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Apple Develops AI Servers on M8 Ultra Chips, Weighs Nvidia NVLink Fusion
Apple is developing enterprise AI servers built around future M8 Ultra processors, with designs under consideration using either two or four of the chips and a possible 2029 launch aimed primarily at AI inference, The Information reported on September 16. Apple has also considered using Nvidia's NVLink Fusion technology to connect those processors, though neither the server nor Nvidia's involvement is finalized and the project could still change or disappear entirely. For Nvidia, NVLink Fusion extends its interconnect strategy to custom CPUs and accelerators made by other companies, creating a second line of defense around its AI franchise; networking equipment can represent 10% to 15% of AI data-center hardware costs, giving Nvidia a meaningful revenue pool beyond GPUs even if it loses higher-value compute sales. Apple's M-series chips already combine performance with relatively efficient power consumption, and selling complete servers would let it pursue AI developers, governments and businesses that want local inference, but a 2029 target leaves years for competitors to improve and would mark a re-entry into a server business Apple abandoned when Xserve disappeared in 2011. Insider Monkey tracked 169 hedge funds holding Apple in the second quarter versus 170 in the first, with Arrowstreet Capital increasing its position 54% to roughly 29.9 million shares, while Nvidia rose to 285 hedge-fund holders from 275 as Arrowstreet increased its NVDA stake 10% to about 34.7 million shares.
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Melius Sets Street-High $2,200 Target on Micron, Implying 110.7% Upside
Melius Research analyst Ben Reitzes holds a Street-high $2,200 price target on Micron Technology, implying roughly 110.7% upside from the stock's $1,043.96 level, while the 48-analyst consensus target of $1,513.11 implies about 44.9% upside. Reitzes's bull case rests on Micron's high-bandwidth memory capacity being effectively sold out over multi-year horizons, backed by long-term supply agreements with major AI and cloud customers. Management confirmed 16 Strategic Customer Agreements covering roughly 20% of DRAM volume and about 30% of NAND volume, with $100 billion in minimum contracted revenue and $22 billion in customer deposits, and CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said supply-demand tightness would persist beyond calendar 2027. Micron fell 6.62% between June 1 and August 21 while the S&P 500 edged up 0.95%, but has since rebounded 14.67% over the last month and 12.98% in the last week alone. Among peers, Western Digital trades at $448.17 against a $664.92 consensus target for roughly 48% implied upside, Seagate Technology at $877.33 against $1,125 for about 28%, and SanDisk at $1,766.64 against $2,125.09 for about 20%, making Micron the only memory name with a mainstream Street call above 100%.
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Meta's Muse AI Assistant Lifts Stocks as Oil Prices Retreat
A buzzy reception for Meta's new AI assistant Muse and softer oil prices lifted stocks to start the week, with Meta surging more than 11% on Monday on demand for its new agent. The broader AI stock universe rallied too, as US chipmaker AMD surged almost 10% on Monday to become the latest trillion-dollar-valued stock and the SOX chip sector index rose more than 4%. South Korean exports rose 78.3% in the first 20 days of September from a year earlier to $71.4 billion, the highest 20-day performance on record, as semiconductor shipments increased 259.4%. Brent slipped below $100 per barrel on Tuesday after Kyodo News reported Iran had offered to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days if the US takes initial steps to ease military pressure, and Saudi Arabia restarted operations at its East-West Pipeline. Attention now turns to Thursday's summit between President Trump and China's Xi Jinping, where AI risks are likely to top the agenda alongside a potential trade truce extension and geopolitical flashpoints like Taiwan and the Iran war.