Highlights for the morning: US duties on Iran's partners, the OpenAI deal and Venezuela's market surge
OpenAI strengthens its presence in medicine, Nvidia and Eli Lilly launch a billion-dollar AI project in pharma, and SK Hynix invests billions of dollars in HBM memory production. These and other topics are covered in our roundup of key events for the morning of January 13.
Trump threatened 25% duties on Iran's partners
US President Donald Trump has said that any country doing business with Iran will be subject to a 25% duty on all trade with the US, CNBC reports. The measure will take effect immediately; the White House has not yet disclosed details.
The statement came amid mass protests in Iran and reports of deaths of demonstrators. Trump has backed the protests and has not ruled out military steps. The announcement also coincided with a pending Supreme Court ruling on the legality of his previous duties.
Venezuela market soars after Maduro's detention
Venezuela's stock market hit an all-time high, ignoring the detention of former President Nicolas Maduro by U.S. forces, CNBC reports. Since January 3, the IBC index has risen more than 130% on expectations of economic stabilization, capital inflows, oil production recovery and normalization of relations with Washington.
The rally is fueled by speculative demand and hopes for sanctions relief and debt restructuring, but the market remains illiquid and volatile, the channel points out. Analysts warn: growth is still tactical and largely depends on headlines rather than confirmed structural changes.
OpenAI has bought the startup Torch
OpenAI has announced that it has acquired small startup Torch for an undisclosed amount; according to The Information, the deal was for $100 million in stock. According to CNBC's source, OpenAI acquired Torch for about $60 million, with the entire four-person team moving to OpenAI.
Torch has been developing an application to combine a person's medical data from different sources - doctors, tests, wearable devices - into a "medical memory for AI." The technology will become part of the new ChatGPT Health service designed to analyze and manage users' health.
Nvidia and Eli Lilly to invest $1 billion in AI lab for drug development
Nvidia and pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly have announced a joint $1 billion investment in a San Francisco lab that will focus on applying artificial intelligence to accelerate drug discovery and development, Yahoo Finance reports. The investment is for five years and will go toward infrastructure, computing power and specialists; Nvidia engineers will work alongside Lilly scientists.
The project extends the companies' existing partnership and reflects Nvidia's strong push into the medical field. The company has previously invested and partnered with a number of industry players, including biotechs and research centers. Lilly shares are up nearly 34% year-to-date, and Nvidia remains the world's most valuable company, the publication notes.
SK Hynix to invest $13 billion in AI chip packaging plant
South Korea's SK Hynix will invest 19 trillion won ($12.9 billion) to build an advanced memory packaging plant in Cheongju, CNBC reports. Construction will begin in April, with completion scheduled for the end of 2027. The facility will produce high-density memory modules that improve the performance and energy efficiency of AI chips.
The investments are connected with a sharp increase in demand for HBM memory for artificial intelligence against the background of global competition, the channel points out. Analysts expect the HBM market to grow by 33% a year through 2030, while DRAM memory chip prices are expected to rise by 50-55% in the coming quarter. This increases pressure on electronics manufacturers, but maintains the profits of the largest chipmakers.
What's in the markets
- Japan's broad Topix index was up 2.42% on Jan. 13, while the Nikkei 225 was up 3.2% in trading.
- Hong Kong's Hang Seng index increased by 0.92%. Mainland China's CSI 300 index was almost unchanged.
- In South Korea, the Kospi index added 1.37%, while the Kosdaq fell 0.27%.
- Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.56%.
- Futures on the S&P 500 were down 0.1 percent, the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.22 percent, and stock contracts on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were little changed.
This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor
