Asia's tech news, weekly: January 23rd 2024
South Korea semicon mega-build, India-Argentina lithium mines, Singtel + Starlink, Indian quantum tech news, Huawei adds Changan EV & JD, Google backs Pacific Connect undersea cable...
• Singapore's Temasek-owned Accuron acquired France's Recif Technologies, a company specializing in design, manufacture and installation of robotic equipment for semiconductor wafer-handling
• Australia: Reserve Bank, Dep't of the Prime Minister & Cabinet, and Federal Police were among 62 government entities that had data stolen during a 2023 hack of 4TB from contracted law firm; Russia-linked hacker sanctioned
• Japan's EX-Fusion is working on ground-based laser systems to destroy space junk, building on 2023 partnership with Australia's EOS Space Systems for debris detection with use of Canberra laser test site
• India: Tata Group close to finalising plans for a semiconductor manufacturing plant in Gujarat state, alongside plans for a 20GW lithium-ion batteries factory
"Tether has fast become the platform of choice for money laundering and fraud operations across East and SE Asia, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime warned in a report on organized crime and illicit banking..."
• China: CAS Space, aka Zhongke Aerospace Exploration Tech Co, plans larger-scale liquid propellant launcher for 2025 capable of delivering 7800kg to sun-synchronous orbit, or 12000kg to low Earth orbit
• India: Micron US tech giant and NAMTECH - New Age Makers Institute of Tech - education initiative join to grow a globally-competitive talent pool as part of the India Semiconductor Mission
• Google unveils Pacific Connect undersea cable initiative, to deliver 2 cables connecting Guam, French Polynesia and Fiji, with branch units allowing other Oceania territories to connect
• China: Fraud ring arrested following detection of 'digital yuan' CBDC being used for money laundering, with processing of $70K via e-CNY wallets
• South Korea: Daejeon City administrator accounts hacked, with systems then infected with cryptocurrency mining software
• India and Argentina sign agreement for exploration and mining of lithium, with India accessing over 15000 hectares of Argentine 'lithium blocks'
• Indonesia: China's BYD electric vehicle maker to invest $1.3BN to build a manufacturing plant in Indonesia, targeting production capacity of 150,000 units
Scams & AI: "...'Hi Mum' was a text message, and this has now evolved to become a phone call [generated by AI] that a person will receive pretending to be from a family member that is in distress"
• Australia: Afiyah Islamic finance startup adds to solutions with launch of a Shariah-compliant self-managed superannuation fund product, seeing growing opportunities in the sector
• Indonesia: Vietnam's VinFast and Green & Smart Mobility Corporation, GSM, partner Indonesia's GoTo Gojek Tokopedia for $2.1BN EVs collaboration
• Vietnam: IDG Blockchain VC firm completes $21M fundraise with focus on investments in decentralized technologies
• Australia: A brief intro to Metakosmos, focused on next-gen spacesuit tech and a recent selection of the NSW Space Research Network Seed Project Program
• India: Infosys IT services major to acquire Bengaluru's InSemi semiconductor design and services provider for around 433M, looking to develop Infosys' chip-to-cloud strategy
• Singtel adds Starlink satellite communications to digital options for ship owners and operators, seeing benefits of advanced tech in improved maritime safety, operational efficiencies, fuel consumption and more
• South Korea: Gov't unveils $471BN private sector investment blueprint for 13 new chip plants and 3 R&D facilities, adding to 21 existing facilities, targeting 7.7M wafers monthly by 2030
• China & processing power: "...one of the factories told the source that he had been responsible for disassembling more than 4000 NVIDIA GeForce graphics cards in December alone."
"Regionally, APAC led with the highest average number of weekly [cyber] attacks, with an average of 1930 attacks per organization, a 3% increase compared to last year..."
• India: National Quantum Mission calls for proposals to establish 4 quantum tech hubs to focus on communications, computing, metrology and sensing, and materials
• India: Taiwan's Foxconn partners HCL Group IT consultancy major for JV to establish a semiconductor assembly and testing facility
• University of Tokyo, Seoul Nat'l University and University of Chicago have entered into a trilateral technology partnership to train a quantum-focused workforce and strengthen collective competitiveness
• Australia's Green Gravity prototyping utilizes NVIDIA Omniverse simulation for 'digital twins', aiming to refine gravity-based energy storage methods focused on disused mines
'Taiwan’s president-elect faces growing challenges with its chip industry - Lai Ching-te and semiconductor makers need to deal with escalating domestic and geopolitical issues' via TechCrunch
• China: Huawei adds JD e-commerce giant as partner for HarmonyOS growth and adoption, following disconnection of the operating system from its Android origins
• China: Huawei and Changan EV maker ink JV focusing on 7 key business areas for 'smart cars' development including driving systems, cockpit, digital platforms, 'car cloud' and more
• Taiwan's TSMC to mass produce next-generation 2nm chips for Apple in 2025, with prototype already presented
• India: Bounce Infinity partners Sun Mobility for swappable batteries in 30K scooters in city markets, using SUN's network of 600+ swap stations with batteries claiming 95km range
• New Zealand: Daisy Lab scales up production of precision-fermented protein alternative, an animal-free powdered whey protein made using yeast cultures
• Australia: 4.95MW Bell Bay Solar Farm in Tasmania is now online, with 16000 solar panels targeting the generation of enough renewable electricity to power the equivalent of 1000 homes
• Australia: Element Zero raised $10M with zero-carbon minerals processing tech, using renewable energy
• Cambodia's Bakong CBDC '...processed over 35.4M transactions, totaling more than $12BN...' with cross-border payments to Thailand, Laos and Vietnam, and China payments pending via UnionPay
Russian senator: "Central Bank is 'turning a blind eye' to firms that use crypto as a payment tool in international trade" with traders using crypto assets alongside currencies such as Emirati dirham and Chinese yuan
• India: GoPurple agri-tech secures $180K pre-seed funding with indoor 'fogponics' farm and R&D centre, focusing on crops and seeds suitable for growing in soilless environments
• Japan's SLIM moon lander entered lower lunar orbit in preparation for January 19th landing attempt (livestream); successfully achieved landing, but overall mission now uncertain due to solar panel problems
• China's ByteDance, owner of TikTok, quietly launched 4 generative AI apps powered by OpenAI's GPT rather than its own technology
• Australia: Lygon, blockchain firm backed by ANZ, CBA, Westpac, IBM and Scentre Group to digitise bank guarantees using blockchain tech, has gone into liquidation with debts of $14.3M
• Japan: $100M XKSK Fund is in development, looking to back around 30 startups
"The tech sector is pouring billions of dollars into AI. But it keeps laying off humans... The continued labor upheaval unfolding in the very industry creating AI could point to more unrest to come..."
• Japan: An overview of the inroads made by China's robotics firms into Japan's logistics sector
• South Korea's proposed semiconductor mega-cluster development, set to cover 21M square meters whilst creating 3.46 million jobs
• 'Real Madrid Next Accelerator for Asia' launched by Real Madrid football club, seeking startups and innovations from the region to transform the sports industry
• Philippines: Toki social commerce startup gains $1.8M pre-seed funding with a focus on collectible items, and currently providing PH’s only livestreamed auctions
Tech news beyond Asia & the Indo-Pacific:
» US Space Development Agency selects 3 suppliers to build and operate 54 infrared-equipped satellites to track hypersonic missiles in all phases of flight
» OpenAI CEO Altman is in talks around building a global network of AI-focused chip factories, with Abu Dhabi's G42 and Japan's SoftBank in early discussions
» Saudi Aramco energy giant has allocated $4BN to its global venture capital program, raising its total investment allocation to $7BN
» Venezuela's Petro cryptocurrency discontinued, with causes including corruption, lack of uptake and blunders including Petro fines that could not be paid via Petro
» Donald Trump: “I will never allow the creation of a central bank digital currency”
'...survey of over 6000 people across the US and Europe revealed that a majority (54%) believe global leaders have the power to effect change at...Davos... That number increases to 60% among Gen Z respondents..."
IndoPacific tech news: Other editions
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