Advertisement
Advertisement
TOPIC

Technology

Technology
Latest news features and opinion on technology, covering everything from AI innovation to smartphone makers and apps.
Qwen generated 153.6 million downloads in February alone, more than double the combined total from the next eight major players, according to researchers. Photo: Shutterstock
Artificial intelligence

Alibaba’s Qwen family captures over 50% of global open-source downloads: report

Qwen hits nearly 1 billion cumulative downloads, far surpassing rivals like Meta Platforms’ Llama and DeepSeek, researchers say.

Robotics

Unitree to debut cheapest humanoid robot globally via Alibaba: sources

videocam
IPO

Hangzhou ‘Six Little Dragons’ member Manycore seeks US$130m from Hong Kong IPO

Science

Is a leading US AI-robot scholar about to join China’s tech talent pool?

Su Hao, of UC San Diego, appears on Fudan University faculty list as professor in electronic information specialising in AI.

videocam
15
In July 2025, Su Hao co-founded the AI robotics company Hillbot and served as its CTO. Fudan University lists him on its faculty list as a new PhD supervisor. Photo: Handout
Electric & new energy vehicles

Volkswagen tests China’s appetite for locally developed EVs

The three models, which will be launched over the next two weeks, use technology developed by Volkswagen’s Chinese partners.

Artificial intelligence

AI fuels global trade growth as China-US flows shift, McKinsey finds

Data-centre expansion and AI investment push global trade ahead of economic growth, consultancy says.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Alibaba

Alibaba sets up top tech committee led by CEO to sharpen AI push

Restructuring brings core AI teams under tighter leadership as competition in China’s model and agent space intensifies.

Alibaba CEO Eddie Wu Yongming says the changes are aimed at accelerating Alibaba’s AI push. Photo: Handout
Artificial intelligence

China’s Zhipu AI open-sources GLM-5.1, raises prices to trim gap with US rivals

The company’s second price increase this year signals a push to monetise advanced AI models while keeping costs below US peers.

Semiconductors

Proposed US chip curbs on China risk deeper supply chain disruption

New US bill pressures Japan and the Netherlands to align on China chip curbs, with potential fallout for global supply chains.

Artificial intelligence

China’s DeepSeek adds expert chatbot mode ahead of much-awaited V4 release

The Hangzhou start-up’s latest chatbot update sparks speculation over whether the expert mode is linked to the long-delayed V4 model.

The changes come ahead of the much-anticipated release of DeepSeek’s next-generation flagship model V4 this month. Photo: Reuters
Hong Kong economy

City to set up company this year to fast-track San Tin I&T hub as firms eye move

Government expects to set up fully owned firm by end of year, with CEO and board appointments set for second and third quarters, official Kevin Choi says.

Authorities have said they will set up a company this year to accelerate the development of the San Tin Technopole. Photo: Sam Tsang
Hong Kong economy

New research institute to ramp up efforts as Hong Kong pursues ‘AI for all’

Artificial Intelligence Research and Development Institute’s first meeting will be held as early as this month to formulate city’s AI road map.

Semiconductors

Chinese memory giants seen grabbing market share on lower prices, more capacity

Firms like YMTC and CXMT are scaling NAND and DRAM production, leveraging cost advantages and subsidies to challenge global leaders.

videocam
Artificial intelligence

Chinese AI glasses maker Rokid planning Hong Kong IPO: sources

Listing plan comes as giants Apple, Meta, Alibaba, Baidu, Xiaomi and Huawei, plus start-ups like Xreal, Rayneo, anticipate market growth.

A staff member demonstrates a pair of smart glasses developed by Hangzhou-based Rokid at a store in Yingtan, in east China’s Jiangxi province, on July 10, 2025. Photo: Xinhua
Espionage

Opinion | In Asia-Pacific, the real maritime contest is over satellite surveillance

States’ ability to exercise territorial rights is increasingly mediated by their access to satellite data and analytics, but the tech is dominated by a powerful few.

videocam
A J-15 fighter jet from the Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong making an unusual approach to a Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force P-3C patrol aircraft conducting surveillance above the Pacific Ocean on June 8, 2025. Photo: Handout /Japan’s Ministry of Defence / AFP
Timepieces

How diamonds are reshaping luxury watches, from Chanel to Cartier

Luxury maisons including Van Cleef & Arpels and Jaeger-LeCoultre are going beyond bling, revolutionising horology with functional diamonds.

Artificial intelligence

Opinion | The danger in the Global South’s pursuit of AI as a magical cure

Rushing in without local R&D, literacy or governance risks leaving countries as testing grounds and passive consumers of foreign tech.

videocam
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Artificial intelligence

China’s rigid corporate culture slows AI adoption, ex-OpenAI executive says

China’s tech-savvy consumers embrace AI, but rigid corporate hierarchies hold back enterprises, Zack Kass says.

5
China has a very “techno-centric consumer”, while the US has a very “techno-centric enterprise”, according to a former OpenAI executive. Photo: Shutterstock
Artificial intelligence

Who is Xu Rui, the ex-ByteDance executive tapped by Meta to lead AI hardware?

The veteran Chinese executive will lead a team that develops AI devices at the Facebook parent’s superintelligence unit.

Robotics

Meter running: CaoCao backs heavy-asset play to scale robotaxis

Geely-backed firm targets 100,000 autonomous vehicles by 2030, banking on tighter control of cars, tech and operations to drive efficiency.

China technology

China’s GPS rival, BeiDou, dominates at home. Now, it aims to convert the world

China is overhauling its home-grown satellite navigation system as part of a push to expand the network’s global influence.

videocam
4
A display shows the design of the BeiDou satellite navigation system in eastern China’s Shandong province. Photo: Getty Images
Artificial intelligence

Tencent expands OpenClaw suite with enterprise tool amid China’s ‘lobster’ craze

ClawPro tool promises quick AI agent deployment, giving enterprises control over models, tokens and security.

Chinese tech firms are rushing to offer China users easy or inexpensive access to OpenClaw after it went viral. Photo: Getty Images
Semiconductors

Memory crunch bites: Xiaomi lifts handset prices amid supply chain squeeze

Price rises of nearly US$30 reflect surging memory costs, with analysts pointing to AI-driven demand and tight supply across the chip sector.

Banking & finance

Manulife, HSBC, Barclays lead big finance firms’ AI adoption in Hong Kong

Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po launched an AI+ strategy in this year’s budget speech to promote AI applications in the banking sector.

Electric & new energy vehicles

Tesla outraces China’s BYD in pure electric car sales to regain world’s top spot

Shrinking subsidies, new taxes sap China’s EV demand, giving Tesla an edge in global deliveries for first time since fourth quarter of 2024.

Drivers charge their vehicles at a Tesla supercharger station. Photo: TNS
Electric & new energy vehicles

Leapmotor targets global growth with Europe R&D hub, eyes Canada assembly

Chinese EV maker lifts overseas sales target as rising fuel costs and easing tariffs boost demand abroad.

A Leapmotor C10 model car is displayed at a showroom in its headquarters in Hangzhou. Photo: Getty Images
Timepieces

Beyond Omega: redefining space watches for a new era of exploration

Omega’s Speedmaster has long been Nasa’s go-to, but other space programmes are exploring partnerships with the likes of IWC Schaffhausen, Fortis and Barrelhand.

IPO

Countdown starts for Chinese rocket maker CAS Space’s Shanghai listing

China’s commercial rocket champion plans to raise US$600 million on the Star Market after its listing application is accepted.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Help preserve 120 years of quality journalism.
SUPPORT NOW
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement