Latest news with #R2
Time of India
2 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Seven months after stunning the world, China's DeepSeek AI leans on US technology for critical upgrade
China's Revolutionary DeepSeek Turns to American Hardware for Upgrade- China's much-hyped DeepSeek project, once touted as a breakthrough in homegrown AI independence, has quietly circled back to American hardware after its gamble on Huawei's Ascend chips fell short. Engineers found the Chinese processors too unstable for large-scale training of the company's new R2 model, forcing DeepSeek to rely again on Nvidia GPUs — the very technology U.S. export rules were meant to keep out of Beijing's reach. The move underscores a hard truth: while China can innovate at the software and algorithmic level, its AI future still hinges on semiconductors designed in California. This reliance not only exposes the fragility of China's self-reliance narrative but also raises pressing questions about how far Washington's export curbs can really go in controlling the global AI race. DeepSeek's Huawei gamble falters When DeepSeek announced it would train its next-generation R2 model on Huawei's Ascend GPUs , the move was hailed in Beijing as proof that China could shed its reliance on American semiconductors. The plan didn't last long. By June 2025, engineers inside DeepSeek privately acknowledged that Ascend chips failed to deliver the consistency required for massive-scale training. Sources familiar with the project told the Financial Times (July 2025) that the Ascend processors suffered from unstable performance, weaker interconnect bandwidth, and a lack of mature software tools — all critical weaknesses in an era when model training can consume tens of thousands of GPUs simultaneously. Live Events The result: Huawei's silicon is still being used, but only for inference workloads (running the trained model), while training has quietly shifted back to Nvidia hardware, the very dependency China's AI sector was under political pressure to escape. Why Nvidia still dominates China's AI race Despite U.S. export controls, Nvidia's grip remains unshaken. Even China's most sophisticated AI companies struggle to replicate the CUDA software ecosystem that Nvidia has spent nearly two decades refining. Training a model like DeepSeek's R2 — rumored to involve over 700 billion parameters — is less about raw chip speed and more about orchestration, driver support, and optimization libraries. In practice, Chinese engineers describe Huawei's platform as 'running a marathon in sandals while Nvidia wears carbon-fiber spikes.' That blunt analogy, shared by one engineer who worked on both setups, captures the gap. Hardware is only half the battle; software maturity is the other half, and Nvidia still leads. How DeepSeek got its Nvidia chips Here's the thorny part. U.S. rules technically bar Nvidia from selling its most advanced chips, such as the A100 and H100, directly to China. Yet congressional investigators revealed in April 2025 that DeepSeek somehow amassed tens of thousands of Nvidia GPUs through shell distributors in Singapore and the Middle East. Lawmakers on Capitol Hill now accuse DeepSeek of sidestepping export rules, with several Republicans calling for tighter scrutiny. Nvidia, for its part, points to its H20 line of 'downgraded' GPUs — designed to meet U.S. restrictions — which it can legally export. But multiple industry insiders note that DeepSeek's scale suggests it also tapped into backchannels to acquire restricted units. This dual reality highlights Washington's dilemma: export bans slow China, but they don't stop it. What this means for China's AI ambitions DeepSeek's return to Nvidia exposes the contradiction at the heart of Beijing's technology push. On one hand, China is pouring billions into domestic chip design and production. On the other, its most visible AI breakthrough still leans on American silicon . For policymakers in Washington, this is both reassurance and alarm. Reassurance, because it confirms that U.S. technology remains indispensable. Alarm, because despite layers of export controls, Chinese companies are still finding ways to secure the hardware. For Chinese AI startups, the lesson is more pragmatic: innovation at the algorithmic level — as DeepSeek demonstrated with its mixture-of-experts architecture that slashed training costs — can stretch limited resources, but it cannot fully replace cutting-edge chips. The bigger picture: an AI arms race with supply chain chokepoints The DeepSeek saga isn't just about one company's hardware choices. It underscores a larger geopolitical reality: the global AI race hinges not only on data and talent but on who controls the chip supply chain . China's vulnerability: Without access to advanced lithography tools (still dominated by ASML in the Netherlands), domestic fabs cannot produce chips on par with Nvidia's. U.S. leverage: Washington's chip restrictions remain the single most effective lever in slowing Chinese AI ambitions. Market implications: Nvidia stock surged past a $3 trillion market cap in June 2025 , driven in part by relentless demand from both Western hyperscalers and Chinese firms willing to pay premiums through gray channels. As one Beijing-based venture capitalist told: 'Every AI startup pitch deck begins with the same line — how many Nvidia GPUs they can get. Nothing else matters until that question is answered.' China's DeepSeek may represent cutting-edge algorithmic ingenuity, but its reliance on American hardware reveals the fragile foundation of the country's AI push. For now, the future of Chinese AI still runs, quite literally, on Nvidia. The critical question going forward: can Beijing close the gap before Washington tightens controls further? Or will the world's most ambitious AI firms continue to operate in a paradox — building revolutionary software on hardware they cannot officially buy? Either way, the story of DeepSeek's pivot back to U.S. chips is a reminder that in the AI arms race, semiconductors remain the real battlefield. FAQs: Q1. Why is China's DeepSeek using American Nvidia hardware instead of Huawei chips? Because Huawei's Ascend chips were unstable for large-scale AI training, forcing DeepSeek to return to Nvidia GPUs. Q2. What does DeepSeek's reliance on Nvidia mean for China's AI future? It shows China's AI breakthroughs still depend heavily on U.S. semiconductors despite domestic innovation efforts.
The South African
2 days ago
- Health
- The South African
South African universities combat period poverty
The Clicks Helping Hand Trust (CHHT), in partnership with the MENstruation Foundation, officially launched an important new initiative. This initiative aims to tackle period poverty at universities across South Africa. The University of the Western Cape (UWC) launched the Students on the Go campaign on 7 August. It aims to ensure students have access to free sanitary products so they can attend classes and study without interruption. A significant R2 million has been invested by CHHT to install 30 token-operated sanitary pad dispensers across five universities nationwide. Fourteen of these dispensers are already active at UWC across its Main, Community and Health Sciences, Dentistry and Mitchell's Plain campuses. The project ultimately seeks to benefit over 16,300 young women every month by providing nearly 196,000 packs of free sanitary pads annually. 'This is not just a donation. This is a movement,' said Dhevan Pillay, Chairperson of Clicks Helping Hand Trust. 'Menstruation should never be a barrier to education. We want every student to learn, grow and thrive with confidence, dignity and pride.' The initiative targets universities including UWC, the University of the Witwatersrand, North-West University, the University of KwaZulu-Natal, and Nelson Mandela University. At UWC alone, the programme will support 8,400 students and help reclaim over half a million study days lost every year due to period poverty. Period poverty remains a major social and educational challenge in South Africa, according to NWU. Siv Ngesi, co-founder of the MENstruation Foundation, stressed its urgency: 'Twenty-two million women bleed every month in South Africa. Eight million women cannot afford sanitary pads. Of those, four million are students. This is a grave injustice. I'm proud to be part of this effort to end period poverty.' Professor Robert Balfour, UWC Rector and Vice-Chancellor, underlined the importance of tangible support. 'Access to education must be material as well as formal. Students must participate fully, enthusiastically and meaningfully. Students on the Go takes a major step toward this by removing hygiene barriers.' Former UWC student and Women's Springbok rugby captain Babalwa Latsha also weighed in. 'Thank you to CHHT for saying to students, 'We see you, we support you, and we want you to win.'' Since its establishment in 2011, the Clicks Helping Hand Trust has donated over 750,000 packs of sanitary pads. This makes a lasting impact on the lives of young women nationwide. The Students on the Go initiative stands as a powerful commitment to ending period poverty in South Africa. This ensures that no student's education is compromised by a lack of access to basic menstrual hygiene products. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
The Citizen
2 days ago
- The Citizen
One murder, two court cases: chaos at Cape Town court
Five people are facing charges related to the murder of a retired teacher. The brutal kidnapping and murder of a retired teacher has caused confusion at the Cape Town Magistrates' Court. On 27 October 2024, Alison Dewar's body was found, stabbed to death, outside Philadelphia. Five people are facing charges related to the crime. But they are being tried in two separate cases, by different prosecutors, and investigated by different police units. There appears to be no communication between the teams. GroundUp has established that the current prosecutors in each case were unaware of the other case. Four people are charged with kidnapping, murder, theft of the victim's car, and defeating the ends of justice. But a fifth person has been charged with theft in a separate case. In November 2024, the state told the court it wanted to merge the two cases. ALSO READ: 'I was terrified' – Joburg woman recounts chilling driveway hijacking and kidnapping (VIDEO) But nine months later, this has not happened, and both cases have continued in parallel, and the merging of the cases has not been mentioned again. The police investigations have been beset by delays and inefficiencies, including delays in obtaining a postmortem report. The investigating officer in the murder case was reassigned to a less senior sergeant, with no explanation provided. In the car theft case, the accused appeared in court twice before an investigating officer was finally assigned and a docket was produced. Both cases have been postponed several times and will need to proceed to trial soon or risk being struck off. Dewar was a retired teacher who volunteered as a maths tutor at Rainbow of Hope, a non-profit organisation. A teacher at the organisation who worked with her, Shayner-Lee Wiese, told GroundUp she has little confidence in the state. 'This case is being handled as if it's not serious,' said Wiese, who has been attending the court hearings. 'Alison was someone who was committed to helping and caring for children. Does her death mean nothing?' Murdered for R5 000 Four days after her body was found, the police recovered Dewar's vehicle, a red 2024 Hyundai Creta, from the house of second-hand car salesman Obina Ugwuoke, who was arrested. Police then arrested Chukwudi Stanley and Isaac Okeowo, who were allegedly involved in stealing the car and selling it to Ugwuoke. Another person was also arrested, but charges against him were later withdrawn. A couple from Bellville, Marlon and Riani Macalagh, was also arrested. It is alleged that Dewar was murdered by the Macalaghs, who sold her car to a man called CJ for R3 000 in cash plus R2 000 worth of drugs. CJ is alleged to have sold the car to Ugwuoke for R20,000. Stanley apparently acted as a middleman for CJ, and Okeowo negotiated the price on behalf of Ugwuoke. CJ is said to have fled to Johannesburg and is still at large. It is unclear whether any attempts have been made to arrest him. First court appearance On 4 November 2024, the suspects appeared in court for the first time. Five of the accused – Stanley, Okeowo, the Macalaghs and the fifth man against whom charges were later withdrawn – were taken to the Atlantis Magistrates' Court. This was because the murder case was opened at the Philadelphia police station, which falls under Atlantis. They were charged with kidnapping, murder, theft and defeating the ends of justice. The court ruled that the case should be transferred to the Cape Town Magistrates' Court because the investigation was being led by the provincial Serious and Violent Crimes unit based in Cape Town. READ MORE: Three men found guilty for murder of would-be state witness Meanwhile, Ugwuoke was enrolled in a separate case from the other accused, and he was taken to the Cape Town Magistrates' Court, where he was charged with theft of the car. It emerged in court that no investigating officer had been assigned to the case. It was only at his third court appearance that an investigating officer was assigned, and the docket was finally disclosed to the court. Neither the Saps nor the NPA answered questions from GroundUp on why there were two separate cases for the same crime. Chaos in the court Both cases appeared before Magistrate Theart in the Cape Town Magistrates' (District) Court on 11 November. When Ugwuoke appeared in court, prosecutor Oliver Bulana told the court that his case would be added to the main murder case with the other suspects (but nine months later, this has not happened). There was still no docket, and no investigating officer had been assigned. Nonetheless, the court proceeded with bail proceedings, and Ugwuoke was released on bail for R10000. When the five accused in the murder case appeared later in the day, chaos ensued. The prosecutor told the court he was not sure what the next steps were in the case and that he would have to take instructions from a senior prosecutor. Senior prosecutor Johan Swart then came to address the court. READ MORE: DA accuses Saps of 'dismissive attitude, rudeness and lack of empathy' at police stations It emerged that the magistrate in Atlantis had used the wrong forms to transfer the case to the Cape Town Magistrates' Court – the forms said the matter was transferred to the regional court rather than the district court. So Magistrate Theart adjourned the matter, saying that the case could not appear before her in the district court. Late in the afternoon, the matter appeared in the Cape Town Regional Court before Magistrate Amori Graf, and the case was postponed. Two court appearances later, a bail hearing was held on 28 November, by which time charges against the fifth accused had been withdrawn. The Macalaghs decided not to apply for bail, but Stanley and Okeowo did apply, and they were released on R5 000 bail each. After the bail hearing, the senior investigating officer was reassigned and replaced by a junior colleague – a sergeant at the serious and violent crimes unit. Several postponements In the following months, there was a series of postponements in both cases. In the Ugwuoke car theft case, the matter was postponed five times between January and August this year. In March, the state said they were waiting for cellphone records to be analysed, and in June, the state said further evidence had to be obtained because there was a USB drive that had become corrupted. At the most recent court appearance, on 14 July, the trial was set down to begin in the regional court on 28 August. In the murder, kidnapping and theft case where the other four stand accused, the matter was postponed four times between February and August. READ MORE: Police can't say why they let an alleged rapist off the hook In April, the prosecutor told the court that they were still waiting for the postmortem report, about six months after the murder. Marlon Macalagh also applied for a bed at Valkenburg Psychiatric Hospital to be assessed to determine if he is mentally fit to stand trial. On 22 July, he was still on the waiting list. Only after his medical report is received will the trial be able to go ahead. This reporter asked the prosecutors in each case if they were aware of the other case. Both answered no. Neither the NPA nor Saps responded to GroundUp's questions. This article was republished from GroundUp under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article here.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
BBC Strictly Come Dancing's 14th contestant revealed with surprise link to former winner
Lioness Karen Carney has joined the 2025 line-up of Strictly Come Dancing. England's third most capped player is the 14th amatuer dancer to join the show The final two stars appeared on BBC Radio 2's morning show with Gary Davies, who was standing in for Vernon Kay. The thirteenth's identity was revealed moments before live on ITV's Lorraine and is the show's LA celeb correspondent, Ross King. Karen told R2 listeners: "I'm huge fan of the show and I can't wait. It's a relief to get this out there. READ MORE: Strictly Come Dancing's Tom Skinner responds to backlash over announcement READ MORE: BBC Strictly Come Dancing 2025 celebrity line-up in full "My family don't know. Only a couple of people who need to know. You kinda want to be part of that Strictly secrecy." The former Arsenal player follows in the footsteps of her ex-Lioness roommate, Alex Scott, who appeared on the show in 2019 and Karen added: "I'll be asking her for some tips." "When you're watching it at home, you're mesmerised. I got to watch it in the studio last year, I begged for a ticket." Gary then asked Karen what her favourite Strictly moment was and she opened up about a surprise connection with last year's glitterball holder, comedian Chris McCausland. "Seeing Chris win was great - I used to live in the same block as Chris." With 144 caps, Karen is England's third most-capped player, competing at four World Cups, four European Championships and the London Olympics before retiring in 2019. Aside from her incredible playing and broadcast career, Karen has secured a name for herself as a trailblazer in the advancement of women in sport. In 2022 she began leading a landmark government review with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, into the 'Future of Women's Football' in the UK, every recommendation of which was successfully backed by the government in 2023. In the same year, she also hosted the ITV series Leaders of the Pack which saw her have candid conversations with key figures in women's international football. Karen made history at the men's World Cup 2022 as part of the first all-female line-up to analyse a men's football game. Summer 2024 saw her lead the ITV coverage of the men's Euros, including the nail-biting final between England and Spain. She again led the way for ITV in both of the Lionesses' 2022 and 2025 historic women's Euro wins. Karen was awarded an MBE in 2017, and an OBE in 2024, for services to association football. Earlier this morning, Ross King said: "On joining Strictly Come Dancing, Ross King says: 'From the bright lights of Hollywood to the glittering ballroom - it's a dream come true to be part of such an iconic show. I can't wait to learn from the best, meet my fellow contestants, and, most importantly… try not to step on too many toes! Let's give this the best that I can! As my mum always said: 'You'll never know till you give it a go!' Meanwhile, for everything Strictly 2025, click here. For the latest TV and showbiz gossip sign up to our newsletter The new series of Strictly will return to BBC next month, on September 20, as confirmed by Jon Kay on BBC Breakfast this week, more on that here. So far the 2025 Strictly Come Dancing line-up includes Harry Aikines-Aryeetey aka Nitro on Gladiators, Dani Dyer, Alex Kingston, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Balvinder Sopal and Youtuber George Clarke. La Voix and Chris Robshaw were revealed as the seventh and eighth stars joining the Strictly line-up during Scott Mills' BBC Radio 2 Show on Wednesday. Also, trailblazing model and actress, Ellie Goldstein participation in the show was also announced. Yesterday, August 14, two new stars were announced and they were Neighbours legend, Stefan Dennis and TV star Vicky Pattison. Strictly Come Dancing 2025 returns to BBC One this September
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Rivian CEO Teases More Affordable EVs During Podcast Appearance
Rivian CEO Teases More Affordable EVs During Podcast Appearance originally appeared on Autoblog. The year didn't start so hot for Rivian On August 5, California-based EV automaker Rivian posted its second-quarter 2025 earnings numbers, recording yet another quarter in the red. According to Rivian, the raw numbers show that in the three months that ended on June 30, 2025, the company posted a net loss of $1.115 billion and an adjusted EBITDA of $667 million, despite taking in $1.3 billion in revenue that led to a $206 million loss in profit. Despite reduced output due to the planned factory retooling ahead of the launch of its upcoming mid-size, sub $50K R2 SUV, the company still expects to meet its full-year delivery expectation of 40,000 to 46,000 vehicles. In Q2 2025, the company delivered 10,661 units of its EVs and produced 5,979 vehicles, which reflects negative year-over-year growth. In a statement, Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe reflected that it is still hard at work gearing up for its future product, noting that it made "significant progress in R2 development and testing" and expanded its autonomy endeavors during the quarter. "We also substantially completed the expansion of our Normal, Illinois, facility and have begun installing manufacturing equipment in preparation for our start of production," he said. "Along with R2, our autonomy platform continues to be one of our major focus areas, and we're excited to share more of our roadmap later this year." RJ Scaringe says future Rivian lineup may include R4, R5 and "there may be an R6" However, while Rivian is gearing up to release the R2 in early 2026 and the R3 in 2027, CEO RJ Scaringe said on a recent podcast appearance that the model line may not end there. During an appearance on Daniel Tosh's Tosh Show podcast, the two exchanged stories and insight about the EV business, innocuous car stories, and discussed the latest Rivian product. However, towards the end of the show, the CEO revealed to the comedian that there may be a possibility of additional Rivian models beyond the R3, which he couldn't fully disclose in front of the cameras and microphones. "We think we'll probably end up with like, maybe, five or six different vehicles. So after R1, there's R2 and R3. And after R2 and R3, there's R4 and R5. And that's as far out as our product, like, plan goes today, and what we're working on," he said. "But there may be like an R six. I don't know. But like the—I can't obviously talk about it here or show it to you. I could show it to you offline, but the R4 and R5 are so cool. [...] But that's the next, next thing after R2 and R3." In a Rivian Investor Day 2024 presentation slide, Rivian showed three covered shapes labeled as "Affordable Mass Market" vehicles. But whether they are the slated R4 and R5 or not, Autoevolution reports that we might be in for a wait before we see them, and that not all of these models may even be available in the U.S. While the silhouettes seem to be subcompacts and the R6 looks like it could be a wagon, in a previous interview, Scaringe mentioned that subcompacts haven't really taken off in the States, and wagons are more of a hit in Europe. Rivian is currently facing financial pressure, and if it intends to target the European market, it may need to establish an entirely new factory there. It could be a costly undertaking, especially as their new plant in Georgia is proving to be a challenge. As a result, even if we do eventually see these more affordable models in the U.S., it seems it could be a while before the R4, R5, and R6 are on the streets. Final thoughts Scaringe's appearance comes as Wall Street expressed some mixed feelings about the EV firm. On August 14, UBS disclosed in a new regulatory filing that it slashed its position in Rivian by nearly 35% between April and June, selling about 10.1 million shares valued at $261 million. At the same time, Benchmark Analyst Mickey Legge reiterated its Buy rating on Rivian stock in a new research note, noting that he felt "confident in the company's growth trajectory, operational execution, and ability to scale production into the R2 launch," following a call with Rivian Finance VP Derek Mulvey. Rivian has the strength of positioning itself as a firm that provides a wildly different product than what other EV firms like Tesla, Lucid, or even Ford or the General Motors brands seem to be offering, even though they may be seen as the electric vehicles of choice for the "outdoorsy" types of the world. Rivian CEO Teases More Affordable EVs During Podcast Appearance first appeared on Autoblog on Aug 15, 2025 This story was originally reported by Autoblog on Aug 15, 2025, where it first appeared.
