Good morning, it’s Wednesday. Welcome to a China and chips-heavy edition. China’s AI sector is on fire—but U.S. chip restrictions could throw a wrench in the works. Xi is doubling down on tech dominance despite economic turbulence, and Salesforce is busy turning its workforce into AI power users.
Meanwhile, if you've ever wondered which ChatGPT model is the right choice (GPT-4o, o3-mini, Deep Research—so many options!), we’re breaking it all down in today’s Forward Future University.
📊 MARKET PULSE
Celestial AI, a Silicon Valley startup specializing in photonics technology to enhance AI chip connectivity, has raised an additional $250 million in venture capital funding. This latest investment brings the company’s total funding to $515 million and increases its valuation to $2.5 billion. → Continue reading here.
🗞️ YOUR DAILY ROLLUP
Top Stories of the Day
🔲 Meta Tests First In-House AI Training Chip
Meta has begun testing its first custom AI training chip to cut reliance on NVIDIA and lower infrastructure costs. The chip, part of the Meta Training and Inference Accelerator (MTIA) series, is designed for AI-specific tasks, making it more efficient than traditional GPUs. Produced by TSMC, the chip will initially power recommendation systems and later support generative AI. A successful test could reduce Meta’s massive $65 billion annual AI infrastructure spend.
🤖 Manus AI Partners with Alibaba’s Qwen Team
Manus AI has partnered with Alibaba’s Qwen team to enhance the roll-out of its AI agent, which it claims outperforms OpenAI's DeepResearch. Unlike chatbots, Manus’ AI agent can operate independently, completing complex tasks with minimal input. The partnership aims to integrate Manus’ capabilities with Qwen's open-source AI models, helping Manus handle a surge in demand and expand its reach.
⚖️ Judge Allows Authors' AI Copyright Case vs. Meta
A federal judge ruled that authors’ copyright lawsuit against Meta over its Llama AI training can proceed, though some claims were dismissed. Authors Richard Kadrey, Sarah Silverman, and Ta-Nehisi Coates allege Meta used their books without permission and stripped copyright info to hide the infringement. The judge upheld the core copyright claims but rejected claims under California’s Computer Fraud Act.
🚘 Hugging Face Expands LeRobot with Self-Driving Data
Hugging Face has partnered with AI startup Yaak to expand its LeRobot platform with a massive self-driving dataset called Learning to Drive (L2D). Sourced from German driving schools, the petabyte-sized set includes camera, GPS, and vehicle dynamics data to support end-to-end learning—teaching AI to predict driving actions directly from sensor inputs. Unlike existing sets, L2D emphasizes real-world scenarios like intersections and construction zones.
☝️ POWERED BY MAMMOUTH AI
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📈 CHINA
China’s AI Boom: Can It Keep Up the Pace?
The Recap: China’s AI industry is exploding, driven by the success of DeepSeek and the launch of Manus, a new chatbot that reportedly outperforms OpenAI’s models. The surge has fueled a stock market rally and massive investment in AI infrastructure — but looming semiconductor shortages and geopolitical risks could bring the momentum to a halt.
DeepSeek’s rise has fueled national AI momentum, with Tencent and government agencies adopting it for real-world use.
The Hang Seng Tech Index has climbed over 40% since mid-January, reflecting surging investor confidence in AI.
China’s central government announced a 1 trillion yuan ($140B) tech-focused venture capital fund to sustain AI growth.
Alibaba plans to spend $53B over the next three years on AI infrastructure.
Local chipmakers like Huawei and Cambricon are still lagging behind NVIDIA in AI chip performance.
Potential new U.S. restrictions on NVIDIA’s H20 chips could sharply increase AI costs and stifle China’s progress.
Forward Future Takeaways:
China’s AI boom is creating massive economic and technological momentum, but it remains vulnerable to supply chain weaknesses and geopolitical tensions. If the U.S. tightens chip exports, the cost of AI development could spike, threatening to undercut China’s rapid progress. The next few years will test whether China’s AI industry can maintain its pace — or if it’s racing toward a bottleneck. → Read the full article here.
👾 FORWARD FUTURE ORIGINAL
ChatGPT: Choosing the Right Model
I was in New York this past week doing an AI workshop for a private equity firm, and we talked about all of the different models from OpenAI. One of the senior executives asked a great question - how do I know which model to choose to answer my question? It is a great question, and she is not alone. With GPT-4.5, GPT-4o, o3-mini, o1, o1 Pro, and Deep Research all vying for attention, even experienced professionals get overwhelmed.
This quick guide cuts through the confusion to help you understand when each model makes sense for your business needs. There is no technical jargon – just practical advice to help you make wise choices. → Continue reading here.
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🗺️ GEOPOLITICS
Xi Says China Must Win the Global Tech Race
The Recap: Xi Jinping is doubling down on his push to make China a technological superpower, even as the country faces an economic slowdown, debt issues, and trade tensions with the U.S. Critics argue that this focus on high-tech dominance overlooks pressing domestic economic problems and social welfare needs.
Xi's focus during China's annual National People’s Congress was on boosting advanced technologies like AI, biotechnology, and military innovation.
China’s science and technology budget is set to rise by 8.3% this year, with education up 6.1% and military spending up 7.2%.
Xi has modeled China's tech ambitions on the post-WWII U.S. science boom, believing that self-sufficiency in science and technology is key to global dominance.
China’s annual government tech budget will hit $172 billion, second only to the U.S., which spent $806 billion (public and private) on R&D in 2021.
Xi met with military leaders, emphasizing the need for rapid technological upgrades to develop “qualitatively new combat capabilities.”
Despite economic struggles, Xi appears unwilling to shift focus from exports or address domestic problems like falling housing prices and a declining birthrate.
Xi’s political dominance remains secure, with no visible signs of internal opposition or plans for succession.
Forward Future Takeaways:
Xi’s tech-focused strategy underscores a long-term vision to challenge the U.S. for global technological leadership — even at the expense of short-term economic stability and social welfare. If successful, this could reshape global power dynamics, but domestic unrest from economic stagnation could test the limits of this gamble. → Read the full article here.
👤 AGENTS
Salesforce is Training Its 72,000 Employees for Agentic AI
Salesforce is making a major push to train its 72,000 employees on agentic AI—technology that automates tasks without human intervention. To stay ahead of AI-driven workplace changes, the company has formed a workforce innovation team, identified ten essential AI-related skills, and set a goal for 80% of employees to gain fundamental AI skills by 2025. → Read the full article here.
🛰️ NEWS
What Else is Happening
🕹️ AI-Powered Pac-Man Fails? Grok-generated Pac-Man clones vary from impressive to disastrous, highlighting AI's limits in game development.
📽️ VIDEO
The All-in-One AI Agent
Manus is a multi-agent AI system that automates complex tasks like stock analysis and game development using open-source tools. Get the full scoop in Matt’s latest video! 👇
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🤠 THE DAILY BYTE
Taco ‘Bout the Future: 3D-Printed Plant-Based Beef Hits the Menu at MWC
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