Microsoft, along with other companies and trade groups, is making a case that a ban on imports of Chinese optical transceivers could irreparably damage the U.S. edge over China in the AI race. WASHINGTON - Microsoft and other companies and trade groups have pressed the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump to halt plans to bar imports from China of a key component used in artificial intelligence data centers, three people familiar with the situation said. In August, the Trump administration was reported to be seeking a ban on U.S. imports of new models of Chinese optical transceivers, which allow data to travel over fiber-optic cables at the speed of light within data centers. The concern is that they could be used by Beijing to steal data, install malware or disrupt service at U.S. data centers. Microsoft has 35 data centers under construction in the U.S. and another 134 planned, according to Cleanview, a market intelligence company that tracks data center development. It is one of a group of companies and trade groups making the case to the Trump administration that such a ban could irreparably damage the U.S. edge over China in the AI race by further slowing the data center rollout, the sources said.

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei looks on after a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron during the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi on Feb. 19. As the speed of artificial intelligence development has become increasingly controversial, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei is among those calling for top AI labs to pace the frontier" in order to prioritize safety. Anthropic and some of its shareholders are seeking to raise as much as $64.4 billion in an initial public offering, stopping short of targeting more than SpaceX gathered in its record-setting first-time share sale. The Claude chatbot maker is marketing shares in its IPO for $70 to $78 each, according to a filing on Monday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Anthropic is offering 801.4 million shares, while backers are selling 23.6 million shares. At the top of the price range, Anthropic would have a market value of about $1 trillion, based on the shares outstanding listed in the filing.

SoftBank logs $7 billion loss after U.S. data center costs swell SoftBank is increasingly seen as a proxy for sentiment toward OpenAI and the broader AI sector. Its shares have plunged more than 50% from their record high in June. SoftBank Group reported Tuesday its first net loss in almost two years after swallowing a $3.7 billion writedown over a U.S. data-center project amid rising fears around the sustainability of AI growth. The Tokyo-based backer of OpenAI tumbled to a ¥1.12 trillion ($7.1 billion) loss in its fiscal second quarter around nonrefundable advance payments made to secure equipment and manufacturing capacity for its Ohio data-center campus. Analysts on average expected a profit of ¥129 billion. Declines in the stock prices of chipmakers Arm Holdings and Intel, as well as South Korean e-commerce giant Coupang, further dragged down SoftBank's bottom line.

Sakana AI might list on the Tokyo Stock Exchange or Nasdaq, or it may choose a dual listing on both. Sakana AI might go public next year and is considering a listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, Nasdaq or both for its initial public offering (IPO), media reports say. According to Nikkei, which broke the news, the company's market capitalization could exceed Mercari's ¥680 billion ($4.3 billion) and set Sakana AI on track to become one of Japan's most valuable startup listings. Goldman Sachs has been hired as an adviser, according to the report. In an X post on Monday, Sakana AI said it has no near-term plans for an IPO. "Our priority remains building a generational AI company that serves as Japan's national AI champion," the post read.

Taiwan says China is conducting'area denial' drills in Western Pacific

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang speaks during a keynote address at an Nvidia conference in San Jose, California, on March 16. Nvidia Corp. Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang's affair with an alleged Chinese spy has sent the company's stock plunging, become a focus of internal and government investigations and is now threatening to reverberate across the AI industry. Nvidia shares slid as much as 8.8% on Monday, at one point erasing nearly $400 billion in market valuation, after Huang disclosed the romantic relationship Sunday in a memo to employees. The company's board is assembling a committee of independent directors who will work with outside counsel to investigate reports of Huang being targeted for foreign intelligence. With the stunning revelations, investors need to consider a range of possibilities that may affect not just Huang and Nvidia, but the entire artificial intelligence industry.

Japan plans to develop an AI-powered language-learning app that lets overseas anime and manga fans practice Japanese through conversations with popular characters. Japan is betting it can turn pop-culture fans into fluent Japanese speakers with a potential artificial intelligence-powered language-learning app through which users can practice conversations with popular characters. The app, which is to be developed by the Japan Foundation (JF) at the request of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs following budget approval for the next fiscal year, is expected to be completed by fiscal 2028 and will primarily target young people overseas who are interested in anime and manga. The app will use artificial intelligence to allow users to practice conversations with characters from popular anime and manga. It is also the first time the foundation has incorporated AI into its language-learning services.

Mizuho is strengthening its position in Japan's investment banking market by securing a key role in a string of major U.S. listings, including Anthropic's, and tapping Japanese investors for up to $3.5 billion. Mizuho Financial Group is carving out a lucrative niche in Japan's equity capital market by bridging the ravenous U.S. demand for artificial intelligence fundraising and its home country's deep pool of retail savings. Anthropic's listing is the third in a string of blockbuster deals where Mizuho snagged a key role, looking to raise as much as $3.5 billion from Japanese investors. It shows that the bank is able to leverage its success in building a U.S. business to compete on a market traditionally dominated by Nomura Holdings where domestic deals have hit a drought. The Claude chatbot maker is following SpaceX in bringing a mega deal to the Japanese market, attracted to its cash-rich retail investors and a streamlined offering process.

SoftBank Group and ABB are studying how the Chinese business, which is ABB Robotics' largest single market, could be separated out, according to people familiar with the matter. SoftBank Group and ABB are looking at carving out the Chinese part of a giant robotics deal as they explore ways to salvage a transaction blocked by Beijing, according to people familiar with the matter. The two companies and their advisers are trying to find a solution after China's powerful Office of the Working Mechanism for Foreign Investment Security Review on Thursday halted SoftBank's move to acquire the ABB unit valued at $5.4 billion. They are studying how the Chinese business, which is ABB Robotics' largest single market, could be separated out, the people said. SoftBank is leading the push, people added, asking not to be identified as the talks were private.

Can't cook or shower: Indonesians take aim at data centers The Nongsa Digital Park (NDP) area, a hub for artificial intelligence (AI)-based data center and digital infrastructure development, in Batam, Riau Islands, Indonesia, on Nov. 3. Batam, Indonesia - Cooking and bathing became difficult when taps ran dry in Batam, an Indonesian island where residents are protesting as data centers spring up to power the global artificial intelligence boom. The area had suffered a "long drought" caused by low rainfall, the local water utility operator said, as a strong El Nino cycle exacerbates dry weather. But, as in other countries, anger has been directed at the data centers, warehouse-like facilities that keep apps and artificial intelligence tools running, with water often used to cool their humming servers. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.