Asia's tech news, weekly: December 12th 2023
Australia & quantum, China's seafloor data centers, SG-China digital yuan, Malaysian agri-tech, Japan's radar sats, nuclear container shipping, India's cybersec issues...
• China commences installation of 1300-tonne watertight data centre on seafloor off Hainan, the first of 100 planned, spanning 13 football fields and seawater-cooled to cut electricity costs
• Australia unveils lunar rover prototype proposed for Australian Space Agency's $50M Moon to Mars Trailblazer program, potentially for future NASA Artemis mission
• Singapore looks to triple AI-skilled workers, including scientists and engineers, to deliver on national AI goals, with target of 15000, alongside chipmaker and cloud provider partnerships
• Japan: iQPS draws high interest with small-sats using synthetic aperture radar, imaging Earth's surface with microwaves and allowing observation regardless of night, environmental conditions and clouds
"Asia’s first exchange traded fund investing solely in Saudi Arabia’s equities market has listed on the HK exchange attracting $1bn in initial investment, marking one of the territory’s largest ever debuts."
• China: CERES-1 Y9 launch delivered 2 satellites into orbit, one featuring remote sensing and laser comm's, the other part of 100-sat StarPool Plan constellation
• Australia: AGL energy giant and Renewable Metals battery recycling firm partner to investigate viability of lithium battery recycling facility at AGL Hunter Energy Hub
• Japan: Toshiba Corp and Rohm Co partner to boost production of power semiconductors, key to efficiency in EVs and factories, setting $902M budget with 1/3 coming from gov't
• Japan: Isuzu Motors invests in Israel's Foretellix for AI tech to test safety of autonomous vehicles, as Japanese automaker looks to develop self-driving trucks
• Qatar-Singapore Joint Innovation Challenge applications are now open
• Australia: Gov't opens applications for $18.5M funding to establish Australian Centre for Quantum Growth to grow quantum workforce and relationships with international counterparts
• North Korean cybercrime group, BlueNorOff, uses a new, simple but functional malware aiding attackers to commit financial crimes targeting Apple's MacOS
• China: Shanghai Gesi Aerospace Tech secures $84.8M Series A with R&D, design and 'smart manufacturing' for mass-production of satellites and components
"Central bank digital currencies are the bad idea that won’t go away. There are simpler, more straightforward ways of solving the problems that CBDCs are deemed to address..."
• India: T-Hub incubator launches Space Tech Incubation Program to boost India's evolving space technologies sector, looking initially to boost 10 startups
• Malaysia: Qarbotech agritech gains $700K seed and grant funding with photosynthesis enhancement tech, on-plant or in-soil, claiming yield increase by up to 60%
• Singapore and China to work on cross-border 'digital yuan' pilot project, building on 2020 digital finance MOU, allowing travelers from both to use e-CNY locally
• New Zealand: CarbonScape uses woodchips from timber processing to make 'synthetic graphite' for EV batteries, potentially a global opportunity to diversify supply chains
• China: Jiangnan Shipyards unveils design for nuclear-powered ultra-large container ship, likely based on use of thorium, with capacity of 24000 containers
• Singapore: Meatiply raises $3.75M with cell-based cultivated meat, looking also at 'functional ingredients' approach to produce hybrid products for health and wellness markets
• China: Jielong-3 solid rocket launches from mobile sea platform in Guangdong, with payload likely related to 13000-satellite Guowang mega-constellation
• Australia: Gov't to allocate $17M for up to 5 industry-specific centres to aid organisations in responsibly applying AI to business practices
"[A] Regulatory Digital Twin for Australia’s regulatory system would provide a set of new and essential digital tools for Australia’s innovation agenda... real-time information and a powerful platform for ‘what if’ analysis."
• Philippines: Packworks retail-tech platform partners 1Sari to provide inventory financing to 270K unbanked mom-and-pop 'sari-sari' stores
• Australia: Arkeus raised Au$4.45M with AI-backed imaging for autonomous drones and aircraft to boost situational awareness, looking to scale production of hyperspectral optical radar tech
• India, China & Foxconn: "Manufacturing an entire iPhone 15 within India — that is going to be projected as a big moment not just for Apple, but [also] for India.”
• China: Fudan University establishes approximately $141M technology innovation fund-of-funds, looking at 'commercialisation of on- and off-campus scientific findings'
• More on Japan's iQPS small-satellites firm, looking to to mass produce compact, inexpensive microwave-based radar satellites
• 'Putting China’s top LLMs to the test', a look at artificial intelligence model performance - and issues - in the country
• China: Selected cities prep to distribute up to $2.8M in digital yuan-tied coins and vouchers, requiring citizens to open or hold digital yuan wallets with banks or Alipay to be eligible
• Australia: Vantari VR gains $7M pre-A funding with virtual reality-based medical training tech, looking to build on global partnerships already in place
"With [China] accounting for as much as 23% of transnational data flows... Beijing’s stringent data localization requirements have sweeping implications for global trade, investment, and innovation."
• Hong Kong Monetary Authority and Bank of Thailand launched the FPS x PromptPay Link for cross-border QR-based payments between the two
• New CEO of Binance crypto giant refuses to share company's global HQ location, continuing evasions around being 'a decentralized and globally dispersed entity'
• Australia: An intro to the 12 technology firms selected by the country's science agency, CSIRO, for its ON Accelerate program in 2024
• 'US Department of the Treasury sanctioned Sinbad cryptocurrency mixing service for its use as a money-laundering tool by the North Korean Lazarus hacking group'
• India: Rapido bike-taxi startup launches Rapido Cabs as an intra-city SaaS-based mobility solution, backed by initial fleet of 100K vehicles
• Insights on APAC's food-tech scene from 4 CEOs, from the Asia-Pacific Agri-Food Innovation Summit, part of Singapore International Agri-Food Week
"Temu makes a loss of around 30-35% on each US order, and an average of 40% on orders globally... budgeted $2.76BN in net loss for 2023, now it has increased that to $3.17BN..."
• New Zealand's Rocket Lab sets December 13 for 42nd launch, using Electron spacecraft to deliver Japan's TSUKUYOMI-I high-res imaging satellite to orbit
• Australia's AGL energy giant partners US firm, SLB, for large-scale nickel-hydrogen battery trial site, looking at stationary energy storage options beyond lithium-ion batteries
• Algorand's India initiative, AlgoBharat, awards $10K to LW3 with P3 Phygital Product Passport, blockchain-based traceability solution detailing item provenance for end-consumers
• "For China, one way around technology transfer restrictions is advanced [semiconductor] packaging, because so far it’s a safe space that everyone invests in..."
• Australia: Arc Infrastructure rail operator views prototype demo from US Parallel Systems, showcasing autonomous, battery-electric, self-propelled freight car system, possibly for use in Perth, WA
• India: MoveInSync enters talks for $50-60M fundraise with end-to-end workplace commuting mobility solutions for blue-chip company workforces
'Indian organisations could not prevent 42% of cyberattacks on their businesses, only successfully thwarting 58% of cyberattacks over the past 2 years'
• South Korea's NomadHer makes gains in India with solo-female travel app, building on selection for the K-Startup Centre India 2023 accelerator
• Japan: Yoii secures $5.5M Series A with revenue-based financing platform, offering a growth alternative to traditional equity and debt financing fundraising methods
• Cambodia: A brief overview of the recent CamTech Summit 2023, an attempt to bring together policymakers, regulators, businesses and tech industry figures
Tech news beyond Asia & the Indo-Pacific:
» Maersk shipping giant to launch first of 18 large methanol-enabled vessels in February on Asia-Europe route with stops in China, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Germany
» The Coming Boom in Rare Earths: "...it is an unprecedented level of funding and hasn’t been seen from the U.S. government since World War II, basically."
» Deloitte is working with Nexxiot supply-chain blockchain firm on KYX shipping-focused logistics service, providing 'Know Your Client' and 'Know Your Cargo' features to verify IDs and goods
'95% of organizations are using GenAI tools... 89% consider GenAI tools to be a potential security risk... 23% of those using GenAI tools admit to having no monitoring in place..."
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