Asia's tech news, weekly: June 13th 2023
Indian satellite tech, Australian battery-tech, Sequoia VC splits, China's quantum funding, TSMC in Japan, Malaysia and Telegram, Africa's internet future...
• China’s Huawei, IPv6 Forum, African Telecommunication Union, Arab Info & Communication Tech Org recently held first IP GALA event aiming to 'map out future of Internet in Africa region'
• Inaugural South Korea-Pacific Islands Summit sees growth in defence cooperation with Korea to join Indo-Pacific Endeavour drills, and underwater mines detect-and-disarm program
• Australia: Li-S Energy unveils 20-layer lithium-sulfur batteries, potentially offering cheaper, lighter-weight storage, and cost and safety benefits over standard lithium units
• Vietnam: VinFast launches mini EV with 2 doors and 5 seats, facing a steep challenge from competitors and the country's motorbike and scooter culture
"So what...should the tech companies that are rapidly developing AI be doing to prevent their tools from being used to bombard the internet with hyperrealistic misinformation?"
• Sequoia VC to split into 3 entities - Sequoia Capital in the US and Europe, Peak XV Partners in India and SE Asia, and HongShan in China - in response to a changing geopolitical landscape
• China Telecom invests $434M in establishing China Telecom Quantum Information Technology Group
• Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission considering options for Telegram messaging app, including a possible ban, over cyber-crime activities on the platform
• Indo-Pacific: Japan, Australia and US ink agreement on $95M undersea cable project to connect East Micronesia island nations
• China: Baidu search giant sets $140M to fund Chinese startups working in generative AI that are built on Baidu's Ernie Bot platform, a competitor to OpenAI's ChatGPT
• India: Azista BST Aerospace to launch first satellite via SpaceX, with revenue to be generated from sale of first satellite's remote sensing data
• Vietnam: Tech in Asia's Regional Founders Meetup is set for June 28th in Ho Chi Minh City - register here
"The addition of 'trust' and 'distrust' buttons on social media, alongside standard 'like' buttons, could help to reduce the spread of misinformation, finds a new experimental study..."
• China: "...computer manufacturer Powerleader...is fending off allegations that its new central processing unit...is an old Intel chip in disguise, saying it was developed with support from the US chipmaking giant"
• Rize agri-tech startup launches to decarbonize Asia's rice cultivation, with backers including Singapore state-run Temasek fund, and trials underway in Indonesia and Vietnam
• South Korea: Major trading firm, SK Networks, to invest $2M in Series A funding for the Netherlands' SourceAg, focusing on AI-driven greenhouse automation solutions
• India: A brief intro to GalaxEye, aiming for world-first multi-sensor earth observation satellite, planning its first satellite launch in 2024
• Australia: A look at Endua, working on hydrogen power banks capable of up to 100kW per unit, aiming to supplement diesel generators in microgrid situations via 6x3 meter sized units
• China: Jiangsu Xinhua Semiconductor Tech raised $140M Series C, with construction of Inner Mongolia factory scheduled for operation by year-end
• India: "Micro VCs bet big on early-stage India deals amid funding winter" via Nikkei
"One of the key areas where fintech and semiconductors intersect is data processing. Modern financial services rely heavily on data analysis to inform decision-making, detect fraud, manage risk..."
• China's TuSimple tests autonomous vehicles in Japan via local subsidiary, noteworthy when considering Japan's ageing demographic means 45.2% of transportation sector drivers are over 50
• Japan: Taiwan's TSMC reportedly mulling a second plant in Kumamoto Prefecture in addition to one currently under construction
• Indonesia: A brief video intro to Greens, aiming to eliminate food loss and decentralize production using AI and blockchain to create 'hyperlocal meta-farming' food ecosystem
• China: Sales of semiconductor equipment to China dropped 23% YOY in Q1 2023 amid US export curbs, tho China remains world's 2nd-largest market for semicon gear
• Japan: "...export restrictions on 23 types of chip-related equipment...are set to disrupt China’s semiconductor self-sufficiency plan...The measures require specific permission..."
• Download: 'The State of AI Governance in Australia', a report from The Human Technology Institute at the University of Technology Sydney
• China: Greater Bay Technology, subsidiary of state-owned group, claims EV battery tech beating cold weather-induced loss of range, claiming full charge in 6 minutes under all conditions
South Korea: "On one hand, chipmakers Samsung...and SK Hynix...depend on US technology and equipment. At the same time, about 40% of South Korea's chip exports go to China..."
• Available now: 'Mapping the Semiconductor Supply Chain - The Critical Role of the Indo-Pacific Region' from the Center for Strategic and International Studies
• Monetary Authority of Singapore issues Major Payment Institution licence for Digital Payment Token services to Crypto.com
• Singapore: Circle Internet Financial, issuer of USDC stablecoin, gains Major Payment Institution license from Monetary Authority of Singapore
• Online now: 'Combatting the Threat of Cyber-Enabled IP Theft', proposing that G20 member states should build the capacity of states to detect, prevent and respond to sophisticated cyber intrusions
• Antler, early-stage VC and investor in over 750 firms globally, has closed $285M Antler Elevate emerging growth fund, looking to provide scale-up capital from series A
• Japan: All Nippon Airways, Japan's largest airline, launched ANA GranWhale NFT Marketplace with subsidiary, ANA Neo, initially offering 2 Boeing 787-themed collections
• Taiwan: CEO of GlobalWafers, world’s 3rd-largest silicon wafer supplier, named EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year, selected from near 5000 participants
In other news…
» European Union is considering a mandatory ban on member-states using companies that might pose a security risk in their 5G networks, including China's Huawei
» European Commission approves major project to lift research, innovation and industrial deployment of microelectronics and communication tech, likely to deliver over €20BN in funding
» Twitter degradation continues with moves to pay verified content creators for including ads in their message replies
» US lawsuits against Binance and Coinbase crypto majors likely to prompt scrutiny of The Sandbox and Decentraland, with SAND and MANA tokens classed as securities
» HyperPlay secures $12M with interoperability for Web3 games via wallet overlay 'on top' of games, allowing players to carry MetaMask wallets inside native or browser-based games
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