Tag - tech

 
 

TECH

NTT's drone — aimed at triggering, then redirecting lightning — is described as a "flying lightning rod."
JAPAN / Science & Health
May 23, 2025
NTT develops world’s first ‘flying lightning rod’ using drones
NTT said it hopes its flying lightning rods will one day shield cities and digital infrastructure from strikes.
A cargo ship bound for China during a ceremony at a port in the northern Taiwan city of Keelung. Skittish foreign investors have pulled nearly $11 billion out of Taiwan stocks this year.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 22, 2025
No place to hide from any China-Taiwan conflict, investors say
For investors, the options are to stay out of Taiwan completely or stay invested and hope for the best.
A demonstration is held in Malawi as part of government efforts to pilot test the use of drones for humanitarian purposes, with assistance from UNICEF. As this and other technologies become more accessible, we must ensure their use advances sustainable development.
COMMENTARY / World
May 22, 2025
How efficiency can transform sustainable development
In our haste to improve efficiency, we can’t ignore the interests of humanity. Democratizing access to AI and other technologies is a fundamental step in this direction.
Jony Ive, left, is collaborating with OpenAI’s Sam Altman as part of a nearly $6.5 billion deal.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 22, 2025
OpenAI to buy AI startup from Apple veteran Jony Ive in $6.5 billion deal
The purchase — the largest in OpenAI’s history — will provide the company with a dedicated unit for developing AI-powered devices.
A mock-up of Japan's state-of-the-art railgun, which is currently undergoing testing, is displayed at the three-day DSEI Japan defense exhibition in the city of Chiba on Wednesday.
JAPAN
May 21, 2025
Railguns, missiles and lasers: Japan uses massive defense event to highlight shift
The range of products and systems being displayed at DSEI Japan in Chiba is both diverse and sophisticated, and comes amid soaring international tensions.
SoftBank Group’s investments in AI will be financed through a loan in which Mizuho Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking and JPMorgan Chase serve as lead underwriters, highlighting the Japanese tech investor's ability to secure funding for its outsize ambitions.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 21, 2025
SoftBank taps Mizuho, SMBC and JPMorgan to lead $15 billion loan
The move is a sign of the Japanese tech investor’s ability to secure financing for its outsize ambitions.
A worker handles photovoltaic cells at Irex Energy JSC's manufacturing facility in Vung Tau, Vietnam, on July 15, 2019. The U.S. International Trade Commission has concluded that solar cells and modules imported from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam injure the domestic industry.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 21, 2025
U.S. clears way for tariffs on $13 billion of solar imports
The U.S. International Trade Commission has concluded that solar cells and modules imported from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam injure the domestic industry.
It was reported that Malaysia would deploy 3,000 units of Huawei’s primary AI offering by 2026.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 21, 2025
Malaysia downplays Huawei deal as U.S. checks China’s AI reach
The move underscores the Asian nation’s delicate position in the U.S.-Chinese AI race.
The U.S. military’s longstanding dominance is eroding as China exploits its vulnerabilities with cheaper, faster and smarter warfare, demanding urgent American reinvention in energy, logistics and artificial intelligence.
COMMENTARY / World
May 21, 2025
America’s hard power must get harder — quickly
Aircraft carriers and fighter jets look a lot less stealthy in a world of limitless drones and autonomous submarines.
A CATL recruitment advertisement in Germany
BUSINESS / Tech
May 21, 2025
CATL’s $2 billion German plant boosts China’s invest-abroad bet
“I see ourselves as a blueprint for Chinese companies who are looking to expand in Europe,” said Matthias Zentgraf, the battery giant’s European president.
Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer is among the key Democrats who have raised concerns about Middle East chip deals.
WORLD / Politics
May 20, 2025
Democrats warn Trump’s Middle East chip deals imperil U.S. security
Key U.S. Senate Democrats have urged the administration of President Donald Trump to revisit new artificial intelligence deals with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, saying that expanded sales of AI chips to the Middle Eastern countries risk exposing advanced technology to China and Russia,...
For Nintendo, it’s been a challenge making sure it can produce enough Switch 2 gaming devices to meet demand.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 20, 2025
Nintendo turns to Samsung to make chips for Switch 2
The Kyoto-based company is pivoting to Samsung because the Nvidia-based chipset that the Switch 2 employs was optimized for the Korean company’s manufacturing systems.
Huawei Technologies has unveiled its first in-house operating system for personal computers.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 20, 2025
Huawei unveils in-house operating system to replace Windows
The rollout of HarmonyOS on the company’s new laptops comes as China pushes to replace American technologies amid rising geopolitical tensions.
China’s Made in China 2025 program set an ambitious agenda, and a decade later, initial assessments conclude it had mixed success but maintain its goals will shape Chinese policy for years to come.
COMMENTARY / World
May 20, 2025
Ten years of Made in China 2025 sees mixed success
MIC2025 set an ambitious agenda, and a decade later, early reviews say it has had mixed success but maintain that its goals will shape Chinese policy for years to come.
A Huawei Ascend AI chip. The U.S. Commerce Department had said in a statement last week that it was issuing guidance to make clear that the use of the Huawei chips is a breach of the U.S. government’s export controls.
WORLD / Politics
May 20, 2025
China says U.S. warnings on Huawei chips undermine their recent trade talks
The U.S. Commerce Department’s warnings specify that the use of Huawei Ascend chips amounts to a breach of the U.S. government’s export controls.
Microsoft Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella (left) returns to the stage after a pre-recorded interview with Elon Musk was played following the announcement that Grok AI, by Musk's artificial intelligence start up xAI, will be available on Microsoft's Foundry Models, during the Microsoft Build conference opening keynote in Seattle, Washington, on Monday.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 20, 2025
Microsoft is bringing Elon Musk’s AI models to its cloud
Grok 3, which Musk’s AI outfit introduced earlier this year, will be available on Microsoft’s cloud computing platform, the company said Monday.
Sakana AI Chief Operating Officer Ren Ito (left) and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group President Hironori Kamezawa in Tokyo on Friday. The companies have entered into a ¥5 billion ($34 million) deal to automate the creation of banking documents.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 19, 2025
Sakana AI and MUFG sign agreement to automate creation of banking documents
The AI Scientist, which was originally designed for automating scientific discovery, including manuscript writing and peer review, will be used.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang gives a keynote speech at Computex in Taipei on Monday.
BUSINESS
May 19, 2025
Nvidia CEO unveils new technologies to protect AI chip lead
Huang introduced a new RTX Pro Server system, which he said offered four times better performance than Nvidia’s former flagship H100 AI system with DeepSeek workloads.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba visits the Global Research and Development Center for Business by Quantum-AI technology in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, on Sunday.
JAPAN
May 19, 2025
Ishiba to revamp strategy to industrialize quantum tech
Quantum technology is “expected to become a new industrial pillar of our country, and also important for economic security,” the prime minister told reporters.
Unlike Silicon Valley, many Asian societies, due to their penchant for risk aversion, need more government support to boost early-stage deep-tech innovation.
COMMENTARY / World
May 18, 2025
Government capital is not just ‘silly money’
Unlike Silicon Valley’s predominantly private-sector-driven ecosystem, many Asian societies exhibit greater risk aversion, necessitating proactive government involvement.

Longform

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What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival