Research & Development World

  • R&D World Home
  • Topics
    • Aerospace
    • Automotive
    • Biotech
    • Careers
    • Chemistry
    • Environment
    • Energy
    • Life Science
    • Material Science
    • R&D Management
    • Physics
  • Technology
    • 3D Printing
    • A.I./Robotics
    • Software
    • Battery Technology
    • Controlled Environments
      • Cleanrooms
      • Graphene
      • Lasers
      • Regulations/Standards
      • Sensors
    • Imaging
    • Nanotechnology
    • Scientific Computing
      • Big Data
      • HPC/Supercomputing
      • Informatics
      • Security
    • Semiconductors
  • R&D Market Pulse
  • R&D 100
    • Call for Nominations: The 2025 R&D 100 Awards
    • R&D 100 Awards Event
    • R&D 100 Submissions
    • Winner Archive
    • Explore the 2024 R&D 100 award winners and finalists
  • Resources
    • Research Reports
    • Digital Issues
    • R&D Index
    • Subscribe
    • Video
    • Webinars
  • Global Funding Forecast
  • Top Labs
  • Advertise
  • SUBSCRIBE

AI is having its iPhone moment, in this week’s R&D Power Index

By Tim Studt | August 28, 2023

The R&D World Index (RDWI) for the week ending August 25, 2023, closed at 2,962.36 for the 25 companies in the RDWI. The Index was up 0.53% (or 15.55 basis points). Sixteen of the 25 RDWI members gained value last week from 0.03% (Bristol-Myers Squibb) to 2.79% (IBM). Nine of the 25 RDWI members lost value last week from -0.34% (Oracle) to -5.44% (Johnson & Johnson).

Click to enlarge.

Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), Canberra Capital Territory, announced last week that it has launched a free program to enhance the R&D initiatives of Australian small to medium enterprises in the cyber security and digital technology sectors. Its Innovate to Grow program provides access to expert knowledge, resources, and mentors to help businesses develop their innovation idea and turn it into an R&D opportunity. The 10-week online learning program begins on October 12, 2023, and aims to help businesses build a business case and prepare a strong funding application. Upon completion of the initial program, participants can work with CSIRO’s expert researchers and access dollar-matched R&D funding through Australia’s Kickstart program.

Consumer electronics developer Xiaomi, Beijing, China, announced last week that it plans to invest $2.8 billion annually in R&D to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into smartphones, automobiles, smart devices, and robots. Their upcoming on-device AI technology would allow consumers to use generative AI services, including ChatGPT-like services on smartphones in the future. Its on-device AI large language model now has 110 million monthly active users. Xiaomi is the world’s third-largest smartphone manufacturer. The company plans to invest up to $10 billion in long-term research over the next five years.

Saudi Arabia announced last week that China has offered to build a nuclear power plant in Saudi Arabia. The announcement applies pressure on the U.S. to compromise its conditions for U.S. help in providing nuclear power to the Saudis. U.S. nuclear assistance is contingent on Saudis agreeing to neither enrich or mine its own uranium deposits in the Kingdom. These non-proliferation conditions are not required by China. The potential U.S. deal would also include diplomatic normalization with Israel and U.S. security guarantees for the kingdom. The U.S. is concerned that once the Saudis have a nuclear energy program, they also could develop nuclear weapons. China’s nuclear assistance offer would provide them with more leverage to gain political access to the region.

The Biden administration is looking to extend the U.S.’s science and technology agreement with China for six more months which would give the U.S. time to amend and strengthen the terms of the existing agreement which expires on August 27. Allowing the current agreement to expire could accelerate a scientific decoupling that threatens U.S. progress in strategically important areas. Opposing politicians state that any new agreement should contain language that limits any cooperation to peaceful-only uses.

RDW index member IBM Corp., Armonk, New York, announced last week that it has sold the assets of The Weather Company, Atlanta, to investment firm Francisco Partners, San Francisco. No details of the transactions were released. Francisco Partners plans to expand its new acquisition beyond weather forecasting, bringing new tools and experiences to its users, while offering more actionable insights to businesses and organizations.

The Canadian province of Alberta, Edmonton, announced last week a seven-month moratorium on new wind and solar energy projects, until February 29, 2024. About 17% of Alberta’s electricity came from renewable hydro, wind, and solar-power sources in 2022, an increase from 10% in 2018, according to Canadian sources. The moratorium is being made so the province can create new rules governing where renewable projects can be located and how operators must deal with solar arrays and wind turbines once they stop working.

A small amount of diluted and treated wastewater from the 2011 Fukushima, Japan nuclear power plant disaster was discharged into the Pacific Ocean last week. The still slightly radioactive wastewater will continue to be discharged for the next 17 days, but this is just a small fraction of the tons of water that have accumulated at the plant. The plant’s operator says this water is diluted to levels that are safer than international standards. The amount of contaminated water created from this initial cleanup process is about 100 tons/day. It is treated and stored onsite in about 1,000 large storage tanks which are now filled to roughly 98% of their capacity. The International Atomic Energy Agency has concluded in a report that the processing plan will have negligible impact on the environment and human health.

According to data collected by ZipRecruiter, Santa Monica, California, companies have reduced the starting salaries of new hires, offsetting the salary increases put in place for the pandemic-induced labor shortages of just two years ago. Salary drops by as much as 30% are now being seen as the shortages of workers eases, according to the ZipRecruiter surveys. Hiring requirements are also being increased for new hires. Companies are paying less and increasing the new hire responsibilities.

AI chip demand has soared and with it the stock valuations of some suppliers, notably Nvidia, Santa Clara, California. The company posted its recently completed quarter’s revenue of $16 billion, which doubled the previous quarter’s revenue and put the company on the path of being valued at $1 trillion. Nvidia currently has about 70% of the AI chip sales, with competitors like Advanced Micro Devices and Intel rapidly ramping up their own AI-based products.

R&D World’s R&D Index is a weekly stock market summary of the top international companies involved in R&D. The top 25 industrial R&D spenders in 2020 were selected based on the latest listings from Schonfeld & Associates’ June 2020 R&D Ratios & Budgets. These 25 companies include pharmaceutical (10 companies), automotive (6 companies), and ICT (9 companies) which invested a cumulative total of nearly 260 billion dollars in R&D in 2019, or approximately 10% of all the R&D spent in the world by government, industries and academia combined, according to R&D World’s 2021 Global R&D Funding Forecast. The stock prices used in the R&D World Index are tabulated from NASDAQ, NYSE, and OTC common stock prices for the companies selected at the close of stock trading.

Related Articles Read More >

Eli Lilly facility
9 R&D developments this week: Lilly builds major R&D center, Stratolaunch tests hypersonic craft, IBM chief urges AI R&D funding
7 major R&D developments this week: Tariff uncertainty persists, Pfizer sells campus, Scania acquires Northvolt unit
economic crisis stock chart falling down business global money bankruptcy concept
7 major R&D developments this week: Tariffs roil markets, MIT wins $12B contract, Siemens plans $5B acquisition
EL SEGUNDO, CA/USA - OCTOBER 13, 2014: Boeing manufactuing facility. Boeing manufactures and sells aircraft, rotorcraft, rockets and satellites. It is the second-largest defense contractor in the world.
8 major R&D moves this week: HHS cuts 10,000 jobs while Anthropic & DataBricks form $100M pact
rd newsletter
EXPAND YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND STAY CONNECTED
Get the latest info on technologies, trends, and strategies in Research & Development.
RD 25 Power Index

R&D World Digital Issues

Fall 2024 issue

Browse the most current issue of R&D World and back issues in an easy to use high quality format. Clip, share and download with the leading R&D magazine today.

Research & Development World
  • Subscribe to R&D World Magazine
  • Enews Sign Up
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Drug Discovery & Development
  • Pharmaceutical Processing
  • Global Funding Forecast

Copyright © 2025 WTWH Media LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media
Privacy Policy | Advertising | About Us

Search R&D World

  • R&D World Home
  • Topics
    • Aerospace
    • Automotive
    • Biotech
    • Careers
    • Chemistry
    • Environment
    • Energy
    • Life Science
    • Material Science
    • R&D Management
    • Physics
  • Technology
    • 3D Printing
    • A.I./Robotics
    • Software
    • Battery Technology
    • Controlled Environments
      • Cleanrooms
      • Graphene
      • Lasers
      • Regulations/Standards
      • Sensors
    • Imaging
    • Nanotechnology
    • Scientific Computing
      • Big Data
      • HPC/Supercomputing
      • Informatics
      • Security
    • Semiconductors
  • R&D Market Pulse
  • R&D 100
    • Call for Nominations: The 2025 R&D 100 Awards
    • R&D 100 Awards Event
    • R&D 100 Submissions
    • Winner Archive
    • Explore the 2024 R&D 100 award winners and finalists
  • Resources
    • Research Reports
    • Digital Issues
    • R&D Index
    • Subscribe
    • Video
    • Webinars
  • Global Funding Forecast
  • Top Labs
  • Advertise
  • SUBSCRIBE