https://www.scmp.com/rss/57614/feed Incorporated as “Cadabra” in 1994 by Jeff Bezos, the company went online the following year as amazon.com. It started as an online bookstore but soon diversified into DVDs, CDs, MP3 downloads, software, video games, electronics, apparel, furniture, food, toys, and jewellery. Apart from online retailing, Amazon also produces consumer electronics, notably the Amazon Kindle e-book reader and the Kindle Fire tablet computer, and provides cloud computing services. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Wency Chen Wency Chen Manycore Tech, a Hangzhou-based developer of spatial design software, has passed its listing hearing in Hong Kong, moving a step closer to an initial public offering (IPO) as it pushes deeper into what it calls “spatial intelligence” – the integration of artificial intelligence with the physical world. The company is one of Hangzhou’s “Six Little Dragons” – a group of rising start-ups that includes AI developer DeepSeek, robotics firms Unitree Robotics and Deep Robotics, Black Myth creator Game... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3348377/firing-manycore-first-hangzhous-six-little-dragons-near-hong-kong-ipo?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3348377/firing-manycore-first-hangzhous-six-little-dragons-near-hong-kong-ipo?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 30 Mar 2026 10:00:11 +0000 Alex Lo Alex Lo There is no artificial intelligence (AI) race to dominate the technology except in the minds of America’s billionaire tech bros and the ruling elites in Washington. Unfortunately, the global news media often uncritically adopt this dog-eat-dog narrative, including sometimes this newspaper. Now, I am not denying the intense competition between China and the United States in AI and other major industries of the 21st century. I am, however, claiming that competition is basically an end in itself... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/article/3346675/humane-chinese-ai-versus-dog-eat-dog-american-ai?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/article/3346675/humane-chinese-ai-versus-dog-eat-dog-american-ai?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Mar 2026 14:30:08 +0000 Reuters Reuters Meta is planning sweeping lay-offs that could affect 20 per cent or more of the company, three sources familiar with the matter said, as it seeks to offset costly artificial intelligence infrastructure bets and prepare for greater efficiency brought about by AI-assisted workers. No date has been set for the cuts and the magnitude has not been finalised, the people said. Top executives have recently signalled the plans to other senior leaders at Meta and told them to begin planning how to pare... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3346573/16000-meta-jobs-stake-zuckerberg-focuses-ai?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3346573/16000-meta-jobs-stake-zuckerberg-focuses-ai?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Mar 2026 01:50:22 +0000 Reuters Reuters Indian households are rushing to buy electric induction stoves, draining ⁠stocks online and in stores, ⁠amid fears of a potential cooking gas ⁠shortage tied to the Middle East conflict. India, the world’s second-largest importer of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), has invoked emergency powers to boost supplies for households even as availability tightens for commercial users including canteens, hostels and restaurants. Meanwhile, consumers are buying electric cooking appliances as a precaution,... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3346413/us-israel-war-iran-indian-homes-stockpile-electric-stoves-beat-gas-crunch?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3346413/us-israel-war-iran-indian-homes-stockpile-electric-stoves-beat-gas-crunch?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Mar 2026 01:00:13 +0000 Iman Muttaqin Yusof Iman Muttaqin Yusof Southeast Asia is facing a growing cyber spillover risk from the widening US-Israel war with Iran, with security experts warning that state-linked hackers and criminal groups are seeking to exploit turmoil around energy, shipping and banking networks to hit targets far beyond the Middle East. The assessment comes as Iran said it would target economic and banking interests linked to the United States and Israel in the region after an attack on an Iranian bank, while the United Arab Emirates said... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3346342/southeast-asia-faces-spillover-cyber-risk-iran-war-blast-radius-widens?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3346342/southeast-asia-faces-spillover-cyber-risk-iran-war-blast-radius-widens?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Mar 2026 09:00:12 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Elon Musk’s estimated US$839 billion net worth has made him the wealthiest individual ever recorded, Forbes said on Tuesday, as billionaires worldwide saw their combined fortunes surge in the past year to an all-time high of US$20.1 trillion. Musk topped the Forbes World’s Billionaires list for the second consecutive year after his fortune swelled by roughly US$500 billion over the past 12 months, driven by rising valuations at Tesla and SpaceX, which is targeting a public offering in 2026. He... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3346162/elon-musk-course-become-worlds-first-trillionaire-wealth-soars?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3346162/elon-musk-course-become-worlds-first-trillionaire-wealth-soars?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Mar 2026 02:30:21 +0000 Reuters Reuters Anthropic on Monday filed a lawsuit to block the Pentagon from placing it on a national security blacklist, escalating the artificial intelligence lab’s high-stakes battle with the US military over usage restrictions on its technology. Anthropic said in its lawsuit that the designation was unlawful and violated its free speech and due process rights. The filing in federal court in California asked a judge to undo the designation and block federal ‌agencies from enforcing it. “These actions are... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3346019/anthropic-sues-us-government-row-over-ai-use-military-deepens?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3346019/anthropic-sues-us-government-row-over-ai-use-military-deepens?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Mar 2026 16:36:30 +0000 Zhu Wenqian Zhu Wenqian More of the world’s billionaires live in China than anywhere else, after stock market gains and artificial intelligence generated a record number of billionaires globally, according to the latest Hurun Global Rich List. China overtook the United States to recapture bragging rights on the annual report released by Hurun Group on Thursday, with 1,110 billionaires out of 4,020 globally. China added 287 billionaires since the previous edition of the report, more than recouping its losses over the... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3345577/china-worlds-billionaire-capital-again-hurun-rich-list-swells-stock-surge?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3345577/china-worlds-billionaire-capital-again-hurun-rich-list-swells-stock-surge?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Mar 2026 10:30:13 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press The unfolding Iran war has ricocheted across the region and beyond, with nearly every country in the Middle East sustaining damage from missile hits, drone strikes or shrapnel, many reporting casualties, and key embassies, economic engines and passageways closing down. Off the coast of Sri Lanka, a US submarine sank an Iranian warship as the war intensified and its footprint grew. Foreign governments have for days urged their citizens to leave Middle East countries on any available commercial... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3345492/guide-how-iran-war-has-ricocheted-across-middle-east-and-beyond?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3345492/guide-how-iran-war-has-ricocheted-across-middle-east-and-beyond?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Mar 2026 02:01:04 +0000 Iris Deng Iris Deng Tencent Holdings plans to expand its cloud-computing presence in Europe with new data centres in Germany, as the Chinese tech giant rides on the rising demand for artificial intelligence services globally. The Shenzhen-based company will open a new availability zone – a cluster of physically independent data centres – in the second quarter this year in Frankfurt, adding to the existing two in Germany, Tencent’s cloud-computing unit announced on Monday at MWC Barcelona. The move aimed to meet the... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3345069/tencent-expands-cloud-computing-presence-europe-new-data-centres-germany?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3345069/tencent-expands-cloud-computing-presence-europe-new-data-centres-germany?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 02 Mar 2026 09:00:09 +0000 Finbarr Bermingham Finbarr Bermingham For over a year, Europe has become the world’s geopolitical punching bag, taking economic roundhouses from the east and geopolitical uppercuts from the west without ever swinging back. From US President Donald Trump’s tariffs and covetous glances at Greenland to Beijing’s rare earth embargoes and lightning blockade of semiconductor shipments, Europe’s first response has been to freeze, not fight. But now, it may be ready to counterpunch. After a fresh Trump tariff threat emerged last week, a... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3345028/europe-worlds-geopolitical-punching-bag-ready-hit-back-us-and-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3345028/europe-worlds-geopolitical-punching-bag-ready-hit-back-us-and-china?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 01 Mar 2026 14:00:08 +0000 Cao Li Cao Li The risk of an artificial intelligence bubble has, for the first time, become the top concern among credit investors, overshadowing geopolitical worries, according to a Bank of America (BofA) survey. In a February survey of investment-grade clients who buy and sell debt, 23 per cent said the threat of an AI bubble was now their top concern, up from 9 per cent in December, according to BofA strategists Barnaby Martin and Ioannis Angelakis and analyst Mohit Agarwalla. “[An] AI bubble is now seen... https://www.scmp.com/business/markets/article/3344555/ai-bubble-overtakes-geopolitics-top-concern-credit-investors-bofa-survey-finds?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/markets/article/3344555/ai-bubble-overtakes-geopolitics-top-concern-credit-investors-bofa-survey-finds?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Feb 2026 05:51:38 +0000 Eunice Xu Eunice Xu US software company OpenMind, according to founder and CEO Jan Liphardt, caused a commotion last year at a park in San Francisco where the firm shot a promotional video. “A crowd of people came, children came running, cars stopped and the police came,” he said, because “there was a robot in the park”. In an interview, Liphardt told the South China Morning Post that such a scenario would have been treated differently on the other side of the world. “If a [Unitree] G1 walked across the street in... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3344172/software-connection-us-firm-opens-doors-global-adoption-chinas-humanoid-robots?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3344172/software-connection-us-firm-opens-doors-global-adoption-chinas-humanoid-robots?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 Feb 2026 10:00:15 +0000 Alex Lo Alex Lo US ambassador to Nato Matthew Whitaker must have mistaken China for his boss, Donald Trump. After all, it was the US president who kept saying he could end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours. Speaking at the Munich Security Conference last week, Whitaker claimed Beijing could stop Russia’s war in Ukraine in a day if it wanted to. “China could call Vladimir Putin and end this war tomorrow and cut off his dual-purpose technologies that they’re selling,” he said. “China could stop buying Russian oil... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/article/3343643/china-and-un-are-not-problem-ukraine-and-palestine-west?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/article/3343643/china-and-un-are-not-problem-ukraine-and-palestine-west?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Feb 2026 14:34:58 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press The US stock market roared back on Friday, as technology stocks recovered much of their losses from earlier in the week and bitcoin halted its plunge, at least for now. The S&P 500 rallied 2 per cent for its best day since May. The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared 1,206 points, or 2.5 per cent, and topped the 50,000 level for the first time, while the Nasdaq composite leaped 2.2 per cent. Chip companies helped drive the widespread rally, and Nvidia jumped 7.8 per cent to trim its loss for the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3342738/dow-breaks-50000-first-time-us-stocks-rally?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3342738/dow-breaks-50000-first-time-us-stocks-rally?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Feb 2026 23:32:43 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The Washington Post, owned by billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, announced major job cuts Wednesday, saying that “painful” restructuring was needed at the storied newspaper. The newspaper, which gained legendary status when its reporting helped bring down President Richard Nixon in the Watergate scandal, will see “substantial” reductions in its newsroom, Executive Editor Matt Murray said. The shrinking of The Washington Post comes as major traditional media outlets in the United States face... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3342434/washington-post-cutting-hundreds-jobs-us-media-faces-trump-pressure?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3342434/washington-post-cutting-hundreds-jobs-us-media-faces-trump-pressure?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Feb 2026 22:21:12 +0000 Reuters Reuters Former Google software engineer Ding Linwei was convicted by a federal jury in San Francisco ‌on Thursday of stealing AI trade secrets from the US tech ‍giant to benefit two Chinese companies he was secretly working for, the US Department of Justice said on Thursday. Ding, a 38-year-old Chinese national, was found guilty after an 11-day trial ⁠of seven counts of economic espionage and seven counts of theft of trade secrets for stealing thousands of pages of confidential information. Each... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3341909/ex-google-engineer-ding-linwei-convicted-stealing-ai-secrets-chinese-companies?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3341909/ex-google-engineer-ding-linwei-convicted-stealing-ai-secrets-chinese-companies?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 30 Jan 2026 21:30:30 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Amazon is slashing about 16,000 corporate jobs in the second round of mass lay-offs for the e-commerce company in three months. The tech giant has said it plans to use generative artificial intelligence to replace corporate workers. It has also been reducing a workforce that increased during the pandemic. Beth Galetti, a senior vice-president at Amazon, said in a blog post on Wednesday that the company has been “reducing layers, increasing ownership, and removing bureaucracy”. The company did... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3341581/amazon-cuts-16000-jobs-amid-ai-shift-post-pandemic-restructuring?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3341581/amazon-cuts-16000-jobs-amid-ai-shift-post-pandemic-restructuring?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 28 Jan 2026 13:24:47 +0000 Mark Magnier Mark Magnier The world’s largest retail show held last week in New York saw a mood of measured optimism amid the bustle, cheap swag and canned smiles – a sense that the worst of last year’s tariff turmoil was over and that Chinese goods would continue to fill Walmart and Costco, even if they had to travel through a third country. “I feel more optimistic for this year,” said Teagan Pollard, an IT expert with TP Industries, which sells vaping equipment from China. “The economy and tariffs have been rough. But... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/article/3340995/americas-biggest-retail-show-china-question-never-really-goes-away?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/article/3340995/americas-biggest-retail-show-china-question-never-really-goes-away?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 23 Jan 2026 16:00:14 +0000 Reuters Reuters Jeff Bezos’ space company Blue Origin on Wednesday announced a plan to deploy 5,408 satellites in ‍space for a communications network that will serve data centres, governments and businesses, jumping into a satellite constellation market dominated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX. Deployment of satellites was planned to begin in the last quarter of 2027, Blue Origin said, adding the network was designed to have “data speeds of up to 6 Tbps anywhere ⁠on Earth”. That speed, possible with the satellites’... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3340750/bezos-blue-origin-deploy-thousands-satellites-rival-musks-starlink?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3340750/bezos-blue-origin-deploy-thousands-satellites-rival-musks-starlink?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 21 Jan 2026 21:18:25 +0000 Coco Feng Coco Feng In a seismic shift for the global retail landscape, Temu, the budget shopping platform owned by PDD Holdings, has caught up with Amazon.com in cross-border market share globally. The platform, which launched in 2022, saw its share surge from less than 1 per cent then to 24 per cent last year, on par with American giant Amazon, according to a survey published by International Post Corporation (IPC), an association of 26 national postal services in Europe, Asia-Pacific and North America. Amazon’s... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3340415/chinese-owned-temu-catches-amazon-global-cross-border-e-commerce?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3340415/chinese-owned-temu-catches-amazon-global-cross-border-e-commerce?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 20 Jan 2026 00:15:08 +0000 Ningrong Liu Ningrong Liu The anticipated rise of Shenzhen’s Nanshan district to a “trillion-yuan district” marks a monumental milestone, placing it alongside Shanghai’s Pudong and Beijing’s Haidian as the only districts to reach such a GDP threshold. Beyond a mere numerical benchmark, the “trillion-yuan” label signifies China’s transition into a technology-powered economic era. This achievement underscores more than local success – it amplifies the resilience of China’s economy, increasingly driven by hi-tech... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3339686/chinas-trillion-yuan-districts-reveal-gains-and-gaps-its-hi-tech-push?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3339686/chinas-trillion-yuan-districts-reveal-gains-and-gaps-its-hi-tech-push?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 16 Jan 2026 08:30:15 +0000 Reuters Reuters FBI agents searched a Washington Post reporter’s home on Wednesday as part of an investigation into sharing secret government information, officials said, ‍in a move that press advocates said threatened journalistic freedom. The reporter, Hannah Natanson, has covered US President Donald Trump’s campaign to fire hundreds of thousands of federal workers and shift remaining workers to implementing his agenda. US Attorney General Pam Bondi said federal agents had executed the search at the request... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3339930/fbi-raids-home-us-journalist-who-reported-trump-firings?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3339930/fbi-raids-home-us-journalist-who-reported-trump-firings?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 14 Jan 2026 18:27:57 +0000 Tribune News Service Tribune News Service The overriding theme defining television in recent years has been a fear of the new. This is why reboots and spin-offs continue apace, with old titles brought back from the dead or from the not-so-distant past and intellectual property milked within an inch of its life (somehow HBO has yet another Game of Thrones series coming our way). It is as if everyone in Hollywood ran out of new ideas all at once. Do not blame writers, but executives who are rapidly shepherding their industry towards... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3339259/new-tv-series-watch-early-2026-game-thrones-spin-bridgerton-season-4?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3339259/new-tv-series-watch-early-2026-game-thrones-spin-bridgerton-season-4?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 10 Jan 2026 20:15:09 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press The world’s largest tech showcase does not come without theatrics. Innovations and gadgets, such as a lollipop that sings to you as you consume it, a laundry-folding robot and a “smart” Lego brick, have stolen the spotlight so far at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2026. But underscoring this year’s programming is a strong focus on an industry that relies on a similar theatrical flair: entertainment. More than 25 different panels and events related to the entertainment industry are scheduled... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3339167/ces-2026-ai-entertainment-under-spotlight-tech-remains-sticking-point?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3339167/ces-2026-ai-entertainment-under-spotlight-tech-remains-sticking-point?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 08 Jan 2026 11:15:09 +0000 James Mottram James Mottram Predicting the movie business is a fool’s errand, but with a new year under way, let us start with a moment of cautious optimism: 2026 could be a great year for cinema. Last year, with artificial intelligence (AI) encroaching on the industry and ticket sales still trailing pre-pandemic levels, there was much soul-searching. This year, cinema is boldly heralding the theatrical experience, with heavyweights Christopher Nolan, Steven Spielberg and Denis Villeneuve all back with new films. Behind... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3338872/hollywood-2026-movies-and-bigger-china-focus-dunesday-heres-what-expect?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3338872/hollywood-2026-movies-and-bigger-china-focus-dunesday-heres-what-expect?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Jan 2026 11:15:09 +0000 Reuters Reuters Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said on Monday that the company’s next generation of chips is in “full production”, saying they can deliver five times the artificial intelligence computing of the company’s previous chips when serving up chatbots and other AI apps. In a speech at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the leader of the world’s most valuable company revealed new details about its chips, which will arrive later this year and which Nvidia executives told Reuters are already in the... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3338845/nvidia-ceo-huang-says-next-generation-chips-full-production?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3338845/nvidia-ceo-huang-says-next-generation-chips-full-production?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Jan 2026 02:51:23 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press The moon and sun share top billing in 2026. Kicking off the year’s cosmic wonders is the moon, drawing the first astronauts to visit in more than 50 years, as well as a caravan of robotic lunar landers, including Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos’ new supersized Blue Moon. A supermoon looms on January 3, and an astronomical blue moon is on the books for May. The sun will also generate buzz with a “ring of fire” eclipse at the bottom of the world in February and a total solar eclipse at the top... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3337986/supermoons-eclipses-and-more-2026-guide-best-night-sky-events-look-out?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3337986/supermoons-eclipses-and-more-2026-guide-best-night-sky-events-look-out?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 31 Dec 2025 08:15:08 +0000 Zhang Zhipeng Zhang Zhipeng US President Donald Trump last month signed an executive order for the “Genesis Mission”, a national campaign to use artificial intelligence (AI) to boost scientific breakthroughs. In the opening section, the mission is explicitly described as “comparable in urgency and ambition to the Manhattan Project”. The comparison is compelling, but also misleading. At first glance, the order evokes the image of America in the 1940s, muscular and confident, mobilising the whole nation to end World War II.... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3337800/likening-trumps-ai-mission-manhattan-project-sadly-mistaken?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3337800/likening-trumps-ai-mission-manhattan-project-sadly-mistaken?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 28 Dec 2025 08:30:07 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The European Union is back in the crosshairs of the Trump administration over its tech rules, which Washington denounced as an attempt to “coerce” American social media platforms into censoring viewpoints they oppose. The US State Department said on Tuesday it would deny visas to a former EU commissioner and four others, saying they “have advanced censorship crackdowns by foreign states – in each case targeting American speakers and American companies”. Trump has vowed to punish countries that... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3337663/trump-vs-eu-european-laws-curbing-big-tech-and-irking-us-president?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3337663/trump-vs-eu-european-laws-curbing-big-tech-and-irking-us-president?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 Dec 2025 16:00:08 +0000 Agence France-Presse,Associated Press Agence France-Presse,Associated Press A US federal judge on Tuesday upheld President Donald Trump’s US$100,000 fee to process H-1B visa applications, while also acknowledging it could “inflict significant harm on American businesses and institutions of higher education”. In a 56-page opinion, US District Judge Beryl Howell wrote that the president has “broad statutory authority” to address “a problem he perceives to be a matter of economic and national security”. The US$100,000 application fee announced in September gave companies... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3337657/trumps-us100000-h-1b-visa-fee-upheld-judge-lottery-system-ends?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3337657/trumps-us100000-h-1b-visa-fee-upheld-judge-lottery-system-ends?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 Dec 2025 12:42:33 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse US tech giant Amazon said it has blocked over 1,800 North Koreans from joining the company, as Pyongyang sends large numbers of IT workers overseas to earn and launder funds. In a post on LinkedIn, Amazon’s Chief Security Officer Stephen Schmidt said last week that North Korean workers “have been attempting to secure remote IT jobs with companies worldwide, particularly in the US”. He said the firm had seen nearly a one-third rise in applications by North Koreans in the past year. The North... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3337406/how-north-koreans-use-laptop-farms-us-land-tech-jobs-abroad?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3337406/how-north-koreans-use-laptop-farms-us-land-tech-jobs-abroad?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Dec 2025 01:31:26 +0000 Eunice Xu Eunice Xu Chinese robotics manufacturers are set to cement their dominance in the global smart vacuum market with Picea Robotics’ acquisition of Roomba maker iRobot, after the US firm’s proposed sale to Amazon.com last year fell through due to regulatory hurdles. China-based suppliers held the top five spots for worldwide smart robotic vacuum shipments in the first three quarters of 2025, led by Roborock with a 21.7 per cent market share, equal to 3.8 million units, according to data from research firm... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3336770/china-cements-global-lead-smart-vacuums-picea-acquires-roomba-maker-irobot?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3336770/china-cements-global-lead-smart-vacuums-picea-acquires-roomba-maker-irobot?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 17 Dec 2025 23:00:10 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg OpenAI is in initial discussions to raise at least US$10 billion from Amazon.com and use its chips, a potential win for the online retailer’s effort to broaden its AI industry presence and compete with Nvidia. The deal under discussion could value OpenAI north of US$500 billion and see it adopt Amazon’s Trainium chip, a person with knowledge of the matter said, asking to remain anonymous to describe private negotiations. Talks, however, are at a preliminary stage and terms could change, the... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3336750/openai-talks-raise-us10-billion-amazon-and-adopt-trainium-chips?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3336750/openai-talks-raise-us10-billion-amazon-and-adopt-trainium-chips?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 17 Dec 2025 07:50:44 +0000 Themis Qi Themis Qi China’s artificial intelligence still needs to improve in six aspects, from ecosystem to funding, but the emergence of DeepSeek has significantly boosted the sector’s confidence in overcoming US restrictions, according to a mainland venture capital firm. China and the US were the two top players in global AI development, with the former leading in humanoid robotics and open-source large language models, according to Zhou Qi, managing partner of GSR United Capital, which focuses on early-stage... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3336241/chinas-ai-sector-poised-growth-despite-us-tech-restrictions-venture-capitalist-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3336241/chinas-ai-sector-poised-growth-despite-us-tech-restrictions-venture-capitalist-says?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 Dec 2025 01:30:09 +0000 Xiaofei Xu Xiaofei Xu The European Union will start collecting a three-euro flat fee for each small parcel valued below €150 (US$176) sent directly from a non-EU country to customers in the bloc, following a decision adopted by the EU finance ministers meeting in Brussels on Friday. The move, set to kick in next July, marks a milestone in Europe’s fight, led by France, against the influx of small parcels, mostly from Chinese platforms such as Temu and Shein, entering the union tax free. But how effective these... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3336292/eu-targets-chinas-shein-and-temu-new-fees-low-value-parcels?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3336292/eu-targets-chinas-shein-and-temu-new-fees-low-value-parcels?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 12 Dec 2025 16:13:51 +0000 dpa dpa A massive international grey market in mobile phone SIM cards is fuelling large-scale manipulation and fraud online, a University of Cambridge study has found. The researchers say physical and virtual SIMs from providers like SMSActivate, 5Sim, SMShub and SMSPVA were being used to verify fake accounts on social media platforms and e-commerce services. “We find a thriving underground market through which inauthentic content, artificial popularity and political influence campaigns are readily and... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3336187/how-global-grey-market-sim-cards-powers-fraud-and-influence?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3336187/how-global-grey-market-sim-cards-powers-fraud-and-influence?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 12 Dec 2025 06:29:24 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse In pursuit of the AI dream, the tech industry this year has plunked down about US$400 billion on specialised chips and data centres, but questions are mounting about the wisdom of such unprecedented levels of investment. At the heart of the doubts: overly optimistic estimates about how long these specialised chips will last before becoming obsolete. With persistent worries of an AI bubble and so much of the US economy now riding on the boom in artificial intelligence, analysts warn that the... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3335997/ais-us400-billion-problem-are-chips-getting-old-too-fast?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3335997/ais-us400-billion-problem-are-chips-getting-old-too-fast?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 11 Dec 2025 03:46:32 +0000 Reuters Reuters Amazon’s AWS cloud computing unit on Tuesday said it will adopt key Nvidia technology in future generations of its artificial intelligence computing chips as the firm ramps up efforts to attract major AI customers to use its services. AWS, or Amazon Web Services, said it will adopt a technology called “NVLink Fusion” in a future chip known as Trainium4. It did not specify a release date. The NVLink technology creates speedy connections between different kinds of chips and is one of Nvidia’s... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3334985/amazon-use-nvidia-tech-ai-chips-roll-out-new-servers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3334985/amazon-use-nvidia-tech-ai-chips-roll-out-new-servers?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 03 Dec 2025 03:05:10 +0000 Joseph Sipalan Joseph Sipalan As fears over the artificial intelligence bubble bursting linger in global markets, one Southeast Asian tech founder thinks it could be a much-needed reset to a crowded space. Dylan Tan, founder of replyr.ai, a Singapore-based start-up that creates AI WhatsApp sales agents for its clients, said there was a disconnect between the investor hype driving up tech stocks and an understanding of how AI would transform the future of businesses. Replyr.ai was founded with venture capitalist funds in... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3334451/singapore-malaysia-tech-firms-double-down-ai-despite-bubble-fears?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3334451/singapore-malaysia-tech-firms-double-down-ai-despite-bubble-fears?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 28 Nov 2025 08:00:22 +0000 Reuters Reuters Italian police raided two Amazon sites on Monday as part of a growing investigation into alleged customs and tax fraud involving Chinese imports, three sources with direct knowledge of the case said. Prosecutors suspect the e-commerce giant acted like a “Trojan horse”, bringing Chinese goods into Italy without paying sales taxes or customs duties, according to a court document seen by Reuters. The scheme could have cost the state hundreds of millions of euros and may extend across the European... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3333995/amazon-investigated-italy-over-chinese-goods-smuggling?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3333995/amazon-investigated-italy-over-chinese-goods-smuggling?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 24 Nov 2025 14:27:15 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg Wall Street will get a sense of where the billions of dollars being spent on artificial intelligence are going when Nvidia Corp reports its earnings after the bell on Wednesday. How the sinking stock market will react is another question. “This is a ‘so goes Nvidia, so goes the market’ kind of report,” said Scott Martin, chief investment officer at Kingsview Wealth Management, which owns shares of Nvidia and several of its Big Tech peers. Analysts expect the Nasdaq-listed semiconductor behemoth... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3333371/nvidias-latest-earnings-run-market-suddenly-afraid-ai-spending?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3333371/nvidias-latest-earnings-run-market-suddenly-afraid-ai-spending?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 19 Nov 2025 06:36:23 +0000 Reuters Reuters Microsoft and Nvidia plan to invest in Anthropic under a new tie-up that includes a US$30 billion commitment by the Claude maker to use Microsoft’s cloud services, the latest high-profile deal binding together major players in the artificial intelligence industry. Nvidia would commit up to US$10 billion to Anthropic and Microsoft up to US$5 billion, the companies said on Tuesday, without sharing more details. A person familiar with the matter said both companies had committed to investing in... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3333330/microsoft-nvidia-invest-anthropic-claude-maker-commits-us30-billion-azure?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3333330/microsoft-nvidia-invest-anthropic-claude-maker-commits-us30-billion-azure?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 19 Nov 2025 02:45:08 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday that Europe does not want to be a “vassal” that is dependent on US and Chinese tech companies, calling for a “European preference” in the sector. “Europe doesn’t want to be the client of the big entrepreneurs or the big solutions being provided either from the US or from China, we clearly want to design our own solutions,” Macron told a Berlin summit, adding that this stance represented “a refusal of being a vassal”. Macron was speaking at the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3333316/europe-refuses-be-tech-vassal-china-and-us-frances-macron-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3333316/europe-refuses-be-tech-vassal-china-and-us-frances-macron-says?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 18 Nov 2025 17:40:47 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg Anthropic plans to spend US$50 billion to build custom data centres for artificial intelligence work in several US locations, including Texas and New York, the latest expensive pledge for infrastructure to support the AI boom. The new sites, which Anthropic is developing with UK-based Fluidstack, would start coming online throughout 2026, the company said Wednesday in a statement. The project marks the first major data centre buildout that the AI firm has taken on directly, rather than through... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-war/article/3332569/anthropic-commits-us50-billion-build-ai-data-centres-us?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-war/article/3332569/anthropic-commits-us50-billion-build-ai-data-centres-us?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 13 Nov 2025 02:13:23 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) posted its slowest monthly revenue growth in more than a year, lending credence to concerns that the artificial intelligence stock rally is not justified by the industry’s business prospects. TSMC, the main contract manufacturer to AI chip leader Nvidia, posted a 16.9 per cent rise in sales for October, the slowest pace since February 2024. Still, that tracks with the average analyst estimate for a 16 per cent sales increase in the current quarter.... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3332309/semiconductor-giant-tsmc-posts-slowest-growth-18-months-amid-ai-bubble-debate?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3332309/semiconductor-giant-tsmc-posts-slowest-growth-18-months-amid-ai-bubble-debate?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 11 Nov 2025 06:43:37 +0000 Sumnima Kandangwa Sumnima Kandangwa Everyone’s favourite momager, Kris Jenner, rang in her 70th birthday this weekend with a wild James Bond-themed birthday bash at Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos’ Beverly Hills mansion on November 8. A-list attendees celebrating the Kardashian matriarch’s milestone included Oprah Winfrey, Mariah Carey, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Adele, Tyler Perry, Vin Diesel, Mark Zuckerberg and others. Jenner’s daughters and stars of Hulu’s The Kardashians were all in attendance alongside extended... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/people/celebrities/article/3332175/kris-jenners-70th-birthday-matriarch-kardashian-jenner-clan-through-years?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/people/celebrities/article/3332175/kris-jenners-70th-birthday-matriarch-kardashian-jenner-clan-through-years?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 10 Nov 2025 07:50:31 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press The death toll from the crash of a UPS cargo plane that erupted into a fireball moments after takeoff in Louisville, Kentucky on Tuesday has risen to nine, city and state officials said on Wednesday. The plane crashed about 5.15pm on Tuesday as it was departing for Honolulu from UPS Worldport at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport. Video showed flames on the plane’s left wing and a trail of smoke. The plane then lifted slightly off the ground before crashing and exploding in a huge... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3331549/huge-fireball-erupts-ups-cargo-plane-crashes-near-airport-kentucky?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3331549/huge-fireball-erupts-ups-cargo-plane-crashes-near-airport-kentucky?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 05 Nov 2025 00:20:01 +0000 Zhang Shidong,Yulu Ao Zhang Shidong,Yulu Ao Hong Kong stocks on Tuesday extended a loss following a summit that de-escalated China-US tensions as the market reassessed earlier optimism and grew wary of frothy valuations of artificial intelligence-linked shares. The Hang Seng Index fell 0.8 per cent to 25,952.40 at the close, taking the decline to 1.5 per cent since a meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US leader Donald Trump last week. Trading was choppy, with the benchmark wiping out a 0.5 per cent gain on the day triggered... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3331410/hong-kong-stocks-advance-amazon-openai-tech-alliance-despite-fed-uncertainty?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3331410/hong-kong-stocks-advance-amazon-openai-tech-alliance-despite-fed-uncertainty?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 04 Nov 2025 02:32:16 +0000 Reuters Reuters OpenAI has signed a seven-year, US$38 billion deal to buy cloud services from Amazon.com, in its first big push to power its AI ambitions after a restructuring last week that gave the ChatGPT maker greater operational and financial freedom. The agreement, announced on Monday, will give OpenAI access to hundreds of thousands of Nvidia graphics processors to train and run its artificial intelligence models. The deal underscores the AI industry’s insatiable appetite for computing power as companies... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3331405/openai-pay-amazon-us38-billion-seven-year-cloud-services-deal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3331405/openai-pay-amazon-us38-billion-seven-year-cloud-services-deal?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 04 Nov 2025 01:46:42 +0000