USA vs China: The AI & Quantum Scorecard — Live Trading News

• PageMind has raised €1.2 million in funding to expand its AI-driven product discovery tools for the e-commerce sector. • An unnamed AI medical imaging marketplace secured $10 million to scale its operations and technology.

• Monday.com and Salesforce are among over 20 major tech companies that have cited the integration of AI as a primary driver for significant layoffs this year. • On February 10, 2026, Salesforce reduced its workforce by nearly 1,000 employees across its Agentforce AI unit, data analytics, product management, and marketing departments.

• Nvidia, Microsoft, Meta, and 22 other tech firms are opposing early government restrictions on open-weight AI models to protect competition and innovation. • The companies argue that limiting open-weight access would stifle development and hinder the ability of smaller players to compete in the AI landscape.

• South Korea announced $950 billion in new AI initiatives involving Samsung Electronics, SK Group, and various U.S. tech firms on July 24. • The massive investment focuses on developing and securing faster chips to address the current global shortage of high-performance hardware.

• Chinese AI firm Moonshot AI has launched Kimi K3, an open-source large language model (LLM) designed to compete with global leaders. • The model has surprised the industry by delivering performance comparable to high-end systems from OpenAI and Anthropic while operating at a significantly lower cost.

• Monday.com and Salesforce are among more than 20 major tech companies that have cited the integration of AI as a primary driver for significant layoffs this year. • On February 10, 2026, Salesforce cut fewer than 1,000 positions across its data analytics, product management, marketing, and Agentforce AI units.

• South Korean and US technology giants have agreed to pursue $950 billion in semiconductor supply and manufacturing partnerships over the next five years. • The sweeping series of deals was unveiled at the San Francisco AI Summit during a visit by South Korean President Lee Jae Myung.

• South Korea has announced new AI initiatives involving $950 billion in partnerships with major industry players, including Samsung Electronics and SK Group. • The collaboration includes partnerships with U.S. tech firms to address the critical global shortage of high-speed chips required for advanced AI systems.

• Taiwan's Representative to the U.S., Alexander Yui, confirmed that dialogue with Washington remains ongoing regarding defense cooperation. • The discussions center on President Trump weighing $14 billion in arms sales as Taiwan continues to increase its own defense spending.

• Samsung and SK Group have finalized agreements totaling $1.23 trillion during a high-level AI summit hosted in South Korea. • The event brought together approximately 150 key stakeholders, including global executives, investors, researchers, and start-up founders to discuss artificial intelligence.

• South Korean President Lee unveiled the "San Francisco AI Declaration," a strategic framework outlining the nation's AI ambitions and its vision for technological cooperation with the United States. • During his visit to San Francisco, President Lee held separate high-level meetings with key industry leaders, including Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, and Broadcom CEO Hock Tan.

• President Lee Jae Myung held a dinner meeting on the 24th in San Francisco with global AI leaders, including NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang and heads of Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor Group, and SK Group. • During the event, President Lee announced the ‘San Francisco AI Declaration’ at the San Francisco AI Summit to strengthen South Korea's role in the global AI supply chain.