Xiaohongshu Surges as TikTok's Gets Banned in the U.S.
As TikTok got shutdown in the U.S., Chinese social media app Xiaohongshu (RedNote) has unexpectedly claimed the #1 spot on the U.S. App Store. The platform, which has raised $917 million in venture funding and was recently valued at $17 billion, combines elements of Pinterest’s layout with Instagram-style features and robust social shopping capabilities. With 300 million monthly active users globally, predominantly female users (79%), Xiaohongshu presents an attractive alternative for TikTok creators seeking to diversify their social media presence.

US Blacklists Chinese AI Firms Amid Rising Tech Tensions
In a bold move, the US government has added 25 Chinese companies, including AI start-up Zhipu AI, to its export blacklist, citing national security concerns. The decision, made just days before President Biden’s departure, restricts these firms from accessing US technology without special approval. Zhipu AI strongly opposes the decision, stating it lacks factual basis and will have minimal impact on operations. Another notable addition is chip designer Sophgo, linked to Huawei, which has faced US sanctions since 2019.

China Surpasses US in High-Level Science Talent for the First Time
A new report reveals that China has overtaken the US in the number of top-tier science and technology experts for the first time. From 2020 to 2024, China’s leading scientists grew from 18,805 to 32,511, increasing its global share to 28%. Meanwhile, the US saw a decline from 36,599 to 31,781, with its share dropping from 33% to 27%. The study analyzed over 40,000 highly cited papers in elite journals. China’s rapid rise as a global innovation powerhouse, is challenging the US’s long-held dominance in scientific research.

NHS Pioneers Revolutionary Brain-Computer Interface Trial for Mental Health Treatment
A groundbreaking £6.5m NHS trial is set to test an innovative brain-computer interface that uses ultrasound technology to modulate brain activity. The Forest 1 device, will be tested on approximately 30 patients, offering potential new hope for conditions including depression, OCD, and epilepsy. Unlike traditional invasive implants, this device sits outside the brain but beneath the skull, using ultrasound to both map and modify neural activity with unprecedented precision. The technology’s ability to target multiple brain regions simultaneously makes it particularly promising for treating complex “circuit level” conditions.

Italian AI Powerhouse iGenius Announces Groundbreaking $1B Data Center Project
Italian AI startup iGenius is making waves with an ambitious $1 billion data center project slated for completion this summer in southern Italy. The facility will host 80 of Nvidia’s advanced GB200 NVL72 servers, each equipped with 72 next-generation Blackwell chips, promising unprecedented computing power of “115 billion of billions” calculations per second. The company simultaneously launched Colosseum 355B, a large language model designed for highly regulated industries. As one of Europe’s few billion-dollar-valued AI startups, iGenius differentiates itself through open-source AI models that allow companies to maintain data security by running systems on their own infrastructure.

American Users Turn to Mandarin as Digital Landscape Shifts
In an unprecedented digital culture shift, Americans are increasingly turning to language learning apps to study Mandarin Chinese amidst TikTok’s uncertain future. Duolingo reports a striking 216% growth in new Mandarin learners from the U.S., far outpacing other popular languages like Spanish (40%). Similarly, language app Drops has seen its U.S.-based Chinese learners increase fivefold. This surge coincides with American users migrating to RedNote (Xiaohongshu), which gained 700,000 new users in just two days. The trend has created an unexpected cultural exchange, with both American and Chinese users learning each other’s languages to bridge the communication gap on the platform.

AI Industry's Water Usage Draws Scrutiny Amid LA Wildfire Crisis
As Los Angeles battles devastating wildfires that have claimed 24 lives and damaged over 120,000 structures, attention has turned to the AI industry’s substantial water consumption. California lawmakers have introduced new bills targeting data centers’ water usage, with proposals including tax exemptions for centers adopting water recycling systems and mandatory efficiency standards for AI tools. The concern is timely—Microsoft’s water consumption alone jumped from 6.4 to 7.8 million cubic meters between 2022-2023 due to data center expansion.
