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Hello reader,
Today’s premium story is about AI (well, more accurately, about a company selling stakes in its AI businesses), so once again, I have tasked AI to write this opening spiel for me. I told it to “write a fun and engaging opening of less than 100 words that will compel people to read the main article.” Here’s what it gave me:
Hold onto your hats, folks! It looks like Vietnam’s tech giant Vingroup is ditching its AI ventures! 🤯 That’s right, the company that brought us VinFast EVs is reportedly selling off its stakes in VinBrain and VinAI, with Nvidia even eyeing a potential acquisition of VinBrain. What’s going on with this shift in strategy?
Wow, talk about drama. It even made use of an emoji. Hopefully this convinced you to check out today’s main story, although I would advise you to manage your expectations just a little bit.
Today we look at:
- Vingroup’s divestment of its AI businesses
- The state of startup funding in Singapore
- Other newsy highlights such as Khazanah Nasional’s new initiatives and ByteDance’s preparations for potential fines in the European Union
Premium summary
This group is getting smaller
Image credit: Timmy Loen
Vingroup – the conglomerate behind Vietnamese electric vehicle maker VinFast – is in talks to sell its stakes in two of its AI-focused firms, VinBrain and VinAI.
- Potential buyers: Chipmaker Nvidia is said to be in discussions to finalize its acquisition of VinBrain, which specializes in AI-powered healthcare solutions. Meanwhile, another global tech giant is believed to be conducting its due diligence process to acquire VinAI, which is Vingroup’s AI research arm.
- Last man standing? If Vingroup eventually divests both VinAI and VinBrain, the only other AI-focused firm in which it still holds a majority stake is VinBigData, which develops products in the fields of data science and AI.
- Winds of change: The move reflects Vingroup’s decision to gradually reduce its interest in technology firms and focus mainly on VinFast. The EV maker’s share price has dropped by more than 95% since its peak last August.
Read more: Vingroup to sell stakes in its AI firms: sources
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