Technology News
Latest technology news and updates
Total: 510
AI's Bubble‑Tea Blitz: Alibaba's Qianwen Floods Shops with Millions of Low‑Cost Orders
Alibaba’s Qianwen used a RMB 3 billion subsidy campaign to drive an early wave of AI‑powered shopping, triggering more than 10 million orders in nine hours and overwhelming some bubble‑tea shops and couriers. The promotion succeeded at user acquisition but exposed technical glitches, uneven merchant economics and limits in AI recommendations when customers sought novelty.
Big Tech’s $660bn AI Gamble Sparks Market Panic as Investors Question the Payoff
Big U.S. tech companies plan roughly $660 billion of AI-related capital spending in 2026, triggering a sharp market sell-off despite strong revenue growth. Investors worry the large, front-loaded investments will lengthen return timelines and concentrate risk, while Apple’s lower-spend, partnership-led approach has been rewarded.
Beijing Defines Three Types of Data-Market Intermediaries to Accelerate ‘AI+’ Growth
China has for the first time set out three formal categories of data-market intermediaries—data exchanges, specialised platform firms and data merchants—and encouraged novel trading models to accelerate AI development. The guidance balances market-building with security and financial oversight, aiming to professionalise dataset supply while strengthening governance.
SpaceX Reportedly Puts Mars on Hold to Prioritise an Unmanned Moon Landing
Cailian reports that SpaceX has told investors it will delay an in‑year Mars launch and concentrate on an uncrewed lunar landing targeted for March 2027. The shift responds to technical priorities, regulatory nudges from Washington and the company’s broader commercial and fundraising context, while leaving long‑term plans for Mars intact but deferred.
China’s Tech Tightening: Kuaishou Hit with Rmb119m Fine as App-Store Blitzes and Supply Squeezes Reshape the Sector
Beijing’s Cyberspace Administration fined Kuaishou Rmb119.1 million for failures in curbing pornographic content, prompting an apology and a pledged overhaul of internal controls. The same day, Alibaba’s Qianwen app topped Apple’s free chart after an enormous milk‑tea giveaway, illustrating the collision between viral user‑acquisition tactics and intensifying regulatory and platform oversight.
China’s Internet Regulator Slaps Kuaishou with Rmb119.1m Fine, Orders Urgent Content Rectification
China’s cyberspace regulator fined Kuaishou Rmb119.1m for failing to remove illegal content and ordered the company to make corrections within a set period. The move underscores Beijing’s ongoing push for tighter platform governance and raises the cost of rapid-engagement business models that rely on high-volume, real-time user content.
China Orders Network of National 'Compute' Hubs to Accelerate AI and Industrial Digitisation
China's MIIT has instructed the construction of regional and industry interconnection nodes to standardise and accelerate the sharing of computing power across the country. The policy sets capital and licensing thresholds that channel build-and-operate roles to well‑funded construction entities and licenced telecom or cloud operators, shaping which firms will supply national AI and industrial compute services.
Chinese Regulator Slaps Kuaishou with ¥119.1m Fine After Pornographic Live-Stream Attack — A Test of Platform Governance
Beijing authorities fined Kuaishou ¥119.1 million for failing to stop a coordinated surge of pornographic live streams that exploited technical vulnerabilities on December 22, 2025. The penalty, imposed under China’s Cybersecurity Law, highlights both Kuaishou’s short-term security lapses and deeper strategic strains amid fierce competition from Douyin and Video Accounts.
China’s Changfei Advances Raises >¥1bn to Back Domestic Silicon‑Carbide Push
Changfei Advanced has raised over ¥1 billion in an A+ round led by provincial and industry funds to expand its silicon‑carbide power‑semiconductor capabilities across the value chain. The financing reflects strategic backing from both public capital and an automaker‑linked fund, underscoring China’s push to localise a critical EV and renewable‑energy component.
Tesla Sets Up an AI Training Hub in China as Autonomy Goes Local
Tesla has opened an AI training centre in China to perform local model training for its driver‑assist and China‑specific AI features, a step aimed at improving product fit and regulatory compliance. The company did not disclose the facility’s compute capacity, leaving open how extensively it plans to scale local training.
Musk Warns of an AI Power Crunch — and Suggests Moving GPU Farms to Space
Elon Musk warned that skyrocketing GPU production could outpace electricity supply, potentially leaving large AI clusters unable to power up. He suggested that space-based data centres might become economically attractive if terrestrial power capacity fails to keep pace, a claim that highlights broader tensions between AI compute demand and grid capabilities.
Musk’s Three‑Hour Blueprint: Space Data‑centres, Robot Factories and a Stark Warning on China’s Manufacturing Lead
In a three‑hour interview Elon Musk argued that the next phase of AI will be decided by where compute is powered and who makes the machines. He envisions orbital solar‑powered data centres and humanoid robots that can build more robots as the key levers, while warning that China’s manufacturing depth and rising power output present a structural challenge to the United States.