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Nvidia expands AI chip production in the US amid political pressure and global shifts

Nvidia is significantly ramping up its presence in the United States by commissioning over a million square feet of manufacturing space in Arizona and Texas to build and test its powerful AI chips. The tech giant has begun producing its Blackwell chips at TSMC facilities in Phoenix and is developing large-scale ‘supercomputer’ manufacturing plants in partnership with Foxconn in Houston and Wistron in Dallas.

The company projects mass production to begin within the next 12 to 15 months, with ambitions to manufacture up to half a trillion dollars’ worth of AI infrastructure in the US over the next four years. CEO Jensen Huang emphasised that this move marks the first time the core components of global AI infrastructure are being built domestically.

He cited growing global demand, supply chain resilience, and national security as key reasons for the shift. Nvidia’s decision follows an agreement with the Trump administration that helped the company avoid export restrictions on its H20 chip, a top-tier processor still eligible for export to China.

Nvidia joins a broader wave of AI industry leaders aligning with the Trump administration’s ‘America-first’ strategy. Companies like OpenAI and Microsoft have pledged massive investments in US-based AI infrastructure, hoping to secure political goodwill and avoid regulatory hurdles.

Trump has also reportedly pressured key suppliers like TSMC to expand American operations, threatening tariffs as high as 100% if they fail to comply. Despite the enthusiasm, Nvidia’s expansion faces headwinds.

A shortage of skilled workers and potential retaliation from China—particularly over raw material access—pose serious risks. Meanwhile, Trump’s recent moves to undermine the Chips Act, which provides critical funding for domestic chipmaking, have raised concerns about the long-term viability of US semiconductor investment.

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US exempts key electronics from China import taxes

Smartphones, computers, and key tech components have been granted exemption from the latest round of US tariffs, providing relief to American technology firms heavily reliant on Chinese manufacturing.

The decision, which includes products such as semiconductors, solar cells, and memory cards, marks the first major rollback in President Donald Trump’s trade war with China.

The exemptions, retroactively effective from 5 April, come amid concerns from US tech giants that consumer prices would soar.

Analysts say this move could be a turning point, especially for companies like Apple and Nvidia, which source most of their hardware from China. Industry reaction has been overwhelmingly positive, with suggestions that the policy shift could reshape global tech supply chains.

Despite easing tariffs on electronics, Trump has maintained a strict stance on Chinese trade, citing national security and economic independence.

The White House claims the reprieve gives firms time to shift manufacturing to the US. However, electronic goods will still face a separate 20% tariff due to China’s ties to fentanyl-related trade. Meanwhile, Trump insists high tariffs are essential leverage to renegotiate fairer global trade terms.

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Benchmark backlash hits Meta’s Maverick model

Meta’s latest open-source language model, Llama 4 Maverick, has ranked poorly on a widely used AI benchmark after the company was criticised for initially using a heavily modified, unreleased version to boost its results.

LM Arena, the platform where the performance was measured, has since updated its rules and retested Meta’s vanilla version.

The plain Maverick model, officially named ‘Llama-4-Maverick-17B-128E-Instruct,’ placed behind older competitors such as OpenAI’s GPT-4o, Anthropic’s Claude 3.5 Sonnet, and Google’s Gemini 1.5 Pro.

Meta admitted that the stronger-performing variant used earlier had been ‘optimised for conversationality,’ which likely gave it an unfair advantage in LM Arena’s human-rated comparisons.

Although LM Arena’s reliability as a performance gauge has been questioned, the controversy has raised concerns over transparency and benchmarking practices in the AI industry.

Meta has since released its open-source model to developers, encouraging them to customise it for real-world use and provide feedback.

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ChatGPT hits 800 million users after viral surge

ChatGPT’s user base has doubled in recent weeks, with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman estimating up to 800 million people now use the platform weekly.

Speaking at TED 2025, Altman confirmed the surge during an on-stage conversation, acknowledging the figure after being pressed by TED curator Chris Anderson. He suggested the user growth was accelerating rapidly, describing the adoption as covering around 10% of the global population.

The platform’s popularity has soared thanks to viral new features, including a March update that introduced Ghibli mode—an image and video generator inspired by the animation style of Studio Ghibli.

Altman noted that this single feature drew in a million users within an hour of launch. When asked about artist compensation, he said OpenAI may eventually offer automatic payments to creators whose styles are used in prompts, though safeguards remain in place to avoid generating copyrighted material.

Other major updates include the rollout of a memory function that allows ChatGPT to remember user interactions indefinitely, making it a more personalised assistant over time. Altman also spoke about the development of autonomous AI agents capable of acting on users’ behalf, framed with safety guardrails.

While acknowledging fears of AI replacing human jobs, he encouraged a view of AI as a tool to unlock greater capabilities rather than a threat to livelihoods.

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Creators get AI-made background music on YouTube

YouTube has introduced a new AI-powered tool that creates free background music for video creators, helping them avoid copyright issues. The feature, known as Music Assistant, was showcased on YouTube’s Creator Insider channel and is designed to match music to a video’s tone using simple text prompts.

Users can enter descriptions such as ‘uplifting and motivational music for a workout montage’, and the tool will generate several suitable tracks for review and download. Music Assistant is currently available within YouTube’s Creator Music beta section and is being rolled out gradually to those with access.

YouTube’s move follows broader industry trends, with companies like Stability AI and Meta also developing similar music-generating technologies.

The platform has already been experimenting with AI music through features like Dream Track and a music remixer for Shorts, allowing further creative flexibility for users.

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Mood-based AI search tool tested by Netflix

Netflix is testing a new AI-powered search tool that could transform how users discover content on the platform.

Developed in collaboration with OpenAI, the feature goes beyond traditional search methods by allowing subscribers to use natural language queries based on mood, themes or descriptions rather than just titles or actors.

Currently, the tool is available only to a limited number of users in Australia and New Zealand using iOS devices, with opt-in access required. Netflix plans to expand the test to more regions, including the United States, in the near future.

The move highlights the streaming giant’s growing investment in AI, which it already uses for personalised recommendations.

Despite embracing AI, Netflix has stated it does not intend to replace creatives with technology. The company has publicly acknowledged concerns from the film and television industry, promising that writers, actors, and filmmakers remain central to its content creation strategy.

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ChatGPT gets infinite memory upgrade

OpenAI is introducing a major upgrade to ChatGPT’s memory capabilities, allowing the AI to retain all previous conversations indefinitely. CEO Sam Altman described the development as a step toward making ChatGPT a more personalised assistant that better adapts to users over time.

Previous versions of the AI could only remember chats from the past few weeks, which helped with ongoing projects and stylistic consistency.

The new update goes much further, enabling ChatGPT to recall details from all prior conversations and use them to offer more tailored support, such as giving lifestyle advice or acting as a personal coach.

The feature will initially roll out to ChatGPT Plus and Pro subscribers, with broader availability likely in the future. However, the move has sparked some concerns around privacy, as the AI’s enhanced recall could allow anyone with account access to uncover personal details with a simple prompt.

Users may wish to take precautions, such as setting up custom instructions to limit the disclosure of sensitive information.

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UAE experts warn on AI privacy risks in art apps

A surge in AI applications transforming selfies into Studio Ghibli-style artwork has captivated social media, but UAE cybersecurity experts are raising concerns over privacy and data misuse.

Dr Mohamed Al Kuwaiti, Head of Cybersecurity for the UAE Government, warned that engaging with unofficial apps could lead to breaches or leaks of personal data. He emphasised that while AI’s benefits are clear, users must understand how their personal data is handled by these platforms.

He called for strong cybersecurity standards across all digital platforms, urging individuals to be more cautious with their data.

Media professionals are also sounding alarms. Adel Al-Rashed, an Emirati journalist, cautioned that free apps often mimic trusted platforms but could exploit user data. He advised users to stick to verified applications, noting that paid services, like ChatGPT’s Pro edition, offer stronger privacy protections.

While acknowledging the risks, social media influencer Ibrahim Al-Thahli highlighted the excitement AI brings to creative expression. He urged users to focus on education and safe engagement with the technology, underscoring the UAE’s goal to build a resilient digital economy.

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AI transforms global healthcare with major growth ahead

The healthcare sector is poised for significant growth as AI continues to revolutionise the industry. A new report from Avant Technologies predicts an influx of AI-powered solutions in healthcare, with key technology giants leading the charge.

Avant Technologies and Ainnova, in their joint venture, plan to showcase their AI-powered Vision AI platform at the 2025 Mexico Healthcare Innovation Summit.

The platform, aimed at early disease detection, is nearing approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and is already in clinical trials in Southeast Asia and South America.

Apple and Amazon are also entering the AI healthcare space, with Apple launching an AI-powered health coach to guide users on diet and exercise, while Amazon is expanding its AI solutions with a healthcare chatbot.

Meanwhile, GE Healthcare has seen success with its AI-driven cardiac imaging, which has garnered FDA approval. The World Health Organization (WHO) supports AI integration in healthcare, particularly for outpatient care and early diagnosis, though it has urged regulators to be cautious of potential risks.

AI in healthcare is expected to grow exponentially, reaching a market valuation of $613 billion by 2034. The sector’s rapid expansion is driven by increasing adoption rates, particularly for early disease detection, administrative efficiency, and personalised medicine.

Despite data privacy concerns, the adoption of AI tools in fields like dermatology, oncology, and cardiovascular health is expected to surge. North America is predicted to lead the market, followed by Europe and South Asia, as more healthcare institutions embrace AI technologies.

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Lenovo unveils compact edge AI server

Lenovo has introduced the ThinkEdge SE100, a compact AI inferencing server aimed at bringing edge AI within reach for businesses of all sizes.

Rather than relying on large data centres for processing, this server is designed to operate on-site in space-constrained environments, allowing data to be processed locally instead of being sent to the cloud.

The SE100 supports hybrid cloud deployments and is part of Lenovo’s new ThinkSystem V4 family. While the V4 systems are built for AI training, the SE100 is intended for inferencing, which is less demanding and doesn’t require power-hungry GPUs.

Lenovo says the unit is 85% smaller than a typical 1U server and draws under 140W, even with GPU configurations.

Engineered to be both energy-efficient and quiet, the SE100 uses Neptune liquid cooling instead of traditional fans, making it suitable for public spaces. Its design also helps extend system health and lifespan by reducing air flow needs and lowering operating temperatures.

Lenovo’s vice president of infrastructure products, Scott Tease, stated the SE100 is a cost-effective solution that simplifies AI deployment at the edge.

Its flexible design adapts to diverse business needs, offering low-latency, high-performance inferencing without the complexity or expense of full-scale AI infrastructure.

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