🤖 Chip nationalism

…and Netflix’s password-mooching crackdown worked (Anthony Wallace/Getty Images) Thinking up AI-domination plans   Sponsored by Last week's market moves Dow Jones 37,983 (-2.37%) S&P 500 5,123 (-1.56%) Nasdaq 16,175 (-0.45%) Bitcoin $66,939 (-1.35%) Dow Jones 37,983 (-2.37%) S&P 500 5,123 (-1.56%) Nasdaq 16,175 (-0.45%) Bitcoin $66,939 (-1.35%) Hey Snackers, Sherwood Media (aka us) launched a site that aims to redefine financial storytelling. Say hello to [Sherwood News](, a super-scrollable hub for stories about business, markets, and the culture of money. Thanks for reading! And now back to our regular programming… Remotest work: an NYC chicken shop’s [cashier]( has gone viral for Zooming in from the Philippines to take orders through a screen. Another extremely remote worker: this [hotel security guard](. Banks kicked off Q1 earnings szn on Friday. Stocks sank, ending the week down, as rising tensions between Iran and Israel stoked worries of a broader conflict. Wall Street’s fear-gauge index (the VIX) spiked. So did oil prices. Last week’s hotter-than-expected consumer-prices report gave investors the [inflation ick](, souring bets on a hot rate-cut summer.   SPARK [South Korea and the US drop billions on chip investments as AI fuels techy nationalism]( Stockin’ up the pantry… with lotsa chips. AI’s rise has put semiconductor demand into warp speed as nations race to become top producers. Last week, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said his country would invest [$7B]( into its AI and chip tech by 2027. FYI: South Korea is the world’s No. 2 chip producer after Taiwan, thanks to cos like Samsung and Hynix. Last month its chip exports hit their highest level in nearly two years, totaling $11.7B — a fifth of all its exports. Now South Korea plans to use the $7B cash infusion to develop AI products like next-gen high-speed memory chips. - K-drama: Yoon said it’s an “all-out” war between chipmaking nations, and he wants South Korea “to conquer the future AI chip market." - Seoul searching: The $$ injection could bring Korea closer to its goal of owning 10% of global logic-chip production by 2030, up from 3% today. All in… to win the chip-supremacy pot. Last week, President Biden said the US would give $6.6B to Taiwan’s TSMC (the world’s largest chipmaker) to help build three factories in Arizona. TSMC manufactures chips for huge names like Apple, AMD, and Nvidia. China, a big importer of US chips, has also boosted domestic production as it faces sanctions. Last year Biden barred China from importing advanced AI chips, like Nvidia’s H100, which could be used in military tech. China responded by curbing exports of key chip metals like gallium (it controls 98% of global supply). THE TAKEAWAY Don’t let the chips fall where they may… Chip nationalism took off after pandemic supply-chain disruptions forced governments to reshore production. Now AI has supersized chip hunger. Countries can use their AI edge as political leverage (ahem, China-US). The tech’s expected to be a critical driver of economic growth, so countries want to lead the next era of revolutionary tech to stay relevant. Sponsored by RAD AI Adding AI to Your Portfolio — Is Now the time? Certain Fortune 1000 leaders* aren't calling [RAD AI]( “game-changing” for nothing. This startup is disrupting the $633B content & data industry by delivering measurable ROI that traditional methods haven’t matched. Eyes on AI: We think Nvidia’s stock surge is just the start. Cisco's recent $28B AI acquisition and Reddit's data licensing move prove the market is red-hot, signaling the expanding potential for AI disruptors like RAD AI. [Proof In the Numbers:]( 💰 $27M raised from 6,500+ investors, including VCs, The Adobe Fund for Design, and execs at Google, Amazon, and Meta 📈 ~3X revenue growth from 2022 to 2023 🎯 Award-winning technology — has landed major clients, including Hasbro, Skechers, Sweetgreen, and more [Learn more before RAD AI’s investment round closes in two weeks!](** Sponsored by RAD AI Adding AI to Your Portfolio — Is Now the time? Certain Fortune 1000 leaders* aren't calling [RAD AI]( “game-changing” for nothing. This startup is disrupting the $633B content & data industry by delivering measurable ROI that traditional methods haven’t matched. Eyes on AI: We think Nvidia’s stock surge is just the start. Cisco's recent $28B AI acquisition and Reddit's data licensing move prove the market is red-hot, signaling the expanding potential for AI disruptors like RAD AI. [Proof In the Numbers:]( 💰 $27M raised from 6,500+ investors, including VCs, The Adobe Fund for Design, and execs at Google, Amazon, and Meta 📈 ~3X revenue growth from 2022 to 2023 🎯 Award-winning technology — has landed major clients, including Hasbro, Skechers, Sweetgreen, and more [Learn more before RAD AI’s investment round closes in two weeks!](**   EVENTS Coming Up This Week Boeing blues clues… United Airlines and Alaska Air expect to post first-quarter losses when they report this week. They both blame Boeing 737 Max groundings, which disrupted their fleets (recall: a door plug yeeted off a 737 during an Alaska flight in January). This month, Alaska got $160M from Boeing as initial payback for the doorbacle. Delta — which doesn’t fly Max jets — posted record Q1 sales last week and swung to a profit. A record # of travelers are expected to fly this year, but airline capacity is down as Boeing deliveries get delayed. Still watching?… The only major profitable streamer, Netflix, reports this week. In Q4, it added 13M subscribers, hitting a record high 260M paid subs as it culled password-sharers from their ex’s mom’s account. The streamer plans to continue its “interventions” (Netflix’s term) this year, while investing in its cheaper ad-supported tier, which has seen strong growth. Meanwhile, content could be in for a shakeup: Netflix’s head of film, who brought in A-list talent to churn out Oscar-nominated movies, bailed in January.   ZOOM OUT Stories We're Watching $350K for a BA… That’s how much four years at an Ivy League school costs now, with tuition, fees, and housing totaling $90K+/year. Ivy costs have ballooned at the same rate as other US colleges — ~4% last year. Cue: Biden’s latest attempt to forgive student loans. The new plan would decrease 30M+ borrowers’ debts and forgive “runaway” interest. If approved, the plan could roll out as early as this fall and boost Biden’s approval ratings ahead of the election. On Friday, POTUS used existing policies to cancel $7.4B in student debt. The water’s (not) fine… For the first time, the EPA announced limits on the level of “forever chemicals” (aka PFAS) allowed in US drinking water. PFAS build up in the human body (most Americans have them in their blood) and have been found in everyday products like nonstick pans. They’ve been linked to cancer, heart disease, and other health problems. This month, industrial giant 3M said it would start paying into a multibillion-dollar settlement over its role in PFAS-contaminated water. Water providers say the new EPA rule will cost billions/year.   Sponsored by Nasdaq Depth-of-book data, demystified. Nasdaq TotalView is the source that powers depth data offered by many brokerages. Their handy guide makes it easy to get started using deeper market data, from last sale to Level II. [It’s a 5-min read]( you’ll revisit time and time again… [check it out here](. Sponsored by Nasdaq Depth-of-book data, demystified. Nasdaq TotalView is the source that powers depth data offered by many brokerages. Their handy guide makes it easy to get started using deeper market data, from last sale to Level II. [It’s a 5-min read]( you’ll revisit time and time again… [check it out here](.   CHART Zuck’s OG social network has a surprise winner Circa 2009, millennials were constantly refreshing Facebook to see who posted on their wall. Today, FB’s plastered with your aunt’s outdated memes, and many keep it around just to be reminded of friends’ birthdays. But one FB product is thriving: Marketplace. While Facebook visits drop, the product-listing hub has seen strong traffic growth. ⬆️ [Read more at Sherwood](.   What else we're Snackin' - [Swiped](: Tinder owner Match has been losing paid users. While some have called out Gen Z’s aversion to dating apps, recent Pew data shows swiping’s up among folks age 19 to 29. - [Testy](: Some investors justify Tesla’s valuation with hopes of future tech (like: robotaxi fleet). As EV sales growth cools and investments slow, people are coming around to the idea that Tesla isn’t a tech company. - [Habla](: Spanish is huge now on Twitch, where top creators stream in the language. Our friends at “Garbage Day” dug into Spanish Twitch, and what it means for the Amazon-owned platform’s future.   Snack Fact of the Day d[American married couples work, on average, 67 paid hours/week — just 1 hour less than in 1880](   This Week - Monday: Earnings expected from Goldman Sachs and Charles Schwab. US tax deadline. IMF & World Bank spring meetings week. Boston Marathon. - Tuesday: Earnings expected from United Airlines, Bank of America, Johnson & Johnson, Morgan Stanley, United Health, JB Hunt, and Omnicom. China quarterly GDP data released. - Wednesday: Earnings expected from Discover, US Bancorp, Equifax, Citizens Financial, Abbott, Las Vegas Sands, ASML, Travelers Companies, and Alcoa - Thursday: Earnings expected from TSM, Nokia, Blackstone, D.R. Horton, Alaska Air, Elevance Health, Infosys, Netflix, PPG Industries, and Intuitive Surgical - Friday: Earnings expected from American Express, Procter & Gamble, and Fifth Third Bancorp. F1 Chinese Grand Prix weekend begins. NBA playoffs start Saturday. Authors of this Snacks own shares of: Amazon, Apple, Delta, Match Group, Nvidia, and Tesla Advertiser's disclosures: *Executives are also advisory board members and clients of RAD AI. **This is a paid advertisement for RAD AI’s Regulation CF offering. Please read the offering circular and related risks at [invest.radintel.ai](. Equity crowdfunding investments in private placements, and start-up investments in particular, are speculative and illiquid. They involve a high degree of risk and those investors who cannot afford to lose their entire investment should not invest in start-ups.   [Instagram]( [Twitter]( [Sherwood Logo] Sherwood Media, LLC produces fresh and unique perspectives on topical financial news and is a fully owned subsidiary of Robinhood Markets, Inc., and any views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of any other Robinhood affiliate... [See more]( [Sherwood Terms and Conditions]( [Our Editorial Standards]( [Contact Us](mailto:hellosnacks@sherwood.news) [Advertise With Us](mailto:advertising@sherwoodmedia.com) [Unsubscribe]( [Privacy Policy](