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Technology
Latest news features and opinion on technology, covering everything from AI innovation to smartphone makers and apps.
last updated:
9 September, 2024
An AI virtual anchor is pictured during the launch of Malaysia’s National AI Office in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on December 12. Southeast Asia’s unique combination of adaptability, dynamism and strategic investments is positioning it as a critical player in shaping the AI landscape. Photo: Xinhua
Asean

Opinion | How Southeast Asia can become the next AI powerhouse

Young, dynamic and fast, the region has unique advantages, supported by investment in infrastructure, talent, policy support and collaboration.

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India

More Indians hire private sleuths for ‘proper checks’ on prospective partners

Artificial intelligence

A Hong Kong AI model is accurately identifying eye conditions at high rates

Thailand

Thailand’s high-tech utopia starts to take shape – but will it deliver?

At its launch seven years ago, the Eastern Economic Corridor was marketed as a solution to Thailand’s economic malaise. But concerns persist.

Thailand’s once-thriving economy, which grew an average of 5 per cent annually in the early 2000s, has been battered by two decades of political turmoil and coups. Image: Huy Truong
Science

How the launch of China’s GuoWang satellites differs from its US Starlink rival

Details have emerged on the key distinctions between China’s recent internet satellite launch and SpaceX’s constellation.

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Artificial intelligence

Chinese-owned Character.ai rival vanishes from US App Store

Talkie, a popular AI companion app developed by Shanghai start-up MiniMax, has been removed from Apple’s store in the US.

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China trade

‘Resilient’ trade gains see Shenzhen poised to overtake Shanghai despite US tech siege

Total trade value in city dubbed China’s Silicon Valley surged past 4 trillion yuan from January to November, with a record year-on-year increase.

Strong growth in Shenzhen’s trade has been buoyed, in part, by rising demand for Chinese electronics and hi-tech products. Photo: EPA-EFE
Tencent

China’s super app WeChat flexes e-commerce muscles with gift feature

The new function could be Tencent’s next big hit after electronic red packets, says one merchant.

Food and Drinks

The restaurants where robot chefs prepare your salad

US salad chain Sweetgreen is rolling out automated kitchens where robots make the salads. Every bowl still has a human touch – for now.

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Artificial intelligence

Shenzhen showers AI companies, workers with cash to boost local industry

Municipal government issues a slew of new policies including tens of millions of dollars in subsidies to promote AI development.

A view of Shenzhen’s Qianhai area, a major part of the China (Guangdong) Pilot Free Trade Zone, on August 25, 2020. Photo: VCG via Getty Images
US-China relations

Opinion | US-China science pact renewal a ray of hope amid techno-nationalism

The pact sustains targeted collaboration, but it also risks reinforcing emerging scientific blocs, potentially reshaping the global research landscape.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
US-China relations

US restrictions on outbound investments to China scrapped from spending bill

Earlier version had included provisions on overseas transactions involving China in sectors like chips, quantum technology and AI.

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US-China relations

US investigates China’s TP-Link, maker of Wi-fi routers, after cyberattacks

Security concerns over a network equipment manufacturer that controls more than 60 per cent of the US market for home internet routers.

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Ant Group

Chinese fintech giant Ant denies imminent restart of IPO process

Amid rife speculation, the company says it has no current plans to go public or pursue a back-door listing.

An Ant Group building in Hangzhou, China. Photo: Shutterstock
Science

China’s neutrino facility at final stage on path to measure ghost particles

The Juno facility in Guangdong has started filling with ultrapure water at 100 tonnes per hour, on track to collect data from August: IHEP.

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Staff seal the bottom of a water tank with Tyvek material at the Juno construction site in southern China. Juno is expected to operate for at least 30 years. Photo: Xinhua
Alibaba

Alibaba splits AI team to sharpen consumer and business focus

It follows similar moves by ByteDance and Baidu, which have divided their AI research and application teams to tackle a competitive market.

China food security

Fertiliser on its way out, advanced tech is in, as China sees record farm yields

Modernisation efforts come as food-security stability grows more critical in China’s agrarian undertakings.

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Cybersecurity

US investigates China-founded internet router maker TP-Link

Investigators fear that TP-Link is using ‘the Huawei playbook’, according to people familiar with the probe.

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A TP-Link smart Wi-fi plug. Photo: Matt Haldane
China's space programme

Editorial | Science the winner as Chinese astronauts spacewalk to record

Hi-tech advances in spacesuits resulting from previous missions helped make the nine-hour feat possible.

Artificial intelligence

China’s GenAI sector sees more funding, fewer deals in sign of consolidation

Total funding amounted to 35 billion yuan this year, compared with 20.5 billion yuan last year, meaning investors are being more selective.

Hong Kong economy

2 firms to work with Hong Kong’s PolyU on new drone take-off forecast tool

Companies and institution will also develop anti-jamming technology for devices, after two shows cancelled over National Day holiday.

Drones on the ground at West Kowloon Cultural District for a show, later cancelled, over the National Day holiday. Photo: Sam Tsang
Cybersecurity

Ireland fines Facebook owner Meta €251 million for data breach

The tech giant infringed EU’s General Data Protection Regulation, according to the country’s data watchdog.

Meta Platforms’ Irish arm has been fined by the country’s data watchdog. Photo: Reuters
Science

Chinese space defence expert Zhang Xiaoxin dies in car crash in Beijing

Zhang, 62, a pioneer in China’s space weather sector, is remembered for his outstanding contribution to monitoring and warning technology.

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Internet

Opinion | From TikTok to Apple, companies must tread carefully amid digital nationalism

Restrictive policies could hinder innovation, limit consumer choice and fragment the global digital economy.

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Banking & finance

Exclusive | China-UAE ties evolve as Gulf nation acts as global ‘superconnector’

China’s growing heft in innovative industries is driving partnerships with the UAE, HSBC’s country head says.

Chinese firms are involved in a number of significant infrastructure projects in the UAE, said Mohamed Al Marzooqi, CEO of HSBC UAE. Photo: Handout
US-China relations

US-China working groups on economy, finance meet as future in doubt under Trump

Dialogue set up last year as Biden and Xi sought to manage bilateral differences could fall off amid anticipated revival of trade war.

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US president-elect Donald Trump speaks at his estate Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, on Monday. Photo: AP
Science

Chinese ‘behaviour’ remarks by MIT professor unnerve top AI conference

Keynote speaker apologises after using ‘irrelevant’ example of misbehaviour that specified a Chinese student’s nationality.

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Semiconductors

China’s chip industry reports sharp drop in funding amid ongoing tech war

In the first 11 months of 2024, China’s semiconductor industry recorded 677 investment deals, a decline of 35.9 per cent year on year.

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