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Innovation

China’s BrainCo unveils mind-to-robot platform at World AI Conference

Hangzhou-based firm says users can control robots using only their thoughts via EEG headsets, marking a leap in embodied AI tech It comes as global technology firms are racing to develop powerful embodied AI systems, where artificial intelligence is integrated into physical machines, such as robots, which would allow them to perceive, reason and interact with the physical world. According to BrainCo, its platform works by capturing brain signals via an electroencephalogram (EEG) headset worn by the user. AI-based algorithms then decode these neural signals to identify the user’s intentions, translating them directly into robotic actions. The platform is compatible with a wide range of third-party hardware, including humanoid robots, robotic arms and robotic dogs, the company said. For example, a robotic arm can be directed to grasp a cup and pick up an apple based solely on brain signals.

July 17, 2026

Innovation

Moonshot AI unveils world’s largest open-source AI model as China narrows gap with US rivals

Kimi K3 is designed for long-horizon coding, knowledge work and reasoning tasks, according to a blog post by Moonshot AI Chinese start-up Moonshot AI has launched the world’s largest open-source artificial intelligence model, claiming to outperform leading US systems from Anthropic and OpenAI in some capabilities, as domestic developers race to challenge American dominance. Parameters, a machine-learning term, measure the complexity of AI systems during training, with a higher figure generally indicating a stronger model. K3 was designed for long-horizon coding, knowledge work and reasoning tasks, the company said in a blog post. K3 outperformed Anthropic’s Claude Fable 5 and OpenAI’s GPT-5.6 Sol – two of the most advanced AI systems from US labs – on a few evaluations, including Program Bench and SWE Marathon, according to self-reported benchmark results by the company.

July 17, 2026

Innovation

Top takeaways from Xi Jinping’s opening address at the World AI Conference in Shanghai

Chinese President Xi Jinping has made a landmark speech at the World AI Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai, delivering his first-ever keynote address at the country’s premier artificial intelligence event. Xi’s speech came just moments after his US counterpart, Donald Trump, delivered an unprecedented attack against Beijing during a prime-time national broadcast, accusing China of orchestrating the “largest compromise of election data in history”. The dueling addresses are set to further fuel...

July 17, 2026

Innovation

From humanoids to Huawei: what to watch as Xi attends China’s WAIC amid US AI rivalry

Gathering will showcase Beijing’s push to compete across the full AI stack, from models and chips to robots, consumer devices The World AI Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai comes amid an intensifying technology rivalry with the US, whose restrictions continue to constrain China’s access to advanced computing chips. Beijing has responded by making technological self-reliance a national priority and accelerating the development of domestic alternatives across hardware and software. China has also rejected criticism that its promotion of open-source AI models overseas amounts to a “trap”. Responding on Thursday to a question citing such claims in Western media, foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said Beijing opposed drawing ideological lines and imposing technological blockades. He said China would use WAIC to promote exchanges and consensus, while seeking to ensure that the benefits of AI development reached more developing countries. This year’s WAIC is likely to be read as a test of how far China has progressed towards turning advances in models into a broader industrial ecosystem, as well as how it seeks to shape global rules through academic engagement, safety standards, governance frameworks and international collaboration.

July 17, 2026

Innovation

TSMC pledges extra US$100 billion for Arizona fab expansion amid soaring AI chip demand

Riding on the AI boom, the Taiwanese chipmaker’s net income jumped 77 per cent to NT$706.6 billion (US$22 billion) in the second quarter TSMC chairman CC Wei said the firm planned to proceed “as fast as possible” with the new Arizona investment but declined to provide a timeline, noting that progress would “depend on the market situation and our customers’ demand”. The additional investment was for “2-nanometre and below technologies, as well as advanced packaging fabs to support the strong multi-year demand from our leading US customers”, Wei said at the firm’s earnings conference on Thursday, after reporting record-high profits for the second quarter. The US$100 billion is on top of the US$165 billion the company pledged for its Arizona complex in March 2025. At the time, TSMC boosted its original commitment of US$65 billion to US$165 billion, pledging to build three more fabrication plants, alongside two advanced packaging facilities and a research and development centre in Phoenix.

July 16, 2026

Innovation

As US AI costs soar, global businesses pivot to China’s low-cost, open-weight models

A sharp narrowing of the performance gap is prompting some developers to shift from costly American giants to budget-friendly Chinese alternatives Since mid-June, the daily token volume of Zhipu’s GLM-5.2, which operates at about one-fifth the cost of Anthropic’s Claude Opus 4.8, had surged 50-fold on Vercel, the San Francisco-based cloud platform for AI web development reported on Tuesday. Open-weight models accounted for 29 per cent of token volume on its AI Gateway platform, nearly tripling their share since April, according to Vercel. The rise of these cost-efficient powerhouses marks a growing shift in how companies worldwide source artificial intelligence. While proprietary, closed-source models require premium cloud subscriptions and charge by the token – the basic unit of data processed by an AI – open-weight models allow companies to download code for free and run it on local hardware. The fast-improving capabilities of these free-to-download models have forced businesses to re-evaluate their tech spending. Until recently, enterprises chose to absorb the high cost of premium American models because open alternatives lagged too far behind – a gap that is narrowing fast.

July 16, 2026

Innovation

China completes world’s first commercial brain-computer interface implant

Coin-sized implant marks a breakthrough in neurotechnology, underscoring China’s bid to lead the global race against Elon Musk’s Neuralink Chinese surgeons implanted a coin-sized brain chip on a patient with impaired hand mobility linked to a spinal cord injury from a car accident 10 years ago, according to a statement from the Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality on Wednesday. The procedure, performed on Monday at Huashan Hospital, captured stable, high-quality epidural brain signals, with the patient recovering and vital signs remaining stable. Developed by local start-up Neuracle Medical Technology, the NEO device assists hand motion. It is placed on the brain’s outer surface without penetrating tissue, reading neural signals and translating them into hand movements. It became the world’s first commercially prescribed BCI after winning approval from China’s National Medical Products Administration on March 13, making it available as a commercial product rather than confined to laboratories and clinical trials. Since clearance, NEO had rolled out production, hospital introductions, patient screening and inclusion in local commercial health insurance within four months, according to the statement.

July 15, 2026

Innovation

As AI learns to hide, science must learn to trust differently

The newest arms race in artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer about writing better text. It is about making AI-generated writing appear indistinguishable from human work. A recently released academic “humaniser” tool promises to remove stylistic clues that reveal AI-generated manuscripts, allowing research papers and grant proposals to read more like they were written by humans. Its developer describes it as an editing aid rather than a deception tool, but many scientists fear it could...

July 15, 2026

Innovation

China approves Apple Intelligence for iPhones, with Alibaba, Baidu emerging as partners

After a two-year delay, the iPhone maker is cleared to deploy AI tools on its smartphones by tapping Alibaba and Baidu’s capabilities The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), the country’s internet watchdog, published a notice on Wednesday confirming the licence for Apple Intelligence – the AI feature used to summarise emails, draft reports, edit images and perform other tasks. It was granted alongside six other smartphone-based AI services, including those for Samsung and Huawei Technologies. A Baidu representative also told the SCMP on Wednesday that it was working with Apple to develop AI features for Apple Intelligence in China. The licence applied only to iPhone devices, according to the official notice, which did not specify whether other Apple devices sold in China – such as iPad tablets and Mac computers – would also be allowed to deploy Apple Intelligence. Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Apple Intelligence and Samsung’s Galaxy AI were the only foreign services to be approved. The five other recipients – Huawei, Oppo, Vivo, Xiaomi and ZTE – are all local smartphone vendors. ByteDance is a partner of ZTE’s AI service.

July 15, 2026

Innovation

Hong Kong steps up to US crypto fund challenge with tokenised fund approval

As the city looks to challenge the US as a global crypto hub, Baillie Gifford says the SFC has approved its blockchain-based tokenised fund The British fund manager said on Wednesday it had received approval from the Securities and Futures Commission to launch the Baillie Gifford Enhanced Yield Fund (BAGEY) – an actively managed portfolio of short-duration government and corporate bonds. However, the SFC told the South China Morning Post that it would not offer comment on individual cases. Tokenisation turns traditional investment products into blockchain-based digital tokens that represent their ownership. Proponents of the technology tout its benefits including 24/7 instant settlement and wider investor access through fractional ownership. Most tokenised funds currently use a so-called “digital twin” model, which records legal ownership in a traditional ledger and mirrors the holdings on a blockchain. This means the tokens do not provide investors with direct exposure to the underlying assets. In contrast, “digitally native” tokenised funds such as BAGEY use the public blockchain as the official record of ownership, giving token holders full legal rights to the underlying assets.

July 15, 2026

Innovation

China memory giant CXMT valued at US$85 billion in record Shanghai IPO

Chinese DRAM maker is set to raise 57.9 billion yuan (US$8.5 billion), nearly twice the amount earmarked for its investment projects China’s leading memory chipmaker, ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), has priced its Shanghai initial public offering at 8.66 yuan (US$1.28) apiece, positioning the company for the largest listing by a Chinese semiconductor company on a mainland bourse. The firm, based in Hefei, Anhui province, is expected to raise gross proceeds of 57.9 billion yuan (US$8.5 billion) from the sale of nearly 6.7 billion shares, according to an offering announcement released on Tuesday. The shares represent 10 per cent of the company’s enlarged capital, giving CXMT an implied valuation of 579 billion yuan (US$85.2 billion) upon listing on Shanghai’s Star Market. If a 15 per cent overallotment option is fully exercised, the offering could expand to 7.7 billion shares and raise up to 66.6 billion yuan (US$9.83 billion). Online and offline subscriptions will take place on Thursday, but CXMT has not yet announced a trading debut date.

July 15, 2026

Innovation

China’s StepFun claims it has unveiled the world’s first AI smartphone

Tencent-backed firm launches the AI-native StepX Neo smartphone, challenging US tech giants amid Apple-OpenAI legal clashes Unlike traditional smartphones that required users to manually open individual apps, the device was built around AI agents, according to StepFun. The device could interpret user requests, coordinate across multiple services, and execute complex tasks autonomously, the company added. The smartphone features Amoo, a new personal AI assistant native to Step AOS. The launch highlights a growing global push by AI firms to control the entire product stack, spanning foundation models, operating systems and hardware.

July 14, 2026