Chipmaker Nvidia unveiled its GB10 superchip, along with other AI-centric announcements at the 2025 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas on Monday.
In a highly-anticipated keynote speech at CES, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang laid out his vision for the company’s AI software offerings.
Nvidia said its new GB10 superchip will be available in a small desktop system Project DIGITS, which will be available from May and will start at $3,000 (£2,392.80).
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In addition to the new chip and desktop, Nvidia also debuted its open model license Cosmos platform for developing physical AI systems. These physical AI systems include technologies such as humanoid robots and self-driving robots.
Ahead of Huang’s speech, Nvidia shares closed at a fresh record high of $149.43 on Monday, with the stock up nearly another 2% in pre-market trading on Tuesday.
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: “Nvidia’s runaway success means it has high expectations to meet on everything it does.
“The launch of its next-generation gaming chips was always going to be a pivotal moment and true to its style, Nvidia has unveiled something that promises to be faster and better than what’s already on offer.”
Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, reportedly said at an event on Tuesday the tech giant planned to invest $3bn in its AI and cloud computing capabilities in India.
Bloomberg reported that Nadella announced the investment over two years at an event in Bangalore, southern India.
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“The diffusion rate of AI in India is exciting,” Nadella reportedly said.
Nadella also said that Microsoft planned to give AI training to 10 million people in India by 2030.
This latest news follows an announcement from Microsoft last week that it planned to invest $80bn in AI data centres.
Despite this update, Microsoft shares were little changed in pre-market trading on Tuesday morning.
Social media company Meta was in focus after announcing it had appointed Dana White, CEO of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and ally of US president-elect Donald Trump, to its board.
Meta also elected former Microsoft executive Charlie Songhurst and the CEO of holding company Exor, John Elkann, to the board.
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook-parent Meta, said: “Dana, John and Charlie will add a depth of expertise and perspective that will help us tackle the massive opportunities ahead with AI, wearables and the future of human connection.”
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The appointments come just days after former UK deputy prime minister Sir Nick Clegg stepped down from his role as Meta’s president of global affairs and is to be replaced by his deputy and key Republican voice Joel Kaplan.
Zuckerberg appears to have been trying to forge closer ties with Trump, with Meta having donated $1m to the president-elect’s inaugural fund.
Shares in Meta were nearly 1% lower in pre-market trading on Tuesday.
Shares in Tencent slid 7% on Tuesday, after the US added the technology company to its blacklist of firms that it suspects have ties to the Chinese military.
The Shenzhen-headquartered company was one of the companies that the US Defense Department said it had determined as now qualifying as a Chinese military company, according to an updated notice published on Tuesday.
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A spokesperson for Tencent had not responded to Yahoo Finance UK’s request for comment at the time of writing.
This news comes as trade tensions between the US and China escalate, just a couple of weeks before Trump returns to the White House.
The Biden administration has already announced further export curbs on chips to limit China’s access to the technology.
Back in the UK, retailer Next said it was giving a cautious outlook for the business, as it highlighted the expected impact of tax increases and higher wage costs out of the autumn budget.
“We believe that UK growth is likely to slow, as employer tax increases, and their potential impact on prices and employment, begin to filter through into the economy,” the company said in its Christmas trading update.
To offset an “unusually high” £67m ($84m) increase in wage costs, Next said it would raising prices on like-for-like goods by 1%, as we implementing cost savings.
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For the year, Next said it expected to generate total group sales growth of 3.2% to £6.5bn and profit before tax of £1.05bn, up 3.6% on the previous year.
In the nine weeks to 28 December, Next said full price sales were up 6% compared with the previous year.
Charlie Huggins, head of equities at the Wealth Club, said: “The year ahead is forecast to be more challenging, but Next still expects to grow sales and profit.”
“Calendar year 2025 is likely to be a bloodbath for the UK retail sector,” he added. “The Autumn Budget means retailers will face a significant increase in employee costs and many will not be able to offset this. Next stands apart for its ability to do so, with its high margins, strong overseas growth and efficiency initiatives all helping it to preserve profitability.”
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Michele Paul is the news writer for Stated Podcast. She has written about everything from arts and construction to automotive and travel, as well as real estate and fashion. Michele also writes about her hobbies: cooking, watching movies with her husband and hanging out with her family.
