Apple (AAPL.US) COO Sabih Khan and other senior executives have visited the Apple application research lab in the Shenzhen Futian Free Trade Zone, according to Chinese media reports. It is expected that they will also visit several supply chain manufacturers in Shenzhen.

The Apple application research lab is Apple's latest research facility in China. Put into operation in 2024 and situated near Apple's important production and assembly bases in China, this lab maintains close collaboration with around 200 supplier partners in the vicinity.
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Roche (RHHBY.US), a multinational pharmaceutical research and production company, announced plans to expand its global AI infrastructure by deploying a large-scale AI factory aimed at accelerating the development of diagnostic solutions and therapeutic drugs.

This factory will utilize the latest generation of NVIDIA (NVDA.US)'s accelerated computing and AI technology, equipped with 2,176 high-performance GPUs distributed across data centers in the US and Europe.

With this investment, Roche now possesses over 3,500 Blackwell GPUs, rendering it the pharmaceutical company with the largest publicly announced GPU deployment scale.
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Lisa Su, CEO of AMD (AMD.US), plans to visit Samsung Electronics' chip production facility in South Korea on Wednesday (18th) and meet with senior executives from the semiconductor division, South Korean media reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Industry insiders expected the two companies to discuss collaboration in the wafer foundry sector and expand their partnership beyond memory chips. The discussions may also involve utilizing Samsung's capacity to produce AMD's next-generation AI chips.
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Nvidia (NVDA.US) announced that Uber will begin deploying a Level 4 autonomous vehicle fleet in Los Angeles and San Francisco in 2027, as part of a broader autonomous driving plan between the two companies.

Back in October 2025, the two companies announced at the Nvidia GTC event held in Washington D.C. plans to deploy 100,000 vehicles using the Nvidia Drive Hyperion autonomous driving platform.
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The US Department of Energy (DOE) confirmed that Tesla (TSLA.US) and LG Energy Solution are expanding their partnership with a battery supply agreement to build a US$4.3 billion lithium iron phosphate (LFP) prismatic battery cell manufacturing plant in Michigan, the US, expected to commence operations in 2027.

The US-manufactured batteries will power Tesla's Megapack 3 energy storage systems produced in Houston, thereby establishing a robust US battery supply chain, the statement added.

LG Energy Solution previously stated that it would supply lFP batteries to its customer for 3 years, from 1 August 2027 to 31 July 2030. Industry insiders had speculated that the customer was Tesla.
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HESAI-W (02525.HK) announced its deepened collaboration with NVIDIA (NVDA.US) by joining the NVIDIA Halos AI System Detection Lab, becoming the first global project certified by the ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB).

Furthermore, HESAI will conduct evaluations and verifications on functional safety, cybersecurity, and AI compliance for its LiDAR platform.
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At the Nvidia GTC, Nvidia (NVDA.US) launched DLSS 5, the latest version of its AI graphics technology designed to make games more realistic while using less computing resources, according to foreign media.

The system combines traditional 3D graphics data with generative AI models, which can predict and fill in parts of an image, allowing Nvidia's GPUs to produce detailed scenes and lifelike characters without rendering every element from scratch.
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NVIDIA (NVDA.US) announced on Monday that it is expanding its cooperation in the development of autonomous vehicles, involving Hyundai, Nissan, Isuzu, and Chinese automakers BYD COMPANY (01211.HK) and GEELY AUTO (00175.HK), among others.

The company stated that this cooperation will revolve around NVIDIA's "Drive Hyperion" platform for autonomous vehicles, which assists companies in developing and deploying driving assistance and autonomous driving functions for "Level 4" autonomous vehicles.

"Level 4" autonomous vehicles can operate without human intervention in predefined areas or environments.
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US President Donald Trump on Monday called for international assistance to address the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz. However, Germany and the UK reportedly declined the calling.

US stocks rebounded on Monday. The three major indices initially rose more than 1%, but gains shrank later. The Nasdaq closed up 268 points or 1.2% at 22,374. The DJIA leaped 387 points or 0.8% to close at 46,946. The S&P 500 added 67 points or 1% to 6,699.

The Global AI Conference opened on Monday, with NVIDIA (NVDA.US) projecting that its Blackwell and Rubin chips will generate at least USD1 trillion in revenue by the end of 2027, shoring up its stock by 1.7% at close. Micron (MU.US) plans to build a second manufacturing plant in Taiwan, with the stock soaring about 4%.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent clarified that it is unlikely for the US Treasury or other government departments to intervene to suppress oil prices. Meanwhile, the US allowed Iranian oil tankers to pass through the Strait of Hormuz to ensure global energy supply. Chevron (CVX.US) held sturdy.
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Stock | Investment Rating | Target Price

NEV Manufacturers
BYD COMPANY (01211.HK) | Buy | HK$130
LI AUTO-W (02015.HK) | Neutral | HK$74
XPENG-W (09868.HK) | Buy | HK$115
Tesla (TSLA.US) | Hold | US$441
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Traditional Automakers
GWMOTOR (02333.HK) | Buy | HK$24
GEELY AUTO (00175.HK) | Buy | HK$32
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Auto Dealers
ZHONGSHENG HLDG (00881.HK) | Buy | HK$22.3
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Auto Parts Sellers
WEICHAI POWER (02338.HK) | Buy | Under Review
FUYAO GLASS (03606.HK) | Buy | HK$86
MINTH GROUP-100 (00425.HK) | Buy | HK$42
BOE VARITRONIX (00710.HK) | Hold | HK$6.8
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Robot Industry Chain
HORIZONROBOT-W (09660.HK) | Buy | HK$13.8
Hesai (HSAI.US) | Buy | US$40
UBTECH ROBOTICS (09880.HK) | Buy | HK$172
DOBOT (02432.HK) | Buy | HK$76
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