- Jamaica's De Cordova-Reid joins Leicester from Fulham
- Wolves' Kilman reunites with Lopetegui at West Ham
- Schmidt reign off to winning start as Australia beat Wales 25-16
- Russian wrestlers reject Olympics invitation
- Raducanu rediscovers Wimbledon 'fun' factor after turbulent spell
- Winning all that matters at Euro 2024 for Mbappe's minimalist France
- Eight dead, two million affected by Bangladesh floods
- Robertson pleased to 'find a way' past England in tough Test baptism
- Martin sets lap record to secure German MotoGP pole
- 'Shattered' Germany set sights on World Cup after Euros exit
- Olympic hope Pedersen pulls out of Tour de France
- Djokovic eyes sweet 16 at Wimbledon as Swiatek takes on 'gangster'
- End beckons again for Ronaldo after Portugal Euros KO
- New Zealand edge England 16-15 in tense, brutal first Test
- Turkey take on Dutch in politically charged Euros quarter-final, England face Swiss
- Calling for better ties with West, Iran reformist wins presidency
- Cybercrime groups restructuring after major takedowns: experts
- Activists hail Sierra Leone child marriage ban, urge action on FGM
- Marsch relishing Canada's semi clash with Argentina
- Canada stun Venezuela on penalties to reach Copa semis
- Iran reformist Pezeshkian holds early lead in runoff vote
- Swiatek faces 'gangster' threat, Djokovic feels need for Wimbledon speed
- France holds its breath ahead of uncertain vote
- Starmer begins UK 'rebuild' after landslide election win
- Paris's Moulin Rouge inaugurates new windmill sails ahead of Olympics
- Pan, Rai share halfway lead in PGA John Deere Classic
- 'I was feeling terrible' in debate, Biden says in TV interview
- France coach Deschamps savours ending penalty hoodoo, defends Mbappe
- Thompson bids farewell to Warriors after exit
- Portugal exit Euros with pride, will return stronger: Martinez
- UK's new PM Starmer speaks to world leaders, names top team
- Spain and France to face off in Euros last four, Turkey lament 'unfair' Demiral ban
- Israel says negotiators to hold fresh Gaza truce talks next week
- France beat Portugal on penalties to reach Euro 2024 semi-finals
- Endrick to start for Brazil in Uruguay Copa clash: Dorival
- Heartbreak for Germany fans after dramatic Euros exit
- Beryl heads for Texas after causing damage, no deaths in Mexico
- Nagelsmann laments late penalty decision as hosts Germany exit Euros
- Biden declares he's all in ahead of high-risk TV interview
- Spain team 'is a winning horse', says De la Fuente
- Bows at the ready, Chad villagers battle kidnappings
- Alcaraz mimics Bellingham goal celebration after Wimbledon win
- Olmo hopes Pedri can make speedy return for Euros semi-finalists Spain
- Retiring Kroos hopeful despite Germany's 'bitter' Euros exit
- Southgate turns on English 'entitlement' over claims of easy Euros draw
- Merino extra-time goal sends Spain past Germany to Euro semis
- Koeman demands Dutch silence fervent Turkish fans at Euros
- Brad Pitt at Silverstone for filming of F1 movie
- Raducanu storms into Wimbledon last 16
- California fires spread in July 4 weekend heatwave
Microsoft to invest $2.9 bn in Japan AI push
Microsoft on Tuesday announced a $2.9 billion investment over the next two years in Japan to bolster the country's push into artificial intelligence and strengthen its cyber defences in the face of threats from China and Russia.
The announcement coincides with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's visit to Washington, underscoring Tokyo's commitment to becoming a major AI power.
Japan is also expanding its semiconductor industry with the help of big foreign investment. Taiwanese chip behemoth TSMC opened a new $8.6-billion chip factory in southern Japan in February, and is planning a second facility.
Microsoft has become a major player in the advancement of AI through its partnership with ChatGPT-maker OpenAI -- propelling it past Apple as the world's biggest company by market capitalisation.
"This is Microsoft's single largest investment in its 46-year history in Japan," said Brad Smith, Vice Chair and President of Microsoft, who met Kishida on Tuesday.
"These investments are essential ingredients for Japan to build a robust AI economy."
The investment includes providing "more advanced computing resources", according to Smith, including powerful graphics processing units crucial for running AI applications.
Microsoft also pledged to invest in training three million Japanese workers in AI skills over the next three years, and announced the opening of its first Microsoft Research Asia lab in Tokyo that will work on AI and robotics.
The US company also unveiled plans to collaborate with Japan's government to strengthen the country's cybersecurity following an increase in hacking and breaches.
"The threat landscape for cybersecurity has become more challenging," Smith told the Nikkei news outlet.
"We're seeing that from China and from Russia in particular, but we're also seeing growing ransomware activity around the world."
Google in March also launched a new cybersecurity hub in Japan, aimed at helping to upgrade defences in the Asia-Pacific.
Kishida will meet President Joe Biden on Wednesday with defence ties high on the agenda, but also cooperation in technology from space to semiconductors.
Motivated by geopolitical concerns surrounding Taiwan, Tokyo is seeking to bring back the 1980s glory days when Japanese firms such as Toshiba and NEC dominated the microchip market.
As well as the TSMC plants, Japan is ploughing around $6 billion into its next-generation semiconductor venture called Rapidus, involving a host of Japanese firms including Sony and Toyota.
Rapidus is collaborating with US giant IBM with the aim of mass-producing two-nanometre logic chips in Japan from 2027.
On Tuesday, alongside Microsoft's investment, two new AI research partnerships were announced between four US and Japanese universities.
The research programmes, funded by tech firms including Nvidia, Amazon, Arm and SoftBank Group as well as Microsoft, "can help set the standard in this fast-evolving field", US Ambassador Rahm Emanuel said.
Rene Haas, CEO of British chip designer Arm, also hailed the "historic" new university partnerships.
"The unprecedented progress we've seen in AI will transform virtually every industry and improve countless lives," he said.
M.Gameiro--PC