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| April 9 · Issue #373 · View online |
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Good morning, Here’s your Friday edition of Asia AI News! There’s a lot of news to share today. However, perhaps the most surprising is Huawei’s decision to break up its cloud and AI group, which it formed in January last year. It looked like the right move and based on the new divisions apparent success, Huawei had committed to investing $1.5 billion in it. The company also announced just a few weeks ago that its consumer group head, Richard Yu, would be heading up the division. What happened? I think we’ll have to wait for further industry comment and analysis. Scroll down for Tech Radar’s story on Huawei, plus funding news, SoftBank’s $2.8 billion investment in Norwegian robotics firm AutoStore, semiconductor and smart city news. And more criticism of Apple’s and Google’s relationship with China from Silicon Valley investor Peter Thiel. Last, but not least, I can highly recommend Charles Reed Anderson’s excellent TechBurst Asia Podcast on the career of Michael Conlin, the first Chief Data Officer for the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and ethics in AI. Entertaining and insightful! Stay safe and have a great weekend! /Carrington
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Singapore-based retail analytics company Trax raises $640M Series E led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and BlackRock
#Singapore #funding - COVID-19 forced many retailers and brands to adopt new technologies. Retail analytics unicorn Trax expects that this openness to tech innovation will continue even after the pandemic. The Singapore-based company announced today that it has raised $640 million in Series E funding to expand its products, which combine computer vision and cloud-based software to help brick-and-mortar stores manage their inventory, merchandising and operations. (TechCrunch)
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AI startup Gupshup raises $100 million from Tiger Global to join India’s fast growing club of unicorns
#India #funding - Ten years after it last raised funds, Gupshup, the AI led conversational messaging platform, has become the 10th unicorn from India in 2021. The startup has raised $100 million from Tiger Global and is now valued at $1.4 billion. (Business Insider)
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Huawei is closing its cloud and AI business group after only a year
#China #Huawei - Chinese tech giant Huawei has decided to break up its cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) group, despite dedicating significant resources during the 14 months since its inception. Recent reports had claimed that Huawei, riding on the recent successes, had committed to investing $1.5 billion into the new services division. (Tech Radar)
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SoftBank invests $2.8 billion in Norwegian robotics firm AutoStore
#Japan #funding - Japanese tech conglomerate SoftBank has acquired 40% of Norwegian warehouse automation firm AutoStore for $2.8 billion. The news was first reported by The Wall Street Journal on Monday and later confirmed by AutoStore in an update on its website. The deal values AutoStore at $7.7 billion. (CNBC)
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The ulti-mutt pet? Chinese tech company develops robo-dogs
#China #robotics - It’s whip fast, obeys commands and doesn’t leave unpleasant surprises on the floor – meet the AlphaDog, a robotic response to two of China’s burgeoning loves: pets and technology. “It’s really very similar to a real dog,” says Ma Jie, chief technology officer at Weilan, the company behind the canine robot. (France 24)
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Robot helps carry the Tokyo 2020 Olympic torch
#Japan #Tokyo2020 - Day 13 of the Tokyo Olympics 2020 Torch Relay featured a robot helping to carry the Flame in Toyota, Japan on Tuesday. The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Torch Relay kicked off in Fukushima on March 25. (ANI)
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SenseTime receives CE mark for its AI medical solution SenseCare-Chest DR Pro diagnostic software
#China #UAE #diagnosis - AI giant SenseTime has recently been granted CE mark approval for its AI medical solution SenseCare-Chest DR Pro. Leveraging SenseTime’s cutting-edge AI technologies, the solution can quickly triage normal and abnormal scans from chest X-ray screening and accurately detect various chest diseases on the abnormal ones. (PRN Asia)
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China’s first smart hospital featuring AI opened in Guangzhou
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ByteDance team to develop AI chips as China aims for self-reliance
#China #semiconductor - 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)
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S. Korea, Taiwan companies far exceed China in terms of semiconductor capital investment
#China #SouthKorea #Taiwan #semiconductor - According to IC Insights, Samsung remains the world’s biggest spender since 2010 and together with TSMC, both companies are expected to be responsible for 43 per cent of the global total expenditure this year, reported Nikkei Asia. (Economic Times)
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Toyota unveils new models in advanced driver-assist technology push
#Japan #automotive - Toyota Motor Corp unveiled on Thursday new models of Lexus and Mirai in Japan, equipped with advanced driver assistance, as competition heats up to develop more self-driving and connected cars. (Reuters)
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Why NITI Aayog CEO believes India is in a position to be an AI global leader
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Vietnam enlists South Korea's Naver to drive AI ambitions
#Vietnam #SouthKorea #nationalAIstrategy - Vietnam has entered into a partnership with South Korea’s biggest internet company as part of a national strategy that seeks to transform the Southeast Asian country into a global player in AI by the start of the next decade. (Asia Nikkei)
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Citizens should be at the centre of developing AI, say experts at WEF tech summit
#Singapore #AIpolicy - Citizens should be at the centre of developing AI, not the technology, and people ought to be treated fairly and be well represented when it comes to their input in the training of AI systems, said experts on Tuesday (April 6). (Straits Times)
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Tides of change: Shenzhen powers China's smart city drive
#China #SmartCities - Shenzhen, the tech powerhouse in south China’s Guangdong Province, has digitised most government administrative affairs in recent years as China forges ahead with smart city developments. AI and big data have transformed the way locals interact with the government, with tech giants such as Alibaba, Tencent and Ping An Smart City spearheading the innovation. (CGTN)
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Japan’s smart city initiatives will play key role in its digitisation and economic revival
#Japan #WEF #smartcities - Japan’s “Digital Ministry” and other initiatives like the Super City Law are designed to pave the way for the country’s long-overdue digital transformation. (WEF)
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Vi launches new IoT offering, eyes digital India, smart city projects
#India #smartcities - Vodafone Idea (Vi) has launched an integrated IoT solution as it aims to tap opportunities from Digital India and Smart Cities mission. The company is targeting the automotive, smart infrastructure, logistics and power sectors. (Business Standard)
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Seoul street lamps provide WiFi and charge electric cars
#SouthKorea #smartstreetlamps - In South Korea, about 20 so-called smart street lamps have been installed in the city centre. They are designed to better manage traffic or to monitor certain places, or to help connect to a public wireless network. By the end of the year, the new models should be able to charge electric cars, as well as drones. (Free Malaysia Today)
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Tokyo announces 'robot' supermarket
#Japan #retail - The Daiei supermarket chain will open an unmanned warehouse in the capital, which is cheaper than the existing ones. Nikkei reports that the store will open this summer in collaboration with the Chinese start up Cloudpick: the Japanese Aeon group, owner of the Daiei chain, wants it to be the first of a series. (Asia News IT)
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Peter Thiel criticises Google and Apple for being too close to China
#China #US #PeterThiel - Tech investor Peter Thiel criticised big U.S. technology companies for being too close to China at a Tuesday appearance at a virtual event held by the Richard Nixon Foundation. (CNBC)
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Podcast: Addressing AI's Ethical Issues w/ the former US Dept of Defense's Chief Data Officer Michael Conlin
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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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