Apple starts testing China’s state-backed memory chips, and Washington is watching
Apple starts testing China’s state-backed memory chips, and Washington is watching

Apple has begun testing memory chips from China’s state-backed CXMT for devices sold in China, the Financial Times reports. That puts it behind a supplier Washington has flagged as a security risk. Apple has turned to Chinese memory chips for its own d…

South Korea’s FuriosaAI brings its Nvidia-challenger chips to Europe
South Korea’s FuriosaAI brings its Nvidia-challenger chips to Europe

A Korean chip startup wants to sell Europe a cooler, cheaper alternative to Nvidia. Its first “renegade” accelerators just went live in a Lisbon datacentre. FuriosaAI has switched on its RNGD AI accelerators in Europe. The South Korean startup is insta…

Quaise raises $134M to drill superhot rock with microwaves
Quaise raises $134M to drill superhot rock with microwaves

Geothermal used to mean shallow wells and modest heat. Quaise wants to drill kilometres down and blast the rock with microwaves, and it just raised $134 million to try. Quaise Energy has raised $134 million to drill for superhot rock deep underground, …

Google and RWE back Proxima Fusion in record €411mn round
Google and RWE back Proxima Fusion in record €411mn round

Munich-based Proxima Fusion has raised €411mn ($468mn), the largest private fusion round Europe has ever seen and a rare vote of confidence in a technology that has yet to produce a watt of commercial power. The deal values the stellarator company at €…

Cambridge’s Worldmodeldata raises £7M to turn video games into AI training data
Cambridge’s Worldmodeldata raises £7M to turn video games into AI training data

The last wave of AI learned to describe the world. The next needs to learn how the world pushes back. A Cambridge startup thinks the answer hides inside video games. Worldmodeldata has raised £7m (€8m) to turn gameplay into AI training data, Tech Fundi…

Finland’s CurifyLabs raises $14M to 3D-print personalised medicine in the US
Finland’s CurifyLabs raises $14M to 3D-print personalised medicine in the US

Your prescription, printed to order. A Finnish startup wants to turn the back room of your pharmacy into a tiny, automated drug factory, and it just raised $14m to do it in America. CurifyLabs has closed a $14m (€12m) Series A, the company announced. T…

Japan’s Turing takes AMD money and AMD chips to loosen Nvidia’s grip
Japan’s Turing takes AMD money and AMD chips to loosen Nvidia’s grip

Nvidia powers almost every self-driving car project going. A small Japanese startup is quietly handing some of that work to AMD instead. Turing Inc. has added AMD Ventures to its backers and started running its AI on AMD chips, Bloomberg reported. The …

China’s Biren raises $892M to build GPUs that can take on Nvidia at home
China’s Biren raises $892M to build GPUs that can take on Nvidia at home

Nvidia can barely sell its best chips in China. A crop of local challengers is racing to fill the gap. One of them just raised nearly $900m to speed up. Shanghai Biren Technology is selling HK$7 billion (about $892.5m) of new shares to boost GPU produc…

Nvidia’s Kyber AI rack slips to 2028, and one circuit board is to blame
Nvidia’s Kyber AI rack slips to 2028, and one circuit board is to blame

Nvidia’s next flagship AI machine has hit a wall, and the culprit is a single circuit board. The Kyber rack meant to house its 2027 Rubin Ultra chips has slipped to 2028. Research firm SemiAnalysis flagged the delay, and CNBC reported it. Kyber is not …

South Korea plans a ‘future response fund’ built on its AI chip tax windfall
South Korea plans a ‘future response fund’ built on its AI chip tax windfall

South Korea will seek to create a “future response fund” financed by the tax windfall from its semiconductor boom, Yonhap reported. The proceeds would flow into AI, advanced manufacturing, and other long-term growth engines. Presidential chief of staff…