Silicon Valley technology news this week (2025.1.20-1.25) includes: Trump signed a series of executive orders after taking office, covering many fields such as cryptocurrency, AI, electric vehicles; Zuckerberg said Meta will spend $65 billion this year to promote AI goals; Instagram and Facebook block posts from abortion pill providers; Wall Street banks are preparing to sell
milestone
Trump issues Trump coin and issues first crypto executive order
On January 20, the first day that Trump took office as President of the United States, the Meme coin "Trump" issued by him personally and the "Melania" coin issued by his wife Melania both experienced violent price fluctuations.
Trump Coin was issued on January 17 and began trading at an opening price of $0.1824. It rose by more than 15,000% within 12 hours, reaching a maximum of $75.35, with a fully diluted market value (FDV) of nearly $80 billion. On January 18, the market value of Trump Coin exceeded US$5 billion, and the transaction volume exceeded US$11 billion. On January 21, the price of Trump Coin plummeted, falling to around $35, a 53% drop from its highest point of $75.35.
Economists and some long-time cryptocurrency investors have warned that the digital currency, known as memecoin, could pose a danger to the financial system.
On January 23, Trump also issued the first encryption executive order. The executive order proposes to protect and promote the ability of citizens and the private sector to access and use public chains, revokes Executive Order No. 14067 "Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets", and establishes the President's Digital Asset Market Working Group.
Trump unveils $50 billion AI plan
On January 21, 2025 local time, US President Trump announced an artificial intelligence infrastructure investment plan called "Stargate" at the White House. According to the plan, OpenAI, Japan's SoftBank Group and the United States' Oracle will jointly invest US$500 billion to build AI infrastructure in the United States.
The initial investment in the project is US$100 billion, with plans to expand to US$500 billion over the next four years. OpenAI will be responsible for the operation of "Stargate", SoftBank will assume financial responsibility, and SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son will serve as project chairman. In addition to the three major investors mentioned above, Arm, Microsoft and NVIDIA will also participate in the project as initial technology partners. Trump said the project would "create over 100,000 American jobs almost immediately."
Musk, who strongly supported Trump in this election, believes that SoftBank’s funds are far less than US$100 billion. In addition, project implementation and investment returns are still faced with uncertainty.
Trump revokes Biden administration’s EV support policy
Among the series of executive orders signed by Trump on his first day in office, he also included the revocation of the electric vehicle support policy signed by the Biden administration in 2021. The order aims to ensure that by 2030, half of all new cars sold in the United States are electric.
Trump has frozen government funds for building electric vehicle charging stations that were originally allocated through the Biden administration's Inflation Reduction Act; and will also consider eliminating tax credits and subsidies for electric vehicles, arguing that these subsidies are "unfair" and cause market distortions for other technologies.
Additionally, Trump plans to repeal a waiver granted to California by the Environmental Protection Agency in December that allowed the state to stop selling gasoline-only vehicles by 2035. This provision has been adopted by 11 other states.
Global health fund seeks more private funding after US withdraws from WHO
On January 20, after taking office, Trump quickly announced that he would withdraw from the WHO and freeze international aid.
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria told Reuters that it will request nearly 50% of additional funding from private entities such as philanthropic organizations and businesses when it launches a new round of financing later this year, totaling $2 billion.
The United States has historically been the largest donor to the fund, pledging $6 billion in the last round of financing. During Trump’s first term in office from 2016 to 2020, U.S. contributions were similar to previous administrations.
Company news
Zuckerberg says Meta will spend $65 billion this year to advance AI goals
On January 24, Zuckerberg said that Meta plans to invest US$60 billion to US$65 billion in artificial intelligence (AI)-related projects in 2025.
Meta will expand the size of its AI team and build a data center of more than 2 gigawatts, which is large enough to cover the computing power needs of a large part of Manhattan. It also plans to have more than 1.3 million graphics processing units (GPUs) by the end of 2025 and achieve approximately 1GW of computing power.
Zuckerberg expects Meta's AI assistant, available across all of its services, to serve more than 1 billion people by 2025, up from about 600 million monthly active users last year.
Meta's announcement comes just days after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that OpenAI, SoftBank and Oracle would form a company called Stargate to invest $500 billion in building artificial intelligence infrastructure across the United States. Some analysts believe that Zuckerberg’s move is a signal to the market that he does not want Meta to lag behind in the AI competition.
Oracle launches AI agents for sales professionals
Oracle announced on January 21, 2025, a series of new AI agents and generative AI capabilities designed to help sales teams manage customer relationships and sales processes more efficiently.
These capabilities are integrated in Oracle Fusion Cloud Sales, leveraging connected data from finance and supply chain to provide sales teams with personalized, contextual customer experiences.
Instagram and Facebook block and hide posts from abortion pill providers
Instagram and Facebook recently blurred, blocked or removed posts from two abortion pill providers. Instagram has also suspended the accounts of several abortion pill providers and hidden them from appearing in searches and recommendations.
Abortion pill suppliers say the practice has intensified over the past two weeks and has been particularly evident over the past two days. Their account content (and in some cases, even their entire account) is no longer viewable on Instagram.
The practice has sparked controversy, especially after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, making access to the abortion pill more difficult. U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Elizabeth Warren also expressed alarm at Meta's handling of abortion-related content on the platform and asked Meta to explain why it removed abortion-related posts.
However, Meta said it does allow the sharing of information about how to obtain the drug legally. Additionally, Meta acknowledges that there have been some issues in enforcing this policy and is working to correct these situations.
Meta to test ads on Threads in US and Japan
Meta Platforms (Meta) announced that it will test advertising on its social media platform Threads starting January 25, 2025.
The test will first be launched with some brands in the United States and Japan. Ads will appear as images in Threads' homepage information stream, placed between content posts by a small number of users.
Threads launches in July 2023 and aims to challenge Musk's X. Currently, Threads has more than 300 million monthly active users, including more than 100 million daily active users.
Meta emphasized that ads will be consistent with Threads’ post style and strive to make users feel relevant and interesting when seeing ads. Additionally, Meta will test Ad Inventory Filters, an AI-powered brand suitability control that allows advertisers to set the sensitivity level of content surrounding their ads.
Wall Street banks are preparing to sell up to $3 billion of X's debt
Wall Street banks are preparing to sell up to $3 billion in debt from X Company (formerly Twitter), the social media platform controlled by Elon Musk, according to people familiar with the matter.
The debt sale, led by Morgan Stanley and involving a group of banks including Bank of America and Barclays, is scheduled to start as soon as next week. Bankers have approached small groups of investors to assess their intentions to raise at least $250 million individually.
These banks have previously provided loans to Musk to help him complete the acquisition of Company X for $44 billion in 2022. The debt sale is an important step for the bank to resolve the financial burden it has faced since financing Musk's acquisition of Company X in 2022.
Previously, banks encountered difficulties in selling debt due to poor performance of Company X. However, Musk's recent increase in influence and his proximity to U.S. President Trump are believed to have helped improve Company X's financial prospects, prompting the debt sale.
Rivian says other automakers are learning about VW joint venture's technology
On January 24, Wassym Bensaid, Rivian’s chief software officer and co-CEO of the joint venture, said that other automakers are actively engaging with Rivian and its joint venture with Volkswagen to obtain its advanced software and electrical architecture technology. Volkswagen invested $5.8 billion in the joint venture in November 2024, aiming to integrate Rivian's software technology into Volkswagen's future electric vehicles.
Rivian's technical advantage is that its electrical architecture requires fewer electronic control units and significantly less wiring, reducing vehicle weight and simplifying the manufacturing process. In addition, its software can be updated over the air just like a smartphone.
For now, Rivian's top priority is launching its small, low-priced SUV R2 and integrating related technology into Volkswagen's other brands. In the future, the joint venture may become an important partner for other automakers seeking technology cooperation.
General Motors recalls more than 2,000 Chevrolet Equinox electric vehicles
The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on January 22 that General Motors is recalling approximately 2,890 2025 Chevrolet Equinox electric vehicles due to safety hazards in the adaptive cruise control system. The recall only affects 2025 Chevrolet all-wheel drive Equinox electric models that are not equipped with GM's Super Cruise system.
The main reason for the recall is that a software calibration error in the vehicle's braking system control module caused the adaptive cruise control function to fail to brake as intended. When adaptive cruise control is on, the vehicle may not be able to brake to slow down or stop, increasing the risk of a collision.
GM dealers will update the software calibration in the brake system control module of affected vehicles to ensure that the adaptive cruise control function can properly activate the braking system. General Motors will begin sending notification letters to vehicle owners on March 3, 2025.
Porsche confirms 2024 profit outlook on investor call
Porsche confirmed its profit outlook for 2024 during an investor call on January 22, 2025, predicting profit margins will remain at 14%-15%.
The company also pointed out that it will still face challenges in 2025. Porsche expects sales to decline in 2024, mainly because its fuel-powered Macan and 718 models will exit the EU market from the end of June 2024. In addition, the 911 models may face further supply chain issues.
In addition, Porsche is reducing its business presence in China and will provide more details during its annual results conference call on March 12. Despite these challenges, Porsche remains optimistic about its overall financial performance in 2024 and plans to adjust supply and demand through its "value over sales" strategy, especially in the Chinese market.
PayPal fined by New York over cybersecurity breach
On January 23, the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) announced that PayPal would pay a $2 million civil penalty due to a cybersecurity breach that resulted in the disclosure of customers’ Social Security numbers.
The cause of the incident was that in December 2022, when PayPal modified the existing data flow to provide federal tax forms (IRS 1099-K forms) to more customers, customer data was leaked. Cybercriminals used "credential stuffing" techniques to gain access to forms containing sensitive information such as customer names, dates of birth and Social Security numbers through stolen usernames and passwords.
Bain Capital acquires Australia's Insignia Financial for $1.92 billion
In recent years, Australia's listed wealth managers have become attractive takeover targets for foreign fund managers. For example, in May 2024, KKR & Co acquired the wealth management and corporate trust business of Insignia's fellow company Perpetual for A$2.18 billion.
Founded in 1846, Insignia Financial is a 178-year-old wealth management company that provides financial advisory and asset management services. As of the end of September 2024, the company managed funds worth A$319.6 billion. However, the company posted a full-year statutory net loss after tax in August 2024 and suspended dividend payments.
At the end of December last year, Insignia Financial rejected a takeover bid from private equity firm Bain Capital, believing that the offer was not enough to meet the needs of its shareholders. Recently, Bain Capital raised its acquisition offer to A$3.07 billion (US$1.92 billion).
Investment and Financing
Lindus Health Completes $55 Million Series B Financing
Lindus Health is a clinical trial service provider dedicated to improving clinical trial efficiency through technological innovation. On January 23, 2025, the company announced the completion of a $55 million Series B financing round. The round was led by Balderton Capital, with participation from existing investors including Visionaries Club, Creandum, First Minute Capital and Seedcamp.
The funding will be used to further develop Lindus Health’s artificial intelligence technology and e-clinical platform Citrus™. The platform leverages AI and automation technologies to optimize all stages of clinical trials, including study design, data monitoring, biostatistical analysis, and patient recruitment. Lindus Health's goal is to make clinical trials faster, more reliable and more affordable through technological innovation.
Lindus Health calls itself the “anti-CRO” (Contract Research Organization) and aims to subvert the traditional clinical trial model. Lindus Health is able to achieve significant efficiency gains through its innovative business model and technology platform. Since its founding in 2021, Lindus Health has completed 42 end-to-end clinical trials, enrolling more than 36,000 patients.
Eleos completes US$60 million in Series C financing
Eleos Health is an innovative company focusing on digital mental health, providing users with mental health care services through personalized data measurement and analysis and voice AI technology.
On January 22, 2025, Eleos Health announced the completion of a US$60 million Series C financing. This round of financing was led by Greenfield Partners, with participation from F-Prime Capital, Eight Roads, Menlo Ventures, ION Group, Eight Roads Capital (Fidelity Asia), Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, Union Tech Ventures and Centerstone Capital.
Since its establishment, Eleos Health has focused on artificial intelligence applications in the behavioral health field, using multimodal large language models (MM-LLMs) to process multiple data inputs and optimize clinical document processing and patient care. The company has more than 120 client institutions in more than 30 states in the United States, and is particularly outstanding in segments such as substance use disorder (SUD) treatment centers.
