Asia's tech news, weekly: November 28th 2023
Japan's semiconductors, Pacific Islands cybersec, Shanghai space tech, North Korean satellite, agritech in Vietnam, South Korea & quantum, Huawei & autonomous cars...
• Japan: Taiwan's TSMC is reportedly considering a 3rd plant in Japan that will make 3-nm chips, potentially building on backing from Micron, Samsung and Japan's PSM
• Australia: Tide Foundation and RMIT University unveil 'ineffable cryptography', a decentralized cybersecurity solution to protect critical infrastructure
• North Korea claims successful delivery of military spy satellite into space, sparking concerns over future weapons capabilities
• China: 3-year plan unveiled to develop Guangdong into 'Digital Bay Area', pooling manufacturing, trade and tech within Greater Bay Area to boost self-sufficiency
Semiconductors: "...by the end of 2024, China is aiming to establish [an additional] 32 large fabs, and all of them are about to focus on relatively mature processes."
• China: PonyAI gains first license in Guangzhou for on-road formation testing of groups of PonyTron autonomous trucks
• Australia to deploy 'rapid assistance teams' to support Pacific Islands nations, focusing on cyber issues, composed of experts from private sector and intelligence agencies
• Taiwan's CyberLink targeted by North Korean hackers, modifying legitimate installer file to include malicious code for delivery to CyberLink customers in 'supply chain' hack
• Malaysia's Planters Int'l launched SpaceANT-D satellite via SpaceX, aiming to monitor reforestation, illegal logging and other enviro concerns in deep jungle
• Australia: Aerologix drone-tech startup raises $2M with vertical assets inspection focus, acquiring Brazil's Mappa mapping tech firm to develop North and South America opportunities
• Singapore: BeeX raised $2M with autonomous underwater robotics, focusing on infrastructure maintenance, and monitoring in maritime, energy and defense sectors
• State-run China Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund invested $1.99BN in Changxin Xinqiao chip-maker with focus on DRAM and 12-inch wafer design and manufacture
• Philippines: Web3, gaming and associated tech seen as having high potential for employment, possibly reaching up to 'a million jobs by 2028'
"Shanghai is aiming to foster a complete industrial chain for commercial rocket production, with an annual production capacity of 50 commercial rockets and 600 commercial satellites by 2025..."
• Indonesia: Bank Saqu digital-only bank launches for smaller, younger businesses, with estimates that 1 in 3 Indonesians - 117 million people - will have multiple side gigs by 2030
• India Australia Rapid Innovation & Startup Expansion Accelerator has launched, seeking circular economy technologies and solutions
• China: Rokid AR firm raised $112M at a $1BN valuation with AR hardware and software, and plans for gaming, education and metaverse-focused growth
• Philippines: Dep't of Trade and Industry partners international VC, Plug and Play, to commercialize 40 startups per year from 2024
• China Mobile to debut commercial 5G messaging in December, based on RCS and capable of video, image and voice in step up from SMS and MMS services
• Cambodia: National Bank inks MOU with China's Alipay+ enabling KHWR payments via the Bakong CBDC system to merchants using the global Alipay network
• Singapore's Entobel opens fly larvae facility in Vietnam capable of producing 1000 tons of protein meal annually for use in feed products, with sights on 10K tons in 5 years
• Philippines gov't and US Dept of State ink agreement explore opportunities to grow and diversify the global semiconductor ecosystem
'Asia Pacific respondents to our Global Risk Management Survey (GRMS) ranked cyber attack or data breach as the number one current and future risk for the region.'
• Vietnam's Unicorn Ultra opens Cambodia office with blockchain ecosystem and platform, seeing opportunities in part due to Cambodia’s Bakong CBDC
• China's Gotion and Slovakia's InoBat ink MOU to build Slovakia EV battery plant
• Singapore: Aqualita Ecotechnology launches ‘Our Fish Storey’, testing feasibility of farming jade perch in shipping containers
• China: Landspace announces plans for reusable stainless steel launch vehicle, Zhuque-3, using methane-liquid oxygen propellant rocket engines
• Japan and South Korea to collaborate on quantum technologies, with national research institutes set to sign MOU
• "...propose to Australia and the US that Japan, along with South Korea, participate in an AUKUS technical defence cooperation agreement focused solely on [Pillar 2] activities."
• China: Recent launches found to contain multiple satellite payloads, but with no details beyond 'experiment satellite for satellite internet technologies'
• Australia: 13 circular economy startups selected by Boomerang Labs for latest accelerator, working on food packaging, reusable containers and more
Gartner on Artificial Intelligence: "By 2026, generative AI will significantly alter 70% of the design and development effort for new web applications and mobile apps."
• China: Huawei partners Changan carmaker for R&D offshoot in design and sales of intelligent auto systems and component solutions
• South Korea: An intro to 4 firms based in Pangyo Tech Valley, working on semiconductors, AI and broad nanotech solutions
• Australia's opportunities in the space launch industry, building on elements including the country's location allowing launch to orbit at a lower cost
• Startup Week Malaysia 2023 is set for December 1-9, primarily in Kuala Lumpur but with programs likely for Penang, Sabah and beyond
• Philippines and US inked a nuclear cooperation pact under which US investment and tech are set to boost Philippines' transition to cleaner energy
• China: Africa-based Wicrypt, enabling users to share and monetise Wi-Fi using blockchain tech and NFTs, to enter China via partnership with Singapore's Onega Ventures
• Japan: The World Economic Forum looks at how Japan's semiconductor industry is leaping into the future
• Crypto: Bridge mechanism connecting China's HTX exchange, formerly Huobi, and Ethereum was breached, leading to loss of $87M in crypto assets
"China’s broadcasting regulator is looking to tighten control over the growing short web drama market – including a sweeping review of each series' cast, production, marketing and social values..."
• Australia: CSIRO and Swinburne University launch refuelling station for hydrogen produced with electricity from renewable sources
• India: A brief look at Quant Solar Technologies, floating solar tech that conserves water bodies and reduces evaporation by up to 70%
• The Top 100 Filipino Tech Startups, via Philippine Startup Week 2023
• China: Alibaba walks back IPO plans to spin off and list $11BN cloud business, in the process dropping estimated $22BN in share value
• Download: 'Bolstering and Securing Semiconductor Supply Chains', a study from the National Bureau of Asian Research, focusing on Japan, the United States and China
• Vietnam: "Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has said startup and innovation must be considered as a crucial political task..."
Huawei's 5G chip: "...industry was surprised by how quickly it had been able to turn around a design, shift to a Chinese fab, manufacture the new chip, and get it to production rate..."
Tech news beyond Asia & the Indo-Pacific:
» UK's Advanced Electric Machines raised $29M to scale EV motors containing no rare earths or copper, further growing market presence
» Finland's Solar Foods raised $8.8M Series B with protein-packed ingredient, Solein, created by feeding microbes elements from the air
» Denmark's Insectum - modular, transportable, container-based fly larvae farming, producing protein and fat for food, pet food, aquaculture & agriculture, and fertilizer
More Indo-Pacific & Asian tech news:
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