Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) confirmed that its investment plans in the United States will continue unchanged, following the election of Donald Trump as the next US president. TSMC, a leading global chipmaker and supplier to tech giants like Apple and Nvidia, is investing $65 billion in new semiconductor factories in Arizona.
Despite Trump’s previous comments accusing Taiwan of harming the US semiconductor industry, TSMC has recently secured a $6.6 billion subsidy from the US Commerce Department to support advanced chip production in Phoenix. TSMC’s US unit, along with other firms like GlobalFoundries, is expected to receive additional support under the Biden administration’s Chips and Science Act.
TSMC shares have remained resilient, bolstered by strong demand for AI technology, with its American Depositary Receipts rising 4.1% on Thursday as Nvidia’s stock surged, helping drive investor confidence.
Cloud monitoring firm Datadog raised its annual revenue and profit forecasts on Thursday, driven by increasing demand for its AI-backed cybersecurity products. The New York-based company now expects full-year revenue of about $2.66 billion, up from its previous projection of $2.62 to $2.63 billion, with analysts having anticipated $2.63 billion. Datadog also raised its adjusted profit forecast to between $1.75 and $1.77 per share, surpassing earlier estimates of $1.62 to $1.66.
The company’s performance has been bolstered by the growing adoption of AI applications by its customers, who are increasingly deploying these tools in live production environments. As AI apps run in the cloud, Datadog stands to benefit from the ongoing migration to cloud services, which drives demand for its monitoring software. For the quarter ending September 30, Datadog reported revenue of $690 million, beating the expected $664.3 million, and posted an adjusted profit of 46 cents per share, exceeding analysts’ predictions of 40 cents.
Despite the strong results and optimistic growth outlook, Datadog’s stock saw some volatility, rising 4.1% before later paring its gains as investors reacted to high expectations for the company’s performance.
India’s financial crime agency has conducted raids at the offices of several sellers on Amazon and Flipkart, investigating alleged violations of foreign investment rules. This development follows a recent report from India’s antitrust body, which accused the e-commerce giants of favoring certain sellers and limiting fair competition. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) carried out searches in major cities, including New Delhi and Bengaluru, focusing on sellers suspected of being influenced by Amazon and Flipkart to manipulate prices.
This probe adds to Amazon and Flipkart’s regulatory struggles in India, one of their largest and fastest-growing markets. The Indian government has accused both companies of effectively controlling inventory through select sellers, despite regulations prohibiting foreign companies from direct multi-brand retail. Amazon and Flipkart, owned by Walmart, insist they comply with Indian laws and emphasize that they serve only as marketplace platforms.
While neither company has yet responded to these latest raids, they continue to face increasing scrutiny as India strengthens its regulatory approach to foreign e-commerce giants. The outcome could significantly impact how these companies operate within India, as the government seeks to ensure a more level playing field for local sellers.
French AI startup LightOn launched an initial public offering (IPO) on the Euronext Growth market in Paris, with its debut trading expected later this month. The company, known for its large language model (LLM) software used by businesses and the French government, will be Europe’s first publicly listed generative AI startup, a significant milestone as France aims to position itself as a leader in AI within Europe.
LightOn’s co-CEOs Igor Carron and Laurent Daudet emphasised that the IPO provides a ‘unique opportunity’ for investors to support a growing French tech company with a track record of success both in France and internationally. Shares are priced at 10.35 euros, valuing the company at around 50 million euros, and LightOn aims to raise roughly 10.4 million euros through the capital increase. The subscription period will run until November 20, with shares expected to trade beginning 26 November.
This move aligns with France’s broader push to close the innovation gap with the US and the UK, with ambitions for 100 tech ‘unicorns’ by 2030. LightOn’s listing could signal an opening for more European AI firms to seek public funding, offering investors access to an evolving tech market in the region.
Amazon is reportedly in advanced talks for a second multi-billion dollar investment in the AI startup Anthropic, building on its previous $4 billion commitment made in 2023. This new investment would not only bolster Amazon’s growing ties with Anthropic but also help enhance its strategic position in the highly competitive AI sector. Anthropic, which is using Amazon Web Services (AWS) to power its AI model training, has become a key player in the AI race.
In addition to providing financial backing, Amazon has reportedly asked Anthropic to utilise its servers, which are powered by Amazon’s custom-designed chips. However, sources note that Anthropic has a preference for using Nvidia-designed chips, which are widely recognised as the industry standard for AI processing. This dynamic highlights the ongoing competition between Amazon and Nvidia in the AI hardware space, as both tech giants vie for dominance in the rapidly expanding market.
Anthropic, founded by former OpenAI executives Dario and Daniela Amodei, has attracted significant interest from other major players in the tech industry. The startup secured a $500 million investment from Google’s parent company, Alphabet, last year, with Alphabet pledging an additional $1.5 billion over time. Despite these investments, both Amazon and Anthropic have declined to comment on the specifics of the latest talks regarding the new investment, underscoring the confidential nature of these high-stakes negotiations.
India’s antitrust regulator, the Competition Commission of India (CCI), has found that food delivery giants Zomato and Swiggy violated competition laws by favouring select restaurants on their platforms. According to the CCI’s investigation, Zomato used ‘exclusivity contracts’ to offer lower commissions to certain partners, while Swiggy promised growth to restaurants that listed exclusively with them. These practices, the report states, hinder market competition, as they prevent smaller players from gaining a fair foothold.
The investigation, which began in 2022 following a complaint by the National Restaurant Association of India, also highlights restrictive pricing practices on both platforms. Zomato imposed conditions to maintain price and discount parity across online platforms, even threatening penalties for non-compliance. Swiggy, on the other hand, pressured some partners by suggesting their ranking on the app would drop if they failed to match prices elsewhere. Swiggy later claimed that it discontinued its exclusivity program in 2023 but has plans to launch similar initiatives in smaller cities.
The probe has potential implications for Swiggy’s $1.4 billion IPO and lists the CCI investigation as an “internal risk” in its prospectus. Both companies have faced additional scrutiny recently, as India’s largest retail distributors have urged the CCI to investigate alleged predatory pricing in their quick-commerce grocery services. The CCI’s final decision on penalties or required changes to Zomato’s and Swiggy’s business practices is expected in the coming weeks, though the companies may challenge the findings.
Nvidia’s stock surged to new highs on Thursday, pushing its market value to an unprecedented $3.65T, fueled by a broad rally following Donald Trump’s presidential election win. Investors, optimistic about potential tax cuts and deregulation under the renewed Republican administration, helped boost Nvidia shares by 2.2%, establishing the AI chipmaker as the most valuable company worldwide, surpassing Apple’s previous record of $3.57T.
Since the beginning of November, Nvidia’s stock has climbed 12%, reflecting investor confidence in the company’s leadership in artificial intelligence technology. Demand for Nvidia’s AI chips from tech giants like Microsoft and Google has kept its growth momentum strong, with analysts expecting Nvidia to report an 80% revenue increase to $32.9B in the upcoming quarterly results.
As the tech sector overall continues to benefit from Trump’s anticipated policies, Nvidia’s valuation has also outpaced the combined worth of industry heavyweights such as Walmart, JPMorgan, and UnitedHealth. This significant milestone highlights Nvidia’s dominant role in the AI chip industry amid intense competition to build computing power for AI applications.
GlobalWafers has expressed optimism that the US Chips and Science Act will continue to provide strong support for chip manufacturers under the new administration. This landmark act, aimed at boosting domestic semiconductor production, offers financial incentives to encourage companies to invest in US facilities—a vital step toward securing supply chains and reducing reliance on foreign manufacturing.
In a recent statement, GlobalWafers noted that programs of this scale and duration are typically supported across different US administrations, given their importance to economic and national security. The company sees the CHIPS Act as essential for driving investments in semiconductor production and also for advancing technological innovation within the industry. They anticipate that the act’s stability under a Trump administration will allow businesses to plan long-term investments in US operations without interruption.
By fostering consistent investment in chip manufacturing, GlobalWafers believes the CHIPS Act will help ensure a robust, self-reliant US semiconductor ecosystem. The program’s continuation is seen as crucial for sustaining growth in the industry, creating jobs, and advancing the global competitiveness of the US in semiconductor technology.
Swiss bank UBS has successfully tested a new blockchain-based payment system, UBS Digital Cash, aimed at streamlining cross-border transactions. The pilot, which included multinational corporations and banks, processed both domestic and international payments in currencies like the US dollar, Swiss franc, euro, and Chinese yuan. This move marks a significant step in UBS’s efforts to enhance payment efficiency and transparency for its clients.
Andy Kollegger, head of UBS Institutional & Multinational Banking, emphasised that cross-border blockchain payments are a strategic priority for the bank, as they offer a more efficient and visible way to handle international transfers. The UBS Digital Cash pilot also allowed liquidity transfers between various UBS entities, demonstrating the system’s capability to improve internal cash management.
UBS plans to further develop UBS Digital Cash, which operates on a private blockchain network accessible only to authorised clients. By using smart contracts, the system automatically settles payments once specific conditions are met, providing clients with enhanced control over intraday liquidity and account buffers through real-time cash position tracking.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has charged Sitejabber, an online review platform, for violating its new rules on fake reviews. This marks one of the agency’s first enforcement actions under updated regulations designed to curb deceptive practices. The FTC alleges that Sitejabber misled consumers by using point-of-sale reviews—feedback collected before customers had received any products or services—to falsely inflate businesses’ review scores.
The company allowed its clients to publish these premature reviews, giving a false impression that they reflected actual customer experiences. The FTC has now ordered Sitejabber to stop this practice and prohibited it from assisting other businesses in misrepresenting reviews. The new rules, which took effect last month, aim to tackle deceptive online review practices, including those involving AI-generated reviews and fake review websites masquerading as independent.
The FTC’s crackdown is part of a broader effort to address the rising problem of fake reviews on e-commerce platforms like Amazon. With the new regulations in place, the agency intends to prevent misleading online content that could deceive consumers into making purchasing decisions based on false information.
