Business, Financial & Legal - Page 14

A former Google employee is being taken to court over allegedly leaking trade secrets about the company's Google Pixel smartphone.

Google has officially filed a lawsuit against a former employee for allegedly leaking trade secrets following his departure from the company. According to Google's legal action filed in the US District Court for the Western District of Texas, Harshit Roy, a former Google employee whose LinkedIn's page states he was at the company for four years starting in 2020, is allegedly responsible for the distribution of internal documents revealing the hardware inside future generation Google Pixel smartphones.

According to the legal action, Roy, who was responsible for the design, development, and optimization of unreleased System-on-Chip (SoC) onto Pixel smartphones, posted confidential information on X about the unreleased chips, shared internal Google documents, and threatened Google with further disclosures. Additionally, Google alleges Roy ignored takedown requests for all of the leaked content he posted, along with Google's effort to resolve the matter "without judicial intervention."

TSMC's brand new 2nm fab in Kaohsiung has hit a huge milestone today, with its equipment installation ceremony taking place with clients, partners, and Taiwanese government officials.

In a new report from Economic Daily News and UDN, we're hearing that TSMC's inaugural 12-inch fab in Kaohsiung is preparing for mass production of 2nm chips in 2025. Additionally, the equipment installation is 6 months ahead of schedule, and finally, once the new 2nm fab is operational, it will be making the world's most advanced chips.

But which companies will be first to use TSMC's new 2nm process node? Apple and AMD are expected to be amongst the first customers of TSMC and its next-gen 2nm process node. Not only that, but TSMC's 2nm production strategy in Taiwan is moving full-steam ahead on two paths: Hsinchu Baoshan fab and the Kaohsiung plant, both gearing into mass production in 2025.

SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk has inquired about purchasing MSNBC amid rumors that Comcast could be preparing to sell it.

The media stir about Musk possibly purchasing MSNBC began when Donald Trump Jr tagged Musk in an X post about Comcast being rumored to be quietly preparing the sale of MSNBC, with Trump Jr writing, "Hey Elon Musk, I have the funniest idea ever!!!". The inquiry from Musk comes after news broke that Comcast was rolling its media properties into a new company called SpinCo, which will sever those media assets from Comcast's NBC broadcast network.

Despite this severing, Comcast has said that none of its media properties are for sale, but that hasn't prevented speculation of sales on social media platforms, especially now that Musk has lit a fire. Musk replied to Trump Jr's X post with a similar response to what the Tesla CEO wrote when inquiring about purchasing Twitter back in 2017. "How much does it cost?".

TSMC's new Arizona fab opening ceremony has reportedly been delayed from December 2024 until January 2025, after President-elect Trump is inaugurated and US (and TSMC, and the world) enters the "Trump 2.0" generation.

In a new report from DigiTimes, we're learning that the "supply chain revealed" that TSMC has informed invited guests to its Arizona fab completion ceremony -- something both President Biden and President-elect Trump are expected to attend -- and "may be postponed until after Trump takes office in January or then, depending on the atmosphere".

TSMC is the key player in the technology industry, making chips for the largest tech companies on the planet -- most of them from the USA -- including NVIDIA, Intel, Qualcomm, Apple, and more. TSMC is aware of the geopolitical risks, and that the changing of the administration in the US will change across the next 4 years. DigiTimes reports that the "script had to be rewritten again, and it (TSMC) was once again on alert and combat readiness".

A UK consumer group has filed a £3 billion (US$3.82 billion) claim against Apple over its iCloud pricing and packaging details, which the consumer group alleges violates consumer practices in the UK and has resulted in Apple gaining an "unfair advantage" in the market.

The claim comes from Which?, a consumer watchdog that tests products and services. Which? alleges in the claim that Apple's practices may have impacted as many as 40 million people across the UK, spanning back to October 1, 2015. Which? alleges Apple's practices has gained it market dominance, mentioning a "key tactic" that is used is Apple encouraging users to sign up to iCloud for "storage of photos, videos, and other data while simultaneously making it difficult to use alternative providers."

Moreover, the claim points out that "Apple does not allow customers to store or back up all of their phone's data with a third-party provider" and that once iCloud storage has exceeded the free 5GB limit, users are prompted with notifications reminding them to upgrade their iCloud storage to continue backing up photos, videos, and other data. Which? is seeking damages for approximately 40 million customers that have had iCloud services since October 2015, and the consumer watchdog believes £70 per customer is appropriate.

Samsung will be showing off its innovations for AI and automotive technologies at the electronica 2024 event, with the likes of its new HBM3E AI memory and GDDR7 memory for graphics cards, and so much more shown off at the event.

Samsung is showcasing its latest innovations in AI and HPC including HBM3E, CXL-based CMM-D, and GDDR7 memory as well as DDR5 RDIMMs for the data center. The company is supporting automotive innovation in the "Server on Wheels" era with automotive LPDDR5X and Detachable AutoSSDs being on display at electronica 2024.

Here's what Samsung will be showcasing at electronica 2024:

President-elect Trump's massive victory in the 2024 US elections has pushed urgency with Taiwan semiconductor supply chain partners of TSMC to set up new factories in the United States.

In a new report from Ctee, we're learning that semiconductor industry players pointed out that after Trump took office, US manufacturing has become mainstream.

Semiconductor packaging plants and equipment factories have seen the urgency of moving their operations to the US, with TSMC's upcoming Arizona plant 1 entering mass production in early 2025, and both President Biden and President-elect Trump BOTH expected to attend its opening ceremony in December.

TSMC could build new CoWoS advanced packaging plants in the United States and Japan because of "persistently strong demand".

In a new report from Ctee, we're learning that demand for TSMC's advanced packaging "remains high" and that rumors across the semiconductor supply chain suggest TSMC plans to consider setting up CoWoS plants in the US and Japan to "meet local needs".

TSMC's CoWoS advanced packaging supply is still tight, with production capacity and expansion expected to double in 2024, and then double again in 2025 as demand is still insane (thanks to the unstoppable demand of AI chips, mostly from NVIDIA).

The Australian government has announced its pursuing new legislation that would ban social media for anyone that isn't over the age of 16-years-old.

The announcement was made by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's office, which published a new notice on its website on November 8. The notice states the new Bill is aimed at addressing the online harms of social media on young people and builds upon already existing legislation designed at introducing new criminal penalties for "non-consensual sexual deepfakes." The Australian government's new plan received backing from the National Cabinet last week and will be introduced into Parliament in the coming weeks. The effects of the new legislation will be implemented next year.

Notably, services that provide education and health services won't be included in the new ban, and the eSafety Commissioner, Australia's independent online safety regulator, will oversee the new policies' implementation and regulation. As for what social platforms will be banned for users under the age of 16, the administration named the following platforms: TikTok, Facebook, and X. Moreover, YouTube will also fall under the new guidelines, according to Minister of Communications Michelle Rowland.

ASML was struck by an IT outage last week that disrupted its facilities globally, but was resolved quickly according to an ASML spokesperson.

In a story from Bloomberg, we're learning that the maker of the world's most advanced chipmaking machines -- High-NA EUV lithography machines purchased by semiconductor giants TSMC and Intel -- was hit by an IT outage that forced some staffers to work remotely.

Local Dutch newspaper Eindhovens Dagblad, ASML's clean rooms, offices, customer support departments, and communication with suppliers were disrupted during the IT outage. Bloomberg reminds us that ASML is a "critical part of the world's semiconductor supply chain, and as a result, has found itself continually caught in the middle of the escalating fight between the US and China over chip-market dominance. It has a monopoly on manufacturing the machines that help companies such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Samsung Electronics Co. produce the most-advanced chips that power everything from Apple's smartphones to NVIDIA's AI accelerators".

Taiwan's technology protection rules has stopped TSMC from producing advanced 2nm chips overseas, with Taiwan Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo stating yesterday that the country need to keep its most cutting-edge technology at home.

Kuo added: "Although TSMC plans to make 2nm chips (abroad) in the future, its core technology will stay in Taiwan". According to Taiwan law, there are limits to domestic chipmakers to produce chips abroad that are at least one generation behind their most advanced nodes that their fabs at home are making.

In July 2024, TSMC told its investors that its next-generation A16 chip will be entering volume production in the second half of 2026, after ramping production of its 2nm chips in 2025. TSMC's overseas manufacturing roadmap has the company making 2nm or more advanced chips in the US by 2030, with its new Arizona fab using its 3nm and 2nm process nodes, and will be operational in 2028.

Intel sent out a memo to its employees this week, starting with reminding its staffers that "although Intel still faces cost challenges" that it will be finding coins in its lounges to restart its free coffee and tea for staffers to boost morale in these dark times for Team Blue.

The Oregonian reports that Intel explained on its internal messaging forum dubbed Circuit: "Although Intel still faces cost challenges, we understand that small comforts play a significant role in our daily routines. We know this is a small step, but we hope it is a meaningful one in supporting our workplace culture".

Intel has of course declined to comment, and while the $100 million-per-year free coffee and tea train is back on again -- remember folks, Intel is going through cost challenges -- the free fruit isn't on offer after it was eliminated last summer.

US President Biden and President-elect Trump are rumored to BOTH be attending TSMC's upcoming opening ceremony for its semiconductor fab in Arizona in the first week of December.

TSMC hasn't confirmed the news just yet, but DigiTimes is reporting that Taiwan Minister of Economic Affairs Kuo Chi-hui recently revealed that TSMC will have a "very good ceremony" in December 2024. After the previous star-studded entrance ceremony, "it was reported that the President of the United States will attend the December event".

DigiTimes notes that now that the 2024 US elections are over and President Trump has won, that he "may also participate". TSMC is not just one of the key players, but the Taiwanese giant isthe key player in semiconductor dominance for the United States.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has congratulated President Trump on his victory in the 2024 US elections, saying that he looks forward to working with Trump and his administration in the future.

Cook posted on X, saying: "Congratulations President Trump on your victory! We look forward to engaging with you and your administration to help make sure the United States continues to lead with and be fueled by ingenuity, innovation, and creativity".

During his first term, President Trump praised Apple CEO Tim Cook for his communication skills, calling Cook a "great executive" as the Apple CEO always called President Trump directly to talk about serious issues. Other CEOs will use consultants, leaving Trump impressed with the personal touch by Cook.

NVIDIA has surpassed Apple for the second time to become the world's single most valuable publicly traded company after the GPU maker's share price rose nearly 3%.

NVIDIA's market cap reached $3.43 trillion, putting it just a smidge above Apple's $3.4 trillion. As for NVIDIA, the company has seen extreme growth that can be attributed to it supplying the demand for hardware to conduct artificial intelligence-based tasks. Additionally, NVIDIA was extremely well-positioned to capitalize on the early opportunity of AI, which has proven very beneficial for it as the company has been able to maintain its extraordinary growth and it's dominating lead in the GPU market.

For context, NVIDIA's share price has skyrocketed an astounding 2,700% over a 5-year period, with the company's share price having almost tripled in just 2024. As for Apple, the company's share price has increased 17% this year, with some industry analysts predicting Apple's share price could increase when Apple Intelligence is fully deployed. Additionally, Apple was the first company to reach a $1 trillion and $2 trillion market cap, and NVIDIA briefly surpassed Apple's market cap back in June.

2024 simply isn't the year for Intel as the company's stock is down 51% to date, and now reports indicate the company has been booted from the Dow Jones Industrial Average index.

Intel was on the Dow Jones index for 25 years, and now, according to reports NVIDIA is set to take the company's spot on the index right as the GPU giant reaches a $3 trillion market cap, rivaling only that of Apple. For perspective, Intel currently has a market cap of $99 billion. The removal of Intel and the addition of NVIDIA in its place highlights the mounting rise of the GPU giant propelled by the exponential demand for artificial intelligence-powered solutions.

NVIDIA was extremely well-positioned to supply the demand for AI hardware, while Intel wasn't able to capitalize on the early adoption and has since been behind the eight-ball in terms of quality offerings. Additionally, Intel is suffering from a massive brand hit as its 13th and 14th gen CPUs were discovered to have hardware faults. These faults weren't discovered for many months, and Intel's communication with customers throughout the information-acquiring period about the issue was choppy at best. This has resulted in consumer trust being broken and significant stock value drops.

Intel has been in trouble for a while now but it is just continuing to pile up for the US-based tech giant, which has now got the interest of the US Commerce Department, which is now working through ways of recovery, including a potential merger for the company.

US policymakers are reportedly looking toward a potential merger deal with Intel, that will allow for more sustainable operations of the company. Intel's finances have been on a downward slope for a while now, with big financial injections and US government assistance through the CHIPS Act.

On top of that, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger ran his mouth and lost a reported 40% discount from semiconductor giant TSMC after remarks about Taiwan and China.

Apple has reported its fiscal Q4 2024 results, posting a quarterly revenue of $94.9 billion which is up 6% year-over-year, powered by the new iPhone 16 smartphones, Apple Watch Series 10, AirPods 4, and more.

The company made $46.2 billion in revenue from its iPhone, $7.4 billion in revenue from its Mac division, and $7 billion in revenue from its iPad business. These are all up year-over-year, joined by $9 billion in revenue from wearables, home, and accessories, while its services revenue was strong at an all-time record $25 billion, up 12% year-over-year.

Apple CEO Tim Cook said: "Today Apple is reporting a new September quarter revenue record of $94.9 billion, up 6 percent from a year ago. During the quarter, we were excited to announce our best products yet, with the all-new iPhone 16 lineup, Apple Watch Series 10, AirPods 4, and remarkable features for hearing health and sleep apnea detection. And this week, we released our first set of features for Apple Intelligence, which sets a new standard for privacy in AI and supercharges our lineup heading into the holiday season".

Russia says that Google owes the Kremlin more than $20,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 -- an unimaginable amount of money -- after refusing to pay fines that are now building up for blocking pro-Russian channels on YouTube.

We're talking about 2 undecillion rubles, which is a 2 followed by a mind-boggling 36 zeroes -- which works out to around $20 dectillion, which is (if it makes it even easier) $20 billion trillion trillion. Pro-Kremlin channels that are involved in the case include outlets like Russia 1 and the platform that belongs to Russia Today (RT) presenter Margarita Simonyan.

The legal battle has been described by a Moscow judge as "a case in which there are many, many zeroes".

Intel lost a chunky $16.6 billion this quarter, which was revealed in the company's recent Q3 2024 financial results, just a week after the launch of its new consumer desktop CPU series in the Core Ultra 200 chips hitting the market, led by the flagship Core Ultra 9 285K.

The company beat expectations, pulling in $13.3 billion in revenues, but after its massive internal restructuring changes -- and many other happenings at Intel right now -- posted $16.6 billion in losses for Q3 2024. The $13.3 billion of revenue for Q3 2024 is down 6% year-over-year, but also up $500 million from Q2 2024.

Intel's massive upheaval and restructuring changes, and massive losses from its Foundry business, saw Intel's gross margin dropping to 15%, a historical minimum for Intel. Not good. Intel's product group had profits, generating revenues of $12.9 billion, Intel Foundry earned $4.4 billion (but down from $4.7 billion from Q3 2023) while its chip production unit bled $5.8 billion.