https://www.scmp.com/rss/501945/feed ByteDance is best known as the owner of the global short-video and shopping platform TikTok. It also operates the similar Douyin app in China. Both apps have skyrocketed in popularity in recent years, especially among younger people. ByteDance has been the focus of strained relations between China and the West, with policymakers in the US, Canada and Europe expressing concern that TikTok's Chinese ownership puts sensitive user data within reach of the Chinese government. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Vincent Chow Vincent Chow Facebook owner Meta Platforms has recruited a Chinese industry veteran with experience across artificial intelligence, humanoid robots and extended reality to lead a new hardware team in its superintelligence unit. Xu Rui, a former product manager at Tencent Holdings and TikTok owner ByteDance, would lead a team developing AI devices separately from Meta’s Reality Labs division, which was responsible for the company’s popular smart glasses and virtual reality headsets, US outlet Business Insider... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3349081/who-xu-rui-ex-bytedance-executive-tapped-meta-lead-ai-hardware?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3349081/who-xu-rui-ex-bytedance-executive-tapped-meta-lead-ai-hardware?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Apr 2026 08:52:22 +0000 Iris Deng Iris Deng Tencent Holdings has launched a new OpenClaw tool for enterprises that promises easy deployment of the artificial intelligence agent as part of the Chinese internet giant’s efforts to capitalise on the “lobster” frenzy in the country. ClawPro, launched in public beta by Tencent’s cloud unit on Thursday, works as an AI agent management platform for enterprises, allowing them to deploy OpenClaw templates, select models and agents, track token consumption and manage security settings. Tencent said... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3348942/tencent-expands-openclaw-suite-enterprise-tool-amid-chinas-lobster-craze?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3348942/tencent-expands-openclaw-suite-enterprise-tool-amid-chinas-lobster-craze?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Apr 2026 12:00:09 +0000 Ben Jiang Ben Jiang China is rolling out a campaign to sharply cut artificial intelligence computing costs for small businesses, as demand for processing power surges alongside a fresh round of price increases by domestic providers. The country plans to build an “inclusive computing service network” – offering broad coverage, lower costs and improved service quality – to reduce barriers for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) seeking access to computing resources, according to a notice published by the... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3348910/china-build-inclusive-ai-network-ease-cost-pressures-small-firms?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3348910/china-build-inclusive-ai-network-ease-cost-pressures-small-firms?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Apr 2026 10:00:11 +0000 Vincent Chow Vincent Chow Chinese companies including Alibaba Cloud and Zhipu AI have opted not to open-source some of their latest artificial intelligence models as they look to capture the full value of their usage through official revenue generating channels. While none of the companies have said that they are moving away from their open-source strategies, the development reflects an industry trend where the most powerful models are growing in size, making them increasingly difficult to host on local hardware. This... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3348844/chinese-ai-giants-pivot-toward-proprietary-models-drive-revenue-performance?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3348844/chinese-ai-giants-pivot-toward-proprietary-models-drive-revenue-performance?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 02 Apr 2026 13:07:42 +0000 Ann Cao Ann Cao OpenClaw, the open-source autonomous artificial intelligence agent, is stepping up efforts to tap into China’s user base as it works more closely with Chinese tech giants including Tencent Holdings and ByteDance. A version update of OpenClaw released on Tuesday included Tencent’s QQ, making the long-standing messaging app the first Chinese social media platform to be natively integrated with OpenClaw’s official platform. QQ bot, a versatile bridging service that connects the popular messaging... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3348829/openclaw-deepens-china-footprint-through-native-tencent-bytedance-integrations?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3348829/openclaw-deepens-china-footprint-through-native-tencent-bytedance-integrations?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 02 Apr 2026 11:11:13 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Almost three years ago, New York City joined governments across the country in banning TikTok from its phones over security concerns about the Chinese social media site. On Tuesday, Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a bona fide social media star, took to the app to announce a reversal: “TikTok, we’re back.” The city will now allow agencies to start posting again on the short-form social media site as long as departments follow a set of security precautions, according to a memo from city cybersecurity... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3348591/new-york-mayor-mamdani-puts-citys-government-back-tiktok?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3348591/new-york-mayor-mamdani-puts-citys-government-back-tiktok?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 31 Mar 2026 21:57:50 +0000 Eunice Xu Eunice Xu China’s southern tech hub Shenzhen began operations of the country’s first 10,000-card intelligent computing cluster, built with advanced chips made by Huawei Technologies, in the latest sign of how the country is deepening its push for home-grown computing capabilities. Featuring a computing capacity of 11,000 petaflops, the new cluster, activated last week, is the country’s first 10,000-card intelligent computing cluster built with Huawei’s Ascend 910C AI chips, according to Shenzhen Special... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3348502/shenzhen-activates-chinas-first-10000-card-ai-cluster-domestic-chips?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3348502/shenzhen-activates-chinas-first-10000-card-ai-cluster-domestic-chips?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 31 Mar 2026 11:00:08 +0000 Vincent Chow Vincent Chow ByteDance has bolstered its controversial video-generation model Seedance 2.0 with “advanced” watermarking and intellectual property (IP) protection guardrails ahead of its global roll-out, the TikTok owner has said. The much-anticipated international release comes amid intense scrutiny from Hollywood studios over alleged IP theft after numerous Seedance-generated videos featuring famous Hollywood actors and characters went viral in February. On Wednesday, ByteDance said its global safety and... https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/article/3348290/bytedance-bolsters-seedance-20-watermarking-ip-safeguards-ahead-global-roll-out?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/article/3348290/bytedance-bolsters-seedance-20-watermarking-ip-safeguards-ahead-global-roll-out?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 29 Mar 2026 09:00:13 +0000 Vincent Chow Vincent Chow The organisers of a leading artificial intelligence conference have apologised after a new policy that appeared to bar US-sanctioned entities from participating sparked a backlash in China, saying the ban was more limited than initially indicated. The apology came after several major Chinese professional bodies urged domestic researchers to boycott the event, amid concerns that prominent tech groups such as Huawei Technologies would be excluded. In a statement on Friday, the Conference on Neural... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3348199/top-us-ai-conference-apologises-after-sanctions-policy-sparks-backlash-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3348199/top-us-ai-conference-apologises-after-sanctions-policy-sparks-backlash-china?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Mar 2026 12:34:14 +0000 Finbarr Bermingham Finbarr Bermingham After eight years in the deep freeze, the European Parliament is sending an official delegation to China next week in the clearest sign yet that Beijing’s targeted lobbying blitz of its members is paying off. Seven members from the parliament’s Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) will travel to Beijing and Shanghai alongside Engin Eroglu, head of its China delegation. They will meet officials, customs and port authorities, lawmakers and companies, including Shein and... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3348098/european-parliament-heads-china-after-8-years-members-say-its-no-sign-giving?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3348098/european-parliament-heads-china-after-8-years-members-say-its-no-sign-giving?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Mar 2026 05:55:21 +0000 Vincent Chow Vincent Chow Chinese computer scientists and researchers have been urged to boycott a major artificial intelligence conference after its organisers barred submissions from US-sanctioned institutions, including leading Chinese tech groups such as Huawei Technologies. The move by the China Computer Federation (CCF) is the latest flashpoint in deepening US-China tensions over AI, a fast-evolving field with far-reaching economic, social and military implications. The influential professional body said on... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3348006/ai-rift-widens-china-urges-boycott-top-us-conference-over-sanctions-ban?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3348006/ai-rift-widens-china-urges-boycott-top-us-conference-over-sanctions-ban?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Mar 2026 12:00:12 +0000 Ann Cao Ann Cao Alibaba Group Holding’s research arm Damo Academy has unveiled a chip designed to fuel artificial intelligence agents, as the tech giant bets on open-source RISC-V architecture to ride the wave of agentic AI. XuanTie C950, the latest flagship in Alibaba’s XuanTie RISC-V series, was introduced at the company’s annual ecosystem conference in Shanghai on Tuesday. Designed for high-performance tasks in cloud computing and AI computing, the C950 is a “CPU core” – the fundamental architecture for a... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3347684/alibaba-debuts-its-latest-risc-v-based-chip-amid-shift-ai-agents?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3347684/alibaba-debuts-its-latest-risc-v-based-chip-amid-shift-ai-agents?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Mar 2026 08:00:11 +0000 Wency Chen Wency Chen China’s Unitree Robotics has filed for a long-awaited initial public offering (IPO) on Shanghai’s Star Market, seeking to raise about 4.2 billion yuan (US$607.8 million). Widely seen as a bellwether for China’s emerging humanoid robotics industry, Unitree’s listing, if approved, could become a landmark test of investor appetite for so-called embodied AI companies. Here is what you need to know about Unitree, including how it makes a profit while peers are still burning cash, its shareholder... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3347611/inside-unitrees-landmark-ipo-what-know-about-chinas-humanoid-giant?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3347611/inside-unitrees-landmark-ipo-what-know-about-chinas-humanoid-giant?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 Mar 2026 13:45:08 +0000 Coco Feng,Wency Chen Coco Feng,Wency Chen ByteDance has struck a deal to sell its gaming studio Moonton to Savvy Games Group, a Saudi gaming company owned by the country’s sovereign wealth fund, for more than US$6 billion, according to information from the two sides on Friday. Moonton, known for the popular online battle title Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, recently signed an agreement to sell to Savvy, owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Moonton CEO Zhang Yunfan said in an internal memo on Thursday seen by the South China... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3347352/bytedance-sells-games-studio-moonton-saudi-firm-over-us6-billion-amid-pivot-ai?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3347352/bytedance-sells-games-studio-moonton-saudi-firm-over-us6-billion-amid-pivot-ai?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 20 Mar 2026 11:32:59 +0000 Junjie Wang Junjie Wang – https://www.scmp.com/plus/tech/article/3347093/chinas-global-tech-push?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/tech/article/3347093/chinas-global-tech-push?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 19 Mar 2026 02:40:01 +0000 Xinyi Wu,Wency Chen,Coco Feng Xinyi Wu,Wency Chen,Coco Feng The cloud-computing units of Alibaba Group Holding and Baidu are raising prices for certain services by as much as 34 per cent, following similar moves by their American peers earlier this year as artificial intelligence demand and infrastructure costs rise. Starting April 18, Alibaba Cloud’s services running on its AI chips – such as the T-Head Zhengwu 810E unveiled in late January – would cost between 5 and 34 per cent more, the company said in a statement on Wednesday. The price of its Cloud... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3347030/alibaba-and-baidu-lift-cloud-prices-34-amid-ai-demand-surge?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3347030/alibaba-and-baidu-lift-cloud-prices-34-amid-ai-demand-surge?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Mar 2026 10:30:08 +0000 Iris Deng Iris Deng Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings has integrated its QClaw AI agent as a mini-program in its flagship WeChat app as it pushes to expand adoption of its OpenClaw-based tool. It said QClaw was now accessible as a mini-program inside WeChat after an upgrade on Wednesday that allowed users to transfer files to their personal computers. QClaw was launched last week as an OpenClaw-based artificial intelligence agent for personal computers that users could control remotely from WeChat on their... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3346994/lobster-fever-grips-china-tencent-makes-openclaw-based-tool-available-wechat?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3346994/lobster-fever-grips-china-tencent-makes-openclaw-based-tool-available-wechat?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Mar 2026 06:58:57 +0000 Ken Ip Ken Ip In China this month, people have been lining up on streets to install an AI programme on their computers. Some had travelled from other cities. Others had waited for hours for engineers to set it up for them. There were even “birth certificates” given out upon installation. The programme is OpenClaw. Its logo is a red lobster. Chinese internet users quickly coined a phrase for the phenomenon: raising lobsters. The scene looks quirky, even amusing. But beneath the spectacle lies a revealing... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3346562/frenzy-over-ai-agent-openclaw-shows-lobster-has-escaped-pot?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3346562/frenzy-over-ai-agent-openclaw-shows-lobster-has-escaped-pot?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Mar 2026 21:30:08 +0000 Iris Deng Iris Deng Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings has become a sponsor of OpenClaw after public complaints from the creator of the popular open-source artificial intelligence agent. Tencent and its cloud computing unit officially became sponsors of OpenClaw on Monday, as featured on the project’s GitHub page alongside OpenAI and Chinese AI giant Baidu. The GitHub page has a section that lists the project’s sponsors. Earlier on Sunday, an account belonging to Tencent Cloud Lighthouse – the tech giant’s team... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3346796/tencent-sponsors-openclaw-after-creators-complaints-copying?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3346796/tencent-sponsors-openclaw-after-creators-complaints-copying?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Mar 2026 14:44:50 +0000 Aileen Chuang Aileen Chuang Chinese technology stocks are gaining momentum as they emerge largely unscathed from the US-Iran conflict and artificial intelligence “scare trades”, with agentic AI breakthroughs like OpenClaw sparking fresh monetisation hopes, according to investment experts. Global markets have been hit in recent weeks by an oil-price shock linked to the war in the Middle East, as well as an AI-driven sell-off over fears the technology could wipe out white-collar jobs. However, Chinese tech stocks remained... https://www.scmp.com/business/markets/article/3346604/hopes-ai-monetisation-boost-china-tech-stocks-amid-war-market-scares?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/markets/article/3346604/hopes-ai-monetisation-boost-china-tech-stocks-amid-war-market-scares?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Mar 2026 00:30:13 +0000 Reuters Reuters TikTok’s ⁠Chinese parent, ByteDance, has put ⁠on hold the global ⁠launch of its latest video-generation model, Seedance 2.0, after copyright disputes with major Hollywood studios and streaming platforms, The Information reported on Saturday, citing two people with direct knowledge of the situation. Reuters could not ‌immediately verify the report. ByteDance did not immediately respond to a request for comment. ByteDance said last month it would take steps to prevent the unauthorised use of... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3346654/bytedance-reportedly-suspends-launch-seedance-video-ai-model-after-copyright-disputes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3346654/bytedance-reportedly-suspends-launch-seedance-video-ai-model-after-copyright-disputes?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Mar 2026 09:10:52 +0000 Ben Jiang Ben Jiang By the time software programmer Guo Cancan realised something had gone horribly wrong with OpenClaw – the task-executing AI agent that has ignited a fervour across China – the damage was already done. While on holiday over the Chinese New Year, Guo was tinkering with the autonomous open-source program. When he attempted to resolve an error that it had made, OpenClaw responded by deleting nearly everything on his computer’s D: drive – a major storage partition – wiping out years of personal data... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3346513/inside-openclaw-mania-gripping-china-security-fears-surge-alongside-enthusiasm?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3346513/inside-openclaw-mania-gripping-china-security-fears-surge-alongside-enthusiasm?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Mar 2026 22:00:14 +0000 Neil Denslow,Raymond Ma Neil Denslow,Raymond Ma China has issued public guidance on using OpenClaw, and reportedly restricted its use in government agencies, as regulators push back against surging use of the artificial intelligence (AI) agent. Best practices include minimising internet exposure and regularly checking for security updates, China’s top software regulator said on Wednesday. The notice followed two earlier official warnings about OpenClaw, an autonomous AI agent used for tasks such as stock picking, sorting emails and creating... https://www.scmp.com/plus/tech/tech-trends/article/3346356/openclaw-frenzy-shows-hurdles-rewiring-china-economy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/tech/tech-trends/article/3346356/openclaw-frenzy-shows-hurdles-rewiring-china-economy?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Mar 2026 09:08:29 +0000 Wency Chen,Ann Cao Wency Chen,Ann Cao A wave of caution is sweeping through China’s financial and state institutions over OpenClaw, the open-source artificial intelligence (AI) agent that has recently gone viral. Several brokerages, banks and government bodies have moved to restrict staff access. At one of China’s leading brokerages, an employee, who asked not to be named, said the firm had issued an explicit risk warning earlier this week, banning OpenClaw from company computers. Staff who had already installed it were told to... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3346331/chinas-financial-institutions-regulators-draw-line-openclaw-ai-frenzy-spreads?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3346331/chinas-financial-institutions-regulators-draw-line-openclaw-ai-frenzy-spreads?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Mar 2026 07:20:55 +0000 Coco Feng Coco Feng A unit of China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has issued guidelines on best practices and prohibitions for adopting and using OpenClaw, the popular artificial intelligence agent that continues to dominate the market. The advisory, developed in collaboration with AI agent providers, vulnerability platform operators and cybersecurity firms, aims to address risks in typical use cases of “lobster”, OpenClaw’s mascot, according to a Wednesday statement from the MIIT-run... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3346269/china-issues-new-safety-rules-openclaw-here-are-dos-and-donts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3346269/china-issues-new-safety-rules-openclaw-here-are-dos-and-donts?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Mar 2026 15:13:52 +0000 Ben Jiang Ben Jiang China’s cybersecurity agency on Tuesday issued a second warning about security and data risks tied to OpenClaw, despite a rush among local governments and tech companies to adopt the artificial intelligence agent amid a nationwide frenzy. At a time when major Chinese cloud service providers were touting easy deployment of OpenClaw to capitalise on its popularity, improper installation and use of the agent had also led to severe security risks, said the National Computer Network Emergency... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3346138/china-issues-second-warning-openclaw-risks-amid-adoption-frenzy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3346138/china-issues-second-warning-openclaw-risks-amid-adoption-frenzy?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Mar 2026 14:14:18 +0000 Coco Feng Coco Feng Chinese technology firms, including internet giants Tencent Holdings, Alibaba Group Holding and ByteDance, are offering easy or inexpensive access to OpenClaw, the popular open-source AI agent software amid a “lobster fever” in the country. Tencent on Tuesday officially launched QClaw, an artificial intelligence assistant built on OpenClaw that can connect to the company’s super app WeChat. After download and installation on a computer that takes about three minutes, users can remotely control... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3346090/chinese-tech-giants-offer-cheap-easy-access-openclaw-amid-lobster-fever?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3346090/chinese-tech-giants-offer-cheap-easy-access-openclaw-amid-lobster-fever?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Mar 2026 09:00:07 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg Canada will allow TikTok to continue operating in the country, a complete reversal after the government had previously ordered the social media company to close its Canadian division for security reasons. In November 2024, under former prime minister Justin Trudeau, Canada ordered ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese owner, to wind down its Canadian subsidiary. That would not have banned the app’s use but would have forced its offices in Toronto and Vancouver to close. But in January, that order was set... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3346025/tiktok-gets-green-light-stay-canada-reversing-earlier-ban?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3346025/tiktok-gets-green-light-stay-canada-reversing-earlier-ban?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Mar 2026 23:31:28 +0000 Yuanyue Dang Yuanyue Dang China’s highest court says that while it handles AI-related cases with care it has allowed room for the country’s artificial intelligence industry to innovate and make mistakes, according to its annual report. Supreme People’s Court president Zhang Jun told the National People’s Congress (NPC), China’s top legislative body, on Monday that the court had “promoted the orderly development of artificial intelligence” last year. Delivering the supreme court’s work report, Zhang said China’s courts... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3345999/chinas-top-court-says-it-treats-ai-cases-care-without-stifling-growth-or-innovation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3345999/chinas-top-court-says-it-treats-ai-cases-care-without-stifling-growth-or-innovation?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Mar 2026 11:12:01 +0000 Ben Jiang Ben Jiang As global concern rises over artificial intelligence and the potential for AI agents to disrupt lives and industries, people in southern China are rushing to embrace the technology even as privacy concerns intensify. On Friday, nearly 1,000 people lined up outside Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings’ Shenzhen headquarters to install OpenClaw – a popular open-source AI agent software – on their computers. The crowd, a mix of amateur developers, retired space engineers, housewives, students and AI... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3345865/openclaw-fever-why-china-rushing-raise-lobster?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3345865/openclaw-fever-why-china-rushing-raise-lobster?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 08 Mar 2026 14:00:08 +0000 Reuters Reuters Donald Trump and his attorney general were sued on Thursday by retail investors in two social media rivals of TikTok seeking to reverse the US president’s approval of a deal by the company’s Chinese owner ByteDance to form a majority American-owned joint venture. The lawsuit, the ‌first legal challenge to the deal, argues that Trump’s approval last year violated requirements set out in a 2024 divestiture law. Two California residents who hold shares in Alphabet and Meta Platforms sued, backed by... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3345636/trump-sued-bid-undo-approval-tiktoks-us-sale?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3345636/trump-sued-bid-undo-approval-tiktoks-us-sale?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Mar 2026 23:48:26 +0000 Mia Nurmamat,Ben Jiang Mia Nurmamat,Ben Jiang In an unprecedented Chinese New Year marketing blitz, Alibaba Group Holding, Baidu, ByteDance and Tencent Holdings spent an estimated 8 billion yuan (US$1.1 billion) to turn their artificial intelligence assistants into household names, according to Morgan Stanley. Now the dust is settling. A week after the holiday ended, early data offers a first glimpse into how China’s AI landscape is evolving and which players gained lasting traction from the spending spree. Morgan Stanley said all platforms... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3345301/chinas-ai-red-packet-battle-burns-through-us1-billion-will-users-stick-around?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3345301/chinas-ai-red-packet-battle-burns-through-us1-billion-will-users-stick-around?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Mar 2026 13:00:11 +0000 Coco Feng Coco Feng Alibaba Group Holding plans to launch new smart glasses powered by its artificial intelligence assistant Qwen at the coming MWC Barcelona trade show. On Saturday, a company representative confirmed the launch, adding that both online and offline presales would start on Monday, the first day of the annual trade show, formerly known as Mobile World Congress. Meanwhile, the company, which owns the South China Morning Post, is preparing a diverse product line-up this year for the global market,... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3344971/mwc-2026-alibaba-launch-new-smart-glasses-powered-qwen-ai-assistant?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3344971/mwc-2026-alibaba-launch-new-smart-glasses-powered-qwen-ai-assistant?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 28 Feb 2026 09:16:43 +0000 Meredith Chen Meredith Chen Chinese AI tools have come under fire for allowing deepfake images that critics say are a form of “digital public shaming” targeting women. Free Nora, a grass-roots feminist media collective in China, reported last week that many internet users had been exploiting the artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot Doubao to generate non-consensual pornographic images of real women. “In the shadowy corners of social media, a large-scale ‘digital public shaming’ campaign targeting ordinary women has quietly... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3344740/digital-public-shaming-chinese-ai-tools-under-fire-pornographic-deepfakes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3344740/digital-public-shaming-chinese-ai-tools-under-fire-pornographic-deepfakes?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Feb 2026 10:00:57 +0000 Vincent Chow Vincent Chow US private equity firm General Atlantic is selling an equity stake in TikTok owner ByteDance in a deal that raises its valuation of the private Chinese company to US$550 billion, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing two unnamed sources. The deal, still pending, confirms a previous report by the South China Morning Post in December that ByteDance’s valuation had surged to US$500 billion on the private market, up from US$400 billion as recently as the second quarter of 2025. General Atlantic... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3344631/bytedance-valuation-said-hit-record-us550-billion-proposed-equity-sale?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3344631/bytedance-valuation-said-hit-record-us550-billion-proposed-equity-sale?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Feb 2026 12:00:17 +0000 Ben Jiang Ben Jiang Chinese open-source artificial intelligence models, led by those from MiniMax AI and Moonshot AI, have topped global token usage, ending a year of market dominance for US developers, according to data from OpenRouter. Online AI hosting platform OpenRouter’s latest ranking reflected the increased international demand for Chinese open-source models on its site following a series of new releases. Launched around two weeks ago, the M2.5 from Shanghai-based MiniMax emerged as the most popular AI... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3344587/chinas-minimax-moonshot-top-ai-token-use-ranking-ending-year-us-dominance?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3344587/chinas-minimax-moonshot-top-ai-token-use-ranking-ending-year-us-dominance?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Feb 2026 11:30:07 +0000 Ann Cao Ann Cao Chinese tech giants claimed a victory after a promotional giveaway campaign for their artificial intelligence services during the Lunar New Year, touting surging user numbers and the adoption of AI as part of holiday consumption. During the period, Alibaba Group Holding’s AI app Qwen saw nearly 200 million orders placed, according to data released by the company on Monday. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post. Among the users were more than four million people aged 60 and above who... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3344432/ai-apps-soar-china-lunar-new-year-giveaway-battle-boosts-user-growth?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3344432/ai-apps-soar-china-lunar-new-year-giveaway-battle-boosts-user-growth?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Feb 2026 09:30:09 +0000 Gerui Wang Gerui Wang The 2026 Spring Festival Gala, one of the world’s most-watched television events, featured a dazzling array of humanoid robots. They performed martial arts, executed intricate sword dances and even took part in a comedy skit alongside human celebrities. While parts of the world still view humanoid robots with a mixture of fear and suspicion, as potential job-stealers or sci-fi villains, China is increasingly embracing them as partners in work, entertainment and daily life. Amid the escalating... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3344083/humans-vs-robots-china-begs-disagree?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3344083/humans-vs-robots-china-begs-disagree?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 21 Feb 2026 21:30:09 +0000 Coco Feng Coco Feng Major Chinese technology companies, including ByteDance and Baidu, are aggressively expanding their US-based research and development teams, targeting high-level artificial intelligence and semiconductor recruits in key American tech hubs. The overseas hiring spree underscores these “big tech” firms’ growing ambitions to build up their skilled workforce in AI systems development and semiconductor design amid increased competition in their home market. Social media giant ByteDance, the parent... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3344212/chinas-tech-giants-pursue-ai-semiconductor-talent-us-competition-intensifies?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3344212/chinas-tech-giants-pursue-ai-semiconductor-talent-us-competition-intensifies?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 21 Feb 2026 13:00:09 +0000 Iris Deng Iris Deng On a crisp January afternoon, the Shenzhen Bay Sports Centre, just a stone’s throw from Tencent Holdings’ headquarters, was packed with employees gathering for a party featuring celebrity cameos and prizes. But before the fun started, they witnessed a round of sober self-reflection from their low-profile leader. The New Year address by co-founder, chairman and CEO Pony Ma Huateng is an annual tradition for the social media and video gaming giant, offering its 115,000 employees rare insight into... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3344113/chinas-ai-crossroads-3-divergent-paths-race-dominance?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3344113/chinas-ai-crossroads-3-divergent-paths-race-dominance?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 21 Feb 2026 03:00:14 +0000 Lucy Quaggin Lucy Quaggin They are young, intensely competitive, and unapologetic about 80-hour work weeks. Welcome to the United States’ new generation of tech founders. Gen Z’s start-up class is reframing “millennial hustle culture” by shifting from side gigs and personal branding to a more rigid office grind, while looking to China for inspiration. It’s for this reason that US artificial intelligence start-ups are openly embracing 996, the controversial 9am to 9pm, six-day-a-week schedule popularised by Chinese tech... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3344052/996-goes-west-us-ai-start-ups-adopt-china-techs-controversial-work-schedule-get-ahead?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3344052/996-goes-west-us-ai-start-ups-adopt-china-techs-controversial-work-schedule-get-ahead?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 20 Feb 2026 14:00:07 +0000 Xiaofei Xu,Ann Cao Xiaofei Xu,Ann Cao As American figure skater Ilia Malinin launched into a quad – a jump with four airborne revolutions – at this month’s Winter Olympics, millions of television viewers witnessed something brand new: a replay of the jump separated into frames that appeared to orbit the athlete. It was just one of many new perspectives offered to viewers thanks to the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, where the technology is not only enhancing broadcasts but also helping... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3344139/how-chinese-artificial-intelligence-put-new-spin-winter-olympics-action?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3344139/how-chinese-artificial-intelligence-put-new-spin-winter-olympics-action?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 20 Feb 2026 11:00:09 +0000 Wency Chen Wency Chen The artificial intelligence boom has swept through consumer electronics – from smart wearables and AI-powered home devices to voice-interactive toys and robotic pets – but its most significant impact may be on the interface itself. Technology is moving off the screen and onto the face, with smart glasses increasingly seen as the next frontier. “The next interaction revolution will happen right in front of our eyes – driven by AI agents and the inevitable miniaturisation of hardware,” said Wu... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3344101/next-interface-race-how-ai-bringing-smart-glasses-focus?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3344101/next-interface-race-how-ai-bringing-smart-glasses-focus?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 20 Feb 2026 06:38:47 +0000 Vincent Chow Vincent Chow China’s “big tech” giants – including Alibaba Group Holding, ByteDance and Tencent Holdings – released preliminary figures showing impressive gains for their new flagship artificial intelligence offerings during this year’s Spring Festival Gala marketing blitz. While red packet giveaways and extensive advertising campaigns have been a fixture of past Lunar New Year holidays, this year’s multi-billion-yuan competition surrounding a crop of new artificial intelligence products was so intense that... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3344017/chinas-tech-giants-report-huge-gains-spring-festival-marketing-blitz?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3344017/chinas-tech-giants-report-huge-gains-spring-festival-marketing-blitz?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 19 Feb 2026 13:00:10 +0000 Coco Feng Coco Feng Owning a white vehicle in China may mean lower car insurance premiums because it is less likely to get in an accident, according to an executive from SunCar Technology Group, which uses artificial intelligence from ByteDance to personalise services. “This is what we found based on our massive data,” said SunCar chief strategy officer Breaux Walker in an interview with the South China Morning Post. Other factors also affect premiums, including car usage, commuting routes and driving habits.... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3343034/white-cars-cheaper-insurance-how-ai-changing-automotive-services-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3343034/white-cars-cheaper-insurance-how-ai-changing-automotive-services-china?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Feb 2026 08:00:09 +0000 Finbarr Bermingham Finbarr Bermingham The European Commission has opened an investigation into Chinese online retailer Shein over, among other things, the alleged sale of “child sexual abuse material” – a move that could see the firm banned from the EU market as a last resort. The probe, launched on Tuesday under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), will look into the systems the Singapore-based company has in place to limit the sale of illegal products. As a next step, the commission will ask Shein for further information and... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3343833/chinese-e-commerce-giant-shein-could-face-eu-ban-over-childlike-sex-dolls?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3343833/chinese-e-commerce-giant-shein-could-face-eu-ban-over-childlike-sex-dolls?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Feb 2026 11:14:09 +0000 Wency Chen,Vincent Chow Wency Chen,Vincent Chow China’s leading humanoid robotics companies dominated the opening of this year’s Spring Festival Gala, the annual variety spectacle staged by state broadcaster CCTV that offers a rare nationwide marketing platform akin to the US Super Bowl, highlighting the central role of the industry in Beijing’s industrial policy. Four robotics firms – Hangzhou-based Unitree, Wuxi-based Magiclab, Beijing-based Galbot and Noetix – had announced partnerships with this year’s gala in deals said to be valued at... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3343634/chinas-tech-companies-vie-attention-cctvs-festival-gala-years-biggest-stage?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3343634/chinas-tech-companies-vie-attention-cctvs-festival-gala-years-biggest-stage?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Feb 2026 22:00:15 +0000 Vincent Chow Vincent Chow ByteDance is working to strengthen safeguards in its Seedance 2.0 video-generation tool after it received global blowback for alleged intellectual property (IP) violations, the Chinese short-video giant said on Sunday. The controversy focuses on the TikTok owner’s alleged use of copyrighted content to train its artificial intelligence model, as videos of Hollywood celebrities, Disney characters and comic book heroes generated by Seedance have flooded the web in recent days. On Saturday, Disney... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3343626/bytedance-ai-video-tool-seedance-accused-disney-copyright-smash-and-grab?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3343626/bytedance-ai-video-tool-seedance-accused-disney-copyright-smash-and-grab?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Feb 2026 09:07:51 +0000 Wency Chen Wency Chen China’s supply chain is stepping up investments in liquid cooling technology as the global AI build-out pushes data centre power densities to levels that air cooling can no longer efficiently handle. Dozens of Chinese listed companies have in recent months announced plans to expand into, or ramp up, liquid-cooling systems as demand surges for technology that uses circulating fluids to keep racks of AI chips from overheating. Among them are HVAC specialist Sanhua Intelligent Controls, electronics... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3343582/china-moves-deeper-liquid-cooling-ai-data-centres-push-their-thermal-limits?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3343582/china-moves-deeper-liquid-cooling-ai-data-centres-push-their-thermal-limits?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Feb 2026 08:00:13 +0000 Ann Cao Ann Cao China’s top market regulator has summoned the country’s leading tech companies to demand an end to “involutionary” competition, at the time when the companies are pouring billions of yuan into a Lunar New Year promotional blitz to win over users for services including artificial intelligence apps. The companies summoned on Friday were Alibaba Group Holding, ByteDance’s Douyin, Baidu, Tencent Holdings, JD.com, Meituan and Taobao Instant Commerce, Alibaba’s on-demand delivery unit, the State... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3343614/beijing-warns-tech-giants-curb-involution-amid-ai-giveaway-war?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3343614/beijing-warns-tech-giants-curb-involution-amid-ai-giveaway-war?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Feb 2026 06:30:07 +0000