Business, Financial & Legal - Page 11

TSMC is reportedly working on developing a new advanced chip packaging plant in the US, joining its development of chip-making facilities on American soil.

President Trump's second term seems to be taking things to the next level for the United States, with TSMC working favorably to get semiconductor production from Taiwan and onto US soil. In a new report from the Financial Times, we're learning that under President Trump's decision to force chip tariffs on Taiwan, TSMC has eased on its stance towards its expansion into the US, and is now reportedly working on advanced chip packaging facility in the US, which would help ease the effects of chip tariffs.

President Trump has never been a fan of Taiwan setting up factotres in the US, and didn't like the CHIPS Act saying that it is like "gifting out" money to Taiwan. In a recent House Republican discussion, President Trump reiterated his plans to impose chip tariffs on Taiwan, proposing high taxations on chipmakers.

Elon Musk has taken to his personal X account to warn he has discovered the the level of fraudulent federal entitlements exceeds the combined sum of every private scam anyone has ever heard of.

The post from Elon Musk has undoubtedly kicked off several alarm bells within the US government as the Tesla and SpaceX CEO continues to audit the US government books with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). According to Musk, he is "100% certain" that the magnitude of the fraudulent federal entitlements, which include services such as Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Welfare, Disability, and others, completely outweighs the combined sum "of every private scam you've ever heard by FAR."

The alarming post from Musk comes after the billionaire took to his X account on February 8 to share that he was informed there is currently more than $100 billion per year of entitlements distributed out to people with no Social Security Number or "even a temporary ID number." For those who don't know, individuals must have a Social Security Number in order to work, collect Social Security Benefits, and officially receive government assistance, according to the Social Security Administration website, per Newsweek.

Andural Industries is taking over the US Army's Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS) program, with the Palmer Luckey-led defense contractor waiting for approval from the Department of Defense.

Palmer Luckey is the founder of Oculus VR which was purchased by Facebook (before it came Meta, and the Oculus Rift now the Quest VR family of headsets) and is the founder of Andural Industries. Luckey's company is taking control of the largest project of its kind in history, and for Palmer, "this announcement is deeply personal".

On a post on his own blog, Palmer explained: "Since my pre-Oculus days as a teenager who had the opportunity to do a tiny bit of work on the Army's BRAVEMIND project, I've believed there would be a headset on every soldier long before there is a headset on every civilian. Given that America loses more troops in training than combat, the Squad Immersive Virtual Trainer (SiVT) side of IVAS alone has the potential to save more lives than practically anything else we can imagine building".

Spotify Premium users have been taking the popular music-streaming apps official forums to complain they are hearing advertisements. Now Spotify has responded.

For those who don't know, Spotify Premium users pay for the service to not hear advertisements between the content they are listening to, along with other features such as the ability to download and listen to content offline. Unfortunately, many Premium users are reporting they are still receiving ads despite having active Premium subscriptions. Notably, the ads are being heard by Premium users across iOS, Android, and Spotify Web.

The response from Spotify isn't what some cynical Premium users may be thinking - Spotify is preparing to inject advertisements into the Premium subscription tier. Here's what a company representative responded within a thread, "Our tech teams are currently investigating reports of Premium users hearing ads." Judging from this response, we are able to assume the advertisements being heard by Premium users aren't deliberately placed there by Spotify and that the problem is instead a bug that engineers will soon squash.

In a recent interview, Bill Gates revealed an interesting piece of advice once given to him by the late Apple founder Steve Jobs, and it was a recommendation to indulge in recreational drugs.

In an interview with The Independent, Gates said the Apple founder once said to him that he wished he would have taken acid to improve his taste in designing Microsoft's products. Gates said he jokingly replied to Jobs, saying, "Look, I got the wrong batch." Gates further elaborated on the distinction between the two visionaries, saying that he understood the coding side of things when it came to the products, but Jobs helmed the marketing design aspects. Because of these differences, Gates said he didn't feel as if he was in competition with Jobs in these departments and more or less recognized each other strengths/weaknesses.

For those who don't know, Jobs was well-known for creating products with design and user interaction at the forefront, along with marketing them with his energic and passionate presentations. As for Gates, the Microsoft founder created products with an intense level of expertise and forward-thinking while also retaining a business-centered mindset. Notably, Jobs lacked technical knowledge, struggled with collaboration with others, and was renowned as a demanding and harsh leader. Gates fell short in being a charismatic public speaker, the product aesthetics and user experience.

Intel has suffered another blow after its CEO of Datacenter and AI announced his departure from the company and his adoption as the CEO and president of Nokia.

Justin Hotard took to his LinkedIn account to announce his department from the lead role at Intel's Datacenter and AI division, where Hotard was positioned for just over a year. Hotard thanked the team at Intel for their work in pushing and stabilizing the Datacenter and AI Business over the time he was at the company. Notably, Hotard was selected to join Intel in early 2024 after Sandra Rivera, Intel's former CEO of Datacenter and AI, stepped down to lead the Intel's Altera FPGA business.

As for Nokia, the company announced the transition of Hotard in a press release, stating that Hotard has more than 25 years worth of experience in the tech space, and that he will be taking on the role of President and Chief Executive Officer at Nokia. Hotard will begin his role at the company on April 1, 2025.

TSMC will be hosting a board meeting in the United States for the first time in its 37-year history, expected to discuss geopolitics including US tariffs, Q1 2025 capital budget, bond issuance, and more between February 11-12.

In a new report from UDN, we're learning that TSMC is expected to confirm its plans for mass production at its new fab in Arizona, or even the construction of its first advanced packaging plant. TSMC's upcoming 4th fab is expected to focus on 1.6nm production, with TSMC's Arizona Mega Fab reportedly having the space for P4-P6 fabs, in addicion to Fab 21 with its P1-P3 plants.

TSMC has over $65 billion invested into its Arizona, USA plant at Fab 1 (4nm and in production), Fab 2 (planned for 2028 operations), and Fab 3 (aimed at 2nm or A16, planned for 2030) with the possible acceleration for Fab 2 and Fab 3 according to the latest reports.

TSMC plans to increase its investments into its fabs in Arizona, USA as part of its cooperation in the new "manufacture in USA" policy pushed by President Trump.

In a new report from Ctee, we're learning that TSMC has recently said: "TSMC is committed to complying with all applicable laws and regulations, including applicable export control regulations". TSMC is reportedly planning to increase its investments in its Arizona plant, which should see expansions to its current 3 wafer fabs on US soil.

TSMC's expansive site at Arizona covers an area roughly 445 hectares in size, with more room to grow as it expands production capacity. Not only that, but the supply chain ecosystem for advanced processes is also being gradually completed during the plant construction process, with the speed of the plant construction process set to be sped up in the near future.

Super Bowl 2025 is here and with it we have the infamous product spots and movie trailers, with the likes of the new Captain America: Brave New World, Jurassic World Rebirth, Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning, and more shown off. Check them all out below:

We'll start with the product ad featuring celebrities endorsing the biggest brands on the planet, with some rather cool and out-there ads to sell you new products in 2025. We have Carl's Jr, Ritz Crackers, Ram Trucks, Bosch, Totino's, DoorDash, Ray-Ban, Uber Eats, Little Caesers Pizza, Oikos, Hellmann's, Mountain Dew, Sketchers, Pringles, Reese's, Instacart, Squarespace, NerdWallet, and Coffee Mate with trailers at Super Bowl 2025.

Now, onto the movie trailers... where we get some slightly deeper, and sometimes some far longer movie trailers to some of the biggest movies hitting theaters this year. We get a better look at Marvel's Thunderbolts* (yeah, the astericks is meant to be there), as well as Captain America: Brave New World (which opens on February 14).

Elon Musk is rumored to be spending $40 million of his own money on 5 commercials during one of the most-watched events in the world -- the Superbowl -- highlighting US government waste that DOGE has found.

There have been a few posts and videos that I've seen floating around on X and TikTok saying that the SpaceX and Tesla boss has spent $40 million on Superbowl commercials that would highlight discoveries made by DOGE (the Department of Government Efficiency) through USAID, and President Trump's recent mention that he's tasked Elon with auditing the Pentagon.

It would be nice to see Elon Musk himself confirm that he has personally spent $40M on advertising DOGE's findings during the Superbowl, as it would put US government waste into the eyeballs of hundreds of millions of Americans.

The Chinese government responded to President Trump's newly implemented import tariffs against China by launching an antitrust investigation into Google.

China has responded to the 10% tariff imposed by US President Donald Trump on imports from China, and according to reports, China has responded with a flurry of retaliation measures, with one including a new antitrust probe into Google. The new investigation is looking into whether Google has violated Chinese antitrust laws, and the investigation was announced only minutes after President Trump implemented the 10% trade tariff.

Notably, Google is quite familiar with antitrust investigation processes as the company has endured probes from the European Union, the UK, and even the US over its business practices. Additional retaliatory measures from China include the newly announced 15% import tariff on US coal and natural gas, along with a 10% tax on oil, agriculture equipment, and large-displacement automobiles.

AMD has reported $7.65 billion of revenue for Q4 2024, up 24% from last year, with net incoming hitting $482 million for the three-month period, which is down 28% from last year.

AMD had data center revenues of $3.9 billion which is up 69% from last year, thanks to the mega-success of its EPYC processors and Instinct AI accelerators, driven by the insatiable demand of AI hardware. For the year, AMD's data center segment revenue hit a record $12.6 billion, up an even more impressive 94% compared to 2024, thanks once again to EPYC and Instinct product lines.

There are now over 450 EPYC-powered platforms in the wild from major server OEMs and ODMs, including over 120 EPYC "Turin" CPU platforms into production in Q4 2024 from the likes of Cisco, Dell, HPE, Lenovo, Supermicro, and others.

Thanks to data center products, AI hardware, and Ryzen CPUs crushing it in the client space, AMD's Q4 2024 financial results saw its overall revenue grow to a record $7.7 billion. And for the full year 2024, AMD's revenue of $25.8 billion is a new record for the company. However, AMD's Gaming revenue, which includes Radeon products for PCs and chips for Sony's PlayStation and Microsoft's Xbox consoles, fell by a massive 59% year-over-year for Q4 2024.

In addition, the reported Gaming revenue of $563 million is now a third of what it was for a similar financial period a few years ago. And with an operating income of $50 million for the quarter, this too is down year-over-year - pointing to slim margins for chips used in modern gaming consoles. For 2024, AMD's Gaming segment revenue of $2.6 billion was also down 58% compared to 2023.

The good news is that AMD's Gaming segment is profitable; however, it has become the smallest segment of the company's portfolio. Naturally, there's no mention of gaming in CEO Dr. Lisa Su's summary for the quarter or 2024 - the focus is placed on record Data Center profits driving the company's current success and future.

Taiwan will be supporting local companies that want to relocate to the United States, helping them find partners on US soil, according to the economy ministry, offering assistance following President Trump's new tariffs.

In a new report from Reuters, we're learning that Trump's new tariffs would see additional levies of 25% for goods imported from Mexico and Canada, with 10% tariffs on goods from China. They start this week, and now Taiwan -- with its companies being some of the key producers of technology products including semiconductors and electronic parts is vulnerable notes Reuters -- considering that many have factories in Mexico and China, as well as Trump's promised tariffs on foreign semiconductors.

Taiwan's economic ministry said in a statement that it would provide information for local companies that want to relocate, suggesting particular US states to invest in, the local laws, and help finding partners on US soil. Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute branches in the US will also actively promote research and development, and manufacturing cooperation between Taiwanese and US companies, too.

The Department of Justice could throw a co-founder of a prominent Call of Duty studio in prison for up to a year after he admitted to crashing a drone into a firefighting aircraft that was battling the Los Angeles wildfires.

According to a new press release by the United States Attorney's Office for the Central District of California, Peter Tripp Akemann has agreed to plead guilty to one count of unsafe operation of an unmanned aircraft. Reports indicate Akemann, who is a co-founder of prominent Call of Duty studio Treyarch, was irresponsibly and recklessly flying a drone when it collided with a CL-415 Super Scooper, resulting in a 3-by-6-inch hole in its left wing and the eventual grounding of the aircraft.

The aircraft is capable of carrying up to 1,600 gallons of water and is considered to be one of the most effective methods of fighting wildfires. The Justice Department estimated the damages caused to the aircraft to cost "at least" $65,169, which didn't include the time the aircraft was grounded and not fighting fires that resulted in more property damage.

It was only a few days ago that Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) department took control of a government computer system that resulted in officials being locked out.

The initial report came from Reuters that claimed senior officials at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) suddenly lost access to a critical government database that contains the personal data of millions of federal employees. The report stated the takeover of the database by DOGE members is part of the broader overhaul to reduce bureaucracy and implement cost-cutting strategies across the entire US government.

According to the unnamed officials who spoke to Reuters, one of the systems now under control by DOGE is the Enterprise Human Resources Integration, which contains dates of birth, Social Security numbers, appraisals, home addresses, pay grades, and length of service of government workers. OPM workers have raised security and oversight concerns since access to the database was revoked. Now, a new WIRED report has identified six individuals who play critical roles in DOGE and have been tasked by executive order with "modernizing Federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity."

Apple posted its best financial quarter yet with Q1 2025 results blowing the industry out of the water, wth $124.3 billion in revenue, and over half of that is thanks to mega iPhone sales.

Apple announced its Q1 2025 financial results with a monster $124.3 billion in revenue, earning profits of $36.3 billion, compared to $119.6 billion revenue and $ 33.9 billion profits from the same period in 2024. Over 50% of Apple's earnings for Q1 2025 were thanks to iPhone sales.

The iPhone delivered $69.1 billion in revenue for Apple, accounting for 55.63% of its Q1 2025 revenue, with those numbers ever-so-slightly down from Q1 2024 where the iPhone made $69.7 billion in revenue. The new premium M4-powered iPad Pro and M2 iPad Air series were also great money makers, with the iPad division raking in $8.08 billion in Q1 2025, compared to $7 billion in Q1 2024.

TSMC is speeding up into its next-generation, cutting-edge 1nm process node production which is expected to kick off in 2030.

In a new report from the Taiwan Economic Daily, we're learning that TSMC is planning to continue its domination in the semiconductor industry with preparations for 1nm production lines at its new state-of-the-art facility in Taiwan. The report suggests that TSMC's new 1nm process node will be mass-produced at a dedicated fab in Tainan, Taiwan.

TSMC's bleeding-edge 1nm process node will be fabbed at the "Fab 25" facility, expected to produce new 12-inch wafers with 6 production lines. TSMC Is also reportedly planning to build new facilities for its upcoming 2nm and 1.4nm process nodes -- also in Tainan -- as Taiwan receives government incentives, helping the process along, as TSMC runs towards being a semiconductor-focused "Silicon Valley".

Senior officials at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) have suddenly lost access to critical department databases, which is reportedly part of Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) plan to slash government spending through downsizing.

The report from Reuters cites two anonymous federal agents who told the publication that OPM officials were locked out of a database that contains the personal data of millions of federal employees. The report states that aides to Elon Musk initiated the lockout of the officials at OPM and that the movie is part of a broader government overhaul aimed at reducing bureaucracy and implementing cost-cutting strategies.

One of the systems is called the Enterprise Human Resources Integration, and it contains dates of birth, Social Security numbers, appraisals, home addresses, pay grades, and length of service of government workers. According to the unnamed officials, OPM workers are still able to log on and access functions such as email, but they are no longer able to see the massive database that contains information on every federal worker. The unnamed officials said that since OPM employees have "no visibility" of the database, and that creating "great concern" for "real cybersecurity and hacking implications."

Mark Zuckerberg is tired of what he says behind closed doors at Meta eventually leaking to the public, which was revealed in leaked audio.

In a new report from 404 Media, it was revealed Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is growing tired of what he says in internal meetings leaking, which is resulting in the CEO having to watch what he says during meetings as he doesn't want to diminish the value of what the company is trying to create. Zuckerberg is known for holding all-hands meetings in which Meta employees can respond to what Zuckerberg is discussing with their own questions. But due to the frequency of the contents of these meetings leaking, Meta has changed how the meetings work.

Instead of taking direct questions from staff Meta is now running a "poll" system where questions asked beforehand were voted on so the "main themes" of questions were addressed. As for what else Zuckerberg talked about during the all-hands meeting, the Meta CEO reiterated what is on the horizon for the company and how AI plays a pivotal role. Zuckerberg has previously stated that AI is going to replace many software engineers, and that open-source AI will soon overtake closed-source AI -- these same sentiments and others were told to Meta employees during the meeting.