Temasek leads talks to invest in OpenAI

Good morning. Here's what happened overnight and what you need to know today.

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1.

Slice of AI: Singapore’s state investment firm, Temasek, is in discussions to invest in the Microsoft-backed OpenAI, according to sources cited by the Financial Times. Temasek maintains a USD287 billion ($441.92 billion) portfolio featuring some of the world's leading tech startups. Senior execs from Temasek have met with Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, several times over the last few months. While Temasek had originally been interested in investing in Hydrazine Capital, Altman’s VC fund, the more recent discussions included OpenAI itself. If Temasek were to invest in OpenAI, it would be the first time a state-backed group funded the AI giant. (Financial Times)

2.

Super Tuesday: In what will likely be the biggest day of the 2024 US election campaign so far, presidential candidates will participate in primary votes across 15 states for ‘Super Tuesday’. The key competition will be waged between Republican candidates Donald Trump and Nikki Haley, with Trump expected to win most if not all states. While Haley has vowed to stay in the race, her campaign does not have any TV or radio ads booked after Tuesday primaries. In a Fox News interview on Tuesday morning, Trump predicted he would win “almost every state today,” before adding “I think every state.” As the Westernmost state, Alaska’s polls will be the last to close at 12:00am ET (4:00pm AEDT), although it is likely that states will call the results earlier. (Wall Street Journal)

3.

Neobank news: UK digital bank, Monzo, has reached a USD5 billion valuation as it completes an investment round ahead of its planned US expansion. Monzo confirmed that it has raised USD430 million from new and existing investors in a round led by CapitalG, Alphabet’s investment fund. Chinese VC firm HongShan, Tencent, and Passion Capital also participated in the round. The funding is earmarked for the bank’s second attempt to crack the US market, after US regulators told Monzo it would be unlikely to gain a banking licence on its first foray in 2021. Despite making a pre-tax loss of £116 million during 2023, the UK bank is expecting to turn a profit this year. (Reuters)

4.

To the moon: Bitcoin soared to a record high on Tuesday, reaching a new peak for the first time in two years. The cryptocurrency rose to over USD69,000, surpassing its previous record high of $68,990.90 from November 10, 2021. A continued increase of buying by US spot Bitcoin ETFs, which were approved by the SEC earlier this year, is considered to be a driving force behind the cryptocurrency’s strong rally during 2024. Over USD7.5 billion worth of capital has flowed into the Bitcoin ETFs since they began trading. Bitcoin was priced at around USD45,000 when the ETFs were approved in January, with the rally beginning to gain momentum by mid-February. The currency is also approaching a ‘halving’ event in April, which will see the rate of Bitcoin supply decline, driving up value. (CoinDesk)

5.

Patently served: Seoul Semiconductor Company (SSC) has filed a patent lawsuit against Amazon in the European Unified Patent Court, as it seeks to stop the distribution of products allegedly infringing on the company’s patent rights in the bloc. SSC currently holds over 18,000 patents, including the patent at the centre of the Amazon suit which freely adjusts the brightness and colour of LED lighting products over time. The semiconductor maker said that the company has obtained 15 permanent injunctions for patent infringements over the past five years. However, as the European Unified Patent Court has comprehensive jurisdiction across European patent litigation, by pursuing injunction and damages orders for infringement through the new court, SSC can now prevent the distribution of infringing products throughout Europe with a single lawsuit. (Seoul Semiconductor Co. Press Release)(Wall Street Journal)

6.

Gusty appointments: Australian and international renewable energy developers have been preliminarily selected for a licence to develop an offshore wind project in Victoria. According to The Australian, the firms which have reportedly been selected for the ‘feasibility licence’ include: Star of South, Macquarie’s green arm, a consortium which includes AGL Energy, Norwegian giant Orsted, and Parkwind. The licences will give projects exclusive rights over a part of the region for seven years. In January the newspaper reported that Floatation Energy, widely seen as Australia’s second most advanced offshore wind developer was left off the list of preliminary licence holders. (The Australian)

7.

Sales bite: Apple’s iPhone sales in China fell by a whopping 24% over the first six weeks of 2024, according to data from Counterpoint Research. The drop equates to a 7% contraction in China’s mobile market during the period, leading Apple to stimulate demand by rolling out discounts on its web store during January, while resellers are cutting prices by up to USD180. Shares in Apple have fallen around 11% since the beginning of the year, and the iPhone maker’s assembly partner Hon Hai Precision Industry, reported an 18% slump in sales over January and February. (Bloomberg)

8.

“Extrem dumm”: A Tesla factory in Germany was evacuated on Tuesday after a suspected arson attack that set an electricity pylon ablaze near the site. Production was halted and power was cut at the carmaker’s European Gigafactory near Berlin, until local firefighters extinguished the blaze which did not spread to the Tesla factory. A far-left organisation called the Volcano Group claimed responsibility for the arson, writing a 2,500 word attack on Tesla and CEO Elon Musk. Musk responded to the shutdown in a post on X, stating: “These are either the dumbest eco-terrorists on Earth or they’re puppets of those who don’t have good environmental goals. Stopping production of electric vehicles, rather than fossil fuel vehicles, ist extrem dumm.” (Reuters)