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China has just launched its first undersea data center with total energy autonomy. The idea makes more sense than it seems

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In the AI ​​race, having a robust data center infrastructure to power it is essential, but first you need energy to power it all. The United States may lead the chip industry (at least, the strategic ones), but China follows closely at an unstoppable pace and furthermore, has the energy. And he is already beginning to connect the dots, showing off his technical power and ingenuity: already It has the largest data center in the worldis also a pioneer to submerge them under the sea. Now it has taken a twist with the first underwater data center that ‘drinks’ directly from the wind that just opened. This project represents the perfect union of two of China’s strategic priorities: digital sovereignty and carbon neutrality. By placing computing infrastructure on the seabed and powering it directly with clean energy on siteChina is solving one of the great current technological problems: the insatiable energy consumption of AI and Big Data. The project. About 10 kilometers off the coast of Shanghai, at the bottom of the East China Sea, a steel cylinder receives electricity directly from wind turbines and is cooled with sea water. It is the Lingang Subsea Data Centeran ambitious project promoted by Shanghai Hailan Cloud Technology (HiCloud) and built by CCCC Third Harbor Engineering. It consists of a series of data storage and processing modules encapsulated in watertight and submerged containers, which are connected via two 35 kV submarine cables to offshore wind turbines operating off the coast of Shanghai. With a planned capacity of 24 MW in two phases, the first is already operational: it has a capacity of 2.3 megawatts and includes a ground control center, a vertical data module installed under the sea and two main 35 kilovolt submarine cables. Why it is important. In addition to the fact that it does not occupy land, in cities as crowded as Shanghai it represents a valuable saving in land and that it can be installed close to where it is needed (if there is a coast, obviously), because it solves at the same time three structural problems of the sector: Refrigeration. Seawater acts as a constant and free heat sink, eliminating the need for industrial air conditioning systems that consume 40 to 50% of electricity. The metric that measures the energy efficiency of a data center by comparing the total energy consumed versus that used purely by the servers is the PUE, which for a standard data center on land is an average slightly higher than 1.5. The project promises to lower it to a figure not greater than 1.15. Without consumption of fresh water. Traditional data centers evaporate millions of liters of water to cool their servers, but this uses thermal exchange with the ocean, so it does not consume water resources. Take advantage of the surplus from wind power. One of the handicaps of wind energy is that generation depends on the wind and not on demand, so if you do not have a battery, the energy that is not consumed is wasted. Thanks to this direct connection, the data center absorbs wind production in real time, functioning as a constant consumer that reduces the waste of renewable energy due to lack of destination, In figures. The magnitude of the project, with some official numbers: The budget is 1.6 billion yuan, about 200 million euros. Total planned operational capacity of 24 MW (2.3 MW in the first phase). The design PUE is less than 1.15. More than 95 percent of electricity comes from renewable sources. Context. The name of HiCloud is not new because in fact it is an old acquaintance: it is the person behind the underwater prototype in front of Hainan which began to install in 2021. However, the international reference is the Natick project from Microsoft (2013–2024), which demonstrated the potential of underwater centers: only 8 of the 864 servers failed, a much lower mortality rate than that of any conventional data center in the same period and also got a very low PUE of only 1.07. Despite this, Microsoft shelved the matter: viability in terms of costs and maintenance is another story. However, the Lingang project has top-level institutional support: is present on the List of Green and Low Carbon Technology Demonstration Projects of the NDRC, China’s top economic planning body. How they have done it. Servers are placed in pressurized steel cabins filled with inert gases to prevent corrosion and fire with a design that maximizes interior space and minimizes the impact of waves. Heat is dissipated by pumping seawater through radiators located behind the racks. The most complicated operation was raising the cabin in the open sea: the separation between the legs of the support structure and the steel piles on the seabed was only 0.18 meters and the maximum allowable deviation was 10 centimeters, so GPS and the Sanhang Fengfan crane vessel were helped. Roadmap. The project follows a staggered progression that leaves certain unknowns. First was the prototype in Hainan (2021-2024). In 2025 the project began in Shanghai, whose phase 1 concluded in October of that year and it has just been launched a few weeks ago. The key phase that will take capacity up to 24 MW has no official public date. Of course, the consortium of companies made up of HiCloud, Shenergy Group, China Telecom Shanghai, INESA and CCCC Third Harbor Engineering signed a cooperation agreement in October 2025 to scale to 500 MW linked to offshore wind, although where and when is unknown. Yes, but. That 2.3 MW of phase 1 is practically a demonstration, not commercial infrastructure as a large conventional data center operates between 50 and 500 MW. And in addition, it has to resolve the issues that Microsoft’s Project Natick left unresolved, such as underwater maintenance: HiCloud has not published protocols or long-term repair costs. And scalability to 500 MW is at the moment more of an intention than a project In Xataka | Where you see a mountain, China sees a … Read more

prepares total blockade of chip manufacturing machines arriving in China

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The US has been exercising its control over advanced integrated circuit manufacturing equipment for five years now to prevent it from reaching China. It is the strategy with the one that has managed to slow downbut in no way slow down, the technological development of the country led by Xi Jinping. In 2021, it approved the first restrictions that prevented machines from extreme ultraviolet photolithography (UVE) of ASML and other advanced equipment arrive in China. From that moment on, the US Government has continued to deploy new sanctions with the purpose of increasingly limiting the access of Chinese semiconductor manufacturers to lithography and wafer processing equipment that comes not only from the US, but also from the Netherlands, Taiwan, South Korea or Japan. The US is exercising ownership of some of the patents that these machines use, and also their ability to influence the decisions made by their allies. However, the Administration led by Donald Trump still has room to tighten its siege on China. And presumably it will do so in the short term because several senators belonging to both parties (Democrats and Republicans) have proposed new legislation which seeks to impose an essentially total ban on exports of advanced chip manufacturing and wafer processing equipment to certain corporations in adversary nations. It is clear that China is in their sights. Objective: Prevent ASML’s UVP photolithography machines from reaching China State-of-the-art lithography equipment is extraordinarily complex and sophisticated. Currently, the most used by integrated circuit manufacturers to produce cutting-edge chips are deep ultraviolet (UVP) and extreme ultraviolet (UVE) machines. A priori, UVP machines are suitable for manufacturing semiconductors up to 10 nm. And with EUVs it is possible to go up to 2 nm. However, by refining the processes involved in transferring the pattern to the wafer and turning to multiple patterning It is possible to go beyond these integration technologies. The US is especially targeting SMIC, Huawei, Hua Hong Semiconductor, YMTC and CXMT This technique broadly consists of transferring the pattern to the wafer in several passes with the purpose of increasing the resolution of the lithographic process. It may have an upward impact on the cost of chips and a downward impact on production capacity, but it works. SMIC (Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp), the largest Chinese semiconductor manufacturerhas resorted to multiple patterning for manufacture 7nm integrated circuits using ASML’s Twinscan NXT:2000i UVP lithography equipment. US export controls currently prevent the sale of UVP equipment to specific factories in China that may or may not appear on the US blacklist, but do not prohibit its sale to the companies that own these plants. This is precisely what the MATCH Law seeks to change (Multilateral Alignment of Technology Controls on Hardware) that US senators have proposed. In practice this proposal will, if successful (and it probably will), prevent ASML’s UVP machines and other advanced wafer processing equipment from reaching any facilities of major Chinese chipmakers. The US is targeting SMIC, Huawei, Hua Hong Semiconductor, YMTC and CXMT, and also their subsidiaries. He picks it up clearly. the published document by Senator Michael Baumgartner. In reality this proposal does not introduce new restrictions; what it does is change how shipping is allowed of advanced tools to prevent Chinese companies from continuing to develop sophisticated techniques, such as multiple patterningwith the purpose of producing cutting-edge chips. Be that as it may, in the medium term, China will need to have your own advanced lithography machines to be able to sustain its technological development. Image | Generated by Xataka with Gemini More information | Congressman Michael Baumgartner In Xataka | We already know what the chips that will arrive until 2039 will be like. The machine that will allow them to be manufactured is close

Its severity threatens a total ban on its GPUs in China

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What is happening with Super Micro and NVIDIA comes from afar. The US Government has suspected for several years that Chinese companies and research centers dedicated to artificial intelligence (IA) acquire NVIDIA’s most advanced GPUs through Singapore and Malaysia intermediary companies. Early March 2025 The Singapore Government confirmed that had identified those responsible for diverting servers containing the high-performance GPUs produced by NVIDIA to China. One of the companies that had presumably acquired those servers was High-Flyer, the parent company DeepSeek. And the companies that had manufactured those machines were two American customers of NVIDIA very important: Dell Technologies and Super Micro Computer. Now we know much more. According to Reutersfour Chinese universities purchased Super Micro servers equipped with GPUs restricted by the US Government over the last year. And two of these universities are linked to the People’s Liberation Army. Super Micro is the last straw for US senators In 2022, the US Government decided to ban the sale to China of the most powerful AI GPUs designed by NVIDIA, AMD and other US companies. Since then, the US and Chinese Administrations have maintained a constant pulse that not only affects the integrated circuit industry; It permeates everything to the extent that AI chips support a critical technology for both nations. Be that as it may, Super Micro, whose headquarters reside in San José (California), He is currently facing very serious charges.. Two US senators have asked Howard Lutnick, the Secretary of Commerce, to suspend all export licenses And, again according to Reutersthree employees of this company (one of them is its co-founder), have been accused of facilitating the smuggling of cutting-edge American AI technology to China worth at least 2.5 billion dollars. Super Micro has defended itself by claiming that those responsible for the company were not aware of the plot orchestrated by these employees, but this conflict has set off alarms on Capitol Hill. And there is probably no turning back. Two US senators have asked Howard Lutnick, the Secretary of Commerce, to suspend all export licenses that allow the shipment of advanced NVIDIA GPUs and servers to China and its intermediaries in Southeast Asia, such as Singapore or Malaysia. For NVIDIA, this scenario is very dangerous, which is why its spokespersons have confirmed that they are working closely with the US Government to fully comply with current and future export regulations. Whatever the future of NVIDIA in China is uncertain. If the two senators’ proposal finally goes ahead, their presence in the market of the country led by Xi Jinping will be threatened. Additionally, at the beginning of October 2024 the Chinese Administration sent to its AI companies a recommendation in which it asked them to, to the extent possible, They used chips produced in China. Ten months later this recommendation became a requirement. And the Chinese Government forced state-owned data centers throughout the country to use at least 50% Chinese integrated circuits in their servers. Image | Generated by Xataka with Gemini More information | Reuters | Tom’s Hardware In Xataka | We can forget about AI without hallucinations for now. NVIDIA CEO explains why

is getting closer to total independence

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Cambricon Technologies is an essential company in China’s plans to challenge the US for its leadership in artificial intelligence (AI). Although it is not as well known as Huawei or Moore Threads, this is one of the companies specialized in designing GPUs for AI with greater growth potential. In fact, in August 2025 received approval of the Shanghai Stock Exchange (China) to raise $560 million for the design of four chips for training and inference of AI models, and also for the development of an alternative to CUDAfrom NVIDIA. Cambricon has notified, according to SCMPto the Shanghai Stock Exchange, which during the fiscal year 2025 has had a net profit of 2,060 million yuan (approximately 257 million euros). In the context of companies whose business is based on semiconductors and AI, it may seem like little money, but it is not if we keep in mind that it was founded just a decade ago, and also that it went public in 2020. In 2025 its income has increased by 450% compared to what it reached in 2024. Be that as it may Cambricon Technologies It is not China’s only great asset to deal with the US in the domain of semiconductors for AI applications. Moore Threads and MetaX Integrated Circuits They have also made known just four days ago an exceptional economic performance that has been driven by the growing demand for Chinese semiconductors in a context in which the Beijing Government seeks to achieve technological self-sufficiency. What China currently has and does not have The chain that supports the manufacturing of semiconductors for AI applications is complex, but China controls most of its links. On the one hand it produces approximately 70% of rare earths that are distributed on the world market, and, what is even more important, it controls 90% of the processing industry to which rare earths must be subjected so that they can be used. Furthermore, it refines nothing less than 99% of heavy rare earths of the planet. The rare earth They have a leading role in the trade, technological and geostrategic war between the US and China. These chemical elements are relatively rare, and, furthermore, they are not usually found in pure form in nature, but what makes them so special are its physicochemical properties. In fact, thanks to them they have established themselves as a very valuable resource in numerous industries, especially in electronics and renewable energy. Moore Threads has developed several GPUs for AI applications that rival some of the advanced solutions from NVIDIA, AMD or Huawei If we stick to the design of GPUs for AI, several Chinese companies are already producing competitive chips. Currently the flagship products that Cambricon has to compete with NVIDIA and Huawei in the Chinese market are the MLU series (Machine Learning Unit) and Siyuan. Moore Threads, on the other hand, has developed several GPUs for AI applications that, on paper, rival some of the advanced solutions that NVIDIA, AMD or Huawei have put on the market. The MTT S4000 and MTT S3000 cards are their most interesting proposals right now. The other indispensable player in the Chinese AI chip industry is Huawei. And their GPUs Ascend 910D and Ascend 920 They are receiving support from some of the Chinese companies that are developing AI models. In this context, the biggest challenge facing China is to develop its own cutting-edge semiconductor manufacturing technology. Or he will lose his fight for world supremacy with the US. Without 100% Chinese advanced chips, its military capacity, the development of its AI models and the competitiveness of its technology companies will suffer in the medium term. Huawei and SMIC are making advanced integrated circuits, but they use machines from the Dutch company ASML and a technology known as multiple patterning that compromises its competitiveness. This scenario has caused the Chinese Government support with very juicy subsidies to companies that have the capacity to develop cutting-edge photolithography equipment, such as YesCarrierShanghai Yuliangsheng, Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment (SMEE), Huawei or SMIC. Time plays against this Asian country. Image | Generated by Xataka with Gemini More information | SCMP In Xataka | NVIDIA has to deal with the absolute distrust of several US legislators. Your plan in China is in danger In Xataka | The US wants to end Chinese AI chips sold abroad. And China knows how to defend itself

The Canary Islands have been suffering total blackouts for years. Their salvation is a beast of engineering 1,145 meters under the sea

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A month ago, the destabilization of an old generator at the El Palmar thermal power plant in La Gomera caused a dramatic “cascade effect” that left more than 15,000 people without electricity, and without mobile coverage. This incident showed the extreme fragility from living in an isolated electrical system. However, the solution to this historical vulnerability no longer looks to the sky, but to the depths of the Atlantic. To overcome the abrupt volcanic orography and the extreme pressures of the Canary Islands seabed, engineering has had to design an “umbilical cord” unprecedented in the world, marking a before and after in the history of the archipelago. The end of isolation. In an effort to protect supply, Red Eléctrica de España (REE) has officially inaugurated the underwater interconnection between La Gomera and Tenerife. As confirmed by the REE itselfthe magnitude of the project translates into historic figures: an investment of 145 million euros for the cable laying, to which are added another 32 million destined for the two link substations located in Chío (Tenerife) and El Palmar (La Gomera). It is not a capricious work. How they collect local mediathe Canary Islands have suffered nine major “energy zeros” (total blackouts) since 2009. Tenerife and La Gomera have been among the islands hardest hit, so this infrastructure was born as a vital antidote to darkness. More than light. The implementation of this system completely alters the energy paradigm. As indicated ANDldiario.esboth islands cease to be solitary island systems and become a single network. From now on, if the rubber plant fails, Tenerife will inject energy instantly to avoid a blackout, and vice versa. But the scope of the work transcends mere security. As explained in detail in the REE statementcable is the key to decarbonization. La Gomera will now be able to generate much more renewable energy – mainly wind – than its population consumes. This green surplus will not be lost, but will travel along the seabed to Tenerife, drastically reducing the burning of fossil fuels on both shores. The technical challenge: engineering to the limit. Connecting two volcanic islands separated by abyssal trenches is not an easy task. As emphasized The Daythe 36 kilometer length of the cable descends to 1,145 meters below sea level. This extreme depth makes it the deepest tripolar alternating current link on the entire planet, snatching the record that linked Crete and the Peloponnese since 2021. To withstand the weight and crushing pressure of the ocean at these levels, engineering had to reinvent itself. To do this, they had to discard the traditional use of steel and lead, opting instead for an ultralight synthetic material armor and an insulation based on ethylene and propylene rubber. Caring for the environment was also a priority. In order not to destroy coastal biodiversity or alter shallow volcanic beds, from The Confidential detail that it was used the “directed drilling” technique: an underground microtunnel that allows the cable to exit to the sea hundreds of meters from the beach. Likewise, the terrestrial substations use GIS (gas-insulated) technology to occupy the minimum possible space, and their buildings have been camouflaged imitating greenhouses and agricultural terraces to integrate into the landscape. Laying underwater bridges. The milestone of La Gomera and Tenerife is just the beginning. Future planning, as pointed out The Daycontemplates the colossal challenge of joining Fuerteventura with Gran Canaria, an even greater challenge given that the distance between the two exceeds 100 kilometers. Parallel to the electrical revolution, the Canary Islands are experiencing an unprecedented leap in their telecommunications. As these local media detailthere are more projects like BASE 6, promoted by the public company Canalink. This is a new 328 kilometer fiber optic cable with a budget of 19 million euros that will link Tenerife with El Hierro, landing through a drilling on Tamaduste beach. This data highway, with a capacity of 5 terabits per second, seeks to eradicate the digital divide on the most remote island, guaranteeing services such as telemedicine or online education. The invisible network. The Canary Islands not only look inward. As contextualized by OCTSI (Canary Telecommunications Observatory), the archipelago has been functioning for decades as a global strategic node, surrounded by historic fiber rings and international connections such as Telefónica’s PENCAN cables, currently in the process of renovation. However, this strategic position has its geopolitical edges. An extensive report from my colleague for Xataka focuses on network extension from Canalink to Africa. The Canary Islands are financing a cable to the Moroccan city of Tarfaya with European funds. The problem lies in the fact that Morocco intends to extend this infrastructure towards Western Sahara, a movement that clashes head-on with the rulings of the EU Court of Justice and that threatens to place Spain at the center of a complex diplomatic and legal conflict with the Polisario Front. Overcoming geographic isolation. At 1,145 meters under the scrutiny of the waves, where sunlight does not reach and the pressure is unbearable, the heartbeat that unites two islands now runs. The Canary Islands are managing to transform their greatest geographical weakness—fragmentation and isolation—into a true global showcase of technological innovation. Little by little, the old and noisy combustion engines give way to a future that will be inescapably green, and deeply interconnected. Image | OCTSI Xataka | The Canary Islands are going to lay a submarine cable to Morocco. If Morocco decides to extend it, Spain is going to have a big problem

OpenClaw is the total AI agent that challenged Big Tech. Big Tech’s response: buy it, of course

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Peter Steinberger It was a great unknown to the vast majority of the planet until less than a month ago. His project, which he initially called Clawdbot (later Moltbot and finally OpenClaw), became the new sensation of the internet and the world of AI. Its growth has been so spectacular that the majors in this segment set their eyes on it and, inevitably, began to fight to sign its creator and acquire his project. We already have a winner of that bid: OpenAI. What is OpenClaw. OpenClaw is what we could define as “the total AI agent.” A system that uses one or more AI models such as those from OpenAI, Anthropic or Google to do things for you. Here are some differences from using those models in a “traditional” way: You can chat with your AI agent using messaging apps like Telegram or WhatsApp, as if it were just another contact OpenClaw takes full control of the machine you install it on, whether it’s an old PC, a Raspberry Pi or a VPS, for example. You have permission to do whatever you want inside that machine, which also involves risks The capacity of current models, such as Opus 4.5, makes the agent certainly autonomous and proactive and, for example, suggests things to you or makes decisions based on the conversations you have with him? she? it? OpenAI buys OpenClaw. Last week Steinberger I already commented in an interview with Lex Fridman that OpenAI and Meta had made offers to sign him and acquire his project. Those intentions crystallized on Saturday, when the creator of OpenClaw advertisement that he had signed with OpenAI and that the OpenClaw project “will become managed by a foundation and will remain open and independent.” It was a more than reasonable exit for Steinberger, who will probably have received a significant sum of money and prestige, but that leads us to the eternal question: can you compete with the big companies? Short answer: probably not. Large companies have always been hampered by their own size when it comes to reacting quickly to new trends, and even the largest AI companies suffer from this same problem. OpenClaw was doing something that none of them had dared to do – partly because this type of agent has too much “power” – but with these projects and with startups that are beginning to emerge, the same thing always happens: either the big companies copy the idea and they end up burying the originalor they buy that startup that threatened to compete with them. For many startups, in fact, the “exit” or future strategy of the project happens to be bought by a large company. A creator who didn’t want to be CEO. Steinberger explained in his post how his project opened up “an endless string of possibilities” for him, and confessed that “yes, I could really see that OpenClaw could have become a giant company. But no, I’m not excited about that. I’m a creator at heart.” Steinberger has already created a company and dedicated 13 years of his life to it, and “what I want is to change the world, not create a big company, and partnering with OpenAI is the fastest way to bring this to the entire world.” One person’s first unicorn? The appearance of ChatGPT soon made will be spoken of the ‘Solo Unicorn’ phenomenon, a startup created by a single person and which, thanks to AI, would be valued at more than 1 billion dollars. We do not know what price OpenAI has paid for this signing, but it is likely that it will not reach that much. What does seem evident is that OpenClaw was the type of project and idea that certainly could have turned it into that “Solo Unicorn”. The era of custom AI agents. Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, confirmed the news in X. There it indicated that the creator of OpenClaw had joined OpenAI “to lead the next generation of personal agents”, and highlighted that “we expect this (personalized AI agents) to quickly become an integral part of our product offerings.” In addition, he assured that OpenClaw will remain open source, something that was probably one of the essential conditions that Steinberger set to join the ranks of OpenAI. And now what. That the project remains Open Source and independent is great news and theoretically that will allow OpenClaw to continue functioning as before, but having OpenAI’s resources can undoubtedly make it grow exceptionally. It remains to be seen whether that will end up having a negative impact in any way, but what also seems clear is that these types of “full AI agents” could soon also be an integral part of the offering of other AI companies. Welcome to the era of total AI agents. We had already partially seen what OpenClaw does with projects like Computer Use from Anthropic, Project Jarvis/Mariner by DeepM Mind u Operator from OpenAI itself. Both allowed AI would do things for us in the browser, but OpenClaw does things for us with all the applications on the machine on which we install it (the email client, the command console, etc.). We are facing an interesting stage for this type of systems. In Xataka | OpenClaw is one of the most fascinating and “dangerous” AIs of the moment. A Malaga company has come to the rescue

BYD sells a total of zero cars in the United States. And, despite everything, it has denounced the United States for its tariffs

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Not a year ago and it seems like a thousand lives have passed. In case you don’t remember, I’ll give you some background: the United States and China went to war about a year ago. A trade war who left us images to remember, like the photo of Donald Trump with the “reciprocal tariffs” table either the penguins who will now have to pay for putting their products there. Assuming, of course, that the penguins knew how to design, develop, produce and sell products. Beyond Pepín Tre’s own approaches, the truth is that we have been in tug-of-war between the United States and China for almost a year. In OctoberDonald Trump and Xi Jinping met to try to relieve tensions. It is one more of the chapters that has left us a most bizarre year in which, for example, China has been playing its own solitary tricks, redefining the origin of products, classifying them by their place of manufacture and not by the place of development or packaging and, thus, make the entry of chips accessible without lifting restrictions on other types of products. The last chapter of this story seems to be being written by BYD. The Chinese company is not selling cars in the United States. And what has already been approved by Joe Biden before the entry of Donald Trump, with bans on the sale of all cars with Chinese software or hardware, it does not seem to make things easy for the Asian company either. Despite this, BYD has made a tough decision: sue the United States. They believe that the tariffs they are paying are not legal. They doubt that the regulations used by Donald Trump allow tariffs to be imposed. And that is why they demand that all the money paid since April be returned to them. But what money? Much more than cars… although with cars in mind As we have told you in Xatakathe Asian company is much more than a car producer. In fact, and this is part of its secret, BYD did not start out as a regular car manufacturer. BYD, in addition to cars, produces batteries or heat pumps. Vertical integration is part of your secret to saving costs. From this evolution and opening new horizons, its automobile division was launched. But also buses and trucks. Because when BYD arrived in Europe it had already been there for many years selling their buses for our continent. And the same thing happens in the United States. It does not sell cars, but it does sell buses, trucks and batteries. In fact, according to Reuters750 BYD employees work in the United States in its North American division. Up to four BYD subsidiaries from which buses, trucks, batteries and renewable energy systems come out are those that have filed their lawsuit in the United States Court of International Trade. In it they defend that “the text of the IEEPA (the International Emergency Economic Powers Act on which the “reciprocal tariffs” policy was based) does not use the word “tariff” or any term of equivalent meaning.” Since Donald Trump announced the tariffs that he was going to impose on practically everyone, doubts about their legality or otherwise have been on the table. The United States Government dusted off the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to move them forward, a rule of the Cold war. However, doubts about whether or not this rule should go through Congress were on the table from day one. Even the Senate has voted against the tariffs to some countries but the resolution is purely aesthetic. Now, BYD claims that nowhere in the law does it specify that tariffs can be imposed on products coming from abroad. It is a theory supported by various companies that in recent months have also presented their own lawsuits in the same terms, such as Toyota, Costco or Prada, they point out in CarNewsChina. The decision of the court in charge of the lawsuit is key because if it rules in favor of the companies, the United States would have to return all the money collected since April. But it would also open the door for products to be exported without these special tariffs being applied, they would simply have to comply with the tariffs that were already active before April 2025. That is to say, At stake is not only money that BYD may have lost on the products it has sold there. At stake is also market entry which, with current tariffs, is almost impossible. Besides, Canada has opened the door to Chinese electric cars and Geely has dropped that their intention is also to sell their Chinese cars in the United States. The big question, as in the case of BYD, is how they intend to do it before the end of the decade with the restrictions that are currently imposed. It is a question that neither BYD nor Geely have answered. Photo | BYD and Joshua Hoehne In Xataka | “They are going to regret it”: Canada has generated even more tension with the US by opening the door to Chinese electric cars

investors are in “total caution” mode

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In June 2025 everything was joy in the crypto world. one bitcoin reached the record value of $124,752 (according to CoinMarketCap) and marked a new historical record. From that moment, falls and more falls that have been done especially in recent days. And it’s not just bitcoin of course: it’s all cryptos. Bitcoin at $70,000. In the last 24 hours we have seen how bitcoin has barely managed to stay at the $70,000 barrier, and on some platforms it has even traded below that level. Right now it is around $71,600, but even with that data the conclusion is clear: in eight months bitcoin has lost more than 40% of its value. Risk aversion. We are seeing how the technology stock markets are falling quite generally in recent days because the results of the last quarter of the year have not been as good as expected. Even the gold, which was rising like foamhas also regressed. Investors are reducing risk overall, taking profits (and minimizing losses) and adopting much more cautious stances. In this scenario, BTC behaves as a risk asset, not as a safe haven, so divestment is the strategy that is being extended. what has happened. The macroeconomic situation is especially complex right now. Analyst Joe DiPasquale explained in Forbes how there is no internal problem in cryptocurrencies, but rather it is the global economic context that has caused the collapse: There are assets that are very sensitive to market movements: if the market rises a little, they rise a lot, but if it falls, they collapse. This is what we are seeing with cryptocurrencies, which are, in their opinion, these types of “high-beta” assets. Bitcoin and cryptos act as a kind of augmented “mirror” of how much money is left over in the economy. When there is a lot of money circulating (liquidity), bitcoin rises quickly, but if it is scarce, bitcoin is the first asset to be sold. The real economy weighs, and a lot. Government bonds are up and paying more interest right now, so investors prefer that security. The dollar also rose in value and strengthened, and since it is “more expensive”, you need fewer dollars to buy the same amount of bitcoin, which pushes the price down. But above all, as we said, investors have gone into total caution (“risk-off”) mode and have been selling volatile assets to protect their money in cash or gold. If the stock market falls, cryptos fall (more). CoinDesk also highlights that the 7.5% drop in bitcoin value In the last 24 hours it precisely followed large falls in Asian assets. There is concern about excessive spending on AI – fear of the bubble bursting again –, exaggerated valuations and lack of that increase in income that everyone promises. Google, Qualcomm and AMD—which fell a spectacular 17% yesterday, Wednesday—are some of the examples of these technological falls. Source: Alternative From greed to fear. The situation is very clear if we look at the Greed and Fear Index (Fear & Greed Index) from firms such as Alternative, which place it at a value of 12, or what is the same, “Extreme fear”. This index studies market movements and analysis to give that number, which is a great summary of the scenario we are experiencing. For much of 2025 that level was above 50 and reached 80 (extreme greed), but the current drop is evident. Bad time for cryptos. Of course, the collapse of bitcoin is as contagious as ever, and practically all cryptocurrencies have registered notable falls in recent weeks. Ethereum, which in August reached close to $4,800, is now in just 2,100. XRP has gone from 3.5 to 1.4 in that same period, and Solana from 247 to 91. Crypto believers are once again seeing their patience tested, but the maxim for them remains clear: HODL. In Xataka | In 2011 a group of investors bought 80,000 bitcoins. They just sold them 17,000,000% more expensive

Japan had dominated total car sales for more than 20 years, until China knocked on the door

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Projections for 2025 anticipate a historic change in the global automobile industry. And as they point out data According to Nikkei China, Chinese manufacturers expect to reach approximately 27 million vehicles sold globally, surpassing the almost 25 million expected from Japanese brands. It is the first time in more than two decades that Japan has lost absolute leadership in total automobile sales. Why is it important. For more than 20 years, Japanese manufacturers have dominated global vehicle sales figures. Toyota, Honda, Nissan and company have become a global reference in sales volume and efficiency over all these years. That China is going to overtake them reflects the mammoth change that is happening in the automobile industry, with the Asian giant conquering every possible corner at a speed that is difficult for the rest of the competitors to digest. In detail. According to data from Nikkei China based on information from manufacturers and figures from S&P Global Mobility until November 2025, China’s growth in this sector will be 17% year-on-year. The figures include both passenger and commercial vehicles, and include both domestic sales and exports. The Chinese domestic market represents around 70% of these total sales, where new energy vehicles (pure electric and plug-in hybrids) already account for almost 60% of passenger cars sold. Brands such as BYD and Geely have entered the global top 10 manufacturers by sales this year, while Chery has consolidated as one of the largest exporters in the country. Exports support growth. The domestic market in China is a jungle. Overcapacity and increasingly fierce price competition They are making a dent in the country, which is why Chinese manufacturers have intensified their international expansion. In Southeast Asia, traditionally dominated by Japanese brands, Chinese sales will grow by 49% to reach around 500,000 units, according to data from the report. In Europe, despite the tariffs imposed Regarding electric vehicles, it is expected that there will be sales of about 2.3 million vehicles, benefiting from the fact that many plug-in hybrids are exempt from additional taxes. Emerging markets also joinand the figures indicate that Africa will register 230,000 vehicles sold (32% more) and Latin America will reach 540,000 units (33% more). A turning point. Japan reached its peak sales in 2018 with almost 30 million units. In just three years, the eight million vehicle lead it had over China in 2022 has completely evaporated. Japanese brands have lost market share in key Asian markets and are struggling to adapt to the electric transition, where they have arrived late. Toyota maintains its strength in segments such as pickups and is committed to carbon-neutral combustion engines (via renewable fuels) and hybrid technology, but in China, the largest market in the world and capital of the electric car, that approach is costing them dearly. Not even Honda, Nissan and Mitsubishi, which now they collaborate on software and electrical infrastructure, can withstand the storm coming from China, a country that has specialized above all in batteries, software and production speed. And now what. Japan has a great challenge ahead if it wants to recover ground in electrification and stop the erosion in markets where until recently they dominated strongly. China does not have a bed of roses either, since its challenge will be to maintain the pace in a context of growing protectionism, with the United States and Canada Tariffs of more than 100% already apply to Chinese electric companies, and those of the European Union of up to 45.3%. Things are going to be interesting. Cover image | BYD and Xiaomi In Xataka | Ferdinand Porsche devised the first car with an electric motor in each wheel. Today a Chinese manufacturer is going to make it possible

Spain steps on the accelerator in its particular chip race. And it does so with a total commitment to integrated photonics

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The Council of Ministers has approved the award of 4.4 million euros to the IMDEA Networks institute within the european program of Integrated Photonics. It may not seem like a lot of money compared to the fortunes invested by the technology giants, but be careful: it is the last element of an eye-catching strategy. Fifth successful bidder. The IMDEA Networks institute thus joins four other entities that were awarded last July in the same call. The aid granted by the Government is then matched by the European Union, which causes the budget to double in all cases. Thus, we have: Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO): 23.1 million euros were awarded, it will receive 46.2 million in total Polytechnic University of Valencia: 16.5 million awarded, will receive 33 million in total National Microelectronics Center (CNM): 15 million awarded, total investment of 30 million University of Vigo: 7.5 million euros awarded, 15 million total investment IMDEA Networks Institute: 4.4 million euros awarded, 8.8 million in total 133 million for integrated photonics. With this new award, the Government and the EU will invest a total of 133 million euros to “promote research and development of faster chips with lower energy consumption, thanks to the use of light (photons) instead of electrons.” Integrated photonics? This technology focuses on using photons (light) instead of electrons to transmit and process information within chips. With this it is possible to obtain higher data transmission speeds and lower consumption and heat dissipation. What integrated photonics seeks is to take advantage of optical components (such as lasers, modulators and detectors) with traditional electronic circuits to combine the advantages of both components. Technological sovereignty. Although the figure may seem modest in the context of global mega-investments, it is part of an ambitious strategy focused on the research and development of disruptive technologies. The ultimate objective is to promote a key sector for Spanish economic and digital sovereignty, and here the commitment is total to integrated photonics, which is seen as the future of data processing. The PERTE is still there. The importance of this investment goes beyond research. It is a fundamental pillar for the PERTE of Microelectronics and Semiconductors (PERTE Chip), the strategic plan endowed with more than 12,000 million euros to try to position Spain as a relevant actor in this value chain. This investment is framed not in chip manufacturing, but in scientific capacity and design strategy. The idea is to ensure that Spain has its own talent and technology to develop new generations of components. Competence centers. To those 4.4 million awarded to IMDEA Networks another 3.9 million euros are added to create two competition centers co-financed by Europe through the JU Chips (Joint Undertaking). The ‘PIXSpain Competence Centre’ will receive one million euros and the MicroNanoSpain Competence Center will receive three million. Both will provide Spanish companies in the sector – especially SMEs – with access to technical knowledge and experimentation spaces. To compete with TSMC or NVIDIA, nothing. This is not about Spain going to start creating chip factories that can compete with TSMC, far from it. The idea is not to try to create a Spanish-style NVIDIA either. In both cases the resources needed would be astronomical. What is sought is a leadership position in a niche with high added value, which is photonic interconnection technologies. Goodbye to copper cable. By focusing on integrated photonics, Spain aligns with the work of giants like Intel, TSMC or Ciscowhich have been investing heavily in this technology for some time to solve the challenge of interconnections in data centers. Everything indicates that integrated photonics could end up replacing copper cables in high-speed communications in the next decade. In Xataka | “They lead and AI follows”: seven Spanish universities tell us how they are implementing AI in class

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