International Expansion

Anthropic is aggressively expanding its global enterprise AI footprint, driven by surging international demand for its Claude models. The company plans to triple its international workforce and quintuple its applied AI team in 2025. Nearly 80% of Claude’s activity originates outside the US, with adoption rates exceeding US levels in countries like South Korea. Anthropic is establishing its first Asia office in Tokyo and scaling operations throughout Europe, focusing on industry-specific solutions and data sovereignty. This expansion intensifies competition with OpenAI, Microsoft, and Google.

Amid U.S. export restrictions on NVIDIA’s AI chips to China, Chinese startup Manus has launched its open-access general-purpose AI agent globally. Developed by Beijing Butterfly Effect Technology and led by Xiao Hong, Manus uses a tripartite autonomous system (Planner, Executor, Validator) to execute complex workflows across 60+ domains, outperforming rivals on benchmarks. After initial invite-only access caused code resales to surge, the platform now offers cloud-based task processing despite mixed CNBC test results in content generation and multimedia production. Analysts highlight its strategic debut during tech trade tensions, positioning it as a potential disruptor in the global AI market through cognitive automation, bridging conceptualization and execution in human-AI collaboration.

Polar Power (NASDAQ: POLA) reported flat Q1 2025 revenue of $1.7M YoY but achieved a significant turnaround: gross profit reached $320K (18.6% margin) versus a prior $402K loss, and net loss narrowed 41% to $1.2M. Telecom sales dominated (82% of revenue), while aftermarket parts/services contributed 28%. International sales tripled to 18%. Despite improved cash flow (operational burn halved to $584K), liquidity remains pressured with only $68K cash reserves against $9.1M liabilities. Management highlights $50M manufacturing capacity potential if order flow stabilizes, but execution risks persist. The company plans to retrofit remote monitoring tech onto 5,000+ legacy units to drive recurring revenue. (Word count: 99)