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Tag: Technology

  • A.I. Pioneer Yoshua Bengio Becomes 1st Living Scientist With 1M Google Scholar Citations

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    Yoshua Bengio was also a recipient of the 2018 Turing Award. Andrej Ivanov/AFP via Getty Images

    Michel Foucault, the late French philosopher and historian, long held the distinction as the only researcher to surpass more than one million citations on Google Scholar. These days, however, Foucault has company: A.I. pioneer Yoshua Bengio.

    Last month, Bengio became the first living scientist to have his work cited more than one million times on Google Scholar. Citations to his research have surged in recent years, with more than 730,000 recorded since 2020 and roughly 135,000 in 2024 alone.

    Often dubbed one of the “Godfathers of A.I.,” Bengio’s work in deep learning helped lay the foundations for much of today’s A.I. revolution. A founder of the Mila-Quebec AI Institute and a professor of computer science at the University of Montreal, Bengio recently launched LawZero, a nonprofit focused on developing safety-centered A.I. systems to assist in scientific research.

    “This Google Scholar citation count reflects the extensive impact of Professor Bengio’s research in deep learning, which serves as a foundation for countless other scientific and technological advancements worldwide,” said Hugo Larochelle, who earlier this year succeeded Bengio as scientific director of Mila, in a statement.

    Bengio, alongside fellow A.I. researchers Geoffrey Hinton and Yann LeCun, received the 2018 Turing Award—often referred to as the “Nobel Prize of Computing”— for their breakthroughs in neural networks. The trio also co-authored Bengio’s second most-cited paper. Hinton, who currently has nearly 980,000 citations on Google Scholar, is also on track to soon join Bengio in the million-citation club, according to Mila.

    Researchers in fields like A.I., machine learning and cancer research are more likely to accumulate high citation counts due to widespread interest and rapid publication cycles, said Daniel Sage, a mathematics professor at the University of Buffalo who studies citation metrics.

    Top-cited scholars tend to work “in certain fields which have a lot of people working in them, and a lot of papers being produced,” he told Observer.

    The growing fascination with A.I. has even boosted citation counts of researchers outside the field. For example, Terence Tao, a renowned mathematician and Fields medalist, has earned more than 100,000 Google Scholar citations. Many of his top-cited papers, however, were actually published in electrical engineering or computer science journals, rather than pure mathematics, said Sage.

    “It’s apples and oranges comparisons if you try to compare people in A.I. vs. people in various other fields,” he added, noting that Google Scholar generally reports higher citation counts than other data providers such as Web of Science due to its broader indexing criteria.

    That said, reaching one million citations remains a remarkable achievement. “It’s still incredibly impressive,” said Sage. “One has to take these kinds of things with a grain of salt, but it is a sign both of the hotness of the field and the quality of the work within the field.”

    A.I. Pioneer Yoshua Bengio Becomes 1st Living Scientist With 1M Google Scholar Citations

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    Alexandra Tremayne-Pengelly

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  • CME, FanDuel Event Contracts Arriving in December, Will Include Sports

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    Posted on: November 12, 2025, 05:03h. 

    Last updated on: November 12, 2025, 05:03h.

    • The companies announced a joint venture in August.
    • FanDuel Predicts app will launch in December.
    • App will feature sports event contracts in states where sports wagering isn’t permitted.

    CME Group (NASDAQ: CME) and FanDuel said today their previously announced prediction markets partnership is taking shape and will arrive next month in the form of FanDuel Predicts.

    CME
    The CME Group logo. The exchange operator and partner FanDuel will roll out a prediction markets platform, including sports, in December. (Image: CME Group)

    FanDuel Predicts will function as a standalone mobile application, not as part of the standard FanDuel sports betting platform. The big news in the announcement is that the new app will offer sports event contracts in states where sports wagering currently isn’t permitted. That offering will be restricted to clients that are not on tribal lands.

    As new states legalize online sports betting, FanDuel will cease offering sports event contracts in those states,” according to a statement issued by the companies.

    That implies with online sports betting going live in Missouri in December, that state will be off the list of locations where FanDuel Predicts will make sports derivatives available.

    FanDuel Predicts Could Be Effective Way to Enter Big States

    With Missouri joining the party next month, online or retail sports betting is now permitted in 40 states and Washington, DC, but absent from that list are the big fish of California and Texas. Likewise, the sports wagering market in Florida, the third-largest state, is a monopoly controlled by the Seminole Tribe.

    FanDuel and its rivals have been shut out of those states, but prediction markets are regulated at the federal level, providing companies such as Kalshi with access to the states sportsbook operators covet but have yet to enter. That federal regulation could be a prime reason why FanDuel teamed up with CME in a deal announced in August.

    While FanDuel Predicts could be that company’s ticket into the “big three” states and Georgia, it could invite legal challenges, particularly in California and Florida where tribal nations control gaming expansion. However, Kalshi recently notched a legal win in California when a Northern California District Court judge ruled against three tribes that sued the prediction markets giant on the grounds its claim that sports betting is legal in all 50 states breeches the Lanham Act.

    Tribal casino operators aren’t as prominent in Texas, but that state has its own anti-gaming stances that could be hostile to prediction markets. However, the second-largest state has thus far stayed out of legal rifts with event contract firms.

    FanDuel Predicts Not Just Sports

    Central to the CME/FanDuel relationship is the exchange operator’s expertise in financial derivatives, which sets up FanDuel Predicts to offer much more than sports event contracts — a point that was highlighted in August and reiterated today.

    “In addition to sports, event contracts will be offered on benchmarks such as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100, prices of oil and gas, gold, cryptocurrencies, and key economic indicators such as GDP and Consumer Price Index (CPI),” according to the press release.

    For now, the bulk of volume on the leading prediction markets is attributable to sports and politics, but many younger bettors and prediction market users are also investors, implying it’s possible crypto- and index-linked derivatives could gain traction.

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    Todd Shriber

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  • These are the 37 donors helping pay for Trump’s $300 million White House ballroom

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    WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump says his $300 million White House ballroom will be paid for “100% by me and some friends of mine.”

    The White House released a list of 37 donors, including crypto billionaires, charitable organizations, sports team owners, powerful financiers, tech and tobacco giants, media companies, longtime supporters of Republican causes and several of the president’s neighbors in Palm Beach, Florida.

    It’s incomplete. Among others, the list doesn’t include Carrier Group, which offered to donate an HVAC system for the ballroom, and artificial intelligence chipmaker Nvidia, whose CEO, Jensen Huang, publicly discussed its donation.

    The White House hasn’t said how much each donor is giving, and almost none was willing to divulge that. Very few commented on their contributions when contacted by The Associated Press.

    A senior White House official said the list has grown since it was first released in October, but some companies don’t want to be publicly named until required to do so by financial disclosure regulations. No foreign individuals or entities were among the donors, according to the official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details that haven’t been made public.

    Here’s a look at the divulged donors:

    Amazon Background: Trump was once highly critical of company founder Jeff Bezos, who also owns The Washington Post, but has been much less so lately. Amazon donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration, an event attended by Bezos. Its video streaming service paid $40 million to license a documentary about first lady Melania Trump. Its cloud-based computing operation, Amazon Web Services, is a major government contractor.

    Apple Background: After an up-and-down relationship during Trump’s first term, CEO Tim Cook has sought to improve his standing with the president this time. Before returning to the White House, Trump hosted Cook at his Palm Beach estate, Mar-a-Lago, and said he had spoken with Cook about the company’s long-running tax battles with the European Union. Cook also donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund. In the spring, Trump threatened the computing giant with tariffs after Apple announced plans to build manufacturing facilities in India. In August, Cook presented the president with a customized glass plaque with a gold base as the CEO announced plans to bring Apple’s total investment commitment in U.S. manufacturing over four years to $600 billion.

    Google Background: During his first term, Trump’s administration sued Google for antitrust violations. While a candidate last year, Trump suggested he might seek to break up the search engine behemoth. Once Trump won the election, Google donated $1 million to his inauguration, and its CEO, Sundar Pichai, joined other major tech executives in attending the ceremony. Google’s subsidiary, YouTube, agreed in September to pay $24.5 million to settle a lawsuit with Trump after it suspended his account following the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. According to court filings, $22 million of that went to the Trust for the National Mall, which can help pay for ballroom construction.

    HP Background: An original Silicon Valley stalwart, the company donated to Trump’s inaugural fund. HP ‘s CEO, Enrique Lores, participated in a White House roundtable event in September. Lores also previously met with President Joe Biden at the White House on multiple occasions as top CEOs endorsed that administration’s economic plans.

    Meta Background: Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg had been critical of Trump going back to 2016, and Facebook suspended Trump for years after the Jan. 6 insurrection. This time around, Meta contributed $1 million to Trump’s inauguration, and Zuckerberg attended.

    Micron Technology Background: The producer of advanced memory computer chips announced an April 2024 agreement with the Biden administration to provide $6.1 billion in government support for Micron to make chips domestically. Then, in June, Micron pledged $200 billion for U.S. memory chip manufacturing expansion under Trump. But at least $120 billion of that involved holdovers first announced during Biden’s administration.

    Microsoft Background: The company donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration, twice what it spent for Biden’s or for Trump’s first inauguration. CEO Satya Nadella has also met with Trump numerous times, as Microsoft has supported the administration’s relaxation of regulations on artificial intelligence. He met previously with Biden, too. Trump has called for Microsoft’s president of global affairs, Lisa Monaco, to be fired because she was a deputy attorney general under Biden when the Justice Department led several investigations against Trump.

    Palantir Technologies Background: Co-founded by billionaire libertarian Peter Thiel, the firm concentrates on artificial intelligence and machine learning. It has seen profits soar thanks to lucrative defense and other federal contracts.

    Coinbase Background: The major cryptocurrency exchange was founded by Brian Armstrong, a top donor to a political action committee that helped Trump and other pro-crypto candidates in 2024. Armstrong attended the first crypto summit at the White House in March. Coinbase also hired Trump’s co-campaign manager, Chris LaCivita, to its Global Advisory Council.

    Ripple Background: In March, the Securities and Exchange Commission dropped a lawsuit filed during Trump’s first term, which accused the company of violating securities laws by selling XRP crypto coins without a securities registration. In his second term, Trump has eased regulations on digital assets, repealing an SEC accounting rule and a previous presidential executive order mandating more federal study and proposed changes to crypto regulations.

    Tether Background: A cryptocurrency company and major stablecoin issuer, Tether paid fines for misleading investors. CEO Paolo Ardoino has been to Trump’s White House, and, in April, the company hired former Trump administration crypto policy official Bo Hines to lead its domestic expansion efforts.

    Cameron Winklevoss and Tyler Winklevoss Background: Each Winklevoss twin is listed as a separate donor. Best known as Zuckerberg’s chief antagonists in “The Social Network,” the brothers founded the Gemini cryptocurrency exchange. Biden’s SEC sued Gemini for selling unregistered securities, but the case has been paused under Trump.

    Caterpillar Background: The equipment maker ‘s PAC has donated to candidates from both parties, but given more to Republicans. It has also said publicly that Trump’s tariffs, some of which the administration has now eased, could increase its costs and hurt earnings.

    NextEra Energy Background: NextEra is the world’s largest electric utility holding company. Trump says he’ll work to ensure tech giants can secure their own sources of electricity to power data centers, especially as they expand energy-hogging artificial intelligence operations. Google recently entered into an agreement to buy power from a shuttered nuclear power plant in Iowa owned by NextEra, which the company plans to bring back online in 2029.

    Paolo Tiramani Background: An American industrial designer who has donated to Trump’s political campaigns. Tiramani, with his son, runs BOXABL, a firm specializing in modular, prefabricated homes.

    Union Pacific Background: Trump has endorsed the company’s proposed $85 billion acquisition of Norfolk Southern, which would be the largest-ever rail merger. It also will be up to the president to appoint two more Republican members of the Surface Transportation Board, who will ultimately decide whether to approve the merger. In August, Trump fired one of the two Democratic members of the board.

    Adelson Family Foundation Background: Founded to strengthen the state of Israel and the Jewish people, the foundation was created by Miriam Adelson, the majority owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, close Trump ally and longtime GOP megadonor. She’s also the widow of Sheldon Adelson, the billionaire founder and owner of Las Vegas Sands.

    Betty Wold Johnson Foundation Background: Based in Palm Beach, the foundation supports health, arts and culture initiatives, as well as environmental and educational programs. It’s named in honor of the mother of New York Jets owner Woody Johnson, who served as Trump’s ambassador to the United Kingdom during his first term.

    Laura & Isaac Perlmutter Foundation Background: The nonprofit based in Lake Worth Beach, near Palm Beach, focuses on promoting health care, social justice, the arts and community initiatives. Isaac is an Israeli American businessman and financier and former chair of Marvel Entertainment. He and his wife have donated to Trump’s presidential campaigns and affiliated PACs.

    Benjamin Leon Jr. Background: The Cuban American founder of Miami-based Leon Medical Centers is Trump’s nominee for U.S. ambassador to Spain.

    Kelly Loeffler and Jeffrey Sprecher Background: A former Republican senator from Georgia, Loeffler heads Trump’s Small Business Administration. Her husband is CEO of the energy market Intercontinental Exchange Inc. and chairs the New York Stock Exchange. The couple faced scrutiny in 2020 for dumping substantial portions of their portfolio and purchasing new stocks, including in firms making protective equipment, after Congress received briefings on the severity of the coming coronavirus pandemic.

    Lutnick Family Background: Howard Lutnick is Trump’s commerce secretary. A crypto enthusiast, he once headed the brokerage and investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald.

    Comcast Background: The mass media and telecom conglomerate has often been criticized by Trump, including in April, when the president posted that Comcast was a “disgrace to the integrity of broadcasting.” The company owns NBC and is spinning off MSNBC. It could be interested in acquiring Warner Bros. Discover, and that would leave Comcast looking for government approval.

    Hard Rock International Background: A Florida-based gaming and tourism concern owned by the Seminole Tribe, the company operates a number of casinos, including the former Trump Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Trump has for decades criticized federal exemptions allowing tribes to operate casinos.

    T-Mobile Background: The wireless carrier is indirectly linked to Trump Mobile, which the president’s family controls and offers gold phones and cell service in a licensing deal. Trump Mobile uses Liberty Mobile Wireless, a small, Florida-based network that T-Mobile says runs its operations on T-Mobile’s network. T-Mobile says that is unrelated to its decision to donate to Trump’s ballroom, which it says is meant to “restore and enrich the historic landmarks that define our nation’s capital.”

    Altria Group Background: The tobacco giant controls Philip Morris USA, maker of Marlboro. It has pressed for federal crackdowns on counterfeit and illegal vaping products. The company donated $50,000 to Trump’s inauguration.

    Reynolds American Background: With brands including Lucky Strike and Camel, the company has been active in lobbying to steer the Trump administration away from a Biden-proposed ban on menthol cigarettes.

    Booz Allen Hamilton Background: A major defense and national security technology firm with extensive government contracts, it paid fines to settle lawsuits with the Justice Department under Biden. Booz Allen Hamilton agreed to pay more than $377 million in 2023 for improperly billing costs to its government contracts. In January, said it’d pay nearly $16 million to settle allegations that it submitted fraudulent claims in connection with government contracts.

    Lockheed Martin Corporation Background: The massive defense contractor has huge government contracts. It said in a statement that it “is grateful for the opportunity to help bring the President’s vision to reality and make this addition to the People’s House.”

    Stefan E. Brodie Background: A biotech entrepreneur and co-founder of the chemical manufacturing company Purolite, Brodie and his family donated to Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign and affiliated committees. Brodie and his brother, Donald, were convicted in 2002 of circumventing U.S. sanctions on Cuba.

    Charles and Marissa Cascarilla Background: Charles Cascarilla is co‑founder of the blockchain firm Paxos. He and his wife are philanthropists who have advocated for financial technology sector deregulation.

    J. Pepe and Emilia Fanjul Background: Longtime Republican donors and Palm Beach residents, the couple controls U.S. sugar refining interests that includes the Domino brand.

    Edward and Shari Glazer Background: Members of the family that owns the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers and has a controlling stake in the Manchester United football club, the couple donated to Trump’s campaign. Edward is the founder and CEO of US Property Trust, which operates shopping centers, and the car dealership company US Auto Trust.

    Howard Hamm Background: The billionaire oil tycoon and pioneer of hydraulic fracturing heads the oil producer Continental Resources. He’s praised the Trump administration for aggressively moving to purchase oil to replenish the Strategic Petroleum Reserve stockpile.

    Stephen A. Schwarzman Background: A Palm Beach resident and chair and CEO of the Blackstone Group, a global private equity firm he helped establish in 1985. Schwarzman has donated to Trump and his PACs previously and led his first-term President’s Strategic and Policy Forum.

    Konstantin Sokolov Background: Born in Russia, he immigrated to the U.S. and now heads the Chicago-based private equity firm IJS Investments. Sokolov has donated to many educational and charitable causes in the past, and to Trump’s political campaigns.

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    Associated Press writer Darlene Superville contributed to this report.

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  • China rolls out its version of the H-1B visa to attract foreign tech workers

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    HONG KONG (AP) — Vaishnavi Srinivasagopalan, a skilled Indian IT professional who has worked in both India and the U.S., has been looking for work in China. Beijing’s new K-visa program targeting science and technology workers could turn that dream into a reality.

    The K-visa rolled out by Beijing last month is part of China’s widening effort to catch up with the U.S. in the race for global talent and cutting edge technology. It coincides with uncertainties over the U.S.’s H-1B program under tightened immigrations policies implemented by President Donald Trump.

    “(The) K-visa for China (is) an equivalent to the H-1B for the U.S.,” said Srinivasagopalan, who is intrigued by China’s working environment and culture after her father worked at a Chinese university a few years back. “It is a good option for people like me to work abroad.”

    The K-visa supplements China’s existing visa schemes including the R-visa for foreign professionals, but with loosened requirements, such as not requiring an applicant to have a job offer before applying.

    Stricter U.S. policies toward foreign students and scholars under Trump, including the raising of fees for the H-1B visa for foreign skilled workers to $100,000 for new applicants, are leading some non-American professionals and students to consider going elsewhere.

    “Students studying in the U.S. hoped for an (H-1B) visa, but currently this is an issue,” said Bikash Kali Das, an Indian masters student of international relations at Sichuan University in China.

    China wants more foreign tech professionals

    China is striking while the iron is hot.

    The ruling Communist Party has made global leadership in advanced technologies a top priority, paying massive government subsidies to support research and development of areas such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors and robotics.

    “Beijing perceives the tightening of immigration policies in the U.S. as an opportunity to position itself globally as welcoming foreign talent and investment more broadly,” said Barbara Kelemen, associate director and head of Asia at security intelligence firm Dragonfly.

    Unemployment among Chinese graduates remains high, and competition is intense for jobs in scientific and technical fields. But there is a skills gap China’s leadership is eager to fill. For decades, China has been losing top talent to developed countries as many stayed and worked in the U.S. and Europe after they finished studies there.

    The brain drain has not fully reversed.

    Many Chinese parents still see Western education as advanced and are eager to send their children abroad, said Alfred Wu, an associate professor at the National University of Singapore.

    Still, in recent years, a growing number of professionals including AI experts, scientists and engineers have moved to China from the U.S., including Chinese-Americans. Fei Su, a chip architect at Intel, and Ming Zhou, a leading engineer at U.S.-based software firm Altair, were among those who have taken teaching jobs in China this year.

    Many skilled workers in India and Southeast Asia have already expressed interest about the K-visa, said Edward Hu, a Shanghai-based immigration director at the consultancy Newland Chase.

    Questions about extra competition from foreign workers

    With the jobless rate for Chinese aged 16-24 excluding students at nearly 18%, the campaign to attract more foreign professionals is raising questions.

    “The current job market is already under fierce competition,” said Zhou Xinying, a 24-year-old postgraduate student in behavioral science at eastern China’s Zhejiang University.

    While foreign professionals could help “bring about new technologies” and different international perspectives, Zhou said, “some Chinese young job seekers may feel pressure due to the introduction of the K-visa policy.”

    Kyle Huang, a 26-year-old software engineer based in the southern city of Guangzhou, said his peers in the science and technology fields fear the new visa scheme “might threaten local job opportunities”.

    A recent commentary published by a state-backed news outlet, the Shanghai Observer, downplayed such concerns, saying that bringing in such foreign professionals will benefit the economy. As China advances in areas such as AI and cutting-edge semiconductors, there is a “gap and mismatch” between qualified jobseekers and the demand for skilled workers, it said.

    “The more complex the global environment, the more China will open its arms,” it said.

    “Beijing will need to emphasize how select foreign talent can create, not take, local jobs,” said Michael Feller, chief strategist at consultancy Geopolitical Strategy. “But even Washington has shown that this is politically a hard argument to make, despite decades of evidence.”

    China’s disadvantages even with the new visas

    Recruitment and immigration specialists say foreign workers face various hurdles in China. One is the language barrier. The ruling Communist Party’s internet censorship, known as the “Great Firewall,” is another drawback.

    A country of about 1.4 billion, China had only an estimated 711,000 foreign workers residing in the country as of 2023.

    The U.S. still leads in research and has the advantage of using English widely. There’s also still a relatively clearer pathway to residency for many, said David Stepat, country director for Singapore at the consultancy Dezan Shira & Associates.

    Nikhil Swaminathan, an Indian H1-B visa holder working for a U.S. non-profit organization after finishing graduate school there, is interested in China’s K-visa but skeptical. “I would’ve considered it. China’s a great place to work in tech, if not for the difficult relationship between India and China,” he said.

    Given a choice, many jobseekers still are likely to aim for jobs in leading global companies outside China.

    “The U.S. is probably more at risk of losing would-be H-1B applicants to other Western economies, including the UK and European Union, than to China,” said Feller at Geopolitical Strategy.

    “The U.S. may be sabotaging itself, but it’s doing so from a far more competitive position in terms of its attractiveness to talent,” Feller said. “China will need to do far more than offer convenient visa pathways to attract the best.”

    ___

    AP writer Fu Ting in Washington and researchers Yu Bing and Shihuan Chen in Beijing contributed.

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  • Bessent Says ‘Tenfold’ Growth in Stablecoins Will Lift Demand for Treasurys

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    Bessent Says ‘Tenfold’ Growth in Stablecoins Will Lift Demand for Treasurys

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  • Anthropic, Microsoft announce new AI data center projects as industry’s construction push continues

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    Artificial intelligence company Anthropic announced a $50 billion investment in computing infrastructure on Wednesday that will include new data centers in Texas and New York.

    Microsoft also on Wednesday announced a new data center under construction in Atlanta, Georgia, describing it as connected to another in Wisconsin to form a “massive supercomputer” running on hundreds of thousands of Nvidia chips to power AI technology.

    The latest deals show that the tech industry is moving forward on huge spending to build energy-hungry AI infrastructure, despite lingering financial concerns about a bubble, environmental considerations and the political effects of fast-rising electricity bills in the communities where they’re constructed.

    Anthropic, maker of the chatbot Claude, said it is working with London-based Fluidstack to build the new computing facilities to power its AI systems. It didn’t disclose their exact locations or what source of electricity they will need.

    Another company, cryptocurrency mining data center developer TeraWulf, has previously revealed it was working with Fluidstack on Google-backed data center projects in Texas and New York, on the shore of Lake Ontario. TeraWulf declined comment Wednesday.

    A report last month from TD Cowen said that the leading cloud computing providers leased a “staggering” amount of U.S. data center capacity in the third fiscal quarter of this year, amounting to more than 7.4 gigawatts of energy, more than all of last year combined.

    Oracle was securing the most capacity during that time, much of it supporting AI workloads for Anthropic’s chief rival OpenAI, maker of ChatGPT. Google was second and Fluidstack came in third, ahead of Meta, Amazon, CoreWeave and Microsoft.

    Anthropic said its projects will create about 800 permanent jobs and 2,400 construction jobs. It said in a statement that the “scale of this investment is necessary to meet the growing demand for Claude from hundreds of thousands of businesses while keeping our research at the frontier.”

    Microsoft has branded its Atlanta data center as Fairwater 2, after the original Fairwater complex being built near Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The company said it will help power its own technology, along with OpenAI’s and other AI developers. Microsoft was, until earlier this year, OpenAI’s exclusive cloud computing provider before the two companies amended their partnership. OpenAI has since announced more than $1 trillion in infrastructure obligations, much of it tied to its Stargate project with partners Oracle and SoftBank.

    The tech industry’s huge amount of spending on computing infrastructure for AI startups that aren’t yet profitable has fueled concerns about an AI investment bubble.

    Investors have closely watched a series of intertwined deals over recent months between top AI developers such as OpenAI and Anthropic and the companies building the costly computer chips and data centers needed to power their AI products. Anthropic said it will continue to “prioritize cost-effective, capital-efficient approaches” to scaling up its business.

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  • The Gaza War Has Been Big Business for U.S. Companies

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    Two years on, Israel’s war in Gaza might be finally drawing to a close. The conflict built an unprecedented arms pipeline from the U.S. to Israel that continues to flow, generating substantial business for big U.S. companies—including Boeing, Northrop Grumman and Caterpillar.

    Sales of U.S. weapons to Israel have surged since October 2023, with Washington approving more than $32 billion in armaments, ammunition and other equipment to the Israeli military over that time, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of State Department disclosures.

    Copyright ©2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

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    Benoit Faucon

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  • Solar storms delay launch of Blue Origin’s big new rocket with Mars orbiters for NASA

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    CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Intense solar storms responsible for breathtaking auroras across the U.S. delayed the launch of Blue Origin’s big new rocket Wednesday.

    Already grounded by poor weather, the New Glenn rocket was poised to blast off Wednesday afternoon with two Mars orbiters for NASA from Florida. But five hours before the targeted liftoff, it was called off because of the heightened solar activity.

    Worried about the possible impact of increased radiation on its Mars-bound spacecraft, NASA decided to postpone the launch until conditions improve. No new launch date was set.

    This will be only the second flight of a New Glenn rocket, which made its debut in January. At 321 feet (98 meters), it is considerably larger and more powerful than the New Shepard rockets Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin is launching from Texas with passengers.

    ___

    The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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  • Online gambling is everywhere. So are the risks

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    NEW YORK — Online betting is more accessible than ever, with 14% of U.S. adults saying they bet on professional or college sports online either frequently or occasionally, according to a February poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. It’s also in the news, with a growing list of sports betting scandals making headlines.

    Public health advocates and personal finance advisers say it’s important to know the risks if you’re going to gamble online.

    “Gambling and ‘responsibly’ seem to be oxymoronic, because if you’re gambling it’s all about risk,” said Caleb Silver, editor in chief of personal finance site Investopedia. “But people still do it. Online gambling and sports betting are only becoming more popular.”

    Since the Supreme Court struck down a ban on sports betting in 2018, 38 states and Washington, D.C., have legalized gambling, according to the American Gaming Association.

    For those new to online gambling, it can be helpful to set limits in advance on how much you’re willing to lose and how much time you’re willing to spend. Many of the platforms and apps that offer gambling, such as FanDuel and DraftKings, include optional safeguards to limit time or losses. Other apps can block access to the platforms for set amounts of time.

    Here’s what to know:

    The potential losses of digital betting can occur more quickly than in a physical casino, according to Heather Eshleman, director of operations at the Maryland Center for Excellence on Problem Gambling, since people can bet so much so easily and quickly on the internet or apps, with less friction.

    The new prevalence of prediction markets, such as PredictIt and Kalshi, has also created new opportunities to place wagers online on everything from election outcomes to celebrity news to the weather.

    According to public health advocates, the biggest warning sign of a problem is if you’re devoting time to online betting that’s taking away from other things in your life — especially your relationships with friends, family, and work. If you’re spending money on gambling that could instead go towards unmet basic needs, that’s also a warning sign.

    “We encourage people to only use money they would use for fun and entertainment, not money that should be used to pay the mortgage or the rent or to pay for food,” said Eshleman.

    Silver echoed this.

    “You have to know before you do it how much you can afford to lose,” he said. “What is your ‘tap out point?’ Those rules have to be firmly established.”

    Most sports betting platforms offer “responsible gambling tools,” according to Eshleman.

    “You can set limits on time, money, deposits, wins, and losses,” she said. “The goal is to set those limits before you start, because if you don’t set them in advance, they’re not really going to work for you. Once you’re into the excitement of it, you’re not going to stop and use those tools.”

    Eshleman recommends apps such as GambBan and BetBlocker, which limit access to gambling sites externally. She also directs those who suspect they may have a problem to use the 1-800-GAMBLER hotline or contact Gamblers Anonymous.

    Silver, the head of Investopedia, said he started adding definitions of online betting and gambling terms to the personal finance site when he saw an increasingly “closer connection between sports betting, day trading, options trading, and cryptocurrency trading.” He encourages those who are interested in digital betting to make sure they know what they’re getting into.

    “Before anyone even gets an online (gambling) account, they should be required to know the fundamental terms and rules about the way sports betting works,” he said. “What’s the ‘money line’ or ‘parlay?’ How do odds work? What is the maximum I could lose on this bet?”

    The other thing to do is to “play with no expectation of a return,” he said. “The likelihood is that you will lose. So, if you’re willing to lose, how much are you willing to lose?”

    Cory Fox, senior vice president of public policy and sustainability at FanDuel, who handles the site’s responsible gambling initiatives, compares using the safeguards to wearing a seatbelt when driving in a car and said FanDuel is committed to setting standards for being a responsible operator in the online gambling space.

    Lori Kalani, chief responsible gaming officer at DraftKings, said the site is committed to the same goal and compared using the limit-setting tools to taking Ubers instead of driving on a night when you know you’ll be drinking.

    Fox added that responsible gambling tools are important to help allow FanDuel to maintain its social license. He said that it’s in the interest of the site to make sure its users can be on the site and play for a long time to come.

    “If you’re taking care of your mental health, you’re less likely to have a problem with gambling,” Eshleman said.

    Rather than turning to the thrill of placing online bets, Eshleman encourages people to find positive ways to cope with stress — listening to music, taking walks, getting more sleep and exercise, and spending more time socializing. Social gambling is safer than hidden, private gambling, she said.

    “If you’re doing it alone, that’s a red flag that it’s not an activity that’s healthy for you,” said Eshleman. “It all ties in to our basic wellness. I think if people focus on wellness, it will prevent a lot of gambling.”

    ___

    The Associated Press receives support from the Charles Schwab Foundation for educational and explanatory reporting to improve financial literacy. The independent foundation is separate from Charles Schwab and Co. Inc. The AP is solely responsible for its journalism.

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  • Weather looking good for Blue Origin launch of NASA’s Mars mission

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    CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE STATION — On Wednesday afternoon, Blue Origin is attempting again to launch NASA’s ESCAPADE mission to Mars after having to scrub it due to poor weather on Sunday.

    NASA’s ESCAPADE mission will see two satellites head to Mars, which will benefit future astronauts when they go to the Red Planet.


    Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket will take off with the NG-2 mission from Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Blue Origin stated.

    The launch window opens at 2:50 p.m. ET to 4:17 p.m. ET, which means Blue Origin has during that time frame to send its rocket up into the deep black.

    The 45th Weather Squadron is giving about a 95% good weather forecast, with no concerns.

    After the stage separation, the reusable first-stage booster called Never Tell Me The Odds will attempt to land on Blue Origin’s cargo ship Jacklyn.

    First launch attempt

    On Sunday, Blue Origin tried to launch the ESCAPADE mission a couple of times.

    It was supposed to go up at 2:45 p.m. ET and then it was pushed to 3:18 p.m. ET, and finally, it was given a launch attempt at 4:12 p.m. ET before being scrubbed.

    At 4 minutes and 33 seconds during the third and final launch attempt on Sunday, Blue Origin put a hold on the launch due to poor weather, specifically citing the cumulus clouds being the culprit.

    The launch window opened at 2:45 p.m. ET and closed at 4:13 p.m. ET, which means Blue Origin has during that time frame to launch the mission.

    On Friday, the 45th Weather Squadron gave a 65% chance of good liftoff conditions, with the concerns being the cumulus cloud and surface electric fields rules.

    However, the squadron on Saturday gave a different forecast of between 65% to 55% of good launch conditions, with the following concerns: Cumulus cloud, surface electric fields and anvil cloud rules.

    At one point, the weather was clear, however, Blue Origin stated that the launch team was looking at an issue with a ground-support equipment at the launch pad. No further information was provided.

    New Glenn’s maiden flight

    The first time the New Glenn launched was January of this year, when it sent up Blue Origin’s Blue Ring Pathfinder, which tested and collected data on its flight, ground systems, and operational capabilities.

    While it was a successful takeoff, the first-stage booster called So You’re Telling Me There’s a Chance failed to stick the landing on Jacklyn.

     

     

    Understanding the mission

    The New Glenn will be sending up two payloads: NASA’s Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (ESCAPADE) mission, which will study Mars’ magnetosphere and how solar winds impact the Red Planet.

    The mission’s principal investigator Dr. Rob Lillis shared a bit more about ESCAPADE and how it will help humans once they get to Mars.

    He said that two satellites — called Blue and Gold in honor of the University of California, Berkeley’s colors — will study Mars’ magnetosphere and space weather.

    “The two spacecraft … will be characterizing the magnetic and space weather (i.e. plasma, radiation) environment on their way to Mars, then after they achieve Mars orbit, they’ll be measuring this environment in the solar wind and within Mars’ upper atmosphere, including rates of atmospheric escape,” Lillis explained to Spectrum News.

    The second payload is from global communications company ViaSat. Called the Viasat HaloNet Technology Demonstrator, the satellite will help with better communications between Earth and space.

    “Whether supporting Earth observation, scientific payloads, defense missions, or launch operations, HaloNet helps close the space-to-ground connectivity gap through a modular set of capabilities designed for resilience, reach, and responsiveness,” stated Viasat.

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  • China’s stranded astronauts ‘in good condition’ after space debris delays planned return

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    BEIJING (AP) — The stranded crew of a Chinese space mission is “in good condition, working and living normally,” China’s Manned Space Engineering office said on Tuesday.

    The three astronauts on the Shenzhou-20 mission are facing a delayed return to Earth after their scheduled Nov. 5 return was aborted after their spacecraft was believed to have been struck by a small piece of space debris.

    The return has been pushed back to an unspecified date, but the mission team is carrying out tests and drills, according to a statement issued by the space agency.

    “The Shenzhou-20 crew is in good condition, working and living normally,” the statement said.

    The three astronauts — Chen Dong, Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie — traveld to the Tiangong space station in April and were finishing their six-month rotation.

    The replacement Shenzhou-21 mission successfully docked with the space station on Nov. 1, carrying for the first time a group of mice for experiments.

    China has made steady progress with its space program since 2003. It has built its own space station and has a goal of landing a person on the moon by 2030.

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  • Chinese ‘cryptoqueen’ who scammed thousands jailed in UK over Bitcoin stash worth $6.6 billion

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    LONDON (AP) — A Chinese woman who was found with 5 billion pounds ($6.6 billion) in Bitcoin after defrauding more than 128,000 people in China in a Ponzi scheme was sentenced by a U.K. court on Tuesday to over 11 years in prison.

    Police said the investigation into Zhimin Qian, 47, led to officers recovering devices holding 61,000 Bitcoin in the largest cryptocurrency seizure in the U.K.

    Qian, dubbed “cryptoqueen” by British media, was arrested in April 2024 after spending years evading the authorities and living an “extravagant” lifestyle in Europe, staying in luxury hotels across the continent and buying fine jewelry and watches, prosecutors said.

    Police said she ran a pyramid scheme that lured more than 128,000 people to invest in her business between 2014 and 2017, including many who invested their life savings and pensions. Authorities said she stored the illegally obtained funds in Bitcoin assets.

    When she attracted the attention of Chinese authorities, Qian fled to the U.K. under a fake identity. Once in London, police said she rented a “lavish” house for over 17,000 pounds ($23,000) per month, and tried but failed to buy multimillion pound properties in a bid to convert the Bitcoin.

    Investigators found notes Qian had written documenting her aspirations — including her “intention to become the monarch of Liberland, a self-proclaimed country consisting of a strip of land between Croatia and Serbia.”

    They said other notes showed Qian detailing her hopes of “meeting a duke and royalty.”

    Judge Sally-Ann Hales said Qian was the architect of the crimes from start to finish.

    “Your motive was one of pure greed. You left China without a thought for the people whose investments you had stolen and enjoyed for a period of time a lavish lifestyle. You lied and schemed, all the while seeking to benefit yourself,” Hales said.

    The businesswoman, who had pleaded guilty to money laundering offenses and transferring and possessing criminal property, was sentenced Tuesday to 11 years and eight months at Southwark Crown Court.

    She was sentenced alongside her accomplice Seng Hok Ling, 47, a Malaysian national who was accused of helping Qian transfer and launder the cryptocurrency. Ling was jailed at the same court for four years and 11 months after he pleaded guilty to one count of transferring criminal property.

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  • What to Stream: ‘Freakier Friday,’ NF, ‘Landman,’ ‘Palm Royale’ and Black Ops 7

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    Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan re-teaming as the body-swapping mother and daughter duo in “Freakier Friday” and albums from 5 Seconds of Summer and the rapper NF are some of the new television, films, music and games headed to a device near you.

    Also among the streaming offerings worth your time this week, as selected by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists: Claire Danes and Matthew Rhys team up for the new limited-series thriller “The Beast in Me,” gamers get Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 and Apple TV’s star-studded “Palm Royale” is back.

    New movies to stream from Nov. 10-16

    — Richard Linklater’s love letter to the French New Wave and the making of Jean-Luc Godard’s “Breathless,” “Nouvelle Vague,” will be streaming on Netflix on Friday, Nov. 14. In his review, Associated Press Film Writer Jake Coyle writes that, “To a remarkable degree, Linklater’s film, in French and boxed into the Academy ratio, black-and-white style of ‘Breathless,’ has fully imbibed that spirit, resurrecting one of the most hallowed eras of movies to capture an iconoclast in the making. The result is something endlessly stylish and almost absurdly uncanny.”

    — Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan re-team as the body-swapping mother and daughter duo in “Freakier Friday,” a sequel to their 2003 movie, streaming on Disney+ on Wednesday. In her review, Jocelyn Noveck writes, “The chief weakness of ‘Freakier Friday’ — an amiable, often joyful and certainly chaotic reunion — is that while it hews overly closely to the structure, storyline and even dialogue of the original, it tries too hard to up the ante. The comedy is thus a bit more manic, and the plot machinations more overwrought (or sometimes distractingly silly).”

    — Ari Aster’s latest nightmare “Eddington” is set in a small, fictional New Mexico town during the coronavirus pandemic, which becomes a kind of microcosm for our polarized society at large with Joaquin Phoenix as the sheriff and Pedro Pascal as its mayor. In my review, I wrote that, “it is an anti-escapist symphony of masking debates, conspiracy theories, YouTube prophets, TikTok trends and third-rail topics in which no side is spared.”

    — An incurable cancer diagnoses might not be the most obvious starting place for a funny and affirming film, but that is the magic of Ryan White’s documentary “Come See Me in the Good Light,” about two poets, Andrea Gibson, who died in July, and Megan Falley, facing a difficult reality together. It will be on Apple TV on Friday, Nov. 14.

    — AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr

    New music to stream from Nov. 10-16

    — There’s nothing worse than a band without a sense of humor. Thankfully 5 Seconds of Summer are in on the joke. Their sixth studio album, “Everyone’s a Star!,” sounds like the Australian pop-rock band are having fun again, from The Prodigy-esq. “Not OK” to the self-referential and effacing “Boy Band.” Candor is their provocation now, and it sounds good — particularly after the band has spent the last few years exploring solo projects.

    — The R&B and neo soul powerhouse Summer Walker has returned with her third studio album and first in four years. “Finally Over It,” out Friday, Nov. 14, is the final chapter of her “Over It” trilogy; a release centered on transformation and autonomy. That’s evident from the dreamy throwback single, “Heart of A Woman,” in which the song’s protagonist is disappointed with her partner — but with striking self-awareness. “In love with you but can’t stand your ways,” she sings. “And I try to be strong/But how much can I take?”

    — Consider him one of the biggest artists on the planet that you may not be familiar with. NF, the musical moniker of Nate Feuerstein, emerged from the Christian rap world a modern answer to Eminem only to top the mainstream, all-genre Billboard 200 chart twice, with 2017’s “Perception” and 2019’s “The Search.” On Friday, Nov. 14, he’ll release “Fear,” a new six-track EP featuring mgk (formerly Machine Gun Kelly) and the English singer James Arthur.

    — AP Music Writer Maria Sherman

    New series to stream from Nov. 10-16

    — Apple TV’s star-studded “Palm Royale” is back just in time for a new social season. Starring Kristen Wiig, Laura Dern, Allison Janney, Leslie Bibb, Kaia Gerber, Ricky Martin AND Carol Burnett, the show is campy, colorful and fun, plus it has great costumes. Wiig plays Maxine, a woman desperate to be accepted into high society in Palm Beach, Florida, in the late 1960s. The first episode streams Wednesday and one will follow weekly into January.

    — “Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” cast member Heather Gay has written a book called “Bad Mormon” about how she went from a devout Mormon to leaving the church. Next, she’s fronting a new docuseries that delves into that too called “Surviving Mormonism with Heather Gay.” The reality TV star also speaks to others who have left the religion. All three episodes drop Wednesday on Peacock.

    — Thanks to “Homeland” and “The Americans,” Claire Danes and Matthew Rhys helped put the prestige in the term prestige TV. They grace the screen together in a new limited-series for Netflix called “The Beast in Me.” Danes plays a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer who finds a new subject in her next door neighbor, a real estate tycoon who also may or may not have killed his first wife. Howard Gordon, who worked with Danes on “Homeland,” is also the showrunner and an executive producer of “The Beast in Me.” It premieres Thursday.

    — David Duchovny and Jack Whitehall star in a new thriller on Prime Video called “Malice.” Duchovny plays Jamie, a wealthy man vacationing with his family in Greece. He hires a tutor (played by Whitehall) named Adam to work with the kids who seems likable, personable and they invite him into their world. Soon it becomes apparent that Adam’s charm is actually creepy. Something is up. As these stories go, getting rid of an interloper is never easy. All six episodes drop Friday, Nov. 14.

    — “Martin Scorsese Presents: The Saints” returns to Fox Nation on Sunday, Nov. 16 for a second season. The premiere details the story of Saint Patrick. The show is a passion project for Scorsese who executive produces, hosts, and narrates the episodes.

    — Billy Bob Thornton has struck oil in the second season of “Landman” on Paramount+. Created by Taylor Sheridan, the show is set in modern day Texas in the world of Big Oil. Sam Elliott and Andy Garcia have joined the cast and Demi Moore also returns. The show returns Sunday, Nov. 16.

    — Alicia Rancilio

    New video games to play from Nov. 10-16

    — The Call of Duty team behind the Black Ops subseries delivered a chapter last year — but they’re already back with Call of Duty: Black Ops 7. The new installment of the bestselling first-person shooter franchise moves to 2035 and a world “on the brink of chaos.” (What else is new?) Publisher Activision is promising a “reality-shattering” experience that dives into “into the deepest corners of the human psyche.” Beyond that storyline there are also 16 multiplayer maps and the ever-popular zombie mode, in which you and your friends get to blast away at relentless hordes of the undead. Lock and load Friday, Nov. 14, on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S or PC.

    — Lumines Arise is the latest head trip from Enhance Games, the studio behind puzzlers like Tetris Effect, Rez Infinite and Humanity. The basic challenge is simple enough: Multicolored 2×2 blocks drift down the screen, and you need to arrange them to form single-color squares. Completed squares vanish unless you apply the “burst” mechanic, which lets you build ever-larger squares and rack up bigger scores. It’s all accompanied by hallucinatory graphics and thumping electronic music, and you can plug in a virtual reality headset if you really want to feel like you’re at a rave. Pick up the groove Tuesday on PlayStation 5 or PC.

    — Lou Kesten

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  • The AI value chain: Understanding the engines of growth | Insights | Bloomberg Professional Services

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    Built using a rules-based approach informed by Bloomberg Intelligence (BI) research, the index maps the AI value chain and identifies companies with significant involvement in each link of the AI infrastructure. Numerous business models fit within this theme, from cloud computing platforms to semiconductors to hardware infrastructure.  

    Only firms that have clear, material exposure to AI, as identified in BI research, are eligible for inclusion into the index. Once the eligible universe is set, the selection process groups companies into three categories: cloud, AI hardware, and AI semiconductors. From these, the 15 largest companies in each group, ranked by free-float market capitalization, are selected.

    The power of equal weighting 

    Some investors may question the need for a dedicated AI sleeve in portfolios. After all, many of the largest constituents in market cap weighted indices are active in this growing area. A simple market cap weighted approach, however, may not reflect the diversity of AI-related business models. To avoid large cap names from dominating the index, here, the selected securities are instead equally weighted. Such an approach also increases the exposure to names that are smaller in market capitalization and whose price may not yet reflect the magnitude of their involvement this early in their development cycle.  

    Additionally, taking an Equal-weighted approach may increase the representation of companies involved in AI-related M&A activity. By giving smaller and mid-sized firms greater footing, the index may highlight potential targets more fully.  

    Traditional equity indices may underrepresent how AI is reshaping market growth. While broad benchmarks capture companies that are already benefiting from digital transformation, they often reflect today’s market composition rather than tomorrow’s growth drivers. 

    Even indices that focus on technology (such as the Bloomberg 500 Tech and Bloomberg 100 Indices) do not fully capture the growth of the AI ecosystem as acceleration may be happening beneath the surface. The following chart illustrates this gap, showing that the broader indices underrepresent the scale of projected sales growth across AI-related segments over the coming decade.

    Sales CAGR: AI Infrastructure Segments

    Selected companies illustrating the approach employed by the Bloomberg AI Value Chain Index

    Western Digital: AI’s expanding library 

    AI runs on data, and every image analyzed, every prompt answered, every recommendation generated requires vast storage. Western Digital (WDC US) has developed a framework called the AI Data Cycle, mapping the six key stages of AI workflows from raw data storage to new data generation. At some stages, you need “sports cars” (SSDs) to move critical goods quickly. At others, you need “cargo ships” (HDDs) to carry massive loads efficiently. Western Digital builds both, and it designs them to work together as a complete logistics system for AI data. 

    What makes this significant is that Western Digital isn’t competing to build AI models themselves. Instead, it’s building the infrastructure backbone that is intended to support AI models with the appropriate storage options across workflow stages. The company’s strong year-to-date performance (+167.2% through September) may be attributed to some market participants increased attention to storage infrastructure’s role in AI workflows. 

    Credo: Highways for AI data 

    Technology provided by Credo (CRDO US) ensures information moves between GPUs, storage systems, and networking gear. The firm holds a leading position in the Active Electrical Cable market and has deep partnerships with hyperscalers like Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta. Credo essentially gives AI data centers the ability to add lanes to the data highways within.  

    One of the biggest challenges in scaling AI today is energy consumption. Training and running large AI models requires connecting thousands of GPUs in data centers, which in turn means moving vast amounts of data at extremely high speeds. Every time that data moves, energy is consumed. This is where Credo’s technology comes in. Their products are specifically designed to move data quickly while using less power per bit transferred. That means hyperscale data centers can train and deploy AI models without their energy bills spiraling out of control. Credo’s revenue growth and stock performance in 2025 (+117% YTD through September) may suggest a growing interest in energy-efficient solutions for AI infrastructure.

    Hon Hai: Factories of the future 

    For decades, Hon Hai Precision Industry (2317 TT), or Foxconn, was synonymous with high-volume electronics assembly, particularly smartphones. Recently, however, Foxconn redirected its enormous manufacturing muscle toward AI infrastructure. This move has paid off, with revenue from its AI and cloud/server division now surpasses that of smartphone sales. 

    Today, it co-designs servers with NVIDIA and assembles forty percent of the world’s AI servers. The company’s pivot to AI servers coincided with record revenues in 2024 and 2025, and its year-to-date stock performance (+21.6% through September) may reflect increased investor focus on AI infrastructure.  

    Measuring the growth of AI infrastructure

    AI adoption is accelerating across industries from healthcare to finance to entertainment. Each advance increases demand for chips, storage, servers, and faster data connections. The Bloomberg AI Value Chain Index is designed to capture this continuous change in demand. By focusing on the enabling infrastructure rather than any single model or application, the index seeks to capture relevant new technologies and players. 

    By equal weighting forty-five firms across cloud, semiconductors, and hardware, it offers a diversified, transparent way to track AI’s growth. In a year where AI is at the forefront of many investors’ minds, the index has delivered results that have been in line with or exceeded many of the more popular AI ETFs available on the market. If AI is the gold rush of our time, the index can be seen as a map to the companies selling the picks, shovels, and railroads.

    Bloomberg AI Value Chain Index Versus Similar Products Year-to-Date

    , and how Bloomberg Indices measure exposure to this theme? In part three of our series, we focus on AI Thematics, examining how a rules-based approach, supported by Bloomberg Intelligence, identifies companies materially engaged in AI development and deployment. 

    To learn more about Bloomberg Indices, click here. 

    Amplify has licensed the Bloomberg AI Value Chain Index for their ETF ticker AIVC. 

    Disclaimer

    The data and other information included in this publication is for illustrative purposes only, available “as is”, non-binding and constitutes the provision of factual information, rather than financial product advice. BLOOMBERG and BLOOMBERG INDICES (the “Indices”) are trademarks or service marks of Bloomberg Finance L.P. (“BFLP”). BFLP and its affiliates, including BISL, the administrator of the Indices, or their licensors own all proprietary rights in the Indices. Bloomberg L.P. (“BLP”) or one of its subsidiaries provides BFLP, BISL and its subsidiaries with global marketing and operational support and service. Certain features, functions, products and services are available only to sophisticated investors and only where permitted. Bloomberg (as defined below) does not approve or endorse these materials or guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any information herein, nor does Bloomberg make any warranty, express or implied, as to the results to be obtained therefrom, and, to the maximum extent allowed by law, Bloomberg shall not have any liability or responsibility for injury or damages arising in connection therewith. Nothing in the Services or Indices shall constitute or be construed as an offering of financial instruments by Bloomberg, or as investment advice or investment recommendations (i.e., recommendations as to whether or not to “buy”, “sell”, “hold”, or to enter or not to enter into any other transaction involving any specific interest or interests) by Bloomberg. Information available via the Index should not be considered as information sufficient upon which to base an investment decision. All information provided by the Index or in this publication is impersonal and not tailored to the needs of any person, entity or group of persons. Absence of any trademark or service mark from this list does not waive Bloomberg’s intellectual property rights in that name, mark or logo. For the purposes of this publication, Bloomberg includes BLP, BFLP, BISL and/or their affiliates.

    BISL is registered in England and Wales under registered number 08934023 and has its registered office at 3 Queen Victoria Street, London, England, EC4N 4TQ. BISL is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority as a benchmark administrator. © 2025 Bloomberg. All rights reserved.

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  • China’s ‘cryptoqueen’ jailed in UK over $6.6 billion Bitcoin scam

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    LONDON — A Chinese woman who was found with 5 billion pounds ($6.6 billion) in Bitcoin after defrauding more than 128,000 people in China in a Ponzi scheme was sentenced by a U.K. court on Tuesday to over 11 years in prison.

    Police said the investigation into Zhimin Qian, 47, led to officers recovering devices holding 61,000 Bitcoin in the largest cryptocurrency seizure in the U.K.

    Qian, dubbed “cryptoqueen” by British media, was arrested in April 2024 after spending years evading the authorities and living an “extravagant” lifestyle in Europe, staying in luxury hotels across the continent and buying fine jewelry and watches, prosecutors said.

    Police said she ran a pyramid scheme that lured more than 128,000 people to invest in her business between 2014 and 2017, including many who invested their life savings and pensions. Authorities said she stored the illegally obtained funds in Bitcoin assets.

    When she attracted the attention of Chinese authorities, Qian fled to the U.K. under a fake identity. Once in London, police said she rented a “lavish” house for over 17,000 pounds ($23,000) per month.

    Investigators found notes Qian had written documenting her aspirations — including her “intention to become the monarch of Liberland, a self-proclaimed country consisting of a strip of land between Croatia and Serbia.”

    The businesswoman, who had pleaded guilty to money laundering offenses and transferring and possessing criminal property, was sentenced Tuesday to 11 years and eight months at Southwark Crown Court.

    She was sentenced alongside her accomplice Seng Hok Ling, 47, a Malaysian national who was accused of helping Qian transfer and launder the cryptocurrency. Ling was jailed at the same court for four years and 11 months after he pleaded guilty to one count of transferring criminal property.

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  • MVM Future Talks Takes a Giant Leap to Space With Neil DeGrasse Tyson

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    Press Release
    •

    Nov 11, 2025 09:00 EST

    MVM Future Talks 2025 is all about our future in space

    MVM Future Talks, Hungary’s leading free online science series explores the past, present and the future of astronautics this year. In the 2025 edition, world renowned scientist, Neil deGrasse Tyson will also share his insights about the future of space.


    BUDAPEST, Hungary, November 11, 2025 (Newswire.com)
    –
    If we see it, we can get to it – this mindset drives space exploration as well. For nearly seventy years, experts have been working toward the goal of conquering other planets, a pursuit that could eventually become the key to humanity’s survival once Earth’s resources are depleted.

    In the sixth season of MVM Future Talks, the program’s ambassador, popular Hungarian influencer Peti Puskás-Dallos traveled the world to meet experts and dreamers who believe in moonshot thinking-the idea that setting seemingly unattainable goals is absolutely worth it.

    For now, we are sending people into space as part of international projects – but what’s going to happen after we successfully conquer celestial bodies that are still distant and unreachable? Are we going to be able to put aside our differences as nations and represent humanity in space as a whole, or will those who want power for themselves and rule Mars according to their own rules take the lead? Will economic and political struggles continue beyond the Kármán line? And what happens if extraterrestrials join the debate? We discussed these questions with experts on the subject, including philosophers, engineers, space lawyers, and military analysts in an hour-long documentary, which will be released on MVM Zrt.’s YouTube channel in November.

    As always, the series will conclude with a talk show on November 13, where Hungarian celebrity Peti Puskás-Dallos – joined by internationally recognized experts, including Neil deGrasse Tyson, our returning guest – will summarize the knowledge and insights they have gained. Besides Tyson, who will join us for the fourth time this year, a theoretical physicist, space engineer, sci-fi writer and space doctor will also share their insights. Is a space elevator really the key to cheaper and more efficient space travel? Is it really that important to reach the Moon again? How do we solve the problem of food on Mars?

    Viewers can watch the broadcast from 14 November at mvmfuturetalks.com, with live English subtitles.

    Contact Information

    Lounge Communication
    comm@lounge.hu

    Source: MVM

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  • Stranded astronauts ‘in good condition’ after space debris delays planned return

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    FILE – Chinese astronaut for the Shenzhou 20 mission, Chen Dong, center, speaks next to his comrades Chen Zhongrui, right, and Wang Jie as they attend a send-off ceremony for their manned space mission at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, file)

    The Associated Press

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  • Voters’ anger at high electricity bills and data centers looms over 2026 midterms

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    Voter anger over the cost of living is hurtling forward into next year’s midterm elections, when pivotal contests will be decided by communities that are home to fast-rising electric bills or fights over who’s footing the bill to power Big Tech’s energy-hungry data centers.

    Electricity costs were a key issue in this week’s elections for governor in New Jersey and Virginia, a data center hotspot, and in Georgia, where Democrats ousted two Republican incumbents for seats on the state’s utility regulatory commission.

    Voters in New Jersey, Virginia, California and New York City all cited economic concerns as the top issue, as Democrats and Republicans gird for a debate over affordability in the intensifying midterm battle to control Congress.

    Already, President Donald Trump is signaling that he’ll focus on affordability next year as he and Republicans try to maintain their slim congressional majorities, while Democrats are blaming Trump for rising household costs.

    Front and center may be electricity bills, which in many places are increasing at a rate faster than U.S. inflation on average — although not everywhere.

    “There’s a lot of pressure on politicians to talk about affordability, and electricity prices are right now the most clear example of problems of affordability,” said Dan Cassino, a professor of politics and government and pollster at Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey.

    Rising electric costs aren’t expected to ease and many Americans could see an increase on their monthly bills in the middle of next year’s campaigns.

    Higher electric bills on the horizon

    Gas and electric utilities are seeking or already secured rate increases of more that $34 billion in the first three quarters of 2025, consumer advocacy organization PowerLines reported. That was more than double the same period last year.

    With some 80 million Americans struggling to pay their utility bills, “it’s a life or death and ‘eat or heat’ type decision that people have to make,” said Charles Hua, PowerLines’ founder.

    In Georgia, proposals to build data centers have roiled communities, while a victorious Democrat, Peter Hubbard, accused Republicans on the commission of “rubber-stamping” rate increases by Georgia Power, a subsidiary of power giant Southern Co.

    Monthly Georgia Power bills have risen six times over the past two years, now averaging $175 a month for a typical residential customer.

    Hubbard’s message seemed to resonate with voters. Rebecca Mekonnen, who lives in the Atlanta suburb of Stone Mountain, said she voted for the Democratic challengers, and wants to see “more affordable pricing. That’s the main thing. It’s running my pocket right now.”

    Now, Georgia Power is proposing to spend $15 billion to expand its power generating capacity, primarily to meet demand from data centers, and Hubbard is questioning whether data centers will pay their fair share — or share it with regular ratepayers.

    Midterm battlegrounds in hotspots

    Midterm elections will see congressional battlegrounds in states where fast-rising electric bills or data center hotspots — or both — are fomenting community uprisings.

    That includes California, Georgia, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas.

    Analysts attribute rising electric bills to a combination of forces.

    That includes expensive projects to modernize the grid and harden poles, wires and substations against extreme weather and wildfires.

    Also playing a role is explosive demand from data centers, bitcoin miners and a drive to revive domestic manufacturing, as well as rising natural gas prices, analysts say.

    “The cost of utility service is the new ‘cost of eggs’ concern for a lot of consumers,” said Jennifer Bosco of the National Consumer Law Center.

    In some places, data centers are driving a big increase in demand, since a typical AI data center uses as much electricity as 100,000 homes, according to the International Energy Agency. Some could require more electricity than cities the size of Pittsburgh, Cleveland or New Orleans.

    While many states have sought to attract data centers as an economic boon, legislatures and utility commissions were also flooded with proposals to try to protect regular ratepayers from paying to connect data centers to the grid.

    Meanwhile, communities that don’t want to live next to one are pushing back.

    It’s on voters’ minds

    An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll from October found that electricity bills are a “major” source of stress for 36% of U.S. adults.

    Now, as falls turns to winter, some states are warning that funding for low-income heating aid is being delayed because of the federal government shutdown.

    Still, the impact is still more uneven than other financial stressors like grocery costs, which just over half of U.S. adults said are a “major” source of stress.

    And electric rates vary widely by state or utility.

    For instance, federal data shows that for-profit utilities have been raising rates far faster than municipally owned utilities or cooperatives.

    In the 13-state mid-Atlantic grid from Illinois to New Jersey, analysts say ratepayers are paying billions of dollars for the cost to power data centers — including data centers not even built yet.

    Next June, electric bills across that region will absorb billions more dollars in higher wholesale electricity costs designed to lure new power plants to power data centers.

    That’s spurred governors from the region — including Pennsylvania’s Josh Shapiro, Illinois’ JB Pritzker and Maryland’s Wes Moore, all Democrats who are running for reelection — to pressure the grid operator PJM Interconnection to contain increases.

    High-rate states vs. lower-rate rates

    Drew Maloney, the CEO of the Edison Electric Institute, a trade association of for-profit electric utilities, suggested that only some states are the drivers of higher average electric bills.

    “If you set aside a few sates with higher rates, the rest of the country largely follows inflation on electricity rates,” Maloney said.

    Examples of states with faster-rising rates are California, where wildfires are driving grid upgrades, and those in New England, where natural gas is expensive because of strained pipeline capacity.

    Still, other states are feeling a pinch.

    In Indiana, a growing data center hotspot, the consumer advocacy group, Citizens Action Coalition, reported this year that residential customers of the state’s for-profit electric utilities were absorbing the most severe rate increases in at least two decades.

    Republican Gov. Mike Braun decried the hikes, saying “we can’t take it anymore.”

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    Associated Press reporter Jeff Amy in Atlanta contributed to this report.

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  • SpaceX launches Starlink 6-87 mission

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    CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE STATION  — SpaceX launched nearly 30 Starlink satellites on Monday night, which the California-based company had to adjust its launch time of the mission in accordance with FAA’s new order.  

    What You Need To Know

    • Starlink 6-87 mission from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
    • Because of the FAA’s new order, SpaceX adjusted its launch time for the Starlink 6-87 mission

    The Falcon 9 rocket sent up the Starlink 6-87 mission from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 10:21 p.m. ET on Monday, stated SpaceX. 

    The launch window opened at 10:01 p.m. ET and was set to close at 1:59 a.m., ET, Tuesday, Nov. 11. That means SpaceX had that time frame to launch the mission.

    Originally, the launch was scheduled at 5:12 p.m. ET until 9:12 p.m. ET. However, the FAA announced that starting Monday, Nov. 10, all commercial launches must launch from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., citing safety and efficiency reasons.

    Because of the FAA’s new order, SpaceX adjusted its launch time for the Starlink 6-87 mission.

    The 45th Weather Squadron gave a 60% chance of good liftoff conditions, with the only concerns being liftoff winds.

    Find out more about the weather criteria for a Falcon 9 launch.

    Third time up

    This is the third mission for the Falcon 9’s first-stage booster B1096.

    After the stage separation, the first-stage rocket landed on the droneship Just Read the Instructions that will be in the Atlantic Ocean.

    About the mission

    The 29 satellites from the Starlink company, owned by SpaceX, will be heading to low-Earth orbit to join the thousands already there.

    Once deployed and in their orbit, they will provide internet service to many parts of Earth.

    Dr. Jonathan McDowell, of Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, has been recording Starlink satellites.

    Before this launch, McDowell recorded the following:

    • 8,917 are in orbit
    • 7,559 are in operational orbit

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  • A crisis at chipmaker Nexperia sent automakers scrambling. Here’s what to know

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    A battle for control of a little-known chipmaker has threatened global auto production by choking off the semiconductor supply chain, though there are signs the crisis is inching toward a resolution.

    The power struggle over Nexperia, a Chinese-owned Dutch semiconductor maker, highlights how technology supply chain vulnerabilities are squeezing auto makers, most notably forcing Honda to halt production at a Mexican factory making its popular HR-V crossover for North American markets. It also exposes how Europe is caught in the middle of the wider geopolitical showdown between Washington and Beijing.

    Here’s a look at the dispute:

    The turmoil erupted into public view in mid-October, when the Dutch government announced it had invoked a rarely used World War II-era law to take effective control of Nexperia weeks earlier.

    The Dutch ministry of economic affairs said it took action because of national security concerns. Officials said they intervened because of “serious governance shortcomings” at Nexperia, asserting control to prevent the loss of crucial tech know-how that could threaten Europe’s economic security.

    Nexperia’s Chinese owner Wingtech Technology, a partially state-owned company, is at the heart of the dispute. Amid the boardroom battle, a Dutch court granted the ministry’s request to oust Nexperia’s Chinese CEO Zhang Xuezheng. American officials told the Dutch government he would have to be replaced to avoid trade restrictions, according to a court filing.

    Nexperia makes simple semiconductors such as switches and logic chips. The auto industry — one of Nexperia’s biggest markets — uses its chips for numerous functions, such as adaptive LED headlight controllers, electric vehicle battery management systems and anti-lock brakes.

    Headquartered in the Dutch city of Nijmegen, Nexperia was spun off from Philips Semiconductors two decades ago. It was eventually purchased by China’s Wingtech Technology in 2018 for $3.6 billion.

    Nexperia has wafer fabrication plants in Britain and Germany. It operates an assembly and testing center in China’s southern manufacturing heartland of Guangdong — which accounts for around 70% of its end-product capacity — and similar centers in the Philippines and Malaysia.

    The dispute is part of the broader struggle between the U.S. and China over tech supremacy, which has left Europe caught in the middle.

    It stems from Washington’s decision late last year to place Wingtech on its “entity list,” which subjects companies to export controls because of national security risks. In late September, the U.S. expanded that list to Wingtech’s subsidiaries, including Nexperia, pressuring allies to follow suit.

    After the Dutch government asserted control of Nexperia, Beijing responded soon after, blocking the export of Nexperia chips from its assembly plant in the Chinese city of Dongguan. It blamed the Netherlands for “turmoil and chaos” in the chip supply chain.

    There were signs of hope following last month’s high-profile meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, when the White House said Beijing would ease the export ban as part of a U.S.-China trade truce.

    Despite Beijing also confirming exports would be allowed to resume, Nexperia’s Chinese unit said headquarters suspended shipments of wafers used to make chips to its Chinese factory, potentially crimping its ability to deliver finished products.

    Nexperia’s head office hit back in a statement Wednesday, saying the Chinese unit refused to pay for the wafers and accused it of “ignoring the lawful instructions” from its global management team. The company said it can’t guarantee the quality of any chips delivered from its China plant since Oct. 13.

    Modern automobiles rely on so-called discrete chips made by companies like Nexperia, which, unlike more advanced microprocessors, perform a single function. Leaders at big carmakers spelled out their worries in the latest round of earnings calls, saying that finding a replacement for Nexperia at scale in the short term will be difficult.

    “While Nexperia makes up only about 5% of the automotive silicon discrete market in term of revenue, its share is much higher in terms of discrete chip volume,” S&P Global Mobility analysts wrote in a recent note.

    Nexperia’s parts are widely used across vehicle systems — often dozens to hundreds per vehicle — and carmakers in North America, Japan and South Korea are at risk, they added.

    “It’s an industrywide issue. A quick breakthrough is really necessary to avoid fourth quarter production losses for the entire industry,” Ford CEO Jim Farley said.

    General Motors CEO Mary Barra warned that production could be hit. The company has “teams working around the clock with our supply chain partners to minimize possible disruptions,” she said.

    Nissan CEO Ivan Espinosa told CNBC that the company is setting aside a 25 billion yen ($163 million) provision for supply risks, in part to “absorb” the impact from the Nexperia crisis on production.

    Mercedes-Benz is “scurrying around the world to look for alternatives,” CEO Ola Kallenius said. The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association said members including BMW, Renault, Volkswagen and Volvo have been forced to use their reserve stockpiles of chips and warned of assembly line stoppages if they run out.

    The European Union’s trade commissioner, Maros Sefcovic, on Saturday noted “encouraging progress,” writing on X that China’s Commerce Ministry had confirmed “further simplification” of export procedures for Nexperia chips to the EU and global customers.

    In Beijing, the Commerce Ministry also said Saturday that it agreed to a Dutch request to send representatives to China for “consultations.”

    But it noted that the Netherlands had not taken any concrete actions yet to restore the global semiconductor supply chain since the Dutch government said days earlier it would take “appropriate steps on our part where necessary.”

    Economics Affairs Minister Vincent Karremans had said in that statement that “the Netherlands trusts that the supply of chips from China to Europe and the rest of the world will reach Nexperia’s customers over the coming days.”

    Honda has received word that Nexperia’s shipments from China have resumed, Executive Vice President Noriya Kaihara told reporters Friday. He said the Japanese automaker expects to resume production during the week of Nov. 21 at its plant in Celaya, Mexico, which can make up to 200,000 vehicles a year.

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    AP Business Writer Yuri Kageyama in Tokyo contributed to this report.

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