strategy

The man who failed to transform Siri and the brain of the AI ​​strategy ends his stage

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Apple has communicated that John Giannandrea, one of the most influential executives in its AI strategy in recent years, will begin a retirement process that will culminate in 2026. The company explains that the executive will leave his position as senior vice president of Machine Learning and AI Strategy, although he will continue to collaborate as an advisor in the coming months. This announcement comes months after a realignment of responsibilities related to Apple Intelligence and Siri. Giannandrea landed at Apple in 2018 as one of its most notable signings, with the task of strengthening the AI ​​strategy and giving Siri a new direction. His team was in charge of areas such as Apple Foundation Models, the internal search engine and machine learning research, technical pieces on which Apple has built much of its recent strategy. He also took on responsibility for guiding the evolution of Siri and coordinating AI projects that affected multiple teams in the company. A project that began with ambition and ended in postponements. Apple Intelligence was born as a profound renewal of the user experience, but the advances were not at the expected pace. The Information detailed that the demo shown at WWDC 2024 did not fully reflect the advanced capabilities that Apple had suggested, and that many of those features were not implemented at the time of the presentation. The pressure increased when the company confirmed that the new Siri with personalized functions would be delayed until 2026. What was supposed to be the new turning point ended up becoming a chain of postponements. Internal war in Cupertino over the direction of AI. Tensions between the AI/ML group and the software team were long-standing, according to The Information. While the area led by Giannandrea opted for a more cautious advance focused on privacy, Craig Federighi defended a more pragmatic approach aimed at tangible results. The clash of priorities became evident when some engineers began referring to the AI/ML team as “AIMLess,” a sign of the accumulated unrest. The situation led to a March 2025 twist that placed Federighi and Mike Rockwell at the forefront of Siri’s new direction. A loss of influence that had been brewing. According to Bloomberg, Tim Cook’s trust in Giannandrea suffered after the numerous delays in the development of the Apple Intelligence functions promised during WWDC 2024. In a meeting with his team, the manager admitted that the delays were “ugly” and acknowledged the shame and anger that this situation had generated among the staff. After the change in leadership in 2025, a good part of his functions began to be left in the hands of other managers, while he maintained other tasks in research into AI and robotics technologies. This shift in operational focus serves as a backdrop to the announcement that he will become an advisor before retiring in 2026. The landing of Amar Subramanya and the new architecture of power. Apple has hired Amar Subramanya as vice president of AI after his time as corporate vice president of AI at Microsoft and 16 years at Google, where he was responsible for engineering the Gemini assistant. According to the official note, Subramanya will take charge of key areas such as Apple Foundation Models, machine learning research and AI Safety and Evaluation teams. He will report directly to Craig Federighi, thus reinforcing his weight in the artificial intelligence strategy. The rest of the organization linked to this area will be under the supervision of Sabih Khan and Eddy Cue, a cast that seeks to align responsibilities with their respective departments. Giannandrea’s retirement and the arrival of new managers mark a turning point for Apple in its artificial intelligence strategy. The company now relies on a more defined structure, with Craig Federighi at the center of the project and Amar Subramanya leading key research areas and foundational models. The challenge will be to convert this reorganization into visible improvements for users and regain competitiveness in a market that evolves at high speed. Images | Apple In Xataka | Huawei has a patent with which to manufacture 2nm chips. The only problem is that it’s just a patent.

From today, Ryanair requires 100% digital boarding. It is the culmination of a strategy to trap us in its application

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The day has come. Ryanair only lets you board its planes with a digital card. The measure has been postponed for a few months but November 12 was finally the date on which this decision by the airline, which has raised some controversy and critical voices, was consolidated. Digital boarding. Showing your boarding pass on your mobile phone will be the only way to access Ryanair planes from today. The company claims that by issuing the digital boarding pass, what they call TED, 300 tons of paper are saved per year. This TED is available from the Ryanair application, once the passenger has checked in online prior to taking the plane. This card is available without a mobile data connection, so they ensure that you can access the plane if your mobile phone does not have data or the airport Wi-Fi is not fast enough. The big news is that, until now, it was possible to send a PDF to email from the application and from the browser. This PDF could be printed or simply stored on the mobile phone and brought onto the plane with it, “bypassing” the download of the application. What does Ryanair earn? That the client downloads its application where the company offers seat changes and, simply, facilitates the collection of supplements with added services. This has become the company’s great gold mine. It is, in fact, the only reason to make this decision. In Xataka Mobile have contacted the company to ask why this change and the last part of the answer is eloquent: “This transition, already adopted by almost 80% of Ryanair’s more than 207 million annual passengers, will offer a faster, smarter and more sustainable travel experience. In addition, it will make it easier for passengers to access a variety of innovative features within the app” In the video itself where they explain the change, they already point out that the user will have constant information during their flight, the allocation of the boarding gate… or the possibility of ordering food at your seat. And if… The company has opened a page question and answer website in which all the possible “what ifs” that we can think of are answered. All of them, yes, require billing in advance. For example: And if… I left my phone at home: you can request a free paper boarding pass at the airport, as long as you have completed the online check-in. And if… I lose my phone: same case as the previous one. And if… I lose my phone or I run out of battery after having passed the control: if we have passed the control it means that the passenger has already checked in. In that case, attention will be offered at the boarding gate. And if… I don’t have a smartphone: we will have to check in online beforehand and request a physical boarding pass at the airport. If we have not done it previously, we will have to pay the 55 euros that Ryanair charges for check-in at the airport. Is there some kind of advantage for the user? More or less. Until now, issuing the boarding pass cost 55 euros, whether or not we had done online check-in previously. With the change, Ryanair ensures that the issuance of the card will be free, as long as we have previously made the online check-in. Controversy. Since the measure will be announced in October 2024the voices opposed to the measure have multiplied. Facua has assured since then the measure is illegal as it is considered abusive. The organization defined the situation as follows: Mandating 100% digital boarding is “an especially burdensome clause for vulnerable groups (older people, passengers who, due to their disability or physical condition, have difficulties interacting with new technologies, etc.). These types of consumers usually need the attention and assistance of a third party to be able to carry out the procedures correctly. on-line. Likewise, in Xataka we already got in touch with the company to ask what would happen if a person wanted to print their boarding pass and access it with it, without using their mobile phone. So we didn’t know (nor did the company confirm) that they were going to remove the PDF. Now, the only way is to take a screenshot and print it. However, if someone wanted to go to this trouble, there was no solution offered for this case. Photo | Dan Barrett In Xataka | Ryanair has found a new formula to earn more per ticket: forcing you to board 100% digitally

The EU is considering banning the installation of mobile network equipment from Huawei or ZTE. It is a dangerous strategy

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The European Commission (EC) is exploring ways to get member states stop using telecommunications equipment from Chinese sellers like Huawei or ZTE. Tension between Europe and China is escalating once again, and it is not at all clear that this decision will be beneficial for European companies. Huawei in Europe no, thanks. On Bloomberg cite sources close to these plans and talk about how the vice president of this organization, Henna Virkkunen, has adopted a very forceful position. Virkkunen apparently wants to completely stop the use of Huawei telecommunications equipment with an eye-catching argument: making that a legal requirement. It wouldn’t matter what each country thought.. Years ago the EU has already recommended avoiding Chinese telecommunications equipment as far as possible, but it was a suggestion without a mandatory nature and the member states were the ones to decide in this area. Spain, for example, has continued using this equipment. The Commission’s theoretical proposal would legally force EU countries to break commercial ties with these companies. Failure to comply with the requirement could expose these countries to economic sanctions. Before they were suggestions. At the beginning of 2020 the European Union announced those recommendations under the name “5G Toolbox”. At that time they warned of the risks but left room for maneuver to the member states. Now we go from a soft recommendation to a legal imposition, because that “Toolbox” was voluntary. The national security argument. The argument is the same as that used in the past: Euro officials fear the risks associated with using communications equipment from companies (such as Huawei) so closely linked to the Chinese government. Maintaining these teams, this strategy suggests, could compromise national security. And be careful with countries outside the EU. The EU’s plan is not only for member countries to abandon these teams, but to pressure countries outside the EU to do so as well. Thus, it would try to block the use of program funds Global Gateway if those who use them spend them buying Huawei equipment. The operators, harmed. European telecommunications companies also appear to oppose this plan. First of all, they indicate in Bloomberg, because Huawei technology is often cheaper and even superior to Western alternatives from Nokia or Ericsson. And second, because replacing existing equipment is extremely expensive and can delay current and future deployments. internal division. In the absence of confirmation of the EC plan, there is another key element: there is internal division among EU members. Germany and Finland continue to deliberate on what restrictions to impose, while Spain and Greece continue to purchase telephone equipment from these manufacturers. What they say in China. Lin Jian, spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Minister, has indicated that when certain countries forcibly eliminate telecommunications equipment from Chinese firms like Huawei, they not only slow down their technological progress, but also suffer economic losses. He further added that “We urge the #EU to provide a fair, transparent and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese companies and avoid undermining business confidence in investing in Europe.” Let’s remember Sweden. In 2020, Sweden decided to ban the use of telecommunications equipment from Chinese manufacturers with the same argument that we already know about national security. That theoretically favored the local company, Ericsson, but its CEO criticized the Swedish government’s decision precisely because he knew what was going to happen. Revenge is served on a cold plate. And what happened is that China retaliated. A few months later, China Mobile announced budgets and contracts to boost the country’s telecommunications infrastructure, and Ericsson was the biggest loser. The company had almost 11% market share before the government’s decision: today its share does not reach 2%. Dangerous veto. If confirmed and made effective, the veto on being able to use telecommunications equipment in the European Union is dangerous precisely for the same reason that happened with Sweden. China continues to be a great commercial ally of China despite being more aligned with the US in areas such as semiconductors. With these types of actions, Europe positions itself even more closely with the Trump government, something that is somewhat surprising because Europe already came out badly after the agreement with tariffs. In Xataka | Huawei has a plan to deal the final blow to NVIDIA in China: a supernode of 15,000 processors

It is a strategy that we know well

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China has recorded one of the fastest growth in its manufacturing industry. batteries for electric vehicles in recent years. Between January and September 2025, the total production reached 1,122 GWhwhich represents an increase of 44% compared to the same period in 2024, according to data from the Chinese Passenger Car Association (CPCA). collected by CLS. In September alone, 151 GWh were manufactured, 50% more than in the same month of the previous year. Why it is important. We have been seeing this exponential growth for years and it does not take us by surprise, since it is an industrial strategy that China has been running for years in multiple sectors. Flood the product market with dozens of manufacturers competing simultaneously, gain global share based on volume and price, and gradually expel foreign competitors. The goal: dominate the entire electric mobility value chain before Europe, South Korea, Japan or the United States can consolidate their own industrial alternatives. More figures. The sector remains robust thanks to increasing sales of electrified vehicles within China and growing international demand. In September, 50% of total production was installed directly on vehiclessix percentage points more than at the beginning of the year. Of that volume, lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries They represented 52%, their highest level of the year, while the ternary type remained at 44%. An increasingly atomized market. Although CATL maintains its leadership with 41.7% of the market in the third quarter and BYD occupies second position with 21.4%, both have given up quota: 3.6 and 3.4 percentage points respectively compared to 2024. Who is gaining ground? Manufacturers such as EVE Energy, CALB, Sunwoda, REPT, SVOLT, Gotion High-Tech (backed by Volkswagen) and Jidian New Energy. The list does not stop growing, and it is a characteristic that reflects China’s strategy: multiply manufacturers, increase installed capacity and compete by volume until margins are compressed for everyone. Between the lines. Although this energy ecosystem is booming, it can also be a ticking time bomb due to overcapacity. And when you produce more than the market can sustainably absorb, prices plummet, margins disappear and a war of attrition begins. China has already experienced it in sectors such as solar or steel. In the short term, this allows you to gain global share based on price. In the medium term, many of these manufacturers will end up disappearing or merging. This is a calculated sacrifice that China has been making for years in multiple sectors: losing profitability today to control the market tomorrow. Technological change as a commercial weapon. The replacement of ternary batteries with LFP also works in China’s favor. LFPs are cheaper, safer and less reliant on critical materials such as nickel or cobalt, whose supply chains are more fragmented. Only 7% of models In the third quarter of 2025, they installed batteries with a density greater than 160 Wh/kg, compared to 11% the previous year. The most common range is between 125 and 160 Wh/kg, sufficient for most applications. The shift to LFP, where China dominates, reinforces its competitive advantage over Korea and Japan, more specialized in ternary chemistry. The context of the electric vehicle. Production of new energy vehicles in China reached 9.59 million units in the first nine months of the year, 29% more than in 2024. Of them, 5.8 million were pure electric vehicles (+44%), 3.28 million plug-in hybrids (+10%) and 460,000 electric commercial vehicles. As it could not be otherwise, this growth fuels the demand for batteries, and China continues to be the main world market, both in electromobility and export. In Xataka | The throne of the fastest car in the world already belongs to China. BYD has swept Xiaomi on the most famous circuit in the world

The new strategy against Alzheimer’s is not to attack, but to ‘reprogram’ the brain to clean itself

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Alzheimer’s can be resemble a great fortress with a large number of defenses that makes it very difficult for us. One of its most formidable defenses is blood brain barriera biological wall that protects the brain from harmful substances, but, ironically, also prevents the entry of most drugs. In Alzheimer’s patients, this barrier not only blocks help, but also becomes an accomplice to the disease. But we have already found a way to access and attack this pathology. The investigation. A team of scientists has been able to develop a radically new strategy to treat Alzheimer’s. Instead of trying to force entry into the brain, they have created smart nanocapsules that “reprogram” the barrier itself to do its job again: actively cleaning up toxic waste. Something that they have already tested in mice, and they have given spectacular results: a reduction of almost 45% of the amyloid load in just two hours and a cognitive recovery that was maintained for six months. The problem. In order to understand this advance, we must know exactly how ‘access’ to our brain works. The blood-brain barrier (BBB) ​​functions as an incredibly strict customs checkpoint. Like any border, it must have an entry and exit gate and in this case it is the LRP1 receiver. In the case of a healthy brain, LRP1 will be responsible for capturing beta-amyloid proteins and transporting them out of the brain for elimination. But in the case of a brain that is already old, and more markedly in Alzheimer’s, the amount of these LRP1 receptors is reduced, causing beta-amyloid to end up accumulating in our neurons, causing this disease to begin to show signs of presence. The discovery. In this case, the research team discovered that the fate of the LRP1 receptor depends on how it interacts with the molecules that bind to it. This is where the concept of “greedy,” or total bonding strength, comes into play. Very strong union. If a molecule clings too tightly to LRP1 (as beta-amyloid aggregates do in Alzheimer’s), the receptor activates an emergency pathway that sends it directly to be destroyed in the cellular “dumping ground” that is the lysosomes. This makes the problem even worse, as it eliminates the few exit doors left in the brain to take out the ‘garbage’. Moderate union. Or average greed. If the binding is “just right,” the receptor activates a non-destructive express transport pathway (the PACSIN2 pathway). This pathway creates a kind of tubular tunnel that transports cargo through the barrier quickly and safely, preserving the LRP1 receptor so it can continue working. In fact, this pathway even promotes the expression of more LRP1 receptors, which is what interests us most in this situation. The result. Based on this principle, the researchers designed nanocapsules called “polymersomes” (A₄₀-POs). They are tiny spheres decorated with a very specific number of “keys” (angiopep-2 ligands) on their surface. The number of these keys was calculated to achieve that perfect “medium greed”, with the aim of achieving the result similar to that of a moderate union. Results. When they administered these nanocapsules to model mice with advanced Alzheimer’s, the effects were surprising. A massive brain cleanse was achieved in just two hours, causing beta-amyloid protein levels in the mice’s brains to be reduced by 45%. In order to confirm that the protein was not just moving from place to place, its blood levels were measured. The result was an 8-fold increase, which shows that the blood-brain barrier was expelling the ‘waste’. The tests. In order to see the result in practice, behavioral tests such as the Morris water maze were carried out. Here treated Alzheimer’s mice showed significant improvement in spatial learning and memory. In this case, their performance became comparable to healthy mice without the disease. Most strikingly, these cognitive benefits persisted for up to six months after a single course of treatment, suggesting a long-term restorative effect. More than a drug. This work represents a paradigm shift. Most therapeutic strategies for Alzheimer’s treat the blood-brain barrier as an obstacle to overcome. This new approach treats it as a dysfunctional biological system that can be repaired by adding more exit doors for the organism to maintain this homeostasis. By using these nanocapsules with the “perfect keychain”, not only is the existing beta-amyloid removed, but the brain’s natural cleaning mechanism is reactivated. The treatment was able to restore levels of LRP1 and the beneficial transport pathway (PACSIN2) while reducing the destructive pathway. In essence, nanocapsules are not the drug itself, but a tool to reprogram the biology of the brain so that it heals itself. Although the results have been obtained in mouse models and the path to human trials is long and complex, this research opens a completely new and hopeful therapeutic avenue. The idea of ​​”repairing the barrier instead of just breaking it down” could be the key not only to Alzheimer’s, but also to other neurodegenerative diseases where transport and brain clearance play a key role. Images | Bhautik Patel In Xataka | We have a new “theory of everything” to understand Alzheimer’s. Its key is in some small granules

Dreame is Dyson’s Chinese rival. And now it is going to arrive in Spain copying Xiaomi’s strategy

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Dreame has more than doubled its revenue in Europe in recent months and Spain has become its key market for the next step: replicating Xiaomi’s manual eight years ago. Why is it important. The Chinese company has not only come to sell vacuum cleaners. It has come to build a complete connected home ecosystem that fully competes with traditional European brands. Dyson, Philips or Bosch compete in design and brand prestige, but Dreame focuses on another aspect: offering 80% of the quality at 40% of the price. It is the same strategy that Xiaomi used to conquer Spain: launch an anchor product at an aggressive price, quickly gain market share and expand to the rest of the home. The current situation. Dreame has reported a 139% growth in its year-on-year revenue in Europe between January and July 2025, as published Expansion. Spain has exceeded the company’s initial expectations, which now plans to open two physical stores in Madrid and Barcelona. The brand already operates combining online sales with presence in MediaMarkt and El Corte Inglés. Although the greatest weight remains in digital, the physical channel is growing. The background. The expansion plan goes far beyond robot vacuum cleaners: At IFA 2025, Dreame presented a complete ecosystem of 22 product lines, 15 of them new. It will soon launch televisions, dishwashers, air conditioners and small kitchen appliances in Spain. It will also consolidate its personal care range with hair dryers and straighteners, and add robotic lawnmowers and pool cleaners. It is the exact copy of the Xiaomi model: You enter with a competitive technology product at a disruptive price. You gain market share quickly. You build loyalty with an ecosystem of connected devices. And you expand category by category until you become a relevant player in the market. Xiaomi, by the way, entered the field of large household appliances in Europe just a few days ago with the trojan horse strategy. In detail. The commitment to innovation is the central argument of Dreame. More than 60% of its staff is dedicated to R&D and it has more than 6,300 patents worldwide. At IFA he announced a cleaning robot capable of climbing stairs or with an arm to clean in difficult areas. But that race “for innovation” has also taken them to court. Dyson sued Dreame for marketing two stylers very similar to its Airwrap model. The Unitary Patent Court ordered the provisional withdrawal of two models of these hair stylers in Spain due to their similarity to the British device. Whether or not the blood reaches the river (Dreame is going to resort), it is evident that there is inspiration in Dyson. You just have to look, for example, at the air purifier in the image that heads this article. The contrast. The question we ask ourselves at this stage is how long Dyson, Philips, Bosch and company can last before losing market share. Dreame is the type of China in the shoe (pun intended) that makes the grown-ups very uncomfortable and against which there is no easy antidote. Traditional brands have built their business on design, prestige and high margins. Dreame offers them direct competition in technical quality at less than half the price. It is the same dilemma that European mobile phone manufacturers had to face years ago when Chinese brands arrived. AND We already know how that movie ended.. At stake. If Dreame replicates Xiaomi’s success in Spain, European brands will have to face a difficult decision: Or they lower prices (and margins) to compete. Or they accept a progressive loss of market share. The third option, less likely, is that one of them will progressively weaken and end up being bought by a Chinese competitor seeking quick access to European distribution and Western brand prestige. The same thing happened with the Swedish Volvo, the British MG or the Italian Pirelli: they all ended up in Chinese hands at some point this century. For now, Dreame avoids giving specific figures about its growth plans. But the strategy is clear: Spain is a key market for its international expansion and the company is going to redouble its efforts to expand its presence. The physical stores in Madrid and Barcelona are just the starting signal. In Xataka | Xiaomi is no longer a brand: there are several brands fighting over the same logo Featured image | Dreame

‘Universalis V’ Europe is the most ambitious strategy game in history. And brings surprise: he was born in Spain

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‘Universalis V’ Europe, the last installment of the legendary Strategy saga of Interactive Paradox, is an ambitious jump in depth, realism and complexity for the Fans of the genre. The series, venerated for two decades and competing face to face with giants as civilization It reinvents itself to offer unprecedented historical simulation. But the most interesting of all is that, after four deliveries developed in Swedenthis fifth part is being developed entirely in Spain by the Paradox red study, based in Barcelona. It goes more. We attended the presentation that Paradox red carried out in the Comic-with Malagajust a few weeks after its launch on November 4, and between Sonia Linares (Director of Operations), Álvaro Sanz (Head of Content Design) and Matías Tiscornia (2D Art Coordinator) made it clear that the title was, above all, “” Ambitious. We have people with 7000 hours played at our games, people who live the saga. ” And it is from a superficial first glance: “The fourth install 500 years of simulation. And so with everything: in ‘EU4’ there were 900, and here, 2,000. In the previous delivery, 16 combinations of land (climate, topography and vegetation), and now we will have 672. in ‘EU4’ there were 367 cultures, and in ‘EU5’, 2,000. And if there were only 27 religions there, we will now have 300. 16,000 kilometers of map and more than 500 years of history, from 1337 (the beginning of the War of the Hundred Years) until 1837 (the dawn of the Victorian era). That is, the players will live the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, the absolutism, the revolutions and other key periods structured in six ages (traditions, rebirth, discovery, information, absolutism and revolution). Exhausting but infinitely stimulating. Three pillars. To stand this ambition, the game has been based on “three organic pillars: first, A credible world based on systems, mechanical, etc. simulations; Second, an almost infinite rejugability, that thousands of hours occur for the family’s freedom of action; And third, that the game is really from the community: we have spent the last year and a half of development going to the forum every week to be part of the creation of the game, talk to the community directly, ask what they want, to make fixes and changes instantly, all thanks to the community. “ Maximum detail. All this sets in an obsession with absolutely demential detail: for example, the team presented us with a panoramic view of how the game in 1337 was contract according to variables controlled by the player. ” There are mechanics for exploration and colonization of territories, “with the possibility of sending populations to colonize, create commercial companies and exploit resources.” And of course, possibilities of diplomacy and war. Even music. In total, “more than 100,000 lines of content, more than 60 countries with unique content made by hand, more than 8,000 events, 2,000 decisions, hundreds of forms of government, laws, privileges and situations. More than 1,300 historical characters have also been investigated. And that only in 1337 dynamic that changes according to the player’s actions. And much more. And with this we are only scratching the surface of what the game contributes, since decisions have been made of enormous complexity. For example, “if there is an empire that includes different ethnicities within it, it is tried to reflect the genetic and cultural burden throughout the country.” And all this embodied, as the art coordinator told us, in “Illustrations of events, disasters and dynamic organizations, showing the cultural diversity of the game and how the same event can manifest itself differently in different cultures.” That is, a huge and even effort to the ambition of the project, for an entirely developed game in Spain but has an absolutely international scope. So much, which covers five centuries. In Xataka | This war strategy video game has a very special player: the pentagon

The new King of the AI ​​Open Source is Alibaba. And its strategy is simple: to be tired

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Alibaba qwen3 -omni has become the new jewel of the AI ​​Open Source segment. This model, launched last week by the Chinese giant, manages to compete in various benchmarks with some of the best models of OpenAi or Google. But the important thing is not so much as the fact that it alibba Not stop taking AI models at a frantic pace and almost strenuous. QWEN models succeed. The QWEN3-OMNI-30B-A3B-INSTRUCT model is one of the variants of the QWEN3-OMNI family newly launched by Alibaba. This version has become the most popular model in the Ranking of available models in Hugging Face. Since it appeared there, almost 100,000 times has been downloaded, but it is not alone. The new QWEN3-Max-Thinking manages to match or overcome models such as Grok 4 or GPT-5 Pro. They do not stop launching models. As they point out In SCMPto date Alibaba has published more than 300 Open Source models that have served for other developers and companies to launch their own. In fact, it is estimated that there are more than 170,000 derived models, which seems to have managed to have Alibaba right now the world’s largest ecosystem. The data were shared in The APSARA conference Organized by Alibaba Cloud in Hangzhou last week. Some recent examples of that frantic rhythm: Alibaba Copa the ranking. Although they were released in April, the QWEN3 models have not stopped renewing in recent months with new capacities in the generation of text, images, audio and even video. The improvements in multimodal behavior have helped create this new “OMNI” family – which precisely handles all kinds of entrances and exits – and with it with it returns that yield They even rival with the best proprietary models of firms such as Google and Openai. Models for all tastes. If one looks That rankingfive of the first 10 models are from Alibaba. Tencent has two others, IBM Granite surprises in fourth position and also We have Deepseek-V3.1-terminus Already a voice text model called VoxCPM. Source: The Atom Project. Llama, missing. Meanwhile, the traditional dominator of said scope, The Meta Llama Modelis totally missing from the first positions of this ranking and appears in position 41. OpenAI and its GPT-Oss-20b model It is also quite displaced (position 30). The responsible for The Atom (American Truly Open Models) Project recently revealed A study in which they highlighted how accumulated discharges of Open Source models already come from Chinese models than US models. Llama was the most downloaded open model until recently. Now that position is occupied by the Models of the Qwen family of Alibaba. Source: The Atom Project. Be careful, downloads are something else. It must be said that the ranking focuses on “trending” models, that is, those whose recent popularity is high. The Openai model has in fact downloaded 6.71 million times, while Alibaba’s most downloaded model is QWEN3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct, with 2.63 million downloads. Llama-3.1-8b-Instruct surpasses both (for now) with 7.18 million. In The Atom Project, yes, they point out that the accumulated discharges of the different flame variants have just fell below those of the Qwen variants. The reason is simple. Alibaba does not stop getting more and more models. Alibaba’s strategy has been overwhelming, and since in April it launched the first QWEN3 models, it has not gone from maintaining a frantic pace of launching of improved and derived versions such as QWEN3-Next, QWEN3-OMNI or QWEN3-MAX, in addition to specific models for generation of images as qwen-image-editordirect competitor of the famous Nano Banana, from Google. In Xataka | There are many “internal” races within the great AI race. And the Open Source is winning Alibaba

There are more robots working in Chinese factories than in the rest of the world together. Beijing’s strategy is already a blow of global authority

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Close your eyes for a moment and imagine The country with more robots in its factories. The logical thing would be to think of Japan, and not a few would also include the United States in the quiniela. However, the most recent figures point out another destination and do it clearly: China, where robotics has ceased to be an experiment to become the daily pulse of production. It should be specified from the start: we do not talk about showcase humanoids, but of industrial welding robots, manipulation and assembly, which are transforming how it is already manufactured what speed. The last report From the International Robotics Federation offers the clearest photograph of this phenomenon. In 2024 alone, Chinese factories installed about 300,000 industrial robots, a figure higher than the rest of the combined world. In parallel, the total park exceeded two million active units, well above any competitor. In contrast, the United States added 34,000 new robots in its production and Japan lines around 44,000, confirming the magnitude of the Chinese jump. China not only competes, already dominates China’s hegemony in industrial robotics has not appeared out of nowhere. Since 2017, its factories have installed Between 145,000 and 295,000 annual robotswith a especially strong jump from 2021. Pandemia barely slowed that progression, and in 2024 the figure was again located around 300,000 units. In contrast, the United States, Japan, South Korea and Germany not only started from much more modest volumes, but also registered declines in the last statistics. The next step in the Chinese strategy was not only to install robots, but to manufacture them on a large scale. For the first time, Chinese suppliers sold more than foreigners in their own market: 57% of the 2024 facilities were of local origin. On a global scale, Japan remains the main manufacturing country (around 38% of the world supply, according to IFR). This turn reduces dependence, although it does not equals full technological autonomy Chinese industrial policy has been decisive to accelerate the transition to automation. The initiative Made in China 2025 marked the first great milestone in 2015, with the aim of REducate dependence of imports in key sectors. Six years later, in 2021, the country adopted a specific plan to multiply the deployment of industrial robots. This planning added loans at low interest from state banks and support for technological purchases abroad. The result has been a fertile terrain for the expansion of Chinese robotics. When talking about robotics, the most common image is that of humanoids as Optimus either Figure. However, the figures that place China in the lead correspond only to industrial robots: mechanical arms that weld, assemble or move materials in the production line. The report leaves humanoids out, still in an experimental phase and with very small sales. Even so, the state impulse has generated an ecosystem of humanoid -centered startups, such as UNITREEalthough its weight in the industry remains marginal. The figures that place China in the lead correspond only to industrial robots. The integration of artificial intelligence into the factory is not exclusive to China: Japan, South Korea, Germany or the United States also apply with vision systemsautomated failures and quality control algorithms. What distinguishes Beijing is the scale with which this practice has spread, until it becomes a usual component of its industrial strategy. In many plants, the AI ​​monitors real -time machines, anticipates breakdowns and adjusts processes. This broader and more coordinated deployment has multiplied the impact of automation. The technological jump also depends on the people who make it possible. China has a large number of specialized technicians, from programmers to industrial electricians, capable of installing and maintaining robots in complex environments. Even so, the demand exceeds the supply and salaries of the installers have shot, already around $ 60,000. This talent gap reflects a global bottleneck: automation does not advance with capital and machines, it needs professionals who integrate it into the factory. Chinese leadership in industrial robotics still has clear borders. Although the country already manufactures a third of world robots, it continues to depend on foreign supplies for some key components. High precision sensors and advanced semiconductorsfor example, they are still domain from Japan and Germany, with decades of technological advantage. This deficit limits China’s ability to assemble higher range robots, especially humanoids. Even with a thriving ecosystem, technological autonomy is not yet complete and marks one of Beijing’s pending challenges. Although China continues to depend on foreign suppliers, the weight of its market already conditions global dynamics. By producing and installing more robots than anyone, it achieves economies of scale that reduce automation projects and pressing international prices. Its volume also gives it the capacity to influence technical standards and equipment interoperability. In the supply chain, the center of gravity moves to Asia, forcing other countries to adapt to an ecosystem in which China marks the rhythm, even without still controlling all technology. The map of industrial robotics is no longer understood without China in the center. In the next two years, the attention will be to verify whether to reduce its dependence on key components and if it maintains the rhythm of 300,000 new annual facilities. Beijing does not hide that he wants to extend this model to emerging sectors such as humanoids and reinforce their weight in global chains. For the rest of the world, the question is not whether China will continue to lead in volumebut how to respond to a strategy that combines scale, industrial policy and technological ambition. Images | Simon Kadula | Arthur Wang In Xataka | Qualcomm believes that the 6G will be the final network for AI and has already set it: the reality is that 5G is still in diapers

The Saudi strategy is not only economical, it is also political

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Fifty years after the Arabic embargo of 1973, which fired prices and changed the world economy forever, OPEC+ moves again. This time, it is still in the opposite direction. Instead of restricting the offer to make crude oil, the group led by Saudi Arabia and Russia has decided to continue with the open tap. The announcement that stirred the market. The decision came after a video call between eight key countries of the OPEC+. According to the press releasethe group will add 137,000 barrels per day in October, first step to dismantle 1.66 million b/d that were still frozen until 2026. The context matters: in April, the block had already surprised returning 2.2 million B/D a year earlier than expected. This acceleration resulted in a 12% drop in crude oil prices so far from 2025, According to Bloomberg. The market immediately reacted. As Reuters has collectedBrent rebounded 1.95% up to $ 66.78 and WTI 1.94% up to 63.07. Analysts such as Ole Hansen (Saxo Bank) have interpreted the reaction as a classic “sells with the rumor, buys with the fact”: the increase was lower than anticipated, which relieved fears of immediate oversupply. But why does the open tap continues? As Bloomberg has pointed outthe poster has abandoned the role of “price defender” and has pivated towards the recovery of market share. In addition, Saudi Arabia demands compensation to countries that have overcover, such as Kazakhstan, Iraq or United Arab Emirates. The gradual increase allows us to emphasize quotas and reveal who really has the capacity to pump more and who does not. A deeper goal. The movement also has a political reading. According to BloombergMohammed Bin Salman will visit Washington in November, and the increases send a sign of goodwill to President Donald Trump, which has been demanding lower prices for months as a measure to contain inflation. Reuters He recalled That Trump has even hinted at a second phase of sanctions to Russia, which reinforces the logic of lowering oil. The play also exposes an American contradiction. As we have detailed in Xatakalower prices relieve inflation and give political air to Trump, but at the same time suffocate fracking, cornerstone of the energy independence that he claims. Many shale companies need quotes of $ 60–65 to be profitable. If the Brent falls below that threshold, Trump’s “victory” over cheap gasoline could become a blow to one of the strategic sectors of his own country. RUsia quiet in the OPEC+. In theory, Moscow should oppose: you need high prices to finance its war in Ukraine. In practice, accept the Saudi plan. In fact, Russia He already asked for a pause in Julysupported by Algeria and Oman, but was ignored. The Russian lifeguard is in Asia. As the BBC explainedPutin met in Tianjin with Xi Jinping and Narendra Modi at the Shanghai cooperation organization. There he reinforced his links with the two largest buyers of his crude. On the one hand, China imported more than 100 million tons of Russian oil in 2024, almost 20% of its energy purchases. On the other, India multiplied its purchases to 140,000 million dollars from 2022, after western sanctions. These clients, attracted by Russian discounts, are lifeguard that allows Moscow to tolerate lower prices in the OPEC+. For Modi, in addition, challenging Washington’s pressures reports internal political benefits, According to the BBC. Why don’t prices sink? Despite the increase in supply, crude prices have remained surprisingly stable. Several factors help explain this resilience. First, the increases have been more nominal than real: effective production is below what announced, According to The New York Times. To this is added the threat of new sanctions against Russia, which maintains a risk premium in the market. In addition, barriles return the “safety network” of idle capacity, which paradoxically limits the bearish pressure by leaving less margin against disruptions, Bloomberg warns. Finally, the Saudi “boldness” has reinforced the confidence of the operators: after the initial drop of 2025, the Brent stabilized around 66–67 dollars. The Saudi paradox. In parallel, Saudi Arabia is reducing its internal oil consumption to release barrels to the international market. As we have pointed out in Xatakathe kingdom displays solar and storage projects that replace crude oil in electricity generation. The logic is simple: each solar megavatio is equivalent to an extra barrel to export. This strategy strengthens its role in OPEC+, but generates fiscal tensions that have already forced megaprojects such as Neom, which is an early sign that the offensive to gain fee can hit the heart of the Saudi reformist agenda. Horizon 2026. Beyond the present, the look is set in the future. According to ReutersGoldman Sachs projects a slight surplus in 2026 for supply improvements in the Americas and the weakening of Russian crude. Its forecast places the Brent in 56 dollars and the WTI on 52 on average that year. The Saudi strategy seeks precisely to reach that scenario with greater share and margin to cut if necessary. According to Financial Timesthe real impact of October increase could be much more modest than it seems. Although the OPEC+ announced 137,000 additional daily barrels, analysts estimate that the effective figure will be around 60,000 b/d, since most countries involved pump almost at full capacity. Only Saudi Arabia and, to a lesser extent, United Arab Emirates have real maneuvering margin. The decision, however, has an internal function: Riad takes advantage of the return of barrels to measure the production capacity of each member with a view to renegotiating quotas in the future. The true test will arrive in the fourth quarter of 2025, when the market must absorb a greater flow of crude oil in full season of weaker demand. Chronicle of an announced break. In 1973, the OPEC paralyzed the West with an embargo that triggered prices. Half a century later, the same poster changes course: it floods the market to gain share, satisfies Donald Trump, discipline to the shale and seeks to reaffirm internal leadership. The movement is not … Read more

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