Creating Artificial Intelligence like ChatGPT is not a cheap investment, with estimates suggesting hundreds of millions to billions of dollars being sunk into AI for building and training it. However, money doesn’t seem like an object to Amazon which might be planning on spending a ludicrous amount of money on AI this year.

Amazon to invest $100 billion in AI this year

DeepSeek recently took the world by storm with an alleged budget cost of development, but Amazon is going big on AI and is spending top dollar. According to a TechRadar report, the American tech giant aims to spend $100 billion on AI this year. In comparison, DeepSeek claimed that it only took a few million dollars to train its R1 model, which may or may not be true.

However, AI is still a hefty business as companies like Google and Microsoft are sinking tens of billions of dollars in their respective projects. The big names in tech have already been readily adopting AI in recent years, with Amazon being an outlier. So it seems quite surprising that the company is becoming one of the highest spenders in artificial intelligence. One could argue that it was only a matter of time.

During its latest earnings call, Andy Jassy, the CEO of Amazon hinted that the brand could be planning on spending more than $100 billion on AI in 2025. So Alexa might be getting a new evolution soon. Unfortunately, this is all the information we have at the moment, so stick around for more. In related news, India is also working on its own AI model to compete with the likes of ChatGPT and DeepSeek. The latter is also seeing some trouble in the global market as some governments see it as a Chinese threat.

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Apple faced a ban on the sales of its iPhone 16 series in Indonesia back in October 2024. The company had apparently failed to keep its promise for planned investment in the region, prompting the end of iPhone 16 sales in the region. But now, Apple is willing to invest even more in Indonesia to reverse this decision. So let’s check it out.

Apple iPhone 16 Sales Ban: What was it all about?

The Cupertino based giant faced the sales restriction after failing to meet the $109 million investment that it had promised to provide in local infrastructure. Reports had indicated that Apple fell short of this amount by around $14 million. This paired with no new agreements and previous issues with the government’s mandate to source 40% local components led to the iPhone 16 sales ban.

So what now?

As of right now, Apple has already began work on an innovation development scheme by creating Apple Academies in the country. Furthermore, a new report claims (Via PhoneArena) that Apple has increased its offer to invest $100 million in Indonesia over the next two years. This is a sizeable investment, which is around 10 times higher than its previous proposal of $10 million for a factory in Bandung that would make accessories and components.

The Indonesian government has yet to respond to Apple’s new proposal officially. However, considering how the Ministry of Industry is looking for Apple to expand research and development for iPhones selling in the country, this new investment promise might end the ban of iPhone 16 sales. To recall, Indonesia had also blocked the sale of Google’s Pixel 9 series of smartphones as well for a similar reason. The company had failed to meet similar investments, but it remains to be seen if Google meets these requirements.

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Krafton, the publisher behind the massively successful PUBG franchise, is looking to empower the Indian gaming ecosystem. The company will invest in local gaming startups, betting on the region’s growth potential.

Krafton investing in India’s gaming future

Earlier today (10th August 2023), the company announced that it will be investing a sizeable sum of 150 million US Dollars in India for gaming and interactive entertainment startups. This investment will be across the next two to three years. The move from Krafton is likely to expand its presence in the region, which has immense potential in the gaming market. Its hefty investment also follows after its initial 140 million US Dollar investment across 11 Indian startups back in 2021.

In other words, Krafton has poured 290 million US Dollars into the country so far, making it one of the major investors in recent times. The publisher first began its investment with the esports gaming firm Nodwin. It invested in Series A to Series B stage startups for gaming and entertainment like esports, multimedia entertainment, content creation, and more.

As of right now, Krafton has invested in various game development studios like Nautilus Mobile and Lila Games along with the game streaming platform Loco, and others. Now, a third of its 150 million US Dollar investment will be for deep tech companies while another third will go towards new startups.

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Nothing has just announced that it has raised a sizeable 96 million US Dollars in a fundraising round led by Highland Europe. This news arrives just ahead of its highly anticipated Phone (2) launch and hints at its future plans for expansion.

Nothing receives $96 million in funding for future tech innovation & expansion

Notably, the announcement also comes after the company recently teased that it is collaborating with the known music group, Swedish House Mafia, for its Glyph Composer feature on the Phone (2). As per official notes, the brand employs over 450 people across seven offices globally. The company states it is seeking to bring cutting edge products to the market that bring innovation and community collaboration as well. Nothing has held two community financing rounds and has attracted over 8,000 private investors so far.

Furthermore, it aims on building products for the young and creative and work for a more “sustainable future.” As of right now, the company is gearing up to finally unveil the Nothing Phone (2) model on the 11th of July 2023. This device will arrive with a lower carbon footprint than its predecessor, showcasing the brand’s efforts in its sustainability goals. It is even working on bridging the gap between the company and its users, to push product innovation and better communication from its community feedback programs.

According to the Nothing CEO Carl Pei “In just over two years, we’ve assembled one of the strongest teams in the industry and sold over 1.5 million devices worldwide. It’s clear that there’s real demand for an innovative challenger in the consumer tech industry, and with this new round of financing, we’ve never been better positioned to realize our vision to make tech fun again.” 

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Earlier today (20th January 2023), a Huawei executive revealed interesting details regarding its PC products. The company’s PCs have apparently seen growth in 2022, while the brand focuses on investment in research and development.

According to Yu Chengdong, the Executive Director, CES of Terminal BG, and CEO of Smart Car Solutions in Huawei published a “Letter to Terminal Commercial Customers and Partners.” In this letter, it was revealed Chinese tech giant has seen a positive trend in the commercial market in 2022. Furthermore, there were great achievements during this period with a number of its commercial products like PCs, tablets, printers, wearables and smart screens being received well by consumers.

The official stated that the company’s PC products will grow despite the overall PC market seeing a negative. In other words, the brand’s PCs are doing better than most other companies. The senior officials claims that Huawei has managed to increase channel coverage while also making major breakthroughs in key industries. Notably, Yu Chengdong revealed that the company is also continuing to strengthen its investment in research and development into PC, focus on innovation, and products that are highly competitive in the market.

Huawei is planning on expanding to industry application as well with in depth commercial service system. Apart from this, the company has managed to maintain steady growth in the ICT infrastructure business, while its cloud business also grew rapidly. It is even quite competitive in the smart car components and user experience has also seen great improvements.

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The CEO of Microsoft has recently announced plans of cutting up to 10,000 jobs across its various departments and firms that it owns. This decision extends to outside of its core areas of business as it shifts its focus. So here are all the details.

CEO Satya Nadella has stated that the current economic conditions have caused the American tech giant to make “hard choices.” Although, he further added that the company will also be shifting focus by investing in “strategic areas” in order to remain competitive in the market. While 10,000 people being laid off is a large figure, this apparently doesn’t even account for even 5 percent of Microsoft’s total workforce.

This news was revealed through a company wide memo in which Nadella said that reduced consumer spending because of the Coronavirus pandemic isn’t as extreme as before. However, many parts of the world are still facing economic recession at the moment. So, the layoffs are unavoidable to align its cost structures and projected revenue. Furthermore, despite 10,000 jobs being cut, the company will also continue to hire new resources as and when required.

Interestingly enough, Jason Schreier also reported on Microsoft having to downsize in its gaming division as well. This includes Xbox, Bethesda, and reportedly even 343 Industries as well. Meaning, that the job cuts are across the board and not specific to any department as of right now. So we can expect some of its other operations to also be impacted by the massive layoff.

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(Via: 1, 2)

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BOE is apparently investing in Honor, the former subsidiary of Huawei. The company is investing into Honor, which will help strengthen the ties between the two brands while also increasing their competitiveness in the market.

According to a new report, the known Chinese display maker is further reinforcing its relations with Honor. This would make BOE have a better standing in the country’s semiconductor display industrial chain, as per industry experts. The former Huawei sub brand had recently completed a new round of strategic financing from six new investors. This included the likes of BOE, China International Capital Corp Qizhi Equity Investment Center, Gousen Capital and Shenzhen Baoan District Investment Management Group.

Earlier this month, Honor stated that the company has been shifting its focus on “diversifying shareholding structure, and has always adhered to the principle of openness and collaboration.” For those unaware, BOE is a major supplier for various smartphone brands, which includes major clients like Huawei, Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo, and Honor. The company is also best known for its OLED panel, which competes with Samsung and LG in the market.

As per Zhou Hua, chief analyst at CINNO Researchm “”For Honor, it is important to have a stable and reliable source of display panels as the company is ramping up efforts to expand its presence in the smartphone market.” So the strengthening of relations between the two will only benefit the company.

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(Via)

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MG Motor, which is owned by China’s SAIC Motor, is planning on raising funds to push for its future plans related to electric vehicles in India. Interestingly, The company is aiming on pushing its electric mobility business in the region amid frictions between China and India, with Chinese investments facing rising scrutiny.

According to a Reuters report, three sources close to the matter have stated that MG Motor India is expected to sell around 10 to 30 percent stake and is even looking at other options as well. This includes issuing new shares or diluting SAIC’s holding, as per one of the sources. Furthermore, the carmaker could even be seeking to spin off a separate unit for its electric vehicle business in India.

The report also adds that the company is in talks with private equity funds that are showing interest in investing into the EV push. This isn’t surprising considering that the electric vehicle segment is seeing explosive growth in the automobile industry. It is also the next alternative since nations are shifting their economies away from fossil fuels. One source stated that “Everyone is buying into the EV story because it gives investors an ESG bet, and MG is trying to pitch itself as an EV play.”

At the moment, there is still no final plans on raising funds for MG Motor’s EV push, as it is subject to change based on the valuation of the Indian business and its growth plans. The funds acquired will be used to ramp up production and introduce new EV model to expand its business. Unfortunately, the company has declined to comment on this matter.

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Ford is planning on investing up to 20 billion US Dollars as it seeks to step into the electric vehicle market. The large sum will help reorganize its operations to include EVs in the future.

According to a Bloomberg report, the American automobile giant had previously announced that it will be spending around 30 billion US Dollars on electric and autonomous vehicle development by 2025. In other words, this news is in line with its initial plans. Furthermore, Ford is reportedly bringing Apple and Tesla executive Doug Field, who will be in charge of the reorganization.

This will have him oversee the conversion of its factories from gas based to electric vehicle production. Doug Field had also served as the vice president of special projects at Apple. He also led the Cupertino based giant’s efforts for a self driving electric car. He even worked as the chief vehicle engineer at Tesla.

The shift in focus will have the brand hire more engineers as well. As of right now, Tesla is leading the EV market, with Ford struggling to catch up. While the company is a major player in the automobile industry, selling more F series trucks alone than Tesla’s entire output, it still is behind the latter in terms of EVs. Notably, Elon Musk’s vision of an all electric future has also been successful with investors owing to its future potential. So it remains to be seen if Ford manages to successfully expand into the EV segment and rival both Tesla and other Chinese EV makers that have grown in popularity recently.

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A Xiaomi affiliated company, Hanxing Venture Capital, has just invested in a new firm. The company in question is based around VR (virtual reality) and was co-founded by known movie director Zhang Yimou.

According to a PanDaily report, the VR company, Sky Limit Entertainment had recently added both the Xiaomi backed investment firm and Intel Asia Pacific R&D Company as shareholders. As of right now, the company’s registered capital had increased by a 75.7 million Yuan (roughly 11.8 million US Dollars). For those unaware, Sky Limit Entertainment is a VR based service provider that integrates IP operation, content production, and digital real life entertainment.

This firm was founded back in 2008, with its business scope including organizing cultural and artistic activities, stage lighting and sound design, performance agent, and more. At the moment, the company’s shareholders include Lenovo Capital, Mango Foundation, Weiyue Group, Intel, Zhang Yimou, and others. Notably, the movie director is well known for winning numerous awards and recognitions for his work in films like Hero (2003), Raise the Red Lantern (1991), and The Flowers of War (2011) among a few other.

The latest investment from the Xiaomi backed firm joins its other investments in various fields, like automobiles, autonomous driving technology, AR, VR, semiconductors, and more. A few examples being the investment in NIO’s battery supplier, autonomous driving tech developer Geometric Pal, and many more.

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Earlier this year, Xiaomi had announced the commencement of its smart electric vehicle business and had even revealed its sizeable investment plans for the next decade. Since then, the company has invested and acquired various companies related to the automobile industry, with the latest investment being in Motorcomm.

This would mark another investment that the Chinese tech giant has made into firms related to automobiles. Furthermore, the company invested in Motorcomm through the Hubei Xiaomi Yangtze River Industrial Fund. For those unaware, Motorcomm working with research and the development of core communications chips that are found in vehicles. The firm was established back in 2017 and its business scope includes technology development, industrial automation, automobiles, consulting, and other technical services as well.

Notably, Xiaomi’s President Wang Xiang had recently stated in an interview (Via ITHome) that the company has begun with in depth research and development of the key core technology of smart electric cars. In other words, this investment might be quite important as well since core communication chips for vehicles is an important aspect, especially for smart cars. Just recently, we had also reported on the brand seeking to acquire DeepMotion, which is an autonomous driving technology based startup for a sum of 77.4 million US Dollars.

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Huawei Technologies has just recently invested in another semiconductor based company. The company has acquired stake in German Litho, who has recently undergone many business changes and it has recently added Huawei’s investment arm, Hubble Technology Investment as one of it shareholders.

For those unaware, German Litho (aka Qingdao Tianren MicroNano Ltd/青岛天仁微纳 in China) is a supplier of equipment and process solution for micro and nanostructuring technology. Its business operations includes applications for Nanoimprint Lithography (NIL), with the semiconductor based firm offering NIL solutions, equipment, consumable materials, consultancy, and other production based services as well. Notably, this marks another investment from the Chinese tech giant into the semiconductor industry.

Back in June 2021, the company had invested in key chip production technology to ‘offset’ impacts of the US sanctions. The Hubble Technology Investment had invested in the field of lithography. Last year, Huawei has also invested in the semiconductor startup called Vertilite through its subsidiary. Notably, its growing interest in the semiconductor industry after the brand lost its chip supply from TSMC over sanctions enforced by the US government.

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Xiaomi has just invested into Geometrical Pal, a company that specializes in autonomous driving technology. This marks another investment from the company in to the automobile related industry.

According to a Sohu report, the the Shanghai based Geometrical Pal has just completed its series of Pre A rounds of financing nearly 400 million Yuan (roughly 62 million US Dollars). During this round of investment, various companies invested in the autonomous driving based firm including the likes of the Xiaomi Investment Fund, Baidu, and other notable Chinese companies.

Previously, we had also reported on the Chinese tech giant investing in another self driving systems developer called Zongmu. At the moment, this round of financing will be used to accelerate the mass production of if a new generation of automated driving software and hardware integrated systems. Notably, with self driving technology seeing a boom in the automobile industry, various tech firms have started taking notice and investing into startups and brands that specialize in this field of technology.

For those unaware, Geometrical Pal was established back in October 2018. Its operations involves machine and deep learning systems and the company adopts a low cost, high reliability, and easy mass production philosophy. Its autonomous driving system involves integrated perception with intelligent decision making. Furthermore, its operations also involved software and hardware integrated systems. Other technologies includes visible light vision, infrared imaging, and more that function in real time.

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Zepp Health Corp, formerly Huami, announced earlier this week that it is investing 2.4 million US Dollars to lead the 6.5 million US Dollars Series A round of funding for the development of MRI and robotics technology, which would help improve medical diagnosis.

According to a report, the investment will enable physicians to diagnose brain injury better and even help treat neurological diseases under live imaging. The Chinese consumer electronics maker will be investing in neuro42, who has an exclusive worldwide license of the low field MR imaging technology. Abhita Batra, Co-Founder and CSO of neuro42, stated that “We are pleased to have Zepp Health’s support as we revolutionize the way physicians identify and treat neurological diseases and injuries. We believe this partnership will create a compelling and sustainable value for our shareholders.”

Notably, neuro42 is Zepp Health’s third investment in new companies to develop disruptive medical imaging technologies. Recently, Zepp Health had invested in Promaxo as well, which focuses on developing office based MRI technology. Zepp Health’s Chief Operating Officer Mike Yeung also added that “Zepp Health is focused on connecting health with technology, and neuro42 is disrupting the location, applications and costs of medical imaging, which will generate tremendous benefits to healthcare systems worldwide.”

As per another executive, the company has become a global leader in consumer health technology and that these partnerships with diagnostic healthcare technologies would open up new financial and market opportunities as well to expand its business into industrial medical technology.

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A Huawei subsidiary has just invested in the field of lithography, which marks the company’s entry into tech related to chip production. The move from the company likely arrives to deal with the US sanctions and ‘forge a complete chip industry chain’.

The Hubble Technology Investment, a unit of the Chinese tech giant, recently invested 82 million Yuan (12.8 million US Dollars) in Beijing RSLaser Opto-Electronics Technology Co. This makes the investment unit the seventh largest stakeholder of the company that focuses on light source systems, which is one of the three core technologies of lithograph based machines. The investment unit from the Chinese brand was established back in 2019 and has investments in about 28 semiconductor based firms.

Fu Liang, a veteran telecom industry analyst told GlobalTimes that “Huawei’s move is mainly intended to offset loopholes and shortcomings caused by US restrictions while supporting enterprises with high recognition to produce a higher level of products through investments. This is crucial for reducing China’s reliance on certain countries and enterprises in the global semiconductor industry.” For those unaware, Huawei has been forced to rely on domestic foundries that fabricate 14 to 28nm chips since it had its chip supply for the advanced TSMC 7nm chips cut off by US sanctions.

Furthermore, analysts added that lithography machines are key to building an ecosystem of the chip industry. This paired with the fact that RSLaser Opto-Electronics was the first to independently design and develop the first domestic high energy excimer laser, which broke the long term monopoly that was held by overseas manufacturers. Fu further added that “Lithography machines and light sources determine the degree of precision of chips, but the global supply is still dominated by certain enterprises, so Huawei’s investment in the lithography field aims to reduce its reliance on foreign companies.”

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The Chinese self driving vehicle system developer Zongmu recently raised 190 million US Dollars in its series D funding round, which also had the Xiaomi backed Fund invest in the company.

According to a CaixinGlobal report, Zongmu executed the financing in three stages, with the last round being led by the Hubei Xiaomi Yangtze River Industrial Fund, an investment fund backed by the Chinese smartphone maker. The news arrives from a statement from the automotive system developer earlier this week. Notably, this investment round also included the likes of Denso, Jadex Capital, Cowin Capital, Qualcomm Ventures, and Fosun Capital also joining in.

The sizeable investment into the firm is indicative of the growing investor interest in industry that has been presenting an economic opportunity. This funding will also enable Zongmu to possibly work with Xiaomi to explore the uses of its autonomous driving technology, as per the statement. Interestingly, the news arrives as the smartphone maker announced its plans on venturing into the smart car market, unveiling its plans back in March 2021.

This would have the brand join the likes of other tech giants like Baidu and Huawei that have also shown interest in the smart car market in recent times. For those unaware, Zongmu was founded back in 2013 and focuses on developing autonomous driving and advanced driver assistance technologies and products related to positioning and mapping as well. The company is also known for its automated valet parking system, which can be found in an SUV model made by China FAW Group.

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With the world facing a shortage of semiconductors amid a booming demand for chips, MediaTek is apparently seeking to invest over 100 billion New Taiwan Dollars (roughly 3.5 billion US Dollars) in research and development this year.

The move from the chip making giant arrives to improve the competitiveness for the coming years in the consumer technology and semiconductor industries. The company stated that it had invested about 77 billion New Taiwan Dollars (roughly 2.75 billion US Dollars) back in 2020 on research and development, and it is planning to cross the 100 billion mark this year. This would also marked the highest investment from the company so far.

Furthermore, this is also indicative of the company’s growing investment each year into R&D, as it had previously raised its spending by 22.6 percent back in 2020 over 2019. As per an ITHome report, the hike in investment figures also arrives as a majority of the R&D expenses are related to remuneration of personnel related to research and development.

Notably, MediaTek had also achieved a milestone last year, with its revenue crossing the 10 billion US Dollar mark for the first time back in 2020. This is now followed by the company recently announcing that it will be raising its production capacity in an attempt to further grow its revenue, with a targeted rise of 40 percent year on year in 2021.

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Intel is planning on investing 3.5 billion US Dollars to upgrade its chip manufacturing plant in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. This move in combination with 20 billion US Dollars to build two new facilities in Arizona that will help boost chip production in the US.

According to a CNET report, the chip making giant has confirmed that it will be spending 3.5 billion US Dollars on the upgrade. Keyvan Esfarjani, the company’s manufacturing chief, aims to reveal the plan at a press conference with New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, and New Mexico’s two senators, Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Luján, and Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez. Furthermore, the chip maker is also planning on spending its own money to invest more, rather than just spending it on buying its own stock.

The company’s CEO Pat Gelsinger stated that “We will not be anywhere near as focused on buybacks going forward as we have in the past.” The senior official further added that it has “been reviewed as part of my coming into the company, agreed upon with the board of directors.” While Intel has been a major figure in the semiconductor industry, the firm has recently lagged behind Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) in recent years.

Now, the company is investing in its new chipmaking plant or fabs as a major effort to restore competitiveness under its new chief executive. The firm is also planning on building chips for other brands through a business called foundry, while also relying on other foundries to produce some of its own chips as well.

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Xiaomi has just invested in another company. This time, the company invested in Huajing Sensing Technology, which is a chip development based firm. The investment was made through the Hubei Xiaomi Yangtze River Industrial Fund.

According to an ITHome report, the chip developed has undergone some business changes recently, with the new shareholders being Gongqingcheng Tuojin Zhonghe Investment Partnership Enterprise (Limited Partnership), Hubei Yangtze River Industry Fund Partnership (Limited Partnership), and Shenzhen Tuojin Venture Capital Fund Partnership (Limited Partnership). The registered capital has increased to around 28.59 million Yuan (roughly 4.38 million US Dollars).

The Huajing Sensing is a firm that is based around independent sensor core chip technology. This firm was established back in 2010, with its business scope including research and development, production, and manufacturing of sensor equipment, technology development, technical consulting, and technical services for the Internet of Things products.

Furthermore, the Chinese smartphone maker has also invested into a number of companies through the Yangtze River Industrial Fund including Tishen Technology, which provides flexible tactile sensors, a semiconductor Zonghui Xinguang, and even laser equipment manufacturing company Keyun Laser. So, this is likely Xiaomi’s move of investing into local tech based firms.

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TSMC announced earlier today (1st April 2021) that it is planning on investing 100 billion US Dollars over the course of the next three years. This investment will enable the company to expand its capacity at its plants.

According to a Reuters report, the world’s largest contract chip maker made the announcement just days after Intel also announced that it would be spending 20 billion US Dollars to also expand the production of its advanced chips. The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd’s customers include major brands like Apple and Qualcomm. The company had previously stated that it planned to invest between 25 to 28 billion US Dollars within this year to develop and produce advanced chips.

Notably, the move from the chip maker arrives as the world suffers from a major semiconductor shortage that has affected various industries across the globe. This includes markets like smartphones, laptops, and even home appliances due to the coronavirus pandemic. TSMC offered a statement to Reuters saying that “We are entering a period of higher growth as the multiyear megatrends of 5G and high-performance computing are expected to fuel strong demand for our semiconductor technologies in the next several years.”

The company further added that “In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic also accelerates digitalization in every aspect.” TSMC’s shares also rose by nearly 2 percent in the late morning trades as well. The firm is one of the semiconductor based companies that benefited from the pandemic induced lockdowns that drove up demand for electronics for online education and work from home trends.

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Apple has recently announced that it has plans to raise its investment in Germany. The company seeks to increase its corporate spendings in the region, and invest 1.2 billion US Dollars in its silicon design center that is situated in the country.

According to a TechCrunch report, the Cupertino based giant announced that it would set up a new facility in Munich in the nation. This site will be called the European Silicon Design Center, which will have a focus on 5G and also explore future wireless related technologies. The company also added that Munich is also its largest engineering hub in Europe, with over 1,500 engineers working there at the moment. Notably, Apple has even put together a particular team that will be working on power management chips.

In other words, about half of all engineers of the company that are working on power management are currently in Germany. Furthermore, the team in Germany is also expanding into chip design technologies beyond power management. The company is planning on investing 1.2 billion US Dollars over the next three years on a new building and its related research and development investments.

Notably, the smartphone maker is also working with Qualcomm for the 5G modems used in the iPhone 12 lineup. In addition to its in house chip development, the team in Germany will also be working on integrating third party hardware for its electronics products like the iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch.

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Earlier this week, TCL Technology announced that it plans on entering into a joint venture to establish its own semiconductor technology based company, called TCL Semiconductor Technology Co Ltd.

According to a 163News report, the company seeks to expand into the semiconductor industry and has even proposed a registered capital of 1 billion Yuan (roughly 154 million US Dollars), out of which, TCL Technology would invest 500 million Yuan (roughly 77 million US Dollars) or 50 percent of the registered capital. Although, the semiconductor field is known to be quite difficult to enter into, considering the huge costs during establishment and further development as well.

So, it remains to be seen how the company manages to compete with the various rivals in the industry. As per the official announcement, TCL Semiconductor will serve as the company’s semiconductor unit, which will focus on industrial development opportunities in the field of integrated circuit chip design and other semiconductor powered devices. The tech giant also specifically mentioned that the unit will focus on the fabless models in the field of integrated circuit chip design.

Furthermore, it aims to have its chip have application in various upstream and downstream related industries like driver chips, AI voice related chips, and more. The company even hopes to expand its production capacity to a level where it can make core components for various devices. Notably, the move from TCL does not arrive out of a whim based on recent demand, since the company has been showing interest in the field since 2018. So stay tuned for more updates regarding the matter.

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China is planning on increasing its investment into its annual research and development by 7 percent every year, over the course of a five year period. The government made the announcement last week, in its report from the Fourth Session of the 13th Nationa People’s Congress.

According to a Reuters report, the Chinese government will be increasing its spending on basic research by 10.6 percent this year alone. The surge in investment also showcases the nation’s commitment to further advance its tech sector, which arrives due to the various clashes between China and the US, and other nations as well, over technology policies. The local government also highlighted that it will focus on seven ey segments in its five year plan.

These areas include, ‘next-generation artificial intelligence, quantum information, brain science, semiconductors, genetic research and biotechnology, clinical medicine and health, and deep space, deep sea, and polar exploration.’ Furthermore, it further added that it would also seek to establish more national laboratories to research quantum information and artificial intelligence as well. Additionally, the government will be encouraging companies to open up data in areas ranging from search, e-commerce, along with social media as well, to support third party data services.

It would also focus on improving its channels for domestic companies going public. On the other hand, the government would be supporting foreign funded companies to set up their own research and development centers in China as well. A few other areas it seeks to expand on are the electric vehicle sector and 5G networking. The nation is aiming to achieve 56 percent 5G penetration within the next five years.

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Vietnam has recently awarded a license to LG Display that would enable it to raise the investment for the factory that it has set up in the nation’s northern port city of Haiphong. The company aims on raising investment from 750 million US Dollars to 3.25 billion US Dollars.

According to a Reuters report, local media outlets reported on this news and even added that the additional investment will help the South Korean tech giant in expanding its production capacity. This would help bump production units in the city, with the plans of expansion slated to be completed by May 2021. Furthermore, the rise in investment will also allow for the creation of 5,000 new jobs, as per Vietnam Finance.

This sizeable expenditure will allow LG Display to boost its project in the Vietnamese port city, allowing it to set up more OLED production facilities in the region by the next month at the earliest. The company had began its Vietnamese OLED module plant in 2016, so it expanding on its prior investment understandable, especially considering it is the world’s largest OLED TV panel maker.

At the moment, LG has yet to respond or comment on the matter. Unfortunately, this is all the information we have to go for now. So stay tuned for more, as we will be providing updates when additional information is available.

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Known Apple supplier Foxconn Technology Group is in talks to invest in a Chinese electric vehicle start up called Byton. The deal would have the Taiwanese company expand its horizons into the automobile industry over just being an iPhone assembler.

According to an SCMP report, Foxconn is planning on investing somewhere around 200 million US Dollars into the potential Tesla rival and also aims to start mass production of the Byton M-Byte by the first quarter of 2022, as per a source close to the matter. At the moment, this news has still not been made public, but we might see it being announced as early as Monday as per the source.

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The deal for Byton could be a major opportunity if the news is true since it is still struggling to produce its first vehicle, despite having unveiled the M-Byte concept car being revealed several years ago. Furthermore, the Apple supplier is also looking in talks with other Chinese electric car makers for potential partnerships as well, as per another person familiar with the matter. Unfortunately, Foxconn has yet to respond to this news for now, while Byton has declined to comment.

The move from Foxconn also signifies its diversification from just being a major supplier in Apple’s supply chain. Similarly, other tech companies have also been increasing their investments towards the development of next gen cars, especially electric vehicles, and related technologies. An example being Huawei, which is developing technology that will be housed within smart cars, under its HiCar branding.

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Hubble Technology Investment, the investment arm of Huawei, has recently made the move of investing in NineCube. This investment had the company acquire stakes in the electronic design automation firm, which is based in China.

This move has been widely seen as the Chinese tech giant’s aim of strengthening its chip design capabilities, as per a DigiTimes report. Notably, the news also arrives as the company struggles with the impacts of US trade sanctions. Furthermore, the report is based on recent updates from QCC, a Chinese platform providing information about companies based in China.

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As per the new updates, NineCube recently underwent a business change. It has now added Hubble Technology as a new shareholder. However, both firms have yet to disclose the exact sum of investment made by the investment arm of Huawei. For those unaware, NineCube was founded recently back in 2011 and is an EDA service provider with Wang Xinchao, the founder of China based IC packaging firm JCET, as one of its board of directors. At the moment, US companies hold a dominance in the EDA market, with an almost 80 percent market share in the industry. This mainly comprises major firms like Synopsys, Cadence, and Mentor Graphics.

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India is making it harder for Chinese investors to invest money in its companies after the rising tensions at the India-China border. With India closing doors to Chinese venture capital firms, they are now shifting focus towards Indonesia.

The report adds that funds like Shunwei Capital from the founders of Xiaomi and BAce Capital backed by the Ant Group are now pivoting from India to Indonesia. Shunwei Capital, which runs funds worth $3 billion, is planning to close more deals in Indonesia and said that it is not making new investments in India for now.

Instead of making new investments in India, the fund says that it will focus on managing its existing portfolio of companies. On the other hand, the FT report adds that BAce Capital is also making the move but will not be much active as the market is less developed.

Chinese investors have powered India’s tech boom, investing heavily in some of the leading startups, including fin-tech platform Paytm, food delivery service provider Zomato, and the ed-tech giant Byju’s.

However, earlier this year, the Indian government revealed new rules targeted towards Chinese investors over concerns of opportunistic takeovers, which has now led to investors cutting off funding.

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Apart from that, the Indian government has been banning Chinese applications in the country for months now, citing national security issues but without offering any proof of such claims. So far, India has banned more than 170 Chinese apps, including Aliexpres, PUBG Mobile, CamScanner, etc.

With investors facing several issues with the regulations in India, other startups in Southeast Asia will get benefits. Indonesia is ranked fourth in the world in terms of population and the country already has a few billion-dollar companies.

At a time when new startups and trying to raise millions of dollars for growth, several prominent companies and investors are now shifting focus towards Indonesia, including the likes of Google and Facebook. Just to put that into perspective, a report revealed that investments in Southeast Asia in H1 2020 grew by 55 percent compared to last year.

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Earlier this week, a Huawei executive stated that the company is going to continue to create more jobs in countries apart from its home nation and will raise its investments and workforce in overseas markets.

According to a ChinaDaily report, Yan Lida, Director of the board and senior vice president of Huawei said that the company has been investing in countries like Canada for more than a decade now, to help sustain its local economy through its employment efforts. At the moment, the Chinese tech giant is one of the largest corporate investors in the region and employs over 1,200 people. Furthermore, the company has even created over 5,000 indirect jobs as well.

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So, the senior official mentioned that Huawei will continue to raise its investments and employment in the country. The statement was issued by Yan during a panel discussion on “Investment in Canada” at the Canada China Business Council’s 42nd Annual General Meeting Business Forum, which was held in Beijing, China. However, despite this, Yan also warned of potential risks in companies investing in Canada as the Chinese companies must now take proper safeguards due to the growing challenges in the global business environment.

Dace Murphy, consul general of Canada in Shanghai, said that Canada remains to be one of the important destinations of outbound investments for Chinese investors, even during the many challenges being faced during the Coronavirus pandemic. Additionally, Murphy stated that “It has been a difficult year for all of us as the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the global economy … China’s situation is different from others as it is recovering rapidly after the difficulties during the first few months of this year.”

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Tech veterans in China are planning on launching a “domestic replacement” fund in the country by the end of this year. The move arrives after the recent US sanctions and aims at supporting Chinese companies that have been affected by the Trump administration.

China Europe Capital, a venture capital firm, has raised over 5 billion Yuan (roughly 731 million US Dollars) for the fund and will start investing in startups specializing in technologies. In other words, the new fund is aimed at creating China’s next tech giant. The veterans include former executives from major Chinese companies like Huawei and SMIC, with a focus on 5G networking and artificial intelligence.

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Notably, the new fund is being created amid a government backed investment boom in the China’s local technology sector. The “tech war” between Washington and Beijing has fueled the investments. In recent times, the relationship between the US and China has soured, with the coronavirus pandemic making matters worse. According to a Reuters report, “China and the US are in a Great Power rivalry that will end only when there’s a knockout,” said Zhang (fund’s Chairman and former Huawei Vice President).

This also arrives after reports have surfaced that the Trump administration might be planning on banning China’s biggest chipmaker, SMIC (Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp). Zhang further added that “it’s not just about trade war, or sanctions. It’s a matter of life and death.” If China faces a complete cut off from western technology, it could potentially face a crisis considering the country will take several years to reach levels of self sufficient technology.

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Huawei is apparently investing heavily in smart car solutions. The Chinese tech giant is working on creating cost effective LiDAR technology, as announced by the company’s auto division head, Wang Jun, as reported by KrASIA.

According to the senior official, “With its advanced 5G technology the company is set to reduce the cost of radar sensors to USD 100 in the future.” At the moment, the average price for the LiDAR sensors hovers around the 400 to 500 US Dollar price range. Thus, Huawei’s investment in the field could help the Chinese brand establish a more prominent role in the intelligent vehicle industry.

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Despite not building any cars of its own, Huawei has used its expertise in various fields like telecommunications and ICT to offer parts to various automobile manufacturers at competitive rates. For those unaware, LiDAR basically stands for “light detection and ranging.” It is essentially a sensor that uses light in the form of pulsing lasers to measure the distance from a particular target.

This technology is crucial for self driving cars as it helps the intelligent automobile to detect its own surrounds and act accordingly. While the technology is sought after by many in the industry, there are also those like Tesla that are working on non-LiDAR solutions as well, but the technology still remains the standard at the moment. Wang stated that an optoelectronic technology R&D center in Wuhan that employs more than 10,000 people aims to produce 100 lines LiDAR in short periods of time while reducing costs.

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ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, is apparently looking into gaining investment for its short video sharing platform from Indian giant, Reliance. The move is likely to save the popular social media app from losing its biggest market in terms of users.

For those unaware, the Indian government had previously banned TikTok and 59 other applications a few weeks prior. This was done due to security and privacy concerns and arrived during increased tensions between India and China after certain military clashes in the Indo-China border regions. India has the largest userbase for TikTok outside of China, with over 200 million users.

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At the moment, ByteDance employs over 2,000 people in the country, who are also in the gray regarding the situation surrounding their company. Either the company manages to convince the government and allow its operations or sells itself. But a new report from TechCrunch has suggested that the company is currently in talks with Reliance to strike a deal regarding investment into TikTok.

Two sources revealed a conversation between both companies last month which has yet to reach a deal. TikTok’s operations in India have been valued at more than 3 billion US Dollars, according to one of the sources. Unfortunately, both ByteDance and Reliance have declined from commenting on the matter. Although, an investment in TikTok could be highly beneficial for one of India’s largest firms.

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Samsung Electronics has just announced earlier today (13th July 2020) that it would be spending 100 billion won (roughly 83 million US Dollars) this year for cooperation within the industry and academia to improve chip and display technology.

For those unaware, Samsung had opened its industry-academia cooperation center back in 2018. This center has supported research projects in the chip and display sectors by more than 700 professors and students. The latest investment from the South Korean tech giant is to boost development for future technology in both chip and display technology.

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According to official notes, “The latest investment is likely to help researchers at local universities whose projects have been delayed or suspended amid the COVID-19 pandemic.” Through this initiative, local universities can use the company’s advanced chip equipment for research projects; with Samsung having plans to expands its industry-academia cooperation program in multiple different fields.

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(Via)

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Sony is all set to soon launch its next-generation gaming console — Sony PlayStation 5, the design of which has already been unveiled by the company, along with a list of games that users will be able to play when it gets launched.

Now, the Japanese company has announced an investment of $250 million in Epic Games — the company behind the Fortnite game. With this investment, Epic Games has raised $1.83 billion so far.

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This deal will enable Sony and Epic to broaden their collaboration, with Sony’s portfolio of entertainment assets and technology and Epic’s social entertainment platform and digital ecosystem, to create unique experiences for consumers and creators.

Sony is acquiring a minority stake in Epic Games, about 1.4 percent, which values the gaming company at $17.86 billion. Epic has also confirmed that it will still be able to publish its games on other platforms.

Commenting on the development, Tim Sweeney, Founder and CEO of Epic, said: “Sony and Epic have both built businesses at the intersection of creativity and technology, and we share a vision of real-time 3D social experiences leading to a convergence of gaming, film, and music. Together we strive to build an even more open and accessible digital ecosystem for all consumers and content creators alike.”

Epic is also the creator of Unreal Engine, a fundamental toolset for building many games. A few weeks ago, Epic had showcased the upcoming Unreal Engine 5 graphics running on Sony PlayStation 5.

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Chinese smartphone makers, Oppo and Vivo, have apparently put a hold on all investments in India related to manufacturing, given the current geopolitical situation. The local government recently banned 59 Chinese apps, which seems like just the tip of the iceberg to much stricter actions that might follow later.

For those unaware, instability and military clashes between the Indo-China borders have led to increasing friction between the two nations. Earlier today (3rd July 2020), we had also reported on various brands facing issues since shipments were being held back, causing delays. And now, Oppo and Vivo are tempering their ambitions in the region. Notably, both smartphone manufacturers have yet to register for India’s production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme.

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According to several executives from affected Chinese smartphone brands, the focus during this period was to meet demands post COVID-19 lockdown and invest in manufacturing for the domestic market and exports as well. Although now, these have been put on hold. Vivo had been panning an investment of Rs 7,500 crores (roughly 1 billion US Dollars) to set up a local manufacturing plant, which is the largest investment from any OEM in the region.

Similarly, Oppo was also planning on setting up an Electronic Manufacturing Cluster (EMC) in Greater Noida along with other companies to manufacture electronics and support accessories. It had a total investment of Rs 3,500 crores (roughly 500 million US Dollars). Foxconn too had announced higher investments, but with the geopolitical instability rising, these plans have been put on hold for the moment, since recovery would take time.

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(Source)

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The Huawei subsidiary, Hubble, has made another investment. This time with Fuxi Technology, which is a firm that specializes in making graphene thermal films and is a leading manufacturer within China’s graphene field.

The investment arrives after Hubble recently bought stakes in various other companies within the semiconductors, chips, artificial intelligence, and more fields. At the moment, Hubble is the second largest shareholder of the company with a 10 percent stack in the overall shares. Unfortunately, the exact amount invested is currently unknown.

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Fuxi Technology is known for developing and producing graphene thermal film, graphene thermal film, graphene foam film, and more along these lines. Notably, this material has already been introduced to many smartphone manufacturers. Furthermore, the firm already falls under the supply chain of Huawei and offers heat dissipation solutions for smartphones with the “Graphene Liquid Cooling” feature.

Hubble has recently made many strategic investments to boost Huawei’s supply chain, which is now focusing on more domestic sources. With various US sanctions trying to restrict the company even further, the Chinese tech giant has sought to ward off such efforts through its home country and its local firms. As the launch of the Huawei Mate 40 series also grows closer, we might even see graphene thermal film cooling technology within it. Although, that is just a wild speculation.

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(Via)

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Huawei subsidiary, Hubble, has recently invested in a semiconductor startup named Vertilite. Hubble is an investment based company while the startup specializes in developing VCSEL chips (vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser).

For those unaware, Huawei had lost its chip supply from TSMC, after the US government enforced new sanctions. Since then, the company has been working on finding alternatives while also urging Chinese semiconductor firms to step up. Previously, Hubble had also invested two local semiconductor companies in China, which was a clear move to boost its self reliance and local source its products over US made parts.

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Thus, Vertilite might be another addition to this strategy of incentivizing local semiconductor manufacturers. Unfortunately, the exact investment amount and the shareholding ratio is currently unknown. Although, a sizeable investment has been hinted. Vertilite specializes in developing high powered and high speed VSCEL chips within the range of 650nm to 1000nm. These chips have a wide variety of application, which includes optical sensing in biomedical fields, industrial fields, automotive and consumer products.

Its products even have applications in 3D, perception based technology, augmented reality, and high speed optical communication as well. The semiconductor company even has subsidiaries in the US and Taiwan, with various laboratory members from known institutions like Stanford University. While Vertilite won’t exactly be a direct alternative to TSMC in terms of mobile chip supply for Huawei, the company does show promise in various other fields that the smartphone vendor could venture into in the future. Rather, a long term investment might also push Vertilite into making smartphone processors, but that is just a speculation.

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(Via)

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Social media giant Facebook is investing $5.7 billion in India’s telecom operator Reliance Jio to get 9.99 percent stake in the company. The deal underlines the commitment of Facebook to expand its business to promising markets. It is also the biggest deal from Facebook after the company’s acquisition of WhatsApp in the year 2014.

The development comes just weeks after it was reported that both the companies were in advanced talks about the investment but the announcement was delayed because of the coronavirus outbreak in India.

With this investment and around 10 percent stake, Facebook will become the largest minority stakeholder in Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio. The deal values Jio Platforms at a pre-money enterprise value of about $66 billion, said the company in a statement.

Jio Platforms is a wholly owned unit of Reliance Industries which brings together Jio’s digital apps, ecosystems and the wireless platform offered by telecommunications carrier, Reliance Jio, under one umbrella.

Facebook has said that the deal would bring together JioMart, a newly announced e-commerce venture from Reliance Jio and the company’s WhatsApp messaging platform to enable people to connect with businesses.

This also marks Facebook’s entry into the Indian internet market. The company had tried doing so earlier in India with its Free Basics program but was later banned for violating net neutrality norms.

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It seems that the companies are planning to use their technologies to create a “super app” in the market with WhatsApp. Reliance Jio, which has become the largest telecom operator in India in just four years of its launch, reportedly has more than 388 million users. On the other hand, WhatsApp from Facebook has about 400 million users in India.

WhatsApp is reportedly set to rollout a peer-to-peer payments service but has not yet received approvals from the government and thus, the service is limited to beta mode as of now.  With JioMart, which connects local shops to customers, the upcoming payment service from WhatsApp has found a new use case.

This deal will also help Reliance cut debt that has piled up because of its aggressive expansion tactics, especially when the company has promised to bring down the net debt to zero by March 20201. As of September 2019, the company’s debt is around $40 billion.

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Xiaomi has recently invested in another company, which deals with camera hardware and focuses on 3D image mapping. The investment was first sighted earlier today (18th March 2020) and was made from the Xiaomi Changjiang Industrial Investment Fund.

The Xiaomi Changjiang Industrial Investment Fund was initially founded back in 2017 and has since invested in multiple different fronts. Recently, the group had also invested in Hypower Microelectronics which specialized in making fast charging chips and have now also invested in DEEPerceptron. Xiaomi currently holds a 19.05 percent stake in the latter’s stocks.

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According to official notes, the company which recently saw the investment is focused on developing in various fields. This includes artificial intelligence, lens technology, information technology and more. One of its notable works is regarding a particular camera hardware that supports 3D image mapping. The implications of this technology could be huge, especially in the smartphone industry. It’s even touted to be cost effective and offer precise, quick and accurate results.

In other words, Xiaomi may find various uses for the new camera technology. 3D image mapping can have many different applications. It can allow for growth in augmented reality or other forms of digital cross overs in real time. Furthermore, the technology can also be used to detect objects, along with their dimensions, movement, and depth as well. Unfortunately, we have no idea how the investment might turn out in the future, but the various applications are exciting to consider in future smartphone generations.

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(Via)

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Earlier today (13th March 2020), data reports showcased that the Xiaomi Changjiang Industrial Investment Fund had invested in a Chinese fast charging chipmaker called Hypower Microelectronics. The investment fund was initially jointly created by Xiaomi back in 2017 and has strategically invested in multiple different fronts since.

Hypower Microelectronics Co Ltd was established back in March 2018, with its business operations primarily revolving around circuitry and wholesale of integrated circuit chips. The company is represented by Wang Qiang who also owns 36.71 percent of the stakes in the Hypower. And now, Xiaomi has also invested in the company and secured a 9.92 percent stake as well.

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According to public data reports, Hypower is currently developing integrated circuits, with a special focus on reducing the overall power supply while also boosting the efficiency of the same. In recent times, Xiaomi has invested heavily in the field of microelectronics and chipsets, which is evident with its latest investment.

However, it doesn’t end there, as the Xiaomi Changjiang Industrial Investment Fund had just invested in a semiconductor company called, Senscomm last month as well. The firm used the funding to develop and mass produce various new Wi-Fi 6 standard AIoT products. This investment is also in line with the Chinese government’s (Note: the local government also had a stake in the investment fund) initiative to encourage local businesses to develop proprietary core technologies and products such as chips.

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Startups in India have raised a record 14.8 billion US Dollars in 2019 alone. It marks a major year on year growth from 10.6 billion US Dollars back in 2018.

According to Tracxn, a research firm, Tech related startups in India this year had participated in over 1,185 financial rounds. In this, about 459 of these were Series A (1st stage startups after conceptualisation) or later rounds raised the amount from 917 different investors. Notably, about 81 of these financial dealings were in between the sizes of 25 million to 100 million US Dollars.

On the other hand, early-stage startups also participated in pre-Series A financial rounds and raised upwards of 6.9 billion US Dollars. This is a bit more than double of last year’s 3.3 billion US Dollars, according to reports from a venture debt firm named InnoVen Capital.

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Furthermore, 128 startups in India also got publicly listed which attracted a record number of international investors in 2019. This is indicative of the Southeast Asian country’s strong growth which is on a steady climb. To paint a broader picture, Indian startups only raised about 550 million US Dollars at the start of the decade back in 2010.

Initially, these startups were more inclined towards western trends, in which they provided e-commerce solutions and ideas to the market. Now, they are highly diversified and take on all sorts of fields tackling anything under the Sun. Reportedly, there a 150 educational and learning app startups, 160 fintech startups, 82 ride hailing services (Similar to Uber), 42 insurance firms, and a lot more.

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