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Huawei's AI Lab Denies that One of its Pangu Models Copied Alibaba's Qwen

FILE PHOTO: Huawei logo is seen during Munich Auto Show, IAA Mobility 2021 in Munich, Germany, September 8, 2021. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Huawei logo is seen during Munich Auto Show, IAA Mobility 2021 in Munich, Germany, September 8, 2021. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay/File Photo
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Huawei's AI Lab Denies that One of its Pangu Models Copied Alibaba's Qwen

FILE PHOTO: Huawei logo is seen during Munich Auto Show, IAA Mobility 2021 in Munich, Germany, September 8, 2021. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Huawei logo is seen during Munich Auto Show, IAA Mobility 2021 in Munich, Germany, September 8, 2021. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay/File Photo

Huawei's artificial intelligence research division has rejected claims that a version of its Pangu Pro large language model has copied elements from an Alibaba model, saying that it was independently developed and trained.

The division, called Noah Ark Lab, issued the statement on Saturday, a day after an entity called HonestAGI posted an English-language paper on code-sharing platform Github, saying Huawei's Pangu Pro Moe (Mixture of Experts) model showed "extraordinary correlation" with Alibaba's Qwen 2.5 14B.

This suggests that Huawei's model was derived through "upcycling" and was not trained from scratch, the paper said, prompting widespread discussion in AI circles online and in Chinese tech-focused media.

According to Reuters, the paper added that its findings indicated potential copyright violation, the fabrication of information in technical reports and false claims about Huawei's investment in training the model.

Noah Ark Lab said in its statement that the model was "not based on incremental training of other manufacturers' models" and that it had "made key innovations in architecture design and technical features." It is the first large-scale model built entirely on Huawei's Ascend chips, it added.

It also said that its development team had strictly adhered to open-source license requirements for any third-party code used, without elaborating which open-source models it took reference from.

Alibaba did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Reuters was unable to contact HonestAGI or learn who is behind the entity.

The release of Chinese startup DeepSeek's open-source model R1 in January this year shocked Silicon Valley with its low cost and sparked intense competition between China's tech giants to offer competitive products.

Qwen 2.5-14B was released in May 2024 and is one of Alibaba's small-sized Qwen 2.5 model family which can be deployed on PC and smartphones.

While Huawei entered the large language model arena early with its original Pangu release in 2021, it has since been perceived as lagging behind rivals. It open-sourced its Pangu Pro Moe models on Chinese developer platform GitCode in late June, seeking to boost the adoption of its AI tech by providing free access to developers.

While Qwen is more consumer-facing and has chatbot services like ChatGPT, Huawei's Pangu models tend to be more used in government as well as the finance and manufacturing sectors.

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Technology

Musk Blasts French Prosecutors Probing His X Platform

SpaceX, Twitter and electric car maker Tesla CEO Elon Musk during his visit at the Vivatech technology startups and innovation fair at the Porte de Versailles exhibition center in Paris on June 16, 2023 and (R) the new Twitter logo rebranded as X, pictured on a screen in Paris on July 24, 2023. (Photo by Alain JOCARD / AFP)
SpaceX, Twitter and electric car maker Tesla CEO Elon Musk during his visit at the Vivatech technology startups and innovation fair at the Porte de Versailles exhibition center in Paris on June 16, 2023 and (R) the new Twitter logo rebranded as X, pictured on a screen in Paris on July 24, 2023. (Photo by Alain JOCARD / AFP)
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Musk Blasts French Prosecutors Probing His X Platform

SpaceX, Twitter and electric car maker Tesla CEO Elon Musk during his visit at the Vivatech technology startups and innovation fair at the Porte de Versailles exhibition center in Paris on June 16, 2023 and (R) the new Twitter logo rebranded as X, pictured on a screen in Paris on July 24, 2023. (Photo by Alain JOCARD / AFP)
SpaceX, Twitter and electric car maker Tesla CEO Elon Musk during his visit at the Vivatech technology startups and innovation fair at the Porte de Versailles exhibition center in Paris on June 16, 2023 and (R) the new Twitter logo rebranded as X, pictured on a screen in Paris on July 24, 2023. (Photo by Alain JOCARD / AFP)

Elon Musk has launched a tirade against French judicial authorities currently investigating possible abuses on his X social network -- prompting a fresh legal complaint from a gay rights group Saturday.

France opened an inquiry in January 2025 into allegations that X, formerly known as Twitter, was used to interfere in French politics.

The probe has since widened to cover allegations of Holocaust denial, distribution of sexual deepfakes and most recently possible complicity in the distribution of images of child sexual abuse.

Responding to a post on the latest phase of the inquiry, Musk wrote in French on Friday: "They're faker than a chocolate euro and gayer than a flamingo in a neon tutu!"

French campaigning group Stop Homophobie filed a complaint against Musk over his latest comments.

The group's lawyer, Etienne Deshoulieres, told AFP they had filed a complaint for "public insults towards a group of people because of their sexual orientation or gender identity".

The SpaceX and Tesla tycoon, under investigation along with former X CEO Linda Yaccarino, recently failed to respond to a summons from the French judiciary for an informal interview.

He already labelled French magistrates "mentally retarded" in an earlier post in French, following a raid on X's Paris office in mid-February.

At the time of the raid, the social network condemned what it called an abusive judicial action with political motives and denied any wrongdoing.

Contacted by AFP about Musk's latest published remarks, X declined to comment.

Technology

Nintendo to Hike Switch 2 Price, Warns on Profits

FILE - A Nintendo sign is seen outside Nintendo's official store in the Shibuya district of Tokyo, Jan. 23, 2020. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
FILE - A Nintendo sign is seen outside Nintendo's official store in the Shibuya district of Tokyo, Jan. 23, 2020. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
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Nintendo to Hike Switch 2 Price, Warns on Profits

FILE - A Nintendo sign is seen outside Nintendo's official store in the Shibuya district of Tokyo, Jan. 23, 2020. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
FILE - A Nintendo sign is seen outside Nintendo's official store in the Shibuya district of Tokyo, Jan. 23, 2020. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

Japanese gaming giant Nintendo said Friday it will hike the price of its Switch 2 gaming console as memory chip costs soar, warning that net profit would fall 27 percent this year.

Sony -- whose PlayStation5 has already risen in price -- was more upbeat, projecting a 13-percent rise in income but still with falling sales of its ageing console.

Nintendo said the Switch 2 price in Japan will rise 20 percent from May 25, and from September 1 by 11 percent in the United States to $499.99 and in Europe by six percent to 499.99 euros.

For the year to next March, Nintendo expects net profit to drop 27 percent to 310 billion yen ($1.98 billion) on sales of 2.05 trillion, marking a fall of 11.4 percent.

It also forecast 370 billion yen in operating profit, considerably below the average analyst estimate of 480 billion yen, according to Bloomberg News.

Net profit surged 52 percent to 424 billion yen last year on annual sales of 2.31 trillion yen, nearly doubling from the previous year, Nintendo said in a statement.

"Nintendo Switch 2 got off to a good start following its launch in June and global sales continued to grow after that," AFP quoted the company as saying.

It sold 19.86 million units of the new console by March, thanks to games like "Pokemon Pokopia,” "Mario Kart World" and "Donkey Kong Bananza.”

Price rises of memory chips fueled by the artificial intelligence boom have hit makers of games consoles, smartphones and other devices, while disruptions linked to the Iran war have exacerbated supply problems.

Sony said Friday that it sold 16 million PlayStation5 units in the past fiscal year, down from 18.5 million in the previous 12 months.

With 92 million PlayStation2 units sold since its launch in 2020, analysts said the firm was well placed to benefit from the release of smash hit "Grand Theft Auto VI", due in November.

"If there is a game that can sell PlayStations by the millions, it is this one," Gaming industry consultant Serkan Toto told AFP.

For the year to March 2027, the game division is expected to enjoy higher profits despite falling sales, Sony said.

"Sony's more mature PS5 console cycle leaves it better placed to weather higher memory costs," said Amir Anvarzadeh, strategist at Asymmetric Advisors.

"Having already moved past the heavy hardware penetration costs typical of earlier years, Sony's bottom line stands to benefit significantly from the high-margin software sales and ecosystem engagement this launch should trigger," Anvarzadeh said.

Nintendo though is in a more difficult position, Toto said, as Switch 2 customers are "especially price sensitive.”

"The first year game lineup for Switch 2 is much weaker than for its predecessor," he said.

"But now it's time for them to really step on the gas on the software side."

Technology

Tesla's China-made EV Sales Jump 36% in April, Extending Rebound

FILE PHOTO: A Tesla electric vehicle is charged at a Tesla Supercharger battery charging station in Barakaldo, Spain, March 29, 2025. REUTERS/Vincent West/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A Tesla electric vehicle is charged at a Tesla Supercharger battery charging station in Barakaldo, Spain, March 29, 2025. REUTERS/Vincent West/File Photo
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Tesla's China-made EV Sales Jump 36% in April, Extending Rebound

FILE PHOTO: A Tesla electric vehicle is charged at a Tesla Supercharger battery charging station in Barakaldo, Spain, March 29, 2025. REUTERS/Vincent West/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A Tesla electric vehicle is charged at a Tesla Supercharger battery charging station in Barakaldo, Spain, March 29, 2025. REUTERS/Vincent West/File Photo

Tesla's China-made EV sales jumped 36% on the year in April, a sixth month of gains, as the US automaker fights to hold ground against a wave of cheaper Chinese rivals.

Deliveries of Model 3 and Model Y vehicles built at Tesla's Shanghai plant, including those exported to Europe ⁠and other markets, totaled ⁠79,478 units, data from China Passenger Car Association showed on Thursday.

That was down 7.2% from March this year but well above April 2025 levels.

The figures suggest Tesla is stabilizing in its two most important markets outside the US after a bruising stretch of market share losses, ⁠though regulatory delays around its Full Self-Driving software and new Chinese EVs may limit the recovery.

The US automaker's sales continued to recoverlast month in several European markets, including Sweden, France and Denmark. This was supported by stronger demand for battery EVs as oil prices spiked due to the US-Iran conflict.

Tesla faces regulatory obstacles, with the path toward approval of its Full Self-Driving (FSD) system highly valued by customers, particularly in China, still ⁠uncertain.

The company ⁠now expects to secure full FSD approval in China by the third quarter, CFO Vaibhav Taneja said in April, a delay from its initial target of the first quarter.

Emails from some European regulators reviewed by Reuters indicate EU skepticism toward the technology.

The recovery follows a punishing stretch for Tesla, which lost almost half its European market share in 2025.

Nevertheless, Tesla is stepping up efforts to defend its position against new Chinese models by developing a cheaper, compact SUV produced in China, Reuters reported last month.