SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean President Lee Jae Myung called for tripling government spending artificial intelligence infrastructure and technology in a budget speech to the legislature. Lee also called for lawmakers to approve a planned 8.2% increase in defense spending next year, which he said would help modernize the military’s weapons systems and…… MORE
Kimberly-Clark is buying Tylenol maker Kenvue in an approximately $48.7 billion cash-and-stock deal, creating a massive consumer health goods company. The combined company will have a huge stable of household brands under one roof, putting Kenvue’s Listerine mouthwash and Band-Aid side-by-side with Kimberly-Clark’s Cottonelle toilet paper, Huggies and Kleenex tissues. It will also generate about…… MORE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Microsoft has announced it will ship Nvidia’s advanced AI chips to the United Arab Emirates. The U.S. Commerce Department approved the deal in September. The company plans to send over 60,000 Nvidia chips, including the advanced GB300 Grace Blackwell chips, for use in UAE data centers. This move seems to contradict former…… MORE
Starbucks is forming a joint venture with Chinese investment firm Boyu Capital to operate Starbucks stores in China. Under the agreement announced Monday, Boyu acquire a 60% interest in Starbucks’ retail operations in China, which is valued at $4 billion. Starbucks will retain a 40% interest in the joint venture and will own and license…… MORE
SEATTLE (AP) — OpenAI and Amazon have signed a $38 billion deal to run OpenAI’s systems on Amazon’s cloud services. OpenAI will access hundreds of thousands of Nvidia’s AI chips through Amazon Web Services. The deal was announced Monday, just days after OpenAI changed its partnership with Microsoft. Last week, California and Delaware regulators allowed…… MORE