▲ AI PRISM* Customized Economic Briefing
*Editor's Note: 'AI PRISM' (Personalized Report & Insight Summarizing Media) is an "AI-based personalized news recommendation and summarization service" developed with support from the Korea Press Foundation. It selects and provides six customized news items by reader type.
[Key Issue Briefing]
■ Rapid Progress in U.S.-Iran Nuclear Talks: The United States and Iran have come close to signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) through Qatari mediation. A draft agreement has taken shape, centered on the immediate opening of the Strait of Hormuz, a 60-day ceasefire, and temporary sanctions relief. However, with differences remaining over how Iran's highly enriched uranium would be handled and the scope of releasing frozen assets, some observers expect the nuclear talks deadline could be extended until after the U.S. midterm elections.
■ Japan-U.S. SMR Supply Chain Construction: With Japan selecting small modular reactors (SMRs) as a key item in both its second and third U.S. investment projects, the scale of U.S. investment in the nuclear sector is expected to exceed 10 trillion yen. Plans for investing up to $40 billion in the GE Vernova-Hitachi joint SMR and up to $25 billion in NuScale Power are being pursued in parallel, and a vision for the U.S. and Japan to jointly develop SMR technology and pursue exports to third countries is becoming more concrete.
■ AI Technology-Capital Decoupling: With SpaceX fully excluding Chinese and Hong Kong investors from its initial public offering (IPO) process, the move by U.S. technology companies to block Chinese capital is expected to accelerate. Anthropic has begun building its own data centers to cut computing costs, and OpenAI and Anthropic, both expected to go public this fall, are also reportedly likely to restrict Chinese investor participation.
[News of Interest to Global Investors]
1. Trump Says "Hormuz Opens Upon Signing"... Nuclear Talks May Exceed 60-Day Deadline
- Key Summary: The United States and Iran have come close to signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) through Qatari mediation. According to reports from multiple outlets including CNN and Axios, Iran delivered a revised draft agreement to the United States through Qatar, and the gap between the two sides has narrowed considerably. The draft agreement includes the immediate opening of the Strait of Hormuz, a 60-day ceasefire, and temporary sanctions relief for Iran, with U.S. President Donald Trump explaining that "the MOU is somewhat conceptual." However, with issues remaining over how to handle 450 kilograms of highly enriched uranium (60% purity) and the scope of releasing Iran's frozen assets, some observers suggest the final conclusion of the nuclear talks could be delayed until after the U.S. midterm elections.
- Key Summary: Japan is expected to invest more than 10 trillion yen (about 95 trillion won) in the nuclear power sector alone, out of total U.S. investment of $550 billion (about 835 trillion won). The Nihon Keizai Shimbun, citing a senior U.S. government official, reported that a plan for Japan to invest up to $25 billion (about 38 trillion won) in U.S. SMR company NuScale Power has emerged. Separately, a plan to invest up to $40 billion (about 60 trillion won) in the GE Vernova-Hitachi joint SMR has entered the final coordination stage, with the southern U.S. state of Tennessee being prominently mentioned as a construction site. U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said it was "a good opportunity for the U.S. and Japan to build an SMR supply chain together and export that technology to the world."
3. Anthropic Builds Its Own Servers... Starting by Lowering Token Production Costs
- Key Summary: Anthropic, the developer of the AI model "Claude," has signed its first data center lease agreements. The Information reported that Anthropic recently signed at least 12 initial data center lease agreements (letters of intent) with U.S. developers, with a scale of about 1 GW (gigawatt). Anthropic, which had relied on the servers of hyperscalers (large-scale data center operators) such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google, plans to own its own servers through these agreements and lower the production cost of tokens (the basic unit by which AI processes text) over the long term. The move was prompted by server capacity shortages that emerged as users of AI agent services such as Claude Code and Claude Cowork surged.
4. SpaceX Rejects "China Money"... U.S.-China Hegemony Competition Even in Mega IPO
- Key Summary: SpaceX has reportedly fully excluded Chinese and Hong Kong investors from its largest-ever initial public offering (IPO) process. The New York Times (NYT) reported the move citing sources, and this marks the first time Chinese capital has been entirely blocked in a mega IPO. The decision is interpreted as one made voluntarily by SpaceX, which counts the U.S. government as a key customer. Aaron Bartnick, a former White House technology policy official, diagnosed it as "a very clear signal that a decoupling of technology and capital is underway." OpenAI and Anthropic, both expected to go public this fall, are also reportedly likely to restrict Chinese investor participation.
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