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Trade Wars
Nobel Medicine Prize Goes To Researchers Into Immune System Precision
American scientists Mary Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi from Japan won the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine on Monday for work shedding light on how the immune system spares healthy cells, creating openings for possible new autoimmune disease and cancer treatments. This year’s prize relates to peripheral immune tolerance, or “how we keep our immune system under control so we can fight all imaginable microbes and still avoid autoimmune disease”, said Marie Wahren-Herlenius, a rheumatology professor at the Karolinska Institute.
Brunkow is senior programme manager at the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle, while Ramsdell is scientific adviser at Sonoma Biotherapeutics in San Francisco. Sakaguchi is a professor at Osaka University in Japan. “Their discoveries have laid the foundation for a new field of research and spurred the development of new treatments, for example for cancer and autoimmune diseases,” the prize-awarding body said in a statement. The laureates identified so-called regulatory T cells, which act as the immune system’s security guards that keep immune cells from attacking our own body, it added.
Read more at CNBC
OpenAI, AMD Announce Massive Computing Deal, In Challenge Nvidia’s Market Dominance
OpenAI and chip-designer Advanced Micro Devices AMD -2.98%decrease; red down pointing triangle announced a multibillion-dollar partnership to collaborate on AI data centers that will run on AMD processors, one of the most direct challenges yet to industry leader Nvidia NVDA -0.67%decrease; red down pointing triangle. Under the terms of the deal, OpenAI committed to purchasing 6 gigawatts worth of AMD’s chips, starting with the MI450 chip next year. The ChatGPT maker will buy the chips either directly or through its cloud computing partners.
The two companies didn’t disclose the plan’s expected overall cost, but AMD said it costs tens of billions of dollars per gigawatt of computing capacity. OpenAI will receive warrants for up to 160 million AMD shares, roughly 10% of the chip company, at 1 cent per share, awarded in phases, if OpenAI hits certain milestones for deployment. AMD’s stock price also has to increase for the warrants to be exercised. The deal is AMD’s biggest win in its quest to disrupt Nvidia’s dominance among AI semiconductor companies. AMD’s processors are widely used for gaming, in personal computers and traditional data center servers, but it hasn’t made as much of a dent in the fast-growing market for the pricier supercomputing chips needed by advanced AI systems.
Read more at Yahoo finance
Musk Gambles Billions in Memphis to Catch Up on AI
For Elon Musk, ground zero of the artificial intelligence arms race is a 114-acre tract of grass and swamp on the state line of Tennessee and Mississippi. Labor crews hired by Musk’s xAI were excavating power equipment on the site—a defunct energy plant just over the state line in Mississippi—and preparing to build a new plant capable of generating over a gigawatt of electricity, enough to power around 800,000 homes. Engineering permits show that Musk plans to route transmission lines that will connect the new power plant to a million-square-foot data center that is also under development just north of the border, in Tennessee.
Memphis is the front line of Musk’s costly foray into the AI wars. His artificial intelligence company, xAI, has already built one massive data center here in the Bluff City that it calls the world’s largest supercomputer. That facility, called “Colossus,” houses over 200,000 Nvidia chips and powers the technology behind the AI chatbot Grok. Now, Musk is close to finishing the second facility, which will be even bigger. He calls it Colossus 2. The AI arms race is shaping up as the most expensive corporate battle of the 21st century, with the belief that the first to the finish line will dominate the market, making speed crucial. Money also makes the difference: The more cutting-edge chips companies have, the smarter their models are. But at this stage it’s unclear if or when the enormous investments will pay off.
Read more at The WSJ
AstraZeneca Signs Up To $555 Million Deal With US-Based Algen To Develop Gene Therapies
lgen Biotechnologies said on Monday it has agreed to grant AstraZeneca (AZN) a license to develop gene therapies the U.S.-based biotech discovers using its artificial intelligence-driven platform, in a deal worth up to $555 million. Under the deal, AstraZeneca will get exclusive rights to develop therapies that target immune system-related disorders. The Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical major will also get the right to sell the treatments, if they get approved, while Algen will get upfront and milestone payments.
AstraZeneca has been advancing its cell and gene therapy capabilities through acquisitions and partnerships as it works towards its target of $80 billion in sales by 2030. Globally too, drugmakers are increasingly turning to AI for drug development. Algen was spun out from the lab at UC Berkeley, where biochemist Jennifer Doudna pioneered the CRISPR technology that won her the Nobel Prize. The biotech firm's AI platform, AlgenBrain, can map genes to disease outcomes, helping the companies decide their development focus for therapies.
Read more at Yahoo Finance
Boeing Defense Aims to Hire More Replacements
Boeing Defense will expand its effort to replace striking workers at three St. Louis area plants, according to a memo by a top executive of the fighter aircraft and missile manufacturer. About 3,200 members of the International Assn. of Machinist and Aerospace Workers have been on strike since August 4, and have formally rejected two contract offers by Boeing. The two sides are now engaged in mediation. Boeing’s initial four-year offer included a 20% wage increase, a $5,000 ratification bonus, more vacation time and sick leave, and “a path to higher wages.” The second offer covered five years, with a 24% raise and $4,000 signing bonuses.
The IAM – the same union that conducted a nearly two-month strike against Boeing Commercial Airplanes in 2024 – presented its own five-year contract proposal in late September, which included increased 401k contributions, raises to bring union members’ compensation in line with other Boeing employees, and a ratification bonus. That proposal was rejected by Boeing. On September 30, the company announced: “The union continues to set false expectations with its members. We’ve made it clear we’re ready and willing to discuss proposals within the parameters of our market-leading offer that union leadership has twice endorsed, not modifications to their self-drafted proposal. We'll stay focused on executing our contingency plan, hiring permanent replacements and supporting our customers.”
Read more at American Machinist
General Motors Delays Second Shift At Kansas Assembly Plant, Lays Off 900
General Motors Co. will indefinitely lay off 900 people as it backs off plans to establish a second shift at its Fairfax Assembly plant near Kansas City, Kansas, according to the Detroit Free Press. The layoff comes as the company edges back from electric vehicles. Kevin Kelly, a GM spokesperson, told the Free Press GM plans to add gas-powered Chevrolet Equinox production to the plant in 2027.
Reportedly, more senior workers among those laid off will receive priority to be re-hired then, but GM did not offer a timeline or estimate for how many would be brought back. The news came out the same day General Motors announced its third-quarter sales were up 8% year-over-year, led by the looming expiration of a federal tax credit for certain electric vehicles and strong sales for the Chevy Equinox EV.
Read more at Plant Services
Nike’s Turnaround Will ‘Take A While’ CEO Elliott Hill Says
Nike’s turnaround plan is showing early signs of progress, but it will “take a while” for the company to return to profitable growth, CEO Elliott Hill said in an interview with CNBC’s Sara Eisen aired Monday. “When we come to work we think about three brands, and then multiple sports under each brand and then 190 countries that roll up to our four geographies,” Hill said in a sit-down interview from the company’s headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon. “Each brand times sport, and each [geography] times country, they’re at different stages of the evolution.”
The comments come nearly a year into Hill’s tenure as CEO. Investors are looking for more clarity into how well his strategy to turn around the company is working as quarterly sales and profits have declined for much of the last year. Since Hill took over last October, he’s worked to reverse many of the strategies implemented by his predecessor, former eBay CEO John Donahoe, who tried to sell more shoes and apparel directly to shoppers. Instead of focusing on sales only through Nike’s website and stores, Hill is moving back to wholesalers and working to win back shelf space that competitors have taken over.
Read more at CNBC
Joby, Archer Showcase Air Taxis At California Airshow
On a clear Saturday afternoon, Joby Aviation and Archer Aviation, two California-based companies focused on making electric vertical take-off and landing vehicles, or eVTOLs — pronounced ee-vee-tols — demonstrated their aircraft in front of a public crowd for the first time at the California International Airshow in Monterey County. The 10-minute demos came and went with nothing more than a pither. Only the sound of a slight hum and the crowd chatter could be heard during both flights.
The companies are envisioning a ride-share-like service in dense urban regions — except they're relying on a zero-emissions, all-electric aircraft to transport passengers. Enter the flying taxis. To achieve public acceptance of a fleet of small aircraft constantly hovering over people's heads, noise — along with safety — is among the top priorities. Public opinion is only part of the hurdle. EVTOLs are a capital-intensive and highly regulated space. Companies undergo numerous tests and, in the US, must obtain several certifications to demonstrate airworthiness to the Federal Aviation Administration.
Read more at Business Insider
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