Alibaba Group is preparing to launch Qwen 3, the next iteration of its flagship AI model, as early as this month, according to a Bloomberg report citing sources familiar with the matter.

While the exact timing remains fluid, the move underscores Alibaba’s determination to keep pace in the intensifying AI race, both within China and on the global stage.

This development comes as competition in artificial intelligence reaches a fever pitch, fueled by the disruptive entrance of DeepSeek, a Chinese AI company that has rapidly emerged as a formidable challenger to both Western tech giants and China’s established AI players.

Alibaba has been among the most aggressive Chinese tech firms in rolling out new AI models. Since committing fully to AI development in early 2025, the company has launched multiple new products at an accelerated pace.

Just last week, Alibaba introduced a new Qwen 2.5 series model, capable of processing text, images, audio, and video, with optimizations that allow it to run efficiently on mobile devices and laptops.

In March, Alibaba also updated its AI-powered Quark assistant, further strengthening its position as a leader in China’s AI ecosystem.

With Qwen 3, Alibaba is signaling that it intends to remain at the forefront of China’s AI push. However, it is not just about competition within China—the battle for AI dominance is also geopolitical, as China and the US jostle to lead the next wave of AI advancements.

DeepSeek’s Rise and the Global AI Race

The AI landscape shifted dramatically in early 2025 when DeepSeek unveiled DeepSeek-V3, a model that took the industry by surprise. Marketed as being developed at a fraction of the cost of its Western counterparts—reportedly for just about $6 million—DeepSeek-V3 outperformed several well-established models, triggering a new wave of urgency among AI firms.

DeepSeek’s success forced companies across China and the United States to accelerate their AI strategies. In response, OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic rushed out new models in the first quarter of the year, while Chinese firms, including Alibaba, intensified their AI expansion plans.

Alibaba reacted swiftly to DeepSeek’s rise, launching Qwen 2.5-Max just days after DeepSeek-V3’s release. In an unusual move, Alibaba unveiled Qwen 2.5-Max on the first day of China’s Lunar New Year holiday, a time when most businesses are shut down. The timing underscored the pressure DeepSeek has placed on its rivals, forcing them to make drastic adjustments to their AI rollouts.

DeepSeek’s rapid progress has not only disrupted China’s AI market but has also prompted fears among US tech firms that they may lose ground in the global AI race.

China vs. US’ Race to AI Supremacy

The unveiling of DeepSeek earlier this year has stimulated a fresh AI race, both in China and the US. While companies are scrambling to maintain their positions within their respective domestic markets, the broader contest is between two global superpowers—China and the US—each seeking to establish itself as the leader in AI innovation.

In the US, OpenAI, Microsoft, and Google have all been forced to accelerate their AI roadmaps in response to China’s advancements. OpenAI recently announced the release of a more “open” AI model that mimics human reasoning, a direct response to the growing popularity of open-source AI systems in China.

Meanwhile, in China, tech giants Alibaba, Tencent, and Baidu are in fierce competition to capture domestic market dominance while simultaneously challenging US firms on the global stage.

With Alibaba preparing to launch Qwen 3 and DeepSeek planning to release its next-generation model before May, the AI race is set to enter a new phase. The battle for AI supremacy is no longer just about individual companies—it is about national competitiveness.

The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) has announced a record-breaking profit of N1.86 trillion for the 2024 fiscal year, marking another milestone in its financial performance.

This represents a significant rise from the N1.17 trillion recorded in 2023, driven by a combination of strong returns from its diversified investment portfolio, gains from infrastructure projects, foreign exchange movements, and derivative valuations.

The agency’s audited financial results, released on Monday, reveal a 59% increase in Total Comprehensive Income (TCI), which surged to N1.89 trillion in 2024 from N1.18 trillion in the previous year. Even when foreign exchange gains and derivative valuations are stripped out, Core TCI still recorded an impressive 148% growth, reaching N407.9 billion. This was largely attributed to strong returns from NSIA’s investments in private equity, hedge funds, and Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs).

The Authority’s total net assets almost doubled, increasing by 96% to N4.35 trillion as of December 2024 from N2.22 trillion in 2023. Meanwhile, cumulative retained earnings reached N3.74 trillion.

While these numbers paint a picture of financial strength, the NSIA continues to face scrutiny. The agency, established in 2011 to serve as Nigeria’s sovereign wealth fund and a vehicle for investing government resources, has long been criticized for its failure to place Nigeria’s money in highly lucrative investments. Though its financial performance has improved in recent years, there is growing expectation for the NSIA to deliver even stronger returns for the country.

The NSIA was created during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan as a strategic investment agency responsible for managing Nigeria’s excess oil revenues. Unlike many sovereign wealth funds globally, which aggressively pursue high-yield investments in global markets, NSIA initially adopted a conservative investment approach, focusing on stabilizing funds and financing critical infrastructure.

Over the years, critics have accused the agency of failing to maximize Nigeria’s sovereign wealth potential. Unlike wealth funds in countries like Norway, Saudi Arabia, or the UAE—which have successfully built multi-trillion-dollar investment portfolios by investing in high-yield assets—NSIA has historically been slow in making bold investment moves. For instance, across the Middle East, funds controlled by the UAE, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia invested a record $82 billion in 2024, a rise of more than 10 percent from 2023.

For much of its existence, the NSIA’s profits were seen as modest compared to Nigeria’s economic needs. Some financial experts argue that the government has failed to empower the agency to operate at the scale required to make significant wealth-generation strides, as seen in other oil-rich nations. Instead of aggressively investing surplus revenues during Nigeria’s oil boom years, successive administrations either depleted the country’s savings or channeled them into infrastructure projects with longer-term return horizons.

However, the narrative has shifted in recent years. The NSIA has ramped up its investment activities, diversifying into key financial assets, private equity, hedge funds, and real estate, among others. This recent uptick in investments has contributed to its record-breaking profits in 2024, but expectations remain high for the agency to deliver even greater value.

Beyond financial gains, NSIA has played a crucial role in infrastructure development across Nigeria. The agency has been instrumental in financing and executing major national projects, including the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, the Second Niger Bridge, and the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Road. These projects, which are essential to Nigeria’s economic expansion, have been partially funded by $342.8 million in recovered funds, including $311.8 million from the Abacha family.

While these infrastructure investments are vital for Nigeria’s long-term development, some believe that the NSIA has focused too much on domestic projects with slow return cycles rather than pursuing more aggressive investment strategies in global markets. Many sovereign wealth funds worldwide use excess national revenues to invest in high-growth industries such as technology, renewable energy, and global real estate.

NSIA’s Managing Director and CEO, Aminu Umar-Sadiq, defended the agency’s approach, stating that the latest financial results reflect disciplined execution and strategic investment choices.

“We are excited about this super result, I must tell you. And it’s an outcome of actual core work done by our team… not forex gains, not revaluation, but actual hard work,” he said in an interview with BusinessDay.

Umar-Sadiq emphasized that the agency’s projections for 2025 look even stronger and reassured stakeholders that the NSIA is committed to transparency and accountability.

“More importantly, every money is accounted for,” he added.

Under a newly appointed Board, chaired by Olusegun Ogunsanya, the NSIA has pledged to strengthen its governance framework and ensure that all investments align with the country’s economic priorities. The Board is expected to oversee a more aggressive expansion of the NSIA’s investment footprint, both locally and internationally.

However, the NSIA remains under pressure to improve its returns further as Nigeria’s economy continues to struggle with high inflation, weak revenue collection, and an over-reliance on borrowing. With a more ambitious strategy, it is believed the sovereign wealth fund could serve as a vital buffer against economic shocks.

There are calls for the agency to explore more diversified investment options beyond traditional assets and domestic infrastructure. Some analysts believe that NSIA should expand its global footprint by investing in emerging industries, especially in high-tech sectors and renewable energy.

Jensen Huang and Michael Dell are no longer part of the exclusive $100 billion club, as a brutal first quarter for global markets erased billions from their fortunes.

At the start of the year, 16 individuals had net worths exceeding $100 billion, but that number has now shrunk to 13, as an aggressive sell-off in equities wiped out billions in wealth. The first quarter of 2025 marked the worst market performance since 2022, with a combination of AI sector fatigue, regulatory challenges, and trade tensions rattling investors.

Among the casualties is Amancio Ortega, the Spanish billionaire behind Zara-owner Inditex, whose net worth has also fallen below $100 billion.

One of the key drivers of this market decline was the sudden rise of DeepSeek, a Chinese AI company that shocked investors with its cost-effective generative AI models. DeepSeek’s breakthrough not only introduced a serious competitor to US-based AI giants like OpenAI and Nvidia but also triggered a panic-driven sell-off in AI stocks, as investors feared that companies would be forced to slash their AI infrastructure costs to remain competitive.

The unveiling of DeepSeek in early 2025 came just as Nvidia, Microsoft, and OpenAI were preparing for another year of aggressive AI expansion. However, DeepSeek’s cost advantage immediately raised concerns about the profitability of high-priced AI training models—a sector Nvidia dominates with its expensive GPUs. As a result, Nvidia shares plummeted 18 percent, marking a record one-day loss in market capitalization, and wiping out almost $600 billion in market value. This dragged down Huang’s fortune by $19.2 billion to $95.2 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. His net worth, which peaked at $130 billion in November 2024, has now dropped significantly.

Michael Dell, whose Dell Technologies has been positioning itself as a major AI infrastructure provider, was not spared either. Despite reporting strong earnings in February, Dell Technologies’ stock has tumbled 22 percent, as investors worry that AI infrastructure spending is not growing as fast as expected. The Bloomberg rich list shows that Dell’s fortune declined by $24.5 billion, leaving him just below the $100 billion threshold in 14th place globally.

Trump’s Tariff War Compounds the Market Decline

Just as AI stocks were already under pressure, President Donald Trump’s renewed trade war escalated the crisis. The administration’s decision to impose heavy tariffs on Chinese tech imports and European goods triggered a wave of retaliatory measures, causing supply chain disruptions and further rattling investor confidence.

Trump’s aggressive tariff strategy, which he has openly embraced as a long-term economic weapon, has intensified inflationary pressures and raised fears of a global slowdown. Several major corporations, including Tesla, Apple, and semiconductor manufacturers, have already issued warnings about the impact of rising costs on their bottom lines.

The stock market reacted sharply to these developments, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq experiencing their worst quarterly performance since 2022. Investors are now bracing for a turbulent year as Trump has doubled down on his commitment to tariffs, despite warnings from economists that such measures could tip the US into a recession.

With Trump’s determination to continue using tariffs as a tool of economic warfare, leading economists have warned that a recession is now more likely than ever. A Deutsche Bank survey now puts the chances of a U.S. economic downturn at 43% over the next 12 months. The combination of trade disruptions, AI market volatility, and high interest rates has put corporate earnings under immense pressure, leading to job cuts across several industries.

A recession would have significant consequences for millions of Americans, with rising unemployment, weaker consumer spending, and an even greater cost-of-living crisis. Analysts predict that many companies—particularly those reliant on global supply chains—will struggle to maintain profitability in the face of higher costs and declining demand.

The AI sector, which has been a major driver of economic growth in recent years, now faces a critical test. If companies pull back on AI investments due to cost concerns, it could have a ripple effect on startups, semiconductor manufacturers, and cloud computing giants, all of which have bet heavily on continued AI expansion.

Zara Founder Amancio Ortega Also Drops Below $100 Billion.

Amancio Ortega, the 89-year-old Spanish billionaire who built the Inditex fashion empire, saw his net worth drop by $2.5 billion.

Shares of Inditex, the parent company of Zara, have slid 7 percent this year, leaving Ortega with a net worth of $98.8 billion and placing him in 15th place on Bloomberg’s list.

The decline comes as weaker consumer spending and unfavorable foreign exchange conditions weigh on Inditex’s sales. While Zara remains a dominant force in fast fashion, macroeconomic challenges and inflationary pressures have led to lower-than-expected revenue growth.

Market Turmoil Hits Other Billionaires, Except Buffett and Gates

Huang, Dell, and Ortega are not the only ultra-wealthy individuals facing massive declines in fortune.

Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, has seen his wealth plummet by $116 billion this year, though he still sits at the top with $316 billion. Larry Ellison, the Oracle co-founder, is down $30.3 billion to $162 billion. Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s founder, has lost $27.1 billion, bringing his net worth to $212 billion.

However, not all billionaires suffered losses. Warren Buffett has been the biggest winner so far in 2025, adding $24.3 billion to his fortune thanks to a strong rally in Berkshire Hathaway stock. His net worth now stands at $166 billion, placing him fifth on Bloomberg’s list. Bill Gates has also seen his wealth increase by $2 billion, largely due to his massive cash holdings of $78 billion and a Microsoft stake valued at $24.3 billion.

The sharp declines in billionaire wealth reflect wider market turbulence, with AI stocks cooling off after a multi-year boom and geopolitical uncertainties—particularly Trump’s aggressive trade policies—fueling market volatility.

With Trump not ready to back down on his tariff-as-a-weapon strategy, the rest of 2025 could see even more reshuffling among the world’s richest individuals.

The Federal Government of Nigeria has scaled back its domestic borrowing in the first quarter of 2025, with investors subscribing to N2.83 trillion in FGN bonds, down from N3.12 trillion in Q1 2024, according to data released by the Debt Management Office (DMO).

This reduction follows a deliberate cut in bond offerings, as the government seeks to temper its borrowing amid elevated interest rates and mounting concerns over the country’s rising public debt. The move comes against a backdrop of escalating external debt pressures, as highlighted by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in its Fourth Quarter 2024 Economic Report, published Monday.

The CBN report revealed that Nigeria’s external debt reached N66.14 trillion—equivalent to $43.03 billion—as of Q3 2024, up 0.30% from $42.90 billion in Q2 2024. This persistent increase underscores the nation’s growing reliance on foreign loans, a trend that has intensified the debt-servicing burden.

By September 2024, Nigeria had paid $1.34 billion to service its external debt, comprising $0.72 billion in principal repayments (53.73%) and $0.62 billion in interest (46.27%). These figures have amplified public and policy concerns, and are believed to have prompted the government to adopt a more cautious stance in the bond market.

Details of FGN Bonds

In Q1 2025, the Federal Government offered N1.10 trillion in FGN bonds, a significant 66.8% decrease from the N3.31 trillion offered in Q1 2024. The DMO allotted N1.94 trillion, a 23% drop from the N2.52 trillion allotted a year earlier. The reduced offerings reflect a strategic shift aimed at moderating domestic debt accumulation while enhancing liquidity in existing bonds, a response to the high cost of borrowing in the current interest rate environment.

The bond market’s performance varied across the quarter. In January 2025, the government offered N450 billion across three instruments: the 5-year 19.30% FGN APR 2029, the 7-year 18.50% FGN FEB 2031, and a new 10-year 22.60% FGN JAN 2035 bond. Subscriptions totaled N669.94 billion, with N601.04 billion allotted through competitive bidding—no non-competitive allotments were recorded.

In comparison, January 2024 saw an N360 billion offer attract N604.56 billion in bids, with N418.2 billion allotted. Marginal rates in January 2025 ranged from 21.79% to 22.60%, a sharp rise from 15.00% to 16.50% in January 2024, reflecting the higher cost of funds.

February 2025 saw a reduced offer of N350 billion, split between the 5-year and 7-year bonds. Investor demand surged to N1.63 trillion, far exceeding the offer, though the DMO allotted N910.39 billion, exercising restraint. By contrast, February 2024 featured a N2.5 trillion offer, with N1.495 trillion allotted, marking the quarter’s peak activity. In March 2025, the government offered N300 billion across two bonds: a re-opened 5-year 19.30% FGN APR 2029 and a 9-year 19.89% FGN MAY 2033.

Subscriptions reached N530.31 billion, with N423.68 billion allotted, including N152.45 billion in non-competitive bids, signaling strong institutional interest. In March 2024, a N450 billion offer drew N615.01 billion in bids and N475.66 billion in allotments. Marginal rates eased to 19.00%–19.99% by March 2025, suggesting a slight softening of rate pressures.

A Shift Amid Debt Concerns

The decline in bond offerings signals a broader effort to manage Nigeria’s fiscal challenges. The CBN’s report underscores the stakes, which saw external debt rise 3.40% year-on-year from $41.59 billion in Q3 2023, with servicing costs consuming significant resources. The $1.34 billion paid by September 2024 highlights the strain, particularly as public frustration grows over the lack of visible returns from borrowed funds.

The government’s more measured approach in 2025 aims to balance immediate financing needs with long-term debt sustainability, a critical task in an era of high interest rates.

Despite the reduced supply, investor appetite remains robust, particularly for medium- and long-term bonds like the 7-year and 10-year instruments, which appeal to institutional players such as pension funds aligning assets with liabilities. The DMO’s strategy also supports secondary market liquidity and maintains benchmark bonds across key tenors, facilitating price discovery.

Analysts note that while the government is borrowing less aggressively, the underlying debt stock—N66.14 trillion externally alone—continues to grow, albeit at a slower pace.