Amazon undercuts Nvidia with 25% Discount
Amazon is offering AWS Trainium-powered servers at 25% lower costs than Nvidia’s H100 GPUs, making Al experimentation more affordable for enterprises.
AWS aims to reduce dependence on Nvidia while addressing GPU shortages that hinder Al adoption.
AWS has successfully monetized its custom chips like Trainium, Graviton, and Inferentia, positioning itself as a cost-effective Al solution.
Trainium can help enterprises new to Al and high-performance computing experiment without waiting months for Nvidia GPUs.
While AWS offers a cheaper alternative, Trainium is exclusive to AWS, potentially leading to vendor lock-in.
Amazon to cut 14,000 managerial positions
Amazon plans to cut 14,000 managerial positions by early 2025 to save $2.1 billion to $3.6 billion annually.
This represents a 13% reduction in global management staff, lowering the count from 105,770 to 91,936.
The layoffs follow previous cuts in the communications and sustainability units as part of broader restructuring.
CEO Andy Jassy aims to simplify decision-making and increase the ratio of individual contributors to managers by at least 15% in Q1 2025.
Amazon’s workforce peaked at over 1.6 million in 2021 after rapid pandemic-era expansion but has since undergone significant layoffs, including 27,000 job cuts in 2022 and 2023.
Morgan Stanley to layoff 2000 workforce
Morgan Stanley plans to lay off about 2,000 employees, or 2%-3% of its workforce, later this month.
The layoffs exclude financial advisers and aim to improve operational efficiency.
The firm had over 80,000 employees worldwide at the end of 2024.
Other Wall Street banks, including Goldman Sachs and Bank of America, are also cutting jobs.
Some layoffs at Morgan Stanley are performance-related, while others stem from location changes.
Uncertainty over Trump’s newly announced tariffs is affecting investment banking operations.
Siemens to layoff 6,000 workforce
Siemens AG plans to cut around 6,000 jobs globally, with half of reductions in Germany.
The digital industries unit will eliminate 5,600 jobs by the end of fiscal 2027, including 2,600 in Germany.
The electric-vehicle charging business will cut about 450 positions this year, with 250 in Germany.
The automation business, employing 68,000 people, has been hit by weak demand in China.
Siemens previously signaled job cuts due to challenges in the automation sector, though signs of recovery have emerged.
Job reductions in the charging business will affect about a third of its workforce.
“Time for autonomous vehicles has arrived”
General Motors is expanding its partnership with Nvidia to integrate Al across manufacturing, enterprise operations, and in-vehicle systems.
Nvidia will provide Al infrastructure, including GPUs, and assist GM in building its own Al capabilities.
GM will use Nvidia Omniverse and Cosmos to create digital twins of factories, allowing virtual testing of production processes.
The automaker will also adopt Nvidia Drive AGX for future advanced driver-assistance systems and in-cabin safety enhancements.
This expansion comes as GM shifts focus from robotaxis to driver-assistance systems like Super Cruise while absorbing its self-driving subsidiary, Cruise.
WIZ accept Google’s $32B acquisition offer
Alphabet has agreed to acquire cybersecurity. unicorn Wiz in an all-cash deal worth $32 billion, Google’s largest-ever acquisition.
This marks the largest purchase of an Israeli-founded company, surpassing Intel’s $15.3 billion acquisition of Mobileye in 2017.
Wiz was valued at $12 billion in May 2023 after raising $1 billion in funding, and it previously rejected Alphabet’s $23 billion offer in July 2023.
Founded in 2020, Wiz specializes in Al-powered multi-cloud security, serving clients like Slack, BMW, and DocuSign.
The acquisition strengthens Google Cloud’s security offerings, helping it compete with AWS, Microsoft Azure, Palo Alto Networks, and CrowdStrike.
Xiaomi raises EV target after sales grow fastest since 2021
Xiaomi raised its 2025 EV delivery target to 350,000 units after strong revenue growth.
It delivered its first SU7 sedans in April 2024 and is expanding production capacity in Beijing.
Quarterly revenue surged 49% to ¥109 billion ($15.1 billion), exceeding expectations.
Despite limited capacity causing delivery delays, Xiaomi is working on expanding production.
A new SUV, set to launch in summer, will challenge Tesla’s Model Y. Xiaomi plans to expand its EV business overseas by 2027.
Its smartphone shipments grew 4.8% in the last quarter, gaining market share from Apple and Samsung.
IPL ad revenue will take hit in 2025
Major ad investments are being made in Maha Kumbh (3,000-3,200 crore), ICC Champions Trophy (₹800-900 crore), and WPL, raising concerns about IPL 2025 ad revenue.
Despite budget reallocations, IPL remains a top advertising property with growing viewership and increasing brand investments.
IPL 2025 has secured 20% more sponsorship.
revenue than previous seasons, with team sponsorships at an all-time high (Gujarat Titans: 32 sponsors, KKR: 25, Punjab Kings: 20).
IPL ad spends are set to rise by 15-20% in 2025, with strong contributions from e-commerce, auto, BFSI, and beverage brands.
Beverage brands are increasing IPL spends due to its summer timing. Back-to-back sporting events raise concerns.
CCI raid ad agency in price manuplation case
CCI conducted searches at major media agencies & industry bodies in Delhi & Mumbai.
Targeted entities include GroupM, IPG Mediabrands, Publicis, Dentsu, Madison, AAAI, IBDF, and ISA.
The investigation follows allegations of price collusion, ad rate fixing, and opaque rebate structures in the media buying ecosystem.
Industry executives described the move as “unprecedented and aggressive,” with potential disruptions to media planning.
The timing of the searches is strategic, coinciding with major ad spending periods, including IPL. If found guilty, companies could face fines of up to 10% of their average turnover over the past three years.