Top Stories This Morning: Apple Seeks a Way Out of the Memory Crisis; Amazon Bets on Its Own Chips

The U.S. and Iran did not make significant progress during the latest round of talks in Doha, but Trump’s statements that the dialogue is going well were enough to drive down oil prices. Apple wants to buy scarce memory chips from Chinese manufacturers. Amazon is developing its own AI processors for key gadgets. Read about these and other topics in our roundup of key events as of the morning of July 2.

The U.S. and Iran have concluded another round of indirect talks in Doha, focusing on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and the unfreezing of Iranian assets, Reuters has learned. The parties did not make significant progress toward a long-term peace agreement, and discussions on the nuclear program were postponed until future meetings, the agency reports.

According to Donald Trump, the talks are proceeding successfully, though Reuters sources claim that the nuclear issue has not yet been discussed, and Tehran continues to seek international recognition of its control over the Strait of Hormuz. The agency notes that the next round of talks is scheduled to take place after the funeral of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, which is set for July 9.

Investors are increasingly pricing in a scenario of further de-escalation of tensions, CNBC notes. Oil futures fell 1.2% on July 2, with a barrel of benchmark Brent crude trading at just over $70, and the previous quarter ended with the biggest drop in nearly five years.

Apple is in talks to purchase memory chips from Chinese manufacturers CXMT and YMTC for devices intended for the Chinese market,

according to Bloomberg. The company is thus attempting to mitigate the effects of a global shortage that has already forced it to raise prices on some of its products.

At the same time, cooperation with Chinese manufacturers could increase pressure on Apple amid the U.S.-China technology standoff, Bloomberg notes. Both Chinese companies are on the Pentagon’s sanctions list, which is meeting resistance from a number of U.S. officials and lawmakers, the agency reports. According to the agency, Apple CEO Tim Cook is trying to convince the Trump administration to mitigate the political risks of a potential deal.

Amazon is betting on its own chips for key devices, Panos Panay, head of the Devices and Services division, told CNBC . According to him, the company is developing its own processors for some of its gadgets, including the Echo Show 8 and Echo Show 11 smart displays, as well as Fire TV set-top boxes. Panay said this is part of a broader strategy to expand the capabilities of the Alexa+ voice assistant.

In October, Amazon unveiled the AZ3 and AZ3 Pro processors, designed to run artificial intelligence models directly on the device rather than in the cloud. Many electronics manufacturers believe this approach provides faster performance and better data protection, according to CNBC. At the same time, Amazon continues to use processors from third-party manufacturers, including Qualcomm.

Nvidia has launched a financial support program for customers purchasing AI chips: the company guarantees to buy back unused GPU capacity from small cloud providers in exchange for a share of their future revenue, according to The Information. This arrangement makes it easier for companies to secure financing for building data centers and purchasing equipment.

The initiative is intended to reduce Nvidia’s dependence on major cloud providers, many of which are developing their own AI chips. The publication noted that the company had previously signed similar agreements with CoreWeave and Lambda, and had also discussed providing financial guarantees for OpenAI’s data center project in Ohio.

— Japan's broad-based Topix index rose 0.5%, while the Nikkei 225 fell 0.8%.

— Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index jumped 1.2%, while mainland China's CSI 300 lost 1.8%.

— South Korea's Kospi index fell 5.3% amid a sell-off in memory chip manufacturers.

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

— S&P 500 futures fell 0.1%, Nasdaq Composite futures dropped 0.4%, and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were virtually unchanged.

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