Fintech
1. The German government owns around $2 billion in bitcoin — and it’s freaking out crypto investors
For weeks now, Germany’s government has been selling hundreds of millions of dollars worth of bitcoin — and it’s been a key factor behind the cryptocurrency’s intense sell-off. Last month, the German government began selling bitcoin from a wallet operated by the country’s Federal Criminal Police Office, referred to locally as the Bundeskriminalamt, or BKA. (CNBC)
IT infrastructure
2. Spain’s Acciona launches swappable battery electric vehicle
Drive, swap the battery, repeat. Spanish construction and energy group Acciona is betting on this formula to help remove some of the main hurdles hindering the take-up of electric cars in Spain and elsewhere in Europe: price and driving range. (Yahoo! Finance)
3. Beijing to support use of self-driving cars in online ride-hailing services, state media says
China’s capital Beijing has plans to support the use of self-driving cars in online ride-hailing services, the official Beijing Daily reported on Monday, citing municipal draft rules for autonomous vehicles. (SRN News)
4. US-China chip fight looks set to continue
The recently retired CEO of semiconductor equipment maker ASML says that US-China disputes over computer chips are ideological and not based on facts, and they are set to continue. (The Star)
5. Ocado builds on Aeon partnership with plans for third robotic warehouse
British online supermarket and technology group Ocado said on Monday it had boosted its partnership with Japan’s Aeon with plans to build a third robotic warehouse. The third customer fulfilment centre (CFC), as Ocado calls them, will be in Kuki-Miyashiro, the Saitama prefecture of Japan, and will go live in 2027. (US News)
Tech trends
6. Microsoft to offer Apple devices to employees in China, cites absence of Android services
Microsoft intends to offer Apple’s iOS-based devices to its employees in China to access authentication apps, a company spokesperson said on Monday, citing the absence of Google’s Android services in the country. (US News)
7. ASML CEO says world needs the legacy chips China is producing, Handelsblatt reports
Chip buyers, including the German car industry, need the older generation computer chips that Chinese chipmakers are currently investing in, the CEO of equipment maker ASML said in an interview with Germany’s Handelsblatt newspaper published on Monday. (Yahoo! Finance)
8. Samsung Electronics workers strike as union voice grows in South Korea
South Korea – Samsung Electronics workers began a three-day strike for better pay on Monday, with their union pointing to further action should South Korea’s biggest conglomerate continue to fall short of its demands. (HR World)
9. Tesla’s Model Y ‘Juniper’ redesign might come soon
An apparent “Juniper” Tesla Model Y was spotted under the veil in California, reigniting reports that the automaker is prepping a redesign of its popular electric SUV. (The Verge)
10. Microsoft’s Notepad gets spellcheck and autocorrect 40 years after launch
Microsoft is finally rolling out spellcheck and autocorrect for its Notepad app in Windows 11, more than 40 years after the simple text editor was first introduced in Windows in 1983. The software giant started testing both features in March, and has now quietly started enabling them for all Windows 11 users in recent days. (The Verge)
AI
11. Corning raises second-quarter core sales forecast driven by AI boom
Corning raised its second-quarter core sales forecast on Monday, driven by robust adoption of its new optical connectivity products for generative AI, sending the speciality glass maker’s shares up more than 6% in premarket trading. (Reuters)
12. OpenAI Startup Fund backs AI healthcare venture with Arianna Huffington
Huffington Post founder Arianna Huffington and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman are throwing their weight behind a new venture, Thrive AI Health, that aims to build AI-powered assistant tech to promote healthier lifestyles. (TechCrunch)
