September 8, 2024: Worst Week For Market In Over a Year

Last week, Dow Jones dropped 2.9%, S&P 500 lost 4.25% (worst weekly losses for both indices since March 2023), Nasdaq composite fell 5.8% (worst weekly loss since January 2022). Investors appear concerned the Fed may be behind the curve on a slowing economy, and the sell-off in AI stocks intensified. Nvidia plunged 9.5% on Tuesday, wiping nearly US$300 billion off the chipmaker’s market cap and pulling chip stocks down with it. Intel fell almost 8%, Marvell slid 8.2%, and Broadcom lost about 6%. AMD dropped 7.8%, and Qualcomm fell nearly 7%. Nvidia on Wednesday denied reports it received a subpoena from the Department of Justice over antitrust concerns. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s plan to raise money for new data centers, power sources, and chip manufacturing plants for artificial intelligence will start in the U.S. and could cost tens of billions of dollars, according to a Bloomberg report. Investors in other countries such as Canada, Korea, Japan and the United Arab Emirates also plan to participate, the report said. CBOE plans to start a platform for trading private company shares. Shares of AI software Firm C3.ai dropped 17%, despite stronger revenue growth projection. In Canada, Exro announced a public financing of up to approximately $30 million. Kits Eyecare increased its previously announced secondary offering of common shares to $11.4 million and increased the block trade of its common shares. Shopify will become Roblox’s first platform commerce partner. Sophic Client Ionik acquired Nimble5, a performance marketing company headquartered in San Diego, California for a total aggregate purchase price of ~US$33.7 million for cash, debt and stock, plus an earn-out consideration. Sophic Client Plurilock won a US$1.1 million contract with a U.S. agency.

Exro (EXRO-TSX) announces a public financing of up to approximately $30 million.

Exro Technologies has commenced a marketed public offering (the “Offering”) of up to 85,715,000 units (“Units”) of the Company, at a price of $0.35 per Unit (the “Offering Price”), for aggregate gross proceeds of up to approximately $30 million. The Offering will be conducted on a best efforts agency basis pursuant to the terms and conditions of an agency agreement to be entered into between the Company and Stifel Nicolaus Canada Inc. (the “Lead Agent”) as lead agent and sole bookrunner, together with other members of an agency syndicate which may be formed in connection with the Offering (together with the Lead Agent, the “Agents”). Additionally, the Company has engaged Centurion One Capital Corp. to act as special advisor. Each Unit shall consist of one (1) common share of the Company (a “Share”) and one-half of one (1/2) Share purchase warrant (each whole warrant, a “Warrant”), with each Warrant exercisable to acquire one (1) additional Share (a “Warrant Share”) at a price of $0.42 per Warrant Share for a period of 36 months following the issuance date of the Warrants (the “Closing Date”). The Company has agreed to grant the Agents an option to increase the size of the Offering by up to 12,857,250 Units, Shares, Warrants, or any combination thereof (the “Over-Allotment Option”), exercisable in whole or in part at any time for a period of 30 days after the Closing Date. It is anticipated that the net proceeds of the Offering will be used for working capital (primarily inventory and parts), SG&A and for general corporate purposes. The proceeds of this Offering are intended to fund the Company through to cash flow positive in 2025. https://tinyurl.com/4cxd6syp

Kits Eyecare Ltd. (KITS-TSX) increases previously announced secondary offering of common shares to $11.4 million and increases block trade of common shares.

Kits Eyecare Ltd. announces that the previously announced secondary offering of common shares of the Company (the “Common Shares”) by Roger Hardy and entities managed by Roger Hardy (collectively, the “Hardy Shareholders”), LD Group Holdings Ltd. (“LD Group”) and Joseph Thompson (together with the Hardy Shareholders and LD Group, the “Selling Securityholders”) has been upsized (the “Offering”). The Offering is being led by Canaccord Genuity Corp. (“Canaccord Genuity” or the “Lead Underwriter”) as sole bookrunner and lead underwriter, on behalf of a syndicate of underwriters (collectively, the “Underwriters”). Pursuant to the amended agreement, the size of the Offering has increased from the previously announced $10,150,000 to $11,418,750, with the Underwriters agreeing to purchase on a bought deal basis an aggregate of 1,125,000 Common Shares held by the Selling Securityholders at an offering price of $10.15 per share (the “Offering Price”). The Lead Underwriter has also been granted an over-allotment option (the “Over-Allotment Option”) to purchase up to an additional 168,750 Common Shares from the Selling Securityholders at the Offering Price for additional gross proceeds of $1,712,812.50 if the Over-Allotment Option is exercised in full. The Underwriters have also increased the size of the previously announced agreement to purchase, on a bought deal basis, Common Shares from the spouse of Sabrina Liak (the “Block Shareholder”). The Underwriters have now agreed to purchase 325,000 Common Shares from the Block Shareholder at the Offering Price for total gross proceeds of $3,298,750 (the “Concurrent Bought Block Trade”). The Concurrent Bought Block Trade is expected to close concurrently with the Offering on or about September 26, 2024. The completion of the Offering is not conditional upon the completion of the Concurrent Bought Block Trade. https://tinyurl.com/46whrfvv

Shopify (SHOP-NYSE, SHOP-TSX) to become Roblox’s first platform commerce partner.

Shopify is set to pilot its checkout in Roblox, one of the world’s largest online games, the two companies announced. The announcement was made during this year’s Roblox Developers Conference in San Jose, California. With this integration, developers, creators, and brands who are on Shopify can sell physical items to customers using real currency within Roblox games without ever leaving the Roblox platform. For example, a Roblox player can interact with a shirt displayed on an in-game mannequin to summon a Shopify-powered checkout where they can purchase a real-life version of the clothing in addition to a digital replica for their character. Shopify said it plans to follow the soon-to-be-launched pilot with a “larger launch” in early 2025. https://tinyurl.com/49u666ac

Sophic Client Ionik (INIK-TSXV, INIKF-OTCQX) acquires Nimble5.

PopReach Corporation (dba Ionik) announced that it has acquired Nimble5, LLC (“Nimble5”), a performance marketing company headquartered in San Diego, California (the “Transaction”) for a total aggregate purchase price of approximately US$33.7 million, consisting of a combination of cash, debt and stock, plus an earn-out consideration. Consistent with Ionik’s acquisition criteria, Nimble5 generates meaningful Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Free Cash Flow that will help to accelerate Ionik’s expansion to a level of relevant financial scale. The aggregate consideration of approximately US$33.7 million is comprised of US$20.0 million in cash (the “Cash Consideration”), US$5.0 million in non-interest bearing vendor take-back debt (the “Non-Interest Bearing Debt”), US$6.0 million vendor take-back debt bearing interest at the rate of 10% per annum (the “Interest-Bearing Debt” and together with the Non-Interest Bearing Debt, collectively, the “VTB Debt”) and the issuance of 30.0 million common shares of Ionik (the “Consideration Shares”), with an approximate value of US$2.7 million based on the August 30, 2024 closing price per share of C$0.12 (the “Closing Price”) and a C$:US$ exchange rate of 1.3491. The Purchaser is also assuming up to US$1.0 million in net current liabilities on Nimble5’s balance sheet. https://bit.ly/4cSI3Mm

Sophic Client Plurilock (PLUR-TSXV, PLCKF-OTCQB) wins US$1.1 million contract with U.S. agency.

Plurilock has been awarded a contract to deliver contract lifecycle management (“CLM”) software to the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (“DFC” or the “Customer”). The contract, which includes a ~US$221,000 base first year and four subsequent option years for similar amounts, is for cloud software. The contract was awarded through Aurora Systems Consulting subsidiary. https://bit.ly/4ebiN55

SeeByte and Sophic Client Kraken Robotics (PNG-TSXV, KRKNF-OTC) sign MOU.

SeeByte Ltd (SeeByte) and Kraken Robotics signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) under which they will seek to enhance their complimentary system offerings to bring customers an integrated solution across maritime mission planning, data collection, and data analysis. The combined solution offers customers an integrated proven system for maritime operations that is competitive, readily available, and delivers a high-quality user experience. https://bit.ly/3TegVAd

Sophic Client Plurilock (PLUR-TSXV, PLCKF-OTCQB) announces Plurilock AI integration with Acronis Cyber Protect cloud platform.

Plurilock announces an integration between its flagship Plurilock AI cybersecurity platform and the Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud Platform, which protects hundreds of thousands of businesses around the world. The integration enables managed service providers (MSPs) that secure their customers through Acronis to easily leverage Plurilock AI and its cloud access security broker (CASB) and data loss prevention (DLP) capabilities. https://bit.ly/3z1ORcH

Sophic Client Xcyte Digital (XCYT-TSXV) partners with Digital Fashion Week to power innovative fashion event.

Xcyte Digital announces a partnership with Digital Fashion Week (DFW) to power and provide comprehensive production support for upcoming DFW events. This collaboration aims to revolutionize the fashion industry by seamlessly blending physical and digital experiences through never-before-seen portal technology. The London leg of Digital Fashion Week, held at Epic Games’ Innovation Lab in London on September 13, will provide the perfect backdrop for DFW’s groundbreaking “phygital” experiences. This state-of-the-art facility, equipped with a curved LED volume and advanced lighting technology, will showcase the seamless integration of Xcyte Digital’s portal technology with Epic Games’ cutting-edge virtual production capabilities. https://bit.ly/3ZdBfpc

Sophic Client Clear Blue Technologies (CBLU-TSXV, CBUTF-OTC, 0YA-FRA) participating on Artificial Intelligence Panel at TowerXchange Meetup Africa 2024.

Clear Blue Technologies announces that CEO Miriam Tuerk will host and present on the AI/Analytics panel at the upcoming TowerXchange Meetup Africa 2024 conference. The conference is scheduled for September 10 and 11 in Nairobi, Kenya. Panel discussion to focus on tangible improvements digital infrastructure owners are generating from the application of better monitoring, analytics, automation and Artificial Intelligence (AI) /Machine Learning (ML). Clear Blue today also announces the extension of its non-brokered convertible debenture private placement (the “Offering”), previously set to end on September 1, 2024, to September 30, 2024. The closing of the initial tranche of the Offering was announced on August 6, 2024, in which gross proceeds of approximately $1.41M were subscribed for. The Company also intends to increase the size of the Offering from $2M to $2.5M collectively across all tranches. https://bit.ly/4gj1qBd

Northside Ventures closes first early-stage VC fund at $15 million.

Toronto-based venture capital (VC) firm Northside Ventures has closed its inaugural fund, hitting its $15 million (US$11 million) target last month despite tough market conditions. Northside’s Fund I LPs consist of a mix of institutional investors, funds-of-funds, corporate VC arms, other VC funds, family offices, and experienced tech founders and operators. The group includes Inovia Capital, Bain Capital Ventures, Intact Ventures, Notable Capital, Golden Ventures, FJ Labs, Bling Capital, Coolwater Capital, and Garage Capital among others. The VC firm also counts more than 50 individuals from companies like Google, Uber, Affirm, Deel, Rippling, Wave, and PointClickCare among its LPs.https://tinyurl.com/4bzupvz5

Round13, Nvidia-backed Wombo announces $12.2 million to launch more generative AI apps.

Toronto-based Wombo, which has gained popularity for its ability to turn selfies into videos of users lip-syncing to popular songs, has announced approximately $12.2 million (US$9 million) in funding to launch more generative artificial intelligence (AI) entertainment products. The all-equity round was led by an existing backer, Round13 Capital’s Digital Asset Fund (Round13 DAF), with participation from a slew of new investors, including chip giant Nvidia, AI cloud provider CoreWeave, SBI, and Web3.com. Wombo plans to use this capital to expand its 10-person team, accelerate its product development efforts, and “explore new frontiers in AI-powered content creation.” Wombo is not classifying this round, which brings the company’s total funding to more than US$15 million. https://tinyurl.com/mtkzj94n

Nvidia plunges almost 10%, dragging basket of chip stocks to worst day since March 2020.

Nvidia plunged 9.5% on Tuesday, wiping nearly US$300 billion off the chipmaker’s market cap and pulling chip stocks down with it. Intel fell almost 8%, Marvell slid 8.2%, and Broadcom lost about 6%. AMD dropped 7.8%, and Qualcomm fell nearly 7%. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH), an index that tracks semiconductor stocks, was down 7.5%, its worst day since March 2020. Markets were sluggish Tuesday after the ISM manufacturing index reported August figures that came in below consensus expectations — raising fears about the strength of the economy but also potentially increasing chances that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates. Chip stocks have been rising in the past year on optimism that the artificial intelligence boom will require companies to buy more semiconductors and memory to keep up with rising computational requirements for AI applications. https://tinyurl.com/2423e3rd

Nvidia says it didn’t receive antitrust subpoena from DOJ.

Nvidia on Wednesday denied reports it received a subpoena from the Department of Justice over antitrust concerns. “We have inquired with the U.S. Department of Justice and have not been subpoenaed,” an Nvidia representative told CNBC. “Nonetheless, we are happy to answer any questions regulators may have about our business.” Bloomberg reported Tuesday that Nvidia had received a subpoena, causing the stock to slip in after-hours trading. The chipmaker’s shares had already given up nearly 10% during regular trading Tuesday. While the report did not specify a reason for regulators to be interested in Nvidia, the company’s recent rise has been directly tied to its dominance in artificial intelligence chips for data centers years before competitors AMD and Intel started taking the category seriously. Nvidia has more than 80% of the data center AI chip market, according to industry estimates. https://tinyurl.com/3mz6x6v9

Altman’s AI data center, power project could start in U.S.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s plan to raise money for new data centers, power sources, and chip manufacturing plants for artificial intelligence will start in the U.S. and could cost tens of billions of dollars, according to a Bloomberg report. Investors in other countries such as Canada, Korea, Japan and the United Arab Emirates also plan to participate, the report said, adding that Altman has met with the U.S. National Security Council to discuss taking foreign investment for the plan. It isn’t clear whether Altman has raised capital for the AI infrastructure project or whether it is related to the round of funding OpenAI is currently raising or the new AI server chip OpenAI has discussed designing with Broadcom. Altman declined to comment about the report. Altman is one of several people looking to start such projects. The Information on Tuesday reported on discussions involving two large-scale AI data centers that would each cost more than US$100 billion. https://tinyurl.com/mvesmhdu

ByteDance in talks with banks for US$9.5 billion loan.

ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, is in talks with banks to arrange a US$9.5 billion loan, mainly to refinance existing debt on favorable terms, according to two people with knowledge of the matter. This is part of the Chinese tech giant’s long-term financing strategy. While ByteDance generates strong cash flow from its operations—and has tens of billions in cash on its balance sheet—it has also borrowed money. That’s a similar strategy to many U.S. big tech companies, such as Apple. ByteDance plans to use part of the new loan to refinance a US$5 billion loan from 2021 that is maturing, one of the people said. ByteDance’s plan for the new loan was reported earlier by Bloomberg. Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan are the coordinators of the loan, according to Bloomberg. https://tinyurl.com/52336ze7

TikTok parent hikes share price in latest buyback.

TikTok parent company ByteDance increased the share price in its latest employee buyback, an increase that’s in line with secondary market trades that have lifted its valuation close to US$230 billion. The company offered to buy back shares from current employees at about US$181 a share, and about $154 for former employees, according to a notice sent to current and former employees. In March, ByteDance offered employees US$171 a share and former employees US$145 a piece. The upcoming employee buyback would be the third in about 12 months, including one for international employees. In each buyback, the price offered has risen. https://tinyurl.com/5cyrb88p

Fidelity cuts valuation on X by another 4%.

Fidelity has cut its valuation on X Holdings, formerly known as Twitter, by another 4%, securities filings showed on Friday. The latest cut, taken for July, means that Fidelity has slashed the value of its stake in X by 72% since Elon Musk bought the social media app in October, 2022. The mutual fund’s new valuation implies X shares are worth only US$15 each compared with Musk’s takeover price of US$54.20 per share. Including debt, that implies an overall value of about US$21 billion on X. Since Musk’s takeover, X’s revenue has fallen sharply, as advertisers have defected en masse, as Musk relaxed content moderation rules. The Washington Post earlier reported Fidelity’s valuation cut. https://tinyurl.com/ynnjtkhw

CBOE starts platform for trading private company shares.

CBOE Global Markets Inc. is partnering with a London-based tech firm to create a US trading platform for shares of closely held companies, a traditionally illiquid market that investors have increasingly sought to access. CBOE Private Markets registered with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority as a broker-dealer, according to a filing in August — an essential step in setting up a so-called alternative trading system. The new venue will compete with a platform that Nasdaq Inc. spun out in 2021. Investors have clamored for access to private ventures in recent years amid an extended dry spell in the market for initial public offerings. Many are also eager to invest in firms before they go public and soar in value. Chicago-based CBOE — a derivatives and exchange network that operates worldwide — is responding to this demand by partnering with Globacap, a software company that will provide the platform’s technology for trading nonpublic shares. In October, Globacap raised $21 million in venture capital funding from the CBOE along with investors including Moore Strategic Ventures and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. CBOE Private Markets is in its pilot stage, and the firm hasn’t released a startup date. CBOE Private Markets will operate as an alternative trading system, the term for electronic markets that function like an exchange but are subject to less regulation. Nasdaq Private Market gives closely held companies, brokers and investors the ability to access, manage and execute stock transactions. ClearList, which is majority-owned by market-maker GTS, also operates a trading system for secondary transactions in private securities. https://archive.ph/pEpim

Intel considers selling Altera.

Intel is considering selling its Altera chip unit, Reuters reported, as part of a broader review of restructuring options underway at the struggling chip company. On Friday, Bloomberg reported that Intel was considering dividing its product design from its manufacturing operations. The news sent Intel’s long-battered stock price up 10% on Friday to around US$22, although the stock remains well below the US$50 level it was trading at in December. Intel reported at the start of August a slight drop in revenue for the second quarter, and forecast a 12% topline drop for the third quarter. The U.S. chip pioneer has fallen behind on several fronts over the past few years, most recently in the AI field which is dominated by Nvidia. Intel bought Altera in 2015 for US$16.7 billion. https://tinyurl.com/4r7tu422

Qualcomm said to consider buying Intel’s PC design business.

Qualcomm has looked at parts of Intel’s chip design business as potential acquisition targets, according to Reuters. The division of Intel that designs chips for PCs was especially attractive, one source told the news agency. Qualcomm has been mulling over the plans for months, said the report, but fresh signs of strain on Intel’s business may accelerate a sale. Intel last month said it would cut more than 15% of its staff after revenue fell and costs soared in the second quarter. Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger is expected to propose parts of the business for a potential sell-off later this month, Reuters previously reported. Qualcomm, which develops wireless technologies, competes against Intel in the market for mobile and PC chips. In the past week, the two companies unveiled rival PC chips: Qualcomm announced the Snapdragon X Plus 8-core on Wednesday, a day after Intel debuted its Lunar Lake chips. https://tinyurl.com/4mv3azeh

Intel is exploring sale of part of stake in Mobileye.

Intel Corp. is considering options for its stake in its struggling automated driving systems provider Mobileye Global Inc. as part of a major strategy overhaul, people with knowledge of the matter said. The chipmaker could offload some of its 88% holding in Mobileye on the public market or via a sale to a third party, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the information was private. Mobileye has a board meeting later this month in New York, where Intel’s plans will be considered, one of the people said. https://tinyurl.com/3ffa3pyb

Salesforce to buy data management Firm ‘Own’ for US$1.9 billion.

Salesforce said Thursday it will pay US$1.9 billion in cash to acquire Own, which sells a product for businesses to protect and manage their data. It’s Salesforce’s second acquisition this week, showing how CEO Marc Benioff may be changing his playbook after pledging to slow down deals last year following pressure from activist investors. On Tuesday, Salesforce said it would buy Tenyx, which makes voice-based artificial intelligence products, for an undisclosed amount. The Own acquisition comes as Salesforce, a top seller of software for salespeople, is looking to boost customer adoption of Data Cloud, which stores data from Salesforce’s products and external sources and lets customers glean insights using AI. Salesforce said in May that Data Cloud was approaching US$400 million in annual recurring revenue, a roughly 90% increase year over year and implying current monthly revenue of more than US$33 million. Own, which sold its product through Salesforce’s software marketplace, raised more than US$500 million from investors including Salesforce, Tiger Global and Insight Partners, and was last valued at US$3.4 billion in 2021, according to PitchBook. Salesforce said it expects the deal to close in its fourth fiscal quarter, which begins in November. https://tinyurl.com/ytup8ktb

Broadcom reports strong Q3, but Q4 revenue outlook light.

Broadcom reported better-than-expected third quarter results as revenue growth was driven by Ethernet networking and custom accelerators for AI data centers. The fourth quarter outlook, however, was a bit light.Going into the results, analysts were mostly interested in Broadcom as an AI play. However, AI infrastructure players such as Nvidia and chipmakers like AMD have tailed off of late. https://tinyurl.com/5n9xrryf

Shares of AI software Firm C3.ai drop 17% despite stronger revenue growth projection.

Shares in C3.ai, which sells artificial intelligence services to large companies and government agencies, fell as much as 17% despite projecting that revenue growth in the current fiscal quarter would accelerate to 23%, or about US$90 million, based on the midpoint of its guidance, compared to 21% growth in the quarter that ended in July. On the other hand, the company generated free cash flow of US$7 million, substantially lower than the US$18.8 million of free cash flow it generated in the April quarter. And subscription revenue represented about 84% of revenue in the July quarter compared to 92% of revenue in the April quarter. In response to a question about “lumpy” subscription revenue, CEO Tom Siebel said it would fluctuate between 10% to 20% of total revenue for a while, and that the remaining revenue from professional services, also known as consulting, had much higher profit margins. C3.ai’s customers, which include oil firm Baker Hughes, use its software for everything from reducing ships’ fuel consumption to determining aircraft maintenance schedules. Ahead of Wednesday’s earnings report, C3’s stock was down 20% so far this year, compared with a 15.7% increase for the Nasdaq composite index. https://tinyurl.com/4nd8732f

Broadcom CEO: tech giants’ shift toward custom AI chips will accelerate.

Broadcom CEO Hock Tan said a long-term trend in the artificial intelligence chip industry is that “hyperscalers”—the biggest cloud providers and other tech giants operating huge platforms—are all moving toward creating their own custom chips. If such a trend accelerates, Broadcom, which helps tech giants like Google and Meta Platforms design custom AI chips, could become more competitive against Nvidia, the dominant AI chip supplier. “Those few hyperscalers, platform guys, will create their own [AI chips] if they haven’t already done it, and start to train them on their large language models,” Tan said during a conference call with analysts after Broadcom reported its quarterly earnings. Broadcom’s revenue for the fiscal third quarter through Aug. 4 rose 47% to $13.1 billion. The company posted a net loss of $1.88 billion due in part to a one-time tax provision. Most other enterprise customers will continue to use general-purpose AI chips because they don’t have the capabilities or financial resources to create their own custom chips. But the sheer size of the demand for custom chips from the small number of hyperscalers will rival the demand for general-purpose AI chips from all other customers, Tan said. https://tinyurl.com/5yp73w8c

OnlyFans revenue jumped 20% in 2023.

OnlyFans revenue rose 20% to about US$1.31 billion for the fiscal year ending November 2023, compared to the previous year, according to a U.K. filing from the adult content site’s parent company, Fenix International on Friday. While other creator economy startups have struggled since pandemic lockdowns eased, OnlyFans has continued to post strong financial results showing strong demand for the service. “OnlyFans had a strong year in 2023. We have cemented our place as a leading digital entertainment company and a UK tech success story,” CEO Keily Blair said in a statement. The total number of creator accounts jumped by 29% to about 4.1 million, while fan accounts rose 28% to 305 million, the filing said. Gross payments for chats, photos and videos totaled US$6.6 billion last year, up by US$1 billion year-over-year. https://tinyurl.com/2eh3ksv6

Americas overtake China in semiconductor chip sales.

Semiconductor sales in the Americas outpaced those in China for the first time in at least five years in July, according to data compiled by the Semiconductor Industry Association. Global semiconductor industry sales totaled US$51.3 billion in July, an 18.7% jump from a year earlier. Sales in the Americas rose to US$15.4 billion, compared with US$15.2 billion in China. Regionally, sales increased in the Americas, China and most of the rest of Asia — but fell in Japan and Europe. Sales in the Americas are now close to four times the level in Europe. https://archive.ph/IMn0C

TSMC’s Arizona trials put plant productivity on par with Taiwan.

Production delays had raised concerns about US efficiency TSMC plans to start mass production in Arizona in 2025. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. achieved production yields at its Arizona facility on par with established plants back home, an early indicator that its marquee US project is on track to achieve its targets. The Taiwanese chipmaker’s yield rate in trial production at its first advanced US plant is similar to comparable facilities in the southern Taiwanese city of Tainan, according to a person familiar with the company, who asked not to be identified discussing private corporate matters. TSMC had said it started engineering wafer production in April with advanced 4-nanometer process technology. https://tinyurl.com/mw957b2y

Sweden’s Volvo Cars scraps plan to sell only electric vehicles by 2030.

Swedish automaker Volvo Cars abandoned its near-term goal of selling only electric vehicles, citing a need to be “pragmatic and flexible” amid changing market conditions and cooling demand. The Geely-owned carmaker said that it now aims for 90% to 100% of its cars sold to be fully electric or plug-in hybrid models by 2030, while up to 10% will allow for a limited number of mild hybrid models. The target replaces a 2021 pledge for Volvo Cars’ lineup to be fully electric by the end of the decade. https://tinyurl.com/42d7ca7e