Critical technologies news coverage in the first quarter of 2024 – January, February and March of the year – for obvious reasons spanned a range of subject areas in technologies, intent, geographically and geopolitically.
Critical technology news in Q1 touched on, for instance: HP’s world-first chip-level devices geared for protection against quantum hacking; the European Union’s $1.4 billion fund, aiming to develop an EU-based semiconductor industry; Romania’s rejection of Huawei equipment over security concerns; Japan’s moves into nuclear fusion as a next-generation energy source; China’s massive funding and coordination around development of an end-to-end space industry; and many more.
Hit the links below for the monthly critical tech round-ups in the quarter, and drill down to read the articles behind the headlines in full, online.
Critical technologies, globally, in March 2024
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Critical technologies, globally, in February 2024
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Critical technologies, globally, in January 2024
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Our other editions
– daily, weekly, monthly & quarterly
– critical & emerging technologies
ASPI: The Sydney Dialogue – critical, emerging & cyber technologies
Critical tech in March 2024
- Silicon batteries: ‘StoreDot’s near-term goal is a 100-mile charge in 5 minutes. In about 2 years the company expects that its EV batteries will drop to a 4-minute charge, towards a goal of 2 minutes…’ / read it here
- The Critical Risks of Critical Minerals: “Many of the minerals being sought are in some of the poorest performing countries on Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index…” / read it here
- Critical minerals supply chains: “Since last year, lithium is down by more than 80 percent, while nickel and cobalt have both tumbled over 40 percent…” / read it here
- ‘High demand for energy-related critical minerals creates supply chain pressures’, a deep dive from the World Trade Organization / read it here
- US gov’t issues Executive Order ‘to prevent the large-scale transfer of Americans’ personal data to countries of concern and provides safeguards around…those countries access to Americans’ sensitive data’ / read it here
- ‘Why hydrogen is losing the race to power cleaner cars, from MIT Tech Review / read it here
- NVIDIA unveils new flagship B200 AI-focused chip, alongside growing focus on software and ‘microservices’ / read it here
- ‘Our current cryptographic techniques are highly secure against current techs. They are totally unready for the quantum age and the new types of attacks our adversaries are aggressively developing.’ / read it here
- Applications open: XPRIZE Quantum Applications, a 3-year, $5M global competition to generate quantum computing algorithms that can be put into practice to help solve real-world challenges / read it here
- Chevron Technology Ventures, part of Chevron oil-and-gas major, joins $100M funding round for OQC quantum computing firm, seeing potential for efficiency improvements / read it here
- HP launches world-first business PCs with chip-level measures to protect firmware against quantum computer hacks / read it here
- ‘Anticipating the Quantum Threat to Cryptography’, a deep dive from HP Security Lab / read it here
- France rolls out French National Strategy for quantum technologies with projected investments of $1.1M over 4 years with additional investments from the private sector / read it here
- A quick overview of NVIDIA’s importance in quantum computing, spanning research, education, innovation and hardware / read it here
- Quantum tech startup Alice & Bob lands $17.8M innovation grant from France’s public investment bank, Bpifrance, aiming for a new architecture for fault-tolerant quantum computing by 2027 / read it here
- An overview of Barcelona Supercomputing Center’s moves to develop a European presence in expertise and manufacturing for RISC-V-based chips / read it here
- Download: ‘2024 Global Semiconductor Industry Outlook’ from Deloitte / read it here
- Download: ‘APAC Semiconductor Industry Trends’ from Deloitte (direct pdf link) / read it here
- An overview of semiconductor-related funding in January 2024, touching on chiplet packaging, AI, and quantum tech, with 20 startups raising near $840M / read it here
- Semiconductors: An overview of 49 firms and startups that collectively raised over $800 million in February 2024 / read it here
- Efficient Computer unveils chip processor architecture set to be 100 times more energy-efficient than current general-purpose CPUs, with software re-configuring workloads for quicker execution / read it here
- Arm Flexible Access for Startups Contest applications are now open, seeking products and solutions focusing on system-on-chips technologies – deadline is May 17th / read it here
- United Kingdom commits $45M to $1.4BN European Union research and innovation fund, aiming to develop and manufacture advanced semiconductors in Europe / read it here
- An overview of global semiconductor-related funding in February 2024, looking at 49 startups that raised over $800 million across quantum tech, photonics and more / read it here
- Eliyan Corp lands $60M Series B led by Samsung with connecting architecture for semiconductor ‘chiplets’ / read it here
- Spain’s Sateliot now raising funds for small satellites, targeting data connectivity for small devices in logistics such as monitoring refrigerator containers shipped by sea / read it here
- More on Interlune, targeting lunar explorations for helium-3 with plat construction in 2028 and commencement of mining by 2030 / read it here
- To celebrate World Day Against Cyber Censorship, the Tor Project Anti-Censorship team released a new Tor bridge designed to help users in heavily censored regions access the internet / read it here
- Indo-Pacific: “For the first time, over 33 nations worked and trained together in the space domain, as well as air and land, establishing a new standard for multinational space operations.” / read it here
- MIT Tech Review looks at how open source tech, as provided by VotingWorks, may help improve trust in election systems / read it here
- Hong Kong: Gov’t unveils Project Ensemble initiative to test functionality of a wholesale central bank digital currency and tokenization of private bank deposits / read it here
- Putin signs ‘CBDC, Digital Assets Payments’ Bill into law, apparently fast-tracked in bid to help domestic companies use digital tokens and CBDCs to evade sanctions / read it here
- Hong Kong Monetary Authority rolls out Phase 2 of e-HKD Pilot Program, opening applications for proposals on potential use cases of a digital HK dollar / read it here
- ‘Darwin Dialogue on Critical Minerals and Rare Earth Elements’ is set for April 17-19, an event from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute / read it here
- “North Korean hackers breached at least two South Korean microchip equipment companies in recent months, stealing product design drawings and facility site photos…” / read it here
- China & critical minerals: Which controls can China meaningfully deploy, in line with which specific interests, and with what domestic consequences? / read it here
- Australia and Canada to partner on critical minerals, aiming to coordinate on supply chain security, sustainability, investment and beyond / read it here
- Researchers from Japan and Switzerland successfully laser-etch circuits onto glass, triggering generation of electric current upon light exposure / read it here
- A brief overview of results from a recent Australian study comparing Hydrogen batteries and lithium-ion batteries in both technical and financial performance / read it here
- Huawei rolls out initiatives including global ITU-Huawei Generation Connect Young Leadership Program, Huawei-UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning in Morocco, and Huawei Cloud startups program / read it here
- Silicon batteries: ‘StoreDot’s near-term goal is a 100-mile charge in 5 minutes. In about 2 years the company expects that its EV batteries will drop to a 4-minute charge, towards a goal of 2 minutes…’ / read it here
- Romania formally rejects Huawei request for equipment to be used in Romanian 5G network citing ‘national interest’ in decision / read it here
- China: A little more on the successful small-scale tests of CASIC’s T-Flight hyperloop train, using magnetic-levitation and a low-vacuum section of track to reach high speeds / read it here
- Australia: Kathleen Valley Lithium Project secures $230M loan agreement following lithium price collapse-prompted pull-out of previous support, with sights on mid-year production / read it here
- China-made surveillance cameras installed on Romanian NATO base raise concerns around cyber- and national security / read it here
- Radio Access Network versus Open Radio Access Network, another aspect of the US-China technology competition / read it here
- Japan: Institute for Molecular Science and firms including Fujitsu, Hitachi and NEC partner to establish company to commercialize high-speed quantum computer by 2030 / read it here
- Japan: New ABCI-Q supercomputer, designed to advance quantum computing research, to be powered by NVIDIA hardware and platforms / read it here
- South Korea’s cloud firm, MegazoneCloud, lands solutions role with Europe’s Terra Quantum, looking to develop quantum and deeptech applications for Asia and South Korea / read it here
- Australia: Diraq quantum tech firm hits milestone for spin-based quantum processors, functioning at temperatures 20 times warmer than before while holding stability and accuracy / read it here
- India’s home-grown RISC-V chips, DIR-V VEGA, have debuted in development boards / read it here
- China: Damo Academy, Alibaba’s research arm, announces delivery of server-grade RISC-V processor later this year / read it here
- India: Gov’t approves semiconductor fabrication plant partnership for Gujarat between Tata Electronics and Taiwan’s Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp / read it here
- India: Gov’t approves semiconductor assembly and test facility plan for Assam state, to be operated by Tata Semiconductor Assembly unit and partners, focusing on semicon packaging / read it here
- India: An intro to 7 Indian semiconductor-related firms boosting the country’s tech ambitions / read it here
- An overview of Barcelona Supercomputing Center’s moves to develop a European presence in expertise and manufacturing for RISC-V-based chips / read it here
- India: US-based D-Matrix AI chips firm outlines goals for India as a crucial market, with sights on the country for 30% of its workforce / read it here
- India: Azimuth AI gains backing from UAE’s AUM Ventures with first generation of System-on-Chip products, developing purpose-built SoCs for smart city and broad EV applications / read it here
- “Taiwan’s semiconductor industry chain was worth NT$2.67 trillion (US$86.3 billion), making it the second largest in the world after the US…” / read it here
- India: Gujarat state gov’t reportedly has allotted 160 acres to Tata Group plan for the country’s first large-scale chip fabrication unit / read it here
- ‘Assessing India’s Readiness to Assume a Greater Role in Global Semiconductor Value Chains’ from Information & Technology Innovation Foundation / read it here
- Singapore’s Silicon Box semiconductors firm to invest $3.5BN in Italy to build a chip fabrication facility in the country’s north / read it here
- Taiwan’s TSMC semiconductor giant set to receive over $5BN in US Dep’t of Commerce grants for Arizona facility / read it here
- A look at Taiwan’s moves to ensure the net generation of talents and skilled engineers for the country’s semiconductor industry / read it here
- Samsung is set to receive $6BN from the US gov’t with plans for a second chip manufacturing facility in the US, adding to chip project already underway in Texas / read it here
- South Korea: Rebellions AI chip firm preps for mass production of energy-efficient ATOM chips with Samsung as manufacturing partner for 5nm tech in H1 2024 and 4nm in H2 / read it here
- China’s gov’t increases push for domestic-only tech: “…one foreign bidder failed to secure a contract despite offering a price they estimated was 30% lower than the eventual winner…” / read it here
- NVIDIA unveils new flagship B200 AI-focused chip, alongside growing focus on software and ‘microservices’ / read it here
- China: Ecarx auto tech firm, backed by Geely exec, unveils 7-nanometer AD1000 system-on-a-chip, claiming over 256 trillion operations per second / read it here
- Biden administration reportedly considering adding a number of Chinese semiconductor firms linked to Huawei to tech access and exports blacklist / read it here
- China: Huawei and partner, SiCarrier, file patents for low-tech alternative way to make advanced semiconductors, potentially side-stepping the need for extreme ultraviolet lithography / read it here
- European Union and Republic of Korea to collaborate on research and innovation in semiconductors, with projects set for selection in June for commencement by year-end / read it here
- Australia: AGL Energy and SunDrive Solar cells firm partner for facility feasibility study into commercial-scale solar cell manufacturing / read it here
- China: Beijing City to create ‘Rocket Street’ for commercial aerospace research and production, with 41 launch projects in progress supported by over $14M in funding, and over 157 enterprises / read it here
- India preps for 3 unmanned space launches prior to manned launch, with first G1 mission set for July to test Gaganyaan Crew Module and featuring a humanoid robot / read it here
- India: Digantara raises $2M with Space-Mission Assurance Platform – Space-MAP – leveraging multi-modal data pool to provide stakeholders with insights aiding safety and sustainability of space operations / read it here
- State-owned China Aerospace Science & Tech Corp to launch 4-meter and 5-meter-diameter reusable rockets in 2025 and 2026, with 4-meter capable of delivering up to 6500kg of payload to orbit / read it here
- ‘…China Satcom will promote the construction of satellites with larger, single-satellite capacity… by the end of the 14th Five-Year Plan the total capacity of high-throughput comm sats will exceed 500GBps…’ / read it here
- “More than $9 million in funding has been awarded to 12 Australian space firms as part of the latest rounds of the federal government’s Moon to Mars Supply Chain Capability Improvement Grants program…” / read it here
- China reportedly planning lunar surveillance camera network based on the country’s domestic surveillance system, using AI systems to identify and respond to perceived issues / read it here
- China: Status of two spacecraft left uncertain following issues with achieving lunar orbit, with neither launch nor purpose officially announced / read it here
- China: Ellipspace satellite firm targets completion of Starpool, a comprehensive satellite network, in 2027, set to comprise over 100 300kg satellites / read it here
- Indian Space Research Org’n finalizes New Generation Launch Vehicle project team, building towards space station ambitions under Space Vision 2047 plan / read it here
- “A made-in-Taiwan satellite network could do more than give Taiwan an alternative communication system. It could establish Taiwan as a producer of key technology…” / read it here
- China preps launch of Queqiao-2 satellite with goal of relaying data between Chinese landers, rovers and spacecraft with ground stations in future lunar missions / read it here
- China: Research advances in use of magnetic rail-gun technology to launch space vehicles at hypersonic speeds, tho viability remains uncertain / read it here
- Australia: A brief look at the work of ELO2 Consortium, one of two consortia working with Australian Space Agency funding on the Moon to Mars Trailblazer Program Stage 1 / read it here
- Australia: iLAuNCH Trailblazer initiative commissions Nikon multi-metal 3D printer to make space missions more affordable and efficient with lighter, faster and more robust aerospace components / read it here
- “China continues to add new members to its International Lunar Research Station initiative, but many of these are subnational, suggesting issues attracting partners…” / read it here
- Australia: An overview of the recently-announced Solar SunShot, a Au$1 billion government initiative to bring solar manufacturing back to Australia / read it here
- How Much Trade Transits the South China Sea?: ‘…roughly 80% of global trade by volume and 70% by value is transported by sea. Of that volume, 60% of maritime trade passes through Asia…’ / read it here
- “In 2023, Malaysia shipped RM975 million worth of rare earths to China, making it the second-largest source of imported ore for the Asian giant behind Myanmar, according to trade statistics from Beijing.” / read it here
- Malaysia: An intro to Graphjet Technology, converting palm kernels into graphite for EV batteries and commencing production in H2 2024 with carbon and cost reductions compared to synthetic graphite / read it here
- Download: ‘Virtual Assets 2023 Review and 2024 Outlook’ from KPMG / read it here
- ‘A Google engineer ran a secret startup in China while stealing AI technology, DOJ alleges’ / read it here
- Investment NSW invites expressions of interest from NSW New Energy firms for participation in New Energy delegation to India, and to attend India Energy Storage Week in July / read it here
- Australia and Canada to partner on critical minerals, aiming to coordinate on supply chain security, sustainability, investment and beyond / read it here
- Japan: A brief interview intro to EX-Fusion, working on laser-powered nuclear fusion as a next-gen clean energy source / read it here
- Monetary Authority of Singapore has advised financial institutions to prep for post-quantum cryptography and quantum key distribution tech / read it here
- India: Samsung Semiconductor India Research unveils R&D facility in Bengaluru / read it here
- South Korea’s Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix have ceased sales of used chip fabrication equipment to Chinese entities, in adherence to US export curbs / read it here
- India: First 28nm semiconductors from Gujarat plant now under construction by Tata Group and Taiwan’s PSMC expected to be in hands by year-end 2026 / read it here
- Singapore: Japan’s Toppan breaks ground on Singapore semiconductor packaging materials plant, targeting production of chip substrates by year-end 2026 / read it here
- Malaysia, and in particular Penang state, emerge as an unexpected winning destination for the global semiconductor industry as supply chains respond to geopolitical concerns / read it here
- South Korea: More on Rebellions AI chip-maker, partnered with Samsung and Korea Telecom and aiming to be ‘Korea’s NVIDIA’ for specialized processor chips / read it here
- Japan: Taiwan’s TSMC to partner Sony and Toyota for over $20BN investment in second Japan plant, producing chip-on-wafer-on-substrate semiconductor packaging / read it here
- India: An overview of the challenges India’s nascent chips industry faces, both in terms of domestic funding capability and from China’s chip industry export ambitions / read it here
- China’s Starfive Technology chip design firm to open R&D center in Hong Kong, focusing on the company’s RISC-V chips and alongside partnership looking at data center-focused chips / read it here
- “Taiwan is also interested in stepping into the Indian semiconductor industry because the Indian government has already announced it would cover 50% of the costs of setting up semiconductor fabs.” / read it here
- Japan’s Astroscale launches rocket via New Zealand’s Rocket Lab services to inspect ‘dead’ rocket debris in orbit, aiming to identify method to remove this, and later, other, debris, from space / read it here
- AsterX 2024 Military Space Exercise took place in France, with Japan and South Korea taking part for first time, likely heralding future presence in European, NATO and US bids to boost cyber defense / read it here
CISCO 2024 cybersecurity readiness – Underprepared & overconfident firms
Critical tech: February 2024
- Download: ‘Assessing the Global and Local Landscape of Critical Technologies’ from India’s Takshashila Institution (pdf)
- Malaysia: An overview of Malaysia’s position in terms of quantum technologies
- NVIDIA chipmaking giant takes third most valuable US company status, overtaking Google parent Alphabet and Amazon, in large part due to ongoing global focus on AI chips
- “NVIDIA began 2023 worth $350 billion, and ended it at $1.2 trillion. At the start of the week, it stood at $1.8 trillion… worth more than the entire Chinese stock market;more than all the energy stocks in the S&P 500…”
- Sweden’s ConScience AB unveils ‘Qubit-in-a-box 0’ device, capable of simple quantum processes and of calibrating and verifying performance of quantum computing test setups
- ‘Quantum… may open a world of opportunities to researchers, but it will also likely make one of the most common encryption methods obsolete, which is why telcos are racing to secure Europe’s communication infrastructures’
- Linux Foundation launches Post-Quantum Cryptography Alliance, aiming to advance post-quantum tech around national security-aligned production-ready libraries and packages
- Axios provides a brief overview of how quantum computing technologies are beginning to move from made-to-order towards standardized manufacturing of some components, and infrastructures
- “Quantum technology is on the minds of at least some EU policymakers but as the European Parliament elections loom in June and the European Commission enters the final months of its mandate,will it be a priority in 2024?”
- US states of Colorado and Illinois focus on quantum technologies as Tech Hubs under the Chips & Science Act, with state governments creating additional funding
- Quantum Internet Alliance formally launched in February, with industry, academia, research and tech organization members currently across 9 European countries
- “The disparity between CubeSats and small satellites is stark… Five years ago, the two categories stood on equal footing. Today, small satellites outnumber CubeSats counterparts by approximately 4 to 1.”
- “Three factors — supply chain security, sustainability, and subsidies — feature prominently as semiconductor companies expand into new countries or regions…”
- Global Foundries semiconductor ‘pure play’ foundry gains $1.5BN US CHIPS and Science Act funding to expand manufacturing and capabilities for chips for auto, IoT, aerospace, defense and other markets
- Intel is in talks with US Gov’t around more than $10BN in subsidies under a plan to grow semiconductor manufacturing on US soil
- ‘TSMC has already received a total of $8BN USD in Japanese government subsidies. Meanwhile, it is still haggling with the US government and hasn’t seen a single cent from the reported $15BN in tax credits and subsidies…’
- “Space-based solar power offers tantalizing possibilities
for sustainable energy – in the future, orbital collection systems could harvest energy in space, and beam it wirelessly back to Earth.” - A brief intro to 15 space-technology startups from across the European Union, working on laser communications, space debris removal, data management and more
- Interlune, startup from former Blue Origin execs, quietly focuses on pitching to mine on the moon for a rare helium isotope, with deep-tech applications in quantum computing and beyond
- Amazon Project Kuiper constellation of over 3200 satellites to include features making it ‘highly resilient against electronic jamming, cyberattacks, and other threats’
- Skylo Technologies raised $37M with backers including venture arms of BMW, Samsung and Intel, focusing on direct-to-device satellite connectivity using existing satellite infrastructure
- ‘Tech Trends 2024’, Deloitte’s take on emerging technology risks, opportunities and developments likely to affect businesses this year
- “…then there’s the fear of a complete collapse of human knowledge and science as it becomes impossible to know what to believe because so much material is nonsense made up by AI”
- China: NVIDIA reportedly is now taking distributor pre-orders for its new China-specific artificial intelligence chip, priced on par with more powerful Huawei rival product
- ‘OpenAI has built a new generative video model called Sora that can take a short text description and turn it into a detailed, hi-definition film clip up to a minute long’
- Industry majors join to launch AI-RAN Alliance aimed at integrating artificial intelligence into cellular tech to advance radio access network tech and mobile networks
- Australia: Diraq quantum firm secures $15M Series A-2 with focus into the future on development of a quantum chip produced via a standard semiconductor foundry
- Seoul National University Center for Quantum Information Science Education and US quantum tech firm, IonQ, ink agreement around developing a quantum workforce
- Online now: January 2024 round-up of critical technologies news, globally and from across Asia and the Indo-Pacific
- Australia: Pawsey Supercomputing Research Centre in WA gains NVIDIA CUDA Quantum platform, built around Grace Hopper Superchips, for quantum computing research
- Australia: A transcript of the speech by Minister for Industry & Science at the recent Quantum Australia event, outlining opportunities in the sector
- Russian scientists have built a 20-qubit quantum computer with plans for 50 qubit computing by year-end, delivering on 2021’s 5-year $790M gov’t investment
- Sweden’s ConScience AB unveils ‘Qubit-in-a-box’ device, capable of simple quantum processes and of calibrating and verifying performance of quantum computing test setups
- “…China’s leading chipmaker, predicted a ‘global supply glut’ in the types of semiconductors his company produces. Simultaneously, he announced a $7.5bn increase in capital expenditure…”
- Japan: “In June 2023, an obscure semiconductor materials supplier announced that it was set to be taken over by an investment fund in a $6.4bn deal….”
- South Korea: Rebellions AI-focused semiconductor firm raised $124M Series B, with next-gen chips targeting a price half that of NVIDIA equivalents
- “…recent RISC-V breakthroughs and applications in China, many with government funding, have raised Beijing’s hopes that the open-source standard could one day threaten the x86-Arm duopoly…”
- Taiwan: “Within just 3 square miles, Hsinchu contains
more than 150 semiconductor companies and suppliers, more than 600 manufacturers, three universities,
and more than 160,000 highly skilled full-time employees…” - China & semiconductor ‘chiplets’: “Wuxi’s government officials proposed establishing a $14 million fund to bring chiplet companies to the city, and it has already attracted a handful of domestic companies…”
- Japan: Gov’t backs research on cutting-edge fabrication tech with $300M for Leading-edge Semicon Tech Center, seeking coordination on nanotech, AI and more, and with support for Rapidus chip manufacturer
- South Korea: Ministry of SMEs & Startups launches Super Gap Startup Promotion Project plan to identify over 1000 deep-tech startups across 5 years, focusing on emerging techs including semiconductors and AI
- Japan: Rapidus semiconductor firm plans prototype production of 2nm chips by H1 2025, stepping into direct competition with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing’s 2025 2nm mass production plans
- Japan: Leading-edge Semiconductor Technology Center gains gov’t backing to as much as $300M with sights on 1.4nm chip manufacturing know-how by 2028, in partnership with Rapidus semicon firm
- NVIDIA chipmaking giant takes third most valuable US company status, overtaking Google parent Alphabet and Amazon, in large part due to ongoing global focus on AI chips
- China: “…Huawei Ascend 910B currently achieves near 80% of the performance level of Nvidia’s A100. Data-center service providers consider this chipto be the preferred alternative for domestic companies.”
- Taiwan: “…we welcome startups and talents from Europe, the United States, Japan and ASEAN, to work with Taiwan, from IC design and manufacturing to packaging and testing—the entire pipeline.”
- Japan: An overview of the factors underpinning the country’s achievements in swiftly developing a semiconductor manufacturing industry
- World Semiconductor Council writes to India’s Prime Minister raising concerns over proposed tariffs on digital commerce and transfers of chip design data
- India: An overview of 4 schemes under the $10BN Semicon India programme, aiming to secure semiconductor supply chains, create jobs and more
- Vietnam offers tax breaks and other perks to semiconductor companies under national plan to grow the country’s presence in technology manufacturing supply chains
- India: Government commences evaluation of $21BN worth of semiconductor-related proposals, both domestica and international, with gov’t set to bear half of costs
- Japan: Government-backed research group to partner Tenstorrent Inc on the design of its first advanced AI semiconductor chip, built on open-standard RISC-V architecture
- Uni of South Australia Innovation & Collab Centre and Aus Centre for Business Growth partner to launch fully-funded 6-month Growth Ramp scaleup program for space startups, backed by SA Gov’t
- Shanghai Spacecom Satellite Tech raised $943M for low Earth orbit mega-constellation of 12000 satellites, with Shanghai gov’t aiming for end-to-end space ecosystem
- China: Jielong-3, or Smart Dragon-3, vehicle launched from a mobile sea platform, delivering 9 satellites into orbit
- China: Geely automaker launched 11 satellites with aim of providing more accurate navigation for autonomous vehicles, with 72 planned to be in orbit by 2025 and a final constellation of 240
- China: Satellite launch prep underway for 3 sats focused on lunar far-side and south pole missions, testing navigation and comm’s and featuring sat-to-ground laser and microwave ranging
- Japan: An intro to SKY Perfect JSAT, set to deploy orbital lasers to deliver high-precision ground surface data via LiDAR tech, alongside laser-driven space debris removal
- “The disparity between CubeSats and small satellites is stark… Five years ago, the two categories stood on equal footing. Today, small satellites outnumber CubeSats counterparts by approximately 4 to 1.”
- China: Gov’t unveils Beijing Action Plan for Accelerating the Innovation and Development of the Commercial Space Industry 2024-2028, with sights on elements including ‘cross-border technology integration’
- Japan component of US Space Forces expected to activate this year, building on activation of South Korea component in December 2022
- South Korea: TelePix unveils NVIDIA-based AI processor geared for satellites, running 10 trillion operations per second to analyze large datasets in space in real-time
- Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency successfully launched its new H3 rocket, a delivery vehicle with a 6.5 metric ton payload capability
- Australia: Gilmour Space Technologies raised US$36M with launch vehicles and upcoming first test flight
- China: Space Circling space launch firm secures $13.9M to focus on launch vehicle engines for commercial space activities, with sights on mass production by year-end
- Download: ‘Growing and Sustaining Australia’s Space Engineering Capability and Competency – Policy Advice Paper’ from Engineering Australia (direct pdf link)
- India: Space sector set to grow with Indian cabinet approving FDI rules amendment allowing overseas investment in the sector, in some cases up to 100%
- “I understand that SpaceX is possibly withholding broadband internet services in and around Taiwan — possibly in breach of SpaceX’s contractual obligations with the U.S. government…”
- China Aerospace Science & Tech Corp unveils 2024 plans for 70 launches of more than 290 spacecraft into orbit, with further 30 or so launches by commercial launch sector
- Australia: Quasar Satellite Technologies selected as 1 of 7 companies for 13th edition of US Air Force research Catalyst Accelerator with space domain awareness innovation
- Australia: Battery manufacturing supply chain set for Queensland with agreement inked with Japan’s Idemitsu for grid-scale production of vanadium flow batteries, an alternative to lithium-ion
- Taiwan is building its own ‘Trustworthy AI Dialogue Engine’ AI model as part of $555M plan to both bolster identity and influence in the face of disinformation, and to expand into software development
- Amazon Project Kuiper constellation of over 3200 satellites to include features making it ‘highly resilient against electronic jamming, cyberattacks, and other threats’
- Malaysia: An overview of Malaysia’s position in terms of quantum technologies
- Australia: A transcript of the speech by Minister for Industry & Science at the recent Quantum Australia event, outlining opportunities in the sector
- Japan: An overview of the factors underpinning the country’s achievements in swiftly developing a semiconductor manufacturing industry
- Australia: Nickel to be added to critical minerals list in response to global price drops, with mining firms set to gain from funding support boost
- Australia: Japan’s NEC conglomerate and Canada’s D-Wave launch two quantum tech services for the Australian market, featuring cloud access to quantum computing alongside consultancy services
- South Korea: Rebellions Inc raised $124M to ramp up development of next-gen AI chips
- China: Nvidia reportedly is now taking distributor pre-orders for its new China-specific artificial intelligence chip, priced on par with more powerful Huawei rival product
- Intel, Japan’s NTT and South Korea’s SK Hynix partner on next-gen photonics chips, allowing communication using light instead of using electrons, with sights on semiconductor integration
- “Prices of NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 4090… are soaring across Asian markets as people are willing to pay hefty sums of cash for them and then resell them in China or Hong Kong at a higher price…”
- US-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework comes into effect Feb 24 with 13 countries participating to mitigate supply chain disruptions, ensuring each can access critical items and minerals
- India: Taiwan’s Taisys preps for $100M investment in India subsidiary to focus on semiconductor design and production for the auto and electric vehicle sectors
- Japan: Softbank Group founder reportedly exploring establishment of $100BN AI chip company, Project Izanagi, with sights on similar industry standing to NVIDIA, Intel and AMD
- South Korea: DeepX nears $90M funding with specialized AI-focused semiconductors, working with Hyundai Kia Motors Robotics Lab and others to enter mass production
- China: Gov’t initiates national China All-Solid-State Battery Collaborative Innovation Platform program to dominate solid-state battery supply chains, with 6 of the top 10 global auto battery makers involved
- Y Combinator rolls out list of 20 new sectors it aims to focus on for startup investment, including robotics, stablecoin finance, defense and space-tech
- Australia: Space Machines preps for launch of Australia’s largest private satellite to provide orbital logistics and services to maintain, refuel, repair and decommission satellites and other spacecraft
- North Korea’s first spy satellite, Malligyong-1, is believed now to be live following orbit changes detected that suggest Pyongyang has control of the craft
- “In 2022, the bulk of its research and development engineers were based in China but [Taiwan’s] Alchip has begun moving roles overseas, many to Japan…”
- Australia: A quick intro to 7 of the country’s tech startups that collectively raised $10M in the week to Feb 8, working on decarbonization, health-tech, quantum computing and more
- Samsung wins its first 2nm AI chip order from Japan’s Preferred Networks Inc in switch from PFN’s past TSMC supply of advanced chips
- Taiwan: More on the Asia Silicon Valley 3.0 plan and its goals for the IoT industry in particular, with a 2022 output value in Taiwan estimated to be $67.2 billion
Video: ‘Inside Micron Taiwan’s Semiconductor Factory’, part 1 of a 5-part series looking at Taiwan’s cutting-edge mega-factories
Critical technology: January 2024
- ‘Rare earth magnet production looks set to advance in the US and Europe in 2024 with market participants outside of China seeking to secure and onshore the supply chain…’
- France’s Tiamat sodium-ion battery tech startup gains €22M backing with plans for a 5 GWh Gigafactory in France, focused entirely on manufacturing sodium-ion battery cells
- “Millions of electric car batteries will retire in the next decade…
By one estimate, more than 12M tons of lithium-ion batteries are expected to retire between now and 2030″ - Available to download: ‘Quantum Economy Blueprint’, a January 2024 Insight Report from the World Economic Forum
- Global semiconductor industry outlook for 2024, results from an annual survey conducted by KPMG and the Global Semiconductor Alliance
- Semiconductor Engineering’s December 2023 round-up of semicon company funding
- Intel steps to compete with Qualcomm, NVIDIA with coming launch of auto versions of latest AI-enabled chips, alongside acquiring Frances’ Silicon Mobility for system-on-chip hard/software for EVs
- US Space Development Agency unveils 3 suppliers to build and operate 54 infrared-equipped satellites tasked with tracking hypersonic missiles in all phases of flight
- Starlink satellites launched to deliver Direct to Cell capabilities for T-Mobile customers, with carriers in Japan, Australia, New Zealand and others set to take part
- Starlink Mini Dish reportedly launching later this year, a portable unit small enough to fit into a backpack
- KPMG Supply Chain Trends 2024: “Through 2024, 50% of supply chain organizations will invest in applications that support artificial intelligence and advanced analytics capabilities…”
- China: BYD EV auto-maker commences construction of its first sodium-ion batteries factory, just weeks after partnership announcement
- Australia: Gov’t assigns $22M in grant funding for 3 critical minerals research projects aiming to develop ‘knowledge, technology and IP on critical mineral extraction and processing’
- China-DR Congo Sicomines copper and cobalt joint venture formalizes agreement, with China to invest up to $7BN in mining infrastructure projects
- China: “The future prospects of the low-altitude economy are vast, potentially reaching trillion-dollar industry scales significantly sooner than that of autonomous vehicles…”
- Solid-state batteries: “…’extremely challenging’ to mass-produce
solid-state batteries to the same quality as current lithium-ion batteries, but if achieved, the tech will be ‘globally unbeatable‘” - Taiwan’s ProLogium EV battery maker to mass-produce in France in 2027; and partners Germany’s Mercedes-Benz for joint development of solid-state batteries
- US gov’t launched ‘Framework to Counter Foreign State Information Manipulation’ to develop shared knowledge with allies and partners to deliver coordinated responses to foreign info manipulation
- “Researchers programmed various large language models (LLMs)… to behave maliciously… regardless of the training technique or size of the model the LLMs continued to misbehave. One technique even backfired…”
- ‘Welcome to the era of AI nationalism – Sovereigns the world over are racing to control their technological destinies’, in The Economist
- Microsoft and US Dept of Energy lab used AI to create a material potentially able to reduce lithium use by 70%, with battery prototype taking months to produce instead of decades
- India and Argentina sign agreement for exploration and mining of lithium, with India accessing over 15000 hectares of Argentine ‘lithium blocks’
- India: A brief overview of the nation’s moves to secure and develop a lithium supply chain
- Taiwan: National Science & Tech Council announces goal of producing the nation’s first quantum computer by 2027, meeting targets set in 2022’s $258M quantum tech plan
- India: National Quantum Mission calls for proposals to establish 4 technology hubs to focus on communications, computing, metrology and sensing, and materials
- “According to the International Energy Agency, demand for rare earth elements is expected to reach 3 to 7 times current levels by 2040; demand for other critical minerals such as lithium may multiply 40-fold.”
- India: An overview of the country’s moves to become quantum technology-ready in 2024, growing around the $735 million National Quantum Mission
- Taiwan: Academia Sinica research institute connected a domestically-developed quantum computer to the internet, country’s first, offering 5 qubits as a test bed for university collaboration projects
- Australia: Element Zero raised $10M with zero-carbon minerals processing tech, using renewable energy
- Russia and China report new quantum milestone with establishment of communications between the two countries, encrypted using secure keys transmitted by China’s Mozi quantum satellite
- Russian senator: “… the Central Bank is ‘turning a blind eye’ to firms that use crypto as a payment tool in international trade” with traders using crypto assets alongside currencies such as Emirati dirham and Chinese yuan
- Malaysia’s MEASAT satellite solutions provider signs with SpaceX to become authorised Starlink reseller, with MEASAT currently serving 130 countries across Asia, Africa, Europe & Australia
- China’s SEIDA, a case study in why containment efforts around access to high-end technologies is so challenging to implement, maintain and develop
- Malaysia: “…has an established presence in chip assembly, packaging and testing as well as electronics manufacturing services, producing 13 per cent of global back-end semiconductor output.”
- The Netherlands’ ASML global semiconductor manufacturing equipment giant canceled export of chip-making machines to China, partly in response to US-led tech controls
- China: EpicMEMS raises circa $28M with RF chips focus – used in smartphones, tablets, IoT devices, communication networks and more – taking 3-year funding to at least $100M
- US-China research team makes chip breakthrough, producing world-first semiconductor constructed from graphene, potentially a leap forward in computing beyond traditional silicon chips
- Japan: Toshiba and Rohm semiconductor firm join for gov’t-supported $2.7BN development and manufacture of power devices, dovetailing with moves towards tech self-sufficiency
- India: Tamil Nadu Semiconductor & Advanced Electronics Policy 2024 to allow chip design entities to be eligible for payroll reimbursement if they employ Tamil Nadu residents, in bid for manufacturing base
- India: Infosys IT services major to acquire Bengaluru’s InSemi semiconductor design and services provider for around 433M, looking to develop Infosys’ chip-to-cloud strategy
- India: Micron US tech giant and NAMTECH – New Age Makers Institute of Tech education initiative join to grow a globally-competitive talent pool as part of the India Semiconductor Mission
- Singapore’s Temasek-owned Accuron acquired France’s Recif Technologies, a company specialising in design, manufacture and instal of robotic equipment for semiconductor wafer-handling
- Taiwan’s TSMC to mass produce next-generation 2nm chips for Apple in 2025, with prototype already presented
- ‘Taiwan’s president-elect faces growing challenges with its chip industry – Lai Ching-te and semiconductor makers need to deal with escalating domestic and geopolitical issues’ via TechCrunch
- South Korea: Gov’t unveils $471BN private sector investment blueprint for 13 new chip plants and 3 R&D facilities, adding to 21 existing facilities, targeting 7.7M wafers monthly by 2030
- OpenAI CEO Altman is in talks around building a global network of AI-focused chip factories, with Abu Dhabi’s G42 and Japan’s SoftBank in early discussions
- More on South Korea’s proposed semiconductor mega-cluster development, set to cover 21M square meters whilst creating 3.46 million jobs
- OpenAI CEO Altman adds Taiwan’s TSMC to list of companies in discussions around building a global network of AI-focused chip manufacturing facilities
- China: Researchers claim to have slowed speed of electrons in light-based photonic chips, boosting efficiency and reducing signall loss
- China: Biren Technology, China’s competitor to NVIDIA in chip design, sees second co-founder resign without official statement, raising concerns over Biren’s Hong Kong IPO ambitions
- Taiwan Semiconductor Research Institute and Finland’s IQM Quantum Computers ink MOU for hardware purchase, knowledge-sharing, technical support and more
- US Gov’t proposes US cloud firms be required to determine whether foreign entities are accessing US data centers to train AI models, widening chip restrictions to include services run on the chips themselves
- Space Solar Power Demonstrator project marks successful test, beaming solar power to Earth from a satellite
- India: Gov’t space agency successfully launches orbital observatory to study astronomical objects including black holes
- China: Geely auto firm to launch 11 sats in early 2024, adding to 9 launched in June 2023 and targeting 72-sat constellation, ostensibly for integrated terrestrial-space ‘smart travel’ system
- Download: ‘India’s booming space economy – Opportunities for downstream spacetech’ from Deloitte
- ICYMI: Starlink satellites launched to deliver Direct to Cell capabilities for T-Mobile customers, with carriers in Japan, Australia, New Zealand and others set to take part
- China: Launch pad at Hainan Commercial Launch Site was completed December 29th, the first of 2 pads to host liquid propellant launch vehicles and aiming to speed constellation launch schedules
- China: Orienspace’s Gravity-1 rocket launches via mobile sea platform, delivering 3 satellites using launcher and propellant capable of more than double the previous heaviest
- Japan’s Marubeni conglomerate backs Italy’s D-Orbit space logistics firm in $100M funding round to further develop in-orbit servicing, transport and debris cleaning
- ICYMI: Starlink Mini Dish reportedly launching later this year, a portable unit small enough to fit into a backpack
- Japan: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries-built satellite enters orbit primarily to gather national security intelligence, but with remit to also monitor the scope of major natural disasters
- Japan’s SLIM moon lander enters lower lunar orbit in preparation for January 19th landing attempt – livestream takes place via
- China: CAS Space, aka Zhongke Aerospace Exploration Tech Co, plans larger-scale liquid propellant launcher for 2025 capable of delivering 7800kg to sun-synchronous orbit, or 12000kg to low Earth orbit
- Japan’s ‘Smart Lander for Investigating Moon’ successfully achieved landing, but overall mission now uncertain due to problems with solar panels
- China: Orienspace orbital rocket developer raised near $84M from state backers, looking to roll out reusable launch vehicles in 2025, and orders secured to ‘launch several hundred satellites’
- Indian Space Research Organization sets sights on minimum of 12 space missions through 2024, with NASA satellite collaboration and Venus study mission in development
- Australian Space Agency seeks expressions of interest for discussions on niche Australian technology capabilities, with submissions closing February 14th
- Taiwan Space Agency to launch incubation center in H2 2024 to attract and develop domestic and international space industry firms, leveraging Taiwan’s manufacturing supply chains
- Singtel adds Starlink satellite comm’s to digital options for ship owners and operatorsseeing benefits of advanced tech in improved safety, operational efficiencies, fuel consumption and more
- Meta to allow EU users to unlink personal information from Instagram, Facebook, Messenger and other services in early response to EU implementation of Digital Markets Act
- China: ‘Digital yuan’ crime starts to emerge with theft of $1.4M in cash from more than 900 digital yuan accounts, simply using ATM machine CBDC functions
- “With estimates showing the EU’s mining industry is 15 years behind Beijing and a staggering 98% of Europe’s rare earth metals are imported from China, there is a lot of ground for the EU to make up.”
- Indonesia: China’s BYD electric vehicle maker to invest $1.3BN to build a manufacturing plant in Indonesia, targeting production capacity of 150,000 units
- University of Tokyo, Seoul Nat’l University and University of Chicago have entered into a trilateral technology partnership to train a quantum-focused workforce and strengthen collective competitiveness
- Taiwan’s TSMC outlined its tech roadmap for 2nm, 1.4nm, and 1nm chip processes, alongside plans to put a trillion chips on a semicon package using multiple 3D-stacked chiplets
- Japan: Taiwan’s TSMC to formally open its first Japan semiconductor facility in February, set to produce chips at 28nm scale to cater to auto and consumer electronics sectors
- “Huawei’s HiSilicon Kirin 9006C system-on-chip in the Qingyun L540 laptop was made by TSMC using its 5nm-class process technology and assembled around the third quarter of 2020…”
- An overview of Taiwan’s Neuchips Inc, presenting at CES 2024, introducing Neuchips’ scaleable AI ‘accelerator’ chips, built on TSMC’s 7nm process and capable of 200 trillion operations per second
- India: Tata Group close to finalising plans for a semiconductor manufacturing plant in Gujarat state, alongside plans for a 20GW lithium-ion batteries factory
- China’s pursuit of processing power: “…one of the factories told the source that he had been responsible for disassembling more than 4000 NVIDIA GeForce graphics cards in December alone.”
- India: Taiwan’s Foxconn partners HCL Group IT consultancy major for JV to establish a semiconductor assembly and testing facility
- Vietnam: 15 US firms, reportedly including chips firms, interested in investing up to $8BN in Vietnam with a focus on clean energy infrastructure, contingent on renewable energy regulation
- South Korea: Customs busts 3-year chip smuggling operation focused on China market, impounding 53,000 dual-use chips worth $11.6M
- India: Vodafone Idea states rumours around tie-up talks with Elon Musk’s Starlink are not accurate, seeing share values fall after initial 21% surge
- Online now: December 2023’s round-up of critical technologies news items, spanning space launch & satellites, critical minerals, cybersecurity, semiconductors and the supply chains that underpin them
- Singtel adds Starlink satellite comm’s to digital options for ship owners and operators, seeing benefits of advanced tech in improved safety, operational efficiencies, fuel consumption and more
- Taiwan announces plans for first lunar mission, with Deep Space Radiation Probe potentially to launch in Q4 aboard Japanese lander
- Australia: CSIRO Next Generation Graduates Program to fund more than 160 postgrad students in emerging technologies, quantum and AI with dedicated opportunities for regional students
- High-capacity undersea link connecting Sydney & Melbourne to New Zealand’s Invercargill is planned, connecting with planned Invercargill hyperscale data center
CSIS: Space and airborne sensors for hypersonic missile defense
Asian tech news: Other platforms
- Daily – LinkedIn / Twitter/X / Facebook
- Newsletters – weekly on LinkedIn / Substack
- Monthly collections – SE Asia / Indo-Pacific
- Asia tech, quarterly – 3 months per country
- Critical technologies – global, monthly, quarterly
