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).
Category: Asia
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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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.
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.
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.
Baidu Releases ML Bio-computing Framework PaddleHelix
At the Wave Summit 2020 held on December 20, Baidu unveiled the company’s newest ML-based bio-computing framework named “PaddleHelix”.
Singapore Coffee Shop Builds a Robot Barista With Intel AI
At Crown Coffee, a small-yet-homey coffee bar in downtown Singapore, the autonomous robot barista “Ella” never gets your order wrong.
Zhengzhou China Launches Urban-Brain to Triage and Park 4.5 million Vehicles
China’s east-central city Zhengzhou has successfully used AI to triage parking for over 4.5 million vehicles in the area.
Multilingual AI News Presenter Broadcasts New Year’s Greeting on Behalf of Chinese Embassy in Trinidad and Tobago
Chinese Embassy in Trinidad and Tobago rolled out a multilingual AI presenter named “Xiao Ai” to broadcast New Year’s greeting in Chinese, English, French and Spanish.
MSRA Forms “OpenNetLab” Alliance with Top Asian Universities to Advance Network Research
Microsoft Research Asia announced the establishment of “OpenNetLab” network in alliance with top Asian academic institutions.
Zhou Ming, Assistant Director of Microsoft Research Asia NLP Resigns and to Join Kai-fu Lee’s VC Fund Innovation Works
NLP maverick Zhou Ming’s next stop is VC Fund Innovation Workshop funded by former colleague Kai-fu Lee.
Report by IDC and Inspur Shows China’s AI Infrastructure Reaches USD 3.93 Billion in 2020, with YoY Increase of 26.8 Percent
Market research company IDC and Inspur jointly released the 2020-2021 China Artificial Intelligence Computing Power Development Report.
Japan’s Kobe city utilizes AI to aid unemployment effected by COVID-19
The municipal government of Japan’s Kobe city has spent more than JYP 40 million to develop an AI employment support system “SODAMO” jointly with a career support company.
Japan Government Allocates USD 19M to Boost AI Matchmaking in 47 Prefectures
With annual birth rate plummeting to 5.8 percent in 2019, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s government pledges to allocate USD 19 Million in the next fiscal year to help local authorities run AI matchmaking.
LG Launches AI Research Institute, Invests KRW 200 Billion to Foster 1,000 AI Experts by 2023
South Korean conglomerate LG announced the setup of “LG AI Research Institute”.
AI in South Korea’s Asan Medical Center Aids Dermatologists in Detecting 43 Types of Skin Cancers and Diseases
A research team from Asan Medical Center (AMC) in Seoul has verified a deep learning-based algorithm for detecting up to 43 types of skin cancer and diseases.
MIIT: China’s Industrial Robot Output in October Increased 38.5 Percent YoY
According to official statistics released by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), from January to October 2020, the nationwide industrial robots production grew to 183,447 units
Toshiba Debuts Logistic Robot for Overlapping Piled Luggage in Distribution Warehouse
Japanese conglomerate Toshiba announced it will launch a logistics robot that accurately recognizes randomly piled luggage utilizing AI in 2021.
Government Agency DGA Debuts the Thailand’s First National AI Centre
As part of the Thai government’s digital transformation roadmap for 2020-22, the Digital Government Development Agency (DGA) has launched the first national AI centre.
Tesla Puts Additional USD 6.3 Million in New Factory; Builds New R&D Center in Shanghai
Tesla confirmed to invest an additional USD 6.3 million in Shanghai to build a supercharging pile factory.
Do We Really Need Green Screens for High-Quality Real-Time Human Matting?
Researchers from the City University of Hong Kong and SenseTime propose a lightweight matting objective decomposition network (MODNet) that can smoothly process real-time human matting from a single input image with diverse and dynamic backgrounds.
New AI APP by Singapore Government Pledges to Block Scam Calls and SMS
Recent report by telecommunications giant Singtel show that scam calls have doubled from last year and that customers have received more than 5,000 calls so far in 2020.
40 Projects Worth Over USD 9 Billion Signed at the World Internet Conference in Wuzhen
On November 24, the World Internet Conference Digital Economy Industry Cooperation Conference was held in Wuzhen, China.
JD.com Set Up JD Exploration Research Institute to Further Research in Six Areas Including AI
At the JDDiscovery-2020 Global Technology Discovery Conference, the Chinese e-commerce giant announced a new research institute to further research in areas including AI, quantum computing and so on.
Tencent Robot X’s Jamoca Takes on Kung Fu Master Challenge to Walk on Quincunical Piles
Tencent Robotics X Lab announced new developments in mobile robot research – the four-legged mobile robot Jamoca.
China Drafts 14th Five-Year Digital Economy Plan; AI Industry Scale in 1H 2020 Reach USD 11.7 Billion
China is accelerating the preparation of the “14th Five-Year” digital economy plan, which will be the country’s first designated plan for the digital economy.
Microsoft Announces Strategic Cooperation with Spinoff XiaoIce; XiaoIce Wraps Up Pre-A Round Financing
Microsoft China and XiaoIce announced a strategic partnership, jointly launching 2B AI and cloud computing solutions in three areas: finance, automotive and content production.
Shanghai Electric and Siemens Energy to Establish Smart Energy Empowerment Centre
Chinese multinational power and electrical equipment manufacturing company Shanghai Electric signed a collaboration agreement with Siemens Energy on launching a new smart energy empowerment centre.
APAC Financial Institutions Embrace AI/ML
Asia Pacific (APAC)’s adoption of artificial intelligence and machine learning in financial markets is accelerating.
South Korea to Introduce AI to High School Education in 2021; to Train 5,000 Incumbent Teachers by 2025
South Korea will introduce AI to nationwide high school education in 2021