- SoftBank in talks with Nvidia to build homegrown AI servers, Nikkei reports
May 7, 2026
May 8 (Reuters) - Japan's SoftBank Corp has begun discussions with U.S. chip giant Nvidia and Taiwanese contract manufacturer Foxconn as the conglomerate weighs plans to build homegrown artificial intelligence servers, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Friday.
SoftBank is considering starting design and component assembly by the end of the decade, Nikkei added.
(Reporting by Shivangi Lahiri in Bengaluru; Editing by Diti Pujara)
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- Poland's EMP teams up with Foxconn to build EV manufacturing hub
May 7, 2026
By Barbara Erling
WARSAW, May 7 (Reuters) - ElectroMobility Poland will partner with Taiwan's Foxconn to develop an electric vehicle production and research hub in southern Poland, the state-backed company said on Thursday, advancing plans to create an EV champion as European demand picks up.
EMP said it was negotiating the scope of cooperation with Foxconn and its EV subsidiary Foxtron Vehicle Technologies, including possibly forming a joint venture, and aimed to sign binding agreements in the second half of 2026.
"From the outset, we have designed this project around the need for a partner that combines industrial scale with technological depth," EMP's CEO Cyprian Gronkiewicz said.
He cited commitments on technology transfer, building in-house vehicle design capabilities in Poland and the potential use of local suppliers as decisive factors in choosing the Taiwanese group.
"We will be the center not only of production, but also of distribution of these cars to the entire European market," Minister of State Assets Wojciech Balczun said at the event announcing the partnership.
Battery EV sales in the European Union rose by about one-third in the first quarter, according to industry association ACEA, lifted in part by higher fuel prices resulting from the Iran war.
EMP EXPECTS TO LAUNCH EV PRODUCTION IN 2029
The project envisions development of a local brand, initially with three models for the European market.
Plans include a factory in the southern city of Jaworzno with body and paint shops, battery and electric drive assembly, and final vehicle assembly.
EMP's CEO said the plant will initially have a production capacity of around 100,000 cars per year, but output could rise to 380,000 to 400,000 with further expansion planned in line with growing demand and sales.
The first car will roll off the production line in 2029, according to the EMP CEO.
The hub is also expected to include a new research and development centre focused on software, data analytics and digital mobility solutions.
EMP said the project would be complemented by investments aimed at supporting the wider electric mobility ecosystem, including the battery sector.
Funding will come from the National Recovery Plan and the Reprivatisation Fund, which recapitalised EMP in December 2025, EMP said.
(Reporting by Barbara Erling;Editing by Bernadette Baum and Joe Bavier)
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- Hevo explores Foxconn tie-up for wireless EV charging production
May 6, 2026
Hevo has started preliminary discussions with Foxconn Interconnect Technology (FIT) regarding high-volume manufacturing of its Rezonant wireless charging hardware.
According to the wireless EV charging company, the talks are at the technical validation and design for manufacturability stage, and there is currently no confirmed production timeline.
The work is centred on making sure Hevo’s systems meet automotive and fleet-grade manufacturing standards as it moves prototype hardware towards scalable deployment.
FIT is described as a manufacturer of connectors and interconnect solutions with established automotive production capabilities.
Hevo is focused on commercial electric fleets, particularly delivery van operators, where its wireless charging model is intended to remove manual plug-in cycles and reduce operational downtime and connector wear.
Its Rezonant charging pad hardware is combined with the Journey cloud platform, which offers energy management, real-time monitoring, and fleet operations tools.
Hevo founder and chief executive Jeremy McCool said the business is advancing from prototype stage systems towards scalable deployment, with early-stage preparations in progress for future manufacturing scale-up alongside initial partner engagement.
McCool said: “FIT's expertise in high-volume manufacturing and automotive applications is exceptional. We are currently collaborating on design for manufacturability analysis and evaluating high-volume production feasibility for our wireless charging systems. This represents a highly positive validation of HEVO's technology.
“We don't just manufacture a charging pad – we deliver a complete ecosystem that integrates deeply with fleet operations and vehicle systems. This hardware-software integration is what attracts leading automakers and fleet operators.”
Hevo’s “Park & Charge” wireless solution is positioned to address charging infrastructure challenges in electrified fleets through an integrated hardware and software platform.
The discussions come after rising customer demand, which McCool said has sped up the company’s shift towards automotive-grade manufacturing.
"Hevo explores Foxconn tie-up for wireless EV charging production" was originally created and published by Just Auto, a GlobalData owned brand.
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- Hon Hai Reports 29.7% Revenue Jump As AI Hardware Demand Holds
May 5, 2026
This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
Hon Hai Precision Industry's (HNHPF) latest revenue update suggests AI hardware demand could still have meaningful momentum behind it. The key Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) partner reported April revenue of NT$832.1 billion, or $26.3 billion, representing a 29.7% increase as spending on equipment needed for artificial intelligence remained strong. Hon Hai has built a central role in this cycle by assembling servers that house Nvidia accelerators, making its monthly sales update a closely watched signal for investors tracking the AI infrastructure supply chain.
Warning! GuruFocus has detected 5 Warning Signs with NVDA. Is HNHPF fairly valued? Test your thesis with our free DCF calculator.
The broader spending backdrop also remains important. Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG), Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Meta (NASDAQ:META), and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) have announced plans to set aside $725 billion for AI this year, significantly more than previously anticipated. That could possibly support Hon Hai's AI server business as the major US hyperscalers continue expanding their AI investment plans after the March quarter. Analysts on average expect Hon Hai's June-quarter revenue to grow 30.4%, while the company said second-quarter sales are expected to rise both sequentially and year-over-year.
Hon Hai's setup is not limited to AI servers. The Taiwanese company also generates a significant portion of sales from assembling Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) products, including iPhones and MacBooks, and is positioned to benefit from the strong reception for the latest iPhone 17 product family. For investors, the April revenue jump points to a business sitting between two powerful hardware demand channels: AI infrastructure tied to Nvidia accelerators and consumer-device assembly tied to Apple. That combination could make Hon Hai's revenue trajectory especially relevant as markets continue weighing whether AI capex and premium smartphone demand can keep supporting the next leg of hardware growth.
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- Nvidia Stock Is Sitting Out the Latest AI Boom. What Can Get It Moving Again.
May 5, 2026
Nvidia stock broke out from its monthslong trading range of $165-$195 amid wider enthusiasm about the semiconductor sector last week but subsequently fell back.
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- Why Nvidia Stock Is ‘Undervalued’ Amid Soaring AI Demand
May 5, 2026
Nvidia stock broke out from its monthslong trading range of $165-$195 amid wider enthusiasm about the semiconductor sector last week but subsequently fell back.
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- John Ternus, Apple’s new CEO, inherits a rebounding China business—and some messy headaches
Apr 26, 2026
John Ternus, Apple’s senior vice president of hardware engineering, takes over as CEO on Sept. 1, ending Tim Cook’s 15-year tenure at the top of the world’s most valuable consumer technology company.
Apple’s presence with China is perhaps the defining relationship of the Tim Cook era. Chinese factories, managed by Global 500 companies like Foxconn and Luxshare, made the iPhones that turned the company into a global juggernaut. Chinese consumers also snapped up Apple products, making the country one of Apple’s most important markets. Cook was also a frequent visitor to Beijing, meeting senior officials and dropping by Apple stores and major partners throughout the country.
“There is a Chinese proverb I love: ‘A single tree does not make a forest,’” Cook said earlier this year at the China Development Forum, a summit organized by Beijing. “Together, I believe we can plant that forest.”Apple’s Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook attends the China Development Forum in Beijing on March 24, 2024.
It’s not clear how much experience Cook’s successor has with China. Apple’s statement announcing his appointment doesn’t mention any specific global market, let alone China. In fact, the only mention of global markets is attached to Cook’s new role as executive chairman, which will include “engaging with policymakers around the world.” Ternus’s extremely sparse Linkedin page doesn’t mention China.
Ternus inherits a China business that’s turned a corner from a tricky few years, yet still brings significant headaches, from a protectionist Washington and a prickly Beijing to a Chinese consumer who has grown less reflexively loyal to Western brands.
Why China matters to Apple
China is home to much of Apple’s supply chain, a decision that’s primarily due to Cook, who met Terry Gou, the founder of Taiwanese manufacturer Foxconn, in 2000. That started a decades-long partnership where Foxconn (and other original equipment manufacturers) would assemble iPhones in massive factory compounds, including the famed Zhengzhou complex deemed “iPhone City.”Employees during lunch hours at a Foxconn Technology Group plant in Zhengzhou, Henan province, China, on Thursday, Jan. 6, 2023.
Yet disruptions during the COVID pandemic, when China’s strict lockdowns threatened iPhone supplies, prompted Cook to diversify production to alternate manufacturing bases in India and Vietnam. U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war with China accelerated those plans, with Cook even promising to build servers and Mac mini computers in the U.S.
“Supply chain execution will be the defining early test of Apple’s next CEO,” says Nabila Popal, a senior director of the data and analytics team at International Data Corporation (IDC), a market research firm. “The success of Ternus’ tenure may hinge on whether he can advance Apple’s China‑plus‑one strategy without triggering political or commercial backlash in China, and maintain the momentum and share in a market Apple cannot afford to fall back on.”
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A big consumer market
Greater China—a catch-all term that includes mainland China, Hong Kong and the island of Taiwan—contributed $64.3 billion in revenue for Apple in its 2025 fiscal year, which ended on Sep. 27. That was a slight drop from the previous fiscal year, but still enough to make it Apple’s third-largest market. Put another way: Apple generates about as much revenue from China as Boeing’s entire worldwide business.
Apple’s China sales have slipped for the past three years, as the company faced greater competition from domestic brands like Huawei and Xiaomi. Beijing also ordered state-owned enterprises and government departments to stop using iPhones and other Apple devices at work.
Luckily, the iPhone 17 has helped turn around Apple’s fortunes. Greater China sales rose to $25 billion in Apple’s most recent quarter, up from $18.5 billion a year earlier. Cook called it “the best iPhone quarter in history in Greater China” in an earnings call with analysts.Shoppers pass an advertisement for the iPhone 17 Pro in the Xintiandi area in Shanghai, China, on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026.
IDC data for the first quarter of 2026 put Apple as the No. 2 smartphone seller in China, with a 19% market share. That’s an improvement from a year earlier, when Apple was stuck in fourth place, behind Huawei, Oppo and Vivo.
“Apple’s remarkable turnaround in China is due to the incredible success of the iPhone 17,” Popal says. New hardware helped, but even the phone’s new orange color—nicknamed “Hermès Orange” by Chinese consumers—won back Chinese consumers. “Such simple design changes that help scream “I have the latest iPhone” go a long way to boost demand, especially in a brand conscious market like China,” Popal adds.
The memory crisis is also giving Apple an edge over its Chinese counterparts. As AI companies and device makers compete for limited supplies from a handful of chip manufacturers, Apple’s financial firepower allows it to outspend rivals, “a luxury many other Chinese players do not have,” Popal points out.
Media reports claim that Apple is set to introduce its first foldable iPhone later this year. Foldables are quickly becoming mainstream devices in China, fuelled by improvements in thinness and durability, as well as consumer behavior that prizes the larger screen to watch videos and do work.
IDC’s Popal thinks the release will “help push Apple into a category it previously entirely conceded to the competition, and give Huawei—the leader in foldables globally and in China—a run for its money.”
Chinese innovation
Apple Intelligence, Apple’s AI service, still isn’t available in China. Beijing requires AI tools to be approved by the Cyberspace Administration of China. Apple has struck deals with Chinese tech companies like Baidu and Alibaba to help convince Chinese regulators, to no avail.
In contrast, Chinese phone makers are racing to embed AI into their products. ZTE unveiled a prototype in December that used ByteDance’s Doubao AI to boot and launch applications by voice command. Honor is releasing a “robot phone” with a gimbal camera designed for active user interaction.Lei Jun, Chairman and CEO of Chinese electronics company Xiaomi, stands next to the Xiaomi’s electric car YU7 at the Beijing Auto Show in Beijing on April 24, 2026.
One of Apple’s Chinese competitors was also able to do something the U.S. company couldn’t pull off: Make a car. Apple studied the car market for the better part of a decade before abandoning the project over profitability concerns.
Xiaomi, led by Steve Jobs-fan Lei Jun, stuck with its EV plans, releasing its first car in 2024. The Chinese company’s cars have become a huge success among Chinese customers, delivering half a million cars since the launch. (Ford CEO Jim Farley is also a fan). Xiaomi’s EV success is now reverberating back to its phones, as Chinese consumers see it as proof of the company’s innovation bona fides.
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
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- AI brings Foxconn a chance to cut its reliance on Apple
Apr 23, 2026
Apple’s largest iPhone assembler is starting to look like an unlikely winner of the AI era. In March, Foxconn reported a 46 per cent
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- BCG Reports $14.4 Billion in Revenue, Marking 22nd Consecutive Year of Growth
Apr 23, 2026
Tech- and AI-Focused Services Now Represent More than 40% of Total Revenue BCG Grew to 33,500 Employees
BOSTON, April 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Boston Consulting Group (BCG) has reported 7% global revenue growth, rising to $14.4 billion in 2025 from $13.5 billion in 2024, marking its 22nd consecutive year of growth. The firm expanded across all regions, reflecting client demand globally for large-scale transformation and applied AI impact.Boston Consulting Group logo (PRNewsfoto/The Boston Consulting Group)
Growth in 2025 was driven by clients seeking to harness technology and AI, pursue new avenues of growth, achieve cost excellence, and redesign their organizations for sustained results. AI- and tech-focused services now represent over 40% of BCG's total revenue, driven by 25% year-over-year growth in AI services. BCG's applied AI approach, embedding technology in real business operations at enterprise scale, enabled exponential impact for clients including IBM, Reckitt, and Foxconn.
"Our growth reflects the ambition of our clients and the dedication of our teams," said Christoph Schweizer, BCG's CEO. "We partner with leaders at defining moments to navigate uncertainty, embrace AI, and turn strategy into sustained advantage. As AI reshapes business, it is also reshaping how we operate as a firm. AI is now woven into every offering, client relationship, and daily case team experience to drive transformation and multiply impact for our clients."
Building Up BCG's Team to Deliver Transformational Results BCG continued to expand its global talent base in 2025, growing its workforce to 33,500 employees. The firm added AI engineers, data scientists, IT architects, and deep-industry specialists, while continuing to develop its consulting teams to lead complex end-to-end transformations.
AI upskilling efforts have further accelerated across the firm, equipping teams to combine human judgment with AI-powered tools. BCG employees now use AI tools daily, with nearly 4,000 BCG employees actively developing and scaling AI workflows through advanced coding and automation. LinkedIn's AI Talent Maturity Index places BCG's workforce as leaders in the industry.
"Our people are at the center of our performance," Schweizer said. "Their judgment, empathy, and ability to combine applied AI with strategic clarity are what enable us to deliver lasting impact for clients."
Serving Clients in an Applied AI World
As AI reshapes industries, BCG is embedding AI directly into how it designs and delivers client solutions. Over the past year, the firm has reimagined its offerings by integrating AI into core consulting workflows—embedding proprietary knowledge, data, and proven delivery approaches into reusable, human-led agentic processes that accelerate impact.
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Through BCG X, the firm builds bespoke AI solutions where differentiation matters most, deploying industry-specific platforms such as Auto AI, Retail AI, and Deep Customer Engagement AI directly into client systems. In 2025, BCG launched the BCG X AI Science Institute to advance frontier applications across industries, strengthening its work at the intersection of science, technology, and business transformation. BCG also serves as an ecosystem orchestrator working to deliver integrated solutions in collaboration with its tech alliance partners.
To best serve clients, BCG remains a leader in developing and using AI in a manner that is secure, responsible, and trusted by clients, partners, and regulators. BCG was among the first 100 organizations globally, and the only premium consulting firm, certified for ISO/IEC 42001 International Standard for AI Management Systems.
Media Contact:
Brian Bannister
Bannister.Brian@bcg.com
About Boston Consulting Group Boston Consulting Group partners with leaders in business and society to tackle their most important challenges and capture their greatest opportunities. BCG was the pioneer in business strategy when it was founded in 1963. Today, we work closely with clients to embrace a transformational approach aimed at benefiting all stakeholders—empowering organizations to grow, build sustainable competitive advantage, and drive positive societal impact.
Our diverse, global teams bring deep industry and functional expertise and a range of perspectives that question the status quo and spark change. BCG delivers solutions through leading-edge management consulting, technology and design, and corporate and digital ventures. We work in a uniquely collaborative model across the firm and throughout all levels of the client organization, fueled by the goal of helping our clients thrive and enabling them to make the world a better place.Cision
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- POET Stock Soars 30% as Nvidia, Marvell Links Fuel AI Rally
Apr 22, 2026
This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
POET Technologies (NASDAQ:POET) shares surged nearly 30% on Wednesday after a fresh round of order commentary added to a sharp rally in the optical components maker.
POET had already climbed more than 19% in the prior session, when it reached a 52-week high. The stock has gained about 48% over the past five trading days as investors tied the company more closely to Marvell Technology and Nvidia-linked hardware demand.
Warning! GuruFocus has detected 4 Warning Signs with POET. Is POET fairly valued? Test your thesis with our free DCF calculator.
POET chief financial officer Thomas Mika said the company has a purchase order connected to Marvell and expects to keep building that relationship. He also said POET is waiting for replies on additional orders from manufacturing partners and customers, including Foxconn and Luxshare Precision.
The order is tied to Celestial AI, which Marvell acquired earlier this year. Mika said a $5 million Optical Engines order disclosed in October helps POET scale manufacturing, and he expects this year's orders to be well above that level. The company has been drawing attention as AI data centers look for photonics tools to ease bottlenecks.
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