Technology News
Latest technology news and updates
Total: 510
Loss‑making Satellite Internet Firm Bets 2.8bn RMB on Rocket Factory and Radar Constellation to Scale Launch Capacity to 20 Rockets a Year
Hangtian Hongtu has signed a 2.8 billion yuan aerospace project in Suzhou, Anhui, to build a LOX‑methane rocket manufacturing base and a compute‑enabled radar satellite constellation, aiming for an eventual annual output of 20 rockets. The expansion comes as the company endures multi‑year losses and seeks international contracts, highlighting both the industrialisation of China's commercial space sector and the financial risks of rapid scaling.
Honor and Pop Mart Tap Collectible Fandom with MOLLY‑Themed Limited Edition Phone
Honor has released a MOLLY‑themed limited edition of its 500 Pro smartphone in partnership with Pop Mart, combining custom hardware styling and system animations with collectible IP to drive sales. Priced at ¥4,499 (¥3,999 after subsidy) and on sale 25 January, the device underscores a wider industry trend of using cultural collaborations to attract younger buyers in a crowded Chinese smartphone market.
OpenAI's Hardware Gamble: First Device Planned for 2026 as It Seeks Control of the AI Endpoint
OpenAI plans to ship its first hardware device in 2026, signalling a strategic move to control the AI endpoint and diversify revenue beyond cloud services. The launch raises technical, commercial and regulatory challenges but could reshape competition between model builders and incumbent tech hardware ecosystems.
OpenAI Signals First Consumer Hardware for Late 2026 as It Pushes Beyond Software
OpenAI told Davos it is likely to unveil its first consumer hardware in the second half of 2026, though no firm commitment or details were provided. The move would extend the company's push beyond software and subscriptions into tangible products, amplifying revenue diversification, supply-chain and regulatory challenges.
Zhonghaida Says Its IMUs Give Robots Real‑Time 3D Posture Data — A Quiet Step into Robotics Supply
Zhonghaida (300177.SZ) told investors that its inertial measurement units provide robots with real‑time 3D attitude sensing, supporting balance and movement. The brief disclosure signals the company’s role as a sensor supplier to the growing Chinese robotics industry, but it stops short of detailing product grades, customers or commercial impact.
Hisense Says RGB-Mini LED Marks a Shift from Spec Wars to User Value — and China Leads the Charge
At a January event, Hisense executive Liu Weijie argued that RGB‑Mini LED — a colour‑direct backlight technology — resolves long‑standing tradeoffs between image quality, energy efficiency and eye health. He said the technology’s long path to industrialisation creates durable barriers that have allowed Chinese firms to move from imitators to ecosystem leaders, and signalled a broader industry pivot from specifications to user value.
Google’s Gemini Surge Fuels Cloud Demand — 85 Billion API Calls and 8 Million Enterprise Users Tighten GCP’s Competitive Grip
Gemini usage has surged, with API calls topping about 85 billion and enterprise subscriptions reaching around 8 million, driving higher demand for Google Cloud compute and services. This adoption strengthens Google’s ability to monetize AI through cloud infrastructure sales while raising margin, competition and regulatory questions.
Meme App Sparks an AI-Fuelled App Gold Rush — Cheap to Build, Hard to Monetise
A viral Chinese meme app has ignited a rush to build lightweight, single‑purpose apps, with traditional development quoted at about RMB4,000–6,000 and AI tools able to produce basic apps in minutes. The trend lowers technical barriers and increases experimentation, but also risks market saturation, hidden compliance costs, and fragile AI‑generated code.
Dating‑app Romance Leads to Fake Energy‑Trading Investment — 10 Arrested in Cross‑Province Bust
A woman in Lixian was conned of 380,000 yuan after meeting a man on the dating app TanTan and being lured into a fake petroleum‑trading investment. Police arrested ten suspects in coordinated raids and say the gang may have stolen more than 10 million yuan from multiple victims.
Musk Doubles Down on Optimus: Tesla’s Bid to Become a Robot Company — Hype or Strategic Pivot?
Elon Musk says Tesla is “very likely” to evolve into a robotics company centred on the Optimus humanoid, asserting the business could dwarf Tesla’s current automotive operations. The claim follows weak global car sales and regulatory pressure on Tesla’s driving software, but turning a prototype humanoid into a mass‑market product faces steep technical, economic and regulatory hurdles.
Musk’s Nine‑Month Chip Gamble: Tesla’s Bid to Outiterate Nvidia — and Take AI to Space
Elon Musk has unveiled an aggressive multi‑year AI chip roadmap that pledges a new Tesla chip generation every nine months, from AI5 for cars to an eventual space‑deployed AI7. The plan leverages Tesla’s vertical integration and fleet data but faces steep fabrication, validation and regulatory hurdles that make timely delivery uncertain.
As Models Mature, Chinese AI Firms Put Data — Not Parameters — at the Centre of Industrialisation
At the 2026 AIGC Developers Conference, Hangzhou Cangjie Intelligent’s CEO argued that industrial AI’s bottleneck is data, not models. Companies that build scalable, task‑structured, reusable data systems will gain the competitive moats required to deploy AI in manufacturing, robotics and embodied systems.