JD.com Launches $2.9 Billion Subsidy Push to Defend Grocery Market Share
JD.com is committing over 20 billion yuan across three years to subsidize its online supermarket business, aiming to help vendors generate an additional 200 billion yuan in sales. The funds will support a dedicated channel under its JD Supermarket service called “Billion-Yuan Supermarket.” The announcement follows JD.com’s earlier 10 billion yuan push into online food delivery last year.
Chinese Chip Makers Post Strong Earnings Amid Push for Domestic AI Hardware
Several Chinese semiconductor companies reported significant revenue growth in 2025, driven by rising domestic demand for homegrown AI chips as Beijing continues to restrict Nvidia’s access to the Chinese market. Cambricon Technologies recorded its first full-year profit since listing, with revenue rising 450% to 6.5 billion yuan. Moore Threads and MetaX also posted sharp revenue gains, though both remain unprofitable. Broader players including Hygon, Sugon, and Hua Hong similarly reported strong results.
Alibaba to Launch AI-Powered Smart Glasses at MWC Barcelona
Alibaba is set to unveil new smart glasses powered by its Qwen AI assistant at MWC Barcelona, with presales beginning on the first day of the show. The launch marks the company’s second entry into smart eyewear, following its Quark AI Glasses released in China in November 2025. Alibaba is also reportedly preparing a broader lineup of AI wearables, including rings and earphones, for the global market.
Burger King Introduces AI Chatbot to Monitor and Coach Employees
Burger King is rolling out an AI voice chatbot called “Patty” to employee headsets across 500 pilot restaurants. Powered by OpenAI, Patty is part of a broader platform called BK Assistant that helps staff with meal preparation, inventory tracking, and equipment alerts. The system also monitors customer interactions, evaluating employee “friendliness” based on specific words and phrases. Managers can query the AI for performance insights. Burger King plans to expand BK Assistant to all U.S. restaurants by end of 2026.
Claude Hits No. 1 on the App Store Amid Government Dispute
Anthropic’s Claude app reached the top spot on Apple’s U.S. free app chart following a public dispute with the Trump administration over its refusal to allow its models to be used for mass domestic surveillance or fully autonomous weapons. President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth responded by seeking to label Anthropic a national security supply-chain risk. Despite the political backlash, Anthropic reported a 60% increase in free users since January and record-breaking daily sign-ups. The surge briefly pushed Claude ahead of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which has held the top position for most of February.
AI Added “Basically Nothing” to US Economic Growth Last Year
Tech giants are projected to spend around $700 billion on AI infrastructure this year, a trend that has been widely cited as a driver of U.S. economic growth. However, Goldman Sachs Chief Economist Jan Hatzius argues the actual contribution to U.S. GDP has been “basically zero,” noting that much of the hardware powering AI is imported from Taiwan and South Korea. Additionally, a survey of nearly 6,000 executives found that despite widespread AI adoption, around 80% reported no measurable impact on productivity or employment.
Discord's Age Verification Experiment Backfires
Discord’s short-lived partnership with identity verification startup Persona has raised serious privacy concerns after researchers discovered nearly 2,500 publicly accessible files on a cloud server, revealing that Persona performs 269 types of verification checks — including facial recognition, terrorism screening, and risk scoring. Though both companies say the partnership lasted less than a month and no exploit was needed to access the files, the incident adds to Discord’s troubled track record with third-party data handling. A 2025 hack already exposed 70,000 users’ government IDs. Persona’s CEO maintains the exposed files posed no real security risk.
