Hi there, this is your daily ☕️ Finpresso.
In today's newsletter:
🇨🇳 China weighs export controls on AI models
🏭 TSMC plans to raise prices in 2027
🇺🇸 US lawmakers urge Trump to punish EU over tech rules
💴 Yen sinks past 163 per dollar
🏛️ OpenAI and Anthropic spent $3.2M lobbying
Plus: 🌍 6 macro news, 🏢 11 corporate news, 💰 8 deal flow, and 📑 6 research & reports.
| 🇨🇳 China weighs export controls on AI models LINK |
- China's Ministry of Commerce is consulting Alibaba, ByteDance, Zhipu and other domestic firms on new export controls covering AI model weights, key training data and Chinese chip designs, potentially formalizing curbs in its next technology export catalogue.
- One proposal would bar overseas manufacturers, including Qualcomm and TSMC, from producing advanced chips based on designs from Huawei, Alibaba and ByteDance, though foreign customers could still access Chinese AI models and hosted services.
- Beijing is also weighing controls on foreign acquisitions, tied to what regulators view as a loophole behind Meta's roughly $2 billion Manus deal, which they later ordered unwound; the talks precede planned U.S.-China AI negotiations in September.
| 🏭 TSMC plans to raise prices in 2027 LINK |
- Taiwan Semiconductor, the world's largest contract chipmaker, is planning to raise prices for its semiconductor production services by as much as 10% in 2027, according to a Tuesday report from Nikkei Asia citing unnamed sources.
- The planned hikes are meant to offset rising production costs and the expense of building new chipmaking facilities, at a company that plays a central role in the artificial-intelligence buildout driving demand for its chips.
- TSMC shares gained more than 3% in morning trades on the report, following results and an outlook that recently exceeded Wall Street's expectations.
| 🇺🇸 US lawmakers urge Trump to punish EU over tech rules LINK |
- Sixteen members of Congress asked President Trump to retaliate against the European Union's digital rules, urging him to consider fees or restrictions on European firms in the US unless the bloc drops what they called discriminatory policies targeting American tech.
- The lawmakers singled out the EU's Digital Markets Act, saying its thresholds mainly hit US companies while sparing European and Chinese rivals, and flagged plans to extend the rules to Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure plus the largest-ever DMA fine on Google.
- They also targeted the EU's proposed Cloud & AI Development Act, arguing it would bar US firms from competing for parts of Europe's public-sector cloud and AI market; the EU has previously said its rules apply broadly to all companies operating in the bloc.
| 💴 Yen sinks past 163 per dollar LINK |
- The Japanese yen sank past 163 per US dollar on Wednesday, its weakest level since 1986, as climbing US Treasury yields and rising US-Iran tensions pushed investors toward the dollar.
- The currency is also pressured by Japan's growing government spending, the Bank of Japan's slow shift away from ultra-loose policy, and a widening gap between US and Japanese interest rates that rewards holding dollars.
- Japan's trade balance fell back into deficit in June as imports outgrew exports, and despite an 11.73 trillion intervention earlier this year, markets are watching for any fresh policy response to the four-decade low.
| 🏛️ OpenAI and Anthropic spent $3.2M lobbying LINK |
- OpenAI and Anthropic spent a combined $3.17 million on US federal lobbying in the second quarter of 2026, a 23% jump from the prior quarter, as the AI industry courts Washington ahead of midterm elections and planned stock-market debuts.
- Anthropic led with $1.97 million, up 26%, while OpenAI spent $1.2 million, up nearly 18%, with both firms reporting efforts on cybersecurity, copyright, cloud computing and defense procurement.
- The two are closing in on established players: Anthropic outspent Nvidia and nearly matched Oracle's $2 million, while OpenAI came within $50,000 of Nvidia's $1.25 million, with both firms' outlays roughly doubling from a year earlier.
🌍 Macro News
- US expands Iran bombing campaign, strikes military site near Tabriz. LINK
- Senate faces August 7 deadline to vote on crypto's CLARITY Act. LINK
- Cleveland Fed's Hammack calls inflation her biggest, most broad-based worry. LINK
- UK inflation eased to 2.6% in June, a 15-month low. LINK
- Trump plans 100% tariff on imported generic drugs starting 2028. LINK
- Crypto lobby sues Illinois over new Digital Asset Tax Act. LINK
🏢 Corporate News
- BlackRock seeks $12 billion in bonds to finance Meta data center. LINK
- Wistron shares jumped 9.7% after opening first US AI-server plant. LINK
- Apple to launch Klarna-financed device leasing program on July 28. LINK
- Super Micro shares surged 16.86% on record $60 billion order backlog. LINK
- OpenAI says autonomous AI agent escaped testing and hacked Hugging Face. LINK
- Fintech Augustus raised $180 million, hitting a $1 billion valuation. LINK
- InMobi hires banks to lead $1 billion IPO within months. LINK
- Samsung in talks to invest up to €1bn in Mistral. LINK
- Intel cuts jobs in its fast-growing Data Center and AI unit. LINK
- Short sellers raise SpaceX bets to $25 billion, Musk warns bears. LINK
- Movement Labs files for Chapter 11 amid governance and token disputes. LINK
📈 Stocks
💰 Deal Flow
- Ant International raised $1.2 billion Series A to fund global expansion. LINK
- Dimension Capital raises $800 million fund despite tough fundraising climate. LINK
- Forward Financing raises $525 million to expand small-business lending capacity. LINK
- Battery startup Sila raises $300 million to expand Washington factory. LINK
- Einride to buy EV charging startup Flipturn in $38 million deal. LINK
- AI infrastructure firm Verda secures €22 million loan from Nordic bank. LINK
- Digital Asset raises $10 million more, valuation steady at $2 billion. LINK
- Utz Brands shares jumped 88.72% on $2.9 billion Intersnack buyout. LINK
📑 Research & Reports
- More US small businesses plan to use fintechs for cross-border payments. LINK
- BIS warns dollar stablecoins can undermine emerging-market capital controls. LINK
- US data centers may consume one-fifth of electricity by 2035. LINK
- Texas Teacher Retirement System outlines five-theme framework for AI investing. LINK
- Fintech founders now need AI edge and profitability, not just growth. LINK
- New US biotech IPOs have returned 55% this year, beating market. LINK