Australia’s tech goldrush - Asian Tech Roundup

Plus: jail time looms for secret stealers

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Investors are rushing to put their money in Aussie startups

Welcome to Computing's weekly roundup of tech news in Asia. This time we look at Australia’s burgeoning tech scene, India taking the number one iPhone spot and the dangers of espionage.

Australia is a land of stunning scenery and iconic imagery. But the land of Uluru, the Opera House and the Great Barrier Reef is becoming a prime destination for US venture capital for something else entirely: the promise of it’s tech startups. Institutional investors including MetLife and Blackstone are packing their suitcases and heading for the home of Atlassian and Canva, keen to bag themselves a “kangaroo-nicorn” as the Australia’s successful startup scene reaches a critical mass. “My expectation is that the floodgates will open,” one VC told the FT.

Meanwhile India become the number one exporter of smartphones to the US, as Apple, driven by the US-China trade war, tariffs and sanctions has moved its operations away from China.

In trade wars smuggling and secret stealing become lucrative sidelines, although ones fraught with risk. This week’s Roundup features three stories of subterfuge interrupted, including the arrest of three people in Taiwan for allegedly stealing secrets from TSMC, two Chinese nationals hauled up in the US and the sentencing of 14 former Huawei employees in China.

Australia

Australian telco NBN has chosen Amazon’s startup satellite service over Elon Musk's Starlink to reach 300,000 homes and businesses out of range of its terrestrial network. Source
Australia’s eSafety Commissioner has accused social media firms of “turning a blind eye” to child sex abuse material, singling out YouTube and Apple as particularly unresponsive. Source
The UK MoD has hired Australian AI startup Castlepoint Systems in an effort to prevent more disasterous data leaks like the recent Afghan relocations scandal. Source
US investors are increasingly targetting Australian tech startups as the tech scene in the country reaches a “critical mass”. Source

China

A Shanghai court has sentenced 14 former Huawei Technologies employees to jail for stealing chip-related business secrets from the company, according to local reports. Source
Two Chinese nationals have been arrested in the US accused of smuggling advanced Nvidia GPUs to China. Source
A paper written by researchers from University of Massachusetts Amherst, Stanford University, University of Colorado Boulder, and activist group Great Firewall Report asserts that China’s attempts to censor traffic carried using Quick UDP Internet Connections (QUIC) are flawed and have left the countries strategy of internet censorship looking less than robust. Source
China Mobile has announced its purchase of a 14.4% stake in Hong Kong-based broadband service provider HKBN for HK$1.08 billion ($137.58 million). Source
Government-linked Chinese hackers attacked mobile telecom networks across Southeast Asia according to researchers from Palo Alto Networks, apparently in an attempt to track individuals. Source
China’s plan to consolidate its semiconductor firms has run into resistance from the companies themselves and their investors the FT reports. Source

India

India has overtaken China as premier exporter of smartphones to the US, following Apple’s tariff-driven manufacturing pivot to New Delhi. Devices manufactured in India accounted for 44% of smartphone imports in the US during the second quarter, up sharply from 13% during the same period last year, according to a new report from Canalys. Source
Apple has vowed to continue with its strategy of manufacturing iPhones in India, despite repeated criticism by Donald Trump who wants the company to move facilities to the US. Source
Arista Networks has announced a plan to spend $1 billion expanding its Indian manufacturing base to include “high-performance data centre and campus network switches and enterprise access points, with an increasing focus on sourcing critical components locally.” Source
Cybercrime in India has rocketed by 500% since 2021. Legislation and resources for cyber defences have failed to keep pace with the threats posed by deepfakes and AI scams. Source
Bharti Airtel digital unit Xtelify has announced a new cloud platform and AI-powered software offering for businesses and telcos, alongside partnerships with Singtel, Globe Telecom and Airtel Africa. Source
India's insurance regulator has fined Policybazaar, an insurance comparison site owned by PB Fintech, 50 million rupees ($570,000) for regulatory lapses. Source
India’s prime minister Narendra Modi will visit China this month for the first time since 2018, to attend a multilateral summit. The prospect of India easing investment restrictions on Chinese firms is likely to be under discussion. Source

Japan

Japan has officially ordered Apple to allow third-party browser engines on iOS, with a deadline of December 2025 imposed. The move is part of a legislative attempt to open up genuine competition in the mobile browser space. Source
Japan is trying to establish international rules for the removal of space junk – human-made orbital space debris that could pose collision risks to satellites and the International Space Station if left in orbit, according to officials. Source
Japanese space agency JAXA collaborated with German space centre DLR in an experiment that saw interaction between two independently developed robots on the International Space Station. Source
Back on Planet Earth, IQM Quantum Computers and TOYO Corporation have signed a distribution agreement to enable the acceleration of quantum computing adoption in Japan. Source

South Korea

Samsung has agreed to produce image sensors for Apple’s iPhone in Texas. Source
Samsung and SK Hynix are to be exempt from a proposed 100% US tariff on imported chips, the government has announced . Source

Taiwan

Chip manufacturers and education institutions in Taiwan are on a mission to cultivate young overseas chip talent with summer camps and university courses to combat the growing chip-related skills shortage. Source
Taiwan has arrested three people for allegedly stealing trade secrets from chipmaking giant TSMC. Source

Elsewhere in Asia

Malaysia: The Malaysian trade minister has confirmed that the country will spend up to $150 billion in the next five years on US made equipment for its semiconductor, aerospace and datacentre sectors. The US has said it will impose a 19% tariff on Malaysia. Source
Southeast Asia: WhatsApp has taken down 6.8 million accounts reportedly associated with scam gangs, many operating in Southeast Asia. Source