targeting EBITDA breakeven by 2027. However, policy shifts, tariffs and shrinking electric vehicle incentives are threatening Rivian’s margins. OPTO unpacks why 2025 could be a year of consolidation rather than expansion.

Cisco Earnings Review: Revenue and Sales Climb

Cisco [CSCO] posted Q4 revenue of $14.7bn, up 8% year-over-year, with product sales up 10% to $10.9bn and services flat at $3.8bn. Networking led with 12% growth, security rose 9% on Splunk and SASE demand, while collaboration and observability gained 2% and 4%. FY 2026 revenue is projected at $59bn–60bn with EPS of $4.00–4.06. The firm also saw double-digit growth in networking and industrial IoT orders, and expanded partnerships with Nvidia and the Middle East.

Trump Streamlines Space Launch Process

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing US agencies to “eliminate or expedite” environmental reviews for commercial space launch and reentry licenses, Ars Technica reported. The change is likely to benefit major industry players such as SpaceX, which handles most Federal Aviation Administration-licensed commercial launches and reentries in the US. 

Can Snap Turn Potential into Profit?

Snap [SNAP] is about more than cute video effects. Snapchat, its flagship product, is a sophisticated social media platform that blends augmented reality, visual storytelling and adtech. Snapchat has a dedicated usership among Gen Z and younger millennials — a demographic that is as desirable as it is hard to tap. However, Snap is still struggling to translate that dynamism into lasting share price growth. OPTO dives into why.