A US congressional commission has proposed a bold initiative modeled on the Manhattan Project to accelerate the development of artificial general intelligence (AGI) that could rival or surpass human intelligence. The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) emphasised the importance of public-private partnerships to drive technological innovation as competition with China intensifies. However, the panel provided no specific funding plans in its annual report.
Commissioner Jacob Helberg highlighted China’s rapid advancements in AGI, warning of potential shifts in global power dynamics. Addressing infrastructure bottlenecks, he suggested streamlining regulations for data centres as a step to accelerate AI progress. Tech leaders like OpenAI have also advocated for increased government investment in AI to maintain global competitiveness.
Beyond AI, the USCC report included recommendations to tighten trade regulations, particularly by ending the “de minimis” exemption that allows duty-free imports under $800. Commissioner Kimberly Glas underscored the challenge of inspecting the overwhelming volume of such shipments, which she claimed serve as a channel for unregulated Chinese goods, including dangerous materials. Proposals to curb this exemption have sparked bipartisan debate, though legislative progress has been hampered by industry opposition and political gridlock.
Global semiconductor manufacturers are accelerating their shift from China to Vietnam, driven by the anticipated intensification of US sanctions on China’s semiconductor industry, especially with the return of Donald Trump to the White House. South Korean firms, including Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, are leading this transition, halting production expansions in China and focusing investments on Vietnam, which has become a rising hub for semiconductor production.
SK Hynix, for instance, shelved plans to increase DRAM chip production at its Wuxi plant in China, while Samsung Electronics is cutting back on production at its NAND flash memory facility in Xi’an. Other companies are also following suit; South Korea’s Hana Micron is expanding its presence in Southeast Asia, and Amkor Technology is investing $1.6 billion in a new semiconductor packaging plant in Vietnam. The facility will feature advanced technology, with some equipment reportedly transferred from China.
Vietnam’s semiconductor industry is also benefiting from the growth of companies like Samsung, which established a $1.7 billion OLED plant in the country. Samsung’s semiconductor division is reportedly boosting its investments in Vietnam, encouraging further expansions from supporting companies. Semiconductor testing and packaging firm Signetics is set to invest $100 million in a new facility in Vietnam, and German company Infineon is considering setting up an R&D center in Hanoi.
This shift underscores the ongoing global realignment in the semiconductor industry as companies adapt to geopolitical tensions and US-China trade policies.
T-Mobile‘s network was among those breached in a prolonged cyber-espionage campaign attributed to Chinese intelligence-linked hackers, according to a Wall Street Journal report. The attackers allegedly targeted multiple US and international telecom companies to monitor cellphone communications of high-value intelligence targets. T-Mobile confirmed it was aware of the industry-wide attack but stated there was no significant impact on its systems or evidence of customer data being compromised.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) recently disclosed that China-linked hackers intercepted surveillance data intended for American law enforcement by infiltrating telecom networks. Earlier reports revealed breaches into US broadband providers, including Verizon, AT&T, and Lumen Technologies, where hackers accessed systems used for court-authorised wiretapping.
China has consistently denied allegations of engaging in cyber espionage, rejecting claims by the US and its allies that it orchestrates such operations. The latest revelations highlight persistent vulnerabilities in critical communication networks targeted by state-backed hackers.
Ilya Lichtenstein, a New York tech entrepreneur, was sentenced to five years in prison for laundering stolen cryptocurrency from Bitfinex, one of the world’s largest exchanges. Lichtenstein admitted to hacking Bitfinex in 2016, stealing around 120,000 bitcoin using advanced tools. At the time of the theft, the bitcoin was valued at $71 million but had soared to $4.5 billion by his arrest in 2022.
Lichtenstein and his wife, Heather Morgan, were arrested in February 2022. Morgan, a self-styled rapper known as “Razzlekhan,” also pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges and is set to be sentenced on November 18. US authorities recovered $3.6 billion of the stolen funds in what Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco called the largest financial seizure in the Justice Department’s history.
Alongside his prison term, Lichtenstein will serve three years of supervised release, marking a significant milestone in the fight against cryptocurrency-related crimes.
California’s sole remaining nuclear power plant, Diablo Canyon, is adopting artificial intelligence to navigate the complex challenges of staying operational. Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) has partnered with Atomic Canyon, a local startup, to deploy an AI system called Neutron Enterprise. The tool will help manage the plant’s decades-old infrastructure by analysing and organising millions of historical documents, a task critical for meeting federal licensing requirements to keep the facility running for another 20 years.
Located on the coast between San Francisco and Los Angeles in the US, the Diablo Canyon facility was commissioned in 1985 and once slated for closure. However, in 2022, California reversed course to meet its ambitious carbon-reduction targets. The plant’s vice president, Maureen Zawalick, revealed that the facility stores over 9 million records, many originating from outdated formats like microfiche, making data retrieval and management a daunting task.
Using NVIDIA-powered systems, Atomic Canyon’s software can process these archives in natural language, significantly improving document accessibility and usability. According to the startup’s founder, Trey Lauderdale, the AI will streamline data searches, saving time and resources. Over time, the technology may also optimise maintenance schedules, an effort-intensive process that requires careful coordination of the plant’s aging systems.
Hackers with alleged links to China have stolen sensitive data from US telecommunications firms, targeting information intended for law enforcement agencies. US officials announced the breach on Wednesday, revealing that multiple telecom networks had been compromised. The hackers reportedly accessed call records and communications of individuals in government and political roles, according to a joint statement from the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).
Among the data stolen was information connected to court-ordered surveillance requests made by US law enforcement. The agencies provided limited details about the breach and have yet to disclose the number of companies affected. CISA and the FBI declined to comment further, with additional insights expected as investigations continue.
The incident aligns with earlier reports in the Wall Street Journal, which suggested that Chinese hackers may have infiltrated systems intended for law enforcement to monitor communications. Such claims have led to growing concerns about the security of US telecom infrastructure, particularly given reports of targeted attacks on the phones of high-profile political figures.
The Department of Homeland Security’s Cyber Safety Review Board will investigate the breach, part of an effort to evaluate significant digital security threats. China’s embassy in Washington declined to comment on the latest hacking allegations, which it has previously dismissed as unfounded.
The US Commerce Department has pledged up to $18.2 million in funding to California-based Akash Systems to build a 40,000-square-foot cleanroom facility dedicated to advanced semiconductor manufacturing in West Oakland, California. This funding, part of the $52.7 billion semiconductor subsidy program, will be combined with Akash’s own investments and venture capital to create a $121 million production site for Diamond Cooling substrates and systems designed to enhance thermal management in AI-driven data centres.
Akash CEO Felix Ejeckam highlighted this investment as a significant step in meeting the challenges of high-performance computing. Last year, the company also established a landmark labor neutrality agreement for West Oakland semiconductor production workers in partnership with the IUE-CWA union, covering both construction and production roles.
The announcement comes as the Commerce Department works to finalise semiconductor grants under the 2022 Chips and Science Act, aimed at bolstering US-based chip production to reduce reliance on Asia. Thus far, around 20 companies have been awarded 36 billion in preliminary agreements, including a finalised $123 million deal with Polar Semiconductor to modernise its facility in Minnesota. Additional awards for major chipmakers, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and GlobalFoundries, are expected before the administration transition in January.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office has criticised a recent US decision to halt Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) from shipping advanced chips to certain Chinese customers. The office’s spokeswoman, Zhu Fenglian, stated that the US is ‘playing the Taiwan card’ to heighten tensions in the Taiwan Straits and that the move negatively impacts Taiwanese businesses. This statement follows reports that TSMC stopped these shipments on Monday after an order from US authorities.
The restricted chips, widely used in AI technology, are part of ongoing US efforts to tighten export controls amid rising bipartisan concerns over Chinese access to advanced tech. The restrictions follow a recent notification by TSMC to the US Commerce Department, revealing that one of its chips was used in a Huawei AI processor. Huawei, a central figure in US-China tech tensions, has been under trade restrictions, requiring suppliers to secure licenses for any technology exports.
The US Supreme Court will review a high-stakes securities fraud case involving Nvidia, the chipmaker widely known for its AI hardware. Nvidia faces accusations from shareholders who claim the company misled investors about its exposure to the cryptocurrency market. The case, originating from a 2018 class-action lawsuit led by Swedish investment firm E. Ohman J:or Fonder AB, alleges Nvidia downplayed the extent to which its revenue was driven by crypto mining—a volatile business tied to fluctuating cryptocurrency values. The lawsuit contends that Nvidia’s failure to fully disclose this dependency led to an inflated stock price that plummeted when the crypto market softened in late 2018.
Nvidia’s legal defence argues that the plaintiffs did not meet the rigorous legal standards set by the 1995 Private Securities Litigation Reform Act, which requires concrete evidence of intentional or reckless deception to pursue securities fraud claims. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals revived the lawsuit after a federal judge initially dismissed it, ruling that the plaintiffs presented sufficient claims that Nvidia’s CEO, Jensen Huang, knowingly or recklessly misrepresented the company’s crypto-related revenues.
The case is one of two before the Supreme Court this month that could alter the legal landscape for securities fraud litigation. The other case, brought against Meta Platforms’ Facebook, also examines the threshold for holding corporations accountable for alleged deception. With President Biden’s administration backing the shareholders in the Nvidia case, the rulings, expected by mid-2024, could make it significantly harder for private parties to sue companies for alleged fraud, depending on the Court’s decision.
Japan is set to send 200 engineers and students to the United States over the next five years as part of an ambitious effort to revitalise its semiconductor industry. The trainees will join US-based chip venture Tenstorrent to specialise in the design of chips for AI, according to the Leading-edge Semiconductor Technology Center. This research organisation was established in 2022 to spearhead advanced chip development.
The program aims to restore Japan’s standing in the semiconductor market, which has waned in recent decades with the rise of competitors like South Korea and Taiwan. Training periods will last up to 18 months and are intended to develop the technical expertise needed to produce state-of-the-art semiconductors.
Supported by government funding of 7.5B yen (approximately $49M) over five years, the initiative is part of a state-backed project led by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization. Key collaborators include Japanese tech giant SoftBank Corp and the University of Tokyo, with applications opening by March next year. This strategic move underscores Japan’s commitment to reclaiming a leading role in global chip production as demand for advanced technologies continues to surge.
