Gadgets, Hacks & Mega-Deals Galore: Tech News Roundup (July 30

Gadgets, Hacks & Mega-Deals Galore: Tech News Roundup (July 30–31, 2025)

by Marcin Frąckiewicz
in Gadgets, News, Technology
on 31 July 2025

Software & Gaming: Antitrust Feuds and a Blockbuster IPO

Opera vs. Microsoft – Browser Antitrust Battle: Norway’s Opera filed a complaint with Brazil’s CADE antitrust regulator accusing Microsoft of unfairly bundling its Edge browser with Windows reuters.com reuters.com. “Microsoft thwarts browser competition on Windows at every turn… and then frustrates users’ ability to download and use alternative browsers,” Opera’s general counsel Aaron McParlan said reuters.com reuters.com. Opera argues Edge’s default status and design “dark patterns” steer users away from rivals, and is urging regulators to ensure a level playing field reuters.com reuters.com. Microsoft had no immediate comment reuters.com.
Sony Sues Tencent over Game “Clone”: Sony is taking Tencent to court, alleging the Chinese tech giant’s upcoming game Light of Motiram is a “slavish clone” of Sony’s Horizon Zero Dawn franchise reuters.com reuters.com. In a U.S. lawsuit filed July 25, Sony claims Tencent copied Horizon’s gameplay, story and art so closely that one reviewer dubbed the title “Horizon Zero Originality.” Sony seeks damages and an injunction to block the release reuters.com reuters.com, marking a high-profile clash over intellectual property in the gaming industry.
Figma’s Frothy IPO Signals Tech Revival: Collaborative design software maker Figma made a splashy Wall Street debut, raising about $1.2 billion in its IPO and achieving an ~$18.8 billion valuation ts2.tech. The offering – heavily oversubscribed by investors – is seen as a sign of thawing in the tech IPO market ts2.tech. Analysts praised Figma’s “strong fundamentals” and “dominant market share in the product design space,” calling it “the right company to lead the charge into the public markets” ts2.tech ts2.tech. The stock sale brings Figma near the $20 billion valuation it boasted in Adobe’s attempted (but aborted) acquisition ts2.tech, and bankers noted robust demand reflects Wall Street’s renewed enthusiasm for high-growth software firms.

Hardware, Chips & Earnings: Trade Deals and Mixed Fortunes

Samsung Seals Tesla Chip Deal, Chip Slump Bottoming? Samsung Electronics struck a $16.5 billion contract to supply chips for Elon Musk’s Tesla, and hailed a new US–South Korea tariff pact as reducing uncertainty reuters.com reuters.com. “Building on this milestone, we anticipate securing additional orders from large customers,” Samsung’s chip VP Noh Mi-jung said on an earnings call, referring to the Tesla win reuters.com. The U.S.–South Korea trade deal announced by President Trump locks in a 15% tariff on Korean imports (heading off a threat of higher duties) reuters.com and pledges $350 billion in South Korean investments in the U.S. reuters.com reuters.com. Samsung, which is investing in a new Texas chip factory for Tesla, posted its weakest profit in six quarters amid a 94% plunge in chip division earnings reuters.com. Export curbs and delayed Nvidia chip orders hurt sales reuters.com, but the company forecasts a second-half recovery driven by surging demand for AI data-center chips (even as global trade risks persist) reuters.com. “We believe that uncertainty has been reduced through the conclusion of negotiations between the United States and South Korea,” Samsung’s CFO said of the tariff deal reuters.com.
China Grills Nvidia on “Backdoor” Chip Fears: In the latest salvo of U.S.–China tech tensions, Beijing’s cyberspace regulator summoned Nvidia to explain whether its new H20 data-center chips have built-in tracking “backdoors” that could compromise Chinese security reuters.com reuters.com. The meeting came after U.S. lawmakers proposed requiring export-bound AI chips to include location monitoring functions reuters.com. Chinese officials warned that such features could jeopardize user data privacy reuters.com. (Notably, the U.S. had briefly banned Nvidia’s H20 chip sales to China earlier this year before reversing course reuters.com.) Nvidia, which designed the H20 as a pared-down version of its flagship AI GPUs for the China market, did not comment on the summons reuters.com reuters.com. The incident underscores growing Chinese scrutiny of foreign semiconductor tech amid geopolitical jockeying.
Aixtron Beats Forecasts, Touts Laser Demand: German chip equipment maker Aixtron reported Q2 revenue of €137.4 million, topping expectations (€128 million) on strong orders for datacom lasers used in high-end data centers reuters.com. Sales rose 4% and EBIT more than doubled year-on-year. “Although a broader market recovery has yet to take shape, our strong execution keeps us firmly on track,” CEO Felix Grawert said, as Aixtron maintained its full-year outlook reuters.com reuters.com. The CEO noted continued momentum in demand for optical laser chips (even as other segments like power electronics remain sluggish) reuters.com. Aixtron is monitoring the impact of global trade disputes – it warned uncertainty around Trump’s sweeping tariffs still clouds the macro environment reuters.com. Nonetheless, the firm expects 2025 revenue of €530–600 million (slightly below 2024’s level) as the chip cycle bottoms out reuters.com.
Qualcomm’s Upside Surprise (and Apple Angst): Chip giant Qualcomm posted better-than-expected results for the June quarter, with sales of $10.37 billion (beating estimates) and adjusted profit of $2.77/share (6¢ above forecasts) reuters.com reuters.com. It issued an upbeat revenue forecast for the September quarter, ahead of consensus reuters.com. However, Qualcomm’s stock fell over 6% as investors fretted over its heavy reliance on premium smartphone chips and the looming loss of Apple’s business reuters.com. The iPhone 16, launched this year, was Apple’s first device using an in-house modem instead of Qualcomm’s – a trend expected to hit Qualcomm’s future revenue reuters.com reuters.com. Qualcomm noted its non-Apple chip sales are up 15% this year, driven by higher demand (and prices) for flagship Android phone processors reuters.com. But overall global smartphone volumes are nearly flat, and rival MediaTek has grabbed lead market share by dominating mid-range devices reuters.com. Qualcomm reiterated that Apple’s shift to self-designed modems will hurt, though it is expanding into new areas like AR/VR chips. “We have all the designs that matter right now – the number of designs like the Meta glasses is now up to 19 and continues to accelerate,” CEO Cristiano Amon said, highlighting opportunities in supplying chips for augmented-reality wearables reuters.com.
Ambiq Micro’s IPO Soars 60%: Ultra-low-power chip designer Ambiq Micro saw its stock skyrocket in its first day of trading on the NASDAQ. The Austin-based firm raised $96 million in its IPO, and shares surged over 60%, closing at $38.53 (up from a $24 offer price) reuters.com. The jump valued Ambiq at ~$657 million. Ambiq specializes in tiny, energy-efficient chips for wearables and IoT devices; Google, Garmin, and Huawei account for 85% of its sales reuters.com. The company’s founder and CTO, Scott Hanson, said Ambiq’s next-gen chips target smart glasses that need to run speech and image recognition on small batteries reuters.com. “We spent the last 10-plus years figuring out how to build the lowest power chips, and so we’re in a great position to attack the same problem (on glasses),” Hanson told Reuters reuters.com reuters.com. The deal is one of the first semiconductor IPOs of the year and reflects investor hunger for niche chip tech amid the broader AI chip boom.
Other Tech Earnings – Hits and Misses: Logitech beat expectations as booming enterprise demand for PC webcams and headsets offset soft consumer sales ts2.tech. Gaming giant Electronic Arts issued a cautious outlook, forecasting lower game bookings as players tighten spending ts2.tech. Hard-drive maker Seagate warned of a deeper revenue slump ahead – next quarter’s sales will miss estimates, it said, blaming slow orders from PC and cloud customers (news that sent Seagate shares tumbling) ts2.tech. And French IT consulting titan Capgemini trimmed its full-year outlook due to “softer client demand,” noting many corporate customers are delaying big tech projects amid economic belt-tightening ts2.tech.

Cybersecurity & Data Breaches: Government Hacks and Telecom Attacks

Microsoft SharePoint Flaw Hits Government Agencies: A recently revealed vulnerability in Microsoft’s SharePoint server software has set off a wave of cyberattacks on public institutions. A U.S. security coalition reported that over 90 state and local governments have been targeted via this SharePoint bug in the past month reuters.com. Fortunately, “none have resulted in confirmed security incidents,” according to the Center for Internet Security, which is helping authorities shore up defenses reuters.com reuters.com. Still, the campaign is serious: the exploit has claimed at least 400 other victims globally (including multiple U.S. federal agencies) reuters.com. On Wednesday, the Department of Energy’s Fermilab confirmed hackers tried to breach its SharePoint server – but were quickly detected and “the impact was minimal, with no sensitive or classified data accessed,” a lab spokesperson said reuters.com reuters.com. Microsoft has issued patches, and officials urge organizations to update systems immediately as new targets are “being identified every day” reuters.com.
Orange Telecom Cyberattack Disrupts Services: French telecom giant Orange S.A. grappled with an “unspecified cyberattack” that forced it to shut down parts of its IT network. The company detected the breach on July 25 and isolated affected systems, causing outages for some business and public-sector clients techcrunch.com. By July 29, Orange said it was gradually restoring operations and “there is no evidence to suggest that any internal or customer data has been exfiltrated.” techcrunch.com. The incident – now under investigation by French authorities – highlights the rising threat to critical telecom infrastructure. Orange serves 290+ million customers worldwide, and European GDPR rules required it to promptly report the breach to regulators techcrunch.com techcrunch.com. The company has not disclosed the attack’s specifics or perpetrators yet.

Social Media & Platform Crackdowns

Australia Bans Teens from YouTube: Australia is implementing a world-first social media ban for minors – and this week the government decided to include YouTube under the ban’s scope reuters.com. Originally, YouTube was exempted on educational grounds, but regulators warned that 37% of surveyed teens reported encountering harmful content on YouTube – the highest rate among platforms reuters.com. In response, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said “I’m calling time on it… I want Australian parents to know that we have their backs,” emphasizing the duty to protect kids online reuters.com. The law, taking effect in December, will require tech platforms to block users under 18. Alphabet’s YouTube argues it’s “not social media” but a video library, and hinted it may challenge the designation in court reuters.com reuters.com. Competing apps like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok – all covered by the ban – had lobbied for YouTube to be included, complaining the video site shares similar features (user accounts, recommendations, comments) and shouldn’t get a free pass reuters.com. All eyes are on Australia as this bold experiment in teen online safety unfolds, potentially setting a precedent for other countries.
Spain Purges 120,000 Illegal Airbnb Rentals: Spain’s government revealed a major crackdown on unlicensed Airbnb listings, part of its effort to rein in a free-for-all vacation rental market. Officials announced that Airbnb removed 65,000 listings that Spanish regulators had flagged in May as violating local tourism rules reuters.com. Additionally, authorities just identified another ~55,000 listings lacking required registration numbers – meaning nearly 120,000 listings in total are deemed illegal and targeted for removal reuters.com reuters.com. Spain’s consumer ministry has taken a hard line, vowing to put “the constitutional right to housing over the profits of large multinational corporations.” It even faced Airbnb in court (after the company tried to contest the purge) and prevailed reuters.com reuters.com. Many Spanish cities blame Airbnb-style rentals for overtourism and soaring rents, and new national legislation effective July 1 requires all short-term rental listings to display an official license number reuters.com. Most of the purged listings failed to provide this info reuters.com. Airbnb did not immediately comment reuters.com. Spain’s aggressive enforcement – one of the biggest globally against Airbnb – underscores the growing regulatory pushback against the sharing-economy giant in Europe.

Biotech & Health Tech: Drug Breakthroughs and Mega-Deals

Lilly Blood Cancer Drug Outscores AbbVie’s: Pharma company Eli Lilly announced that its cancer drug Jaypirca beat AbbVie’s Imbruvica in a head-to-head clinical trial for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) reuters.com reuters.com. In the Phase 3 study of both newly diagnosed and previously treated CLL patients, Jaypirca achieved a higher overall response rate – meaning a greater percentage of patients saw their tumors shrink or disappear reuters.com. The trial met its primary goal, proving Jaypirca at least non-inferior to Imbruvica, and early data suggest Jaypirca may be trending superior on certain efficacy measures reuters.com reuters.com. (Longer-term progression-free survival data are still being collected reuters.com.) Jaypirca is a next-gen reversible BTK inhibitor pill, and analysts say the positive results could expand its use across more leukemia patients. Lilly plans to seek regulatory updates so doctors can prescribe Jaypirca in earlier treatment lines, not just after other BTK drugs reuters.com. The stakes are high: Imbruvica is an older blockbuster ($3.3 billion in sales last year reuters.com) whereas Jaypirca is newer (2024 sales $337 million) but growing fast reuters.com. Investors cheered Lilly’s win in this battle of oncology titans, which could help Jaypirca become a standard of care for CLL.
GSK’s $12 Billion China Bet – Alliance with Hengrui: In a major East–West biotech tie-up, Britain’s GSK agreed to pay $500 million upfront to China’s Jiangsu Hengrui in a deal to co-develop up to 12 new drugs reuters.com reuters.com. The partnership gives GSK global rights to Hengrui’s experimental compound HRS-9821 (for chronic lung disease COPD) and options on 11 more early-stage drug candidates across oncology, immunology and inflammation reuters.com reuters.com. If GSK exercises every option and all programs hit milestones, Hengrui could earn up to $12 billion in total payments reuters.com reuters.com – underscoring the deal’s huge scope. GSK will integrate Hengrui’s promising medicines into its pipeline as it races to refill revenues (several of GSK’s top drugs face slowing demand and new competition) reuters.com reuters.com. “This deal reflects our strategic investment in programs that address validated targets… increasing the likelihood of success,” said GSK’s R&D chief Tony Wood, praising the alliance’s focus on proven mechanisms with high chances of payoff reuters.com reuters.com. The move highlights how Western pharma giants are increasingly partnering with China’s biotech leaders for innovation. News of the deal sent Hengrui’s stock soaring ~7–8% in Shanghai and Hong Kong trading reuters.com reuters.com, while GSK shares ticked up ~1.5% in London reuters.com. It’s one of the largest cross-border pharma collaborations this year, and will boost GSK’s pipeline in areas like cancer and respiratory disease.

Electric Vehicles & Transportation Tech

Li Auto Unveils 6-Seat EV to Challenge Tesla: Chinese automaker Li Auto launched its first purely electric SUV, the Li i8, marking a bold entry into the high-end family EV market. The six-seat Li i8 (starting at ¥321,800, or ~$45,000) is positioned as a direct competitor to Tesla’s Model Y – which, in a bit of timing intrigue, Tesla just began offering in a new 6-seat configuration in China cleantechnica.com. Li Auto, known for its extended-range hybrids, touts the i8 as “an SUV of the new era” that “combines the all-terrain capabilities of off-road vehicles, the handling dynamics of sedans, and the comfort of MPVs,” redefining family travel cleantechnica.com. Under the hood, the Li i8 boasts an in-house high-voltage EV platform with dual-motor AWD and cutting-edge components. Two battery options (90.1 kWh and 97.8 kWh) deliver CLTC ranges of 670 km and 720 km respectively cleantechnica.com. Thanks to a proprietary 5C supercharging system and advanced thermal management, the i8 can add ~500 km of range in just 10 minutes of charging – an industry-leading rate cleantechnica.com cleantechnica.com. Li Auto incorporated its own silicon-carbide power electronics and even built a motor factory to ensure top efficiency and quiet performance cleantechnica.com cleantechnica.com. High-tech touches aside, Li is backing the i8 with a massive charging network (3,000+ fast stations nationwide) to alleviate range anxiety cleantechnica.com cleantechnica.com. With premium pricing (up to ¥369,800, or ~$52k for top trims) and a feature-loaded spec, the Li i8 represents a major push by a rising Chinese EV star to steal thunder from Tesla in one of the world’s most competitive EV segments cleantechnica.com cleantechnica.com.

(On the manufacturing side, Taiwan’s Foxconn – the iPhone assembler – also made waves by halting its stock and announcing a strategic partnership with TECO Electric focused on data center motors and power systems. The move underscores Foxconn’s ambitions beyond phones, though initial speculation hinted at an EV venture given TECO also builds EV motors. Foxconn will take a 10% stake in TECO as they jointly pursue opportunities from Taiwan to the Mideast in supporting AI-driven data centers reuters.com reuters.com.)

Space & Aerospace: Setbacks and New Ventures

SpaceX’s “Rocket Diplomacy” Misfires in Bahamas: An intriguing behind-the-scenes story emerged of how SpaceX’s expansion plans hit a snag in the Caribbean. Elon Musk’s company had been negotiating with The Bahamas to land Falcon 9 rocket boosters in Bahamian territory – even offering the sweetener of free Starlink internet terminals for the island nation’s defense force reuters.com reuters.com. But in April, The Bahamas put the deal on hold after SpaceX’s giant Starship rocket exploded during a test, showering debris onto Bahamian shores reuters.com reuters.com. Bahamian officials grew frustrated with the approval process and safety concerns. The episode, revealed by Reuters, offers a rare peek into SpaceX’s tricky “rocket diplomacy” as it tries to operate globally. It shows how even as SpaceX dominates commercial spaceflight, local geopolitical complexities – and concerns like environmental fallout from rocket tests – can ground its plans reuters.com reuters.com. Musk’s company now faces skepticism abroad as it races to expand launch and landing sites around the world.
NASA Taps Firefly for 2029 Moon Mission: Texas-based startup Firefly Aerospace won a $176.7 million NASA contract to deliver science payloads to the Moon’s south pole by 2029 ts2.tech. Under the mission, nicknamed Blue Ghost Mission 4, Firefly will build a lunar lander (carried by its new Elytra transfer vehicle) to deploy five NASA instruments on the surface ts2.tech. The lander will also release two small rovers to explore the polar region’s resources, radiation and terrain – crucial intel for future human landings ts2.tech ts2.tech. This is Firefly’s second lunar contract under NASA’s CLPS program, after it successfully landed a smaller probe earlier this year. Notably, Firefly is preparing to go public, and its rapid rise (it became only the second private company to achieve a Moon landing) highlights how fast the space startup scene is growing ts2.tech ts2.tech. NASA officials said leveraging commercial partners like this “accelerate[s] deep space exploration by leveraging commercial efficiency” ts2.tech ts2.tech – a pivotal shift in strategy for the agency.
Australia’s First Orbital Rocket Launch – Almost: On July 30, Gilmour Space Technologies conducted the maiden test launch of Eris, which is Australia’s first homegrown orbital rocket ts2.tech. The 23-meter, 30-ton booster lifted off from a new launch pad in Queensland, aiming to reach space. It cleared the tower successfully, but about 14 seconds into flight an anomaly caused the mission to be terminated ts2.tech ts2.tech. “Space is hard,” quipped CEO Adam Gilmour, noting that even SpaceX and Rocket Lab needed multiple attempts before achieving orbit ts2.tech. Despite not reaching orbit, the partial launch is seen as a major milestone: much of Gilmour’s hybrid rocket tech worked as designed, and the team gathered invaluable data for the next try ts2.tech ts2.tech. “We’ve learned a tremendous amount that will go directly into improving our next vehicle,” Gilmour said, adding that a second rocket is already in production ts2.tech ts2.tech. With this test, Australia moves closer to joining the small club of nations capable of orbital launches – and Gilmour Space has cemented itself as a key player in the country’s nascent space industry.

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