Baidu boasts strong AI user growth alongside launch of first smart glasses

Baidu boasts strong AI user growth alongside launch of first smart glasses

Baidu CEO Robin Li Yanhong touted strong user growth for its Ernie large language model (LLM) at the company’s annual conference where it debuted a pair of artificial intelligence (AI)-powered smart glasses, as China’s largest internet search firm jostles for attention in a sea of competitors. Li said at the event on Tuesday that its … Read more

The fight for AI talent heats up in China, as tech employers boost pay

The fight for AI talent heats up in China, as tech employers boost pay

A scramble for artificial intelligence (AI) talent is intensifying in China, as local tech giants dangle eye-watering salaries to hire top-notch professionals to compete in a heated AI race. Beijing-based smartphone giant Xiaomi will be hosting a special hiring session for AI experts in areas spanning AI models, computer vision, deep learning, autonomous driving and … Read more

Alibaba cuts ‘dozens of employees’ at metaverse unit as hype in sector cools down

Alibaba cuts ‘dozens of employees’ at metaverse unit as hype in sector cools down

Alibaba Group Holding is scaling down its metaverse operations, according to a source familiar with the matter, making it the latest Big Tech company to pull back resources from the once-popular sector. Dozens of employees at Yuanjing, the metaverse unit of e-commerce giant Alibaba, have been laid off, as part of a restructuring that aims … Read more

Tesla’s autonomous driving roll-out in China could face delays as regulators assess tech

Tesla’s autonomous driving roll-out in China could face delays as regulators assess tech

Tesla’s plan to roll out its advanced driver-assistance package in China could face delays because of issues around mapping and data security, according to local media. Tesla has Chinese government support for trialling some self-driving features, but a launch is hindered by the fact that no full self-driving (FSD) systems have been approved for use … Read more

China cybersecurity group seeks review of Intel products for possible breaches

China cybersecurity group seeks review of Intel products for possible breaches

A Chinese cybersecurity group has called for a review of Intel products sold on the mainland, alleging that the US semiconductor giant’s chips pose a threat for “frequent vulnerabilities and high failure rates”. The Cyber Security Association of China (CSAC) said in a WeChat post on Wednesday that Intel’s central processing units (CPUs) have shown … Read more

Tesla’s robotaxi event draws mixed reaction in China where Elon Musk faces tough rivals

Tesla’s robotaxi event draws mixed reaction in China where Elon Musk faces tough rivals

Chinese netizens and industry insiders closely followed Tesla’s much-anticipated “We, Robot” event on Thursday night US time, with mixed feedback given that China is already offering robotaxi services ahead of Elon Musk’s plans. Tesla live-streamed the event across almost every major Chinese social media platform, including WeChat Channels, Douyin, Kuaishou, Xiaohongshu, Weibo, and Bilibili. It … Read more

Tencent unloads US$206 million in Futu shares amid China’s economic stimulus push

Tencent unloads US6 million in Futu shares amid China’s economic stimulus push

Tencent Holdings is the seller behind a share sale of Chinese brokerage-platform operator Futu Holdings, according to people familiar with the matter, the latest that takes advantage of improving market conditions after Beijing unveiled economic stimulus. An unidentified shareholder raised about US$206 million after selling Futu’s American depositary shares at a 5.9 per cent premium … Read more

Alibaba looks on course for a turnaround amid renewed investor frenzy for Chinese stocks

Alibaba looks on course for a turnaround amid renewed investor frenzy for Chinese stocks

“Alibaba may gradually become more attractive to some long-only funds because it is, after all, the largest e-commerce stock in China,” said Shawn Yang, senior analyst at Arete Research. “The expectations of macro improvement may be passed on to these consumer stocks. Alibaba is the largest among them, and its situation is improving.” Alibaba, owner … Read more

Alibaba’s DingTalk launches new service bundled with AI features to boost productivity

Alibaba’s DingTalk launches new service bundled with AI features to boost productivity

The service called DingTalk 365 offers more than 10 features including AI-powered search, virtual assistant and automated reply, according to a DingTalk post published on Monday on the platform’s public WeChat account. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post. The search feature, for example, uses large language models – the technology underpinning generative AI (GenAI) … Read more

Hello, Jarvis? China’s new AI app stirs dreams of Tony Stark’s assistant becoming reality

Hello, Jarvis? China’s new AI app stirs dreams of Tony Stark’s assistant becoming reality

The fictional Jarvis – an acronym that stands for “Just a Rather Very Intelligent System” – is a sophisticated AI assistant that made its debut in the 2008 film Iron Man, in which it manages and operates the internal systems of Stark’s laboratory, home and superhero armours. Ant Group, the fintech affiliate of Alibaba Group … Read more