Materials

• The United States has launched a historic initiative to rebuild its domestic semiconductor manufacturing capabilities to support the growing AI revolution. • This strategic shift focuses on securing the "materials stack," which provides the essential compute, memory, and connectivity hardware necessary for sovereign AI. • The effort matters because semiconductors have become the most critical hardware component for maintaining national technological leadership and security.

• Jeff Bezos and firms Kleiner Perkins and NEA have invested in CuspAI, a British startup focused on using AI to solve physical-world challenges. • The company raised $450 million in a funding round that values the startup at $2.6 billion. • CuspAI has partnered with Nvidia and other industry leaders to accelerate the discovery of materials for semiconductors, clean energy, and advanced manufacturing.

• British startup CuspAI has secured $450 million in funding, with backing from the UK government and Jeff Bezos. • The capital will be used to accelerate the discovery of new materials essential for various key industrial sectors. • CuspAI also launched the AI Materials Foundry, a strategic coalition involving over 45 firms, including tech giants Nvidia and Meta.

• Jeff Bezos and AMD's venture unit have invested in CuspAI, an AI startup focused on discovering new materials for chipmaking. • Originally centered on carbon capture and water purification, the company is expanding its scope to accelerate the development of semiconductor materials. • To support this growth, CuspAI hired former Google and Apple executive John Giannandrea to help establish a new operational outpost in California.

Third round of arrests linked to independent bookshops widely regarded as clampdown on dissent in territoryHong Kong authorities have raided two bookstores and arrested five people on suspicion of selling allegedly seditious publications, in the latest step targeting independent booksellers.Videos and photos from multiple media outlets on Wednesday showed officers wearing vests marked with “police” seizing boxes from the building that houses Have A Nice Stay, a bookshop founded by former journalists. AFP reporters saw officers also lead away a woman in handcuffs to a van. Continue reading...

• Analysts warn that three materials stocks—Sonoco Products (SON), Ball (BA), and Crown Holdings—may experience a price drop this quarter due to being overbought. • The stocks have seen significant short-term gains over the past month, with Crown up 22%, Sonoco up 21%, and Ball up 20%. • High Relative Strength Index (RSI) values—80.5 for Crown, 78.4 for Sonoco, and 77.8 for Ball—indicate strong upward momentum that often precedes a correction.

• Shares of Lam Research and Applied Materials surged during the afternoon trading session following news of geopolitical easing. • The stock jump occurred after President Trump canceled planned military strikes on Iran and indicated that a peace deal could be reached over the weekend. • While Applied Materials saw a significant spike, analysts note the company's high volatility, with 27 moves exceeding 5% over the past year.

• MIT researchers reported a new lithium extraction approach that could make it cheaper and more energy-efficient to recover battery-grade lithium from hard rock deposits. • The method uses a liquid solution inspired by a bathroom renovation product, works at room temperature, can be reused, and may cut costs by about half compared with current techniques. • The advance matters because lithium supply is a key bottleneck for batteries and the energy transition, and the team says the leftover waste could be repurposed into useful materials.