March 23, 2025: Market Trying To Recover From Correction

Last week, Dow Jones rose 1.2%, S&P 500 gained 0.5%, Nasdaq moved up 0.2% — a welcome sign after successive weeks of declines. CoreWeave is seeking an IPO valuation of US$27– US$32 billion, even as some investors question the company’s heavy debt load and capital intensive business model. Ticket reseller StubHub filed for an IPO. StubHub rival Vivid Seats has seen its stock price fall by more than 45% over the past year, and reportedly is seeking a buyer. Perplexity is in talks to raise US$500 million to US$1 billion at a US$18 billion post money valuation. Google will acquire the cybersecurity startup Wiz for US$32 billion. SoftBank is acquiring Ampere Computing, a chip design startup, for US$6.5 billion in cash. Accenture stock fell 7.3% after the firm said efforts to tighten U.S. federal spending are starting to weigh on its revenues. Nvidia unveiled a slew of new software for robotics, including a simulator it made with Disney and Google’s help. Boston Dynamics demonstrated another major leap in humanoid mobility. Robinhood is getting into prediction-betting markets just in time for March Madness. BYD unveiled its new super-charging EV tech, to build a charging network in China. In Canada, Shopify will transfer its US stock listing to Nasdaq, from NYSE. SolarBank announced an equity financing of up to US$19 million. Tribe Property Technologies announce a Non-Brokered Private Placement of ~$800K led by its senior leadership team. In news pertaining to Sophic clients, Boardwalktech announced the closing of an initial tranche of its Non-Brokered Private Placement for aggregate gross proceeds of approximately $1.1 million. Intermap’s global insurance business is off to a strong start in 2025 with awards surpassing $1.1 million. Legend Power’s voltage adherence risk measurement led to an accelerated purchase order. Cybeats provided a market update for critical infrastructure & energy sectors. Streamlined Communications, an Xcyte Digital company, joined London Stock Exchange’s marketplace. Plurilock received multiple industry awards recognizing its leadership in cybersecurity innovation and service excellence.

Shopify (SHOP-NYSE, SHOP-TSX) to transfer US stock listing to Nasdaq, remain on TSX.

Canada’s largest tech company Shopify is voluntarily transferring its United States (US) stock exchange listing from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) to the Nasdaq Global Select Market (Nasdaq). Shopify expects its Class A Subordinate Voting Shares to cease trading on the NYSE at market close next Friday, March 28, and commence trading on the Nasdaq on Monday, March 31. Shopify’s TSX stock price jumped eight percent following the news, as of noon Wednesday. The stock listing transfer appears to be another move that brings Shopify closer to its peers in American tech. In a 10-K filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last month, Shopify listed its office in New York City alongside its normally standalone Ottawa headquarters. A 10-K form is required from domestic issuers. Until a few weeks ago, Shopify had been filing the 40-F form used by foreign issuers. The company also modified how it reported its assets, reorienting its assets from majority Canadian to majority US-based. https://tinyurl.com/5n6z56sd

SolarBank Corporation (SUNN-NEO) announces up to US$19 million equity financing.

SolarBank Corporation, announced it has entered into a definitive agreement with a single institutional investor for the purchase and sale of 2,394,367 common shares and warrants to purchase up to 2,394,367 common shares at a combined purchase price of US$3.55 per common share and accompanying warrant, pursuant to a registered direct offering for aggregate gross proceeds of approximately US$8.5 million before deducting fees and other estimated offering expenses (the “Offering”). The warrants will be exercisable immediately at an exercise price of US$4.45 per share and will expire five years from the date of issuance. Approximately $8.5 million will be funded in full upon the closing of the Offering, and up to an additional $10.65 million may be funded upon full cash exercise of the warrants. The Company expects to use the net proceeds from the Offering to advance its independent power producer assets including battery energy storage system (BESS) projects and a community solar project in New York, along with for working capital and other general corporate purposes. https://tinyurl.com/5n7ev4de

Tribe Property Technologies (TRBE-TSXV) announces Non-Brokered Private Placement to be led by the company’s senior leadership team.

Tribe announced a non-brokered private placement to raise gross proceeds of approximately $775,000 (the “Financing”), which is expected to include the Company’s CEO, CFO, EVP and members of the Board of Directors participating in the Financing. The Company will conduct a non-brokered private placement of up to 1,490,384 units of the Company (each, a “Unit”) at a price of $0.52 per Unit, with each Unit consisting of one common share of the Company (a “Common Share”) and one-half of one Common Share purchase warrant (each whole Common Share purchase warrant, a “Warrant”). Each Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one Common Share at a price of $0.82 at any time on or before that date which is five years after the closing date of the Financing. https://tinyurl.com/3esnfm27

Sophic Client Boardwalktech, Inc. (BWLK-TSXV, BWLKF-OTCQB) announces closing of initial tranche of Life Non-Brokered Private Placement.

Boardwalktech has closed, subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange (the “TSXV”), an initial tranche of a non-brokered private placement of 8,576,573 units (each, a “Unit”, and collectively the “Units”) of the Company at the price of C$0.13 per Unit for gross proceeds of approximately C$1,114,954 (the “LIFE Offering”) pursuant to the Listed Issuer Financing Exemption (the “LIFE”) of National Instrument 45-106 – Prospectus Exemptions (“NI 45-106”), which was previously announced on February 27, 2025. Concurrently with the completion of the LIFE Offering, the Company also issued 250,000 Units on a non-brokered basis to United States Investors, at US$0.09 (equivalent of C$0.13) with equivalent commercial terms for each warrant per Unit (the “Concurrent Offering”, and together with the LIFE Offering, the “Offering”). The securities issued under the Concurrent Offering remain subject to a hold period of four months plus one day from the date of issuance in accordance with applicable securities legislation. Collectively with the LIFE Offering and the Concurrent Offering a total of 8,826,573 Units were issued in the Offering, resulting in aggregate gross proceeds of approximately C$1,147,454. https://t.co/AQmkHNHbB3

Sophic Client Intermap (IMP-TSX, ITMSF-OTC) insurance business starts 2025 with strong growth.

Intermap announced that its global insurance business is off to a strong start in 2025 with awards surpassing $1.1 million from new client subscriptions and multiple renewals. Intermap is pleased to announce a new, large multiyear subscription with a major bank-insurance group operating in five European countries. Serving retail, private banking, SME and mid-cap clients, the group has adopted the latest generation of Intermap’s Aquarius RMA solution for natural hazards and climate change risk quantification. https://t.co/ufbASMRNXB

Sophic Client Legend Power Systems Inc. (LPS-TSXV, LPSIF-OTC) voltage adherence risk measurement leads to accelerated purchase order.

Legend Power announces that its new Voltage Adherence Risk measurement service released on March 6 has won its first customer purchase order within three weeks of receiving the analysis. A North American school district recently engaged with Legend Power Systems after experiencing premature equipment failures and seeking confirmation of suspected power quality issues. https://t.co/ZjoAJugDn8

Sophic Client Cybeats Technologies Corp. (CYBT-CSE,CYBCF-OTCQB) provides market update for critical infrastructure & energy sectors; enhanced regulation and market maturity.

Cybeats is expanding its focus on protecting critical infrastructure, as demand for Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) and Hardware Bill of Materials (HBOM) solutions grow in the energy, industrial, and federal sectors. Cybersecurity threats to power grids, industrial control systems (ICS), and renewable energy networks are increasing in scale and sophistication. Governments and regulators are now requiring SBOMs and HBOMs to enhance security and resilience of companies operating in this space. These tools provide transparency into the software and hardware components running critical systems, allowing organizations to identify vulnerabilities and reduce the risk of cyberattacks by mitigating them quickly. https://t.co/FIuHFThw9Y

Streamlined Communications, a Sophic Client Xcyte Digital (XCYT-TSXV) Company, joins London Stock Exchange’s marketplace.

Xcyte announces that Streamlined Communications, its wholly owned subsidiary, is now available on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) Marketplace. This listing provides LSE-listed companies with access to Streamlined’s virtual event technology and corporate event solutions, including webcasts, Annual General Meetings, interactive results calls, and large-scale investor events. These solutions help issuers drive deeper investor engagement, streamline regulatory communications, and deliver compelling digital experiences year-round. To learn more, visit Streamlined Communications’s LSE Marketplace profile HERE. https://t.co/TPDDCt8KE3

Sophic Client Plurilock (PLUR-TSXV, PLCKF-OTCQB) recognized for cybersecurity excellence with multiple industry awards.

Plurilock received multiple industry awards recognizing its leadership in cybersecurity innovation and service excellence. Plurilock has been named to the Cyber150 List, received the Cybersecurity Excellence Award in Continuous Penetration Testing, and won a Gold Globee Award for its Penetration Testing services. Plurilock’s award-winning penetration testing services fall under its Critical Services business, which has become an increasingly important component of the Company’s business model. These honours highlight Plurilock’s expanding presence in cybersecurity services and reinforce the strong market demand for its high-margin Critical Services business. https://t.co/HBhyyB0aC4

Google reportedly close to buying Canada’s AdHawk for its eye-tracking smart glasses tech.

Canada might once again play a more important role in Google’s augmented and virtual reality eyewear plans. Google is in “final talks” to acquire AdHawk Microsystems, a Waterloo, Ont.-based startup that makes eye-tracking technology, for US$115 million, Bloomberg reports. AdHawk staff would join the team developing Android XR, Google’s recently unveiled platform for mixed-reality headsets and smart glasses. AdHawk technology is built into smart glasses and “metaverse hardware” headsets, but is already selling its MindLink glasses to clinicians and researchers. AdHawk has developed a micro-electromechanical (MEMS) eye tracker and chip combination that the company says provides distinct advantages over conventional camera-based systems. The company claims the system requires 1,000 times less data, but generates sampling rates (that is, data collection rates) 10 times higher than alternatives. The technology is billed as more accurate and responsive with better battery life. AdHawk technology is built into smart glasses and “metaverse hardware” headsets, but is already selling its MindLink glasses to clinicians and researchers. In 2024, it launched MindLink Air glasses that are marketed as everyday brain health trackers. The firm already has investments from several major players in the wearable technology space. It raised US$5 million from Intel Capital through a Series A round in 2017, with Brightspark Ventures also participating. Other backers include Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses co-creator EssilorLuxottica as well as Samsung, which developed the Project Moohan prototype headset that Google uses to showcase Android XR, its operating system for extended-reality devices. The Sony Innovation Fund, HP Tech Ventures, Canso, and Xchange have also invested in AdHawk. AdHack would also not be the only Kitchener-Waterloo-based smart glasses company Google has purchased. In 2020, parent company Alphabet acquired Kitchener smart glasses maker North, after the company’s failed rebrand and launch of the Focals 1.0 glasses. https://tinyurl.com/wn9yu6s4

CoreWeave seeks IPO valuation of about US$30 billion.

CoreWeave is seeking a valuation between US$27.4 billion and US$32 billion in an initial public offering that come as soon as next week. The company is looking to sell US$2.3 billion and US$2.7 billion shares in the offering, it said in its amended IPO filing Thursday morning. The company has about 583 million fully diluted shares outstanding, two people familiar with the matter said, implying a valuation of about US$30 billion in the mid-point of the range. The offering amount and the valuation are slightly below what investors expected, amid high stock market volatility. It implies an enterprise value, which includes company’s debt, of about $35 billion at the mid-pint. https://tinyurl.com/aurd88ms

CoreWeave tests investor risk appetite with US$7.5 billion in looming debt repayments.

CoreWeave is facing nearly US$7.5 billion in debt repayments by the end of next year, requiring investors in its blockbuster public listing to take a leap of faith in the cloud computing group’s ability to grow fast enough to settle the looming obligations. As the New Jersey-based group prepares to start an investor roadshow, it is attracting scrutiny for its huge debt burden, borrowing at high interest rates, and forthcoming maturities on billions of dollars of loans. CoreWeave’s IPO prospectus, filed in early March, revealed it had debt and interest payments due in 2025 and 2026 that far outstripped its existing cash flow from operations. The company has further warned it expects to borrow more in future. It will borrow again this year to satisfy a new contract with OpenAI worth US$12 billion over five years, which requires it to build more powerful data centres. The group has also borrowed extensively to fuel its growth, raising US$12.9 billion of debt in the past two years secured against its more than 250,000 Nvidia chips and its contracts with customers, such as Microsoft. It has drawn about US$8 billion, with another US$4.4 billion of loans undrawn at the end of last year. Its biggest lenders are private equity group Blackstone and Illinois-based hedge fund Magnetar Capital. These loans require CoreWeave to have contracts with large and creditworthy companies that cover the future debt repayments. CoreWeave’s US$8 billion of debt would incur nearly US$1 billion of annual interest costs, according to Financial Times calculations. This would drop to nearly US$850 million with the planned debt repayment from IPO proceeds. The company operates as a “take or pay” business model, under which its customers sign an agreement to pre-purchase a set amount of computing capacity for a fixed number of years. It then raises the capital — almost entirely through debt — needed to build the clusters of chips that will satisfy that contract. In addition to its debt, CoreWeave rents its 30 data centres and much of its equipment, resulting in operating lease liabilities of about US$2.6 billion in 2024. CoreWeave leases much of its data centre capacity from Core Scientific, a separate listed company whose shares have plunged about 40 per cent this year. One hedge fund manager likened CoreWeave to the “WeWork of AI data centres” because of the mismatch between its liabilities and assets, with long-term lease commitments but far shorter contracts with customers. “[CoreWeave] are financing a capital-intensive, hard-asset business with relatively short-term paper,” said an executive at an investment firm with short positions on tech stocks. “Added to that, they’re borrowing against assets [Nvidia GPUs] that are depreciating. That’s not ideal.” https://tinyurl.com/4wwnjddf

Ticket reseller StubHub files for an IPO.

Ticket resale marketplace StubHub on Friday filed for an IPO, saying that it plans to list shares on the New York Stock Exchange. StubHub rival Vivid Seats has seen its stock price fall by more than 45% over the past year, and reportedly is seeking a buyer. SeatGeek remains private despite prior plans to go public via a blank-check merger, and then via an IPO. StubHub reported a US$2.8 million loss on US$1.77 billion in revenue for 2024, compared to a US$405 million profit on US$1.37 billion in revenue for 2023. One big difference on the spend side was sales and marketing expense, which climbed to US$828 million in 2024 from US$518 million the year prior. StubHub reports more than 40 million tickets sold on its platform last year by more than a million sellers. https://tinyurl.com/4rjh6svw

Perplexity in talks to raise at US$18 billion valuation.

Perplexity, the AI-powered search platform led by CEO Aravind Srinivas, is in talks to raise US$500 million to US$1 billion at a US$18 billion valuation including the new investment, reported Bloomberg. That would double its valuation from a December round and top the US$15 billion price tag some investors had offered the three-year-old startup earlier this year. It is unclear which investors are jockeying to invest in the startup. Its existing investors include IVP, NEA and Bessemer Venture Partners. An $18 billion valuation would amount to 180 times its annual recurring revenue, which is nearing US$100 million, according to Bloomberg. That pace is up from US$80 million in ARR in January and would cement its position as one of the most highly valued generative AI startups. The company has been expanding beyond subscriptions to advertising and providing developers with access to AI-powered search capabilities through an application programming interface. https://tinyurl.com/bmh8psjs

X notches US$44 billion valuation.

Elon Musk’s X has been valued at US$44 billion by a deal where investors sold existing stakes in the business to other investors, The Financial Times reported. The valuation is in line with the price of X, then called Twitter, in Musk’s debt-backed takeover of the company in 2022. Since then, investors including Fidelity had slashed the value of their stakes—implying the whole company was worth less than US$10 billion—after advertisers fled the social app. X is also raising about US$2 billion in capital in a primary round, some of which would be used to pay off the debt that Musk raised to finance his buyout, the FT also reported. X didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. It’s not clear which investors bought into the secondary sale. Investors in X include Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital and 8VC. https://tinyurl.com/yepb7ek4

xAI joins Microsoft, Blackrock in effort to raise US$100 billion for AI data centers.

Elon Musk’s xAI has joined a consortium that plans to raise $100 billion to develop data centers and power plants for artificial intelligence, the group said on Wednesday. Three firms that previously announced the now-dubbed “AI Infrastructure Partnership”—Microsoft, Blackrock and Abu Dhabi sovereign fund MGX—offered little information about xAI’s involvement. They also said Nvidia had joined the group, without elaborating. The move shows how leading AI developers like OpenAI and xAI have joined forces with deeper pockets to obtain enough servers to make cutting-edge technology and power the apps that use it, such as ChatGPT. MGX is also part of Stargate, a joint venture with OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank to develop data centers for AI in the U.S., which they said could cost hundreds of billions of dollars. The AI Infrastructure Partnership members previously said it would initially raise $30 billion, with plans to reach $100 billion, including debt. The companies also said they will support a “diverse range of partners on a non-exclusive basis,” meaning xAI may not be the only AI developer that uses the eventual data centers. While the group previously announced its intent to develop data centers outside the U.S., it said on Wednesday that its deals would primarily focus on the U.S. https://tinyurl.com/29mvdu59

Google to acquire Wiz for US$32 billion.

Google will acquire the cybersecurity startup Wiz for US$32 billion, the companies announced Tuesday. The deal comes less than a year after the companies discussed an acquisition for US$23 billion, but those talks stalled last summer over concerns that regulators might block the transaction. Wiz, which sells software that helps companies protect their cloud servers from cyberattacks, will become a part of Google’s cloud unit but its products will remain available to customers of other cloud providers, Google said. Wiz has raised billions of dollars since its 2020 founding from investors including Cyberstarts, Sequoia, Greenoaks, Index, and Insight Partners. The company was valued at US$12 billion by investors last year and surpassed US$700 million in annual recurring revenue earlier this year, according to someone with direct knowledge of the business. The acquisition will be all-cash and is expected to close next year, Google said, assuming it gets regulatory approval. That’s not a certainty. While the Trump administration is seen as friendlier towards big tech dealmaking than regulators were under President Joe Biden, Google is still facing an antitrust lawsuit from the Department of Justice over its dominance in the online search market. https://tinyurl.com/563xrdty

SoftBank is buying Ampere Computing for US$6.5 billion.

SoftBank is acquiring Ampere Computing, a Silicon Valley-based chip design startup, for US$6.5 billion in cash, the company said in a statement Wednesday. SoftBank said that Ampere will operate as a subsidiary but keep its name and headquarters in Santa Clara, California. “The future of Artificial Super Intelligence requires breakthrough computing power,” Masayoshi Son, the CEO of SoftBank, said in a statement. “Ampere’s expertise in semiconductors and high-performance computing will help accelerate this vision, and deepens our commitment to AI innovation in the United States.” SoftBank has been going all in on AI for several years now. Son has a close relationship with AI chip giant Nvidia’s CEO, Jensen Huang. Huang has said that SoftBank was once his company’s biggest investor. SoftBank sold its stake in Nvidia in 2019 and Son said about his decision: https://tinyurl.com/ymz3a9xy

Kraken to buy NinjaTrader for US$1.5 billion.

Crypto exchange Kraken said it agreed to buy NinjaTrader, a U.S. retail futures trading platform, for US$1.5 billion. The deal will help Kraken expand into a broad trading venue ahead of a potential IPO. The acquisition will allow Kraken to offer crypto futures and derivatives in the U.S. because NinjaTrader is registered as a Futures Commission Merchant with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. NinjaTrader, which is majority backed by Long Ridge Equity Partners, has 1.9 million users. Kraken said it also plans to expand into stock trading and payments. Last year, it got approval for a broker-dealer license with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which will enable it to offer stock trading. Founded in 2011, Kraken generated US$1.5 billion in revenue last year and is one of the IPO candidates among crypto firms. https://tinyurl.com/3drzbjjc

Accenture is DOGE’s first corporate casualty as shares dive on warning that contracts will be cut.

Shares of Accenture tumbled about 7.3% after the consulting firm said efforts to tighten federal spending are starting to weigh on its revenues. Accenture is among the first of the U.S. corporate giants to get hit by the Trump administration’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency. “Federal represented approximately 8% of our global revenue and 16% of our Americas revenue in FY 2024. As you know, the new administration has a clear goal to run the federal government more efficiently. During this process, many new procurement actions have slowed, which is negatively impacting our sales and revenue,” chief executive Julie Spellman Sweet said in the Thursday call to several Wall Street analysts. Accenture is among the first of the U.S. corporate giants to get hit by the Trump administration’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency, an effort headed by billionaire Elon Musk to downsize federal agencies and consolidate their office spaces. Sweet said that Accenture’s Federal Services was also affected by guidance from the U.S. General Services Administration to all federal agencies to review their contracts with the top 10 highest paid consulting firms contracting with the U.S. government, and then end contracts that are not considered mission-critical to relevant agencies. https://tinyurl.com/3km6db9n

Nvidia unveils new AI chips, launches robot simulator with Google.

Nvidia on Tuesday unveiled a slew of new software for robotics, including a simulator it made with Disney and Google’s help, during its annual conference for software and hardware developers. The announcements aim to catalyze the development of robots with software powered by Nvidia’s artificial intelligence chips. The company also gave glimpses of its upcoming AI chips, Blackwell Ultra, due out later this year, as well as the next-generation Vera Rubin chips, due out next year. Nvidia said Rubin would have more than double the computing power of Blackwell chips. It said the following generation of chips will be named after another scientist, Richard Feynman. The company said it worked with Google and Disney’s research arm to develop an open source simulator, or “physics engine,” to help robots learn to how “handle complex tasks with greater precision.” Disney Research will use it to develop “entertainment robots, such as the expressive Star Wars-inspired BDX droids.” Nvidia said it released a simulator for developing robotic medical devices. It also released two AI models it says developers can use to help humanoid robots mirror human reflexes and to make decisions. https://tinyurl.com/ycx67w6r

Boston Dynamics shows off another major leap in humanoid mobility.

New videos of humanoid robots demonstrating extraordinary grace and agility. https://tinyurl.com/f8vm93pu

Big Tech’s data center boom poses new risk to US grid operators.

Data Center Alley, a 30-square-mile stretch outside Washington D.C. and home to more than 200 data centers, consumes roughly the same electricity as Boston. So power company officials were alarmed when a big chunk of those centers – 60 of them – suddenly dropped off the grid one day last summer and switched to on-site generators. The mass reaction was triggered by a standard safety mechanism across the data center industry, intended to protect computer chips and electronic equipment from damage caused by voltage fluctuations. But it caused a huge surge in excess electricity, according to federal regulators and utility executives. The magnitude of the imbalance forced grid operator PJM and local utility Dominion Energy to scale back output from power plants to protect grid infrastructure and avoid a worst-case scenario of cascading power outages across the region. Historically, grid operators have planned for large power plants tripping offline. But the rapid expansion of data centers processing the vast amounts of information used for AI and crypto mining is forcing grid operators to plan for new contingencies and complicating the already difficult task of balancing the country’s supply and demand of electricity. The event last July 10 occurred near the D.C. suburb of Fairfax, Virginia, an area known as Data Center Alley for its concentration of facilities serving Microsoft, Google and Amazon. About 70% of the world’s internet traffic flows through the area. A month after the incident, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), the federal regulator for grid reliability, founded a taskforce to study en masse disconnections by data centers and crypto miners. The number of near-miss events like the one in Data Center Alley has grown rapidly over the last five years as more data centers come online. The amount of power used by data centers has tripled over the past decade and could triple again by 2028, according to a report produced by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory for the Department of Energy in December. The risk of power outages will only grow as new data centers come online, the NERC forecast in a December report. Nearly all of the United States will face higher risks of energy shortfalls over the next 5 to 10 years, the report said. The regulator urged utilities to consider updating federal reliability standards for data centers and crypto miners. Many data centers are engineered by their operators to switch to local generators at the smallest hint of a problem on the grid to minimize the risk of an interruption to services like Google search or crypto mining, according to NERC. https://tinyurl.com/mwhhs2e6

Amazon to add higher-priced Alexa devices.

Amazon is planning to introduce a premium tier of hardware equipped with its Alexa voice assistant, in addition to the lower and mid-priced options it already sells, its top devices executive told Bloomberg. Panos Panay, who joined Amazon from Microsoft in 2023 to lead its devices division, said “signature” tier devices will have better sound and battery life, according to the interview published Monday. Amazon has traditionally sold Alexa hardware at around breakeven and offers several options for less than $100. The company unveiled an improved version of Alexa, called Alexa+, last month. Panay also hinted that Amazon could eventually introduce augmented reality glasses or other wearable devices, according to Bloomberg. https://tinyurl.com/3476zet9

Baidu launches new AI reasoning model in challenge to DeepSeek.

Chinese search giant Baidu launched two new artificial intelligence models last Sunday in an attempt to stay competitive after the rapid rise of DeepSeek. Baidu unveiled Ernie 4.5, the latest version of the company’s multimodal foundation models that understand text, image, audio and video, as well as Ernie X1, a new AI reasoning model. Baidu said in a statement that Ernie X1 “delivers performance on par with DeepSeek R1 at only half the price.” After DeepSeek became a global sensation, Baidu’s search and mapping apps, whose AI features are powered by the company’s own models, integrated DeepSeek’s last month to enhance their functions. But at the same time, Baidu is stepping up its effort to make its own models more competitive. Baidu said Ernie X1, which will soon be available to app developers through the company’s cloud computing service, will cost as low as 2 yuan (US$0.28) for every one million tokens that are input and 8 yuan for every one million tokens that are output. Baidu also said its AI chatbot app, Ernie Bot, will let consumers use Ernie 4.5 and Ernie X1 free of charge. Baidu, which was the first major Chinese company to launch its own AI model in early 2023, has been struggling to keep up with competition in China. Apart from DeepSeek, whose R1 reasoning model shocked the world with its high performance and low cost, TikTok owner ByteDance operates the country’s most popular AI chatbot app for consumers, while Alibaba is the leader in enterprise AI offerings for businesses. https://tinyurl.com/wvb9mbzh

Robinhood is getting into prediction-betting markets just in time for March Madness.

Robinhood is diving into prediction markets, launching its own service for traders looking to bet on outcomes of future events. The in-app betting hub will debut with a mix of wagers available for political predictions and sporting events. Early bettors can bet on US interest rates in May and the upcoming March Madness college basketball tournament. Robinhood views its foray into prediction markets as a way to serve the broader interests of its retail trader base. The popular investing app will start rolling out contracts on Monday, made available through Kalshi, an established predictions exchange. Shares in Robinhood climbed as high as 2.75% Monday morning. The firm has been eyeing betting markets for a while. In February, CEO Vlad Tenev cited plans to have a “leading role” among betting exchanges, given the market’s potential. “First of all, I think prediction markets are the future of not just trading, but also information,” he said. “I’ve been a big believer in the power of prediction markets for a long time — kind of a student of them — and I think prediction markets should be live for everything.” His point was on full display ahead of the 2024 presidential election, as betting markets correctly assumed that Donald Trump would win a second term. The event put prediction markets on the map for investors, with Polymarket and Kalshi becoming the go-to exchanges. Meanwhile, Robinhood has dabbled in the sector before unveiling its new hub. In February, it launched Super Bowl event contracts, though this was halted by a request from the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission. https://tinyurl.com/d3kbkh45

Klarna to offer Walmart buy now, pay later loans through fintech deal.

The Walmart-backed fintech OnePay has struck a partnership with Klarna for the Swedish buy now, pay later firm to offer installment loans for shoppers at the retail giant, Klarna said Monday. OnePay, which was previously known as One, started testing its own buy now, pay later offering in some Walmart stores last year. Walmart also currently offers shoppers buy now, pay later loans through Klarna rival Affirm. Klarna appears to have given Walmart an equity incentive for the deal—when the installment lender filed to go public last week, it disclosed it had entered into a commercial agreement with a partner it was granting more than 15 million warrants “in exchange for certain services,” with an average exercise price of US$34 per warrant. In a filing Monday, Affirm said Walmart continues to be “an integrated merchant partner” and that purchases made through the Walmart program made up around 5% of Affirm’s gross merchandise volume between July and December last year. Affirm shares fell more than 12% in morning trading on Monday. https://tinyurl.com/ab5m4mwf

Nvidia CEO says company has not been asked to buy a stake in Intel. 

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said on Wednesday that his company had not been approached about purchasing a stake in Intel. During a press conference at Nvidia’s annual developer conference in San Jose, California, Huang was asked whether Nvidia was part of a consortium with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co to buy Intel. The Technology Roundup newsletter brings the latest news and trends straight to your inbox. “Nobody’s invited us to a consortium,” Huang said. “Nobody invited me. Maybe other people are involved, but I don’t know. There might be a party. I wasn’t invited.” Reuters earlier this month reported that TSMC had approached Nvidia, Broadcom and Advanced Micro Devices about taking stakes in a joint venture that would operate Intel’s factories. https://tinyurl.com/yudsfkx8 

BYD unveils new super-charging EV tech, to build charging network in China.

BYD on Monday unveiled a new platform for electric vehicles (EVs) that it said could charge EVs as quickly as it takes to pump gas and announced for the first time that it would build a charging network across China. The so-called “super e-platform” will be capable of peak charging speeds of 1,000 kilowatts (kW), enabling cars that use it to travel 400 km (249 miles) on a 5-minute charge, founder Wang Chuanfu said at an event livestreamed from the company’s Shenzhen headquarters. Charging speeds of 1,000 kW would be twice as fast as Tesla’s superchargers whose latest version offers up to 500 kw charging speeds. Fast-charging technology has been key to increasing EV adoption as it is seen to help assure EV drivers’ concerns over being able to charge their cars quickly. The new charging architecture will be initially available in two new EVs – Han L sedan and Tang L SUV priced from 270,000 yuan (US$37,328.91) and BYD said it would build over 4,000 ultra-fast charging piles, or units, across China to match the new platform. The company didn’t specify the time frame or how much it would invest in building such facilities. To date, BYD owners have largely relied on other automakers’ charging facilities or public charging poles run by third-party operators to charge their vehicles. Tesla has offered its superchargers in China since 2014 and BYD’s smaller Chinese peers such as Nio, Li Auto, Xpeng and Zeekr have also been investing extensively and building charging facilities for years. BYD mostly relies on plug-in hybrids for its sales, which hit 4.2 million units last year. It has targeted selling 5-6 million units this year. https://tinyurl.com/h6je33te