Latest news with #MichiganStateUniversity
Los Angeles Times
2 hours ago
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
Apple Manufacturing Academy opens in Detroit amid Trump pressure on U.S. production
Apple is trying to bring machine learning to Motor City. The smartphone giant opened its Apple Manufacturing Academy in Detroit on Tuesday to offer free workshops on artificial intelligence and advanced manufacturing to small and medium-sized businesses. Apple stands out as one of the companies most dependent on manufacturing as well as consumers in China. The new academy is a part of Apple's broader $500-billion U.S. investment commitment announced in February. The academy, which will be administered through a partnership with Michigan State University, will provide training on machine learning, automation and digital manufacturing technologies, with Apple experts helping to lead the workshops. 'We're thrilled to help even more businesses implement smart manufacturing so they can unlock amazing opportunities for their companies and our country,' Sabih Khan, Apple's chief operating officer, said in a news release. The company also will provide consulting services to businesses, available virtually and in person. Apple plans to add online courses this year that will teach skills such as project management and how to optimize manufacturing processes. The announcement comes as Apple faces pressure from President Trump and his supporters to bring more manufacturing jobs to the United States. Trump has called for Apple to move iPhone production stateside and is implementing tariffs that probably will raise the company's costs. On Tuesday, Trump threatened to impose tariffs as high as 25% on Indian imports if the countries cannot complete a trade agreement by Aug. 1. The U.S. also has a 30% baseline tariff on Chinese imports that expires August 12th, with Trump saying duties could rise again without a new deal. In May, Trump expressed frustration with Tim Cook after the Apple chief executive stated that the company was expanding Indian production to avoid tariffs on Chinese goods. Trump said he reminded Cook of Apple's $500-billion U.S. investment promise and told him: 'I don't want you building in India.' Apple aims to produce about a quarter of the world's iPhones in India over the next several years as the company works to reduce its heavy reliance on Chinese manufacturing. After building its supply chain in China for decades, Apple has been expanding to other markets including Vietnam and India. Cook has managed his relationship with Trump since the president's first term, building rapport through direct phone calls and meetings. His approach proved effective in 2019 when he lobbied Trump personally to exempt iPhones from China tariffs, arguing that the duties would raise prices and benefit competitors such as Samsung. The Trump administration later excluded iPhones and other electronics from the tariff plan. The Detroit facility builds on Apple's presence in the city, where it already operates an Apple Developer Academy in partnership with Michigan State University that trains about 200 students annually in software development. Apple currently produces very few products in the U.S. The Cupertino, Calif., company makes the Mac Pro in Austin, Texas, and has announced plans to build AI servers in Houston as well as purchase chips from a Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. factory in Arizona. Experts note that moving iPhone production to the U.S. would be prohibitively expensive.
Gizmodo
4 hours ago
- Business
- Gizmodo
Apple Is Opening a Manufacturing Academy in Detroit
Apple just announced plans to open a manufacturing academy in Detroit this August, as the company faces pressure from President Donald Trump to build iPhones in the U.S. Starting August 19, Apple will partner with Michigan State University to host free workshops for small and mid-sized businesses, aimed at helping American companies adopt artificial intelligence and smart manufacturing techniques. 'Apple works with suppliers in all 50 states because we know advanced manufacturing is vital to American innovation and leadership,' said Apple COO Sabih Khan in a press release. 'With this new programming, we're thrilled to help even more businesses implement smart manufacturing so they can unlock amazing opportunities for their companies and our country.' The workshops will cover topics like machine learning and deep learning in manufacturing, automation in production, using data to improve product quality, and applying digital technologies to enhance operations. Along with the in-person courses, Apple engineers are already consulting U.S. companies to help boost productivity, efficiency, and quality across their supply chains. The consulting help is available both online and on-site. Additionally, Apple plans to offer virtual classes later this year, teaching workers skills like project management and manufacturing process optimization. The company already runs 18 similar academies around the world that are focused on training software developers. Apple teased its first manufacturing academy back in February, when it announced plans to invest over $500 billion in the U.S. over the next four years. Part of that money is going toward an advanced manufacturing facility in Houston, which will produce servers to support the company's AI ambitions. The investment also includes Apple's work with thousands of U.S. suppliers, its data centers, and Apple TV+ productions. President Donald Trump has continued to press Apple to expand its manufacturing footprint in the U.S., using tariffs and public pressure to encourage companies to bring production back home. Apple isn't his only target. This year, companies like John Deere, Johnson & Johnson, and General Motors have also highlighted their new U.S. manufacturing efforts—moves the White House has been quick to take credit for. Still, tensions remain between Trump and Apple, as the company has yet to fulfill his wish to move iPhone production to the U.S. One analyst estimates that U.S.-made iPhones could cost up $3,500. In April, reports surfaced that Apple was shifting some iPhone manufacturing to India amid concerns about tariffs on goods from China. A month later, Trump told reporters in Qatar that he made it clear to Tim Cook that he didn't want Apple building its products in India. 'I said to Tim, I said, 'Tim, we've treated you really good, we put up with all the plants that you built in China for years … we're not interested in you building in India, India can take care of themselves,'' Trump said, according to Axios.
CNET
8 hours ago
- Business
- CNET
Apple to Open Manufacturing Academy in Detroit, but Don't Expect a US iPhone in the Near Future
Apple announced today that it is opening a manufacturing academy in Detroit next month, offering free training for small businesses and innovators. The Apple Manufacturing Academy, in partnership with Michigan State University, is designed to help American companies implement artificial intelligence and new techniques in manufacturing, the company said in a statement. "Apple works with suppliers in all 50 states because we know advanced manufacturing is vital to American innovation and leadership," said Sabih Khan, Apple's chief operating officer. "With this new programming, we're thrilled to help even more businesses implement smart manufacturing." Opening Aug. 19, the Apple Manufacturing Academy is part of the tech giant's pledge to spend more than $500 billion in the US, which it announced in February, about six weeks before President Donald Trump launched his Liberation Day tariff drama. Trump threatened Apple and other manufacturers with a 25% tariff on all smartphones produced outside the US after Apple said it was moving US iPhone production from India to China. While the manufacturing academy could potentially help American companies with new techniques, it's unlikely to make a difference in Apple's manufacturing plans, at least in the short term. Most experts say moving iPhone production to the US is unrealistic because of higher labor and production costs. Estimates have suggested that a US-made iPhone would cost as much as $3,500.
CNBC
10 hours ago
- Business
- CNBC
Apple opens manufacturing academy in Detroit as Trump ramps up pressure to invest in U.S.
Faced with intensifying pressure from President Donald Trump to bring more jobs to the U.S., Apple is opening a manufacturing program in downtown Detroit. The Apple Manufacturing Academy, which is being administered by Michigan State University, will offer workshops on manufacturing and artificial intelligence to small and medium-sized businesses when it opens in August, Apple said on Tuesday. The company said that it would "train the next generation of U.S. manufacturers" and that Apple engineers would participate in the workshops. Apple is one of the most admired hardware companies in the world, manufacturing tens of millions of complicated devices each year across a global supply chain. "With this new programming, we're thrilled to help even more businesses implement smart manufacturing so they can unlock amazing opportunities for their companies and our country," Sabih Khan, Apple's newly named chief operating officer, said in the statement. The announcement is part of a public effort by Apple to highlight its U.S. operations and investments to appease Trump, who has called on the company to move iPhone production to the U.S. while he implements tariffs that will likely raise Apple's costs. Apple first promised to open the Apple Manufacturing Academy in February, when it announced plans to spend more than $500 billion in the U.S. over the next five years, investing in products, programs and companies. Apple also said it would assemble AI servers in Houston and buy chips from a TSMC factory based in Arizona. While Trump hailed Apple's plans in February, his administration has continued to try and strong-arm the company into assembling iPhones in the U.S., which experts say would be cost prohibitive and take a very long time. In May, Trump said he had a "little problem" with CEO Tim Cook, who had said that Apple expanded production to India to avoid Chinese tariffs. "I said to him, 'my friend, I treated you very good. You're coming here with $500 billion, but now I hear you're building all over India.' I don't want you building in India," Trump said. Apple runs a similar program focusing on software development, instead of manufacturing. Apple has 18 developer academies around the world, according to its website, notably in countries where the iPhone maker wants to forge a working relationship with governments, such as Brazil, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and South Korea. The only developer academy in the U.S. is also based in Detroit, in partnership with Michigan State, which said this spring that it has about 200 students annually. Apple said that it would provide consulting services to small businesses through the program, and that the manufacturing academy would also offer some courses virtually later this year.
Time of India
18 hours ago
- Science
- Time of India
Interstellar comet or alien tech: Is 3I/ATLAS dropping gadgets near other planets? Here's what a Harvard astronomer says
Space is full of mysteries that have not even been discovered so far, and every year, astronomers come across numerous new objects drifting through the vastness of the universe. Be it distant exoplanets with strange atmospheres or fast-moving asteroids that zip past Earth without warning, each of these comes as a surprise to us. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now This time, a mysterious object from beyond our solar system, 3I/ATLAS, has ignited a new wave of excitement about the possibility of alien life in space. Since its discovery on July 1, 2025, the interstellar visitor has intrigued astronomers with its high speed and unusual trajectory. Some researchers believe it may be one of the oldest comets ever observed, while a small group, including Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb, from UK's Initiative for Interstellar Studies in a preprint uploaded to arXiv on July 16, 2025. This paper has controversially suggested it could be a piece of extraterrestrial technology sent by an advanced civilization. Does extra-terrestrial civilisation remain elusive? Loeb, who also leads the Galileo Project, an initiative dedicated to finding signs of alien life, described the theory as a 'pedagogical exercise,' meant more as a thought experiment than a confirmed claim. He wrote in a blog post that if 3I/ATLAS were a 'technological artifact,' it might support the dark forest hypothesis, which suggests extraterrestrial civilizations remain silent to avoid detection by potential threats. 'The consequences, should the hypothesis turn out to be correct, could potentially be dire for humanity,' he warned. However, scientists strongly disagree. According to Darryl Seligman, an astronomer at Michigan State University, 'There have been numerous telescopic observations of 3I/ATLAS suggesting that it's displaying classical signatures of cometary activity,' as reported by Live Science. Samantha Lawler, an astronomer at the University of Regina, added that 3I/ATLAS is most likely 'an ordinary comet that was ejected from another solar system. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now ' NASA has confirmed the discovery of a new interstellar comet, 3I/ATLAS, speeding through our solar system. Spotted by a telescope in Hawaii, the object is likely the biggest yet. It will pass near Mars in October and offers scientists a rare look at materials from another star system. What sets this comet apart from others of its type? The object, traveling at over 2,10,000 km/h, appears to be a massive comet with a coma or an envelope of gas and dust stretching up to 24 km, according to the International Gemini Observatory. Astronomers believe it could be as much as 3 billion years older than our solar system. The paper's authors point to 3I/ATLAS's strange trajectory and speed, noting it entered the solar system from a different angle than previous interstellar visitors like 'Oumuamua or Comet Borisov. Loeb also speculated that the object could avoid detection when closest to the Sun in October by staying hidden on the far side, suggesting it may be dropping off alien 'gadgets' near other planets. Despite Loeb admitting that the alien theory is a long shot, many experts have criticized the speculation. Chris Lintott of the University of Oxford called it 'nonsense on stilts,' saying, 'It's an insult to the exciting work going on to understand this object,' as quoted by Live Science.
