United News of Bangladesh

Nvidia announced Monday that it will produce its artificial intelligence super computers in the United States for the first time. The tech giant said it has commissioned more than one million square feet of manufacturing space to build and test its specialized Blackwell chips in Arizona and AI supercomputers in Texas — part of an investment the company said will produce up to half a trillion dollars of AI infrastructure in the next four years. “The engines of the world’s AI infrastructure are being built in the United States for the first time,” Nvidia founder Jensen Huang said in a statement. “Adding American manufacturing helps us better meet the incredible and growing demand for AI chips and supercomputers, strengthens our supply chain and boosts our resiliency.” Nvidia’s announcement comes as the Trump administration has said that tariff exemptions on electronics like smartphones and laptops are only a temporary reprieve until officials develop a new tariff approach specific to the semiconductor industry. White House officials, including President Donald Trump himself, spent Sunday downplaying the significance of exemptions that lessen but won’t eliminate the effect of US tariffs on imports of popular consumer devices and their key components. Zuckerberg defends Instagram and WhatsApp deals as Meta faces landmark antitrust trial “They’re exempt from the reciprocal tariffs but they’re included in the semiconductor tariffs, which are coming in probably a month or two,” US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday. Nvidia said in a post on its website that it has started Blackwell production at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. chip plants in Phoenix. The Santa Clara, California-based chip company is also building supercomputer manufacturing plants in Texas — with Foxconn in Houston and Wistron in Dallas. Nvidia's AI super computers will serve as the engines for AI factories, “a new type of data center created for the sole purpose of processing artificial intelligence,” the company said, adding that manufacturing in the US will create “hundreds of thousands of jobs and drive trillions of dollars in economic security over the coming decades." Mass production at both plants is expected to ramp up in the next 12-15 months, Nvidia said. The company also plans on partnering with Taiwan-based company SPIL and Amkor for “packaging and testing operations” in Arizona. In a statement Monday, the White House called Nvidia’s move “the Trump Effect in action.” Trump “has made US-based chips manufacturing a priority as part of his relentless pursuit of an American manufacturing renaissance, and it’s paying off — with trillions of dollars in new investments secured in the tech sector alone,” the White House said. Earlier this year, Trump announced a joint venture investing up to $500 billion for infrastructure tied to artificial intelligence by a new partnership formed by OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank. The new entity, Stargate, was tasked with building out data centers and the electricity generation needed for the further development of the fast-evolving AI in Texas, according to the White House. The initial investment is expected to be $100 billion and could reach five times that sum.

Nvidia, a leading AI technology firm, has launched a series of initiatives aimed at accelerating the development of humanoid robots. The company's CEO, Jensen Huang, revealed a groundbreaking collaboration with Disney Research and Google’s DeepMind AI lab during his keynote address at the 2025 GTC developers conference. The partnership focuses on the creation of Newton, an open-source physics engine that allows robots to refine their skills and tackle complex tasks with improved precision. Huang hailed the collaboration, declaring that "the age of generalist robotics is here." Disney Research will be one of the first organisations to implement Newton, using it to enhance its robotic character platform. Google acquires cybersecurity firm Wiz for $32 billion in its largest-ever deal This platform powers next-generation entertainment robots, including the Star Wars-inspired "BDX" droids that appeared during Huang’s presentation. Kyle Laughlin, Senior VP at Walt Disney Imagineering Research & Development, emphasised that the collaboration would enable the creation of more expressive and engaging robots, helping to deliver unique experiences for Disney guests. Alongside the Newton project, Nvidia introduced Isaac GR00T N1, a fully customisable foundation model designed for humanoid reasoning and skills. Available now, GR00T N1 is the first in a family of models that Nvidia expects to release to robotics developers globally. As AI reshapes hospital care, human nurses push back Huang demonstrated the robot's ability to perform domestic tasks autonomously using a "post-trained policy" based on GR00T N1, a result of Nvidia's AI training partnership with 1X. The GR00T N1 model is designed to generalise across common tasks such as object manipulation, as well as handle more complex, multi-step activities. Early adopters of GR00T N1 include Agility Robotics, Boston Dynamics, Mentee Robotics, and Neura Robotics, all of which are set to advance the next generation of AI-driven robotics.

Wall Street’s tech giants faced sharp declines on Monday amid concerns over a Chinese competitor potentially disrupting the booming artificial intelligence (AI) sector.  The S&P 500 dropped 1.7% in afternoon trading, on course for its steepest loss in over a month. Tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite took a significant hit, falling 3.2%, as major technology stocks suffered. Nvidia led the slide, plummeting 16%, AP reports.  In contrast, industries outside the AI sector showed resilience. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 137 points, or 0.3%, at 12:42 pm Eastern Time. The Dow's smaller exposure to tech helped cushion its performance compared to the S&P 500 and Nasdaq.  Chinese challenger DeepSeek shakes AI market  The market turbulence stemmed from China, where a company named DeepSeek announced the development of a large language model rivaling US tech leaders at a fraction of the cost. DeepSeek's app reached the top spot among free apps on Apple’s App Store by Monday morning, a feat considered remarkable given US restrictions on China’s access to advanced AI chips.  Despite the buzz, skepticism remains over DeepSeek's ability to significantly disrupt the AI ecosystem. Questions persist about how it may have bypassed US chip export restrictions and what hardware it used to develop its model.  Asian shares gain after S&P 500 climbs to a record and Bank of Japan raises rate Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities, remarked, “It remains to be seen if DeepSeek found a way to work around these chip restriction rules and what chips they ultimately used. There will be many skeptics around this issue, especially given the information is coming from China.”  The ripple effects of DeepSeek's announcement were felt across global markets. In Amsterdam, Dutch chipmaking equipment producer ASML saw a 7% decline, while in Tokyo, SoftBank Group Corp slid 8.3%. SoftBank's drop follows its recent partnership announcement, backed by the White House, to invest up to $500 billion in AI infrastructure.  On Wall Street, shares of Constellation Energy plunged 19.3%. The company had planned to restart the dormant Three Mile Island nuclear power plant to provide energy for data centres operated by Microsoft.  Investors sought safer alternatives amid the market volatility, leading to a rally in bonds. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell from 4.62% late Friday to 4.54% on Monday.  The AI sector, previously a major driver of market growth, experienced a sharp reversal. Companies such as Nvidia, which saw its stock skyrocket from under $20 to over $140 within two years, bore the brunt of the sell-off.  Other leading tech firms, often referred to as the "Magnificent Seven" — Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla — have collectively dominated the market. They accounted for over half of the S&P 500’s total returns last year, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices.  The heavy reliance on a few tech giants has heightened the market's "concentration risk," experts say. Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth Management, warned, “This can feel good when those few names are on the ascent, but it is even more dangerous when disruptions take place.”  However, Jacobsen urged against overreacting to Monday’s sell-off. “It’s possible the news out of China is overstated, and we could see a reversal. Even if true, it could present new investment opportunities,” he added.  US stocks hover near records during quiet Thursday The market's next moves may depend on upcoming earnings reports from major players, including Apple, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, and Tesla. These companies are scheduled to disclose their fourth-quarter results later this week.  Pressure remains on corporations to deliver robust profits, especially as rising Treasury yields have made bonds more attractive. Higher bond yields often weigh on stock prices by increasing the opportunity cost of investing in equities.  So far, corporate earnings have generally exceeded expectations. AT&T’s shares rose 6% on Monday after the company reported better-than-anticipated results.  Outside the US, market responses were less dramatic. European indexes saw modest declines, with France’s CAC 40 dipping 0.3% and Germany’s DAX losing 0.5%.  In Asia, China’s Shanghai Composite edged 0.1% lower after a survey revealed a five-month low in export orders for Chinese manufacturers.  Later this week, the Federal Reserve will convene its latest policy meeting. Recent economic data suggest the Fed is unlikely to cut interest rates, with traders widely expecting it to hold steady.