Microsoft Corporation (MSFT.US) said it will step up the use of its in-house artificial intelligence chips after years of relying on graphics processors from NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA.US), aiming to strengthen its AI technology stack.

After unveiling its third-generation Maia AI accelerator on Monday (12th), Microsoft said it will mainly rely on its own chips to process AI inference requests in the future.
~

AASTOCKS Financial News
Website: www.aastocks.com

Fortune and Boston Consulting Group (BCG) recently released the 2026 Fortune Future 120, a ranking of the world's 120 companies with the greatest future growth potential. The list screened more than 3,500 companies globally based on three dimensions: growth ambition, talent density and growth culture.

US tech giants NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA.US) (ranked 16th), OpenAI (18th), Apple Inc. (AAPL.US) (55th), Tesla, Inc. (TSLA.US) (87th) and Meta Platforms, Inc. (META.US) (120th) were all included on the list.

A total of 11 Chinese companies were selected, with UBTECH ROBOTICS (09880.HK) ranking first among Chinese enterprises. In addition, Moore Threads (23rd), Advanced Fiber Resources (32nd), Biren Technology (46th), Changchuan Technology (60th), SENSETIME (73rd), HORIZONROBOT (85th), XPENG (100th), ByteDance (104th), iFlytek (116th) and Cambricon (117th) also made the list.
~

AASTOCKS Financial News
Website: www.aastocks.com

The UK government is formulating plans to mandate frontier AI companies to submit safety reports and monitoring data, while preparing to require companies to impose stricter controls on autonomous models, Financial Times, citing sources, reported.

UK AI minister Kanishka Narayan is reportedly expected to deliver a speech on Monday (12th), stating that companies developing increasingly powerful and autonomous AI models must take more measures to address risks and establish safety safeguards. He will emphasize that the government is prepared to strengthen regulation of AI development through legislation.
~

AASTOCKS Financial News
Website: www.aastocks.com

NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA.US) is in talks to increase its investment in open-source startup Reflection AI or acquire the company, although negotiations remain at an early stage, Financial Times, citing sources, reported.

The transaction could take multiple forms, including NVIDIA hiring Reflection AI employees and obtaining technology licenses instead of conducting a full acquisition, in order to avoid potentially lengthy regulatory reviews.

The two companies are reportedly likely to reach an agreement in the coming weeks. NVIDIA is already a major financial backer and strategic investor in Reflection AI, having invested USD800 million in the company.
~

AASTOCKS Financial News
Website: www.aastocks.com

This morning (9th), the HSI opened 155 pts higher. With the upswing sharpening in the afternoon session, the index closed near the day's peak at 24,211, up 425 pts or 1.79%. Main board turnover reached HKD209.199 billion. The HSCEI closed at 8,147, up 137.29 pts or 1.71%. The HSTECH closed at 4,197, up 124 pts or 3.06%.

Techs were the key drivers of the rally. TENCENT (00700.HK) closed up 3.26%; MEITUAN-W (03690.HK) spiked 3.03%; NTES (09999.HK) swelled 3.75%; BABA-W (09988.HK) rallied 2.59% after Jefferies raised its TP to HKD186; BIDU-W (09888.HK) climbed 1.04%; and KUAISHOU-W (01024.HK) advanced 5.47%.

Automakers outshone, with XIAOMI-W (01810.HK) becoming the best-performing blue chip of the day as its share price surged 9.72%. Orders locked in for SkyNomad exceeded 70,000 units within 30 days of launch. LI AUTO-W (02015.HK), BYD COMPANY (01211.HK) and GEELY AUTO (00175.HK) all mounted more than 3%. Battery giant CATL (03750.HK) closed up 3.06% after its total battery patent holdings over the past decade ranked first globally, marking the first time a Chinese company topped the list.

Among blue chips, HSBC HOLDINGS (00005.HK) rebounded 1.82%; AIA (01299.HK) soared 2.89%; LENOVO GROUP (00992.HK) recovered 1.61%; while CHINA LIFE (02628.HK) and CSPC PHARMA (01093.HK) each dived more than 2%. Goldman Sachs expected Macau's gaming EBITDA to rebound 5% QoQ in 3Q26 and favored SANDS CHINA LTD (01928.HK) and GALAXY ENT (00027.HK) to Outperform. The two stocks rallied 3.99% and 4.83% respectively. Consumers and caterers also attracted buying interest, with MENGNIU DAIRY (02319.HK), HAIDILAO (06862.HK) and LI NING (02331.HK) all up more than 3%.
~

AASTOCKS Financial News
Website: www.aastocks.com

Australian AI data center operator Firmus, backed by NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA.US), announced that it has withdrawn its Australia listing plan due to market volatility.

Firmus plans to raise USD2-3 billion through private financing and is in talks with existing investors, Bloomberg reported, citing sources.

Sources added that Firmus will explore the possibility of listing in the US in the long run.
~

AASTOCKS Financial News
Website: www.aastocks.com

Meta Platforms, Inc. (META.US) has banned ByteDance, the former controlling shareholder of TikTok, from placing advertisements and paid promotional messages on its platforms. The restrictions will take effect in the US, Canada, Egypt, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand and Vietnam, and will also apply to third-party advertisers in the above countries directing traffic to TikTok and other ByteDance products.

Meta spokesperson Chris Sgro said in a statement that the company sees no need to carry advertisements from competitors whose objective is to divert users away from Meta's applications. He added that refusing to provide promotional services to competitors is a normal business practice across industries, and the company will continue to compete through product quality and user experience.
~

AASTOCKS Financial News
Website: www.aastocks.com

Australian AI data center operator Firmus, backed by NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA.US), said it has withdrawn its planned large-scale IPO owing to market volatility and market conditions. In an emailed statement to CNBC, the company said its board believed the proposed offering terms did not adequately reflect its business strength and long-term growth prospects.

Firmus said that the board therefore believes that proceeding with the offering is not in the best interests of the company and its shareholders. The company added that it will seek private market funding and consider other public and private market alternatives.

Firmus had reportedly planned to raise USD5 billion in the IPO at a price of AUD11 per share, which would have become Australia's second-largest IPO on record. The IPO would have valued the company at approximately USD30.6 billion.
~

AASTOCKS Financial News
Website: www.aastocks.com

Former ByteDance intern Tian Keyu, who was dismissed for serious disciplinary violations, founded an AI startup focused on World Models, Bloomberg reported. The startup already secured backing from prominent investment institutions including 5Y Capital and IDG Capital, and is preparing to enter the World Models field being explored by AI researchers such as Fei-Fei Li and Yann LeCun.

Although the company remains at an early stage, has yet to determine a name and has not launched any products, it has already completed financing of nearly USD30 million, with a post-money valuation reaching USD200 million.

Investors include 5Y Capital and IDG Capital, both of which previously invested in Moonshot AI. Both institutions confirmed the investment to Bloomberg.

World Models have become a new hot investment theme. Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD.US) announced last month that it would acquire World Labs, the World Models company founded by Fei-Fei Li, for billions of USD.

In addition, a new AI model named Jev, with costs lower than traditional LLMs, also attracted investor interest, with the potential financing valuation of its developer exceeding USD10 billion.
~

AASTOCKS Financial News
Website: www.aastocks.com

Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN.US) founder Jeff Bezos said private space company Blue Origin may seek an IPO in the coming years after raising USD10 billion from external investors for the first time.

Blue Origin is a major competitor to Elon Musk's SpaceX (SPCX.US). Bezos said he has personally invested USD28 billion in Blue Origin since founding the company in 2000.

The Wall Street Journal had reported in September this year that Blue Origin's latest funding round valued the company at USD140 billion.
~

AASTOCKS Financial News
Website: www.aastocks.com