OpenAI and SoftBank
$9984 (-0,71 %) are each committing, 19 billion dollars to fund Project Stargate reports The Information.

According to Bloomberg, SoftBank $9984 (-0,71 %) and OpenAI will each initially invest 19 billion dollars in Stargate. Each will hold 40% of the shares in the joint venture. Oracle $ORCL (-1,99 %) and MGX are both investing 7 billion dollars, but no specific shares are attributed to them. The remainder of the initial 100 billion dollars will be financed through debt and smaller investments from third parties.

Who still finds it funny how offended Elon Musk is about the whole thing? Trump has shown him who really has the say.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/softbank-openai-plan-19-billion-022702821.html

I would like to initiate a discussion on the occasion of the recently announced 500 billion dollar Stargate project in the USA.

Do you think it is possible for Europe to catch up with the existing technological backlog? Or is "Stargate" the final nail in the coffin? And which countries do you see at the forefront of the AI age in the future?

For me, these countries are on the winning side:

USA 🇺🇸 - The USA has been at the forefront of technology right from the start. OpenAI (ChatGPT), Alphabet $GOOGL (+0,37 %) (Gemini), Meta $META (+0,73 %) Microsoft $MSFT (-1,34 %) .... The list of companies relevant to the industry is long. Nowhere else in the world is more invested in AI. "Stargate" will now increase this imbalance many times over

China 🇨🇳 - China acts independently of the West and yet is still a major player with companies such as Tencent $TCEHY (+1,48 %) , Alibaba $BABA (+2,78 %) , Huawei, Xiaomi $1810 (+5,19 %) and Baidu $9888 (+4,04 %) are ideally positioned. Chinese companies are fast and innovative. The gigantic subsidies from the Chinese government also play a decisive role in this context. Another advantage is that the Chinese are currently receiving energy from Russia virtually as a gift.

Japan 🇯🇵 - With SoftBank, Japan has $9984 (-0,71 %) a real AI champion in its country. In Japan, NVIDIA and SoftBank $NVDA (-3,74 %) and SoftBank are building a joint innovative AI infrastructure. The fact that SoftBank and OpenAI are to be the lead partners in the Stargate project and that Masayoshi Son (CEO of SoftBank) will chair the new company will benefit Japan. The huge assets that are being built up there will flow back into the home country in one way or another. The close cooperation with the government (+high subsidies), the leading position in robotics and the recent developments in the semiconductor industry should also be noted.

Singapore 🇸🇬 - Very small country, lots of money, very good government, very well-educated population, lots of expats, lots of foreign investment, very few logistical challenges as a city state...... So things are looking VERY good for Singapore.

UAE 🇦🇪 /Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦/Qatar 🇶🇦 - Rich Gulf states that will invest billions in AI projects abroad (e.g. UAE participation in "Stargate"). They will generate large returns on these investments, while at the same time investing in the digitalization of their own country, thereby bringing great prosperity to their relatively small populations. Although there is also a large expat community in the UAE, including in the field of AI, I think that the Gulf states will mainly benefit from their investment funds.

I am unsure about these countries unsure:

Canada 🇨🇦 - Canada is innovative and wealthy, but there are not really any relevant companies in the AI sector. In addition, the universities are middle class and they lose a lot of talent to their neighbor, the USA. However, the country has potential, also because it is very attractive for foreign specialists.

Taiwan 🇹🇼 - TSMC $2330 from Taiwan supplies the world with chips, including those urgently needed for AI, but the country's heavy dependence on a single company, which has recently been expanding abroad (especially Japan and the USA), poses a risk. The development of the conflict with China and the possible success of Rapidus from Japan and Samsung in the field of 2nm chips will also be decisive for Taiwan's future in the field of AI.

South Korea 🇰🇷 - Technological leader, politically unstable. Companies like Samsung $005930 and SK Hynix $000660 from South Korea are leaders in the field of AI. There is a great deal of expertise in the country and the government is also supporting the transformation. However, I am unsure about the excessive dependence on the chaebols (e.g. Samsung), which account for an unhealthily large proportion of economic output. The dysfunctionality of the rule of law due to corrupt politicians and courts, the recent very tense domestic political situation and the constant threat from neighboring North Korea should also be viewed critically.

India 🇮🇳 - The next few years will show whether India can become the new China. India is growing dynamically and, with its 1.4 billion inhabitants, has a huge potential workforce, but it is still heavily dependent on foreign know-how. India is not as innovative as developed countries and has to deal with domestic challenges such as hunger, which could make investment in AI more difficult. Indian companies are very open to AI and are trying to adapt it quickly, but developing it is another matter.

The Netherlands 🇳🇱 - With ASML $ASML (-1,76 %) the Netherlands is home to one of the most important companies when it comes to AI. Without ASML's machines, the particularly advanced chips required for AI could not be produced. This puts the Netherlands, with its small population, in a rather comfortable position. However, it is also heavily dependent on a single company, which is also increasingly being targeted by geopolitics, with the result that the USA regularly blackmails the Netherlands to dictate where it has to deliver these machines. Recently, there have also been developments that threaten ASML's monopoly.

Germany 🇩🇪 - Germany is good at AI research, but there is a lack of AI champions. Companies such as Siemens $SIE (-0,61 %) are doing well in terms of industrial AI and SAP is also $SAP (-0,32 %) is investing heavily in its own AI, but there is still no sign of a German export hit in the field of AI. There is also a massive lack of investment in AI infrastructure and politicians are blocking rather than promoting. There is a general lack of a national vision, a combination of strategic policy and large-scale private investment, as is the case in other countries. The EU is also more of an obstacle to new investments. The concept of joint ventures is also used less in this country, although this could help to pool knowledge and resources in order to make a difference for one's own country. So all is not lost, but a political reorientation and new entrepreneurial courage are needed to catch up, which is getting bigger every day.

France 🇫🇷 - The French are also innovative and have an AI star in their country with Mistral AI, but they have similar problems to the Germans. Politics at national and EU level and the lack of major investments and new infrastructure are paralyzing the country.

UK 🇬🇧 - With universities such as Oxford and Cambridge, the UK has been conducting top-level research for a long time, including in the field of AI. They are innovative with many expats from abroad, although recently less from continental Europe. Unfortunately, however, they do not have any notable tech companies to call their own. Two of the most innovative tech companies and British hopefuls, ARM $ARM (-2,64 %)

and Graphcore, are now both owned by the aforementioned Japanese SoftBank Group, but this does not mean that the UK can no longer benefit from the positive development of these companies. Nevertheless, they are no longer British.

ConclusionIt will not be easy for Europe to catch up. The competitors are mostly fast, very financially strong, innovative and led by visionaries. We cannot compete with a fragmented capital market, slow decision-making processes and bureaucrats from Brussels. However, it is also clear that the potential is there. We (still) have many bright minds here, but without a fundamental change in policy, decisive reforms and some pioneering spirit, I believe it will be impossible to catch up. The window of opportunity is getting smaller.

How do you see it all? Do you disagree somewhere or are you missing an important country?

After the latest news, should you consider investing in $ORCL (-1,99 %) or $9984 (-0,71 %) to invest?

For some time now $9984 (-0,71 %) on my watchlist for several reasons:

• Fair valuation 🤝
• Japan underrepresented in PF 🇯🇵
• Communications sector underrepresented in PF ☎️

For once, I managed the first strike with good market timing. The amount should grow over time via savings plans. There is a lot to gain for the company in the next few years 💯

I am unsure about following up on $8058 (+0,51 %)which I also consider to be very fairly valued...

Netflix with record increase of almost 19 million users + Evotec receives funding from the Korean government + Trump announces AI infrastructure investments + Trump open to Musk's purchase of Tiktok

Netflix $NFLX (-1,52 %)delivers after-hours figures

• Netflix has broken the 300 million user mark after record growth in the past quarter.
• In the quarter with the second season of the South Korean hit series "Squid Game", the company added almost 19 million users, as announced by the company on Tuesday after the US stock exchange closed.
• This was around twice as many as analysts had expected - the video streaming market leader also exceeded Wall Street forecasts for revenue and profit.
• Netflix now has 301.6 million customer households.
• The largest quarterly increase to date was around 15 million at the start of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.
• However, with the record, Netflix will now stop providing information on the number of users.
• Netflix's revenue rose by 16% year-on-year to 10.2 billion dollars in the past quarter.
• At the bottom line, profit jumped from 938 million dollars a year earlier to 1.87 billion dollars.
• The results were well received by investors: The share price rose by eight percent at times in after-hours trading.

Evotec $EVT (+3,07 %)receives funding from the Korean government to develop novel antibody-based treatments for lung diseases

• Yonsei University, Zymedi and Evotec receive USD 4.5 m from the Korea Institute of Advanced Technology under the Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
• The funding will support a novel collaboration to develop first-in-class therapeutics for the treatment of asthma and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

Trump announces AI infrastructure investments led by Oracle $ORCL (-1,99 %), OpenAI and Softbank $9984 (-0,71 %)supported by

• Executives pledged to invest an initial $100 billion and up to $500 billion over the next four years in the project, which will be set up as an independent company
• https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/21/trump-ai-openai-oracle-softbank.html?irclickid=x7cRozR4exyKT%3ARS-WUlu0FFUksxGHydHx9a1w0&irgwc=1

Trump open to Musk's purchase of Tiktok

• US President Donald Trump has no objections to tech billionaire Elon Musk taking over Tiktok.
• He is open to it if Musk wants to buy the video app, Trump said in the White House in response to a question from journalists.
• He also reiterated that he believes Tiktok should be half-owned by the USA.
• Musk's name had recently been mentioned in media reports.
• The Wall Street Journal and the financial service Bloomberg wrote that the Chinese government was considering the option of selling Tiktok to Musk.
• The tech billionaire and current Trump confidant has considerable business interests in China: the electric car manufacturer Tesla, which he manages, has a large plant in Shanghai.
• Musk could link Tiktok with X Musk already owns the online platform X, which is based on the short messaging service he bought, Twitter.
• He supported Trump's election campaign with more than 200 million dollars and made X an even more important platform for the president and his supporters.
• The clock is ticking for Tiktok in the USA. A US law stipulated that the China-based Tiktok owner Bytedance had to divest itself of Tiktok by last Sunday in order for the app to remain available in the US.
• However, this did not happen and the app was temporarily taken offline at the weekend.
• Trump gives Tiktok more time On Monday, however, Trump issued an executive order that the Department of Justice should not enforce the provisions of the law for 75 days.
• It remains to be seen whether he can do this legally.
• Trump is convinced that he can strike a deal for Tiktok. He argues that Tiktok is worth nothing without the US market and that he is therefore in a strong negotiating position.
• Officially, Tiktok has always rejected a change of ownership.
• Concerns in the US The law - which Trump must also abide by - was triggered by worries that the Chinese government could use Tiktok to gain access to US users' data and manipulate public opinion in the US.
• Tiktok rejects this.
• At the same time, Trump played down the data protection concerns.
• There are bigger problems than information about young Tiktok users falling into Chinese hands, he said on Monday.

Wednesday: Stock market dates, economic data, quarterly figures

• ex-dividend of individual stocks
• Acerinox EUR 0.31
• Dell Technologies Registered USD 0.45

• Quarterly figures / company dates USA / Asia
• 12:25 Johnson & Johnson quarterly figures
• 12:30 GE Vernova quarterly figures
• 12:45 Halliburton | Johnson & Johnson quarterly figures
• 12:55 Procter & Gamble quarterly figures
• 13:00 Travelers Cos quarterly figures
• 13:30 Abbott Laboratories quarterly figures
• 16:00 United Airlines quarterly figures
• 22:10 Alcoa annual results

• Quarterly figures / Company dates Europe
• 08:00 Easyjet quarterly figures
• 17:45 VW Pre Close Call

Economic data

11:00 EU: Government Debt 3Q | Government Deficit 3Q

12:00 DE: Bundesbank, monthly report January

16:00 US: Leading Indicators Index December FORECAST: -0.1% yoy previous: +0.3% yoy

16:15 CH: ECB President Lagarde, participation in dialog on "Beyond Crisis: Unlocking Europe's Potential" at World Economic Forum Davos

19:30 CH: ECB Governing Council member Nagel, participation in panel at World Economic Forum Davos

19:30 DE: President of the Deutsche Bundesbank, Joachim Nagel, participates in a panel discussion at the event "Evening Reception, Frankfurt RheinMain International Marketing of the Region"

SoftBank, Oracle and OpenAI are setting up a joint venture called Stargate and investing $500 billion in AI infrastructure projects in the US over the next four years. I have been very positive about the developments around the SoftBank Group for some time now, as you can see from previous posts. Microsoft, NVIDIA and ARM will also be technology partners in the project.

https://www.handelsblatt.com/technik/ki/usa-openai-softbank-und-oracle-schmieden-kolossales-ki-buendnis/100102415.html

$9984 (-0,71 %)

$ORCL (-1,99 %)

$MSFT (-1,34 %)

$NVDA (-3,74 %)

$ARM (-2,64 %)

Many interesting developments $9984 (-0,71 %)

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/12/16/softbank-ceo-to-announce-100-billion-investment-in-us-during-visit-with-trump.html

Small update on the Softbank Group $9984 (-0,71 %) !!

I am still of the opinion that there is a lot to be said for Softbank Group becoming one of the biggest AI winners at the moment.big AI winners in the future!!!

I find the company very exciting and am a fan of Masayoshi Sonthe CEO of Softbank.

In the picture above you can see Jensen Huang (CEO of NVIDIA) and said Masayoshi Son at the NVIDIA AI Summit Japan held a few days ago. Many interesting things were discussed, but of particular note was the announcement that the Softbank Group, the first company in the world company to receive the latest Nvidia DGX B200 systems to work with NVIDIA to develop the world's most powerful AI supercomputer in supercomputer in Japan.

But more importantly, the Softbank Group wants to build a completely new infrastructure for AI in Japan. It should be noted that the Softbank Group is one of the largest telecom companies in Japan, which is important for the next point. Softbank and NVIDIA have succeeded in creating a telecommunications network on which 5G and AI data streams can run simultaneously, which is also made possible by the fact that the 5G networks are usually only a maximum of one third full. one third and the last two thirds are now to be used for AI applications. Softbank would like to use all of its 5G base stations for these so-called AI-RAN servers and hopes that each installation will generate a gain of at least 219%. Overall, the aim is to build an AI infrastructure covering the entire country, which can be used for numerous applications such as supporting autonomous driving. Universities are also to be actively involved in the further development of the system and new AI applications develop new AI applications. The system has been tested and works. This represents a completely new way for telecoms companies to monetize their networks.

Jensen Huang also said that about Softbank and Japan as a whole: "Japan has a long history of pioneering technological innovations with global impact," said Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. "With SoftBank's significant investment in Nvidia's full-stack AI, Omniverse and 5G AI-RAN platforms, Japan is leaping into the AI industrial revolution to become a global leader, driving a new era of growth across the telecommunications, transportation, robotics and healthcare industries in ways that will greatly benefit humankind in the age of AI."

Other things about the Softbank Group:

-Softbank owns the British chip designer $ARM (-2,64 %) (which, by the way, is still more valuable than the parent company), whose chip designs have a monopolistic position in more and more areas

-This year they acquired the AI chip manufacturer Graphcorewhich is also British. Graphcore was touted early on as an NVIDIA competitor and, according to their own statements, can keep up technologically, but they ran out of money along the way, which led to Softbank acquiring the former hopeful at a huge discount. huge discount at a huge discount. Graphcore could become even more interesting in the future, as it is assumed that Softbank will merge ARM and Graphcore to jointly develop AI chips develop AI chips together

-Many of Softbank Vision Fund's investments are also slowly moving in the right direction, which earned them a profit of 7.7 billion dollars in the last quarter. Especially in India there were many successful IPOs of Softbank holdings. The profit was 5 times higher than analysts had expected

-As I have written a lot about $GRAB (-2,21 %) I want to note, even if it is not so relevant now, that Softbank also has about 10% in Grab in Grab

Conclusion: Overall, I see Masayoshi Son's vision and think the conglomerate's reorientation towards AI & chips is a very interesting development. Softbank can become the most important AI company in Japan and also get involved internationally through its many holdings, many of which will be added in the coming years. Masayoshi Son is just getting warmed up and has a lot of cash to invest. In addition, he is once again looking to attract substantial capital (around 70 billion) from the Middle East for a new project in the field of AI chips (another topic). Who knows what will become of Graphcore, ARM or the chip venture Rapidus (another topic). In any case, all of this promises huge returns, which currently make the share appear significantly undervalued.

But the important thing now is results. After all the super positive news such as the big quarterly profit or the announcement of the AI-RAN servers and supercomputers, you would think that the share should have benefited from this. But investors will probably remain skeptical for the time being and wait until the first milestones have been reached.

I believe that Masayoshi Son's strategy will work out with the support of his friend Jensen Huang. I could really have written a lot more about this, but I've been writing about it for a long time now and I think I've gotten the message across :)

Prosus NV- The Tencent Play

Prosus NV is a Dutch technology investment company founded in 2019 through the spin-off from South African media group Naspers. The company focuses on investing in high-growth technology companies, with a particular focus on e-commerce, online classifieds, fintech and education technology.

Historical development

Prosus was born out of Naspers' strategic goal to bundle its international internet holdings into a stand-alone company. The IPO in 2019 on Euronext in Amsterdam catapulted Prosus to become the largest listed technology company in Europe.

Business model and core competencies

Prosus' business model is based on long-term investments in promising technology companies. The company's core competence lies in identifying, supporting and scaling innovative business models. In addition to capital, Prosus also provides its investments with expertise and access to a global network.

The most important investments include

• Tencent: Leading technology company in China
• Delivery Hero: Global provider of food delivery services
• PayU: Fintech company for payment solutions
• OLX Group: International platform for classified ads

(Here is a picture that Getquin does not want to accept)

Future prospects and strategic initiatives

Prosus continues to focus on high-growth markets, particularly in Asia and Latin America. The focus is on high-potential sectors such as e-commerce, fintech and edtech. A key strategic measure is the ongoing share buyback program, which aims to reduce the discount between the stock market value and the intrinsic value of the investments.

Market position and competition

As one of the world's largest technology investment companies, Prosus is in direct competition with other global technology giants such as $9984 (-0,71 %) . However, the company has a clear competitive advantage due to its strong presence in emerging markets and its broad geographic focus.

Total Addressable Market (TAM)

Prosus' addressable market (TAM) is huge, as the company is active in various industries and regions. The global e-commerce market is expected to reach USD 16.6 trillion by 2027. The fintech industry is forecast to reach a market volume of 699 billion US dollars by 2030.

Share performance

Since its launch, the Prosus share has recorded a volatile but overall positive performance. In the last 12 months, the TR was 45%, while the TR over three years is 17.1%. .

Despite the growth, the share continues to trade at a significant discount to its net asset value. The current market capitalization of around €90 billion is approximately 20% below the value of the holdings, offering a potentially attractive opportunity for value investors.

For the development (company figures), a better view and more, check out the free blog : https://topicswithhead.beehiiv.com/p/prosus-nv-der-tencent-play

$PRX (+1,84 %)
$700 (+1,41 %)
$DHER (+0,41 %)
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