According to Adam Thierer, a senior fellow at the center-right think tank R Street Institute, Trump’s tariffs could prove to be a massive gift for China, even helping it catch up in the AI race.
“It’s going to be very hard for the U.S. to win the so-called AI Cold War if America’s trade policies are simultaneously tanking global markets, discouraging technological investments, and potentially undermining traditional alliances with key allies.”
Trump’s policies are disrupting supply chains and causing volatility in global markets, which may lead US allies to turn to China to meet their technological needs.
“Suddenly, in the wake of this trade fiasco, we see EU officials saying, ‘Let’s get on the phone with China and talk. Huawei has this telecommunications hardware system they want to sell, and there’s also these AI models that are free of charge.”
READ ALSO: 10 AI Stocks on the Move and 10 AI Stocks to Watch Amid Market Volatility.
With all the tensions caused by the US tariffs, China’s President Xi Jinping has recently called for stronger ties with Vietnam on trade and supply chains as he attended the signing of dozens of cooperation agreements between the two nations. While Beijing faces 145% U.S. duties, Vietnam has been negotiating a reduction of U.S. tariffs of 46% that would otherwise apply in July after a global moratorium expires, Reuters reported.
“The two sides should strengthen cooperation in production and supply chains,” Xi
The President has also urged increased trade and stronger ties with Hanoi on artificial intelligence and the green economy.
Discussing the meetings, U.S. President Donald Trump said that the two countries’ discussions were focused on harming the United States. However, he said that he did not blame them for holding such talks.
“I don’t blame China; I don’t blame Vietnam. That’s a lovely meeting. Meeting like, trying to figure out, ‘how do we screw the United States of America?'”
-Trump told reporters at the White House.
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10. SoundHound AI, Inc. (NASDAQ:SOUN)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 11
SoundHound AI, Inc. (NASDAQ:SOUN) is a voice artificial intelligence company offering voice AI solutions to businesses. On April 14, DA Davidson lowered the firm’s price target on the stock to $10 from $13 and kept a “Buy” rating on the shares. The price target revision is part of a broader research note revising estimates within the firm’s coverage of the Software group.
The following day, April 15th, the company also achieved market leadership recognition for its generative AI-enabled AIOps platform, Autonomics, in the 2025 ISG Buyers Guide for AIOps.
“The reliability offered by SoundHound AI is evident in its capabilities to support critical business functions without interruption. By prioritizing high availability, they empower enterprises to seamlessly integrate AIOps into their operations, fostering resilience in an ever-evolving environment.”
-Jeff Orr, Research Director, IT & Technologies, ISG Software Research.
9. Super Micro Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMCI)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 45
Super Micro Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMCI) develops and manufactures high-performance server and storage solutions. On April 15, SteelDome and Supermicro entered into a collaboration to deliver next-generation virtualization and storage solutions optimized for hyperconverged and artificial intelligence (AI) workloads. Supermicro’s industry-leading hardware will integrate with SteelDome’s advanced virtualization and software-defined storage (SDS) technologies to offer enterprises and edge data centers a comprehensive, ready-to-deploy platform. This will enable them to achieve workload flexibility, data migration, and improved data resilience for modern IT needs.
“At Supermicro, we are committed to delivering first-to-market innovation for enterprise, cloud, AI, and 5G Telco/Edge IT infrastructure. Our collaboration with SteelDome exemplifies our dedication to offering new and innovative solutions for companies delivering virtualized IT infrastructure utilizing our advanced storage platforms.”
-Lawrence Lam, VP of AI and Storage Technology at Supermicro.