Asian tech roundup: Altman comments raise Indian ire
Also China to regulate Bluetooth as protestors evade censors
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Altman comments raise Indian ire. Image: DLF Cyber City, Gurgaon, India. Credit Eatcha, WikiMedia
Welcome to Computing's fortnightly roundup of tech news in Asia. This week's stories feature India's drive to become a major player in silicon and assembly, China's efforts to shore up its own industry and Australia's fears about its lack of domestic AI talent.
India
- Some Indian techies were unhappy at OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's remarks in which he apparently dismissed a potential competitor from the country; others said India should ignore him and play to its strengths. Source
- Apple is expected to move at least 18% of its global iPhone manufacturing to India by 2025, according to an analysis by Bank of America. Source
- The Indian government threatened to shut Twitter and raid employees' houses if it did not censor critics, said former CEO Jack Dorsey. Source
- India has rebutted applications for funding from Vedanta and Foxconn, a consortium including New Orbit Ventures and Tower Semiconductor, and from IGSS Ventures as it seeks credible manufacturers to set up domestic wafer fabs. Source
- Apple and Foxconn lobbied India to weaken its labour laws. Unions lodged a complaint with the International Labour Organisation. Source
- The CoWIN platform, which was used for India's Covid-19 vaccination registration, was breached and details shared by hackers. India Today reporters say they tracked the hackers down. Source
China
- A former ByteDance executive, Yintao Yu, has said activists in Hong Kong who uploaded "protest-related content" were identified and monitored by Chinese Communist Party members. CCP members could also access their data, and data belonging to US users. Source
- The government of Hong Kong is trying to outlaw uploads and performances of an anti-Beijing anthem titled "Glory to Hong Kong," which has been shared so widely that Google has mistakenly classified as the region's official anthem. Source
- China's chip imports slumped nearly 20% in the first five months of 2023, according to official customs data, as trade with South Korea and Japan shrank amid an intensified US-China tech war. Source
- China is planning to restrict the use of wireless filesharing services such as Airdrop and Bluetooth, after they were used by protesters to evade censorship and spread protest messages. Source
- China and Cuba have agreed to build a spy base on the island, according to US officials. Source
- Dutch multinational STMicroelectronics is to create a joint venture in China with Sanan Optoelectronics for high-volume silicon carbide (SiC) devices built on 200mm wafers. Source
- Silicon Valley VC giant Sequoia is splitting up its business, with Chinese operations becoming one of three separate companies. Source
Japan
- Toyota has discovered two more leaky cloud services that spilled customers' personal information over a seven-year period. Source
- Japan's new semiconductor tool export restrictions put a spanner in China's chipmaking plans. Source
Australia
- Australia is groping for an AI strategy amid fears that a talent shortage will leave it high and dry. Source
- Australia is set to be a cheque-less society by the end of the decade, according to federal government plans. Source
South Korea
- Carmaker Hyundai is to include Samsung's Exynos SoC in its vehicles. Source
- South Korean stockmarkets have risen as investors bet on chips for AI and EVs Source