Asia's Tech News, Weekly: October 18th 2025
Taiwan-Arizona partnership, China robotaxis in Luxembourg, Starlink & scam centres, Malaysian digital ID, Vietnam data expert moves, holographic police in South Korea...
• Arizona’s Tesoro VC and Startup Island TAIWAN ink MOU to accelerate startup growth, facilitate investment and connect innovators to resources / full item
• Australia: SIP Ventures, venture studio of Asahi Beverages, launches accelerator with Inhouse Ventures to leverage the drinks giant’s network for startup founders / full item
• Taiwan Space Agency selects Japan’s ispace to transport scientific instruments to the lunar surface aboard 2028 mission / full item
• Stellantis NV global automaker is to partner China’s Pony AI robotaxi operator to test autonomous vans in Luxembourg / full item
• ‘Myanmar scam centres booming despite crackdown, using Musk’s Starlink‘ / full item
“Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has set out a target of 15 million users for MyDigital ID by the end of this year...” / full item
• Here’s an intro to a bundle of space-tech startups under Taiwan’s TAcc+ International SpaceTech Startup Supporting Program / full item
• Australia: Hackers leak personal records of 5 million Qantas customers on the dark web after ransom deadline passes / full item
• “Vietnam National Data Association has initiated the Vietnam Data Expert Network (VDEN) with the aim of mobilizing Vietnamese scientists, experts, and entrepreneurs worldwide...” / full item
• India: “Airbound’s first real-world test is taking place with Narayana Health, one of India’s largest hospital networks... its drones will deliver blood samples, test kits, and critical medical supplies...” / full item
• Bhutan has begun the integration of its National Digital Identity platform with Ethereum open-source blockchain protocol / full item
• Microsoft Surface and data center production is reportedly moving out of China by 2026 in bid to counter trade war uncertainties / full item
“India’s semiconductor startups are increasingly tapping global foundries such as Taiwan-based TSMC and United Microelectronics Corporation, and South Korea’s DB Hi-Tek...” / full item
• AsiaStartupExpo Q4 2025 registrations are now open for startups and investors to take part in the fully-virtual event / full item
• “Crunchbase data shows that startups across Asia raised $16.8 billion in Q3 2025, a 20% increase from the previous quarter and 16% higher than the same period last year...” / full item
• ‘Australia expects the rollout of a facial recognition system by the end of this year which will facilitate verification of documents such as driver’s licences and passports...’ / full item
Myanmar’s cyber-scam compounds: “Nearly 80 Starlink dishes are visible on one roof alone in AFP photographs of one of the biggest compounds...” / full item
• Australia/New Zealand: A brief intro to 13 ANZ startups selected for Seedlab Australia’s 5-month accelerator, working in skincare, coffee, spices and more / full item
• “BYD... said this month that the United Kingdom has become its largest market outside China. Its sales there rocketed 880% year-on-year in September.” / full item
• Malaysia is to require all social platforms to implement ‘electronic Know Your Customer‘ ID verification to ensure under-13s do not own accounts / full item
• ‘Google to spend $15 billion on AI data centre in biggest India investment‘ / full item
• ‘Thailand has ample potential to become a cryptocurrency hub in the Asia Pacific, says Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange operator‘ / full item
• Hong Kong FinTech Week x StartmeupHK Festival 2025 - November 3-7 - here’s the agenda: / full item
• “This first step into Malaysia marks Startup Island TAIWAN’s continued mission to build cross-border connections in the ASEAN region...” / full item
• Hong Kong: “Some use cases will trial using AI against AI, with an application scenario of leveraging the technology to conduct automated checks on AI-generated outputs...” / full item
• India: “Cheap labor and English proficiency helped make India the world’s back office... Now, AI-powered systems are subsuming jobs...” / full item
• Malaysia: Donald Trump talks tariffs on semiconductor imports, potentially casting a cloud over Penang’s tech boom / full item
“...from 2017 to 2024, Japan’s semiconductor equipment exports to China accounted for an average of about 32% of China’s total imports in this category...” / full item
• ‘Vietnam’s crypto market value topped US$220 billion, placing the country third in the Asia-Pacific region, according to Chainalysis‘ / full item
• Malaysia’s latest budget has allocated $1.87 billiion in funding to boost the country’s tech workforce / full item
• “Australian Clinical Labs has been fined $5.8 million over a 2022 data breach that exposed the personal information of more than 223,000 people...” / full item
• Hong Kong: Singapore’s ShopBack shopping-and-rewards platform launches ShopBack Pay in HK, integrating with HK’s Octopus payments / full item
• Download: Annual Cyber Threat Report 2024-2025, from the Australian Signals Directorate (pdf) / full item
In wider-world technology news:
» Musk’s Boring Company is to launch a ‘Dubai Loop‘ in the United Arab Emirates next year / full item
» ‘Want to build your own chatbot for $100? A glimpse into AI’s small, cheap, DIY future‘ / full item
» ‘Making Crypto Real - The future of crypto might be in your wallet‘ from Visa (pdf) / full item
More of Asia’s Tech News:
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And here's the link to the LinkedIn edition of Asia's Tech News, Weekly to October 18th:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/asias-tech-news-weekly-october-18th-2025-startup-news-asia-32odc/
Hey, great read as always. This compilation powerfully showcases the diverse and accelerating tech developments across Asia, painting a clear picture of the region's increasing global influence. Your ability to concisely synthesize such a broad array of news is invaluble.