AI & Tech Weekly Briefing (Sep 15–19): 2nm Race, Intel’s Stock Surge, Alibaba’s Open Source Push, and OpenAI’s Hardware Ambition
The past week in AI and tech has been packed with breakthroughs: from semiconductor milestones and market moves to open-source releases and new hardware ambitions. Here are iaiseek’s top six stories with in-depth commentary.
1. MediaTek Successfully Tapes Out 2nm Flagship SoC
MediaTek announced that its first flagship SoC built on TSMC’s 2nm process has successfully taped out and is expected to begin mass production by the end of next year. Compared with N3E, the new process improves logic density by 1.2x, boosts performance by 18%, and reduces power consumption by about 36% at the same speed. The upcoming Dimensity 9400+ is scheduled for release in 2025 and will power several high-end smartphones. To date, MediaTek has shipped over 30 million units of its flagship Dimensity SoCs.
Commentary:
The 2nm process marks the cutting edge of semiconductor technology. MediaTek’s achievement highlights not only its continued push into the high-end chip market but also its narrowing gap with giants like Apple and Qualcomm. Higher density, lower power, and stronger performance will enable more advanced AI applications, professional-grade imaging, smoother gaming, and longer battery life for next-gen smartphones.
2. NVIDIA RTX6000D Struggles in China
Reports suggest that NVIDIA’s RTX6000D, a customized GPU for the Chinese market, is facing sluggish sales as several major tech firms hold off on purchases. While NVIDIA regained approval in July to sell the H20 chip in China, shipments have not yet resumed. Based on the Blackwell architecture, the RTX6000D uses traditional GDDR memory with a bandwidth of 1,398GB/s—just below the 1.4TB/s export restriction threshold set by the U.S. in April.
Commentary:
The lukewarm reception of the RTX6000D reflects the broader U.S.–China tech decoupling. It underscores NVIDIA’s ability to iterate quickly but also the inherent limitations of “cut-down” products when facing high-performance demands. Priced at roughly ¥50,000 ($7,000), it is cheaper than the H20, but inventory backlogs could lead to multi-billion-dollar losses.
3. Alibaba Open Sources Tongyi DeepResearch
Alibaba has officially open-sourced Tongyi DeepResearch, which outperformed OpenAI’s Deep Research and DeepSeek-V3.1 across several benchmark datasets. The model is now available on GitHub. Tongyi’s team introduced two inference modes: ReAct, designed for core capability assessment, and IterResearch, which leverages test-time scaling to push performance to its limits.
Commentary:
The release further cements Alibaba’s leadership in large model research. The dual-mode design reflects both deep theoretical insight and engineering flexibility. By open-sourcing such a high-performance agent model, Alibaba is making a major contribution to the AI community.
4. Intel Stock Soars as NVIDIA Invests $5B
Intel shares surged more than 20% on September 18, making it the standout AI stock of the day. In a surprising move, longtime rival NVIDIA announced a $5 billion investment in Intel, with the two companies set to co-develop high-performance chips for PCs and AI data centers. This unexpected alliance—after more than a decade of fierce rivalry—poses a significant threat to AMD and ARM.
5. Apple Shares Rise Over 3% on iPhone 17 Orders
Apple’s stock gained more than 3% on Friday, with analysts pointing to stronger-than-expected iPhone 17 orders as the primary driver.
Commentary:
Robust pre-orders, especially in China, boosted market confidence and underscored Apple’s stronghold in the premium smartphone segment. For investors, this is a bullish signal. However, Apple’s AI progress remains limited, as it continues to lean heavily on its ecosystem and app dominance rather than groundbreaking AI innovation.
6. OpenAI Rumored to Partner with Luxshare for AI Device
Rumors indicate that OpenAI is working with Luxshare Precision, a key Apple supplier, to build a pocket-sized AI consumer device designed to integrate deeply with ChatGPT.
Commentary:
As one of Apple’s core manufacturing partners, Luxshare brings top-tier production and supply chain expertise. If true, this marks OpenAI’s first step beyond software and APIs into hardware integration. Embedding its core models into physical devices could diversify its business model and become a tipping point for mass AI adoption. Luxshare, in turn, could gain both investment and growth opportunities from this partnership.
That wraps up iaiseek’s weekly selection of the most important AI stories.
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