TNB Tech Minute: Taiwan Ramps Up AI Hardware Smuggling Probe
WSJ Tech News BriefingJune 30, 202600:03:04

TNB Tech Minute: Taiwan Ramps Up AI Hardware Smuggling Probe

Plus: Australia’s consumer watchdog sues Amazon over streaming contracts. And Apple supplier Luxshare Precision Industry prepares for what could be Hong Kong’s biggest listing of the year. Imani Moise hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plus: Australia’s consumer watchdog sues Amazon over streaming contracts. And Apple supplier Luxshare Precision Industry prepares for what could be Hong Kong’s biggest listing of the year. Imani Moise hosts.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER_01] Countless companies invest in AI tools without tying them to tangible business outcomes. Join McKinsey later to learn how leaders rewire their organizations for sustained impact and value.

[00:00:14] [SPEAKER_00] Here's your morning TNB Tech Minute for Tuesday, June 30th. I'm Imani Moise for The Wall Street Journal. Taiwanese authorities are ramping up an investigation into the unauthorized diversion of advanced AI servers made by Supermicrocomputer. The sweep targeted six individuals with charges including document forgery and breach of trust.

[00:00:36] [SPEAKER_00] The latest raid stems from an investigation in May into allegations that three people illicitly exported the U.S. company's AI servers, equipped with high-end NVIDIA chips, to China. Supermicro said it's cooperating with officials to protect its technology. The company also said its products continue to be targeted by illicit export networks, highlighting the need for deeper collaboration between the tech industry and governments to strengthen supply chain controls.

[00:01:04] [SPEAKER_00] Australia's consumer watchdog is suing Amazon, alleging the company relied on unfair contract terms to introduce advertising to more than 850,000 local streaming customers. Earlier today, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission filed a case in the country's federal court, claiming that local prime contracts contained terms that allowed Amazon to unilaterally make negative changes to its service without offering customers anything in return.

[00:01:31] [SPEAKER_00] Amazon introduced advertising to its local streaming service in 2024, telling customers they needed to pay extra to keep their service ad-free. The commission has asked the court to impose financial penalties and to force the company to offer redress to customers. Amazon Australia said it had cooperated with the investigation and that it was reviewing the legal filings.

[00:01:52] [SPEAKER_00] And Apple supplier Luxshare Precision Industry is gauging investor interest for a $3.1 billion Hong Kong listing, which would be the largest so far this year. The Chinese company, which assembles iPhones and other Apple products, has already secured nearly half the offering size for more than two dozen cornerstone investors, including Singapore's Temasek and Middle Eastern sovereign wealth fund Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. Luxshare plans to spend most of the proceeds on expanding production capacity and research.

[00:02:22] [SPEAKER_00] Analysts expect Luxshare's data center business to experience major growth between now and next year. And that's your TNB Tech Minute. We'll be back this afternoon with more.

[00:02:33] [SPEAKER_01] AI transformation is more than a tech initiative. It requires a broader rewiring of human skills and ways of working. Here's Dan Swann, senior partner at McKinsey.

[00:02:43] [SPEAKER_02] One of the biggest unlocks we see is the human being capabilities around the technology. Whereas before you may need to be really good at analysis. Now the skill might be how do you prompt these tools to get the right answers and outcomes? And so for us, it's a really big priority to help companies to understand how do you need to change the operating model of your organization and change the underlying capabilities of the people that are interacting with the technology.

[00:03:09] [SPEAKER_02] And when you see that all humming together, it can be really, really special.

[00:03:13] [SPEAKER_01] Discover how McKinsey helps organizations rewire to out-compete with AI at mckinsey.com slash techmoves.

[00:03:20] [SPEAKER_02] This content was created by custom content from WSJ, a unit of the Wall Street Journal advertising department. You can make the decisions for these decisions to be done. But we should just do a lot of have a whole process that will be done very easily. It's about working and getting the information needed. You can continue to take a minute.

[00:03:27] We should be doing a business ever and I must be able to work with it.