12 h. ago BYD founder bets on new tech to win back customers as sales decelerate

BYD, China’s electric vehicle (EV) king, is pinning its hopes on next-generation technology to engineer a turnaround in sales amid fierce competition in the world’s largest automotive market, according to its founder and chairman Wang Chuanfu. Speaking at a shareholders’ meeting in Shenzhen on Friday, the billionaire said the company’s 12,000 engineers – the backbone of the carmaker – would help it regain a technological edge over rivals. “We have heavyweight new technology in the pipeline,” he...

Economics

39 h. ago Mainland China’s billionaire count surges as BYD and Mixue bosses power gains

Mainland China’s billionaires have tightened their grip as Asia-Pacific’s wealthiest after their combined fortunes swelled to nearly US$1.8 trillion, with electric-vehicle (EV) maker BYD’s founder Wang Chuanfu and bubble tea chain Mixue’s bosses among the biggest drivers of that growth, according to a UBS report. Backed by a booming tech sector and surging asset prices, the wealth of mainland China’s billionaires jumped 22.2 per cent year on year to US$1.77 trillion in the 12 months to early...

Economics

7 d. ago From Singapore to Malaysia, tech firms double down on AI despite bubble fears

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 customer service chatbots, 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 2023. “Everything...

Politics

1 week ago Anthropic says its new AI model is better at coding and office work

Anthropic is rolling out a new version of its most powerful artificial intelligence model that is designed to be better at automating coding and office tasks, part of an effort to compete with OpenAI and Alphabet’s Google for business customers. The new model, Claude Opus 4.5, was more capable than previous versions at software engineering work, like fixing bugs, without needing a user’s help, Anthropic said. Opus 4.5, released on Monday, is also intended to be better at carrying out complicated...

Politics

2 w. ago Is China’s new K visa enough to win the global tech talent race?

Computer science graduate Alain Saas is hoping a fourth time is the charm to make his China dream come true. As a young man growing up in the small town of Selestat in eastern France, the distant Asian country seemed magical. But the dream has been elusive and trying to land a job in China has been anything but enchanting. Over the past 15 years, Saas, who is now in his forties, has tried three times to find a suitable tech job in China. The attempts have been unsuccessful due to reasons ranging...

Politics

2 w. ago Chinese tech giants from Kuaishou to Tencent reap early gains from big AI bets

Chinese technology powerhouses are beginning to reap early returns from their heavy investments in artificial intelligence, with quarterly results showing the impact across businesses from short video platforms like Kuaishou Technology to social media giants like Tencent Holdings. Kuaishou, China’s second-largest short video app and rival to TikTok’s Chinese sibling Douyin, was the latest to highlight gains from AI adoption. The company, in an earnings statement on Wednesday, attributed its...

Politics

2 w. ago Alibaba bets on ‘everything app’ Qwen to define AI era for global consumers

Alibaba Group Holding’s new multipurpose artificial intelligence consumer app, Qwen, has the potential to become China’s “super-app” in the AI era in the same way Tencent Holdings’ WeChat defined the mobile internet age, analysts say. Powered by Alibaba Cloud’s own model series of the same name, Qwen quickly jumped to fourth overall on Apple’s app store for free apps in Hong Kong and fifth in mainland China on its second day of beta testing. The app, billed as “the best personal AI assistant”,...

Politics

2 w. ago Tech war: Huawei bets on AI tech to squeeze more performance from GPUs

Chinese technology giant Huawei Technologies is expected to unveil a new artificial intelligence infrastructure technology on Friday that could double the utilisation efficiency of graphic processing units (GPUs), according to the state-owned Shanghai Securities News. The report said the technology would be able to lift the utilisation rate of AI chips – including GPUs and neural processing units (NPUs) – to 70 per cent, up from the current 30 to 40 per cent, in another major advance in “using...

Events

3 w. ago Big Tech firms bet big on AI glasses, as Ant offers iris authentication

Chinese technology companies are stepping up their push into the smart-glasses market with new software and hardware innovations, intensifying competition to lead in the next generation of artificial intelligence-driven devices. Ant International, the overseas arm of Chinese fintech giant Ant Group, on Wednesday unveiled what it described as the world’s first iris-authentication technology for payments via smart glasses. Chinese electronics makers Xiaomi and Meizu will be the first to offer the...

Politics

4 w. ago Alibaba’s ‘instant commerce’ bet pays off: Taobao hits 100 million new orders

Alibaba Group Holding is seeing solid early results from its push into “instant commerce”, a shopping model the Chinese technology giant hopes will drive sales growth amid sluggish consumer spending and intensifying e-commerce competition. According to the latest company data, Taobao Shangou – Alibaba’s “instant buy and instant delivery” service – generated more than 100 million non-food orders from new users during the first two weeks of the Singles’ Day shopping festival as of Wednesday. The...

Economics