Asia's tech news, weekly: June 4th 2024

Malaysia semicon strategy, China moon landing, Korea's Mars ambitions, Australia's AI Adopt program, Renault-China EVs, India and chips, Singapore's subsea cables, AI fake videos & elections...

• Malaysia: Government to allocate at least RM25 billion to newly-launched National Semiconductor Strategy, targeting both domestic and foreign firms in different semicon fields

• China: Nat'l Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund's 3rd corpus hits $47BN, aiming to boost local semiconductor industry and diminish reliance on outside world

• India: Agnikul Cosmos successfully completes test flight of much-delayed 3D-printed semi-cryogenic Agnibaan rocket

• Proposed US legislation may create structure for national security audit of connected vehicles manufactured in China, and other adversarial nations, effectively blocking imports

• North Korea's attempt to place a second military satellite in orbit ends in failure, with newly developed liquid fuel engine believed to have exploded

---

"...estimated that the Indian semiconductor market will exceed $55 billion by 2026. Moreover, the country’s domestic electronics production output is projected to surpass $300 billion by 2030."

---

• China: Landspace commercial rocket firm's partner files documents for Honghu-3, a constellation of 10,000 satellites spanning 160 orbital planes, China's third of this size

• South Korea proposes Mars landing by 2045, with $72 billion spend projected until then on space exploration and preparations

• Japan: DMM Bitcoin cryptocurrency exchange loses 4,502.9 bitcoin, valued around $308 million, in 'unauthorized leak', with full details yet to emerge

• China to spend near $830M on all-solid-state battery tech with 6 major firms including CATL, BYD and Geely likely receiving R&D funding

• India's Radisys Corp, a Reliance Industries unit, makes African market bid with network infra, applications and smartphones for Ghana's Next-Gen InfraCo

LG Battery Challenge 2024

• China: Chang'e-6 lunar vehicle successfully landed on the moon's far side, with preparation underway to collect material samples

• Australia: Government's $17M AI Adopt Program rolls out 4 new centres, aiming to help SMEs identify and adopt AI tools for growth and efficiency

• Saudi Arabia's Prosperity7 fund injects $400M into China's Zhipu AI, reportedly as the only foreign investor, suggesting Saudi desire for a competitive AI marketplace

• India: Pixxel on course to launch six hyperspectral imagery satellites this year, using both domestic rockets and SpaceX

• Chinese satnav industry hits $74BN output, has 20,000 entities and employs near 1 million; Beijing and Moscow to boost cooperation on BeiDou and GLONASS GPS alternatives

---

AI fakes & elections: "In India and Indonesia, dead leaders are rising to throw their support behind their political successors; in South Africa, the rapper Eminem is endorsing opposition parties..."

---

• China launched Pakistan's PAKSAT MM1 from Sichuan, ostensibly to provide better and widespread internet access, building on May's iCube-Qamar launch

• Taiwan’s Foxconn partners NVIDIA global chip-making giant for EV AI software

• Micron semicon major launches UPWARDS, US-Japan University Partnership for Workforce Advancement and Research & Development in Semiconductors

• Australia: Monash University targets space industry credentials with appointment of Aus Space Agency and former CSIRO chief as chancellor, and NASA Jet Propulsion Lab exec hire

• Japan and South Korea to pursue dialogue mechanism for energy and resource cooperation, looking at hydrogen, ammonia and related issues while boosting supply chains

• Singapore: Tribe ecosystem builder, Digital Industry Singapore and NVIDIA partner for Ignition AI Accelerator

• China Railway Rolling Stock Corp partners France's OPmobility for JV on hydrogen systems for use in 'smart trams' in Malaysia, and rail applications in China

• Australia: Government releases National Battery Strategy, aiming to grow a competitive Australian industry, secure supply chains, energy security and more

• Singapore and the US agree on collaboration in defense innovation and technologies, with primary focus on maritime security and counter-drone systems

• AI Apex Asia conference and expo is on June 5th as part of Singapore AI Week, looking at all things artificial intelligence in the region

• Renault-China EV deal results from collapse of Renault-Volkswagen low-cost EV manufacturing deal

---

'Organized crime groups in Southeast Asia have seized on Myanmar’s instability amid civil war to establish a string of scam centers engaged in global online fraud operations.'

---

• China: Tencent launches Yuanbao AI chatbot app in bid to compete with domestic tech companies and with OpenAI's ChatGPT in the wider world

• Australia: Phonely secures US$500K from Y Combinator with artificial intelligence-backed receptionist that can reportedly handle up to 1M phone calls at once

• Thailand: Disrupt Health Impact Fund launches, planning to back 15 deep-tech firms across 3-5 years, with investments from $500K to $2M per firm

• India: Zypp Electric preps to expand 2-wheel EV rental services to wider SE Asia, backed by Japan's ENEOS energy major, with sights on Indonesia, Thailand and The Philippines

• Australia: National Robotics Strategy unveiled, aiming to harness benefits from automation

McKinsey: The quantum advantage

• National Taiwan University unveils NTU DogBots, Taiwan’s first domestically-developed AI-backed robotic dogs, initially for industrial inspection use-cases

• China: Ant Group, Mastercard, 12 overseas Alipay+ partners and major international card organizations partner to launch International Consumer Friendly Zones program in Shanghai

• China: Alibaba invests $27M in Zhejiang Jingzhunxue AI-driven education startup and Bong device, a personalized learning tool powered by large language models

• An intro to the 20 medical technology companies selected for the MedTech Innovator 2024 Asia Pacific Accelerator

• The full text of the speech delivered by Singaporean Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong, at the 2024 Nikkei Future of Asia conference

---

"Electronic products are the Philippines’ top exports in terms of value, posting total earnings of $3.45 billion in January, representing 58.2% of total exports during the month."

---

• Download: 'Enhancing the Security of Singapore’s Submarine Cables - Strengths, Challenges and Opportunities'

• Australia: Goterra to trial modular infrastructure in farming Black Soldier Fly larvae for aquaculture feed, converting food waste to protein and fertilizer in 12 days

• Online now: Stormwall's Q1 2024 report on DDoS cyber-attacks targeting the Asia-Pacific

• Philippines: Gov't proposes 28 priority projects for Luzon Economic Corridor including infrastructure, electronics and semiconductors, food production and renewable energy sourcing

• China: PonyAI preps for self-driving taxi trial between Beijing South Railway Station and suburb of Yizhuang, with approvals and permits expected in weeks

• Taiwan: Startup Terrace Kaohsiung rolls out 2024 Soft-Landing Program for global startups and tech firms

• China: Industrial Bank launches CBDC-driven carbon credits, delivering 'personal carbon account points' with purchases made using 'digital yuan' CBDC

• Australia: Venture & Capital 2024 Sydney investment conference set for July 29th, touching on digital assets, defense tech, life sciences and more

• Cambodia: Central bank governor looks to increased use of local riel currency with ties to cross-border QR payments made via Bakong digital financial system

• Tech in Asia Conference is set for Kuala Lumpur, July 24 & 25, with the theme 'Malaysia on the rise'

---

TikTok's latest US market move: "The code-splitting initiative, reportedly underway for several months, involves hundreds of engineers sifting through millions of lines of code."

---

• Cambodia: Smart Axiata telco, Impact Hub Phnom Penh and 17 universities renew MoU for SmartStart Unipreneur Learning Platform, continuing development of startup skills

• Seoul Metro Gov't foreign investment agency to host 'Seoul Forward, Your Next Business Destination' conference in Hong Kong on June 11th, looking to draw HK firms and startups to Korea

• Indonesia: Gov't launches Indonesia Business Startup Matchmaking, IndoBisa, program to develop startups in tourism and creative economy sectors

• New Zealand's Defence & Science, Innovation & Tech Minister heads to Asia Tech X Singapore Summit during Indo-Pacific meetings schedule, taking part in conference dialogue session

• Australia: 'Celebrating Indigenous Entrepreneurship' online event is set for August 9th, hosted by Barayamal for International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples

---

"...Google’s [AI Overview] rollout provided us with a fascinating window into the many ways that AI can fail."

---

In wider-world technology news:

» Donald Trump, the MAGA memecoin, NFT fundraising, cryptocurrencies and the 2024 US elections

» European Union lays out structure of new AI Office set for July roll-out, an ecosystem build and oversight body under the EU AI Act

» Mother of UK boy who killed himself seeks right to access his social media accounts in case of cyber-bullying and threats, or impacts of media viewed

» Switzerland's Destinus has sights on hydrogen-powered hypersonic flights taking European passengers to Australia in just over 4 hours

» "The web made Google rich, too, but this week Google relegated it to a submenu... the web has become a legacy format like the DVD."

---

"Over 49,000 criminal suspects of telecom and internet fraud have been handed over to Chinese custody by Myanmar since July 2023, according to the Ministry of Public Security..."

---

Asia & Indo-Pacific technology: Other editions

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