Tencent Backs Esports; Amazon Funds AI Start-up; Meta’s AI Chatbots

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Tencent-backed Esports Competition Kicks Off

This week the Chinese city of Hangzhou will host the 19th Asian Games, an eSports tournament held every four years. President Xi Jinping attended the opening, in a sign of Beijing’s growing support for all things tech. Of the seven multiplayer titles that will be featured, Tencent [0700.HK] has worked on four, and the homegrown tech titan is using the Games to boost its own profile, having co-developed an esports hotel in the city.

Amazon Funds AI Start-up

Amazon [AMZN] has said it is to invest up to $4bn in Anthropic, an artificial intelligence (AI) firm, starting with an initial $1.25bn. As part of the deal, the start-up will reportedly need to spend some of the capital on cloud infrastructure provided by Amazon Web Services, while Amazon will incorporate various Anthropic applications into its business, reported the Wall Street Journal. Meanwhile, the US Federal Trade Commission could file its antitrust lawsuit against Amazon as early as Tuesday, reported Reuters.

Meta to Release AI Chatbots

This week may see Meta Platforms [META] release AI-powered chatbots with distinctive personalities. In a bid to bring in younger users, the chatbots will be integrated across Meta’s various social media apps. Having been tested internally, the bots will be announced at the Meta Connect conference, which begins on Wednesday. Since the rise of TikTok, attracting young people has been a core goal of Meta.

High Demand for iPhone 15

In the US, delivery times for Apple’s [AAPL] iPhone 15 are nearly twice as long as they were for its predecessor — 10 days relative to six, according to data from Counterpoint Research, indicating substantial demand for this incarnation of the firm’s flagship smartphone. In China, wait times for this version have quadrupled from 2022 levels, which Counterpoint reads as an indication that the iPhone is competing successfully with other devices, including Huawei’s latest offering, the Mate 60 Pro.

New Alzheimer’s Drug Approved in Japan

Japan’s health ministry has approved the Alzheimer’s treatment Leqembi, co-developed by local firm Eisai [4523.T] and US-based Biogen [BIIB]. This follows on from an approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in July, although the FDA placed a warning on the drug’s label. The drug is the first that has been shown to slow the onset of Alzheimer's.