Alibaba reveals more powerful Zhenwu AI chip, new LLM

An Alibaba logo is displayed at the company’s booth at China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) in Beijing, China, Sept. 10, 2025. Maxim Shemetov | Reuters CHONGQING, China — Alibaba announced Wednesday its new artificial intelligence chip is three times more powerful than its predecessor, as rival Nvidia struggles to get its advanced…

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Treasury yields, Nikkei 225, Kospi

Bird’s-eye view of central Tokyo including Tokyo Tower at sunrise hours. Vladimir Zakharov | Moment | Getty Images Asia-Pacific markets were poised to open mixed Wednesday as investors weighed elevated bond yields and renewed geopolitical tensions after U.S. President Donald Trump said he was “an hour away” from deciding whether to attack Iran on Tuesday…

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AI is changing who gets hired in America’s economy

From the Dayton, Ohio, suburbs to boardrooms in Dallas, the employees fueling AT&T’s next wave of growth aren’t fresh-faced college graduates with expensive four-year degrees. They’re skilled, blue-collar workers ready to get their hands dirty — and AT&T can’t find enough of them.  “We need people who know how to actually work with electricity. We…

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Modular data center builder Armada raises $230 million

Armada co-founders Dan Wright (L) and John Runyan (R) Armada Armada, which builds modular data centers that are becoming increasingly popular with customers in defense, energy and the military sector, raised $230 million from investors in a Series B fundraising round announced on Tuesday. San Francisco-based Armada, which was named to the 2026 CNBC Disruptor…

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How the Iran war is raising costs for AI chip companies

The AI rally continued this earnings season. But companies building the underlying hardware powering the boom warned that the Iran war is putting pressure on their supply chains and profitability. A spiraling conflict in the Middle East has seen oil prices skyrocket and supply chains crucial to the tech sector hamstrung. Shortages of key chipmaking…

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Three major shifts from the Trump-Xi meeting

U.S. President Donald Trump (R) gestures to China’s President Xi Jinping as he leaves after a visit to Zhongnanhai Garden in Beijing on May 15, 2026. Evan Vucci | Afp | Getty Images Hi, this is Evelyn, writing to you from Beijing. Welcome to the latest edition of The China Connection — a succinct snapshot…

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