BTC $62,775.10 -1.23%
ETH $1,874.15 -0.34%
BNB $604.11 -0.96%
XRP $1.00 -0.41%
SOL $75.45 -0.26%
TRX $0.3331 -0.13%
DOGE $0.0693 -1.08%
ADA $0.1795 -2.69%
BCH $205.25 -3.69%
LINK $8.80 +0.61%
HYPE $56.59 -1.35%
AAVE $86.52 -2.56%
SUI $0.6760 -1.66%
XLM $0.1587 -1.24%
ZEC $486.75 -1.41%
BTC $62,775.10 -1.23%
ETH $1,874.15 -0.34%
BNB $604.11 -0.96%
XRP $1.00 -0.41%
SOL $75.45 -0.26%
TRX $0.3331 -0.13%
DOGE $0.0693 -1.08%
ADA $0.1795 -2.69%
BCH $205.25 -3.69%
LINK $8.80 +0.61%
HYPE $56.59 -1.35%
AAVE $86.52 -2.56%
SUI $0.6760 -1.66%
XLM $0.1587 -1.24%
ZEC $486.75 -1.41%

cto

All
Article
Flash

hot_img Reuters: Microsoft has closed at least 15 branches in China over the past five years, with AI overseas business becoming a key factor for retention

According to a report by Reuters, influenced by multiple factors such as the tense Sino-U.S. relations, China's push for domestic software alternatives, and U.S. export controls, Microsoft has closed at least 15 branches and joint ventures in China over the past five years, executing a strategic contraction. In 2023, the company internally considered exiting the Chinese market, as some executives believed that "the geopolitical risks outweighed the limited economic returns," but ultimately did not proceed with the exit. Microsoft disclosed in 2024 that its business in China accounted for only about 1.5% of its global revenue.The report states that Microsoft's final decision to remain in China was primarily due to the establishment of a profitable path—providing Azure cloud and AI services to Chinese companies like ByteDance and Shein, helping them operate compliantly in overseas markets. Additionally, the company believes that retaining its business in China remains strategically significant for acquiring engineering talent. However, analysts question the sustainability of this AI business model: the service relies on third-party models like OpenAI, and Chinese companies are increasingly adopting domestic alternatives like Kimi, which offer comparable performance at lower costs.Microsoft's research and development presence in China is also contracting. Its predecessor, Microsoft Research Asia, has successively established new labs in Vancouver, Singapore, and Tokyo. In 2024, the company offered job opportunities to 1,000 top engineers to relocate to the U.S. and three other countries, but only about one-third accepted, with most senior engineers moving to domestic universities and tech companies. A Microsoft spokesperson responded that the company will continue to commit to the Chinese market but did not comment on specific decision details. ByteDance and Shein did not respond to related inquiries.

first_img GSR Market Director: Many tokenization platforms lack real trading volume, and speculation has exceeded actual usage

According to a report by Cryptonomist, GSR's market director Spencer Hallarn stated in an interview that the hype around tokenization has surpassed the actual usage on many platforms. The issue lies not in the market's demand for tokenized assets, but in the design of the platforms themselves. He pointed out that many walled garden-style tokenization platforms with strict KYC requirements generally lack meaningful trading volume, as cumbersome access and compliance processes limit activity.Hallarn believes that the real opportunity is not in tokenizing for the sake of tokenization, but in fixing the underlying pipelines of traditional banking and settlement systems, specifically the infrastructure for transferring funds and assets between institutions. This would make tokenization more of an infrastructure repair rather than merely a narrative of crypto products.He also mentioned that the stagnation in the crypto market this year is largely due to funds shifting towards AI infrastructure, with large tech companies raising substantial amounts of capital for AI infrastructure through equity financing, tightening the liquidity of various assets, and crypto is no exception. Its clients are also shifting from chasing short-term momentum to long-term budget planning, over-the-counter hedging, and RWA. If AI investment cools down and the Federal Reserve lowers interest rates, liquidity is expected to improve and support Bitcoin prices.

AI infrastructure startup Trajectory has completed a $40 million financing round, with participation from Sequoia Capital

According to The Information, AI infrastructure startup Trajectory announced the completion of a $40 million financing round, with a post-money valuation of $300 million, co-invested by Sequoia Capital. The specific financing round and other investors have not been disclosed.Trajectory was founded by researchers from tech companies such as Google and Apple, and primarily helps businesses customize open-source AI models for specific business needs, as well as optimize the software toolchain that supports AI Agent operations (referred to as "Agent Harness"). As the costs of using closed-source large models continue to rise, more and more companies are looking for alternatives: on one hand, they are reducing costs by fine-tuning and customizing open-source models, and on the other hand, they are improving the Agent execution framework to enable AI models to more effectively call tools and execute tasks.This trend is driving a new wave of entrepreneurial enthusiasm around model adaptation and Agent infrastructure. Trajectory aims to address key issues faced by enterprises in deploying AI Agents, including model performance optimization, task execution reliability, and adaptation to enterprise scenarios. The company hopes to help businesses build more efficient and cost-effective AI applications by providing model customization and Agent operation infrastructure.Investors believe that as AI evolves from simple chatbots to Agents capable of autonomously executing complex tasks, a new layer of infrastructure around model optimization and Agent engineering will become an important market. In recent years, Sequoia has also continued to increase its investment in the AI infrastructure sector, including investments in AI Agents and enterprise AI applications.

hot_img SK Hynix will expand its NAND production capacity in Dalian by about 50%, with the second factory in Dalian expected to start production in the first half of next year

SK Hynix has restarted the construction of its second NAND flash memory factory in Dalian, expecting to increase the monthly production capacity in the region by about 50%. The new production line is designed for a monthly capacity of approximately 50,000 wafers, combined with the existing Dalian Plant 1's monthly capacity of 100,000 wafers, bringing SK Hynix's total NAND production capacity in China to about 150,000 wafers per month. The factory began construction four years ago but was paused due to the downturn in the memory chip market and U.S. export restrictions on equipment to China, having only completed the structural framework.The investment in Dalian Plant 2 is driven by SK Hynix's NAND subsidiary Solidigm, with equipment installation expected to start as early as November this year, and plans to establish a mass production system in the first half of next year. Driven by the expansion of AI data centers, demand for enterprise-level SSDs has surged, with NAND prices rising nearly tenfold compared to a year ago, prompting the restart of investments. SK Hynix will adopt a dual-track strategy: the Dalian factory will use Intel's mature floating gate architecture to produce NAND at the hundred-layer level, while domestic factories like Cheongju M17 will focus on advanced NAND production of over 300 layers, the latter having announced an investment of 19.1 trillion won. Industry insiders expect that the equipment configuration of Dalian Plant 2 will be similar to that of Plant 1, maintaining a monthly production capacity in the range of 40,000 to 60,000 wafers.
app_icon
ChainCatcher Building the Web3 world with innovations.