EU-US council aims to combat China tech; India plans drone vaccine delivery

#Singapore #funding - Carro, one of Southeast Asia’s biggest online marketplaces for used cars, has raised $360 million led by SoftBank Vision Fund II to fuel expansion in Thailand and Indonesia before pursuing a U.S. listing. The platform simplifies the car buying and selling process for both consumers and dealers by leveraging AI. (Bloomberg)

#India #USA #funding - AI-powered talent intelligence platform Eightfold AI on Thursday announced that it has raised $220 million in its Series E funding round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2. The company has raised more than $410 million to date, with $350 million coming in the last six months. (Daiji World)

#India #insurtech - Founded in 2019, Bengaluru-based startup Ensuredit helps insurance companies improve online customer experiences by building thoughtful AI into a platform’s technological skeleton. (Yourstory)

#India #accelerators - The Telangana government on Monday announced the rollout of an accelerator programmme calld Revv Up for AI startups as part of its Telangana AI Mission (T-AIM). Revv Up will begin its first cohort in July this year. (Times of India)

#India #accelerators - The Noida outreach campus of the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (IITK) will soon open a a centre of excellence in AI and Innovation-Driven Entrepreneurship (AIIDE). The centre plans to incubate 50 startups a year on the cohort model, of which 20 startups will receive follow-up funding, (Hindustan Times)

#India #loanapps - Hundreds of mobile lending apps have now target India promising quick loans, even to those without a credit history or collateral. However, loan apps face increasing criticism for high lending rates, short repayment terms and aggressive recovery methods. At the same time, analysts say their algorithms discriminate against women and other traditionally marginalised groups. (Times of India)

#SouthKorea #retail - South Korean convenience store GS25 has recently launched a delivery service using an AI-based robot at a second location in southern Seoul. The second AI-powered robot dispatched at its GS Tower branch in Yeoksam-dong in the Gangnam area comes after the company first unveiled the service last year. (Korea Herald)

#India #waste - The Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) now has a scavenging robot to clean choked sewers in Vadodara (Baroda) provided by Madhya Gujarat Vij Company Limited (MGVCL) under a CSR initiative. (Livemint)

#India #food&beverage - Nosh, a cooking robot developed by Bengaluru-based startup Euphotic Labs, can cook about 200 one-pot dishes as per individual taste preferences. (Your Story)

#India #training - Emerging topics like machine learning, artificial intelligence, computer programming, and deep learning have become the top online courses taken up by Indians, according to a report by online learning platform Coursera. (The Hindu)

#China #US #IPO - Didi Chuxing, China’s biggest ride-hailing firm, last Thursday made public the filing for its long-anticipated US stock market listing, setting the stage for what is expected to be the world’s biggest IPO this year. Backed by Softbank, Alibaba and Tencent, Didi did not reveal the size off the offering but Reuters has quoted sources that it could raise around $10 billion and seek a valuation of close to $100 billion. (Fortune)

#China #AVs - China’s Huawei Technologies aims to develop driverless-car technology by 2025, an executive said, as the world’s largest telecommunications equipment maker diversifies its business in the face of U.S. sanctions. (Autonews)

#China #AVs - Chinese e-commerce leader Alibaba Group Holding Ltd plans to develop self-driving trucks with logistics subsidiary Cainiao, Chief Technology Officer Cheng Li said last week. Cheng also said Cainiao aims to introduce 1,000 autonomous delivery robots in China over the next year. (Reuters)

#SouthKorea #AVs - An unmanned, autonomous shuttle bus without a driver’s seat developed by South Korean researchers is set to begin testing within the Electronics and Telecommunication Research Institute (ETRI) campus. (Korea BizWire)

#China #surveillance - Authorities at all levels are now using AI for everything from pandemic control to monitoring illegal public assemblies. While there are benefits, including anti-corruption features, there are also concerns over privacy and data security. (SCMP)

#China #AIrace - A new AI model developed by Chinese researchers is performing untold feats with image creation and natural language processing — making rivals in Europe and the U.S. nervous about falling behind. Developed by the government-funded Beijing Academy of Artificial Intelligence and unveiled last week, Wu Dao 2.0 appears to be among the world’s most sophisticated AI language models. (POLITICO)

#China #economy - Mixing AI with the economy: China is toying with the tools to allow tech influence into government management. Can it use technology to successfully blend elements of the planned economy and the market economy? (The Globe and Mail)

#China #EU #USA #techtrade - A joint EU-US statement said a newly launched EU-U.S. Trade and Technology Council (TTC) would focus on removing trade barriers, setting global standards and promoting joint innovation in key technologies. The council aims to “write the rules of the road” on the global economy, in the face of growing competition from China. (SCMP)

#China #techwar - Beijing has accused Washington of promoting protectionism following Senate approval of a bill aimed at boosting US research and development in key technologies to compete with China. The Chinese Foreign Ministry responded last week to the Senate-approved industrial policy bill aimed at boosting competitiveness with Chinese technology. (DW)

#India #vaccinedelivery - Telangana government has launched a project to check delivery feasibility of medical supplies. Companies including Flipkart and Dunzo have announced their consortia under Telangana’s drone delivery scheme to develop and execute drone deliveries there. (Indian Express)

#India #vaccinedelivery - HLL Infra Tech Services, a Miniratna PSU tasked with procuring vaccines for central government, has invited bids for delivering medical supplies using drones to remote locations with difficult terrain, on behalf of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), one of the premier institutions at the forefront of India’s fight against coronavirus. (Livemint)

#SouthKorea #bordersecurity - South Korea is preparing to increase its unmanned presence in the no man’s land that divides the Korean peninsula The military plans to add “moving robots” as part of an “artificial intelligence-based surveillance system. (NextGov)

#China #virtualcelebrities - Luo Tianyi’s New Years’ Day performance was sparsely attended by pop star standards, with only about 300 people in the audience. Then again, she was not there either. However, to see Luo, one of China’s rising superstars, some 150 million tuned in to the live stream on their TVs and mobile devices. (Straits Times)

#India #Bollywood - A new AI-powered study of film dialogues by two Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) researchers looks at Bollywood’s social biases and how they have changed over 70 years. The study found that although social biases have steadily reduced over the years, some have remained unchanged - such as India’s age-old affinity for lighter skin. (BBC)

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