Wikipedia is marking its 25th anniversary by broadening its paid data licensing partnerships with major AI companies, disclosing its list of collaborators publicly for the first time. The Wikimedia Foundation has granted Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Corporation, Meta Platforms Inc., Mistral AI, and Perplexity access to Wikipedia and other Wikimedia project content via its enterprise product, Wikimedia Enterprise, according to reports from CNBC and TechCrunch.
The four-year Russia-Ukraine war stalemate persists, while escalating US-EU tensions linked to the US attempt to purchase Greenland have triggered retaliatory tariffs and market disruptions. Europe's imposition of tariffs and restrictions worth EUR93 billion (US$107.95 billion) on US companies is contributing to a sharp decline in global shipping indexes.
The World Economic Forum (WEF) has named Foxconn Industrial Internet's (FII) Bac Ninh Province facility in Vietnam as the country's first Sustainable Lighthouse Factory, recognizing its use of generative AI (GenAI) to deliver measurable carbon reductions and set a new benchmark for green manufacturing.
At its year-end celebration on January 16, ASUS held a confident tone amid a turbulent global outlook. Jonney Shih, the company's chairman, told employees that despite mounting uncertainty from international tariffs and geopolitical tensions heading into 2025, the company had delivered what he described as a "solid report card," crediting strong execution and organizational cohesion.
As generative AI (Gen AI) and sensing technologies mature, AI glasses are evolving from standalone wearables into a new generation of human-computer interaction interfaces. Featuring first-person perspective, scene recognition, and hands-free operation, these devices are seen as an ideal extension of smartphones with the potential to disrupt mainstream mobile hardware design.
As the AI chip computing power race intensifies, data center electricity demand is surging, forcing a fundamental redesign of server power architectures. Taiwanese connector maker CviLux Corp is emerging as a key beneficiary of this transition, leveraging its board-level power connector expertise to ride the shift from traditional AC systems to high-voltage direct current (HVDC) designs in next-generation AI servers.
Alibaba is repositioning its Qwen artificial intelligence app as more than a chatbot, turning it into a gateway to the company's vast consumer ecosystem. The app now connects directly with core Alibaba services, including Taobao, Alipay, and Fliggy, enabling users to shop, make payments, and book travel all within one app.
Taiwan's HTC Corporation is rapidly expanding its AI glasses ecosystem following the debut of its first AI eyewear, Vive Eagle, as it scales distribution, deepens AI partnerships, and prepares for an AR-enabled next generation of smart glasses.
Nvidia Corporation's market value has surged to US$4.5 trillion amid the expansion of the AI industry, overtaking Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corporation, while Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) reached a market capitalization of NT$46 trillion (US$1.45 trillion). Taiwan's information electronics sector is forecast to contribute over 6% to the nation's GDP by 2025, supported by strong chip manufacturing and AI server assembly.
As AI chip generations advance rapidly, power demands in data and compute centers are driving a fundamental shift in power supply design from single power supply units (PSUs) to system-level power racks. This shift entails highly modular, standardized power architectures, transforming power supplies into critical subsystems that ensure operational stability and efficiency.
Foxconn has established a joint venture, Henan Hongchuang Technology, in Zhengzhou, China, to enhance its manufacturing capabilities and supply chain resilience, with production set to begin in the second quarter of 2026.
More coverage
