Chinese technology conglomerate and the world’s largest video game vendor by investment
Alibaba has priced an HK$80 billion share placement, issuing 710 million new Class B shares at HK$112.70 each to non-U.S. investors. The deal values the company at about US$27 billion and will fund expansion of its AI capabilities and infrastructure. The move comes after a 75% profit drop in the June quarter and a sharp rise in capital expenditure.
Taiwanese prosecutors have indicted nine people over the alleged illegal export of Nvidia GPUs to China, with several servers shipped via Indonesia, Japan, and Hong Kong. The case underscores ongoing US-China tech frictions and Taiwan’s tightening export rules to curb restricted technology reaching China.
Nvidia has acquired a minority stake in Cloverleaf Infrastructure and has announced a partnership to help build data‑centre sites. The move follows Nvidia’s recent $1.5 billion investment in an Ohio data‑centre project and signals the company is directly financing and developing the power and site infrastructure that supports demand for its AI chips.
A Seoul court has ordered Kwon Hyuk-bin to transfer a 35% stake in Smilegate to his ex-wife Lee Hwa-jin and to pay 65 billion won in cash as part of the couple’s divorce settlement. The ruling values the stake at about 2.5 trillion won and acknowledges Lee’s long-term childcare and household contributions. Both sides can challenge the decision.
Enflame Technology has surged on its Shanghai STAR Market debut after raising 6.12 billion yuan, with Tencent backing. The IPO signals rising investor appetite for China's AI chipmakers as the country pursues semiconductor self-sufficiency amid U.S. export restrictions. Revenue rose in 2025 but losses narrowed; the company plans further chip development and expects to break even in 2026-2027.
Manus-related funding has surged, led by Boyu Capital and IDG Capital, with strategic follow-ons from Tencent, HSG and ZhenFund. Manus has resumed independent operations after its split from Meta, pursuing global growth and a potential Hong Kong listing, while market appetite for AI agents remains strong amid regulatory concerns in China.
Nvidia has opened an independent investigation after CEO Jensen Huang has acknowledged a romantic relationship with Alice Huang, a Megaspeed executive whom U.S. intelligence has concluded was recruited by Chinas intelligence services. Huang has apologised to his family and employees; Nvidias board says it has no reason to believe company secrets or national security were compromised and Huang will remain CEO during the review.
AI-driven post-training, embodied AI, and robotics research are accelerating investment and development globally. Startups and legacy players are racing to enable robots to learn tasks from minimal demonstrations, while women’s leadership and regional policies shape the adoption and governance of these technologies.
Taiwanese memory makers Winbond and Macronix see record earnings as demand grows for specialized chips. Yet supply constraints persist, with lead times for critical tools exceeding two years and new capacity not online until 2029-2030. China’s CXMT advances its DRAM roadmap as US restrictions bite, while global tungsten supply disruptions ripple through AI hardware chains.
Tencent Cloud is broadening its enterprise AI offerings with Hy4 and Hy4 Flash models while expanding WorkBuddy, its AI productivity agent. The company is targeting international markets, including the Middle East, and is building a large ecosystem of developers and partners as cloud regions grow to 25 with 70 availability zones.