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Nvidia Ramps up AI Tech for Games, Robots and Autos

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang holds a new Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 graphics card as he gives a keynote address at CES 2025, an annual consumer electronics trade show, in Las Vegas, Nevada, US, January 6, 2025. (Reuters)
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang holds a new Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 graphics card as he gives a keynote address at CES 2025, an annual consumer electronics trade show, in Las Vegas, Nevada, US, January 6, 2025. (Reuters)
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Nvidia Ramps up AI Tech for Games, Robots and Autos

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang holds a new Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 graphics card as he gives a keynote address at CES 2025, an annual consumer electronics trade show, in Las Vegas, Nevada, US, January 6, 2025. (Reuters)
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang holds a new Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 graphics card as he gives a keynote address at CES 2025, an annual consumer electronics trade show, in Las Vegas, Nevada, US, January 6, 2025. (Reuters)

Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang made a rock star appearance at a packed arena late Monday, touting AI chips and software for robots, cars, video games and more.

After years of being on the sidelines at the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, talk of computer chips was a hot ticket as people queued for hours to fill an arena to hear Huang talk AI.

"When you see application after application that is AI driven, at the core of it is that machine learning has changed how computing will be done," Jensen said during a one-man presentation on stage.

"There are so many things you can't do without AI."

Jensen's keynote came on the eve of the opening of the CES show floor, and on a day that Nvidia shares closed at a new record, giving the Silicon Valley company a market valuation of more than $3.6 trillion.

Nvidia's graphics unit processors (GPUs) for powering AI in datacenters have been snapped up by Google, Microsoft, Meta, OpenAI and others racing to be leaders in the technology.

During a lengthy presentation in Michelob Ultra Arena at Mandalay Bay resort, Huang introduced a GPU for ramping up AI capabilities in personal computers where Nvidia won the loyalty of gamers in the company's early days.

Nvidia touted the new GeForce RTX 50 series for desktop and laptop computers based on Blackwell chip architecture as its most advanced consumer GPUs.

"Blackwell, the engine of AI, has arrived for PC gamers, developers and creatives," Huang said.

PCs enhanced with RTX chips for AI capabilities will be available from an array of manufacturers including Acer, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Razer and Samsung, according to Nvidia.

An AI PC displayed during the presentation was priced at $1,299, built with the $549 RTX chip at the starting point of the new GPU line-up.

Along with rapid rendering of rich gameplay action, Nvidia AI technology will enable the creation of characters that perceive, plan and act like human players, according to Nvidia.

Such autonomous characters are being integrated into games including "PUBG: Battlegrounds", according to Nvidia.

Huang also introduced a family foundation models open to the world for advancing "physical AI" that enables robots to understand and engage in real-world tasks.

Nvidia expanded partnerships and technology for autonomous capabilities in cars as well, with Toyota joining its roster of partners.

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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.

Technology

Musk's SpaceX Strikes Data Center Deal with Anthropic

The deal involving Elon Musk's SpaceX and Anthropic marks a surprising partnership between two companies whose leaders have been publicly at odds. Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP
The deal involving Elon Musk's SpaceX and Anthropic marks a surprising partnership between two companies whose leaders have been publicly at odds. Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP
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Musk's SpaceX Strikes Data Center Deal with Anthropic

The deal involving Elon Musk's SpaceX and Anthropic marks a surprising partnership between two companies whose leaders have been publicly at odds. Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP
The deal involving Elon Musk's SpaceX and Anthropic marks a surprising partnership between two companies whose leaders have been publicly at odds. Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP

AI startup Anthropic announced Wednesday it has agreed to a major computing partnership with Elon Musk's SpaceX, securing access to a vast data center as the Claude maker scrambles to keep pace with surging demand for its AI services.

Under the deal, Anthropic will use all of the compute capacity at SpaceX's Colossus 1 data center in Memphis, Tennessee -- a facility originally built to power Musk's rival AI venture, xAI, AFP said.

The agreement gives Anthropic access to more than 300 megawatts of capacity, backed by over 220,000 Nvidia AI chips, within one month.

The company said the additional capacity would directly benefit subscribers to its Claude Pro and Claude Max plans.

Anthropic also announced it was immediately letting users do more with its technology.

The company said it was doubling the amount of Claude Code -- an AI-powered coding assistant that can write, edit, and debug software -- that paying subscribers can use in a five-hour window and eliminating restrictions that had previously cut access during busy periods.

The SpaceX deal marks a surprising partnership between two companies whose leaders have been publicly at odds.

Musk wrote in February that Anthropic "hates Western Civilization" and questioned whether there was a "more hypocritical company than Anthropic."

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has rankled Musk and other Silicon Valley insiders with his public warnings about the dangers of AI.

Amodei has also clashed with the Trump administration after the Pentagon designated Anthropic a supply chain risk earlier this year, a move Anthropic said amounted to unconstitutional retaliation for the company's advocacy on AI safety.

But on Wednesday Musk changed his tone, writing on X that he had spent time with senior Anthropic staff over the past week and was "impressed."

"Everyone I met was highly competent and cared a great deal about doing the right thing," he wrote.

In a separate post, Musk said he was "dissolving" xAI as a standalone company. "It will just be SpaceXAI, the AI products from SpaceX," he added, without elaborating.

SpaceX merged with xAI earlier this year in a deal valuing the two companies at $1.25 trillion. The company is widely expected to pursue an IPO this year that could be among the largest in corporate history.

The Colossus facility in Memphis has been a source of controversy.

xAI installed dozens of natural gas-burning turbines to power the site, claiming no federal permit was required because they were only for temporary use -- a move that drew persistent protests from civil rights groups who said it worsened air pollution in the Memphis area.

The SpaceX pact is the latest in a string of major compute agreements Anthropic has announced in recent months as the company looks to secure the computing power needed to meet its growing needs.

These include megadeals with Amazon, Google and Broadcom, Microsoft and Nvidia, and an infrastructure investment with Fluidstack.

- AI battle -

The announcement comes as Anthropic and OpenAI -- crosstown rivals in San Francisco -- are locked in a direct battle to equip businesses with AI agents: semi-autonomous assistants capable of writing code, analyzing large volumes of documents, or processing medical records, whose adoption is accelerating rapidly.

On Tuesday, Anthropic unveiled 10 AI agents tailored specifically for banks, insurers, and asset managers -- tools capable of drafting sales presentations, conducting regulatory checks, and analyzing financial statements.

OpenAI, meanwhile, announced a partnership Tuesday with global auditing giant PwC to support its financial operations.

But the race to deploy AI agents is running headlong into a scramble for the chips and energy needed to power them.

Data center construction in the United States, despite moving at an accelerated pace, has struggled to keep up.

And the energy-hungry projects, blamed for driving up household electricity bills, are drawing growing opposition from American citizens -- an issue that could weigh on November's midterm elections.