Asia's Tech News, Weekly: April 19th 2025

Quantum Australia, Taiwan geothermal, Korea semiconductor funds, Nio China adds AI to EVs, Cambodia SHE Investments, new TSMC chip method, Philippines 7-Eleven banking, GITEX Asia in Singapore...

• Australia: Q-CTRL successfully completes field trials of a new generation of quantum-assured navigation solutions, overcoming GPS-denial / full item

• Ant International's WorldFirst has introduced the World Card, a new virtual Mastercard-enabled payment solution aimed at assisting SMEs involved in global commerce' / full item

• Taiwan: Google inks corporate power purchase agreement for geothermal energy with Baseload Capital, delivering to Taiwan's grid and supporting Google's local data centres / full item

• South Korea announces increase to semiconductor industry support package, raising total to $23.25 billion, up 1/4 from a previous package rolled out in 2024 / full item

• Singapore, April 23-25: GITEX Asia 2025 tech conference, the inaugural Asia edition of GITEX Global / Tickets still available - get yours with SNA's discount code, MEDIAGAS50: / full item

---

"Thailand has ambitious plans to expand into higher-end segments of the semiconductor manufacturing chain... There are, however, significant challenges ahead..." / full item

---

• DARPA awards contracts to two Australian startups, Diraq and Silicon Quantum Computing, for research as part of Quantum Benchmarking Initiative / full item

• Japan: Antitrust watchdog serves Google a cease-and-desist order over requiring Android manufacturers to prioritize Google search apps and services / full item

• Taiwan: Chunghwa Telecom partners Astranis satellite firm to build dedicated MicroGEO system, with Chunghwa investing around $115M in Astranis / full item

• China: Nio EV maker is to use Alibaba's Qwen large language model and Lingma AI coding assistant for R&D in auto technologies, adding to March partnership with BMW Group / full item

• Indonesia: Government expects to complete construction of the first of 3 national data centers this month, aiming for data integration across ministries and government agencies / full item

• KPMG Q1'25 Venture Pulse Report's Asia findings are now online / full item

---

Singapore: GITEX Asia 2025 tech conference, April 23-25 - tix code MEDIAGAS50

---

• Cambodia: SHE Investments, social enterprise empowering women entrepreneurs, marks its 10-year anniversary / full item

• Taiwan's TSMC moves forward with new chips packaging method using a square substrate that may potentially accommodate more semiconductors, set for 2027 roll-out / full item

• Bank of Thailand names Krungthai, SCBX, and Ascend Money-led consortia to pioneer virtual banking services, aiming for a 2026 launch / full item

• Taiwan is to launch a limited release of a national digital wallet in December, 2025 / full item

• India: L&T Semiconductor Technologies fabless chip firm, backed by Indian engineering firm Larsen & Toubro, is planning a $10BN wafer fabrication facility / full item

• Hong Kong: State-owned China Mobile secures 15.5% stake in Hong Kong Broadband Network, spending $154M to become the company's equal-largest shareholder / full item

---

'Construction is underway on one of Australia's largest solar farms, with early works progressing at the 585 megawatt-peak Goulburn River Solar Farm in New South Wales' / full item

---

• Philippines: 7-Eleven is turning its convenience stores into financial service points, aiming to improve credit access by functioning as a front end for traditional banks / full item

• India launches its first Digital Threat Report 2024 to support cybersecurity in the Banking, Financial Services and Insurance sector / full item

• Japan: SBC Medical Group, a NASDAQ-listed beauty and cosmetic surgery clinic operator, completes Bitcoin purchase worth over $418K as part of 'flexible financial strategy' / full item

• 'NVIDIA Sees $5.5 Billion Hit From New Trump China Curbs on Chips' / full item

• Japan: Ministry of Economy, Trade & Industry is considering listing undersea cable and satellite manufacturing as critical for economic security / full item

• Australia: Government has donated PHP34 million in drones, and operator training, to the Philippine Coast Guard, reinforcing the Philippine-Australia Strategic Partnership / full item

---

KPMG: Venture Pulse Q1 2025 - Asia findings

---

• China unveils $8.2 billion AI funding initiative aimed to strengthen the domestic AI ecosystem and reduce reliance on US firms like NVIDIA and Broadcom / full item

• Japan looks at 'decentralizing' undersea cable stations, citing area concentrations of landing points as a communications risk factor / full item

• China: Microsoft's Wicresoft joint venture ceases China operations, believed to be due to political and trade tensions between Washington and Beijing, with likely layoff of about 2000 staff / full item

• Myanmar: A look at how Bitcoin, and the Lightning Network, are being used to raise funds for earthquake relief / full item

• Vietnam has activated its largest submarine data cable, featuring a capacity of 50Tbps, surpassing the combined capacity of the 5 existing international cable systems serving Vietnam / full item

---

'How do other Southeast Asian countries compare in startup funding?' from Tech in Asia / full item

---

• Philippines: Maya fintech and Pepsi-Cola Products Philippines Inc (PCPPI) partner to modernise financial management for PCPPI's network of over 200K distributors and retailers / full item

• An overview of Japan's tokenization landscape, including a look at the role of Canton Network, a privacy-enabled open blockchain network / full item

• India: MEITY Startup Hub launches innovation challenge for startups and MSMEs to develop open-source consent management systems to comply with data protection legislation / full item

• IPHatch Asia deadline is June 30th, an open-innovation competition seeking startups to work with granted patents originated from world renowned tech giants / full item

• Japan-ASEAN/India Open Innovation Exchange event is set for May 7th in Tokyo, featuring pitches by 12 startups from 8 ASEAN countries and India / full item

• China: 'Microsoft shutters AI lab in Shanghai, signalling a broader pullback from China' / full item

---

Dubai Future Foundation: Megatrends Report

---

• Asia's Tech News Last Week: Samsung 1nm chips, Japan stablecoin, TSMC's China chip supply fine, Cambodia e-payments, Huawei ternary chips, Australia battery tech, Intel-TSMC joint venture... / full item

• Australia: The University of Sydney is to take an equity stake in up to 50 health and tech spinouts via new commercialisation fund aimed at bridging the early-stage funding gap / full item

• Indo-Pacific Weekly: India-Canada minerals opportunity, China's economic challenges, ASEAN and tariffs, Vietnam's cyber law focus, Indonesia-Russia drills, Laos mega-dam concerns, Malaysia's rail transport goals, China ship sales... / full item

• Ant Digital Technologies, subsidiary of China's Ant Group, sets Hong Kong as global HQ / full item

• 'Q1'25 Venture Pulse Report — Global trends' from KPMG / full item

---

In wider-world technology news:

» Abu Dhabi aims to be world's first fully AI-native government across all digital services by 2027, deploying AED13 billion through 2025-2027 / full item

» NVIDIA has commissioned over 1 million square feet of manufacturing space in Arizona and Texas to build and test AI chips as part of a move towards US production / full item

» Commercial space station developer, Vast, signs 3 new payload customers for its Haven-1 station, set to launch in 2026 / full item

» Brazil's Anatel telecoms regulator has authorized SpaceX to introduce 7500 Starlink satellites to operate in the nation, more than doubling the current number / full item

» Bermuda-based Meanwhile raised $40M Series A with 'BTC Whole Life' bitcoin-based insurance offering, using BTC for premiums, payouts, and loans / full item

» Google unveils Agent2Agent Protocol, enabling AI agents to communicate with each other, securely exchange info, and coordinate actions / full item

---

'Astronauts Can Now Print Metal in Space and It's a Game Changer for Future Missions' / full item

---

More of Asia & the Indo-Pacific:

• LinkedIn / Twitter / Facebook / Substack / Web / Connect

• Indo-Pacific Insight: Daily LinkedIn newsletter

• Indo-Pacific Insight: Weekly round-ups

• Connect with us