On January 14, 2025, the tech circle was in a state of flux, with several major heavy news breaking one after another, triggering widespread concern in the industry. The U.S. government launched a new regulation on AI chip control, and NVIDIA and Oracle explicitly expressed their opposition; at the same time, Huawei Managing Director Yu Chengdong released an all-staff letter, boasting that the Hongmeng system will be one of the three worlds. This series of events has undoubtedly added new variables to the global technology landscape.
The U.S. government’s new AI chip control regulations are aimed at restricting the sale of high-computing chips by U.S. companies to most countries. This move seems to be to maintain national security, but in fact, it has triggered a strong backlash from the industry. Technology giants such as NVIDIA and Oracle have expressed opposition, believing that this policy will not only harm the interests of U.S. companies, but may also force the global market to look for alternatives, thus weakening the U.S. leadership in the field of AI. NVIDIA CEO Jen-Hsun Huang put it bluntly, “Such a restriction is undoubtedly a self-defeating move.” Oracle also said that this policy could lead to the reorganization of the global supply chain, ultimately affecting the healthy development of the entire AI industry.
On the other side of the globe, Huawei’s Managing Director Yu Chengdong released an all-employee letter in which he stated with great pride that the Hongmeng system will be one of three, with the goal of realizing 100,000 native applications. This declaration undoubtedly injected a shot in the arm for Huawei’s Hongmeng ecology. In recent years, Huawei has been repeatedly suppressed in the field of chips and operating systems, but it is still resilient and committed to building an autonomous and controllable ecosystem. Yu Chengdong’s letter is not only an incentive for internal employees, but also shows Huawei’s determination and confidence to the outside world. However, the development of the Hongmeng ecosystem is not smooth sailing, facing a lack of application ecology, insufficient developer support and many other challenges. Whether Yu Chengdong’s grandiose words can come true will take time to verify.
At the same time, Microsoft is also making frequent efforts in the field of AI. CEO Satya Nadella announced the formation of a new AI team, CoreAI, which focuses on the development of AI application platforms and tools. This initiative will undoubtedly further strengthen Microsoft’s competitiveness in the AI field. Microsoft has been actively laying out AI, from Azure cloud services to Office 365, AI technology has permeated every aspect of its products.The establishment of the CoreAI team marks a deeper layout of Microsoft in the field of AI, and more breakthroughs are expected in the development of AI application platforms and tools in the future.
And in Europe, Apple’s new version of its app fee structure has also caused a lot of waves. EU regulators have expressed concern that this fee structure may push up the cost of software manufacturers, which in turn affects Apple’s business in the European market. Apple has long been known for its high profits, but its closed ecosystem and high fee thresholds have also sparked a lot of controversy. This EU review is undoubtedly a major test of Apple’s business model.
Back at home, new news has also come from Cainiao Network. In the face of rumors in the market about its split, Cainiao insiders denied it and said it will continue to develop its global logistics business. As a logistics platform under Alibaba, Cainiao has made significant progress in its globalization layout in recent years. The denial of the split indicates that Cainiao will continue to focus on its logistics business and further expand its global logistics network.
In addition, Aqiyi and Hongguo Short Drama have reached a cooperation to jointly launch high-quality micro short dramas, enriching Aqiyi’s content ecology. The competition in the short video market is becoming increasingly fierce, and this move by Aqiyi is undoubtedly to seek a new breakthrough in content. And Pony Smart was approved to carry out unmanned testing of truck formations, marking another important step in the commercialization of self-driving trucks. Zero Run Auto, on the other hand, became the second profitable new force vehicle company, reaching its goal a year ahead of schedule and boosting its position in the market.
It is worth mentioning that NVIDIA released Nemotron-CC, a large-scale AI training database of 6.3 trillion Token, to help improve the training effect of AI models. The scarcity of high-quality training data has always been a major pain point in the AI field, and NVIDIA’s initiative has undoubtedly provided strong support for AI model training. At the same time, DeepSeek launched a mobile version of its APP, providing deep thinking and networking search functions, providing users with new tools for deep thinking.
This series of events, which seem to be independent but are actually interrelated, together outline a complex picture of the global technology industry. The U.S. government’s new regulation on AI chip control has triggered extensive controversy in the industry; Huawei Hongmeng system’s ambition demonstrates the tenacity and determination of Chinese technology enterprises; the actions of major companies such as Microsoft, Apple, Raider, and Aichi, etc., embody the development trend of the technology industry’s continuous change and innovation.
In this era full of variables, how technology enterprises can find their own position in the fierce competition, and how to survive and develop in the cracks of the policy is undoubtedly a question that every practitioner needs to think deeply about. In the future, we will see how the pattern of the technology industry will evolve.