USChina

The Escalating Tension Between the US and China: Microsoft’s $1.5B Payment to G42

G42
As the Gulf region gains growing strategic importance for the tech war between the U.S. and China, Microsoft makes a big move into one of its richest oil countries. The minority stake will give Brad Smith, Microsoft’s vice chair and president, a seat on G42’s board of directors. The funding comes amid U.S. politicians’ escalating concerns over G42’s ties with China. Given the two countries’ increasing economic ties, it’s no surprise that G42, the AI poster child of the UAE, has also forged ties with Chinese firms. Under the agreement, the Emirati company’s data platform and other key technology infrastructure will migrate to Microsoft Azure, which will power G42’s AI product development.

Kiwibot Acquires Taipei Chipmaker Amidst US-China Tensions

Kiwi Campus Robot 1
Bay Area/Colombia-based delivery robotics firm Kiwibot this week announced that it has acquired Auto Mobility Solutions. The Taipei firm produces chips specifically for the world of robotics and autonomous driving. Kiwi founder and CEO Felipe Chávez Cortés does, however, tell TechCrunch that rising tensions between the U.S. and China are a key motivator for the purchase. Prior to this, the U.S. government had set its sights on various Chinese tech giants, including Huawei and DJI. Taiwan’s tenuous geopolitical situation, coupled with its vastly outsized share of the semiconductor market, has placed it at the center of the conflict.