Good morning, Here’s your Tuesday edition of Asia AI News! In case you missed it, I'm now sending out
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| February 9 · Issue #359 · View online |
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Good morning, Here’s your Tuesday edition of Asia AI News! In case you missed it, I’m now sending out the newsletter twice a week: Tuesdays and Fridays. We already have some hot stories this week! After Korean media reported last month that Hyundai and its subsidiary Kia were in negotiation with Apple to produce autonomous cars, and stories last week that the two Korean companies were getting close to closing a deal with Apple, yesterday it was confirmed by Hyundai that the group was no longer in talks with Apple about its driverless car plans! Stocks tumbled as a result. Meanwhile, China’s market regulator revealed the new anti-monopoly guidelines over the weekend. The new rules will affect e-commerce sites such as Alibaba Group’s Taobao and Tmall marketplaces or JD.com, and also payment services like Ant Group’s Alipay or Tencent Holding’s WeChat Pay. And the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that Tesla has been summoned by by Chinese authorities citing consumer complaints about quality issues. Scroll down for lots more! Stay safe and have a good week! /Carrington
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Pony.ai raises $100 million more to advance its autonomous vehicle tech
#China #USA #funding - Self-driving car startup Pony.ai today announced it has raised $100 million in an extension of its series C round. The funds bring the company’s total raised to over $1 billion at a post-money valuation of $5.3 billion, up from $3 billion as of February 2020. (Venture Beat)
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CB Insights ranks Bytedance as world's most valuable startup
#China #VC - CB Insights has valued AI company Bytedance at $140 billion, now the highest-valued startup in the world, beating Didi Chuxing (2), SpaceX (3) and seven others in the top ten. Another Chinese startup, Kuaishou, is ranked tenth. (CNBC)
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Cialfo raises US$15 million in Series A funding
#Singapore #funding - Edtech startup Cialfo has announced an additional $15 million in Series A funding as it has seen “unprecedented” adoption of technology-driven education solutions during the global health pandemic. New capital investment will be used to drive data science and AI-based product innovation, as well as expand its reach to K-12 providers in India, China and South-east Asia. (The Pie News)
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Only 2.5% of South Korean firms utilize AI: report
#SouthKorea #business - According to “2020 Yearbook of Information Society Statistics” released Sunday by the National Information Society Agency, as of December 2019, 58.3 percent of 222,218 private companies with 10 or more employees in Korea used mobile devices in running their businesses, but only 2.5 percent of them used AI technology or services. (Korea Herald)
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Alexa completes 3 years in India, interaction with voice assistant increased by 67 per cent in 2020
#India #AIvoice - Three years ago, Amazon launched the Alexa digital voice assistant in India. Amazon India says that customers in India interacted with Alexa in English, Hindi, and Hinglish (mix of English and Hindi) last year and interactions with Alexa increased 67 per cent in 2020 as compared to 2019. (India Today)
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LIZHI enters into partnership with AI chip maker to enhance audio services for Internet of Vehicles
#China #AVS #AIvoice - LIZHI INC., a leading online UGC audio community and interactive audio entertainment platform in China, today announced that it has entered into a cooperation agreement with Horizon Robotics, an established chip maker for smart mobility in China, to collaborate on audio services for the Internet of Vehicles (IoV) market. (PR Newswire)
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Hyundai Motor, Kia say they are not in talks with Apple on autonomous car development
#SouthKorea #USA #AVs - South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co and Kia Corp said on Monday they are not in talks with Apple Inc on developing autonomous vehicles, sending their shares tumbling. In early January, Korea Economic Daily TV reported Apple and Hyundai were in discussions to develop self-driving electric vehicles by 2027. (Reuters)
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Naver's AI wing to test on-road autonomous robot platform at test field
#SouthKorea #robotics - AI technology developer Naver Labs will test an on-road autonomous robot platform at a self-driving vehicle testing ground near Seoul. The platforms service will be interlinked with Navers other robot services to deliver parcels inside a tech campus scheduled to open in late 2021. (Aju Daily)
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Great Wall invests in auto chip startup Horizon Robotics to develop smart car technologies
#China #AVs #semiconductors - China’s automaker Great Wall Motor said on Monday it has invested in auto chip startup Horizon Robotics and will jointly develop smart car technologies. Great Wall said in a statement that it would develop autonomous driving, smart car cockpit with Horizon Robotics. (Reuters)
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Vietnam's Vinfast gets permit to test self-driving vehicles in California
#USA #Vietnam #AVs - Vietnam’s first domestic car manufacturer, Vinfast, said on Monday it had obtained a permit to test autonomous vehicles on public streets in California. Vinfast, a unit of Vietnam’s largest conglomerate Vingroup JSC, said the permit granted by the California Vehicle Administration was needed in order for the firm to commercialize its electric vehicles in the U.S. market. (Reuters)
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DIAT’s School of Robotics to research and develop applications for military use
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Bank of Singapore taps SAS’ AI-powered communications surveillance analytics
#Singapore #banking - American multinational developer of analytics software SAS announced that Bank of Singapore will implement its AI powered communications surveillance analytics in their training and monitoring of client representatives’ performance. (Fintech News)
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Nissan starts building sustainable future community in Japan
#Japan #urbanmobility - Nissan began a field test of new mobility services today as part of a partnership to promote future community building in Japan. The partnership agreement between three local governments and eight companies aims to develop new modes of transportation, and to promote the use of renewable energy, in the Hamadori area of Fukushima Prefecture. (Automotive World)
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In new ranking system, Bhopal tops smart city list
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Mangaluru becomes data-driven with Integrated Command Control Centre
#India #smartcities - The Integrated Command Control Center (ICCC) of Mangaluru, a part of the smart city project, being implemented by Mangaluru Smart City Limited, enables the city administration to take strategic decisions in the areas of transport, surveillance, solid waste management, disaster management, and many other city operations based on the analysis of real-time data. (Economic Times)
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‘Ranchi smart city a model for others’
#India @smartcities - Secretary of the Union ministry of housing and urban affairs Durga Shankar Mishra, who was on a two-day tour to the state, said Ranchi smart city will not only change the way of life of the residents of the state capital, but will also emerge as a role model for other cities to follow. (Times of India)
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Pandemic accelerates Japanese companies' embrace of robots
#Japan #robotics - Businesses in Japan and other Asian countries are using more robots and machines than ever to replace and reduce human contact as the COVID-19 pandemic lingers Japanese restaurant chain Watami is one such business, having introduced service robots in October on a trial basis. (Asia Nikkei)
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Vuno to expand global presence through IPO
#SouthKorea #healthcare - AI-based medical device company Vuno unveiled its strategy and vision on Monday to become a global leader in the AI-based medical device market on the occasion of its initial public offering (IPO) on KOSDAQ, a digital trading board of Korea Exchange in South Korea. (Korea Biomed)
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AI takes center stage in telcos' tech drive
#SouthKorea #telecom - South Korean mobile carriers are expanding services integrated with AI technology. Last week telecom giant KT Corp. joined hands with Hyundai Home Shopping Network Corp. to establish an AI call center at the retail company’s headquarters in Seoul. (Yonhap)
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Korean group adopts breakthrough Israeli language-learning technology
#Israel #SouthKorea #education - The Korean private school network The Education Company has partnered with Israeli education technology firm MagniLearn to adopt MagniLearn’s AI and neuroscience-based language learning platform for schools throughout Korea, the companies announced Thursday. (Israel Hayom)
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US-China trade war: phase one trade deal largely a ‘failure’, as purchases fall well short of targets
#China #US #tradedeal - China and the US signed their phase one trade deal in January 2020, with China committing to buy $200 billion more goods and services over the next two years According to a report by the Peterson Institute for International Economics, US exports of phase one goods in 2020 fell more than 40 per cent short of the target. (SCMP)
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About Carrington Malin
Carrington Malin helps large organisations, digital brands and fast growing tech ventures with brand, communications and go-to-market strategies.
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