The U.S. House of Representatives introduced an export control bill on AI-related models, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded; The State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council carried out the layout and construction of the second batch of original technology sources of central enterprises; This year, Huawei has fully launched native development based on Kunpeng Ascend

[Industrial Internet Weekly is a featured product released by TMTpost of Titanium Media, which will integrate the cutting-edge trends, blockbuster policies and industry research reports in the fields of enterprise-level services, cloud computing and big data this week. 】

The U.S. House of Representatives introduced an export control bill on AI-related models, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded

A bipartisan panel in the U.S. House of Representatives has introduced a bill that would make it easier for the Biden administration to impose export controls on artificial intelligence (AI) models so that U.S. technology doesn't fall into the hands of "foreign bad actors." The Chinese side pointed out that facts have proved that China-US economic, trade and investment cooperation is mutually beneficial and win-win, and the two countries and the two peoples are both beneficiaries, and that politicizing, instrumentalizing and ideological economic, trade, and scientific and technological issues, and forcibly pushing decoupling and breaking the chain, will impact the normal trade and investment exchanges between the two countries and the world and the stability of the production and supply chain, and is not in the interests of any party, including the United States. Lin Jian said that the US should implement its commitment not to seek decoupling from China and not hinder China's development, stop protectionist practices, stop blocking and restricting science and technology against China, and stop disrupting the international economic and trade order. China will take necessary measures to firmly safeguard its legitimate rights and interests.

The State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council carried out the layout and construction of the second batch of original technology sources of central enterprises

The State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council recently launched the second batch of original technology source construction of central enterprises, supporting 40 central enterprises to lay out 52 original technology sources in 36 fields such as quantum information, brain-like intelligence, and biomanufacturing. After the two batches of layout, a total of 58 central enterprises undertook the construction of 97 original technology sources. In the next step, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council will promote the central enterprises to increase the construction of original technology sources, in-depth implementation of 11 action plans such as "strengthening applied basic research", and strive to achieve a number of original achievements in the fields of quantum information, 6G, deep earth and deep sea, controllable nuclear fusion, cutting-edge materials, etc., and promote the central enterprises to continue to improve the innovation system, enhance innovation capabilities, stimulate innovation vitality, and accelerate the development of new quality productivity.

Domestic information

This year, Huawei has fully launched native development based on Kunpeng Ascend

Zhang Xiwei, President of Huawei's Computing Product Line, said that this year, the company has launched a full-scale development based on Kunpeng Ascend, making application development more efficient and performing, and accelerating the construction of a native ecosystem from three aspects: development kits, enablement plans, and talent training. In addition, Huawei plans to invest RMB 1 billion per year in the next three years to cultivate the ecosystem, fully support the popularization and promotion of native development, and develop more than 1,500+ native application partners, covering more than 80% of computing power scenarios, so that 80% of applications based on Kunpeng and Ascend native development will reach 80%.

SMIC's revenue in Q1 2024 was $1.75 billion, compared to $1.462 billion in the same period last year

SMIC's revenue in Q1 2024 was $1.75 billion, compared to $1.462 billion in the same period last year. Gross margin was 13.7% in the first quarter of 2024, 16.4% in the fourth quarter of 2023, and 20.8% in the first quarter of 2023. Gross profit was $239.7 million for the first quarter of 2024, $275.0 million for the fourth quarter of 2023 and $304.7 million for the first quarter of 2023.

42% of CIOs surveyed expect to not generate a positive return on their AI investments for at least two years

Lenovo Group released the 2024 Global Chief Information Officer (CIO) Report, which shows that AI is the top priority for today's enterprise CIOs, and although they are eager to further expand the application of AI, it is limited by factors such as speed and security, and other functions within the enterprise are not ready.

According to the report, 61% of CIOs surveyed said that proving the return on investment (ROI) of technology investments was "very" or "extremely challenging", and 42% admitted that they did not expect to generate a positive return on investment from AI investments for at least two years. Thirty-eight percent of CIOs surveyed admit that sustainability is becoming less of a priority as resources are being used more for AI development. CIOs see AI as a "net positive" for sustainability, with 78% of respondents saying that leveraging AI technology will help achieve enterprise IT sustainability goals.

China Telecom launched its first mobile phone direct satellite service in Hong Kong

China Telecom officially announced in Hong Kong that the mobile phone direct satellite service based on the Tiantong satellite system has landed in Hong Kong, and will simultaneously start the international operation of the Tiantong satellite mobile system.

The Suzhou Data Resources Court was inaugurated

The Shishan People's Court of the People's Court of Suzhou High-tech Industrial Development Zone (Huqiu District, Suzhou City) was inaugurated. It is understood that the Suzhou Data Resources Court implements a three-in-one trial system, which is mainly responsible for hearing first-instance criminal, civil and administrative cases related to data resources under the jurisdiction of the Huqiu District People's Court. The court will focus on the compliance needs of the whole life cycle such as data collection, storage, processing, and destruction, and continue to clarify the code of conduct and responsibility system for the whole process of data collection, development, and openness through the advantages of centralized jurisdiction, case typing, and trial specialization of data resource cases, explore the application of the data property rights system and the optimal handling of data disputes, encourage data innovation, reasonably demarcate data rights, promote the circulation and use of data, maintain the order of data use, and provide strong judicial guarantees for creating an open, healthy, and safe digital ecosystem.

Overseas news

Massachusetts Institute of Technology research team: Some AI systems have learned how to deceive humans

Recently, a research team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States said that some artificial intelligence systems have learned how to deceive humans, including some systems that claim to have been trained to be helpful and honest. The research results were published in the journal Models, a subsidiary of American Cell Press. Researchers say that while it may seem harmless for AI systems to cheat in games, it could lead to a "breakthrough in deceptive AI capabilities" that could evolve into more advanced forms of AI spoofing in the future.

谷歌DeepMind推出新一代药物研发AI模型AlphaFold 3

Google's DeepMind has released a new generation of AlphaFold 3 models that predict protein structures, which can help scientists more precisely target disease mechanisms and develop more effective therapeutics. DeepMind researchers say AlphaFold 3 is an artificial intelligence (AI) model that can predict the structure of biomolecules such as proteins, DNA, RNA, and how they interact.

Arm is said to be developing AI chips, with mass production scheduled to begin in the fall of 2025

According to reports, Arm, a chip design company under SoftBank Group, plans to develop artificial intelligence (AI) chips and aims to launch the first products in 2025. Arm will set up an AI chip division with the goal of manufacturing prototypes by spring 2025, with mass production to be handled by contract manufacturers, which is expected to begin in the fall of 2025. Arm will bear the initial development costs, which are expected to reach hundreds of billions of yen, and SoftBank will contribute to it. Once the mass production system is established, Arm's AI chip business may be spun off and brought under SoftBank's umbrella. It is reported that SoftBank is already in talks with TSMC and other companies on manufacturing issues, hoping to secure production capacity.

Arm's fourth-quarter revenue came in higher than expected, but its FY2025 revenue outlook was weaker

Arm's total Q4 revenue was $928 million versus analysts' expectations of $880.4 million, Q1 revenue was expected to be $875 million to $925 million versus analysts' expectations of $868 million, FY2025 revenue was expected to be $3.8 billion to $4.1 billion versus analysts' expectations of $4.01 billion, Q4 adjusted operating profit was $391 million versus analysts' expectations of $355.9 million, semiconductor software design licensing revenue was $514 million versus analysts' expectations of $504.2 million, and Q1 adjusted earnings per share were expected to be $0.32-$0.36 versus analysts' expectations of 0.31 USD; Adjusted earnings per share for fiscal 2025 are expected to be $1.45-$1.65 versus analysts' expectations of $1.53.

According to the news, Apple is close to reaching an agreement with OpenAI to apply ChatGPT to the iPhone

Well-known technology journalist Mark Gurman broke the news that, according to people familiar with the matter, Apple (AAPL. US) is close to striking a deal with OpenAI to use ChatGPT features in iOS 18, the next-generation iPhone operating system, as part of Apple's broader effort to introduce AI capabilities to its devices. Apple has also negotiated with Google to license the use of the Gemini chatbot. These discussions have not yet reached an agreement, but they are still ongoing. After striking an agreement with OpenAI, Apple will launch a chatbot as part of a series of new AI features it plans to announce next month.

Apple is expected to announce an upgrade to Siri's voice assistant next month: based on a generative AI system with more chat attributes

According to people familiar with the matter, Apple is expected to showcase its progress in the field of artificial intelligence at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) next month, when the company will unveil an improved Siri voice assistant that will be more conversational and versatile. It is reported that Siri's underlying technology will include a new generative AI system that will give Siri the ability to chat instead of answering one question at a time. Apple doesn't plan to compete directly with ChatGPT by releasing a chatbot, but is instead focused on giving Siri better access to its existing tasks, including setting timers, creating meeting schedules and adding items to grocery lists, people familiar with the matter said.

IBM and SAP announced the expansion of their collaboration in generative AI

IBM and SAP have announced an expanded collaboration, and the two companies are jointly exploring opportunities to leverage SAP to build new generative AI capabilities for RISE and inject AI into SAP business processes. IBM also plans to leverage SAP Signavio and SAP Business AI solutions to help define next-generation business processes through a proof-of-concept adoption plan. IBM and SAP plan to build intelligent industry use cases in end-to-end business processes to drive next-generation industry innovation. These use cases will initially focus on the industrial manufacturing, consumer packaged goods, retail, automotive, and utilities industries. IBM and SAP also plan to collaborate around their respective employee networks and "next-generation" communities.

Intel said the U.S. government's export restrictions on China will hit its sales revenue

According to Reuters, after some media reported that the U.S. government canceled the licenses of some companies to export chips to Chinese companies, Intel Corporation of the United States said on the same day that export restrictions to China would hit its sales revenue. According to the report, on the 8th, Intel Corporation pointed out in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it had received a notice from the U.S. Department of Commerce to revoke certain licenses for exporting consumer-related products to Chinese customers, effective immediately.

Intel did not disclose the specific names of Chinese customers in the document, but according to the Financial Times and other media reports, the U.S. government further increased pressure on China's Huawei on the 7th, revoking the licenses of some companies to export chips to Huawei, including Intel and Qualcomm. Intel said that as a result, the company's revenue in the second quarter of this year will remain between $12.5 billion and $13.5 billion in the previous forecast, but the actual revenue will be lower than the median of this expectation.

Apple will use its own server chips to power AI tools this year

Apple will reportedly offer some of its upcoming artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities this year through data centers with its own processors, as part of the company's broader efforts to provide AI capabilities on its products. The company will use high-end chips — similar to those designed for Macs — for cloud computing servers that handle the most complex AI tasks on Apple devices, while simpler AI-related functions will be handled directly on iPhones, iPads and Macs, according to people familiar with the matter.

Financing mergers and acquisitions

Wuxi Gongwang completed tens of millions of Pre-A round of financing to produce inductive position sensors

Wuxi Gongwang Sensing Technology Co., Ltd. completed a Pre-A round of financing of tens of millions of yuan, which was jointly invested by SMIC Juyuan, Honghui Fund, Shanghai Power Technology Fund and Chengdu Sibaiyi Fund, and the old shareholder Sequoia China made additional investment. This round of funds will be used to strengthen the research and development of inductive position sensors, improve their manufacturing capabilities and expand the market scale, and enhance the company's influence in the global position sensor (encoder) market by accelerating the expansion of product layout and production scale.

DEEPX, A SOUTH KOREAN AI SEMICONDUCTOR STARTUP, ANNOUNCED THE COMPLETION OF A 110 BILLION WON SERIES C FUNDING ROUND

DEEPX, A SOUTH KOREAN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) SEMICONDUCTOR TECHNOLOGY STARTUP, ANNOUNCED THAT IT HAS SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED A SERIES C FINANCING WITH A FINANCING AMOUNT OF UP TO 110 BILLION WON, OR ABOUT 582 MILLION YUAN. The round was led by SkyLake Equity Partners, with participation and support from BNW Investments and AJU IB, as well as existing shareholder TimeFolio Asset Management. It aims to promote the mass production and global market expansion of DEEPX's first product line, while accelerating the development and launch of next-generation LLM device solutions. SINCE THE LAST FUNDING ROUND, DEEPX'S VALUATION HAS INCREASED MORE THAN 8 TIMES.

AI startup Atlan raised $105 million at a $750 million valuation

Artificial intelligence startup Atlan said on Wednesday that it raised $105 million in a funding round led by Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC and technology investor Meritech Capital, which valued the company at $750 million. Having raised more than $206 million after its latest Series C funding round, Atlan operates a data stack of the same name, bringing together a variety of data from both internal and external sources into a single interface.

SoftBank is reportedly in talks to acquire Graphcore, a British artificial intelligence chip company

According to reports, people familiar with the matter said that SoftBank Group is in talks to acquire Graphcore Ltd., a British artificial intelligence chip start-up that was valued at $2.8 billion at one point. The two companies have been in discussions for months, but have only recently advanced to more advanced negotiations on the deal, the people said. The financial terms have not yet been finalized, and there is still a possibility that the negotiations will break down.

Humanoid Robotics Company "Accelerated Evolution" completed the Pre-A round of financing, led by Source Code Capital

Recently, the humanoid robot company "Accelerated Evolution" completed tens of millions of yuan in Pre-A round of financing, led by Source Code Capital, followed by Shuimu Venture Capital and Yinggang Capital. This round of financing will be used for small-batch mass production and marketing, talent recruitment, and continuous R&D iteration.

Huayi Quantum completed more than 100 million yuan in Pre-A round of financing, led by CCTV Financial Media Fund

Huayi Boao (Beijing) Quantum Technology Co., Ltd. (Huayi Quantum) completed a Pre-A round of financing of more than 100 million yuan, led by CCTV Financial Media Fund, and Baidu Venture Capital, Lenovo Venture Capital and Sanqi Mutual Entertainment also participated in this round of investment. This financing will accelerate the research and development of Huayi Quantum's new ion trap quantum computer, the expansion of new business scenarios, and the exploration of quantum algorithms in more industry applications.

Policies & Trends

National Data Bureau: In-depth implementation of the "Data Element ×" action plan to encourage multiple entities to actively participate in the development and utilization of data elements

Liu Liehong, director of the National Data Bureau, said at the press conference of the State Council Information Office that the next step will be to fully empower transformation and development. We will continue to promote the digital transformation and intelligent upgrading of the manufacturing industry, and create a digital transformation ecosystem of the industry that connects supply and demand, collaborates across the chain, and is driven by value. Promote the green and low-carbon development of digital industries, empower the green development of traditional industries with digital technology, and actively build a green, low-carbon and circular economic system. Build a high-quality digital society and promote the construction of smart cities and digital villages. Thoroughly implement the "Data Element ×" action plan, and encourage multiple entities to actively participate in the development and utilization of data elements.

The spokesperson of the Ministry of Commerce answered a reporter's question on the revocation of the export licenses of some companies to Huawei by the United States

A reporter asked, on May 7, some media reported that the U.S. government had cancelled the licenses of some companies to export chips to China's Huawei, what is the Ministry of Commerce's comment on this? MOFCOM Spokesperson: China has noted relevant media reports. The US has broadened the concept of national security, politicized economic and trade issues, abused export control measures, and repeatedly imposed unreasonable sanctions and repressive measures against specific Chinese companies. China firmly opposes this. The US restricts the export of purely civilian consumer chip products to China and cuts off the supply of specific Chinese companies, which is a typical economic coercive practice, which not only violates WTO rules, but also seriously harms the interests of US companies. What the US has done has seriously violated its commitments not to seek decoupling from China, not to hinder China's development, and runs counter to its statement of "accurately defining national security". China will take all necessary measures to firmly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises.

IDC: China's IT security service market will reach 20.68 billion yuan in 2023, down 0.5% from 2022

According to IDC's latest "China IT Security Service Market Tracker, 2023H2", the overall revenue of manufacturers in China's IT security service market in the second half of 2023 will be about 12.28 billion yuan (about 1.7 billion US dollars), a year-on-year decrease of 4.4%. Combined with the annual data, the size of China's IT security service market in 2023 will reach 20.68 billion yuan, a decrease of 0.5% from 2022.

IDC: It is predicted that the market size of China's life science digital solutions will reach 36.91 billion in 2028

According to a report released by the International Data Corporation (IDC) today, the market size of China's life sciences digital solutions will reach 36.91 billion yuan in 2023 and reach 55.98 billion yuan by 2028, with a compound growth rate of 8.7% from 2023 to 2028.

IDC: In the second half of 2023, the overall scale of China's automotive cloud market will reach 5.35 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 35.2%

According to the latest report released by the International Data Corporation (IDC), the overall size of China's automotive cloud market in the second half of 2023 reached 5.35 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 35.2%. Among them, the infrastructure market size was 3.16 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 43.8%; The solution market size was RMB2.19 billion, up 24.5% year-on-year.