Asia's tech news, weekly: November 7th 2023

South Korean space-tech, Xiaomi's unified OS, Japan & nuclear fusion, Asia's digital economy, Australia & semiconductors, Hong Kong tokenizes gold, Tencent's AI...

• Singapore: Qosmosys secures $100M seed funding, principally to focus on developing ZeusX lunar transportation vehicle for public and private sector use

• Japan: Fusion power project hits superhot plasma milestone, moving towards energy source easier to control, more sustainable and less radioactive than fission

• China: Xiaomi launches its own cross-device HyperOS, aiming for a single, unified platform for all products; Huawei continues detaching HarmonyOS from Android

• Hong Kong: Police failed to force YouTube to remove documentary about pro-democracy tycoon Jimmy Lai, Apple Daily owner, Google transparency report shows

• Taiwan: Police break money laundering operation involving $324M Tether cryptocurrency

---

Southeast Asia: "...gross merchandise value... continues an upward trajectory and is set to reach $218BN, growing 11% year-on-year... SEA's revenue from the digital economy is poised to hit $100BN..."

---

• HSBC launches tokenized ownership of gold using distributed ledger tech to allow trading between HSBC and institutional investors

• Australia: SunDrive secures $11M to scale copper-based solar cells technology, replacing high-cost silver components with 1000-times more abundant low-cost copper

• China: Didi Chuxing ride-share giant unveils service allowing citizens in 250 areas to use 'digital yuan' CBDC to rent motorcycles via app-run sharing service

• Singapore: Monetary Authority and IMDA jointly publish paper proposing Shared Responsibility Framework assigning financial institutions and telcos with duties, and victim payouts, around phishing scams

• Hong Kong Monetary Authority 'Digital Hong Kong Dollar' pilot program with HSBC, Hang Seng Bank and Visa completes testing of tokenized deposits using digital currency

---

e-Conomy SEA 2023 report

---

• Taiwan's Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp to build $5.3BN factory in Japan, backed by SBI Holdings and the Japanese gov't, in latest bid to expand Japan's chip manufacturing base

• China: CATL, world's largest battery maker, unveils new base with assembly lines claiming production of 1 battery cell per second, and entire EV battery pack in under 3 mins

• South Korea's Naver Pay expands on-site payments across SE Asia, adding Taiwan, Thailand, Hong Kong, Macau, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines to September addition of China and Japan

• China: WeChat, Weibo, Douyin, Baidu, Xiaohongshu, Bilibili and other tech majors now display real names and info for accounts with over 500K followers under gov't mandate to curb anonymity

---

"In 2022, 5G plans made up just 2.2% (26M) of mobile subscriptions (1.14BN) in Southeast Asia, compared to 4G’s 55.7% (637M). This stands in contrast to East Asia, where 5G made up 29.8%..."

---

• South Korea: TelePIX space-tech firm partners Poland's SatRev to supply satellite imagery data from proprietary satellite, focusing on greenhouse gases

• China: Tencent implements Hunyuan AI model in over 180 services as Baidu and Alibaba competition heats up, with likely goal of making AI a core feature across all its products

• Enterprise Singapore unveils new Global Innovation Alliance nodes in Mumbai, Melbourne and Sydney, aiming to further facilitate Singapore tech and startup collaborations

• Malaysia: Penjana Kapital, gov't-owned fund of funds, partners Taiwan's APAC Investment & Innovation Development Association

---

ASPI: Australia’s semiconductor moonshot

---

• Canadian state officials banned from use of China's WeChat and Russian Kaspersky antivirus on gov't-issued mobile devices due to 'unacceptable' privacy and security risks

• Mandiri Capital Indonesia and Singapore-Australia early-stage VC, Investible, prep for launch of Global Climate Tech Fund

• China's Tsingshan preps for $233M investment in Chilean mining firm SQM, gaining access to 11,244 tons of battery-grade lithium carbonate at a preferential price until 2030

• Australia's Q-CTRL and Quad Investors Network partner to grow quantum workforce in Australia and US, with quantum-focused Black Opal learning platform made available to TAFE students

---

"Yangtze Memory Technologies Co, China's largest memory chip maker, has had to appeal for new funding after burning through cash reserves in its efforts to adapt to sanctions..."

---

• India: Skyroot Aerospace secures $27.5M backing, led by Singapore gov't Temasek fund, with sights on the global small-to-medium size satellite launch market

• MangoBoost, a Seoul-Seattle startup developing data processing unit chips for data centers, secured $55M Series A, aiming to boost efficiency in existing server equipment

• Hong Kong & CBDC: "...phase-2 trial will delve deeper into the e-HKD technology, its business model and legislation... The HKMA is already looking for banks to partner with for the next trial... anticipated to get under way early next year."

• Japan: More info on Canon's new, potentially game-changing, nanoimprint lithography tech, used to print circuit patterns on semiconductor wafers

---

Deloitte: Beyond connectivity SEA

---

• Australia: Liontown Resources secures Au$1.13BN backing for completion of Kathleen Valley lithium project, with sights on production by mid-2024

• Better Bite Ventures backs 3 food-tech startups in latest First Bite funding - Singapore's Fattastic, Australia's Pivot Eat, and South Korea's Everything But

• Hong Kong: Zodia Custody expands HK operations following receipt of trust license from Monetary Authority, with custodial services for cryptocurrencies and digital assets

• China's space-tech moves: "By offering the chance to win missions from the space agency, China is pursuing a strategy used by NASA with Mr Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies Corp..."

---

One of the problems with small satellites: "Miniaturization can only go so far before it comes to a crashing halt against some very fundamental laws of physics."

---

• Singapore's Drive Lah p2p car-share service gains $2M funding from ComfortDelGro transport giant, with sights on growth of Australia-focused Drive Mate brand and connected-car tech

• Philippines: IdeaSpace Foundation unveils 6 startups selected for next cohort of IdeaSpace Accelerator Program, working on solutions in digital community, education-tech and more

• Indonesia: Bali Investment Club angel investor network to launch $25M Archipelago VC fund focused on sustainability early in 2024

• Australia: Provectus Algae opens 30K-liter demo facility for growing seaweed additive for livestock feed to reduce methane emissions

---

NBR: Meeting China’s Emerging Capabilities

---

• Singapore's YouTrip, a fintech offering multicurrency wallets for consumers and business accounts with corporate cards for SMEs, lands $50M with sights on SE Asia expansion

• Japan: SusHi Tech Tokyo 2024 Global Startup Program event is set for May 2024, featuring pitch comp, exhibition and conference

• Vietnam and Republic of Korea ink 5 agreements on cooperation in artificial intelligence use in medical, healthcare, smart city, and automation technologies centered on Da Nang city

• Taiwan: Food Industry R&D Institute establishes Plant Milk R&D Center to develop plant-based products and protein-rich milk alternatives

---

Cybercrime: "Despite having a population of just 1,400, until recently, Tokelau’s .tk [web] domain had more users than any other country. Here's why..."

---

• Singapore: Tech in Asia to be acquired by Singapore Press Holdings Media, the parent firm of The Straits Times and The Business Times newspapers

• South Korea: An overview of the forthcoming ComeUp 2023 Global Startup Festival, set for November 8-10 in Seoul

• The Thailand Digital Valley project in Chon Buri, aiming to become a tech and startup hub for ASEAN

---

Technology news beyond the Indo-Pacific:

» Finland's Wirepas secures $22M for Internet-of-Things based on mesh networks instead of cellular or Wi-Fi, minimizing hub-and-spoke architecture and need for base stations

» MDIF Ventures opens Digital Media investment fund applications, seeking independent media firms with positive social impact and the potential to scale

» 40 nations in US-led Counter Ransomware Initiative agree to not pay hacker ransoms, and to share data that helps apprehend them

» Seurat Technologies 3D metal-printing firm raised $99M in part from NVIDIA's NVDAO VC arm, focusing on green energy-powered manufacturing allowing reshoring of supply chains

---

"Qatar's state-owned energy firm has entered into a 27-year sales and purchase agreement with China Petrochemical Corp, also known as Sinopec, to supply 3 million tons of liquefied natural gas annually..."

---

More of Asia's tech news:

• LinkedIn / Twitter / Facebook / Monthly / Connect with us

Note: Due to the ongoing Twitter/X devolution, our mobile updates are on hold.