https://www.scmp.com/rss/36/feed The latest technology news, reviews, gadgets, launches and products. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Howard Liu Howard Liu China’s Ministry of Commerce has lashed out at Washington’s latest guidance on advanced artificial intelligence chip exports, accusing the United States of abusing export controls and disrupting the global semiconductor supply chain. But trade lawyers and industry insiders said the actual fallout over the new document could be far more limited than the geopolitical fireworks suggest. The US Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued guidance on May 31, stating licences would be required to... https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/article/3356167/what-does-washingtons-latest-ai-chip-guidance-mean-chinese-tech-firms?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/article/3356167/what-does-washingtons-latest-ai-chip-guidance-mean-chinese-tech-firms?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 06 Jun 2026 07:00:07 +0000 Yulu Ao Yulu Ao This article was first published by The Korea Times in a partnership with the South China Morning Post. Two of China’s leading memory-chip makers are moving closer to public listings, posing a significant long-term challenge to South Korean giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, despite a limited immediate threat, according to analysts. ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), China’s leading dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) producer, won approval last week for its nearly 30-billion-yuan... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3356130/chinese-memory-makers-step-challenge-koreas-chip-champions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3356130/chinese-memory-makers-step-challenge-koreas-chip-champions?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 06 Jun 2026 05:00:13 +0000 Ben Jiang Ben Jiang China is ramping up its bets on space-based artificial intelligence computing with the launch of a state-backed research institute in Beijing, accelerating a frontier tech race with the US just as Elon Musk’s SpaceX eyes a record-shattering US$75 billion market debut to fund its own orbital AI ambitions. The establishment of the Beijing Space Intelligent Computing Research Institute marks a major step in the superpowers’ AI rivalry, which is increasingly extending beyond Earth as terrestrial AI... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3356102/china-launches-space-computing-hub-spacex-gears-historic-ipo?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3356102/china-launches-space-computing-hub-spacex-gears-historic-ipo?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 05 Jun 2026 14:00:07 +0000 Ben Jiang Ben Jiang A team of Chinese researchers has claimed a breakthrough in training robots in real-world home environments, tackling a long-standing data bottleneck in the field and potentially accelerating the adoption of robots at home. Kairos-HomeWorld was the world’s first unified framework capable of generating coherent, accurate and simulation-ready home environments using simple text prompts, according to researchers from Ace Robotics, a start-up backed by Hong Kong-listed artificial intelligence... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3356155/chinese-researchers-claim-breakthrough-training-household-robots-ai-generated-homes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3356155/chinese-researchers-claim-breakthrough-training-household-robots-ai-generated-homes?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 05 Jun 2026 13:00:10 +0000 Coco Feng Coco Feng A research team that includes Huawei Technologies says it has successfully used the firm’s Ascend 910C chips to complete post-training for the DeepSeek-V4-Pro model, marking a major step forward as China’s semiconductor industry tries to leap from supporting basic AI inference to more complex model training amid tightening US sanctions. While Chinese chipmakers have found success in supporting AI inference – the relatively simple process of running an already-finished model to answer user... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3356117/huawei-chips-refine-deepseek-model-major-leap-chinas-ai-self-reliance?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3356117/huawei-chips-refine-deepseek-model-major-leap-chinas-ai-self-reliance?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 05 Jun 2026 12:00:12 +0000 Iris Deng Iris Deng Yao Shunyu, the former OpenAI researcher now leading Tencent Holdings’ artificial intelligence model development, pushed back against concerns that the tech giant is slow in AI, arguing that the race is just beginning with massive untapped opportunities in coding agents and embodied intelligence. “AI is a long-term game, with the second half of the race just starting,” said Yao, chief AI scientist at Tencent, comparing the current state to the development of personal computers in the 1970s. Yao... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3356090/tencents-chief-ai-scientist-dismisses-lag-concerns-says-race-long-term-game?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3356090/tencents-chief-ai-scientist-dismisses-lag-concerns-says-race-long-term-game?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 05 Jun 2026 09:00:11 +0000 Zhang Shidong Zhang Shidong The artificial intelligence frenzy has made Zhongji Innolight, a supplier of optical modules to US hyperscalers, the biggest constituent of China’s stock benchmark, highlighting AI’s profound impact on the world’s second-largest equity market. The northern Shandong province-based company had a 5 per cent weighting on the CSI 300 Index on Friday, making it the largest of the 300 most valuable stocks on the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges. The index’s weighting is based on the market... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3356074/ai-hyperscaler-effect-vaults-chinas-zhongji-innolight-top-csi-300-benchmark?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3356074/ai-hyperscaler-effect-vaults-chinas-zhongji-innolight-top-csi-300-benchmark?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 05 Jun 2026 07:30:11 +0000 Vincent Chow Vincent Chow A gulf is emerging between how the American public and lawmakers are viewing Chinese robots, analysts say, following a high-profile performance by Chinese robotics champion Unitree’s humanoid robots on US television show America’s Got Talent, which received a standing ovation from the studio audience. While ratings figures have yet to be announced, the appearance of Unitree’s G1 robots on a prime time American television show in its season premiere could contribute to mainstream acceptance of... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3355993/brilliant-us-public-cheers-dancing-unitree-robots-while-congress-looks-ban-them?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3355993/brilliant-us-public-cheers-dancing-unitree-robots-while-congress-looks-ban-them?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Jun 2026 13:00:13 +0000 Coco Feng Coco Feng The Soviet “sea monster” is back – and this time it’s for sale. A Chinese company has completed the maiden flight of a passenger craft that skims just above the water’s surface using ground-effect technology, reviving a concept once associated with the Soviet Union’s giant Cold War-era experimental vehicles. Chinese mobility company Navee on Thursday showcased its WaveFly 5X on Lake Taihu in Suzhou, eastern Jiangsu province, as it raced to commercialise what it said was the world’s first... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3355984/part-boat-part-plane-part-sci-fi-china-debuts-flying-watercraft?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3355984/part-boat-part-plane-part-sci-fi-china-debuts-flying-watercraft?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Jun 2026 12:00:07 +0000 Ben Jiang Ben Jiang China’s decision to greenlight over 100 foreign-invested entities to pilot value-added telecommunications services (VAS) in the country could be a major boon for some multinationals, though its impact on the domestic market is likely to be limited, according to industry analysts. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said on Wednesday that it had approved licences for 166 foreign companies since February last year, covering VAS sectors including internet data centres,... https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/article/3355973/us-seeks-block-chinese-carriers-beijing-opens-telecoms-pilots-foreign-outfits?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/article/3355973/us-seeks-block-chinese-carriers-beijing-opens-telecoms-pilots-foreign-outfits?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Jun 2026 11:00:07 +0000 Minxiao Chang Minxiao Chang Tencent Holdings is opening WeChat to smartphone artificial-intelligence agents, as the Chinese tech giant fights to keep the app’s 1.4 billion users locked into its ecosystem in the AI era. The new feature would allow a phone’s built-in voice assistant to send messages or start voice and video calls inside WeChat, according to a report on Thursday by Chinese financial news outlet Yicai. WeChat had been working with the country’s biggest phone makers – including Huawei Technologies, Honor,... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3355953/wechat-take-commands-ai-assistants-major-shift-tencent?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3355953/wechat-take-commands-ai-assistants-major-shift-tencent?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Jun 2026 10:00:17 +0000 Howard Liu Howard Liu Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) chairman C.C. Wei said the world’s largest contract chipmaker was “not afraid” of competition from mainland China, dismissing concerns that advances by Huawei Technologies and Chinese foundries could threaten its position in the global semiconductor industry. Responding to a shareholder’s question at TSMC’s annual shareholders’ meeting on Thursday, Wei said competition had been a constant throughout the company’s four-decade history and that it would... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3355948/not-afraid-tsmc-brushes-mainland-chip-rivals-amid-ai-boom?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3355948/not-afraid-tsmc-brushes-mainland-chip-rivals-amid-ai-boom?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Jun 2026 09:00:23 +0000 Xinmei Shen Xinmei Shen Chinese artificial intelligence start-up DeepSeek took the top spot on a major US business spending index in June, as more companies swap out expensive American options like OpenAI and Anthropic in favour of more affordable alternatives. According to a “trending software vendors” list from New York-based corporate spending platform Ramp – which tracks when businesses buy from a software vendor for the first time – DeepSeek’s rise placed it ahead of event-management platform PheedLoop and... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3355927/more-us-firms-turn-chinas-deepseek-over-pricey-silicon-valley-ai?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3355927/more-us-firms-turn-chinas-deepseek-over-pricey-silicon-valley-ai?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Jun 2026 07:00:10 +0000 Coco Feng Coco Feng As artificial intelligence steps out of the digital realm and into the real world, the race to build the embodied “brains” powering next-generation robots has become the newest battleground in tech competition between China and the United States. Two days after US chip giant Nvidia launched its Cosmos 3 model – designed to help physical AI “think before it acts” – a Chinese start-up stole the spotlight. On Wednesday, Hangzhou, Zhejiang province-based Spirit AI said its foundation model for... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3355838/chinese-robotics-start-beat-nvidia-global-ai-ranking-new-tech-war-brewing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3355838/chinese-robotics-start-beat-nvidia-global-ai-ranking-new-tech-war-brewing?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Jun 2026 01:00:08 +0000 Coco Feng Coco Feng Skipping pleasantries like “please” and “thank you” when talking to chatbots could save enough energy to power the annual needs of 760,000 residents in sub-Saharan Africa, highlighting the massive but often hidden environmental toll of artificial intelligence, according to a new UN report. Released by the Institute for Water, Environment and Health under the United Nations University, the UN’s academic arm, the study published on Wednesday also warned that the true cost of AI extended far beyond... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3355819/want-save-planet-stop-being-so-polite-ai-chatbots?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3355819/want-save-planet-stop-being-so-polite-ai-chatbots?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 03 Jun 2026 14:00:09 +0000 Xinmei Shen Xinmei Shen The Hong Kong Generative AI Research and Development Centre (HKGAI) has officially launched a new DeepSeek-based large language model that can run on domestic chips, as the government-backed lab seeks to commercialise its products and export Chinese AI overseas. The HKGAI-V3 model, built on DeepSeek V4, has achieved “significant improvements” in efficiency and agentic capabilities, the centre said on Wednesday. The home-grown model delivered over tenfold improvement in the efficiency of token... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3355861/hong-kong-launches-deepseek-based-ai-model-designed-run-domestic-chips?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3355861/hong-kong-launches-deepseek-based-ai-model-designed-run-domestic-chips?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 03 Jun 2026 13:00:11 +0000 Iris Deng Iris Deng In its latest bid to dominate China’s next-generation digital gateway, Alibaba Group Holding is opening its Qwen AI assistant to major brands, allowing users to order everything from fried chicken to bubble tea through simple conversation. The company announced on Wednesday that it was opening Qwen’s ecosystem to third-party partners’ agents. Fast-food giant KFC, tech-driven coffee chain Luckin Coffee, beverage chain Mixue Group and China Eastern Airlines are among the first companies to test... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3355850/fried-chicken-flight-plans-alibaba-wants-qwen-become-chinas-digital-fixer?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3355850/fried-chicken-flight-plans-alibaba-wants-qwen-become-chinas-digital-fixer?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 03 Jun 2026 12:00:06 +0000 Brian Rhoads,Raymond Ma Brian Rhoads,Raymond Ma US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on artificial intelligence (AI) oversight after watering down measures due to concerns about hindering competition with China. AI providers are asked to give the government 30 days to vet new models before their release, down from 90 days in an earlier order that Trump ditched at the last minute two weeks ago. The revised order, signed without fanfare on Tuesday, also creates an “AI cybersecurity clearing house” for companies and the government... https://www.scmp.com/plus/tech/policy/article/3355820/trump-signs-looser-ai-order-amid-china-competition-concerns?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/tech/policy/article/3355820/trump-signs-looser-ai-order-amid-china-competition-concerns?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 03 Jun 2026 09:04:42 +0000 Wency Chen,Ben Jiang Wency Chen,Ben Jiang Chinese artificial intelligence start-up DeepSeek is finalising its first external fundraising round, securing over 50 billion yuan (US$7.4 billion) at a valuation of just under US$60 billion, according to people familiar with the matter – marking a six-fold leap from its US$10 billion valuation in April. The blockbuster round highlights intensifying global competition and a shifting strategy for the AI breakout star, which had previously resisted external capital. Market-oriented investors and... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3355818/deepseek-nears-us7b-haul-first-ever-funding-round-backing-tencent-catl?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3355818/deepseek-nears-us7b-haul-first-ever-funding-round-backing-tencent-catl?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 03 Jun 2026 09:00:41 +0000 Vincent Chow Vincent Chow ByteDance risks throwing away its lead in China’s fierce market for consumer artificial intelligence by monetising too early, according to analysts, after its flagship chatbot Doubao shed millions of users following a sneak peek at paid-subscription tiers. The assessment follows a 6.1 million drop in Doubao’s monthly active users (MAUs) in May – a rare slump for the app since its 2023 launch – after it teased its first-ever subscription options, according to data released on Wednesday by global... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3355782/china-ready-pay-ai-bytedances-doubao-loses-6-million-users?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3355782/china-ready-pay-ai-bytedances-doubao-loses-6-million-users?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 03 Jun 2026 05:59:48 +0000 Ben Jiang Ben Jiang Meituan is set to reap a sizeable financial windfall from its investments in frontier tech – including in fast-rising artificial intelligence company Zhipu AI – offering the Chinese food-delivery giant a timely boost after consecutive loss-making quarters. On Monday, Meituan posted an adjusted net loss of 4.97 billion yuan (US$735 million) for the three months ended March 31, marking its third consecutive losing quarter. At the same time, the company disclosed that its investments in firms like... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3355723/us1b-windfall-how-meituans-bets-ai-robotics-outshine-quarterly-loss?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3355723/us1b-windfall-how-meituans-bets-ai-robotics-outshine-quarterly-loss?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Jun 2026 13:00:12 +0000 Xinmei Shen Xinmei Shen Hong Kong is stepping up its efforts to transform into a global tech hub, backing university-led commercialisation with a funding blitz spearheaded by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). Speaking at HKUST’s annual Unicorn Day event on Tuesday, Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry Sun Dong said the government had committed over HK$3 billion (US$382.8 million) to 73 projects under the RAISe+ (Research, Academic and Industry Sectors One-plus) scheme. Launched in... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3355728/hong-kong-commits-us383m-university-tech-spin-offs-bid-be-global-innovation-hub?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3355728/hong-kong-commits-us383m-university-tech-spin-offs-bid-be-global-innovation-hub?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Jun 2026 12:05:11 +0000 Coco Feng Coco Feng Alibaba Group Holding chief technology officer (CTO) Wu Zeming has joined the company’s elite steering committee, joining co-founders Jack Ma and Joe Tsai in playing a central role in formulating the tech empire’s strategy. According to Alibaba’s website, the other members of the committee of the Alibaba Partnership are group CEO Eddie Wu Yongming and Jiang Fan, CEO of the e-commerce business unit. Born in 1982, the CTO represents a younger generation of tech executives climbing Alibaba’s... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3355716/alibaba-elevates-tech-chief-wu-zeming-elite-committee-ai-push-ramps?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3355716/alibaba-elevates-tech-chief-wu-zeming-elite-committee-ai-push-ramps?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Jun 2026 11:00:11 +0000 Coco Feng,Xinmei Shen,Iris Deng Coco Feng,Xinmei Shen,Iris Deng As the global tech community converges on Taipei this week for Computex, one of the world’s largest tech trade shows, a significant contingent is being left out in the cold: mainland Chinese exhibitors have found it increasingly difficult to secure entry to the island. As a major Asian technology expo and one of the world’s largest IT infrastructure events, Computex is a key showcase for next-generation hardware and artificial intelligence innovations. This year’s show features over 1,500... https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/article/3355694/mainland-chinese-delegates-locked-out-taiwans-computex-show-amid-cross-strait-tensions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/article/3355694/mainland-chinese-delegates-locked-out-taiwans-computex-show-amid-cross-strait-tensions?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Jun 2026 10:00:26 +0000 Zhang Shidong Zhang Shidong Chinese artificial intelligence companies are upending a decades-old dual-listing practice of selling shares domestically first and then in Hong Kong, as they reverse the sequence to anchor market-based valuations from global investors and tap more sophisticated capital to support growth. AI model developer MiniMax Group and peer Knowledge Atlas Technology, also known as Zhipu, spearheaded the new trend, saying they hired brokerages to prepare for mainland China stock offerings after completing... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3355676/why-hong-kong-now-launch-pad-mainland-chinas-ai-champions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3355676/why-hong-kong-now-launch-pad-mainland-chinas-ai-champions?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Jun 2026 10:00:15 +0000 Brian Rhoads,Raymond Ma Brian Rhoads,Raymond Ma China issued new rules that tighten scrutiny of cross-border investments and bolster countermeasures amid an intensifying technological rivalry with the United States. The changes, which take effect on July 1, will prevent investors transferring restricted goods, technologies, services and data overseas without prior authorisation. The 34-article regulations, published on Monday, also limit indirect transfers such as the overseas deployment of technical staff and consultants or the provision of... https://www.scmp.com/plus/tech/policy/article/3355695/china-boosts-trade-war-toolkit-cross-border-investment-overhaul?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/tech/policy/article/3355695/china-boosts-trade-war-toolkit-cross-border-investment-overhaul?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Jun 2026 09:04:09 +0000 Vincent Chow Vincent Chow A renowned artificial intelligence researcher who spearheaded foundational AI research for TikTok owner ByteDance has announced his departure from the company. The unexpected development comes as the firm is increasingly looking to monetise its core AI offerings, including subscription plans for its flagship consumer AI app Doubao. Gu Quanquan, also an associate professor of computer science at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), announced his departure from ByteDance on social... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3355677/bytedance-loses-key-ai-research-leader-behind-seed-models-amid-monetisation-push?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3355677/bytedance-loses-key-ai-research-leader-behind-seed-models-amid-monetisation-push?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Jun 2026 08:01:21 +0000 SCMP Plus SCMP Plus This report was translated from Chinese into English using Alibaba’s Qwen3, then checked and tweaked for accuracy by a South China Morning Post journalist. It is for reference only, and is not the official English version of the original Chinese document. Alibaba owns the SCMP. https://www.scmp.com/plus/tech/policy/article/3355670/chinas-new-outbound-investment-rules?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/tech/policy/article/3355670/chinas-new-outbound-investment-rules?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Jun 2026 07:13:27 +0000 Howard Liu Howard Liu Chinese smartphone makers are preparing for their most challenging year since the Covid-19 pandemic, as analysts say skyrocketing memory chip prices are forcing brands to make a difficult choice: absorb the higher costs, raise retail prices or downgrade storage configurations. In a report published on Monday, market research firm Counterpoint projected that global smartphone shipments would plunge nearly 14 per cent this year to about 1.08 billion units – the industry’s lowest volume since... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3355655/huawei-defies-memory-chip-squeeze-hurting-xiaomi-smartphones?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3355655/huawei-defies-memory-chip-squeeze-hurting-xiaomi-smartphones?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Jun 2026 06:18:08 +0000 Iris Deng Iris Deng Shares of Tencent Holdings surged 10 per cent on Tuesday, driven by investor optimism over reports that the Chinese tech giant is close to launching an artificial intelligence agent within its super app WeChat. Tencent was testing a prototype AI agent for the WeChat ecosystem, which boasts 1.4 billion active users, and planned to start the compliance process as soon as this month for a public launch, according to a report by the Financial Times on Tuesday, citing anonymous sources. The company... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3355651/tencent-shares-jump-expectations-ai-agent-within-wechat-super-app?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3355651/tencent-shares-jump-expectations-ai-agent-within-wechat-super-app?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Jun 2026 05:45:29 +0000 Daisy Wu Daisy Wu Enterprises across the Asia-Pacific region are investing heavily in artificial intelligence with limited evaluation of its effectiveness, driven largely by fears of being left behind, according to a survey released on Tuesday. Some 37 per cent of organisations in the region admitted to investing aggressively in AI with little assessment of outcomes – nearly double the global average of 20 per cent – according to the report by market consultancy International Data Corporation, commissioned by... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3355642/fear-missing-out-why-asia-pacific-firms-pour-money-ai-despite-scant-returns?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3355642/fear-missing-out-why-asia-pacific-firms-pour-money-ai-despite-scant-returns?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Jun 2026 05:15:29 +0000 Julie Zhang Julie Zhang Akeso, whose drug ivonescimab was hailed as biotech’s “DeepSeek moment” amid US competition last year, announced better-than-expected clinical results showing it can treat a type of lung cancer commonly found in smokers, potentially expanding its approved uses. Analysts suggest it could become a backbone therapy in the US$20 billion global non-small cell lung cancer market and have revised their target prices upwards. The drug’s phase three trial found that ivonescimab reduced the risk of death... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3355579/akeso-lung-cancer-drug-shines-trials-boosting-hopes-us20b-market?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3355579/akeso-lung-cancer-drug-shines-trials-boosting-hopes-us20b-market?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 Jun 2026 10:49:08 +0000 Wency Chen Wency Chen Unitree Robotics, one of the leading forces in mainland China’s booming humanoid robot sector, has cleared a major hurdle for its highly anticipated initial public offering (IPO) after passing a listing committee hearing on Monday. The Hangzhou-based company filed to list on Shanghai’s Star Market on March 20. Following two rounds of regulatory inquiries and an on-site inspection, the hearing approval opens the door for the IPO to proceed to registration and issuance. Unitree said it aimed to... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3355538/unitree-clears-key-hurdle-shanghai-ipo-chinas-humanoid-robot-wave-gathers-pace?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3355538/unitree-clears-key-hurdle-shanghai-ipo-chinas-humanoid-robot-wave-gathers-pace?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 Jun 2026 09:17:28 +0000 Ben Jiang Ben Jiang Chinese food and on-demand delivery giant Meituan reported its third consecutive quarterly loss as competition in the country’s food delivery market appears to be easing but broader rivalry across the local service sector continues to weigh on margins. Meituan’s revenue in the three months ended March rose 5.6 per cent year on year to 91 billion yuan (US$13.45 billion), the company said in an earnings release on Monday. The company reported an adjusted net loss of 4.97 billion yuan for the first... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3355556/meituan-reports-third-consecutive-quarterly-loss-rivalry-food-delivery-hits-margins?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3355556/meituan-reports-third-consecutive-quarterly-loss-rivalry-food-delivery-hits-margins?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 Jun 2026 09:14:28 +0000 Zhang Shidong Zhang Shidong A semi-annual reshuffle of key gauges tracking China’s yuan-denominated stocks is set to boost the representation of technology companies, a move expected to lure more inflows and further increase the sector’s appeal, according to investment banks. The shake-up was projected to spur US$3.1 billion of inflows into tech hardware and semiconductor makers, according to Goldman Sachs. Domestic brokerages including Guosen Securities said the changes would inject more confidence into tech stocks,... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3355523/china-index-reshuffle-entrench-tech-trades-and-boost-ai-rally-brokerages?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3355523/china-index-reshuffle-entrench-tech-trades-and-boost-ai-rally-brokerages?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 Jun 2026 09:00:06 +0000 Minxiao Chang Minxiao Chang Chinese artificial intelligence start-up MiniMax has unveiled its latest flagship AI model, M3, designed to anchor the company’s push into coding agents and automated workflows. The Shanghai-based company said on Monday that the model’s redesigned architecture reduced computational requirements to as little as one-twentieth of previous levels, slashing inference costs while boosting response speeds. Notably, MiniMax said M3 could process up to 1 million tokens of data at once – five times more... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3355529/minimax-debuts-ai-model-built-long-and-complex-coding-tasks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3355529/minimax-debuts-ai-model-built-long-and-complex-coding-tasks?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 Jun 2026 06:57:32 +0000 Enoch Yiu Enoch Yiu The government’s investment arm achieved a double-digit internal rate of return last year, greater than many newly established venture capital funds, according to its CEO. “Many overseas funds have a J-curve performance, as they tend to suffer an initial loss before a gain,” said Clara Chan Ka-chai, CEO of Hong Kong Investment Corporation (HKIC). “But we have already bypassed the J-curve, as we have earned HK$2.3 billion [US$293 million] in 2024, while we have achieved a double-digit rate of... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3355522/hong-kong-governments-venture-fund-eyes-bigger-bankroll-after-double-digit-return?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3355522/hong-kong-governments-venture-fund-eyes-bigger-bankroll-after-double-digit-return?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 Jun 2026 06:24:26 +0000 Vincent Chow,Ann Cao Vincent Chow,Ann Cao Nvidia has partnered with Chinese robotics champion Unitree Robotics and Singapore robotic hand maker Sharpa to release a new humanoid robot reference design to accelerate innovation in the global humanoid industry, the US chip giant’s CEO, Jensen Huang, announced on Monday. The new design, called H2+ or Isaac GR00T, will support industry-wide humanoid robotics research by streamlining the full development workflow for developers, including data collection, policy training and real-world... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3355402/nvidia-unitree-and-sharpa-unite-design-humanoid-robot-can-perform-real-work?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3355402/nvidia-unitree-and-sharpa-unite-design-humanoid-robot-can-perform-real-work?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 Jun 2026 05:30:25 +0000 Ann Cao Ann Cao Under the weight of sustained US export controls on advanced semiconductors, China’s AI chipmakers are battling to forge a self-reliant silicon ecosystem capable of breaking Nvidia’s stranglehold on the market. At the centre of this rivalry is a fundamental design debate: Should the country rely on the versatile graphics processing unit (GPU) or pivot to the highly specialised application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC)? The fight is no longer about finding a single Nvidia clone; it is about... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3355294/beyond-nvidia-how-us-export-curbs-are-forcing-china-redesign-its-ai-chip-industry?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3355294/beyond-nvidia-how-us-export-curbs-are-forcing-china-redesign-its-ai-chip-industry?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 Jun 2026 02:00:16 +0000 Themis Qi Themis Qi The focus of competition for Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) is shifting from prices to artificial intelligence capability, as carmakers try to manage weakening demand amid tightened regulations, according to Morgan Stanley. The push in AI would likely bring models with conditionally autonomous driving capability, or Level 3 (L3), to market, said Tim Hsiao, head of the Greater China auto and shared mobility research team at Morgan Stanley, in a recent interview with the South China Morning Post.... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-evs/article/3355400/chinese-ev-makers-shift-focus-price-wars-ai-capability-morgan-stanley?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-evs/article/3355400/chinese-ev-makers-shift-focus-price-wars-ai-capability-morgan-stanley?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 31 May 2026 23:00:08 +0000 Reuters Reuters The US Department of Commerce on Sunday moved to close a year-old potential loophole it had created that may have led companies to export ‌the world’s most advanced chips – such as Nvidia’s most sophisticated Rubin and Blackwell processors, as well as AMD’s MI350x – to Chinese entities located outside China. The unexpected guidance suggests the United States’ best artificial intelligence chips may have been making their way to the subsidiaries of Chinese AI firms based in places such as Malaysia... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3355492/us-takes-step-halt-nvidia-ai-chip-shipments-chinese-firms-outside-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3355492/us-takes-step-halt-nvidia-ai-chip-shipments-chinese-firms-outside-china?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 31 May 2026 21:46:33 +0000 Zhang Shidong Zhang Shidong MiniMax Group, the Chinese artificial intelligence model company, has officially kicked off plans to sell shares in mainland China. This offers onshore investors access to AI players beyond chipmakers and completes a dual-listing status in addition to Hong Kong. The Shanghai-headquartered company signed an agreement with Citic Securities on Friday, hiring the brokerage to help prepare for a sale of yuan-denominated shares. While other details on the listing are scant, it is widely expected that... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3355418/ai-firm-minimax-prepares-mainland-china-listing-after-shares-surge-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3355418/ai-firm-minimax-prepares-mainland-china-listing-after-shares-surge-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 31 May 2026 08:15:23 +0000 Josh Ball Josh Ball Alibaba Group and Uefa are bringing the Chinese giant’s 360-degree replay technology to football, after signing an exclusive six-year deal covering several major tournaments in Europe. The partnership, which has been widely reported in state media, will see the sport’s regional governing body join the International Olympic Committee and NBA China, among others, in working with Qwen, Alibaba’s artificial intelligence model. With European football accelerating its digital transformation and fan... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3355442/alibaba-group-signs-6-year-ai-deal-uefa-will-bring-360-replay-tech-major-events?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3355442/alibaba-group-signs-6-year-ai-deal-uefa-will-bring-360-replay-tech-major-events?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 31 May 2026 03:42:36 +0000 Wency Chen Wency Chen As artificial intelligence strains the physical limits of existing data centres, scientists and investors are turning to the ultimate speed limit of the universe for the next computing frontier: light. For Mi Lei, founder of CAS Star, a venture capital firm born out of a research institute under the state-run Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), the sudden global fascination with photonics is less a surprise than a delayed validation. It is a thesis he has spent more than a decade trying to... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3355360/how-decade-long-bet-photonics-handed-chinese-venture-capital-firm-ai-windfall?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3355360/how-decade-long-bet-photonics-handed-chinese-venture-capital-firm-ai-windfall?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 31 May 2026 03:00:10 +0000 Coco Feng Coco Feng Venture capitalists and industrial giants in China are aggressively backing developers of dexterous robotic hands – the toughest bottleneck in the global humanoid hardware arms race – in a funding blitz that is rapidly driving up start-up valuations. The latest capital injection was announced on Friday by Xynova. The Hangzhou-based start-up said it had completed a series A round from investors including the venture arms of smartphone maker Xiaomi and electric vehicle giant Li Auto, bringing... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3355365/unicorn-born-record-time-amid-arms-race-among-chinas-robotic-hand-developers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3355365/unicorn-born-record-time-amid-arms-race-among-chinas-robotic-hand-developers?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 30 May 2026 06:00:10 +0000 Howard Liu Howard Liu Microchip development has always been a race to build smaller and smaller transistors – the fundamental components of chip circuits. Now China’s Huawei Technologies wants to change the game entirely. Faced with US tech export restrictions that block its access to the world’s most advanced chipmaking machinery, Huawei is proposing a fundamental shift in semiconductor progress: stop obsessing over how small the transistors are and start focusing on how fast data moves through the system. It is a... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3355314/huaweis-new-chip-scaling-law-true-breakthrough-or-mere-hype?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3355314/huaweis-new-chip-scaling-law-true-breakthrough-or-mere-hype?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 30 May 2026 03:00:11 +0000 Enoch Yiu,Themis Qi Enoch Yiu,Themis Qi Stepping into the former trading hall in Exchange Square on Thursday was like walking through a doorway into the 1980s. Brokers, wearing the iconic red jackets of the period, stood alongside Cathay Pacific Airways flight attendants in retro uniforms, evoking memories of the hall before its closure. The special gong-striking ceremony in Central marked the 40th anniversary of the merger of Hong Kong’s four stock exchanges into the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (SEHK). Cathay was the first company to... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3355336/chip-boom-powers-hong-kong-stock-exchange-40-innovation-resilience-set-next-stage?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3355336/chip-boom-powers-hong-kong-stock-exchange-40-innovation-resilience-set-next-stage?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 30 May 2026 02:00:09 +0000 Minxiao Chang Minxiao Chang A new artificial intelligence voice model from Alibaba Group Holding has beaten out Western rivals OpenAI and xAI on a major global benchmark, underscoring its technical edge in capturing complex Chinese dialects and accents. Fun-Realtime-TTS-Preview, developed by Alibaba’s Tongyi Lab, has secured the fifth spot on the Artificial Analysis Speech Arena leaderboard with a score of 1,190. It was the only Chinese-engineered voice system in the global top five. Alibaba owns the South China Morning... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3355316/alibaba-ai-voice-model-cracks-top-5-globally-outperforming-us-rivals-regional-accents?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3355316/alibaba-ai-voice-model-cracks-top-5-globally-outperforming-us-rivals-regional-accents?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 29 May 2026 11:00:05 +0000 Ann Cao Ann Cao China’s Wingtech Technology says it has developed an independent management operation for Nexperia’s Chinese unit, in a bid to insulate the local business as it fights to regain control of the Dutch chipmaker. Wingtech chairwoman Ruby Yang Mu said on Friday that the core management, research and development and production teams at Nexperia China were now fully based in the country and possessed “complete operational decision-making authority”. “Today I am confident to say that Nexperia China has... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-war/article/3355315/wingtech-says-core-nexperia-china-unit-now-based-mainland-can-operate-independently?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-war/article/3355315/wingtech-says-core-nexperia-china-unit-now-based-mainland-can-operate-independently?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 29 May 2026 10:01:28 +0000 Advertising partner Advertising partner [The content of this article has been produced by our advertising partner.] The Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) has joined with the city’s digital technology community to open a new AI lab to combat tech-enabled crime, particularly large-scale fraud operations.  The Smart Policing Joint Innovation Lab was officially launched on 22 May at Cyberport, which coincided with the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the HKPF and Cyberport.  The launch took place on the same day as the... https://www.scmp.com/presented/tech/topics/smart-policing-joint-innovation-lab/article/3354971/hong-kong-police-and-cyberport-join-forces-launch-ai-lab-against-sophisticated-scams?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/presented/tech/topics/smart-policing-joint-innovation-lab/article/3354971/hong-kong-police-and-cyberport-join-forces-launch-ai-lab-against-sophisticated-scams?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 28 May 2026 16:00:06 +0000