Welcome to the newest edition of ID Tech’s AI update. Here’s the latest big news on the shifting landscape of AI and identity technology:
TSMC’s Q4 revenues far exceeded analysts’ expectations, at NT$868.5 billion (about $26.3 billion), compared to estimates of NT$854.7 billion. Demand for AI chips was a major factor in the 34.4 percent year-over-year increase. The Taiwan-based firm saw revenues of about $88 billion for 2024, marking its best year since it went public 30 years ago.
Samsung’s preliminary Q4 results fell short of analysts’ expectations. While its expected operating profit of about $4.5 billion would still represent a 130.5 percent increase year-over-year, there were high hopes that Samsung would make great gains in the AI sector through its High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) chips, but it hasn’t managed to meet Nvidia’s high standards for integration into the latter’s GPUs.
AI pushed Foxconn above market expectations with its own Q4 results. While the firm is primarily known for its role in assembling iPhones and providing their components, it also has a cloud and networking products division, which includes AI servers and saw significant growth in Q4. Foxconn reported a 15.2 percent year-over-year increase in revenues.
Anthropic is in talks to raise $2 billion in a funding round that would bring its valuation to $60 billion. Generally considered OpenAI’s biggest rival, Anthropic raised $4 billion from Amazon a couple of months ago. Lightspeed Venture Partners is reportedly leading the new funding round.
Microsoft expects to spend $80 billion on AI data centers in its 2025 fiscal year, which ends in June. In a blog post attributed to Microsoft President Brad Smith, the firm said over half of its spending would be in the U.S., and called on the incoming Trump administration to “move quickly and effectively to promote American AI” amid competition from China.
The Dutch government is in talks with Nvidia and AMD about collaborating on a supercomputer based in the Netherlands. The Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs is looking to get both hardware and technical assistance. Last year, the Dutch government budgeted €204.5 million for AI investments as part of a dedicated AI strategy.
Elon Musk has asked the attorneys-general of California and Delaware to mandate an auction of part of OpenAI’s corporate structure, arguing that it’s in the public interest to establish the fair market value of OpenAI’s charitable assets. The move comes as OpenAI seeks to transition to a more conventional for-profit model, and amid an ongoing dispute between the firm and Musk, who is an OpenAI co-founder and presently a rival, via his own AI startup.
The chatbot’s take: It’s not great poetry, but the output was near-instant.
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January 10, 2025 – by Alex Perala
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