Tech Weekly | NVIDIA's Market Value Briefly Breaks $2 Trillion; First Brain-Comp

Nvidia's market value briefly breaks through $2 trillion as data center revenue surges by 400%

After releasing an overwhelming financial report on Thursday, Nvidia's stock price soared on Friday, with its market value increasing by nearly $300 billion overnight, briefly breaking through the $2 trillion mark. It took Nvidia only nine months to double its market value from $1 trillion to $2 trillion.

In Nvidia's latest fourth-quarter financial report, data center revenue reached $18.4 billion, surging by over 400% year-over-year. Generative AI is propelling Nvidia to achieve astonishing profits, with the company holding more than 70% of global AI chip sales. Nvidia's latest quarterly financial report shows that the company's profits have increased to $12.3 billion, growing by 769% year-over-year, with annual profits growing by over 580%.

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Commentary: As large technology companies such as Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta increase their investments in artificial intelligence computing, Nvidia's advanced GPU chips (such as the H100) have become the industry standard for AI developers processing large language model data. After the company's financial report release, Nvidia's founder and CEO, Jen-Hsun Huang, stated: "Accelerated computing and generative artificial intelligence have reached a tipping point. Demand from companies, industries, and countries around the world is surging. GPU chips are essentially the AI factories of the new industrial revolution." In an analysis report this week, Goldman Sachs analysts called Nvidia "the most important stock on Earth"; an analyst from another institution told Yicai Global: "Nvidia is leading a new round of technological revolution."

Sora's large model debut changes the industry, and Chinese entrepreneurs at the Yabuli Forum discuss AI

The debut of OpenAI's text-to-video model Sora has sparked heated discussions in the tech community. At the 2024 Yabuli Chinese Entrepreneurs Forum held this week, AI became a hot topic among attendees. Zhou Hongyi, founder and chairman of 360 Group, said: "The significance of Sora is that it truly gives artificial intelligence eyes. This eye does not work at the perceptual level but can work at the cognitive level." Zhang Yaqin, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and dean of the Institute for Intelligent Industry Research at Tsinghua University, stated that existing algorithms such as transformers and stable diffusion will change in the next five years.

Commentary: Zhang Hongjiang, former chairman of the Beijing Academy of Artificial Intelligence, said that the progress of large AI models has pointed us in a direction that no one had thought of before, which is that AI large models are no longer just a foundational technology; they can now be considered an application or product in themselves. Currently, although the industry agrees that the emergence of the Sora model will have a disruptive significance, it seems difficult to estimate when this impact will show explosive power.

Musk claims first brain-computer interface subject has achieved mouse control with thoughts

Elon Musk's brain-computer interface company Neuralink's first subject is said to have achieved control of a computer mouse through thoughts. On Tuesday, Musk recently stated on the social media platform X's Spaces: "The patient seems to have fully recovered, with no known adverse effects, and can control the mouse, moving it on the screen just by thinking." He also said that the company is currently trying to have the patient "click the mouse button as much as possible through thoughts," which includes moving the cursor up and down and dragging boxes on the screen.

Commentary: The latest human clinical trials mark a step for Neuralink on the path to commercialization, but medical device companies must go through multiple rounds of intensive data security collection and testing to obtain final approval from the U.S. FDA. Peng Lei, CEO of BrainCo, believes that it may take another 5 years from the first patient implantation to the final certification and sale of Neuralink's brain-computer interface products. To achieve the direct transmission of knowledge, memory, and emotions to another person through brain-computer interfaces, we may have to wait at least another 15 years.Meizu Announces Strategic Shift: Halting Traditional Smartphone Development to Focus on AI

On February 18, the domestic smartphone brand Meizu announced a strategic adjustment, stating that it will cease the development of new projects for traditional "smartphones" and fully commit to the next generation of AI devices. Shen Ziyu, Chairman and CEO of Xingji Meizu Group, said that relying solely on hardware upgrades and parameter competition in smartphone products can no longer meet the diverse and comprehensive usage needs and experiences of the vast number of consumers, and the industry urgently needs to find a new direction for sustainable development. Shen Ziyu stated that after two years of team integration, resource allocation, product layout, and thorough pre-research of related technologies, Meizu now has the capability to fully transition to the AI field.

Commentary: From recent business adjustments, it appears that the business focus of Meizu's parent company, Xingji Meizu, has shifted to product lines beyond smartphones. As early as August 2023, Xingji Meizu decided to terminate its self-developed chip business, focusing more on product innovation and software user experience. This decision came less than half a year after the establishment of Xingji Meizu Group's chip R&D team. From initially aiming to focus on "full-link innovation in consumer electronics" to later dismantling the chip R&D team, and now cutting smartphone projects to bet on artificial intelligence, as a company established for less than a year, Xingji Meizu's focus has indeed shifted frequently. Although Meizu now has Flyme AI in hand, in the current competitive smartphone AI race, whether Meizu can successfully stand out in this "battle of money burning" remains to be tested by the market and consumers.

Shi Yuzhu: 2024 Will Be a Key Period for Rapid Development of AI Technology

On February 22, 2024, Shi Yuzhu, Chairman of Giant Network, proposed at an internal company meeting that artificial intelligence (AI) has become a new field equally important to the game business within the company. "We used to have only one game business, and now we have added a second major business, which is artificial intelligence." Shi Yuzhu foresees that this year will be a key period for the rapid development of AI technology. Although the company's early investment in AI did not yield immediate results, with the open source of technology from several major American companies, Giant Network has welcomed a turning point, "The open source of AI giants has provided domestic AI companies with an equal starting point." Shi Yuzhu has high hopes for the company's future in the AI field: "This year is likely to see a major outbreak of artificial intelligence. With the advent of the AI era, we have made a good start in this field and hope to seize the opportunity to develop this sector."

Commentary: In the 2022 annual financial report, Giant Network mentioned that Shi Yuzhu showed great importance to AI technology, and at that time, the company had established an AI team. In 2023, Giant Network launched the "Game+AI" efficiency platform, and recently, Giant Network announced the official completion of the game AI large model "GiantGPT" registration. It is reported that GiantGPT is a vertical large model focused on the game business.

Large Models Change the Video Industry, with Bloggers Achieving Millions of Views

The AI video model Sora has ignited a fire in AI video, and in fact, the video industry has already been changed by AI. On video platforms, some AI videos have achieved millions of views. Creators use AI assistance from the script generation stage, and then use text-to-image and image-to-video applications to transform into videos, which exist in the form of animated shorts, music videos, and trailers. In a "Journey to the West" short film, the Huaguo Mountain Water Curtain Cave has flowing water, scattered plants, the heavenly palace built against the mountain, misty mountains, and details such as fallen leaves on the water, and the street scene presents pedestrians, gate towers, and shops.

Commentary: Currently, generating AI videos is not as simple as "one-click input and one-click output." The first batch of well-produced AI video creators entered the field with backgrounds in art or design, but the penetration of AI tools in the video field has indeed lowered the production threshold. Some creators told the First Financial Daily reporter that what might have taken months or a year to produce an MV can now be done in "weeks" using AI. Some creators also said that there are still many limitations with current AI tools, making it difficult to achieve reasonable large-scale movements and to present fighting and dialogue scenes. The industry is looking forward to Sora's open use to promote the evolution of AI videos, and some industry insiders believe that AI may create a new business format and platform different from the traditional film and television industry.

Samsung Electronics Has Sold All Its ASML Shares

Samsung Electronics has sold all of its holdings in ASML.On February 21, Samsung Electronics, a South Korean semiconductor manufacturing giant, disclosed in its audit report that the company had sold its remaining 1.58 million shares in ASML, a Dutch semiconductor equipment manufacturer, in the fourth quarter of last year, with these shares valued at approximately 1.2 trillion won. This means that Samsung Electronics has sold all of its ASML shares. In 2012, Samsung Electronics invested about 700 billion won to acquire about 3% of ASML's shares for cooperation in photolithography machine development. Samsung Electronics had previously reduced its ASML shares in the second quarter of 2016 and 2023, and before this round of reduction, Samsung Electronics' shareholding in ASML had been diluted to 0.4%.

Commentary: Starting from the second quarter of 2023, Samsung Electronics began to sell its ASML shares, with a total cash-out of about 3 trillion won. At that time, Samsung Electronics indicated that these funds would be reinvested in the semiconductor business. Therefore, the market generally believes that the purpose of Samsung Electronics' sale of ASML shares this time is also to raise funds for the upgrade of its semiconductor process technology. However, as the memory industry enters a downcycle, Samsung Electronics' performance has been continuously affected since the first half of 2023. In order to alleviate financial pressure and continue to invest in advanced processes, Samsung Electronics has not only sold ASML shares but also borrowed 20 trillion won from its parent company, Samsung Group, and sold some shares in BYD and SFA Engineering.

Intel OpenAI CEO Dialogue Focuses on Short-term Computing Infrastructure

On February 21, local time, at the Intel Foundry Direct Connect event held by Intel in San Jose, California, USA, the company's CEO Pat Gelsinger invited OpenAI CEO Sam Altman for a dialogue on stage. The two discussed the demand for chips and energy in the era of artificial intelligence, as well as issues of AI security. In Altman's view, the calculation method for the market size of AI chips is very different from that of traditional computer chips. "I expect the market for AI computing to be another kind of commodity, more like energy, with a certain amount of demand at a certain price, less demand at a higher price, and more demand at a lower price."

Commentary: On the day of Intel's event, Nvidia, the "computing power water seller," also released its fourth-quarter financial report, which exceeded market expectations. Faced with competition from Nvidia, Intel has been hoping to gain a share of the market in the era of AI computing power shortage through its own wafer foundry plan. Since Gelsinger took office, he has been committed to promoting the company's foundry business and promised to invest 20 billion US dollars to build a new factory in Ohio, USA. At the meeting on the 21st, Gelsinger predicted that by 2020, Intel will become the second-largest global foundry business by meeting the market's demand for AI chips, second only to TSMC. From this perspective, Intel's invitation to Altman to have a dialogue seems to have the implication of letting him stand for its chip foundry business.

Midea Group and Tongwei Shares, Haier Group and C&D Group Reach Strategic Cooperation

On February 22, Midea Group and Tongwei Shares signed a 2024 annual strategic cooperation agreement. The two parties will carry out comprehensive and in-depth cooperation in the fields of digitalization in the photovoltaic industry, robotics, logistics automation, smart buildings, and logistics services, to create a benchmark for intelligent manufacturing in the photovoltaic industry. On the same day, Haier Group and C&D Group also reached a strategic cooperation, focusing on user experience in the fields of characteristic industrial city complexes (smart home + smart community + industrial Internet and smart cities, etc.), supply chain channels, and operations, focusing on various scenarios of the Internet of Things ecosystem for win-win cooperation.

Commentary: Strong cooperation is the main theme of the development of home appliance leaders in 2024. New energy is a new business that Midea focuses on expanding. Midea's He Kang New Energy is expected to lose 185 million to 240 million yuan in 2023. On February 23, the shareholders' meeting passed a proposal for non-public issuance of no more than 332 million shares and raising 1.473 billion yuan for project financing and supplementary working capital. Midea's cooperation with Tongwei Shares this time is expected to enhance the competitiveness of its new energy business. Haier, in cooperation with C&D Group, the new major shareholder of Red Star Macalline, will create with Red Star Macalline, Haier's smart buildings will cooperate with C&D real estate, and Rishun will provide logistics solutions for C&D Group.

Venture Capital Wind Vane

According to Tianyancha data, there were a total of 255 investment and financing events this week; looking at the industry distribution of financing events, production manufacturing, medical health, and advanced manufacturing, the number of related events is at the forefront, with 78, 43, and 30 respectively; looking at the "number of times" investment institutions "make a move," investment institutions are becoming more diversified, including institutions such as Zhuoyuan Asia, Shenzhen Venture Capital, and CICC, all of which have made the list.This week, a total of 43 financing events occurred in the medical and health industry; in terms of financing amounts, companies such as Maikang Bio, Hongji Medical, and Tianjing Bioscience raised more than 100 million yuan; looking at the investing institutions, entities including the Shaoxing Binhai New District Biomedical Industry Equity Investment Fund and Shanghai Biomedical Fund made investments. This week, a total of 15 financing events took place in the artificial intelligence industry; regarding financing amounts, companies like Meikang Energy, Moon's Dark Side, and Haomo Zhixing raised more than 100 million yuan; as for the investing institutions, Sequoia China and Meituan Strategic Investment Department have records of making investments. This week, a total of 30 financing events occurred in the advanced manufacturing industry; in terms of financing amounts, companies such as Bibo Semiconductor, Changdian Technology Automotive Electronics, Yushu Technology, and H3D Hanbang Technology raised more than 100 million yuan; looking at the investing institutions, funds like SAIF Investment Fund and Ceyuan Capital have made investments. In the automotive and transportation industry this week, a total of 9 financing events took place; regarding financing amounts, Lingxiang Maglev raised more than 100 million yuan; as for the investing institutions, Dacheng Wealth Intelligence and Lightspeed Photochemical have made investments.