China Adds Domestic AI Chips to Government Procurement List as U.S. Considers Easing Nvidia Export Curbs 
SK Hynix Considers U.S. ADR Listing to Boost Shareholder Value Amid Rising AI Chip Demand 
JD.com Pledges 22 Billion Yuan Housing Support for Couriers as China’s Instant Retail Competition Heats Up 
ADB Approves $400 Million Loan to Boost Ease of Doing Business in the Philippines 
Taiwan Opposition Criticizes Plan to Block Chinese App Rednote Over Security Concerns 
U.S. Greenlights Nvidia H200 Chip Exports to China With 25% Fee 
EU Court Cuts Intel Antitrust Fine to €237 Million Amid Long-Running AMD Dispute 
Apple App Store Injunction Largely Upheld as Appeals Court Rules on Epic Games Case 
SpaceX Insider Share Sale Values Company Near $800 Billion Amid IPO Speculation 
Nvidia Develops New Location-Verification Technology for AI Chips 
SpaceX Reportedly Preparing Record-Breaking IPO Targeting $1.5 Trillion Valuation 
Trello Outage Disrupts Users as Access Issues Hit Atlassian’s Work Management Platform 
Mizuho Raises Broadcom Price Target to $450 on Surging AI Chip Demand 
U.S.-EU Tensions Rise After $140 Million Fine on Elon Musk’s X Platform 
Azul Airlines Wins Court Approval for $2 Billion Debt Restructuring and New Capital Raise 
Microsoft Unveils Massive Global AI Investments, Prioritizing India’s Rapidly Growing Digital Market 
Alphabet’s growth-stage venture arm CapitalG and Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) are reportedly in advanced talks to invest in AI infrastructure startup Vast Data, potentially valuing the company at up to $30 billion. The new funding round, expected to raise several billion dollars, would position Vast Data among the most valuable startups in the rapidly expanding AI data infrastructure sector.
Headquartered in New York, Vast Data develops high-performance storage technology designed for large-scale AI data centers, enabling efficient data transfer between GPUs, including Nvidia’s latest chips. Its clients include Elon Musk’s xAI and CoreWeave, underscoring its critical role in the AI supply chain.
The company, led by CEO Renen Halak, has reached $200 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR) as of January 2025 and projects ARR growth to $600 million next year. Vast Data remains free cash flow positive and holds a substantial order backlog, according to sources familiar with its financials.
Vast Data has raised around $380 million to date, with its last funding round in 2023 valuing the company at $9.1 billion. While no initial public offering (IPO) is imminent, the hiring of former Shopify CFO Amy Shapero has fueled speculation of future public listing plans.
The company’s flash-based storage architecture, combined with specialized software, reduces costs for building and running large AI models, giving it an edge over rivals like Weka and DDN. The fresh investment would deepen Nvidia’s strategy of expanding beyond GPUs through acquisitions and partnerships in AI data infrastructure.
Shares of Nvidia fell 2.3% and Alphabet stock dropped 1.4% on Friday following the news of the talks.
