Daily Tech: NVDA investment, BABA AI surges, RKLB defence and AI Diagnostics

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Nvidia Unveils $500 Billion U.S. AI Infrastructure Strategy

Nvidia has announced an ambitious plan to develop up to $500 billion worth of AI infrastructure across the United States over the next four years — a landmark commitment underscoring the company’s pivotal role in shaping the future of artificial intelligence. The initiative will encompass the domestic manufacturing of AI supercomputers, next-generation GPUs, and large-scale data center architecture, aimed at supporting both enterprise-grade AI deployments and sovereign digital capabilities.

This domestic investment drive is strategically aligned with U.S. national interests, particularly in light of growing geopolitical uncertainty and evolving export controls that have limited AI chip exports to China. Nvidia’s move also addresses increasing demand for compute infrastructure driven by foundation models, autonomous systems, and generative AI applications across industries. According to CEO Jensen Huang, the company aims to "re-shore AI supply chains" and help scale U.S.-based innovation ecosystems. The scale of this investment is expected to significantly influence capital allocation trends across the semiconductor, datacenter, and AI infrastructure sectors.

Alibaba’s Quark AI Surges to 150 Million MAUs, Leads China’s App Market

Alibaba’s Quark AI assistant has officially become the most popular AI-driven app in China, surpassing ByteDance’s rival product Doubao. The app has now reached over 150 million monthly active users, reflecting a meteoric rise in consumer adoption of generative AI-powered search, productivity, and education tools.

Quark combines natural language search, document summarization, image-to-text processing, and personal assistant features, powered by Alibaba’s proprietary large language models. The success of Quark highlights Alibaba's strength in scalable AI integration into consumer applications, and its progress in offsetting the cloud segment's recent revenue slowdown.

The growth also plays into the broader narrative of China’s focus on technological self-reliance, with policymakers encouraging widespread domestic adoption of AI services to reduce dependence on Western platforms. With regulatory support and user engagement accelerating, Alibaba’s AI unit could become a key growth driver in its valuation model going forward.

Rocket Lab Secures Multi-Billion Dollar Defense Contracts with U.S. and U.K.

Rocket Lab (NASDAQ: RKLB) has been awarded significant long-term defense contracts by both the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.K. Ministry of Defence, marking a major milestone in the company’s transition from commercial small sat launches to national security payload deployment and satellite infrastructure development.

The contracts involve strategic missions, including low Earth orbit (LEO) surveillance networks, secure communication platforms, and resilient space-based sensing systems. With global tensions increasing and Western governments ramping up investments in dual-use space technologies, Rocket Lab has emerged as a critical partner offering cost-effective launch cadence and in-house satellite manufacturing capabilities.

The deal affirms the increasing preference of NATO-aligned defense agencies to lean on agile commercial players for tactical space resilience. For investors, this pivot deepens Rocket Lab’s revenue diversification and enhances its positioning in the fast-growing global space defense sector, projected to reach $70B by 2030.

AI Voice Diagnostics Set New Standard in Mental Health Screening

In a groundbreaking development at the intersection of AI and digital health, a joint team from the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) and the University of Illinois College of Medicine Peoria has introduced a new artificial intelligence model capable of diagnosing anxiety and depression through short voice recordings.

Using a sample of voice clips, the model analyzes vocal biomarkers such as pitch variability, tone, and speech cadence, which correlate with mental health conditions. In validation studies, the model achieved high levels of diagnostic accuracy — offering a scalable, non-invasive alternative to traditional psychiatric screenings. The researchers emphasized that this method could prove invaluable in primary care settings, telehealth platforms, and in screening underserved populations.

As the healthcare industry rapidly adopts AI-enhanced diagnostics, this technology stands out for its potential in reducing costs, increasing early detection rates, and improving access to care. Startups and incumbents operating in AI mental health diagnostics may see increased investor interest following this innovation, particularly as the global digital mental health market is forecast to grow to $46 billion by 2032.