Megvii files for STAR Market IPO; New US restrictions on Chinese tech

#China #IPO - Megvii Technology Ltd. is poised to become the first major Chinese artificial intelligence startup to go public after it filed for a Chinese Depositary Receipt offering on Shanghai’s Star board on Friday. The startup, backed by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., plans to issue up to 253 million Class B shares as the underlying stock for the CDR offering. (Bloomberg)

#China #robotaxis - Baidu will become the first company in China to charge the passengers for autonomous driving taxi services, as the leading AI company has received such qualifications from the authorities in Cangzhou, Hebei province. (ECNS)

#India #AVs - MG Motor India on Monday said it has joined hands with IIT Delhi’s Centre for Automotive Research and Tribology (CART) for research in the field of electric and autonomous vehicles. (Times of India)

#Singapore #homedelivery - About 700 households in Punggol will be able to use robot ‘couriers’ to deliver their shopping under a new trial involving autonomous robots. The one-year trial aims to ease the delivery manpower crunch and test the usability of such robots. (Straits Times)

#China #AIchips - Chinese TikTok-owner ByteDance is making plans to develop semiconductors, according to the company’s job postings and a source familiar with the situation. The plan is still at an early stage and the company’s focus is on Arm-based server-side chips, the person told Reuters. (Reuters)

#SouthKorea #AIchips - Samsung Electronics recently won a project for Google parent Alphabet’s autonomous driving unit Waymo to develop chips for next-generation self-driving cars, South Korean media reported on Monday. (Channel News Asia)

#India #education - Union education minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ said all institutions affiliated with AICTE have been asked to offer AI as an elective in B.Tech. courses and also start B.Tech in AI and data science. (LiveMint)

#Singapore #education - Singapore is the first country in the world to roll out a course developed by Intel to demystify AI for the man in the street. The free four-hour online microlearning course AI For Citizens was launched on the Gnowbe self-learning platform on Tuesday (March 16) in partnership with Institute of Technical Education (ITE). (Straits Times)

#India #education - Dinesh Patel, a resident of Rajmalpur village of Jaunpur district and a computer science teacher at Kendriya Vidyalaya at IIT Bombay, has developed a robot named ‘Shalu,’ which speaks nine local languages and 38 foreign languages. (India West)

#India #digitaleconomy - There’s a huge opportunity to position India as a global hub for data and AI, enabling investment, jobs and innovation, says Anant Maheshwari, president, Microsoft India. (The Hindu)

#China #US #Huaweiban - The US has labeled five Chinese tech companies, including Huawei, as national security risks. President Joe Biden may be continuing his predecessor’s hardline stance against China’s growing technological dominance. (DW)

#China #US #Huaweiban - China blasted President Joe Biden’s administration for imposing new restrictions on national tech champion Huawei Technologies Co., saying the U.S. “isn’t a reliable country that is to be trusted.” (Bloomberg)

#China #US #Huaweiban - Here’s a breakdown of the controversy surrounding the Chinese phone maker and telecommunications supplier Huawei. (CNET)

#China #US #ColdWar - Beijing has accused the U.S. of perpetuating a Cold War mentality as President Joe Biden and senior administration officials shore up alliances in the Pacific region to counter China’s growing influence and increasingly describe the country as a geopolitical threat. (Democracy Now)

#SouthKorea #environment - South Korea’s national park management body has partnered with domestic companies to utilise AI and high-definition aerial photographs to monitor colonies of dead trees in Mount Chiris subalpine areas. The monitoring tool can help mountain watchers safely monitor the ecological systems of hard-to-reach places remotely. (Aju Daily)

Carrington Malin helps large organisations, digital brands and fast growing tech ventures with brand, communications and go-to-market strategies.