The R&D World Index (RDWI) for the week ending April 28, 2023, closed at 2,652.26 for the 25 companies in the RDWI. The Index was up 1.79% (or 46.73 basis points). Fifteen of the 25 RDWI members gained value last week from 0.09% (Merck & Co.) to 12.88% (Meta Platforms). Ten of the 25 RDWI members lost value last week from -0.45% (Oracle) to -6.95% (AbbVie).

China continues to promote the R&D of 6G technologies, as noted in the recently concluded 6^th Digital China Summit in Fuzhou, China. Representatives also noted that the country will increase resources to advance the construction of the 5G network and expand the application of 5G technology in various fields. China already has the world’s largest 5G network, with base stations that exceeded 2.64 million subscribers by the end of March 2023. 5G has seen large-scale applications in mining, ports, and electricity in China and the country has established an IMT-2030 (6G) Promotion Group.

In April, researchers at the University of California, San Diego, and the University of Wisconsin, Madison, began testing OpenAI’s ChatGPT artificial intelligence (AI) for reading and answering medical patients’ messages and drafting responses from their doctors. Stanford Health Care, Palo Alto, California, plans to join this research within a week. About two dozen healthcare staff members are piloting the tool. Preliminary data suggests that AI could add value. For now, however, the UC and UW researchers have stopped the AI from answering any query that seeks medical advice.

RDW Index member General Motors, Detroit, and Hyundai, Seoul, South Korea, each announced new investments last week to produce electric-car battery cells in the U.S. in joint ventures. GM is working with Samsung SDI Co., while Hyundai is working with SK On Co. GM and Samsung plan to invest about $3 billion in their collaboration, while Hyundai and SK On plan to invest about $5 billion in their northern Georgia venture, which is close to a Hyundai electric vehicle manufacturing complex which was announced in May 2022.

Professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, London, U.K., announced last week that it plans to invest $1 billion in generative AI technology in its U.S. operations over the next three years. The firm will work with RDW Index member Microsoft, Redmond, Washington, and ChatGPT developer OpenAI, San Francisco, to automate aspects of its tax, audit, and consulting services. The new venture includes the recruitment of AI developers and training for existing staff in AI capabilities. This effort will also include advising other companies on how best to use generative AI tools.

The world’s top semiconductor memory chip makers are now stating that the worst is mostly over in terms of the industry downturn. Samsung Electronics, Seoul, South Korea, the largest memory chip maker announced last week that demand for memory chips is expected to gradually recover in the second half of 2023 following a prolonged slide. The second largest memory chip maker, SK Hynix, Icheon, South Korea, last week offered similar hopes for a recovery in the second half of 2023. Company analysts expect to see signs of a global economic recovery and easing inflation in late-2023.

Carrier Global Corp., Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, announced last week that it is in advanced talks to acquire German industrial manufacturer, Viessmann, Allendorf, Germany for about $13 billion, including debt. Carrier has about $550 million annual R&D investment in air conditioning and heating areas in mostly U.S. locations. The Viessmann acquisition gives Carrier a more global customer base.

Developers of AI tools such as ChatGPT would be required to disclose copyrighted material used in building their systems, according to a new draft of European Union (EU) legislation. This regulation would give publishers and content creators the opportunity to obtain a share of the profits when their creations are used as source materials for AI tools such as ChatGPT. These rules are part of new regulations currently being debated in the EU.

Revenue for RDW Index member Microsoft, Redmond, Washington, grew by 7% in Q1 2023 which is Microsoft’s second quarter in a row where this growth has been below 10%. Cloud computing has been the company’s growth engine for the past several years but has been decelerating recently. Microsoft owns 49% of OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, and while this technology can create growth in cloud computing sales, those sales won’t be meaningful for some time according to analysts.

3M Co., St. Paul, announced last week that it was cutting 8,500 positions across all parts of the company to streamline corporate operations, simplify its supply chain and reduce management layers. The company invests about $2 billion in R&D annually. The current cost-cutting actions will give the company the opportunity to prioritize growth areas, such as climate technologies, sustainable packaging, industrial automation, semiconductors, and next-generation consumer electronics.

RDW Index member Intel, Santa Clara, California, announced its largest-ever quarterly loss last week and said that it will remain in the red as it prepares for a semiconductor market recovery that damaged its business. The company lost $2.8 billion in Q1, which was its second loss in a row and was larger than any of its previous losses. The company said it would likely post a loss for Q2 as well. The company’s market share for its data center chips, however, did improve in the most recent reporting period.

 

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 spending 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