Altman courts investors for chips venture

Good morning, and welcome to the first edition of Standup, your daily head start on what happened overnight and what lies ahead today.

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1.

Chip venture: Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, is in talks with Middle Eastern investors and chipmakers including TSMC to launch a new venture that will reduce its reliance on Nvidia, the Financial Times reported, citing unnamed sources. AI firms rely on thousands of chips to train and run their large language models, but semiconductor supply is tightly controlled. The amount Altman is seeking to raise is unclear, but given the cost of designing and producing chips is extremely high, it is likely to run into billions of dollars. (Financial Times)

2.

Gas boost: The Albanese government is set to announce today that it has secured an increase in gas supply as part of wider discussions to address energy costs for Australian households. Energy Minister Chris Bowen and Resources Minister Madeleine King will announce the new supply commitments with Woodside and Esso, which are equivalent to two and a half years of gas-powered generation demand. The commitment will increase the total volume of gas secured through the Gas Market Code to 564 petajoules. (The Australian)(Sydney Morning Herald)

3.

Bonds ‘on fire’: The US corporate bond market has seen companies sell over $225 billion of debt since the beginning of January. Borrowers are rushing to secure lower interest costs, while investors are looking to buy up bonds before rate cuts begin. While many are starting to accept the likelihood of a ‘soft landing,’ some companies believe it is better to issue debt now in case the market turns. (Financial Times)

4.

Shipping costs: Global shipping prices continue to rise amid attacks on cargo vessels in the Red Sea by Houthi rebel groups. Ongoing US strikes on Houthi targets have not deterred the rebel attacks, which are disrupting supply chains globally as ships are forced to avoid the region. Average worldwide costs of shipping a 40-foot container rose 23% in the week through 18 January to $US3,777, and have more than doubled in the past month. (Wall Street Journal)

5.

US election: Donald Trump has attacked rival Nikki Haley ahead of the New Hampshire Republican primary on Tuesday. Among an extensive list of criticisms, Trump accused Haley of using “radical Democrat money to run the radical Democratic campaign operation she’s running”. He added: “What the hell kind of Republican candidate is that?” The former president maintains a strong lead over Haley in the polls, at 50% support to her 39%. (CNN)

6.

Musk's AI play: Elon Musk has denied a Bloomberg report that his AI company, xAI, secured $758 million in commitments from investors, which would amount to half of the $1.5 billion in funding he seeks. In response to a user’s post on the article, Musk posted: “This is fake news from Bloomberg.” The article said xAI is seeking a valuation between $22.7-$30.3 billion. (Bloomberg)

7.

Russian hack: An SEC filing by Microsoft states that state-sponsored Russian actors hacked its systems and accessed email accounts of some Microsoft executives on 12 January. Microsoft said that the nature of ‘Midnight Blizzard's’ attack suggests the hackers wanted to uncover what the tech giant knew about the hacking group itself. Microsoft disclosed the cybersecurity incident in line with new US rules requiring firms to publicly disclose material cybersecurity events. (TechCrunch)

8.

Share sale: Australian tech company Canva is close to completing a share sale that would raise over $2.25 billion and value the company at around $39.4 billion, Bloomberg reported, citing anonymous sources. Current and former employees of the software company will participate in the sale. Canva generated over $3 billion in revenue during 2023. (Bloomberg)