LVMH and Google Cloud Create Strategic Partnership for AI and Cloud-Based Innovation
On June 16, LVMH and Google Cloud announced a strategic partnership to accelerate innovation and develop new cloud-based artificial intelligence solutions.
Category: Global News
AI highlights.
General Motors Expands Electric and Autonomous Vehicles Investments to $35 Billion Through 2025
On June 16, General Motors Co. announced it will increase its electric vehicles (EV) and autonomous vehicles (AV) investments from 2020 through 2025 to USD 35 billion, representing a 75 percent increase from its initial commitment announced prior to the pandemic
China’s Ride-hailing Giant Didi Chuxing Submits IPO Prospectus
On June 11, China’s rise-hailing giant Didi Chuxing formally submitted its IPO prospectus to the SEC. In the 12 months ending March 31, 2021, Didi had 493 million global annual active users and 15 million global annual active drivers.
Beijing‘s Hardcore Vlogger Comes Up With Self-driving Bicycles
On April Fool’s Day in 2016, Google secretly uploaded a video of an autonomous bicycle roaming through the busy streets. Two days after the post went viral, Google clarified that it was actually the result of superb video editing. Five years later, Zhi Hui Jun, a vlogger from Beijing with more than 800,000 fans, spent four months (mainly on weekends) making the joke into a reality.
Fukushima and Toyota to Build Future Hydrogen-based Smart City
To meet the goal of carbon neutrality, Japan’s Fukushima Prefecture and conglomerate Toyota announced the plan to build a hydrogen-powered smart city on June 4. A dozen of companies including Asahi Group, Aeon, and Isuzu Motors is to participate in the project as of the announcement date.
The U.S. Increases Banned Investment List for “Military-Related” Chinese Companies to 59, Including Huawei, Hikvision, and SMIC
On June 3, the White House and the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the Treasury Department announced a new ban signed by the Biden administration restricting American investment in 59 Chinese companies, including companies such as Huawei, Hikvision, and SMIC.
Google Gives Green Light to Cryptocurrency Exchange & Wallet Ads, Still Bans ICO
Google says it will allow global advertisers offering cryptocurrency exchange and wallet products and services to market on its platform including search engine and Youtube, according to announcement on June 2.
Huawei’s AI Computing Center in Wuhan Begins Operation, Powering Local Industries with Computing Infrastructure
On May 31, in Wuhan East Lake National Comprehensive Science Center， Huawei’s Wuhan Artificial Intelligence Computing Center was completed and putContinue Reading
Didi Autonomous Driving to Pocket USD 300 million Investment, Raising Potential Market Value Higher Than Pony.ai
Didi Autonomous Driving is to complete a USD 300 million new round of financing, with USD 200 million from the Guangzhou Automobile Group and its capital investment arm.
Japanese Government to Fund Half of TSMC’s 340 Million Chip R&D Center
According to Nikkei reports, the Japanese government will provide half of the funds for TSMC’s relocation research facility in the Ibaraki Prefecture, which is north of Tokyo, and it is expected that R&D will be officially launched in 2022.
Shenzhen is Building Its Highest AGV Robotic Parking Lot
According to media reports on May 31, Shenzhen is building its tallest smart parking lot, which is expected to beContinue Reading
Korean Regulator Approves SK Hynix’s Acquisition of Intel’s NAND Flash Memory Business
On May 30, media reported that the South Korean regulatory agency Fair Trade Commission has approved SK Hynix’s USD 9 billion acquisition of Intel’s NAND flash memory and SSD businesses.
Russian Sber Company Rolls Out Driverless Taxi “Flip” with Fast-swappable Batteries
On May 27th, SberAutoTech, a subsidiary of Russian state-owned banking company PJSC Sberbank, unveiled a self-driving taxi “Flip” developed byContinue Reading
Lockheed Martin, GM to Develop Autonomous Lunar Rover for NASA’s 2024 Mission
The US government is advancing the “Artemis” moon landing plan in 2024, using a new type of autonomous rover, or Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV), to explore places that it has never set foot in before.
SoftBank Invests in South Korea’s AI Test Tutor Platform Riiid
On May 24, SoftBank Vision Fund 2 announced exclusively investment of USD 175 million in Riiid, a South Korean AI tutor company.
South Korea Telecom KT Cooperates With KAIST to Establish AI Research Institute
South Korea’s largest telecommunications company will join hand with the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) to establish a AI research institute.
China Formulates New Regulations as More Automakers Plan to Store Car Data Locally
On May 28, Reuters quoted sources saying that BMW, Daimler and Ford have set up facilities in China to store data generated by cars locally.
120 Million Degrees Celsius “Burning” in 101 Seconds: Chinese Academy of Sciences Sets World Record With Controllable Nuclear Fusion
The magnetic fusion energy reactor Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST), known as the “artificial sun”, at the Hefei Institute of Material Science of Chinese Academy of Sciences, set a new world record.
OpenAI Sets Up $100 Million Startup Fund Joined by Microsoft
On May 26, OpenAI unveiled a new $100 million startup fund called the “OpenAI Startup Fund”, focusing on early-stage startupsContinue Reading
Tesla to Launch “Pure Vision” Autopilot With No LiDAR in June
On May 25, Tesla announced that it will abandon LiDARs and roll out camera-only Autopilot assisted driving system called “Tesla Vision” in its North American Model 3 and Model Y vehicles starting in June.
IoT Cloud Company Tuya Smart Holds Meeting on Fast-tracked Connectivity and Innovation Amid COVID-19 Pandemic
On May 21, leading IoT cloud platform Tuya Smart hosted a panel to discuss resilience and innovation for the IoT industry in North America during COVID-19 outbreak.
Waymo Eyes USD 4 Billion Investment, Considers Split From Parent Company Google
Industry report unveiled that Waymo, the self-driving arm of Google, is seeking a USD 4 billion investment from external investors to fuel its autonomous vehicle business.
TikTok Parent Company ByteDance’s CEO and Founder Zhang Yiming Resigns
On May 20, Zhang Yiming, the founder of ByteDance and owner of TikTok since 2012, issued an internal letter to all employees announcing his resignation as CEO.
Toyota and Volkswagen to Halt Vehicle Production Due to Chip Shortage
According to reports on May 17, Volkswagen said it will suspend production at its Chattanooga plant for two weeks beginning on June 7.
Beijing, Shanghai, and Wuhan Among Six Cities Chosen for China’s Smart City Pilot
On May 11, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) unveiled the six pilot cities for smart city infrastructure and smart vehicle networks, including Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan, Changsha and Wuxi.
Pony.ai Expands Robotaxi Pilot, Plans Mass Production of Self-driving System in 2023
On May 13, autonomous vehicle startup Pony.ai announced the expansion of its Robotaxi service in Beijing.
South Korea Devotes $450 Billion to National Chip Strategy
On May 13th, South Korea announced an ambitious plan to invest USD 451 billion into the country’s semiconductor industry over the next nine years.
Waymo Loses CFO Ger Dwyer and Head of Automotive Partnerships Adam Frost
Waymo, the self-driving subsidiary of Alphabet Inc, confirmed today that company chief financial officer Ger Dwyer is leaving, accompanied by Adam Frost, head of automotive partnerships and corporate development.
EU Releases Framework for AI to Set Standards and Fines for Violation
On April 21, the European Commission proposed its first comprehensive legal framework on AI, in effort to “address the risks of AI and position Europe to play a leading role globally”.
Siemens and Google Cloud Joins Hand on AI manufacturing
On April 19, Google Cloud and Siemens announced new cooperation to optimize factory processes and improve productivity on the shop floor. Siemens intends to integrate Google Cloud’s leading data cloud and artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) technologies with its factory automation solutions.
China’s AI Chip Investments for 2021 Total USD 3.1 Billion So Far
According to Chinese media report on April 19, there have been at least 21 AI chips investments involving 17 companies since the beginning of 2021, totaling approx. RMB 20 billion (USD 3.1 billion).
World’s Premiere Self-driving IPO: TuSimple Raises USD 1.35 Billion
On April 15, self-driving truck company TuSimple raised USD 1.35 billion with its NASDAQ IPO, with company valuation hitting USD 8.5 billion at high point.
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.
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.