Google, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon Go for Chip Production

Some of the world's largest chip buyers and technology companies, including Apple, Microsoft and Google, are joining major processor makers, such as Intel, to create a new lobby. The US Semiconductor Coalition, which also includes Amazon Web Services, said on Tuesday it called on US lawmakers to provide funding for the CHIPS Act, for which President Joe Biden has asked Congress for US$50 billion, reported Reuters today.

“Robust funding from the CHIPS Act would help the United States develop the additional capacity needed to have more resilient supply chains to ensure that critical technologies are there when we need them,” said the group in a letter to the US Congress. In Mexico, automakers have suffered from the chip shortage, leading some plants to stop operations for a few days. The new coalition includes some of those other chip-consuming industries, with members including AT&T, Cisco Systems, General Electric, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Verizon Communications. The group also warned against government actions to favor a single industry like automakers.

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• On May 7, the Colonial Pipeline, a large artery pipeline for refineries in the Gulf of Mexico that supplies the south and east of the US, was forced to shut down operations after its IT systems fell victim to a cyberattack. Today, the pipeline restarted operations. The Colonial Pipeline supports roughly 45 percent of the gasoline, coal, home heating oil, jet fuel and military supplies of the East Coast. Its shutdown led many to believe that a fuel shortage would be coming, leading many to panic-buy fuel and causing problems that will take several days to solve.

• In a country impacted by the pandemic, avoiding visiting a bank branch or standing in long lines could be seen as a boon. “The charm of (online) solutions has spread thanks to benefits that respond to today’s reality. These benefits are no longer simply ‘innovative,’ ‘disruptive,’ or limited to certain types of users. Today, more Mexicans can request a debit card using their cellphone in real time and receive it at their home. Today, it is also possible to receive up-to-date and accurate information regarding a bank account and to carry out traditional transactions through an app,” wrote this week for MBN Aitor Chinchetru, Founder & Co-CEO of Fintonic. Read the complete article here.

• Lalamove came to Mexico from Asia to offer an on-demand logistics platform to companies that allows them to use this service whenever and however they want. In this interview with MBN, its CEO, Christophe Milhères, discusses the challenges the company faced to start operations in Mexico in the midst of the pandemic and in the face of increasing competition. Read the full conversation here.

• Ualá, an Argentine fintech company, has reached more than 100,000 users in Mexico. Its goal is to increase that number fivefold in the short term. “Before our arrival, many people were tied to cash. Today, they have an alternative to be able to grow their financial situation, improve their personal finances and their lives. Consumers were required to pay a fee when making any kind of deposit at convenience stores. With Ualá, that is over. We are pioneers in offering a strategy and a value proposition that is commission-free,” Ricardo Olmos, Country Manager of Ualá told MBN.

• Mexican company Auronix, a key player in the design of chatbots, has brought its solutions to the logistics sector. The company started in the business of supplying hardware solutions. About 15 years ago, it changed its strategy towards instant messaging through corporate SMS and now the company has reinvented itself again through the use of AI. This new strategy allowed Auronix to thrive in many sectors such as financial services, telecommunications, retail and e-commerce. Now the company brings its services to the logistics sector.