NetEase Enhances Board Independence with New Director Appointment - NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES), Youdao (NYSE:DAO)

Fortune Tech highlights major U.S. company rankings, with Amazon taking the top spot and Microsoft rising to its highest-ever rank at No. 11. Separately, Reuters reports China’s DeepSeek is nearing a first funding round of about 50 billion yuan (~$7.4B), valuing it at 350–400 billion yuan ($52–$59B), with investors including Tencent and CATL. Microsoft also unveiled MAI-Thinking-1, its first advanced reasoning model, in private preview.

Chinese AI startup DeepSeek is reportedly set to raise about 50 billion yuan ($7.4 billion) in its first funding round, with investors including Tencent Holdings and CATL, according to people familiar with the matter. The round could value the company at 350–400 billion yuan ($52–$59 billion). Founder Liang Wenfeng plans to invest 20 billion yuan; Tencent and CATL are considering 10 billion and 5 billion yuan, respectively.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) said the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory awarded it a $7 million, 24-month contract to use quantum computing, machine learning, and advanced visualization to improve power grid resilience and protection. The work, with Infleqtion and Penn State, targets detection and response to multiple concurrent physical and cyber threats, addressing NERC N-2 contingency requirements.

ExxonMobil Moçambique Limitada issued McDermott Energy Solutions (UK) a letter of intent for limited engineering and procurement work on Rovuma LNG Phase 1 midstream development. The award supports planning ahead of a final investment decision expected in 2026. Rovuma LNG targets 12 modular trains totaling 18.6 mtpa, with start-up in 2031. ExxonMobil says the 30-year project could generate about $150B in revenues for Mozambique’s government.

Serbia President Aleksandar Vucic said Serbia will open a joint UAV factory with Elbit Systems, with inauguration expected Sept 15-20. Elbit will hold 51% and Serbia’s state arms firm SDPR 49%. The factory relates to a five-year contract covering precision rockets and unmanned systems, plus ISTAR, digitization and upgrades.

The U.S. Department of Defense, according to The Washington Post, asked defense contractors to submit within 21 days production and delivery schedules for critical systems, citing depleted stockpiles. CSIS estimates cite heavy early use of missiles and falling Patriot and THAAD inventories. The Pentagon is working with Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin, including a $58.6B deal to triple PAC-3 output by 2030, pending a stalled $1.15T defense budget.