The end of China's tech golden age; 'Make space for robots' - Korean minister

#HongKong #funding - Shanghai-based Gaussian Robotics, a maker of cleaning robots for industries, has completed its Series B+ round, raising $100 million. The fundraising was led by the Hong Kong-listed Chinese real estate conglomerate Longfor Group. (Deal Street Asia)

#China #AVs - The Beijing municipal government has approved the designation of a demonstration zone for boosting the development of intelligent connected vehicles (ICVs). A planned area of 225 square km in Yizhuang New Town, the Daxing International Airport area, and six highway sections in Yizhuang, Daxing District in southern Beijing will serve as a pilot zone for the initiative. (China Daily)

#China #AIchips - Chinese electric carmaker Xpeng Motors is looking into making its own semiconductors for autonomous driving. Xinzhou Wu, vice president in charge of autonomous driving at Xpeng, said the company is “looking at all possible options” in terms of technologies, to stay ahead of rivals, including autonomous driving chips. Xpeng launched a new electric sedan called the P5 on Wednesday. (CNBC)

#China #AVs - Chinese autonomous driving firm Pony.ai has obtained the autonomous driving road test licenses in Beijing’s Intelligent Connected Vehicle Policy Pilot Zone. Self-driving vehicles equipped with Pony Alpha X, the latest generation system of Pony.ai, will be allowed to conduct public road tests within the zone. (China Money Network)

#China #Lidar - Elon Musk famously said any company relying on lidar is “doomed.” Tesla instead believes automated driving functions are built on visual recognition and is even working to remove the radar. China’s Xpeng begs to differ. Xpeng uses a combination of radar, cameras, high-precision maps powered by Alibaba, localization systems developed in-house and, most recently, lidar to detect and predict road conditions. (TechCrunch)

#China #US #robotaxis - Chinese autonomous driving company WeRide has obtained a permit to test two passenger vehicles on designated public roads in California without human drivers behind the wheel, marking another breakthrough for the startup. Between December 2020 and January 2021, the firm raised a total of $310 million in Series B funding. (PanDaily)

#China #funding - Chinese multinational electronics firm Xiaomi has donated a sum to create the ‘Xiaomi Artificial Intelligence Innovation Research Fund’ at the Institute for AI Industry Research (AIR) of Tsinghua University in Beijing. The fund aims to, to encourage innovative scientific research in cutting-edge fields such as AI, robotics, medical and health. (BigTech)

#India #patents - According to a March CSET report on ‘Mapping India’s AI potential’, there were 10 times as many AI patent applications in India in 2018 as compared to 2012. This trend aligns with global AI patent production activity, which saw roughly similar growth during this period. (Your Story)

#SouthKorea #jobs - South Koreans must learn how to work alongside machines if they want to thrive in a post-pandemic world where many jobs will be handled by AI and robots, according to the country’s Minister of Employment and Labor Lee Jae-kap. “Not all jobs may be replaced by machines, but it’s important to learn ways to work well with machines through training.” (Bloomberg)

#India #education - India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said the new National Education Policy is futuristic and as per world standards, and aimed at fulfilling Dr S Radhakrishnan’s vision of education that empowers a student to participate in national development. (Business Standard)

#Singapore #cancerdiagnosis - A research team from the National University of Singapore (NUS) has developed a technique that uses artificial intelligence to determine whether a single cell is healthy or cancerous by analyzing its pH level. The research was led by Professor Lim Chwee Teck, director of the Institute for Health Innovation & Technology (iHealthtech) at NUS,  (CGTN)

#China #censorship - A research team in China claims to have developed a text censor that can filter “harmful information” on the internet with unprecedented accuracy using artificial intelligence. (SCMP)

#China #antitrust - The full implications of Beijing’s rapid-fire moves against Jack Ma’s internet empire in recent days won’t be apparent for weeks, but one lesson is already clear: The glory days for China’s technology giants are over. (Bloomberg)

#China #antitrust - China’s antimonopoly push for online platforms reached the strictest phase and is making powerful waves through the industry, with 12 major platform firms including Baidu, JD.com, ByteDance and Pinduoduo publishing their law-abiding compliance operation commitments on Wednesday. (Global Times)

#SouthKorea #China #US #chips - President Moon Jae-in is striving to guide Korean chipmakers that have been forced to play a balancing act in the escalating standoff between the U.S. and China. Experts said Korea’s semiconductor industry should be viewed as a matter of national security, requiring a diplomatic approach to accompany the strategies of private businesses. (Korea Times)

#China #US #tradewar - China and the United States should step up their communication while managing their differences and respecting each other’s core interests, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang told a group of senior U.S. executives on Tuesday. (Reuters)

#China #US #tradewar - President Joe Biden understands that chips are the crucial technology, but he doesn’t get how dangerous Xi is. President Xi Jinping is obsessed with technological dominance, reunification with Taiwan, marginalizing the United States in Southeast Asia and usurping the liberal world order. (MarketWatch)

#China #trade - China’s Digital Silk Road (DSR) was launched in 2015 as a component of Beijing’s vast vision for global connectivity, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Like the BRI, the DSR is not monolithic and involves many actors at all levels across the Chinese public and private sectors.  (The Diplomat)

#China #US #tradepolicy - Trans-Pacific View author Mercy Kuo regularly engages subject-matter experts, policy practitioners and strategic thinkers across the globe for their diverse insights into U.S. Asia policy.  (The Diplomat)

#China #US #AI - Artificial intelligence expert Kai-Fu Lee emphasized the importance of an international exchange of ideas in AI technology at a presentation Monday as part of a weeklong virtual UCLA Anderson School of Management conference, focused on technology-driven innovations. (Daily Bruin)

#SouthKorea #defence - Months after the South Korean military was put in the hot seat for failing to quickly apprehend a North Korean man crossing the border, the country’s defense ministry said it will install an AI-powered monitoring system along one of the world’s most heavily-militarized borders. (NK News)

#India #AVs - Chennai-based start-up Torus Robotics has signed an MOU with the Ministry of Defence, on the joint development of UGVs (Unmanned Ground Vehicles) for the armed forces with Indian defence and heavy equipment giant BEML Limited. The UGVs are designed to carry heavy loads. (The Hindu)

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