DeepSeek Raises $45 Billion in Initial Funding, Samsung Exits China's Home Appliance Market, Apple Settles Siri Lawsuit

Today (May 7, 2026), multiple major developments have shaken the technology industry. Significant moves include AI startup DeepSeek’s massive funding round, Samsung’s withdrawal from the Chinese home appliance market, Apple’s settlement of a Siri-related lawsuit, and more. This article breaks down these key stories in detail.

DeepSeek Achieves $45 Billion Valuation in First Funding Round

According to a report by the Financial Times, multiple investment institutions are currently competing for the lead role in DeepSeek’s initial funding round. If negotiations proceed smoothly, the valuation of DeepSeek in this funding round is expected to reach approximately $45 billion. Although the final list of investors has not yet been confirmed, this valuation highlights the company’s rapid rise as a prominent player in the generative AI industry.

Samsung Halts All Home Appliance Sales in Mainland China

Samsung (China) Investment Co., Ltd. officially announced yesterday that it would be adjusting its operations related to home appliance sales. The company will cease sales of all home appliances in the mainland Chinese market, including televisions, monitors, air conditioners, refrigerators, washing machines, audio equipment, projectors, vacuum cleaners, and air purifiers. However, Samsung stated that after-sales services would continue to be provided to customers in accordance with consumer protection laws and national “Three Guarantees” regulations. This adjustment does not affect Samsung’s mobile division, and products like smartphones will continue to be sold as usual. Following this shift, Samsung’s consumer electronics offerings in mainland China will focus primarily on mobile and storage products.

Apple Settles Siri Lawsuit for $250 Million

On May 5, Apple officially agreed to a $250 million settlement in response to a class-action lawsuit alleging false advertising related to delays in the release of a new Siri version. According to a report by 9To5Mac, the settlement applies to owners of Apple Intelligence-compatible devices purchased in the U.S. between June 10, 2024, and March 29, 2025, including the iPhone 15 Pro series and all iPhone 16 models. The expected compensation per device is $25, though the final amount may vary depending on the number of claimants, with a maximum payout of $95 per device. Apple has not admitted to any wrongdoing in the settlement and maintained that its business operations comply with relevant regulations.

Anthropic and SpaceX Secure Over 220,000 NVIDIA GPUs in Computing Deal

Earlier today, AI company Anthropic announced a collaboration agreement with SpaceX for computational resources, granting Anthropic access to the entire computing capacity of SpaceX’s Colossus 1 data center. Under the terms of the agreement, Anthropic will gain more than 300 megawatts of new computational power this month, equivalent to over 220,000 NVIDIA GPUs. The additional computing power will immediately be used to enhance service capacity for subscribers of Claude Pro and Claude Max. Additionally, the rate limit for Claude Code will double from five hours, and peak period rate-limiting features will be removed. Claude Opus API rate caps will also see a significant increase.

ChatGPT Expands Ad Platform, Introduces Click-Based Pricing

OpenAI has announced an expansion of its ChatGPT advertising system. The beta version of a self-service ad management tool (Ads Manager) is now available for U.S. advertisers, introducing a click-based cost-per-click (CPC) bidding model. In addition to the existing cost-per-thousand-impressions (CPM) model, advertisers will now be charged only when users click on an ad. The platform will also feature Conversions API and pixel tracking capabilities, allowing advertisers to monitor user actions such as purchases or registrations post-click. OpenAI emphasized that all collected data would be aggregated and that no personal conversation data will be shared with advertisers.

Google Denies “Liquid Glass” Feature for Android

Yesterday, Google’s Android head, Sameer Samat, posted a teaser video on X (formerly Twitter) that showed the Android mascot, Bugdroid, with a transparent, glass-like appearance. This led some users to speculate that Google might introduce a “Liquid Glass” UI design similar to Apple’s. However, Samat quickly dismissed this idea, replying to comments with a definitive “This is not happening.” Google engineer Mishaal Rahman also chimed in to provide further clarification. The Android Show is scheduled for a live stream on YouTube on May 13 at 1:00 AM JST, during which updates on Android 17 and the desktop-focused Aluminium OS project are expected to be unveiled.

Other Noteworthy News

• Wang Teng has launched official accounts on TikTok and Xiaohongshu (RED) and is preparing to release the first product of his new brand, “Jinri Yixiu.”
• Reports suggest that the company behind the AI chatbot “Kimi” has completed a $2 billion funding round, bringing its valuation to over $20 billion.
• Samsung’s market capitalization has surpassed $1 trillion.
• BYD has become the largest EV brand in the UK, with cumulative sales this year up 124% year-on-year.
• AI gaming platform “Astrocade” has raised $56 million in a funding round led by Sequoia, with Stanford University’s Fei-Fei Li joining as Chief Scientist.
• AMD’s latest earnings report reveals that its data center division accounts for the majority of its revenue.
• U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has laid off approximately 700 employees, eliminated management-only positions, and introduced a new “individual team” structure.