🗞️In this edition

• Alibaba unveils new AI chip in China

• Workflow Wednesday #34 ‘Streamlining Operations’

• U.S. and China take different AI paths

• In other AI news –

  • Walmart bets on digital twins for retail shift

  • Meta Scale AI partnership shows early cracks

  • AI stethoscope spots heart issues in seconds

  • Meta considers Google and OpenAI models for apps

• 4 must-try AI tools

Hey OpenTools Community,

Our AI Tools directory listing purchase feature was down for a few days last week while we ran maintenance. The good news: everything’s back online, and you can now purchase listings again.

If you run into any issues or need a hand, feel free to reach out at [email protected] - we’re here to help.

Thanks for your patience and for being part of the OpenTools community!

Alibaba leads China’s AI chip drive amid tightening U.S. restrictions

♨️News – Alibaba has developed a new homegrown AI chip designed for a wider range of inference tasks, marking another step in China’s push to reduce reliance on U.S. technology. The move comes as Chinese firms like MetaX, Cambricon, and Huawei race to fill the gap left by U.S. export restrictions on Nvidia’s most advanced chips.

👨‍💻Fast facts –

• Alibaba’s new chip is made in China and compatible with Nvidia’s platform, making it easier for engineers to adapt existing programs.

• MetaX is preparing mass production of a chip positioned as a replacement for Nvidia’s H20, though it uses more electricity.

• Cambricon’s AI-chip Siyuan 590 drove a revenue surge to $247M last quarter, sending its market cap above $87B.

• Huawei continues to push its Ascend chips, but private firms hesitate to adopt them due to competition in cloud services.

🤓OpenTools POV – China’s AI chip race is less about matching Nvidia today and more about building resilience. If local firms can solve training bottlenecks, the U.S.-China tech rivalry could shift faster than expected.

Read More

This Week in Workflow Wednesday #34: Streamlining Operations

 Workflow 1: Create Internal SOPs in Seconds (Using Guidde)
Every week, someone asks the same question: “How do I update this in Beehiv?” “Where do I click in Asana?” Instead of repeating yourself, capture the process once and scale your answer with Guidde.

Step 1: Install Guidde
Add the free Guidde Chrome Extension.

Step 2: Start Recording a Process
Open the tool you want to document, hit Record in Guidde, and walk through your workflow once…We break it all down in this week’s issue, along with 2 other AI workflows.

U.S. chases AGI while China focuses on practical AI applications

☕News –   The U.S. and China are racing toward very different visions of AI. American companies are pouring billions into building artificial general intelligence that could rival human thinking, while Beijing is steering its tech sector toward practical tools that can deliver immediate results across industries.

👨‍💻Fast facts –

• U.S. tech giants such as OpenAI, Google, and Meta are focused on AGI, despite growing doubts about how soon it can be achieved.

• China has invested $8.4 billion in a national AI fund and is pushing its “AI+” campaign to integrate the technology into healthcare, agriculture, policing, and manufacturing.

• Domestic Chinese models are already grading exams, improving weather forecasts, and advising farmers, with state support.

• Export restrictions on advanced chips have made it harder for China to compete directly on AGI, reinforcing its focus on applied AI.

• Some analysts say the U.S. risks falling behind if AGI takes longer than expected to deliver.

🤓OpenTools POV –  The U.S. is chasing a moonshot while China is optimizing the here and now. The balance between breakthrough innovation and widespread application may define who leads the next era of AI.

Read More

📢 What else is happening?

• Walmart’s latest AI innovations represent a shift for big retail // The big-box giant has also leaned into physical and spatial AI, and specifically digital twins which are virtual copies of its stores and clubs

• Cracks are forming in Meta’s partnership with Scale AI // Aside from Wang, there’s an open question around how valuable Scale AI is to Meta

• AI stethoscope could detect major heart conditions in seconds // A British team conducted a study using a modern version and say they found it can spot heart failure, heart valve disease and abnormal heart rhythms almost instantly

• Meta's AI leaders discuss using Google, OpenAI models in apps, // Leaders at Meta's new AI organization, Meta Superintelligence Labs, have explored integrating Google's Gemini model to deliver conversational, text-based responses for queries submitted to Meta AI, the company's primary chatbot,

👩🏼‍🚒Discover mind-blowing AI tools

1. Dora - A web design platform that enables users to create stunning 3D and animated sites without coding

2. Lingosync - A video translation tool that enables businesses to broaden their global reach by translating videos into over 40 languages

3. ChartGPT - A web-based platform for creating and customizing various types of charts

4. MurfAI - An online voice generator tool for your videos, presentations, and brand commercials