'Microsoft invests tens of billions in AI in Germany
The American IT conglomerate Microsoft is investing 3.2 billion euros over the next two years in the development of infrastructure for artificial intelligence (AI), reports Handelsblatt.
Microsoft's chairman, Brad Smith, announced the investment at a press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
"German companies are currently rapidly adapting to AI-related technologies and we are therefore expanding our data processing centers in the region," said Brad Smith.
Microsoft aims to double the company's data capacity in Germany.
No state aid shall be involved in the venture, which shall enable the construction of new data centers in North Rhine-Westphalia and around Frankfurt. Microsoft has never before made such a large investment in Germany.
Microsoft is one of the investors behind OpenAI, which developed the acclaimed AI chatbot ChatGPT.
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The crypto market
The crypto market takes off - worth over 2000 billion
The world's two largest cryptocurrencies bitcoin and ether have surged over 20 percent since the turn of the year. It has helped lift the value of the entire crypto market to over $2 trillion for the first time since April 2022, Bloomberg reports.
- The recent price rise can likely be linked to a strong net inflow into US bitcoin ETFs, says Zach Pandl, head of research at Grayscale Investments.
On Thursday, bitcoin traded around $52,000, the highest level since 2021. Options trading indicates that some investors believe the $69,000 record will be breached. The so-called bitcoin crash expected in April has been pointed out by several analysts as a potential trigger.
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Germany overtakes Japan as the third largest economy
The unexpected GDP figures in Japan mean that Germany is now the world's third largest economy measured in dollars.
- The overtaking [...] depends a lot on the recent collapse in the yen. Japan's real GDP has actually surpassed Germany's since 2019, Brian Coulton, economist at the credit institute Fitch, told AFP.
Japan's GDP fell 0.4 percent year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2023, according to official Japanese statistics. In a Bloomberg survey, only one believed in a decline, with expectations for a rise of 1.1 percent.
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The oppression of minorities in China
US seizes luxury cars - found Chinese parts
Thousands of cars from Porsche, Bentley and Audi have been seized in the US after suppliers to Volkswagen found parts from "western China". That's what the Financial Times writes and refers to sources with transparency.
Since 2021, the US has an import ban on products from Xinjiang produced with forced labor. In a press release, the owner Volkswagen writes that they are investigating the matter and take all allegations very seriously.
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