Why isn’t Jensen Huang on Trump’s China roster?

Why isn’t Jensen Huang on Trump’s China roster?

US President Donald Trump is expected to travel to Beijing with a delegation of 17 US executives, including Apple’s [AAPL] Tim Cook and Tesla’s [TSLA] Elon Musk. However, Nvidia [NVDA] CEO Jensen Huang was excluded from the delegation, despite the fact he last week said it would be a “privilege” to join the trip, the BBC reported. The visit marks the first by a US president to China in nearly a decade amid ongoing trade tensions and technological rivalry – a rivalry centred on artificial intelligence (AI) chips such as Nvidia produces. 

Blackstone steps up AI infrastructure play

Blackstone [BX] and Halliburton [HAL] are investing about $1bn into VoltaGrid, a Houston-based energy startup building gas-powered microgrids for data centres. The deal includes roughly $775m in new capital and $225m in secondary share purchases, valuing the company at over $10bn, according to people familiar with the matter. Blackstone, contributing the bulk of the funding, recently set up a partnership with Anthropic and launched a dedicated AI investment unit, Blackstone N1.

AST SpaceMobile Q1 earnings: Weaker than expected 

The satellite manufacturer [ASTS] fell 12% in premarket trading after reporting weaker-than-expected results, while reaffirming its 2026 revenue guidance of $150m-200m. The company guided Q2 adjusted operating expenses of $85m-95m and capital expenditure of $575m-650m, driven largely by launch payment timing. Management flagged ongoing execution risks tied to satellite deployment and integration milestones.

Three AI plays attracting investors to the energy transition 

Goldman Sachs forecasts a 220% rise in global data centre power demand by 2030, creating a potential 49GW shortfall in the US alone. Three stocks that could benefit are Bloom Energy [BE], which has contracted 4GW of fuel cell capacity with Oracle [ORCL]; Fluence [FLNC], which has signed energy storage contracts with two hyperscaler customers; and Oklo [OKLO], which has partnered with Nvidia to advance nuclear fuel research using AI. CMC Aureon unpacks the investment case for each. 

Orange doubles down on renewables in Africa

Orange SA [ORANY] plans to double solar base stations in Africa as rising fuel prices increase the attractiveness of renewables, Bloomberg reported. It already operates clean energy systems across 15,000 sites, representing an estimated 30% of its footprint. The move forms part of Orange’s €5bn investment plan across Africa and the Middle East over the next three years. Peers including Helios Towers [HTWSF], Safaricom [SCOM:NSE] and MTN Group [MTNOF] are also shifting to cleaner power.

EU to stockpile drugs

Member states will build stockpiles of essential medicines and invest in domestic production of key drugs under a new Critical Medicines Act aimed at preventing shortages and reducing import dependence. The framework will require public buyers to prioritise supply security alongside price and allow subsidies for new manufacturing capacity in the bloc. It also introduces a “European preference” clause to encourage production within the EU, the Financial Times reported.

The tax habit with Ben Borodach

For most Americans, tax is something to be endured annually, delegated reluctantly and forgotten as quickly as possible. As Co-founder and CEO of April, an AI tax infrastructure platform, Ben Borodach has spent five years building the connective tissue that he believes can make tax easier for the average American. In the most recent edition of CMC Aureon Sessions, Borodach sits down to talk about building a company in the fintech space, and the ways he hopes to change American tax habits.