※[Global Morning Briefing] summarizes global news delivered by Seoul Economic Daily.
Anthropic, CXMT and Three Others to Reach 5,500 Trillion Won in Combined Value: "With Both Technology and Capital, Concerns Mount Over Monopoly of Future Industries"
Advanced technology companies in the United States and China are heading to public markets in succession, intensifying competition to secure capital in artificial intelligence (AI), semiconductors, robotics and aerospace.
In the United States, Elon Musk's SpaceX is set to list on the Nasdaq on the 12th of this month, while AI company Anthropic has filed a confidential listing application with the SEC, with a listing expected as early as this fall. Its valuation is projected to surpass $1 trillion. ChatGPT developer OpenAI is also expected to file for an IPO within the first half of the year, with Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley supporting listing preparations.
Chinese companies are also raising large amounts of capital through the Hong Kong, Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges. China's largest DRAM maker, CXMT (Changxin Memory Technologies), has cleared the listing review for Shanghai's STAR Market, with some forecasts suggesting its market capitalization could reach as much as 444 trillion won. NAND flash maker YMTC (Yangtze Memory Technologies) and humanoid robot company Unitree are also moving forward with listing procedures.
The combined value of the five major US and Chinese companies preparing to list this year is estimated to exceed 5,500 trillion won, and the gap between these companies and the rest is expected to widen further.
"Are You Crazy?" Trump Erupts at Netanyahu
US President Donald Trump reportedly flew into a rage at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, using profanity. Axios reported on the 1st (local time) that after Israel launched a massive attack on Hezbollah, Iran declared a halt to ceasefire negotiations with the United States, prompting Trump to lash out fiercely at Netanyahu. Trump conveyed his anger to Netanyahu in harsh terms, saying, "You are completely crazy. Everyone hates Israel because of this (Israel's attack on Hezbollah)."
Trump moved immediately to defuse reports that Iran had broken off negotiations. He blocked Israeli forces from entering Beirut and stated, "We will reach an agreement with Iran within a week."
However, Netanyahu has refused to back down from his intention to continue military operations in southern Lebanon even after Trump's announcement of a halt to hostilities. Beyond the Israel-Hezbollah issue, differences between the US and Iran over Iran's nuclear program and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz remain difficult obstacles in the negotiations.
"Discussing Warship Construction with Korean and Japanese Companies"... US Opens Door to Production Outside Its Borders
A White House official has indicated that $1.85 billion (approximately 2.8 trillion won) in naval research and development funding allocated in the US Defense Department's 2027 budget could be used to build warships in South Korea or Japan.
A White House Office of Management and Budget official said the administration is reviewing a plan under which the hull, mechanical and electrical structures of up to two warships would be produced in South Korea or Japan, while US defense contractors would lead combat system integration. The official also said construction discussions are underway with Korean and Japanese companies including Hanwha, HD Hyundai, Samsung Heavy Industries and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. The official stressed, however, that overseas production would be a temporary measure and that investment by foreign shipbuilders in the US shipbuilding industry is a precondition.
Under the current Jones Act, warships can only be built within the United States, but the US government previously applied an exception known as the "bridge strategy" in a past icebreaker contract with Finland. Under this approach, initial units are built abroad while production facilities are established in the US.
Korea's domestic shipbuilding industry expects that, combined with shipbuilding cooperation projects agreed upon in the Korea-US trade negotiations, the construction of US warships at home could become a new opportunity for a leap forward.
Snowflake Platform to Use Anthropic's Claude
Global cloud data analytics company Snowflake announced that it will integrate Anthropic's artificial intelligence (AI) model Claude into its platform. Following a $200 million partnership signed last December, the two companies have expanded their cooperation, agreeing to incorporate Claude into Snowflake's coding tool "Cortex AI."
The core of the partnership is reconciling data security with AI utilization. Previously, companies wanting to use AI models had to send data to external servers, making AI adoption difficult for businesses handling sensitive information in finance, healthcare and the public sector due to concerns over personal data leakage. Running Claude within the Snowflake platform allows companies to leverage AI inference capabilities without sending data outside, resolving this issue. Snowflake said it has confirmed such demand among its more than 13,900 customers.
Practical use cases introduced include logistics and inventory management at used-car platform Carvana, threat detection at security firm eSentire, and AI agent automation on the workplace platform Notion. "Building security and customer trust can serve as an accelerator that increases the speed of work," Anthropic President Daniela Amodei said.
