Tech
Amazon Launches Haul to Rival Low-Cost Giants Temu and Shein
Amazon has unveiled a new budget-friendly outlet called Haul, aiming to capture the market share of low-cost retailers such as Temu and Shein. Announced on Wednesday, Haul is a mobile-only shopping experience within Amazon’s Shopping app, exclusively available to US customers.
The standout feature of Haul is its price cap, with all products available for $20 (approximately £15.79) or less. The platform promises “crazy low prices” for goods that may take up to two weeks for delivery—a strategy mirroring the business models that have driven the rapid growth of its Chinese rivals.
Temu and Shein have seen explosive growth in recent years by offering inexpensive items with extended shipping times. However, they have also faced scrutiny for their environmental impact and alleged exploitation of import loopholes. “Temu and Shein have faced backlash both for taking advantage of import loopholes and for being wasteful and environmentally irresponsible,” said Sucharita Kodali, a retail analyst at Forrester. Kodali noted that Amazon Haul could face similar challenges.
Despite these potential pitfalls, Amazon is focusing on low-cost offerings with products priced significantly below the $20 cap. The company cited examples such as a three-piece razor set and a necklace, bracelet, and earring set, each priced at under $3. To further attract shoppers, Amazon is offering free shipping on orders over $25, with expected delivery times between one and two weeks.
“Finding great products at very low prices is important to customers, and we continue to explore ways that we can work with our selling partners so they can offer products at ultra-low prices,” said Dharmesh Mehta, Amazon’s vice president of worldwide selling partner services. Mehta emphasized that the Haul shopping experience is still in its “beta” phase, with plans to refine and expand the platform based on user feedback.
Haul also promises that all listed products will be backed by Amazon’s product guarantees, ensuring consumer confidence in product safety. The move comes as global regulators increasingly monitor platforms that push mass-produced goods at exceptionally low prices. For instance, the European Commission initiated action against Temu in October over concerns about illegal product sales.
“It’s still early days,” Mehta stated, adding that Amazon will assess customer feedback to adapt and improve the service in the coming months.
With Haul, Amazon is making its most significant foray yet into the competitive market for ultra-affordable, slower-shipping products—a market that has upended conventional retail practices and attracted millions of budget-conscious shoppers worldwide.
Chinese tech giant Alibaba has made its latest AI video generation models freely available worldwide, intensifying competition with rivals such as OpenAI.
The company announced on Wednesday that it is open-sourcing four models from its Wan2.1 series, its most advanced AI model capable of generating images and videos from text and image inputs. These models will be accessible via Alibaba Cloud’s Model Scope and Hugging Face, making them available to academics, researchers, and businesses globally.
Following the announcement, Alibaba’s Hong Kong-listed shares surged nearly 5%, continuing a strong rally that has seen the stock gain 66% in 2025. Investors have been optimistic about the company’s growing role in AI and its improving financial performance, buoyed by recent policy signals from Chinese President Xi Jinping supporting the domestic private sector.
Alibaba’s move aligns with a broader trend in China, where companies are increasingly embracing open-source AI. In January, DeepSeek, another Chinese firm, shook global markets by revealing that its AI model was trained at a fraction of the cost of competitors, using less-advanced Nvidia chips. Both Alibaba’s and DeepSeek’s models are open-source, meaning they can be downloaded and modified freely, unlike proprietary AI models such as those developed by OpenAI, which generate direct revenue.
The shift towards open-source AI has sparked debate over whether AI models will become commoditized. While companies like Meta are leading the open-source push in the U.S. with their Llama models, Chinese firms have been particularly aggressive in this space, aiming to drive innovation and build global AI communities.
Vice President JD Vance reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to safeguarding its artificial intelligence and semiconductor technologies, vowing to block efforts by authoritarian regimes to weaponize them.
Speaking at France’s AI Action Summit in Paris, Vance warned that some nations have exploited AI for military intelligence, surveillance, and foreign data manipulation. “This administration will block such efforts, full stop,” he stated. “We will safeguard American AI and chip technologies from theft and misuse, work with our allies and partners to strengthen and extend these protections, and close pathways to adversaries attaining AI capabilities that threaten all of our people.”
While he did not directly name China’s AI model DeepSeek, which has drawn global attention for its competitive performance at a lower cost, Vance criticized heavily subsidized technologies exported by authoritarian states. “We’re all familiar with cheap tech in the marketplace that’s been heavily subsidized and exported by authoritarian regimes,” he said.
In a pointed message to allies, Vance cautioned against collaborating with companies linked to such regimes, arguing it would compromise national security. “Chaining your nation to an authoritarian master that seeks to infiltrate, dig in, and seize your information infrastructure never pays off,” he added.
The U.S. has ramped up efforts to control AI development and chip manufacturing, tightening restrictions on exports to China and strengthening alliances in the tech sector.
Cryptocurrencies took a sharp hit after President Donald Trump imposed sweeping tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China, triggering a global risk-off sentiment among investors.
Bitcoin dropped 2% on Monday to $95,722.77, after trading above $102,000 over the weekend, according to Coin Metrics. Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar index, which typically moves inversely to Bitcoin, climbed by nearly 1%.
The impact was even more severe on other digital assets. Ether (ETH) plunged 12% to around $2,600, down from $3,300 on Friday. The CoinDesk 20 index, a broader measure of the crypto market, sank 16% since Saturday, compared to Bitcoin’s 6% decline.
Shares of crypto-related companies were also affected, with Coinbase and MicroStrategy each losing about 5% in premarket trading.
Market Braces for More Volatility
The sell-off began Saturday evening, just hours after Trump signed an executive order slapping a 25% tariff on imports from Mexico and Canada and a 10% tariff on China. The U.S. conducts about $1.6 trillion in trade with these three countries, raising fears of a potential trade war.
According to James Davies, CEO of Crypto Valley Exchange, traders are unwinding leveraged positions as uncertainty looms. “Bulls are de-leveraging massively right now, watching closely to see if this escalates into a full-blown trade war.”
Bitcoin’s immediate support level is at $90,000, with analysts warning that a break below this level could trigger a steeper pullback to $80,000.
Could Tariffs Boost Bitcoin in the Long Run?
Despite the current market turmoil, some investors believe a prolonged tariff war could benefit Bitcoin in the long run. Jeff Park, Bitwise Asset Management’s head of alpha strategies, argues that an extended trade war could weaken the U.S. dollar and lead to lower interest rates, which might push Bitcoin higher over time.
“While Bitcoin is seen as a hedge against inflation and uncertainty in the long run, it still trades like a risk asset in the short term,” said Geoff Kendrick, an analyst at Standard Chartered. He warned that Bitcoin may experience further volatility this month, especially if economic concerns push investors away from risky assets.
With Bitcoin now about 12% off its all-time high of $109,350 set on Jan. 20, seasoned investors remain watchful. Crypto markets have historically endured corrections of 30% or more during bull markets, meaning that traders are bracing for further turbulence in the days ahead.
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