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A man seen using his phone next to iPhone 16 models kept on display at the Apple store in Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) in Mumbai.

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Shipments of iPhones from India to the U.S. rose 76% in April year on year, estimates from a technology market analyst firm shows. The surge comes as Apple accelerates its “made in India” plans, which analysts say will meet pushback from President Donald Trump and Beijing.

The data from Canalys, now part of Omdia, showed that U.S. iPhones shipped from India in April reached roughly 3,000,000. That’s a stark contrast to shipments from China over the same period, which fell about 76% from last year to just 900,000. 

According to Le Xuan Chiew, a research manager at Omdia, the April numbers show the aggressive measures Apple has taken to adapt to Washington’s tariffs against China, where Apple manufactures most of its iPhones.

“This latest trade war with China, is the type of disturbance that Apple has long been trying to prepare itself for,” he said, adding that the country had first started investing heavily into supply chains in India during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

India also surpassed China in iPhone shipments to the United States in March, according to Omdia’s estimates. The uptick came ahead of Trump’s first iteration of “reciprocal tariffs” on April 2. The amount of shipments that month was unusually high and appeared to be the result of the company’s stockpiling, according to Chiew.

The Trump administration’s decision to exempt iPhones and other consumer electronics from his reciprocal tariffs on April 11 did not reverse those trends, with Apple CEO Tim Cook in early may reiterating plans for most iPhone’s sold in the U.S. to be manufactured in India. 

IPhones imported from China under Trump’s current term tariffs still face an additional 30% of duties, while the baseline tariff rate is currently 10% for most other countries, including India. 

Growth to plateau?

While the jump in India’s iPhone shipments in March and April showed the adaptability of Apple’s supply chains, that growth is expected to slow down for the rest of the year, according to Omdia’s Chiew.

“India’s manufacturing capacity isn’t expected to grow fast enough to take the entirety of U.S. demand. It’s still too early,” he said, noting that the company recently began shipments of Apple’s most cutting-edge iPhone 16 Pro.

Moving Apple iPhone production to the U.S. is a 'fairy tale', says Wedbush's Dan Ives

Omdia estimates that U.S. iPhone demand is about 20 million a quarter, with India expected to be able to match that level only by 2026. 

Meanwhile, Daniel Newman, CEO and principal analyst at research firm Futurum Group, noted that shipment numbers reflect final assembly, but are not representative of the entire supply chain and manufacturing process. 

“It was actually a very low lift for them to migrate more and more of the final assembly from China to India,” he said, adding that a vast majority of the sub-assemblies are all still in China.

Pushback from Washington and Beijing

Analysts said India’s ability to expand its iPhone capacity could be curbed by protectionist measures from Washington and Beijing, which both have issues with Apple’s reaction against tariffs.

According to Newman, while this is the smart thing for Apple to do, it’s also playing a “dangerous game” with Trump, as it doesn’t meet the objectives of his administration’s tariffs. 

On Friday, Trump threatened to slap a 25% tariff on all iPhone shipments in a social media post, reiterating that he expects iPhones sold in the U.S. to be manufactured and built domestically, “not India, or anyplace else.”

China, for its part, is not expected to make it easy for Apple to diversify out of the country, Newman said, adding that the company has served as trade leverage for Beijing.

According to reports from local outlets in India, Beijing has tried to make it harder for the country to access the high-tech machinery and talent from China needed to further support Apple’s suppliers in India. 

Dan Ives, global head of technology research at Wedbush Securities, told CNBC that Apple’s India plans will pose some challenges regarding logistics, distribution and navigating complex supply chains in the country. However, India is nevertheless expected to remain a “life raft” for Apple under the tariff situation.

“Producing iPhones in the U.S. is a fairy tale in our view and Apple will continue to plow ahead on the India path. Cook will look to negotiate with Trump but India is the focus and not changing.”

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Big Tech split? Google to sign EU’s AI guidelines despite Meta snub

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Big Tech split? Google to sign EU’s AI guidelines despite Meta snub

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Google on Wednesday said it will sign the European Union’s guidelines on artificial intelligence, which Meta previously rebuffed due to concerns they could stifle innovation.

In a blog post, Google said it planned to sign the code in the hope that it would promote European citizens’ access to advanced new AI tools, as they become available.

Google’s endorsement comes after Meta recently said it would refuse to sign the code over concerns that it could constrain European AI innovation.

“Prompt and widespread deployment is important,” Kent Walker, president of global affairs of Google, said in the post, adding that embracing AI could boost Europe’s economy by 1.4 trillion euros ($1.62 trillion) annually by 2034.

The European Commission, which is the executive body of the EU, published a final iteration of its code of practice for general-purpose AI models, leaving it up to companies to decide if they want to sign.

The guidelines lay out how to meet the requirements of the EU AI Act, a landmark law overseeing the technology, when it comes to transparency, safety, and security.

However, Google also flagged fears over the potential for the guidelines to slow technological advances around AI.

“We remain concerned that the AI Act and Code risk slowing Europe’s development and deployment of AI,” Kent Walker, president of global affairs of Google, said in the post Wednesday.

“In particular, departures from EU copyright law, steps that slow approvals, or requirements that expose trade secrets could chill European model development and deployment, harming Europe’s competitiveness.”

Earlier this month, Meta declined to sign the EU AI code of practice, calling it an overreach that would “stunt” the industry.

“Europe is heading down the wrong path on AI,” Joel Kaplan, Meta’s global affairs chief, wrote in a LinkedIn post at the time. “This code introduces a number of legal uncertainties for model developers, as well as measures which go far beyond the scope of the AI Act.”

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South Korea’s LG Energy Solution signs $4.3 billion battery supply deal with undisclosed party

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South Korea's LG Energy Solution signs .3 billion battery supply deal with undisclosed party

The logo of LG Electronics is seen on the opening day of the Integrated Systems Europe exhibition in Barcelona on January 31, 2023.

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South Korea-based LG Energy Solution announced Wednesday that it had signed a $4.3 billion contract for supplying batteries to a major corporation, without naming the customer.

The effective date of contract — receipt of orders — began Tuesday and will conclude at the end of July, 2030. During this period, the counterparty will not be disclosed to maintain business confidentiality, the company’s filing with the Korea Exchange showed Wednesday. Reuters reported that Tesla was the counterparty.

Earlier this week, Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed that the EV maker was behind a previously undisclosed $16.5 billion chip contract with South Korea’s Samsung Electronics. 

LG Energy said in its filing that details of the contract such as the deal amount were subject to change and the contract period could be extended by up to seven years. 

“Investors are advised to carefully consider the possibility of changes or termination of the contract when making investment decisions,” the company cautioned. It’s shares were trading 0.26% lower. 

The filing did not clarify whether the lithium iron phosphate batteries would be used in vehicles or energy storage systems. Its major battery customers include American electric-vehicle makers Tesla and General Motors.

The company has been expanding its battery production in the U.S., and is constructing a plant in Arizona that will produce lithium iron phosphate batteries. 

LG Energy Solution and Tesla did not immediately respond to CNBC’s requests for comment. 

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CyberArk’s stock jumps on report Palo Alto Networks in talks to buy company for over $20 billion

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CyberArk's stock jumps on report Palo Alto Networks in talks to buy company for over  billion

Nikesh Arora, CEO of Palo Alto Networks, looks on during the closing bell at the Nasdaq Market in New York City, U.S., March 25, 2025.

Jeenah Moon | Reuters

CyberArk shares soared as much as 18% on Tuesday after The Wall Street Journal reported that cybersecurity provider Palo Alto Networks has held discussions to buy the identity management software maker for over $20 billion.

Cloud security is becoming an increasingly critical piece of the enterprise tech stack, especially as rapid advancements in artificial intelligence bring with them a whole new set of threats, and as ransomware attacks become more commonplace.

Founded in 2005, Palo Alto Networks has emerged in recent years as a consolidator in the cybersecurity industry and has grown into the biggest player in the space by market cap, with a valuation of over $130 billion. CEO Nikesh Arora, who was appointed to the job in 2018, has been on a spending spree, snapping up Protect AI in a deal that closed in July, and in 2023 buying Talon Cyber Security, Dig Security and Zycada Networks.

But CyberArk would represent by far Arora’s biggest bet yet. The Israeli company, which went public in 2014, provides technology that helps companies streamline the process of logging on to applications for employees.

CyberArk faces competition from Microsoft, Okta and IBM‘s HashiCorp. Another rival, SailPoint, returned to the public markets in February.

With Tuesday’s rally, CyberArk shares climbed to a record, surpassing their prior all-time high reached in February. The stock is up 29% this year, pushing the company’s market cap to almost $21 billion, after jumping 52% in 2024. Palo Alto shares, meanwhile, slid 3.5% on the report and are now up about 9% for the year.

Representatives from Palo Alto Networks and CyberArk declined to comment.

During the first quarter, CyberArk generated around $11.5 million in net income on around $318 million in revenue, which was up 43% from a year earlier.

It’s been an active stretch for big deals in the cyber market. Google said in March that it was spending $32 billion on Wiz, its largest acquisition on record by far, and a purchase intended to bolster its cloud business with greater AI security technology.

Networking giant Cisco also made its biggest deal ever in the security space, buying Splunk in 2023 for $28 billion. Splunk’s technology helps businesses monitor and analyze their data to minimize the risk of hacks and resolve technical issues faster.

— CNBC’s Ari Levy contributed to this report

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