The US Department of Energy (DOE) and the US Department of Commerce (DOC) have joined forces to promote the safe, secure, and trustworthy development of AI through a newly established Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). That collaboration, part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s whole-of-government approach, unites the DOE’s technical resources with the regulatory expertise of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), where the US AI Safety Institute (US AISI) is a central agency for AI safety initiatives.
The partnership aims to address critical areas such as public safety, national security, and infrastructure protection by evaluating AI models for potential chemical and biological risks and advancing privacy safeguards for personal and commercial data. With the DOE’s National Laboratories supporting the US AISI, this agreement strengthens the federal government’s commitment to responsible AI practices.
Additionally, the partnership highlights AI safety as crucial for innovation, especially in research and clean energy. Given AI’s potential, robust testing standards are essential to ensure security and public trust. Through this MOU, the DOE and DOC establish a foundation for secure AI, emphasising governance as vital to the nation’s tech and security strategy.
A recent report by Electric Capital’s Maria Shen reveals that Asia has become the leading region for cryptocurrency developers, surpassing North America for the first time. Analysis of over 110,000 developer profiles shows Asia’s share has grown from 13% in 2015 to 32% in 2024, while North America’s share has dropped sharply from 44% to 24%.
At the national level, the United States still ranks first globally with 18.8% of crypto developers, though this represents a 51% decrease since 2015. India follows with 11.8%, while the United Kingdom holds 4.2%. Notably, as the industry’s market size soared from $5 billion in 2015 to $2.4 trillion today, the geographical spread of developers has extended well beyond traditional tech hubs like California and New York, with 64% now based outside these centres.
Maria Shen emphasised that cryptocurrency development spans various regions and political affiliations, highlighting the field’s global and diverse nature. Her report, based on 200,000 crypto Git commits from over 350,000 code repositories, underscores the growing decentralisation of crypto talent.
Amid growing geopolitical tensions, Rick Tsai, CEO of Taiwan’s top chip designer MediaTek, emphasised the company’s commitment to regulatory compliance in a recent earnings call. Tsai acknowledged the complex challenges posed by international relations but reassured stakeholders that MediaTek’s strong compliance program is designed to uphold ethical standards across diverse markets. He added that the company “will not do, shall we say, strange things” and is focused on protecting shareholder interests.
Taiwan, home to leading semiconductor firms like MediaTek and TSMC, plays a pivotal role in the global tech landscape, supplying major players in AI, including Nvidia. However, the tech sector faces rising pressures as Taiwan grapples with increasing military threats from China, which claims the island as its territory. Additionally, the upcoming US presidential election adds uncertainty; candidate Donald Trump has criticised Taiwan’s impact on the US chip market, proposing tariffs on imports and suggesting greater restrictions on international tech firms.
MediaTek, a TSMC customer, also contends with existing US limits on partnerships with Chinese tech companies such as Huawei. Recently, TSMC suspended shipments to a client after finding a chip intended for a different product had reached Huawei. Despite these challenges, MediaTek’s stock has risen by 27% this year, reflecting investor confidence in Taiwan’s enduring role within the tech industry.
The European Union has announced plans to invest €1.4B into its deep tech sector in 2025, aiming to strengthen Europe’s position in the global technology market. The investment, an increase of €200M from last year, will be funded by the European Innovation Council (EIC) under the Horizon Europe research and innovation program. The boost is part of Europe’s strategic move to narrow the tech gap with global leaders like the US and China.
EU Commissioner Iliana Ivanova highlighted the importance of deep tech innovation for Europe’s economic progress, emphasising that the EIC has become essential in supporting groundbreaking advancements. This increased funding reflects the EU’s commitment to fostering high-impact technologies, particularly artificial intelligence, to drive economic growth and global competitiveness.
By targeting tech innovation, the EU aims to position itself as a leader in AI and deep tech, focusing on revitalising its economy through significant advancements in these areas. As the EU steps up its support for deep tech, officials believe this investment will yield long-term benefits and keep Europe at the forefront of technological progress.
AMD’s shares dropped 8% on Wednesday as the chip giant’s revenue forecast fell short of investor hopes, despite strong gains from the AI-driven chip boom. The forecast suggests AMD’s AI chip sales could hit $5 billion by 2025, but CEO Lisa Su warned that production would struggle to meet demand, likely tightening supply through next year. This cautious outlook could see AMD lose up to $20 billion in market value, underscoring investor concerns.
Analysts noted that while AMD’s AI performance is promising, demand may outpace supply, raising risk for the company’s growth prospects. Stacy Rasgon of Bernstein observed that for an “AI name” like AMD, even modest guidance could raise eyebrows, especially with expectations for business “lumpiness” through 2025. Unlike AMD, Nvidia—a key AI chip competitor—showed little market impact, reflecting investor confidence in its supply stability.
AMD’s stock, up nearly 156% since late 2022, is now trading at around 32 times its forward earnings, slightly lower than Nvidia’s 36 times. Despite the recent dip, analysts still see upside potential, with the median target price set at $187.50, or about 13% above AMD’s last close.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk envisions a future where 10B humanoid robots populate the world by 2040, priced between $20,000 and $25,000 each. Musk shared his ambitious outlook virtually at Saudi Arabia’s Future Investment Initiative, a key gathering for global industry leaders held in Riyadh. This prediction underscores Musk’s vision of an advanced AI-driven future where humanoid robots may become nearly as common as today’s smartphones.
This projection aligns with Musk’s belief that AI and robotics will revolutionise labor and everyday life, taking over tasks across industries and possibly reshaping global economies. By pricing these robots within reach of individual consumers and businesses alike, Musk foresees a rapid expansion of robotics in daily use, from personal assistance to industrial applications.
Musk’s forecast also raises questions about the societal and economic impacts of such widespread AI-driven automation, sparking discussions on regulation and ethics. As technology accelerates, industry leaders and policymakers are exploring the potential opportunities and risks of a robotic future on this scale.
Narada AI, a startup emerging from two years in stealth mode, launched its AI assistant at TechCrunch Disrupt 2024. Designed for enterprise use, Narada’s assistant goes beyond typical AI chatbots by directly performing tasks across several workplace applications. The technology is built on the concept of ‘LLM Compilers,’ developed in collaboration with UC Berkeley researchers, allowing it to interact with various apps, even those lacking APIs, by navigating their front-end interfaces.
The assistant can draft emails, create calendar invites, organise meeting notes, and even pull information from tools like SAP and Salesforce, all from a chat interface. Narada’s CEO Dave Park believes the assistant’s ability to work across applications without APIs – through an in-house method called Web Redemption – is a key innovation. The feature allows the assistant to map out and navigate applications as a user would, letting it adapt even if layouts or settings change over time.
Though promising, the assistant’s functionality raises questions around data privacy, as it requires full access to users’ emails, contacts, and calendars. Narada assures users that their data won’t be used for model training. With one Fortune 500 client already testing the tool, Narada hopes its customisation and enterprise focus will differentiate it in the competitive AI assistant market.
Google has delayed the release of its next-generation AI agents, part of a project called Astra, until 2025 at the earliest. CEO Sundar Pichai outlined the timeline during the company’s Q3 earnings call, indicating that significant AI advancements are still under development.
Project Astra, first demonstrated at Google’s I/O conference in May 2024, aims to integrate AI with real-world understanding. Applications include smartphone apps capable of recognising objects through the camera and answering questions based on the environment. The project also envisions advanced AI assistants capable of carrying out tasks such as purchasing items or booking flights on behalf of users.
Reports earlier in October suggested that Google had planned to release a consumer version of an AI agent by December 2024. However, this release now seems unlikely unless the agent operates separately from Astra’s technologies. The decision reflects the challenges involved in developing reliable AI capable of complex interactions and real-time reasoning.
Companies like Anthropic have launched similar generative AI models with some success, but these models have also encountered difficulties in completing basic tasks. Google’s cautious approach may reflect a broader need to ensure functionality before releasing the technology to the public.
OpenAI is collaborating with Broadcom and TSMC to develop its first custom-designed chip, while supplementing its infrastructure with AMD chips alongside those from Nvidia to meet high computing demands. OpenAI initially considered establishing its own chip-manufacturing network but set the idea aside due to costs and time requirements. Instead, the company is focused on partnerships and in-house chip design to reduce costs, similar to strategies from industry giants like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft.
Broadcom’s stock rose 4.5% following news of the collaboration, while AMD shares gained 3.7%. The partnership will leverage Broadcom’s experience in fine-tuning chip designs for manufacturing and secure production capacity with TSMC, aiming for the first in-house chips by 2026. OpenAI’s increased use of AMD chips on Microsoft’s Azure platform underscores the growing competition Nvidia faces in the AI chip market, where it currently holds over 80% market share.
With soaring expenses from training and deploying models, OpenAI is seeking to streamline operations and cut compute costs. Nvidia remains an essential partner for OpenAI’s advanced Blackwell GPUs, even as OpenAI expands its chip sourcing to support more affordable, efficient AI development.
LinkedIn has introduced its first AI agent, Hiring Assistant, designed to automate many of the time-intensive tasks recruiters face, such as drafting job descriptions, identifying candidate matches, and handling initial outreach. Initially available to a select group of large enterprises, including AMD, Siemens, and Zurich Insurance, Hiring Assistant is expected to expand to more users in the coming months. By automating repetitive tasks, LinkedIn aims to free up recruiters to focus on higher-impact aspects of their jobs.
Built using LinkedIn’s data from over 1 billion users and backed by Microsoft’s OpenAI partnership, Hiring Assistant can refine job requirements based on existing listings, generate candidate pools, and filter applicants by skills rather than traditional markers like location or education. This AI assistant is part of LinkedIn’s broader push to integrate AI into its platform, following similar tools for resume and profile optimisation, career coaching, and job search support.
In its current iteration, Hiring Assistant is already making strides in streamlining recruiting, with plans for future updates to handle interview scheduling, candidate follow-ups, and more. LinkedIn, which has seen AI-driven growth in its premium subscription base, views Hiring Assistant as a key product in its business offerings for recruitment professionals, aiming to enhance LinkedIn’s impact in the hiring sector.
