OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has stated that the company believes it knows how to build AGI and is now turning its focus towards developing superintelligence. He argues that advanced AI could significantly boost scientific discovery and economic growth. While AGI is often defined as AI that outperforms humans in most tasks, OpenAI and Microsoft also use a financial benchmark—$100 billion in profits—as a key measure.
Despite Altman’s optimism, today’s AI systems still struggle with accuracy and reliability. OpenAI has previously acknowledged that transitioning to a world with superintelligence is far from certain, and controlling such systems remains an unsolved challenge. The company has, however, recently disbanded key safety teams, leading to concerns about its priorities as it seeks further investment.
Altman remains confident that AI will soon make a significant impact on businesses, suggesting that AI agents could enter the workforce and reshape industries in the near future. He insists that OpenAI continues to balance innovation with safety, despite growing scepticism from former staff and industry critics.
Taiwan’s Foxconn, the world’s leading electronics contract manufacturer, reported record-breaking revenue for the fourth quarter, driven by surging demand for AI servers. With a 15.2% rise in revenue to T$2.13 trillion ($64.72 billion), the company outperformed market expectations, reflecting the robust growth of its cloud and networking products division. Major clients like Nvidia have fueled the boom, while its consumer electronics segment, including iPhones, remained stable year-on-year.
Foxconn’s December revenue alone soared by 42.3% compared to the previous year, reaching T$654.8 billion, marking the second-highest figure for that month in the company’s history. Despite the fourth quarter’s impressive performance, Foxconn acknowledged the seasonal slowdown typical of the first quarter. However, the company projects significant year-on-year growth for early 2025, aligning with average levels from the past five years.
The company, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry, has seen its shares skyrocket by 76% in 2024, far outpacing Taiwan’s broader market index. Investors remain optimistic as Foxconn continues to dominate in the AI and electronics sectors, with its entire fourth-quarter earnings set to be unveiled on 14 March.
Microsoft is setting its sights on a transformative leap in AI, announcing plans to allocate roughly $80 billion in fiscal 2025 for data centre expansion to support AI model training and cloud-based applications. This monumental investment underscores the growing demand for advanced AI infrastructure as companies integrate AI into their products, a trend accelerated since OpenAI’s groundbreaking launch of ChatGPT in 2022.
The company’s spending reflects the soaring need for specialised data centres capable of linking thousands of chips in powerful clusters to meet AI’s immense computational requirements. As the primary backer of OpenAI, Microsoft is solidifying its position as a leader in the AI race, with its exclusive partnership with the chatbot maker further elevating its status in the tech landscape. In the first quarter of fiscal 2025 alone, Microsoft’s capital expenditure climbed 5.3% to $20 billion, highlighting its ongoing commitment to expanding its AI and cloud capabilities.
More than half of the planned $80 billion investment will focus on the United States, a move Vice Chair and President Brad Smith credits for bolstering America’s position at the forefront of global AI innovation. In a blog post, Smith emphasised the critical role of private capital and entrepreneurial ingenuity in driving the nation’s AI advancements, from startups to established tech giants.
As analysts project Microsoft’s fiscal 2025 capital expenditure to reach approximately $84 billion, the company’s bold strategy signals a commitment to AI dominance and a reshaping of the digital landscape. By doubling down on infrastructure and innovation, Microsoft is staking its claim as a pivotal force in the future of AI.
Apple has agreed to pay $95 million to settle a class action lawsuit alleging its Siri voice assistant violated users’ privacy. The lawsuit claimed that Apple recorded users’ private conversations without consent when the ‘Hey, Siri’ feature was unintentionally triggered. These recordings were allegedly shared with third parties, including advertisers, leading to targeted ads based on private discussions.
The class period for the lawsuit spans from 17 September 2014 to 31 December 2024 and applies to users of Siri-enabled devices like iPhones and Apple Watches. Affected users could receive up to $20 per device. Apple denied any wrongdoing but settled the case to avoid prolonged litigation.
The settlement amount is a small fraction of Apple’s annual profits, with the company making nearly $94 billion in net income last year. While the company and plaintiffs’ lawyers have yet to comment on the settlement, the plaintiffs may seek up to $28.5 million in legal fees and expenses. A similar lawsuit involving Google’s Voice Assistant is also underway in a California federal court.
China has introduced a groundbreaking addition to its law enforcement toolkit – the Rotunbot RT-G, a spherical robot designed to aid police in high-speed chases and challenging terrains. Developed by Logon Technology, this 276-pound robotic marvel can travel up to 22 mph on land and water, navigate mud and rivers, and even withstand drops from ledges. Its rapid acceleration and amphibious capabilities make it a unique asset for pursuit scenarios.
Equipped with advanced technology, the RT-G boasts GPS for precise navigation, cameras, ultrasonic sensors, and systems for tracking and avoiding obstacles. Gyroscopic self-stabilisation ensures smooth operation, while a suite of non-lethal tools—including tear gas dispensers, net shooters, and acoustic crowd dispersal devices—enables it to handle diverse law enforcement tasks humanely and effectively.
The RT-G is already used in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province of China, where it assists police in commercial zones. While its real-world performance shows promise, limitations such as instability during turns and difficulty navigating stairs reveal areas for improvement. Despite these challenges, the Rotunbot RT-G represents a significant leap in robotic policing technology, blending innovation with practicality.
Anthropic, the company behind the Claude AI model, has agreed to resolve aspects of a copyright infringement lawsuit filed by major music publishers. The lawsuit, initiated in October 2023 by Universal Music Group, ABKCO, Concord Music Group, and others, alleged that Anthropic’s AI system unlawfully distributed lyrics from over 500 copyrighted songs, including tracks by Beyoncé and Maroon 5.
The publishers argued that Anthropic improperly used data from licensed platforms to train its models without permission. Under the settlement approved by US District Judge Eumi Lee, Anthropic will maintain and extend its guardrails designed to prevent copyright violations in existing and future AI models.
The company also agreed to collaborate with music publishers to address potential infringements and resolve disputes through court intervention if necessary. Anthropic reiterated its commitment to fair use principles and emphasised that its AI is not intended for copyright infringement.
Despite the agreement, the legal battle isn’t over. The music publishers have requested a preliminary injunction to prevent Anthropic from using their lyrics in future model training. A court decision on this request is expected in the coming months, keeping the spotlight on how copyright law applies to generative AI.
Privacy and regulatory concerns have long hindered AI’s reliance on data, especially in sensitive fields like healthcare and life sciences. Apheris, a German startup co-founded by Robin Röhm, aims to solve this problem using federated computing—a decentralised approach that trains AI models without moving sensitive data.
The company’s approach is gaining traction among prominent clients like Roche and hospitals, and its technology is already being used in collaborative drug discovery efforts by pharmaceutical giants such as Johnson & Johnson and Sanofi. Apheris recently secured $8.25 million in Series A funding led by OTB Ventures and eCAPITAL, bringing its total funding to $20.8 million.
That follows a pivotal shift in 2023 to focus on the needs of data owners in the pharmaceutical and life sciences sectors. The pivot has paid off, quadrupling the company’s revenue since launching its redefined product, the Apheris Compute Gateway, which securely bridges local data and AI models.
With its new funding, Apheris plans to expand its team and refine its AI-driven solutions for complex challenges like protein prediction. By prioritising data security and privacy, the company aims to unlock previously inaccessible data for innovation, addressing a core barrier to AI’s transformative potential in life sciences.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has directed the government and Sberbank, the nation’s largest bank, to deepen collaboration with China in the development of AI. The announcement, published on the Kremlin’s website, comes three weeks after Putin unveiled plans for Russia to work alongside BRICS nations and other partners to advance AI technologies. Sberbank, which leads Russia’s AI initiatives, has been tasked with fostering technological cooperation with China.
That move reflects Russia’s efforts to circumvent Western sanctions that have restricted its access to key technologies, including microchips essential for AI development. The sanctions have caused major global chip manufacturers to halt exports to Russia, creating significant hurdles for its AI ambitions.
Sberbank CEO German Gref admitted that replacing GPUs, the microchips vital to AI, remains a critical challenge for the country. By partnering with non-Western allies, Russia aims to counterbalance US dominance in the rapidly evolving AI sector, which Putin has described as a cornerstone of the 21st century.
As part of this strategy, a newly proposed AI Alliance Network will unite experts from BRICS nations and other interested states to bolster innovation and investment. However, Russia still lags behind its competitors, ranking 31st in the Global AI Index, far below leaders like the US, China, and even BRICS partners India and Brazil.
The Chinese technology powerhouse, Alibaba, has announced substantial price cuts of up to 85% for its large language models (LLMs), including the visual language model Qwen-VL. Designed to process and interpret both text and images, Qwen-VL is tailored for enterprise use, marking a departure from consumer-facing AI tools like ChatGPT. These discounts signal a competitive push to expand AI accessibility in the enterprise sector.
The move comes amid a broader race among Chinese tech giants to dominate the AI landscape. Companies like Tencent, Baidu, Huawei, and ByteDance have launched their own LLMs, aiming to capitalise on the growing demand for advanced AI solutions. Alibaba’s decision to focus on enterprise customers has already shown results, with its Qwen models adopted by over 90,000 businesses since May.
Analysts predict these price cuts could reshape global AI accessibility, enabling smaller firms and startups to leverage cutting-edge technology. Lower costs may allow traditional industries to modernise operations, while venture capital flows into supporting technologies are expected to further fuel innovation.
The global AI race is poised to accelerate into 2025, with Chinese companies playing a central role in advancing machine reasoning and practical applications. The intensifying competition could define the future of AI development, offering more use cases across diverse industries worldwide.
As 2024 concludes, China’s AI sector is making global waves with groundbreaking innovations. DeepSeek, a Hangzhou-based startup, unveiled its V3 large-scale language model, which rivals leading proprietary models like GPT-4o. Remarkably, the V3 was developed in just two months with minimal resources, showcasing China’s ability to deliver cutting-edge AI solutions at significantly lower costs. Experts have praised the model’s efficiency and ingenuity, highlighting its potential to disrupt the industry.
China’s AI ambitions extend beyond language models. In November, ShengShu Technology introduced Vidu-1.5, an image-to-video tool that generates dynamic visuals in record time. The tool gained recognition for its creative applications, such as crafting an ink-style promotional video for Sony’s ‘Venom: The Last Dance.’ The innovation has drastically reduced production times and costs in the film industry, inspiring artists with its blend of tradition and technology.
AI-driven creativity also thrives in literature and virtual interaction. Researchers at East China Normal University used AI to author fantasy novels, completing projects in weeks that would take human authors a year. Meanwhile, apps like Xingye are redefining digital companionship, integrating AI chatbots with user-generated content to create unique community experiences. These advancements have resonated globally, with Chinese AI apps gaining popularity in markets like the United States.
E-commerce sector in China is leveraging AI to transform operations and consumer experiences. Entrepreneurs like Lyu Hongwei have used AI to identify trends, tailor product offerings, and accelerate growth. Analysts predict that AI-driven tools will continue to enhance business efficiency, paving the way for a more personalised and streamlined shopping experience.
