Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
AI is transforming industries, but the data centers powering it require more energy and water than ever. At the break, join Christoph Beck, Chairman and CEO of Ecolab, for insights on using water effectively while safeguarding this critical resource for future generations.
Here's your morning TNB Tech Minute for Thursday, January 8th. I'm Julie Chang for The Wall Street Journal. China will review Meta's $2.5 billion acquisition of AI startup Manus. People familiar with the matter said the review is part of a broader Beijing effort to protect its AI technology amid an intensifying U.S.-China tech race.
Sources say Chinese officials have started identifying key Chinese AI companies and technologies for a potential export control list. A spokesman for China's Ministry of Commerce said that cross-border acquisitions as well as technology and data exports must comply with Chinese law.
Chinese electric vehicle maker NIO plans to enter the Australian and New Zealand markets in the second half of this year. That's according to the company's head of global business, who said Europe will remain a key focus market in 2026 as it also looks to expand to the UK and France. He added that NIO is also entering the Thai market in March. The EV maker has yet to reach profitability.
And Samsung Electronics expects its fourth-quarter operating profit to have tripled to a record, driven by a semiconductor shortage and booming AI demand. The world's largest memory chipmaker has been benefiting from a surge in semiconductor prices over the past year.
The bulk of Samsung's profits once came from smartphones, but its semiconductor business now accounts for more than half its earnings. Preliminary results today show an operating profit of about $13.8 billion in the final quarter of 2025, a three-fold increase from the year-earlier period. Samsung also forecasts record quarterly revenue, up 23%. That's your TMB Tech Minute.
Join us again this afternoon for more.
How are data center operators working to improve sustainability and water savings at every stage of the data center lifecycle? Here's Ecolab's Christoph Beck with some thoughts.
The Mach 7 or the Mach 4, the ones who are really so focused on high-tech, are the most forward-looking. They have the means, they have the mindset, they have the passion for innovation, and they're really open to try new things as well because everything is new with AI and with that technology as well.
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Chapter 2: What are the implications of China's review of Meta's acquisition of Manus?
I think even if we're not where we wanted to be with that industry right now, we will be ahead in the next few years because innovation that's coming up right now is working much better than we thought. And it's really thinking in circular ways, being in a data center or in a microchip manufacturing plant.
Learn more about Ecolab at Ecolab.com.
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