Good morning. The going maxim about the current U.S. presidential administration, at least as it pertains to business matters, has been that the only certainty is uncertainty.
A year in, we’re starting to see how true that is. Amazon is reportedly seeking supplier discounts upwards of 30% as it tries to unwind arrangements made to soften the blow of Trump’s first tariffs.
It’s a move meant to front-run a Supreme Court ruling on the tariffs’ legality—and an acknowledgment that the tariffs have proven to be more bark than economic bite.
Never say never, though. Today’s tech news below. —Andrew Nusca
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Taiwan issues arrest warrant for OnePlus CEO
Prosecutors in Taiwan have issued an arrest warrant for Pete Lau, the chief executive officer of the Chinese smartphone company OnePlus.
The move is part of a broader effort to block Chinese tech companies from recruiting Taiwanese tech talent. (It’s illegal in Taiwan for Chinese companies to open or hire locally without government approval.)
It’s also yet another escalation in perpetually heated relations between Taiwan and China.
Oppo-owned OnePlus, which makes smartphones that run on a custom version of Google’s Android operating system, is accused of illegally recruiting more than 70 engineers in Taiwan.
In a statement, the company said that its business operations remain unaffected.
It’s a matter of national security for the autonomous island. Last year, Taiwanese officials investigated the recruiting practices of 11 Chinese tech companies, among them SMIC, which allegedly set up shop by posing as a Samoan organization.
Taiwan’s investigative bureau said last year that it had opened more than 100 such illegal hiring probes into Chinese companies since 2020. —AN
Microsoft pivots on AI data center approach
People were already tired of rising energy and water costs.
Then the AI revolution took hold.
Responding to growing concerns about how the AI infrastructure buildout would affect communities across the U.S., Microsoft on Tuesday said it would commit to being a “good neighbor in the communities where we build, own, and operate our datacenters.”
The company said it pledges to reduce the water consumption of its AI infrastructure, replenish more water than it uses, act with greater local transparency, and advocate for public policies that support “sustainable growth.”
Microsoft also said it would not ask for local property tax breaks.
It’s “a commitment to do this work differently than some others and to do it responsibly,” the tech giant said as it worked to shake a Trump-sized target on its back.
The pressure is now on Microsoft’s peers—Amazon, Google, Meta, OpenAI, etc.—to adopt a similar stance.
The clock is ticking. The biggest Big Tech firms have promised to invest eye-watering amounts in capital expenditures related to AI this year, even more than 2025. Meanwhile residential energy prices near data centers continue to outpace the national average. —AN
U.S. greenlights Nvidia H200 exports to China
The Trump administration on Tuesday gave the official OK for Nvidia to resume selling its second-most-powerful AI chips to China.
A condition of the regulation is for Nvidia’s H200 AI chips to be reviewed by a third-party testing lab to confirm their capabilities before shipment to China.
China is currently limited to receiving no more than 50% of the total amount of chips sold to U.S. customers—meaning Nvidia needs to move enough units in the U.S. to enable Chinese sales.
Chinese customers must still demonstrate that the chips will be used for nonmilitary purposes.
Meanwhile, Nvidia must pay the U.S. government a 25% fee for allowing the chips’ sale.
The arrangement continues to divide the industry. China hawks believe the availability of Nvidia AI chips, even if they’re not the flagship model, will only help China compete.
The administration meanwhile argues that supplying Chinese companies with American chips will discourage them from relying on local suppliers—nevermind China’s own restrictions on U.S. silicon. —AN
More tech
—Meta metaverse layoffs confirmed. CTO Andrew Bosworth said the company would “reinvest the savings to support the growth of wearables.”
—Anthropic c-suite shakeup. Product chief Mike Krieger will become co-lead of its Labs incubator; Ami Vora will be Head of Product.
—U.S. waives phone unlock rule. The FCC once forced Verizon to unlock phones 60 days after activation; no more.
—Apple debuts Creator Studio suite. A single subscription to apps including Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, and Pixelmator Pro for $13/month or $129/year.
—Google tweaks Veo. The video generation AI model is “more expressive” and consistent.
—Global PC shipment rise almost 10%. More than 76 million units moved in Q4 2025 thanks to the end of Windows 10 support and the prospect of looming tariffs.
—Cerebras reportedly in talks to raise $1 billion. The funds would value the startup at $22 billion, a sizable jump from about $8 billion in September.
