AI is transforming industries, but the data centers powering it require more energy and water than ever.

At the break, join Christoph Beck, chairman and CEO of EcoLab, for insights on using water effectively

while safeguarding this critical resource for future generations.

Here's your morning, D&B Tech Minute, for Thursday, January 8th.

I'm Julie Chang for the Wall Street Journal.

China will review META's $2.5 billion acquisition of AI startup Manus. People familiar with the

matters that the review is part of a broader Beijing effort to protect its AI technology amid an

intensifying U.S.-China tech race.

Sources say Chinese officials have started identifying key Chinese AI companies and technologies for a potential export control list. A spokesman for China's Ministry of Commerce said that

cross-border acquisitions as well as technology and data exports must comply with Chinese law.

Chinese electric vehicle maker Neo plans to enter the Australian and New Zealand markets in the

second half of this year. That's according to the company's head of global business,

who said Europe will remain a key focus market in 2026, as it also looks to expand to the UK and

France. He added that Neo is also entering

the Thai market in March. The EV maker has yet to reach profitability. And Samsung Electronics

expects its fourth quarter operating profit to have tripled to a record driven by a semiconductor

shortage and booming AI demand. The world's largest

memory chipmaker has been benefiting from a surge in semiconductor prices over the past year.

The bulk of Samsung's profits once came from smartphones, but its semiconductor business now accounts

for more than half its earnings. Preliminary results today show an operating profit of

about $13.8 billion in the final quarter of 2025, a three-fold increase from the year earlier

period. Samsung also forecasts record quarterly revenue, up 23%. That's your TMB Tech Minute. Join us

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