Karen Hao

https://lnkd.in/gisAWk5r A joint research team from Seoul National University Hospital (SNUH) and NAVER Corp has developed an artificial intelligence (AI) model capable of simultaneously assessing an individual’s biological age and health risks based on routine health check-up data.

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My commentary on rare back-to-back speeches on US, Chinese AI strategies: Senior US and Chinese officials outlined sharply contrasting strategies for global AI leadership at an APEC event, with the US emphasizing technological dominance and China promoting multilateral cooperation. South Korea, as host, highlighted its role as a diplomatic mediator by facilitating the creation of a new APEC AI ministerial meeting at a time when major countries are engaged in deep geopolitical ambitions to shape global AI norms and infrastructure. 🔗 Full MLex story 👉 https://lnkd.in/gxFE6e2q #MLexAI #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #China #US #Trump #Xi #SouthKorea #APEC

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Last week, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Colley Hwang, founder and chairman of DIGITIMES, and Prof. Sung Soo (Eric) Kim, CEO of Datacrunch Global, for an in-depth conversation on the fierce competition in the semiconductor industry, cross-border collaboration, and the unfolding AI supercycle. Their straightforward perspective on Samsung’s comeback efforts in both HBM and foundry stood out — a candid, sometimes critical assessment of how the Korean tech giant is navigating the global chip race. 👉 Check out the full interview below.

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Dan Wang's latest book Breakneck - China's Quest to Engineer the Future just came out today. Just by reading the first few pages I can see why this has been so anticipated, and I really look forward to reading further on. I'd like to share this from the intro, that I feel is spot on, and of course something you've heard me say before. "Europeans have a sense of optimism only about the past, stuck in their mausoleum economy because they are too sniffy to embrace American or Chinese practices. And the rest of the world is either too mature or too young to match the impact of these two superpowers. It is Americans and Chinese—Silicon Valley, Shenzhen, Wall Street, and Beijing—that will determine what people everywhere will think and what they will buy They are not the only two countries in the world that matter. Far from it. But if we don’t understand how the United States and China function and interact, then in large part we won’t quite understand many of the biggest changes in the world. The two countries are reconfiguring the international order and each other too. Seeing China more clearly—its dazzling strengths, appalling weaknesses, and everything in between—also helps us to see America more clearly." The problem is that, for a very large part, and at least in Denmark, we're focused primarily on the US and heavily ignoring China. Chinese language classes are disappearing both from high schools and universities. Actually presence in China is being neglected and not priorizted by Danish media. And spaces for dialogue and collaboration are also diminishing. It all adds up to a lack of understanding of China and thus, following Wang, a lack of understand of the biggest changes we're seeing in the world. Our ignorance of China will come back and bite us in the ass, and I sincerely hope the current sentiment will change. Better understanding of China does not equal condoning, but it does equal better foundation for strategy, collaboration and competition.

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https://lnkd.in/g-YcdVmx The research by Professor Geoffrey Hinton, a Nobel laureate, lays the foundation of today's machine learning. He speaks with me in detail about why we should seize the window of time to prevent the potential risks of AI and the areas where China US collaboration is still possible.

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MiniMax is considering an initial public offering in Hong Kong, people familiar with the situation said, in what would be a landmark industry debut for a Chinese AI startup valued at about $3 billion. MiniMax, one of the country’s so-called AI Dragons or Tigers, could aim to list as soon as this year, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is confidential. The Shanghai-based company has hired financial advisers for the IPO, they said.

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At Beijing's inaugural World #Humanoid #Robot Games last August, state-backed Beijing Innovation Center of Humanoid Robotics (X-Humanoid) scored big. Its bipedal bot, Tien Kung Ultra, won the 100-meter dash, while its wheel-based Tian Yi took gold in factory-simulated contest. Behind the bots’ performances lay a critical piece of technology: their “eyes.” These advanced 3D vision sensors were developed by Orbbec, an under-the-radar company based Shenzhen. The technology enables robots to perceive depth as humans do, allowing them to navigate complex environments and interact with their surroundings. The company’s chairman and CEO, Howard Huang, is aiming for a lofty goal. “We want to give robots vision capabilities that surpass those of humans,” he says. Founded by Huang in 2013, Orbbec started out making vision sensors for use in 3D scanning and biometrics. Its specialty is cameras that capture both color and depth and are used for close-to-mid range tasks such as scanning faces and identifying objects. The company also makes lidar sensors, which are used for long-range tasks such as navigation. Both types of sensors are embedded individually or combined in a range of #robotics, from industrial robots, autonomous mobile robots and robotic arms to self-driving cars, drones and, more recently, #AI-powered humanoids. Driven by government support and the rise of homegrown AI startups like DeepSeek and Unitree Robotics, China’s robotics boom has sent Orbbec’s Shanghai-listed shares soaring. The stock has more than doubled over the past year, giving Huang a net worth of $1.6 billion as of late January. Among Orbbec's prominent customers is Ant Group's Alipay, which uses its cameras for facial recognition in contactless payments. In robotics, the company supplies mostly service-bot makers, including China’s Pudu Robotics and Gausium Official, as well as South Korea's Robocare, which makes human-care bots. Based on units sold, Orbbec claims 70% of the market for 3D vision sensors for mobile service robotics in both China and South Korea. But these days, Huang is laser-focused on humanoids, expected to emerge as the largest robot category long term. Orbbec’s client roster has a steadily increasing number of humanoid manufacturers. Besides X-Humanoid, it supplies AGIBOT, Ant-backed Stardust Intelligence, Ant’s own Robbyant unit and UBTECH Robotics, all based in China. 🤖 🔗 How A Chinese Engineer Became A Billionaire Making Robotic ‘Eyes’ (https://lnkd.in/gs3wk3ks)

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I spoke with Yann LeCun, one of the true pioneers of modern AI and a well known contrarian voice in the field. His new startup, AMI - Advanced Machine Intelligence, has raised about $1 billion in a “seed” round from a globally distributed group of investors across the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Nvidia is there, as it almost always is whenever a new frontier AI lab appears. Alongside Nvidia are Jeff Bezos and Eric Schmidt, as well as major Asian investors such as Toyota Ventures, Samsung Electronics, Sea, SBVA, and Temasek. AMI stands for “friend” in French. It works on world models built on the JEPA architecture, designed to learn common sense about the world by learning abstract representations, enabling machines to understand how the world works and anticipate the consequences of actions. AMI currently has just a dozen people, yet the company’s post money valuation is around $4.5 billion, implying roughly $375 million of value per employee. This reflects that prominent researchers alongside LeCun are willing to bet against the current LLM dominated paradigm. Saining Xie serves as chief scientist, while Min Lin has been recruited to lead the Singapore office. Another unusual is the geographic and financial positioning. Not only did AMI avoid locating itself in Silicon Valley, but none of its investors are typical Silicon Valley VCs. This is consistent with LeCun’s long standing skepticism toward groupthink in the AI industry. He said, compared with the hundreds of billions of dollars currently pouring into LLMs, a $1 billion bet on exploring world models is not a bubble at all. Instead, he sees it as a necessary attempt to push AI toward human level intelligence, which he expects will take a long time. Full article here: EN) https://lnkd.in/gDrxQsPF JP) https://lnkd.in/gk3YY9nv

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We’ve all heard about big names like Unitree, UBTECH Robotics and other leading AI and robotics companies. My colleague Yew Guan Tan went to Hangzhou to chat with Unitree. But in a market with more than 6,000 tech firms, how are smaller players holding up? I spoke to a Wuhan-based company (FengKe Robot Technology) that rents out robots to commercial clients while developing its own software, the “brains” that enable these machines to interact with people and their surroundings. Industry observer Tilly Zhang shared that while humanoid robots are impressive, their real-world use cases are still unclear. This echoes sentiments from policymakers at China’s Two Sessions: it’s not just the hardware, but the underlying technology that truly matters. On the ground, public sentiment is cautiously optimistic. Many people I spoke to are already comfortable with certain forms of AI, like ChatGPT, and everyday robotics, such as robot vacuums. That said, there’s still some way to go before caregiver or household helper robots, for example, become a common sight. Read: https://lnkd.in/gFfcZmpd Watch: https://lnkd.in/g-Se9hei #AI #tech #robots #twosessions

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If you want to use AI to do reasoning in Chinese, which model should you use? 🤔🇨🇳 Our professor and researchers🎓took the time to review 36 large language models and found that when it comes to reasoning in Chinese: - GPT-o3 topped the basic logic ability assessment 🧠✅ - Gemini 2.5 Flash took the lead in the contextual reasoning ability assessment 🔍⚡ - For overall reasoning capability, Doubao 1.5 Pro (Thinking) ranked first 🥇🤖, followed closely by Chat GPT-5 🥈💡 #ArtificialIntelligence #ChineseLanguage #LinkedInTech

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Thailand is making a bold move toward AI sovereignty with the launch of its first Thai large language model (LLM), a collaboration between the National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA) and Siam AI Corporation. Backed by a 300-million-baht investment, this initiative is set to redefine Thailand’s digital infrastructure by creating an AI model that deeply understands Thai context, language, and culture. With one of Asia’s most advanced AI computing infrastructures, Thailand joins China, Japan, and South Korea in pioneering native LLM development, strengthening its position in global AI innovation. This milestone will not only accelerate AI adoption across industries but also lay the foundation for next-generation applications, from autonomous systems to intelligent digital services. As Thailand steps into the AI frontier, this initiative presents an exciting opportunity to drive localized AI development, enhance economic competitiveness, and shape the future of Thai digital transformation. #SiamAI #NSTDA# Nectec# LLM #NaverCloud https://lnkd.in/gTG-JfUu

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China’s sustained investment in science, engineering and technology is pulling it ahead globally, while the United States cuts research funding and hollow-outs its scientific workforce. By: Alex Lo https://lnkd.in/gignZQ_u

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It was a great opportunity to interview Prof. Heiwei Tang and discuss Hong Kong’s financial development, especially regarding trade finance and intellectual property. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gVu6rjsV https://lnkd.in/g8c5fCdK #HKU #HONGKONG #tradefinance #IP

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Big news for Gobi Partners, #HKUST and #HKIC as they continue to support university researchers in Hong Kong that are fast-tracking biotech, industry 4.0, AI & robotics and fintech projects toward commercialization.

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Vietnam has long been considered a powerhouse in blockchain and digital asset innovation, yet a stark paradox persisted: major projects shunned domestic registration. Sky Mavis (Axie Infinity), Coin98, Kyber Network, Tomochain... chose Singapore or other havens for their legal entities. A foggy legal landscape lacking clear regulations, licensing, and protections for blockchain models, diverting capital overseas and hampering Vietnam’s digital economy ascent. 🇻🇳 But change is afoot. Hanoi is rolling out decisive policies to sync with global trends, crafting a solid legal framework that boosts operations and investor trust. 🚀 At the recent GM Vietnam event by SSI Digital and Kyros Ventures, State Bank Deputy Governor Pham Tien Dung spotlighted three core pillars: financial center resolutions enabling digital asset exchanges, a Finance Ministry pilot for crypto platforms, and the Digital Technology Industry Law defining digital assets for the first time. Read my story at: https://lnkd.in/g4CE9KBZ

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Elon Musk's xAI is set to lose two more cofounders Zihang Dai left xAI earlier this week and Guodong Zhang has said he plans to leave in the coming days, according to people with knowledge of the issue. Zhang oversees Grok Imagine and Grok Code and presented at the company's all-hands last month alongside Toby Pohlen, who has also left. If you're counting, that's 9 out of the 11 engineers that helped found the company alongside Musk who have said they're leaving or have left already. Read my full scoop at Business Insider: https://lnkd.in/eVv2R3sD

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Excellent story by the WSJ's Jiyoung Sohn and Yang Jie about why foreign companies (like Hyundai) send their own workers to oversee factory construction projects, and why it is becoming a more nettlesome proposition: https://lnkd.in/gc2hAXjw

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