Microsoft Acquires Smart Voice Giant Nuance for USD 19.7 Billion
On April 12, Microsoft Corp announced the acquisition of Nuance for USD 19.7 billion, which is the largest acquisition after its LinkedIn deal for USD 26 billion in 2016.
Category: Global News
AI highlights.
Switzerland, HPE and NVIDIA to Build the World’s Most Powerful AI-Capable Supercomputer
On April 12, the Swiss National Supercomputing Centre (CSCS), Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) and NVIDIA announced that they are creating what is expected to be the world’s most powerful AI-capable supercomputer.
Shenzhen’s Robotics Industry Output in 2020 Was USD 22 Billion, Up 14 Percent
According to the Shenzhen Robotics Industry Development White Paper released on April 9, the total output value of Shenzhen’s robotics industry was RMB 143.4 billion (USD 22 billion approx.)
Softbank-backed Robotics Startup CloudMinds Completes RMB 1 Billion B+ Round
On April 8, Chinese robotics startup CloudMinds finished series B+ round of funding with RMB 1 Billion (approx. USD 150 million) investment led by SOEs Shanghai Urban Construction Investment and Shanghai Guosheng Group.
Chinese EV Manufacturer XPeng Heads in R&D for Owned Self-Driving Chips
On April 7, media reports show that China’s top-tier electric vehicle manufacturer, XPeng or Xiaopeng Motors, has commenced R&D for owned self-driving chips.
Tech Giant Xiaomi Announces Ambition to Produce Electric Cars
Xiaomi, the Chinese electronics giant with a valuation over RMB 100 billion, has announced its entrance into the electric cars market on March 30th.
Facebook & Google’s LazyTensor Enables Expressive Domain-Specific Compilers
A team from Facebook and Google has proposed LazyTensor — a technique for targeting domain-specific compilers without sacrificing define-by-run ergonomics.
Scania and TuSimple Pilot Self-Driving Trucks in Sweden
Scania, the Swedish manufacturer of heavy lorries, trucks and buses, is testing L4 level self-driving trucks on the E4 motorway between Södertälje and Jönköping, in collaboration with San Diego-based company TuSimple.
Shanghai’s 2025 Ambition to Be the New Energy and Self-Driving Vehicles Hub
On February 25, the Shanghai Government announced its Implementation Plan for Accelerating the Development of the New Energy Automobile Industry (2021-2025).
JPMorgan Chase: Global Chip Demand is 10-30 Percent Higher Than Production Capacity
According to multiple investment institutions, the global chip shortage shows no signs of alleviation, despite of increasing demand in 2021.
Canadian Agritech Startup Farmers Edge Inc. Files IPO to Raise CAD 100 Million
Farmers Edge Inc, an AI startup to help growers increase crop yields, plans to go public on Canada’s largest Toronto Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “FDGE”.
Swedish Telecom Giant Ericsson: 5G Users are Expected to Reach 3.5 Billion in 2026
At the Mobile World Congress held in Shanghai on February 28, Telecommunications company Ericsson revealed numbers for the fast-paced development of 5G networks.
Self-Driving Truck Unicorn TuSimple Eyes Upcoming IPO Possibilities in the United States
TuSimple has submitted listing documents and plans to list in the United States as early as next month.
Quicktron Accelerates Global Expansion After C Round Financing as Human Touch-Free Approach Gains Traction in Logistics
Quicktron completed a new C+ financing round led by KION Group and Prosperity7 Ventures, and proceeds will be used for global market expansion and further technical development.
Toyota Constructs Smart City at the Foot of Mount Fuji
On February 3, Japanese automotive manufacturer Toyota has began to construct a high-tech city at the base of Mount Fuji.
South Korea Customs Service and IBS Delve into AI Analysis for Cross-Border Trade
South Korea’s Customs Service has partnered with the government-funded Institute for Basic Science (IBS) to conduct joint research on AI technology using customs trade data.
Dell Opens Global Innovation Facility in Singapore, the First Outside US
Dell Technologies has opened a new innovation facility in Singapore, to focus on R&D for edge computing, data analytics and augmented reality.
Baidu’s Revenue Hits RMB 100 Billion in 2020, Driven by AI Transitions
On February 18, Baidu released the 2020 full year and Q4 financial report, presenting revenue of RMB 107.1 Billion, and its net profit of RMB 22 billion.
Chinese AI Voice Recognition Star Unisound Withdraws IPO Request Three Months After Application
On February 19, Beijing-based AI startup Unisound has decided halted its IPO application to the Shanghai Stalk Exchange.
SAIC Joins Hand With Horizon Robotics for Autopilot Chips
On February 22, Chinese state-owned automotive company SAIC Motor announced that it has forged a comprehensive strategic cooperation with Horizon Robotics, an AI smart chip unicorn.
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Daimler Subsidiary Torc Robotics Adopts Amazon Cloud to Develop Autonomous Driving
Torc Robotics has selected Amazon Cloud Services (AWS) as its cloud service provider to meet large-scale data transmission, storage and computing speed requirements.
Huawei’s HMS for Car Partners with Mercedes Benz
Huawei and Mercedes-Benz S-Class are cooperating to provide car owners with the HMS for Car Huawei smart vehicle solution.
Apple Reveals Design of Its On-Device ML System for Federated Evaluation and Tuning
Apple has laid out the design characteristics of a new generic system that enables federated evaluation and tuning (FE&T) systems on end-user devices.
L.E.K. Consulting: Drones to Account for 30% of Deliveries by 2040
British consulting firm L.E.K. has released a recent research report stating that as unmanned technology and network scale greatly reduce costs, by 2040, drones may account for as much as 30 percent of same-day parcel deliveries.
Goldman Sachs Launches Marcus Invest Robo-Adviser
On February 16, Goldman Sachs announced that it is launching an automated wealth management platform to invest client funds in a portfolio of stocks and bonds.
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Chinese AI Chip Maker Horizon Robotics Bags USD 9M for Series C
According to statement on February 12, Chinese AI chip unicorn Horizon Robotics announces a third time series C financing.
Swiss Fragrance Giant Givaudan Acquires French AI Startup Myrissi
As part of the long-term strategy to “expand AI capabilities”, Swiss flavours and fragrance giant Givaudan announced that it will acquire the French company Myrissi.
Chinese AI Firm 4Paradigm Raises $700M for Series D
On January 22, Beijing-based AI firm 4Paradigm announced USD 700 million series D investments from Boyu Capital, Primavera Capital and Hopu Investments.
Japan: Harvesting Robots to Help Aging Farmers and Shortage of Labor
Recent footage shows agricultural robot co-developed by National Research Institute Agricultural Research Organization, Ritsumeikan University, and automobile parts manufacturer Denso harvesting apples in Japan’s orchards.
Tsinghua AI Report: China Applied for 389,571 AI Patents in the Past Ten Years
Analyzing papers and patent data collected from top AI journals and conferences, 44 in total from 2011 to 2020, Tsinghua University’s new AI development report revealed new statistical insights.
IBM Closes China Research Laboratory
IBM has closed off its Beijing-based China Research Laboratory (CRL) after 25 years of operation.
South Korea’s Gwangju City Applies AI to City Governance
According to reports on January 20, South Korea’s Gwangju is adopting integrated AI technology to help with city governance.
McGill Researchers Use AI to Manage Extreme Weather Events
On January 18, in efforts to understand and manage extreme weather events, McGill University announced a new interdisciplinary project to combine deep learning (DL) with social network analysis (SNA).
‘Papers-With-Video’ Browser Extension Adds Video Access to arXiv
A Nepalese machine learning (ML) researcher has introduced a handy browser extension that lets users directly access videos related to research papers published on the popular preprint platform arXiv.
Trump Administration Cuts Off Licenses for Huawei Chips Suppliers Including Intel
According to a report from Reuters, the Trump administration has notified Intel among others, that their supplier licenses to Chinese telecommunication giant Huawei have been revoked.
Kenyan-Developed APP Utilizes ML to Predicate the Migration and Breeding of Locusts
Kuzi is using satellite data, soil sensor data, ground meteorological observation and machine learning technology trained on predict the locusts’ breeding, appearance and migration routes.
ICLR 2021 | UT Austin Training-Free Framework Performs High-Quality NAS on ImageNet in Four GPU Hours
Researchers from the University of Texas, Austin have proposed a novel framework called Training-Free Neural Architecture Search (TE-NAS) for “training-free” neural architecture search.
Germany launches“AI Breakthrough Hub” funded by the federal and state governments and Hector Foundation
The German Federal government and the State of Baden-Württemberg pledged new AI funding schemes for an “AI breakthrough hub”.
South Korea Expands AI Caregiver Service to Protect Socially Vulnerable Groups
South Korea’s Seodaemun-gu will expand the number of “artificial intelligence (AI) caregiver service” target from 200 to 450 from next month.
Toyota and Stanford University Join Hands to Research on Automotive Safety Improvements
Researcher from Toyota Research Institute announce joint efforts with Stanford’s Dynamic Design Lab, to research on automotive safety improvements.