18/09/2025

BIZ & FINANCE THURSDAY | SEPT 18, 2025 17 YouTube ramps up AI tools for video makers NEW YORK: YouTube on Tuesday boosted artificial intelligence tools for creators, saying it has paid out more than US$100 billion (RM418 billion) to content-makers in the past four years. YouTube CEO Neal Mohan touted AI as an “evolution” aimed at empowering creativity and storytelling at the video-sharing service founded in early 2005 by former PayPal employees Chad Hurley, Jawed Karim, and Steve Chen. YouTube has become the world’s most popular free online video service with billions of users since it was bought by Google in 2006. “New AI-powered products will shape our next 20 years,” Mohan said in New York City. But Mohan insisted that “these are tools, nothing more”, and would not supersede the role of creators. They “are designed to foster human creativity”, he said. In one example, Veo video generation AI from Google DeepMind labs is being integrated into YouTube, enabling capabilities such as easily creating backgrounds in“Shorts”posted to a feed that competes with TikTok and Instagram Reels. “New capabilities powered by Veo allow you to apply motion, restyle videos, and add props to your scenes,” YouTube chief product officer Johanna Voolich said in a blog post. AI will also let creators turn raw footage into draft video content or convert dialogue into a song for soundtracks, Voolich added. New AI tools will also let creators combine a photo with a video, essentially making it seem as though the person pictured is the one in action. Podcasts are also a focus, with new tools letting producers use AI to create video versions of what started as just audio broadcasts. Translation capabilities will also turn to AI not only to translate what is being said in videos but to make it appear as though the subject was actually speaking that language. – AFP Hollywood giants sue Chinese AI firm SAN FRANCISCO: Top Hollywood studios have filed a federal lawsuit against Chinese artificial intelligence company MiniMax, alleging massive copyright infringement. Disney, Warner Bros Discovery, and Universal Pictures accuse MiniMax of building what they call a“bootlegging business model”that systematically copies their most valuable copyrighted characters to train its AI system, then profits by generating unauthorised videos featuring iconic figures like Spider-Man, Batman, and the Minions. The lawsuit marks the first time major US entertainment companies have targeted a Chinese AI company and follows a similar lawsuit in June against California-based AI company Midjourney over copyright infringement. “MiniMax operates Hailuo AI, a Chinese artificial intelligence image and video generating service that pirates and plunders Plaintiffs’ copyrighted works on a massive scale,” states the complaint filed in Los Angeles federal court. The studios are seeking monetary damages, including MiniMax’s profits from the alleged infringement, as well as statutory damages of up to US$150,000 per work. They also demand a permanent injunction to stop the unauthorised use of their copyrighted material. According to the 119-page complaint, MiniMax users can simply type prompts like “Darth Vader walking around the Death Star” or “Spider-Man swinging between buildings” to receive high-quality videos featuring these protected characters. “MiniMax completely disregards US copyright law and treats Plaintiffs’ valuable copyrighted characters like its own,” the lawsuit states. MiniMax, one of China’s emerging AI giants, was reportedly valued at US$4 billion in 2025 after raising US$850 million in venture capital. – AFP

US, China in deal to keep TikTok operating in America Bessent meeting with China Vice-Premier He Lifeng in Madrid, Spain on Sunday. – AFPPIC / US DEPARTMENT OF TREASURY / HANDOUT

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced an agreement between the US and China to keep TikTok operating in the United States, with three sources familiar with the matter saying the deal was similar to one discussed earlier this year. The agreement requires TikTok’s American assets to be transferred to US owners from China’s ByteDance, potentially resolving a saga that has lingered for nearly a year. A deal for the popular social media app, which counts 170 million US users, would represent a breakthrough in months-long talks between the two biggest economies as they seek to defuse a wide-ranging trade war that has unnerved global markets. “We have a deal on TikTok ... We have a group of very big companies that want to buy it,” Trump said at a White House briefing, without providing further details. The announcement comes a day before a September 17 deadline to sell or shut down the short video app. Later in the day, the White House extended that deadline until December 16. The White House declined to provide any further details on the agreement with China. The delay will give ByteDance another 90 days to finalise an agreement to transfer TikTok’s American assets to US owners, suggesting much work needs to be done to close the complex transaction. The United States entity will have an American-dominated board, the Wall Street Journal reported, with one member designated by the US government. The idea takes a page from a recent national security agreement inked by the Trump administration that allowed Nippon o ByteDance to retain single largest ownership stake at 19.9%: Sources

majority-owned and operated by American investors. The Trump administration has declined to enforce the law due to worries it would anger TikTok’s huge user base and disrupt political communications, instead extending the divestiture deadline on three separate occasions. Trump has credited TikTok with helping him win re-election last year and has 15 million followers on his personal account. The White House also launched an official TikTok account last month. A deal for TikTok, which had been in the works in the spring, was put on hold after China indicated it would not approve it following Trump’s announcements of tariffs on Chinese goods. Washington has said that TikTok’s ownership by ByteDance makes it beholden to the Chinese government. But the company has said American officials have misstated its ties to China, arguing its content recommendation engine and user data are stored in the US on cloud servers operated by Oracle, while content moderation decisions that affect American users are also made in the US. CNBC reported on Tuesday that Oracle will keep its cloud deal with TikTok. Reuters reported earlier this year that the White House was working on a plan to tap Oracle, along with a group of outside investors, to control the app’s operations. As part of the plan, Oracle would have been responsible for addressing national security issues, Reuters had reported. A framework agreement was reached by officials from both countries on Monday. A final confirmation on the deal is expected on Friday in a call between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Trump said in March that his administration was in touch with four different groups on TikTok’s sale. Microsoft, Amazon, billionaire Frank McCourt and a consortium led by the founder of OnlyFans have been among the bidders, according to reports. – Reuters

Steel to buy US Steel after allowing the United States to name a board member, in addition to having a Golden Share. Any agreement may require approval by the Republican-controlled Congress, which passed a law in 2024 during Joe Biden’s administration that required TikTok’s divestiture due to fears that its US user data could be accessed by the Chinese government, allowing Beijing to spy on Americans or conduct influence operations through the app. The basics of the new deal, also similar to April, include that ByteDance will keep the single largest ownership stake at 19.9%, just under a 20% threshold, two of the sources said. The consortium that would hold 80% includes ByteDance’s current shareholders Susquehanna International Group (SIG), General Atlantic, and KKR, as well as new investors such as Andreessen Horowitz. Oracle is also likely to take a stake, and the Wall Street Journal reported that Silver Lake would invest as well. While the broad terms are expected to remain the same, the sources did say they do not know what the final deal would exactly look like, given the potential for last-minute changes. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC on Tuesday the commercial terms of the deal had, in essence, been done since around March with just a few details left to be ironed out. “This deal wouldn’t be done without proper safeguards for US national security,” Bessent said. “It seems as though we were also able to meet the Chinese interest.” CNBC reported on Tuesday that the deal is expected to be closed within the next 30 to 45 days, and that the agreement will include existing investors in TikTok’s China-based parent, ByteDance, and new investors. The details are in line with Reuters’ reporting in April that the deal would spin off TikTok’s US operations into a new company based in the United States and