Asia's Tech News, Weekly: June 18th 2024

Korea & altcoins, ByteDance AI & Malaysia, Japan & auto chips, Singapore rice-tech, DJI on Everest, Amazon & Taiwan, Australia Bitcoin ATMs, NVIDIA & China...

Jun 19, 2024

• Australian quantum tech firm, Diraq, to produce sample chip devices using GlobalFoundries plants, with chips featuring both quantum-focused and standard circuitry

• Japan: Elephantech, first firm globally manufacturing Printed Circuit Boards using metal inkjet printing, seeks strategic partners to scale

• South Korea: Virtual Asset User Protection Act comes into force in July, meaning regulators may consider ending transaction support for 600 or so altcoins on virtual asset exchanges

• Malaysia: China's ByteDance to expand footprint in Malaysia with $2.13 billion AI tech hub, and $317 million data center spend

• Taiwan: Amazon to invest billions across 15 years in Taiwan data centers, adding a new AWS Asia Pacific (Taipei) Region for cloud computing services

"Recent insolvencies, such as that of Shanghai Wusheng Semiconductor, have raised concerns about widespread closures. Additionally, the market has seen 23 semiconductor companies withdraw their IPO applications since last year..."

• China: DJI drones firm completes Mt Everest tests of FlyCart 30, flying supplies from Base Camp to 6K meters above sea level, with sights now on capacity tests with successively heavier payloads

• Japan: Toyota, Nissan, Honda and others announce collaboration on advanced AI and semiconductor tech for next-gen vehicles, supported by government

• South Korea: Sapeon and Rebellions artificial intelligence chipmakers to complete merger by Q4 to boost foothold in the global AI chips market

• Microsoft China division unveils partnership with Tencent, looking to publish Tencent's vast Android catalog on Windows, focusing on desktop environments

• Securities Commission Malaysia issues first edition of 'Practical Guide on Venture Capital and Private Equity in Malaysia', a guide to the policy landscape

• Blockchain Australia rebrands to Digital Economy Council of Australia 'to extend its remit to be more inclusive in response to the rapidly evolving needs of the digital economy'

• Thailand: China's GalaxySpace satellite maker establishes first overseas ground test station for low Earth orbit services at Mahanakorn University

•India: Ethereal Machines gains $13M with multi-axis CNC manufacturing, allowing precision parts for aerospace, defense, consumer electronics and more

• Japan: Gov't targets 30% share of global market for SDVs, software-defined vehicles

• Malaysia: US-based MKS Instruments to build wafer fabrication and equipment production in Penang, with construction set for 2025

"More than 1/3 of startups in the Philippines reported insufficient data on their business prospects and the customer journey. Only 58% of startups...indicated satisfaction with their tech stack..."

• China: Beijing rolls out low-altitude economy action plan in bid to develop and commercialize the flying cars industry

• South Korea: Major retailers including Lotte and Hyundai announce closure of all NFT operations

• Amsterdam is to phase out over 1000 China-made surveillance cameras in traffic and public spaces, citing spying and human rights concerns

• Myanmar: Military junta launches major effort to block internet communication, shutting access to VPNs

• ERIA and Institute of Tech of Cambodia ink MoU around digital innovation and sustainable development in SE Asia, including goal of establishing ASEAN Technology University Network

• India: The StepUp Ventures incubator cohort 4 Demo Day is set for June 20-21, showcasing 10 startups from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities

• Singapore: Octayne Green Fuels secures $525K pre-seed to develop farm waste-to-energy platform, converting biomass into low-cost, scalable replacement for coal

• Malaysia: MYStartup Pre-Accelerator opens applications for its 4th cohort, seeking pre-seed and early-stage tech startups from a range of sectors

• Australian singer, Iggy Azalea, to roll out ability to use recently-released MOTHER cryptocurrency to pay for phones and services from her planned telecom firm

• 'A growth agenda for India-Australia economic ties', a short piece that touches also on blockchain, digital payments and, of course, geopolitics

"...speculation has hit the internet in China, suggesting that... Huawei has become China's largest beef importer due to payments it received from Argentinian clients made in beef..."

• Startup Ecosystem Pulse Report, SEA and India edition, is available now, drawing on a survey of 600 across Singapore, India, Indonesia and The Philippines

• Singapore-US AI Talent Bridge programme launched recently, looking to boost collaboration and develop talent for the future

• Australia: Crypto ban in online gambling is now in place, with users no longer able to use credit cards or digital currency to place bets online

• Singapore's AgriG8 gains backing to help Asia's rice farmers reduce methane emissions, decarbonizing production by up to 55%

• Australia: Costa Rica's CRDC Global opens Melbourne plant, converting plastic waste into concrete additive

• Malaysia: Deemples Technologies raised $2M with golfing platform, allowing users to plan games, find partners and build communities

• ASEAN Blue Innovation Challenge applications close June 30th, seeking solutions in conservation and management of marine ecosystems, coastal areas, and freshwater resources

• Philippines: Manila startup ecosystem valued at $6.4 billion at end-2023, according to 2024 Global Startup Ecosystem Report, with fintech, gaming and e-commerce the standout sectors

• Singapore Infocomm Media Dev Authority and HK's Office of Comm's Authority ink MOU to collaborate on combatting cross-border scams

• Australia: The Leaf Protein Company secures $850K funding with plant-based ingredients for the F&B industry, with backers including the University of Melbourne

"[IBM] recently shared its progress on its goal to train one million women and girls across APAC, announcing that 650,000 learners have already engaged with its programmes since 2022."

• NVIDIA cuts price of China-focused AI chip, developed to accommodate US-led advanced tech restrictions, in bid to compete with Huawei chip locally

• India's Tata Steel and Australia's Monash University ink MoU to establish sustainability-focused innovation centre

• Thailand: Ugly Veggies Plus research project launched by Khon Kaen University and partners, looking at blockchain in supply chains for organic produce

• Download: 'Artificial Intelligence in Action - Selected ADB Initiatives in Asia and the Pacific' from the Asian Development bank (direct pdf link)

• A quick overview of key Asia-focused findings from KPMG's Q1 2024 Venture Pulse Report

• Taiwan Virtual Asset Service Provider Association launches, aiming to develop self-regulatory standards for the country's digital assets industry

• Australia: Member of Parliament proposes use of blockchain tech as enabler to boost productivity growth by as much as $60BN

• South Korea: A quick overview of Gangnam-gu district's Start Track, a 560-meter stretch of road dedicated to startups

• China's foldable phone pioneer, Royole, forced into bankruptcy, finding domestic and international competition too fierce

• Australia hits milestone in cryptocurrency as third-largest host of Bitcoin ATMs globally, over 1000

"...Beijing even released an open-source [OS] called OpenKylin with the express purpose of lowering reliance on Windows. But the new system doesn't seem to be any more popular than Linux..."

• AWS Generative AI Spotlight program applications close June 28 for seed and pre-seed GenAI startups in Australia, New Zealand and SE Asia

• Australia: Tech in Gov conference and expo is set for July 23-24 in Canberra, bringing together government, providers, IT services and professionals

• Thailand: TechSauce Global Summit is set for August 7-9 in Bangkok, featuring over 300 speakers, tech expo and more

• Australian Cyber Security Summit is set for June 20th in Canberra

In wider-world technology news:

» "Materials Nexus... used its machine learning algorithm to identify and analyse over 100M combinations of materials that could produce a viable rare-earth free magnet."

» US-based Virtus Solis looks to build first space-based solar farm, transmitting electricity across the planet at any time and possibly using SpaceX Starship for construction

» Germany's Black Semiconductor raised $274M aiming to develop next-gen semiconductors using graphene and operating with light for efficiency

» AMD, Broadcom, Cisco, Google, HP Enterprise, Intel, Meta and Microsoft to co-develop new industry standard for high-speed, low latency comm's to link AI systems in data centers

» 'Ultima Online, which just turned 25, offers a lesson in the challenges of building virtual worlds.'

Elon Musk: "If Apple integrates OpenAI at the OS level, then Apple devices will be banned at my companies. That is an unacceptable security violation."