Latest news with #Shang
Business Insider
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Insider
Elon Musk's DOGE threw government contracts into chaos. This startup is cashing in.
From the moment he became de facto head of the Department of Government Efficiency, Elon Musk seemed intent on carving up the federal bureaucracy like a Thanksgiving turkey. Thousands of federal employees were laid off, entire departments folded, and contracts worth billions of dollars were scrapped. That mayhem created a lucrative opening for one startup. In the first half of this year, Legalist, a San Francisco lender founded by one of tech billionaire Peter Thiel's fellows, extended more than $100 million to dozens of government contractors scrambling for cash. Founder Eva Shang says that's about twice what it deployed in the three years since launching its government business. The company has doubled its origination team to meet demand, Shang said, and closed $40 million from new investors in June to expand the strategy. Legalist is best known as a litigation funder. It uses algorithms to scan court dockets, backs cases it thinks are likely to win, and takes a cut of any settlement. In 2022, at the urging of an investor tied to a university endowment, it branched into "government receivables," providing upfront cash to contractors for goods or services they've already delivered but haven't yet been paid for. Legalist takes its cut when the government eventually settles up. That sideline became a profit center under the Trump administration, as contract terminations, stop-work orders, and spending freezes choked off cash for contractors. DOGE says it's canceled about $58 billion in contracts, while a recent Politico analysis said that number was inflated by "accounting tricks" and claims that couldn't be verified. The White House defended DOGE's math, but Politico said it could identify $1.4 billion in money that was actually clawed back from contractors through July. The White House did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider. Federal rules let contractors recover money when policy shifts derail their work — either by adjusting the contract if the pause drove up costs, or by settling up if the job is canceled. But in the meantime, those contractors have bills to pay, creating a billion-dollar opportunity for private credit lenders like Legalist and its largely regional competitors. (Shang says the company targets an interest rate of at least 12%, above the cost of capital at traditional banks.) Legalist now has over 50 borrowers. One is a privately held international developer that incurred nearly $200 million in debt for services already rendered after Trump's sweeping freeze on foreign aid payments. Another is a manufacturer of aerospace engine parts that contracts with both the Department of Defense and private-sector clients. In March, the Pentagon moved to slash over $580 million in programs, grants, and contracts. Where Musk's cost-cutting frenzy whipped the contracting world into a maelstrom, Legalist has ridden the wave to new heights. Call it a DOGE bump. Earlier this year, a group of foreign aid groups sued the Trump administration for refusing to spend billions of dollars that Congress had budgeted for federal grants and other programs. Federal judges then ruled to block parts of the funding freeze from taking effect. An appeals court has now allowed the freeze on foreign aid payments to stand, not because the withholding is lawful, but because the plaintiffs did not have the legal standing to sue. (The decision doesn't alter federal rules letting contractors recover their costs, says Brian Rice, general counsel of Legalist.) Shang says the ruling is unlikely to affect Legalist's pipeline. That's because the lawsuit pertains to federal grants and other programs, not the contracts that Legalist funds against. "Some of the grants that Trump canceled, he's well within his right to cancel," she said. The decision does, however, seep uncertainty into Legalist's world — a dynamic that could keep up demand for its advances, even as it makes collecting on them murkier.
Business Insider
4 days ago
- Business
- Business Insider
Nvidia's (NVDA) Rubin GPUs May Face Production Delays due to a Redesign
Chipmaker Nvidia's (NVDA) next-generation Rubin graphics processing unit (GPU) may face production delays at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSM) due to a redesign, according to Taiwanese financial firm Fubon Financial. Indeed, analyst Sherman Shang explained that the first version of Rubin was completed in late June, but Nvidia is now making adjustments to better compete with AMD's (AMD) upcoming MI450 GPU. Shang expects the revised version to be finalized in late September or October, which could reduce Rubin's production volumes in 2026. Elevate Your Investing Strategy: Take advantage of TipRanks Premium at 50% off! Unlock powerful investing tools, advanced data, and expert analyst insights to help you invest with confidence. It is worth noting that Rubin is set to replace Nvidia's current Blackwell line, which continues to see impressive growth. In fact, Nomad Semi analyst Moore Morris noted that Blackwell GPU shipments totaled 750,000 units in Q1 2025 and increased to 1.2 million in Q2, while being projected to reach 1.5 million and 1.6 million units in Q3 and Q4, respectively. However, competition for advanced packaging capacity at TSMC is intensifying. Morris pointed out that AMD and Broadcom (AVGO) are the fastest-growing customers for TSMC's CoWoS (Chip-on-Wafer-on-Substrate) technology. While Nvidia still leads with a 51.4% share in 2025, compared to Broadcom's 16.2% and AMD's 7.7%, its share is projected to dip slightly to 50.1% in 2026. At the same time, Broadcom and AMD's shares are expected to climb to 17.4% and 9.2%, respectively. Originally, Rubin was slated for mass production in late 2025 with retail availability in early 2026, but the redesign could push that schedule back. What Is a Good Price for NVDA? Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on NVDA stock based on 35 Buys, three Holds, and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. Furthermore, the average NVDA price target of $188.86 per share implies 4% upside potential.
Business Recorder
04-08-2025
- Science
- Business Recorder
Chinese team visits Cotton Research Institute
MULTAN: A delegation from the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) visited the Cotton Research Institute (CRI) in Multan. The Chinese delegation included David, Dr Shang, and Chai. Representing Pakistan were Brigadier Sohail Ishrat (retd), Director of the Green Pakistan Initiative, along with five other members. During the visit, the delegation was given a comprehensive briefing on the ongoing research activities and key achievements of CRI Multan. Detailed discussions were held on the current condition of the cotton crop, including pressing challenges such as the control of cotton viruses and pests —particularly whitefly, jassid, and pink bollworm, according to a spokesperson for the Punjab Agriculture department. The delegation also toured the institute's laboratories and field plots, where various experimental cotton varieties are being cultivated, and they closely reviewed the ongoing research projects. The spokesperson stated that both parties agreed on launching a joint 3 to 5-year research programme. Under this initiative, a specialized group comprising Chinese and Pakistani experts will be formed. The primary goal of this group will be to trial Chinese cotton varieties at ten different sites across Punjab. These trials aim to assess the adaptability of the varieties to local climatic conditions and their resistance to viruses and pests. In addition, mutual collaboration was emphasized in areas such as the development of local cotton varieties, capacity building of human resources in the cotton sector, and fully operationalizing the cotton biotechnology lab. This visit marks the beginning of a new chapter in Pakistan-China cooperation in agricultural research and development, with strong prospects for significant improvement in cotton productivity. Present on the occasion were Chief Scientist Dr Sajid-ur-Rehman (Ayub Agricultural Research Institute, Faisalabad), CEO PARB Dr Abid Mahmood, Cotton Commissioner Dr Khadim Hussain, Director Cotton Dr Ghulam Sarwar, and private sector experts including Dr Saghir Ahmad and Dr Iqbal Bandesha, among other stakeholders and agricultural scientists, who offered valuable suggestions regarding cotton cultivation and crop management.
Newsweek
20-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Newsweek
Internet Stunned at Woman's Kung Fu Skills After 1 Month Training in China
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A 25-year-old woman from Australia has stunned the internet with her impressive kung fu skills, despite only training for one month at a martial arts school located near the Shaolin temple in Henan, China. Amelia Michels, a freelance marketing expert and poet, has spent the last two years of her life traveling the world, living in different places a few months at a time. In April, she joined the training program, with no prior kung fu experience, and by early May, when she left, she'd already learned some incredible skills. Driven by her desire to "find the place where not belonging makes sense," Michels had already traveled through lots of other Asian countries, including India, where she practiced yoga, and Vietnam where she learned Muay Thai. But she knew nothing about kung fu when stepped foot in China, so armed with curiosity and enthusiasm, she totally immersed herself in the school's strict schedule, pushing her limits day after day. Amelia Michels, 25-years-old is pictured performing kung fu routines she learned during her month training in China. Amelia Michels, 25-years-old is pictured performing kung fu routines she learned during her month training in China. Photo by Jackson Rule [lens + lumen] At the school, filled with a diverse crowd of international and local students of all different ages and backgrounds, her days started at 4:30 a.m., when she joined the first training session for the day, followed by breakfast and then back into action for about two to three hours. After lunch, the schedule included more afternoon training sessions, before going back to the dorms, lights down by 9:30 p.m. sharp every night. Despite the intense training, and leg pain that defied all sorts of painkillers, due to the intense stretching required, Michels says the experience was unforgettable, and her favorite part was the new friends she made along the way. "It's always about meeting the people and building relationships with them, just the small moments together, sharing dorms with strangers who then end up being super close, beautiful friends," she told Newsweek. "I had a brand new journal that I brought with me, and on the last day, I asked everyone to write something in there, a little message or something, which was super special to me." During her spare time in China, usually on Saturday afternoons and Sundays, Michels took the chance to bond with her fellow training mates, visiting nearby cities like Zhengzhou, a metropolis on the Yellow River, known for being the Shang dynasty capital, or even just renting out a hotel room to chill together and socialize. Currently back in Vietnam, Michels is once again soaking in new experiences, which she keeps sharing with her followers on social media. But her kung fu journey is not over, yet! In fact, in October she's heading to Morocco where she will attend a new kung fu training, hoping to take her skills to the next level. "Kung fu means eat bitter every day," she writes in another one of her viral Instagram posts. "Which basically means, 'do the hard thing," she said. "Do it even when you don't feel like it. It's showing up to class when your body says stay in bed. Standing in Mabu until your legs burn. Repeating the same movement, again and again, until your body remembers it without you thinking. "The goal is for it to become a moving meditation, allowing you to be fully present in the moment." Users who followed her journey at the kung fu school were stunned by how fast she learned despite the language barrier. In one of her viral videos, one user, embodiedwithbuns, said: "This looks epic. Thanks for sharing your experiences." And another one, added: "You are killing it girl." Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@ with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.
Otago Daily Times
24-05-2025
- General
- Otago Daily Times
Boning up on the past's futures
A Chinese oracle bone. Photo: supplied In 1899 Wang Yi-yung was feeling unwell. The chief tutor of the Imperial Household, he ventured from the Forbidden City in Beijing to a chemist's shop, where he noted some fragments of bone destined to be powdered for traditional medicine. Picking one up, he was taken back by faint scratch marks. It was the oldest known Chinese writing. The source of the chemist's supply was traced to Anyang, the capital city of the Shang Dynasty. A few years ago, I was invited to give a series of lectures at the Palace Museum in Taipei. After one of these, I was introduced to Shi Zhangru, a, legendary scholar of the Shang who was then aged 101. We had a fascinating conversation during which he told me that as a young man, he participated in the excavations at Anyang from 1928 and on the last day of one season, he unearthed a piece of thin bone. This was not an ordinary discovery, for as he dug down further, he revealed an archive of what are known as oracle bones. He was still working on translating them 70 years later, and I accepted his invitation to his laboratory the following day without hesitation. He arrived sharp at 9am with a bevy of young women assistants and he delved into his archives to show me these remarkable historic documents. The Shang rulers worshipped their royal ancestors and constantly sought their advice through the medium of diviners. Thin bones, principally cattle shoulder bones and turtle shells, were prepared by boring depressions on the underside of the bone. The King's issue of the day would then be asked of the oracle. Should he go to war? Would his concubine bear him a son? Was it propitious to go hunting? This question was then incised on the top surface of the bone, before a red hot poker was pressed into the depression, causing the bone to crack. The crack would then be interpreted and the diviner would incise the answer. And so, we can share the concerns of King Wu Ding 3300 years ago when he asked "We shall hunt at Hwei. Can we make captures?". The oracle foretold success. He went hunting and bagged a tiger, deer, 164 foxes and 159 deer. The Shang script is the direct ancestor of Chinese writing. After 3000 years of evolution, translating the oracle bones is not easy. So far, about 1300 of the 3000 different characters have been deciphered. One of the commonest is the graph for silk.
