ChiNext tech stocks soar 200%; XYZ Robotics raises $20 million

#China #ChiNext - Eighteen Chinese companies — all small-to-medium sized tech firms — took advantage of ChiNext’s new rules and began trading Monday. By market close, their stocks had popped more than 200% on average. A medical equipment manufacturer called Contec Medical Systems soared more than 1000%, leading the gains. (CNN)

#China #ChiNext - Shares of 18 companies surged on their ChiNext debut on Monday, kicking off a historic reform that will see Shenzhen officially challenge Shanghai for tech listings, while adding fuel to a “technology war” with the United States. (Reuters)

#China #ChiNext - The first batch of registration-based initial public offerings (IPOs) of 18 enterprises debuted Monday on the ChiNext board, China’s NASDAQ-style board of growth enterprises, amid the country’s efforts to reform the capital market. (Xinhua)

#China #ChiNext - China’s National Equities Exchange and Quotations (NEEQ), also known as the “new third board,” has seen a turnover of more than 83.7 billion yuan ($12 billion) so far this year. (Asia Times)

#China #funding - XYZ Robotics, a provider of piece-picking solutions for the logistics and e-commerce industries, has raised hearly $20 million in a Series A+ round of financing led by Source Code Capital, a Beijing-based investment firm. (DealStreet Asia)

#China #virtualassistants - The company Xiaoice has released new AI products, including a ‘virtual human’ product line for users, with an AI customisation tool to create a ‘virtual boyfriend’ or companion. (Asia Times)

#India #AIstrategy - A proposed national strategy on use of AI applications in business and governance will make sure the less-privileged benefit from the technology rather than being left behind, said Amitabh Kant, CEO of federal policy think tank NITI Aayog. (LiveMint)

#Singapore #smartcities - The number of applications to the Smart Nation Scholarship scheme increased again this year with awardees undergoing rigorous training and taking on key roles in national projects. (Smart Cities World)

#India #agriculture - Agritech startup Agri10x, a global e-marketplace, is leveraging the power of advanced technologies like AI, blockchain and Internet of Things (IoT) to help the farming community, and has entered into a partnership with the government. (Express Computer)

#China #US #Huaweiban - Are we witnessing the death throes of Huawei? A week ago, the Bureau of Industrial Security in the US Department of Commerce issued a notification further restricting access by Huawei and its non-US affiliates on the Entity List to items produced domestically and abroad by using US technology and software. (ORF Online)

#China #US #Huaweiban - Ren Zhengfei, the founder of Huawei Technologies, said the name for his company came from a slogan he saw on a wall, meaning “China has promise”. (SCMP)

#Japan #astronomy - Astronomers have used AI for finding and classifying spiral galaxies using images of the distant universe captured by the Subaru Telescope. A research group, consisting of astronomers mainly from the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ), applied a deep-learning to classify galaxies in a large dataset of images obtained. (The Week)

Carrington Malin is a UAE-based entrepreneur, marketer and writer who focuses on emerging technologies.