Morning Highlights: SK Hynix Reports Record Profits; OpenAI to Purchase Google Chips

OpenAI plans to purchase AI chips from Google, reducing its reliance on Nvidia. South Korea’s SK Hynix reported record quarterly profits amid the AI boom, and its stock rose by more than 8%. Read about these and other topics in our roundup of key events as of the morning of October 28.

OpenAI plans to purchase TPU AI chips developed by Google, according to the insider publication The Information, citing a source. The terms of a potential deal are unknown. For Google, the agreement would mark a significant victory in its competition with Nvidia, whose processors dominate the AI computing market.

OpenAI is also looking for an engineer to optimize its cutting-edge models for TPUs. On Tuesday, October 27, Google announced that Oracle would become the first major third-party cloud provider to offer these chips to customers. The publication notes that Anthropic and Apple have already been using TPUs.

South Korean memory chip maker SK Hynix reported record quarterly profits that exceeded analysts’ forecasts, according to CNBC. Revenue in the third quarter rose 4.3-fold to 104.62 trillion won ($78.86 billion), while operating profit jumped 7.3-fold to 83.33 trillion won. The company’s stock soared 11% and drove up all Asian tech stocks.

SK Hynix announced large-scale payouts to shareholders through dividends and share buybacks. The company expects demand for AI memory chips to remain high and plans to increase investment in production next year. However, SK Hynix previously scrapped plans for a potential IPO of its U.S. subsidiary, Solidigm, due to financial market volatility.

Shares of India's Jio Platforms, the country's largest telecommunications operator, surged 21.4% on the first day of trading following its $3.2 billion IPO, according to CNBC. The offering was the largest in Indian history, with demand for the shares exceeding supply by more than 22 times.

The IPO attracted $78 billion in subscriptions, including from anchor investors such as BlackRock, Capital Group, and GIC. Reliance Industries, owned by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, remains Jio’s controlling shareholder with a stake of more than 66%. Other major investors include Meta and Google.

Anthropic, the developer of Claude, has selected JPMorgan to lead the offering of shares to retail investors in the U.S. as part of its upcoming IPO, Bloomberg reports, citing sources. Retail investors may account for 15–20% of the offering. Citigroup will coordinate international sales.

Anthropic filed for an IPO on Monday, with Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley serving as underwriters. Investors estimate the company’s valuation could be $1.4–1.5 trillion, and under favorable conditions, it could reach $1.75 trillion.

Swiss bank UBS reported a net profit of $2.69 billion for the third quarter, which was broadly in line with analysts’ forecasts, according to Bloomberg. New client asset inflows into the wealth management division totaled $55.1 billion, driven by demand in the Asia-Pacific region and the Americas.

UBS has not disclosed any plans for further share buybacks following the completion of its current $3 billion program. The decision will depend on discussions in Switzerland regarding new capital requirements, which could force the bank to raise an additional $16 billion, the agency explains. UBS also warned of a possible seasonal decline in trading activity in the fourth quarter.

— Japan's broad-based Topix index remained virtually unchanged, while the Nikkei 225 rose 1.3%.

— Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.2%, while mainland China's CSI 300 Index rose 0.5%.

— In South Korea, the KOSPI index jumped 6.6%, and the KOSDAQ index rose 3.3%.

— Australia's S&P/ASX 200 remained virtually unchanged.

— S&P 500 futures were trading slightly higher, Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.5%, and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 0.3%.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor