Category: Semafor

Hyundai workers in South Korea began a partial strike this week after the company unveiled plans to introduce humanoid robots on the factory floor. The work stoppage is the first in the global car industry’s history addressing humanoids, The Wall Street Journal wrote; the company and union are also at ...

DeepSeek could reportedly file for an IPO as soon as this year, joining its rivals in capitalizing on investor enthusiasm for low-cost Chinese AI. The startup is also considering raising new funds from private investors weeks after completing its first financing round that valued the company at $52 billion. DeepSeek ...

Reed’s view For weeks, there have been murmurs in DC about a coming White House move to address the inevitability of powerful, open-source Chinese AI models being used by people and businesses across the globe. Such government intervention could take a number of forms, but none address the true problem ...

The News The Democratic Party, less than four months from a pivotal midterm election, is navigating a new kind of culture war over exactly what kind of behavior — from candidates and staff — the party should tolerate. The meltdown of Graham Platner’s Maine Senate bid over sexual assault allegations reopened ...

David’s view Last month, after Abdul El-Sayed and I wrapped up our interview in the Detroit suburbs, I mentioned the ongoing effort by centrist Democrats to link him to Graham Platner. The candidate laughed. El-Sayed rose on his strength during short TV hits, where he would talk about his issues ...

It’s a critical time for the AI industry in the US, which is confronting lawmakers and a general public looking for careful policy planning and an answer to rising populist anger. Unfortunately, a lot of the industry’s leaders are carrying baggage that’s getting in the way of sending a unified, ...

US President Donald Trump threatened to attack Iranian civil infrastructure, including bridges and power stations, unless Tehran resumes peace talks. A month-long ceasefire has effectively collapsed, with the two countries exchanging fire for four consecutive days. The renewed fighting has driven oil prices to four-week highs as producers scramble to ...

US Coast Guard ships that previously operated in the Middle East have been deployed to Singapore and the Philippines, as Washington looks to challenge China’s assertion of power in the Pacific Ocean. Tensions have risen in the region as Beijing has sought to expand its maritime and territorial claims, pushing ...

Ukraine said it had struck 11 Russian vessels on the Sea of Azov, choking off a waterway that has become vital for Moscow. Russia ships vast amounts of oil, steel, and grain through the Kerch Strait to the Black Sea, but traffic has slowed to a trickle in recent days ...

China’s economy expanded 4.3% year-on-year in Q2, the lowest rate since the end of 2022, as the Iran war, lackluster domestic demand, and a lingering real estate slump weighed on growth. Though the country’s exports have been churning along at an extraordinary pace — China shipped a record $412 billion ...