Asia's tech news, weekly: May 2nd 2023
Taiwan's cybersecurity, India's metaverse shift, HK & quantum computing, e-CNY for China's public sector, Korea's underground GPS, Australia's 'startup year' student loans, the Quad and cyber...
• Hong Kong: QUANTier quantum computing startup gains backing to develop room-temperature infrastructure for quantum computers
• Quad countries - US, Australia, India and Japan - to build system enabling each government's cyber body to share information on cyber-attacks targeting critical infrastructure
• China: Guangdong province doubles down on semiconductor industry expansion with 40 new projects valued at $74BN
• Taiwan: MediaTek chip design firm to focus resources on auto chips and AI-driven computing, seeing slowdown in smartphone-related supply and faster growth in auto and AI
India: ..."25% businesses in India said that their metaverse plans will be fully embedded in their activities within a year, while 47% said that this will take place in 2–3 years."
• Australia: A brief intro to 3 startups that presented at Swinburne University's 2023 Pre-Accelerator Pitch Night, working in transport-tech, finance and sustainability
• China: Tech sector regulation set to deepen further with trial project to add chips to delivery e-bikes, aiming in part to address dangerous driving and traffic violations
• The 10 startup finalists selected for the Future Food Asia Award 2023 working in alternative meats, cattle feed alternatives, livestock monitoring and more
• Taiwan Cybersecurity Resiliency Act enters US Congress to boost cybersec cooperation via training exercises, infra and systems defense and more
• China: Changshu city public sector workers to be paid entirely in 'digital yuan', with subsequent transactions recorded and traceable in blockchain-based digital ledger
• South Korea: NextRise 2023 startup conference is set for June in Seoul, providing exposure to major Korean firms and more than 150 multinationals and VCs
• Singapore: ZEBOX int'l accelerator network launches APAC HQ backed by Enterprise Singapore to incubate and grow tech innovations in supply chains and management
• Taiwan: MetaCRM secures $2.5M seed with Web3-focused CRM system, aiding creation of blockchain-based solutions and analytics tools by connecting on-chain and off-chain data
Huawei's EV issues: "High-definition maps are very expensive...collecting data in Shanghai for 1 or 2 years, but we still have not been able to cover all 9000 kilometers of the city's roads."
• Better Bite Ventures' First Bite fund unveils 4 alternative-protein startups backed, from Singapore, New Zealand and India, and opens applications for the next cohort
• China: WeChat extends central bank 'digital yuan' use to payments via its short video and mini-app platforms, from individuals to large-scale brands
• South Korea: Treasurer investment platform gains Series A, focusing on expensive collectibles such as luxury watches and rare whiskey, using its own 'Security Token'
• South Korea and US to establish 'Strategic Cybersecurity Cooperation Framework' over concerns with North Korea funding weapons programs via cybercrime proceeds
• South Korea: An intro to idciti and its uGPS system, allowing GPS to work underground as an aid for autonomous vehicles, with Seoul metro trials set
• TinyTap education-tech firm, Animoca Brands subsidiary, gains $8.5M with Web3 platform for user-generated educational content, with tokenized content delivered via NFT collections
• China: NIO EV firm's investment arm backs long-established Qingchun Semiconductor silicon carbide chip-maker in bid to secure supply chains
• Japan: Luup e-scooter and e-bike firm raises $30M with city 'ports' focus, seeing opportunities later in infrastructure as a hub network for drone and delivery robots
"I Cloned Myself With Artificial Intelligence.
She Fooled My Bank and My Family."
• Australia's CyRise Accelerator, formed by Deakin University and NTT global IT firm, announces May closure
• China: Coal mining automation grows with, for instance, Huawei 5G to reduce underground worker numbers, replacing them with machines directed from 'virtual mines' run from the surface
• Australia: Digital Health Festival 2023 set for June 6-7 in Melbourne, featuring Startup Village section
• South Korea: Hanvixolar's modular solar panels, focused on recharging smartphones and small consumer goods with expandable, interlocking panel units
• Philippines: Scale launches to support 15 selected startups, a program from Management Ass'n in partnership with PwC, QBO Innovation Hub and others
• Malaysia: 11 tech startups selected for 2023 SelectUSA Investment Summit in US state of Maryland in May, with follow-on Silicon Valley visit for investment talks
• Australia: 'Startup Year' program gains gov't education legislation committee approval towards offering student loans for university accelerator participation
• China: Orienspace private space launch firm preps for first mobile sea-based platform launch, with payload delivery capability of 6500kg to low Earth orbit
• India: Gov't Enforcement Directorate investigates Odaclass online education firm over illegal forex transfers, finding ownership via 'entities having ultimate controlling company in Cayman Islands'
• Australia: Ocean City Labs tech startup hub opens its doors on the Sunshine Coast, providing programs, resources and co-working spaces
• Australia: CommBank Startup Pitch Fest applications close May 8th for selection for the May 24th event, part of Melbourne Small Biz Week
In other news…
» Franklin Templeton OnChain US Gov't Money Market Fund now supported on Ethereum via Polygon, 1st US reg'd mutual fund using a public blockchain
» US appeals court rules against Apple on Store policy preventing developers from offering 3rd-party payments, calling policy anticompetitive, harmful to consumers
» Blockchain-backed Mastercard Crypto Credential service launches to ensure transactions between users' wallets are verifiable and meet compliance requirements
» OpenAI to introduce pseudo-incognito mode for ChatGPT which will not save user conversation history, or use entries to improve its AI
» Zimbabwe to intro gold-backed Zim central bank digital currency
» Google unveils Cloud Security AI Workbench, software suite powered by cybersecurity-focused AI language model, Sec-PaLM
» Meta's BlenderBot chatbots gained long-term memory capability - and gained ability to learn and regurgitate misinformation in the process
"...North Carolina is considering making coding a high school graduation requirement...in the footsteps of 5 other states with similar policies that consider coding and computer education foundational..."
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