Technology News
Latest technology news and updates
Total: 1503
From Baijiu to Bots: How AI and Robotics Have Stolen the Spring Gala Spotlight
China’s 2026 Spring Festival Gala has become a focal point for AI platforms and robotics firms seeking to convert national TV reach into user habits and investor momentum. While tech companies flood the event with prizes and live demonstrations, traditional sponsors such as baijiu distillers have sharply reduced their presence, underscoring a broader commercial shift toward hard tech.
ByteDance’s Seedance2.0 Redraws the Map for AI Video — and Puts Platforms in the Driver’s Seat
ByteDance’s Seedance2.0 is a step change in AI‑generated video, able to produce cinema‑grade short films from simple prompts and impressing senior industry figures. The model both democratises content creation by lowering technical barriers and raises clear risks around deepfakes, prompting ByteDance to impose early safeguards.
China Establishes New Hainan Hub to Turn Wenchang into a National Launch and Aerospace Manufacturing Base
China has formally established a Hainan New Area of the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology in Wenchang, creating a consolidated local structure for R&D, assembly, testing and launch services. The move leverages Hainan's low latitude and free‑trade policies to accelerate China's aerospace industrialisation and improve its launch capacity for both commercial and dual‑use missions.
Amazon Cleared to Add 4,500 Satellites — Kuiper’s LEO Service Nears Launch as Orbital Competition Intensifies
The FCC has authorised Amazon to add 4,500 satellites, bringing its Kuiper/Leo constellation to about 7,700 craft and positioning the company to start commercial LEO internet service later this year. Amazon is accelerating launches through multiple providers, seeking deadline relief from the FCC, and entering a scaling race with SpaceX, whose far larger satellite ambitions could reshape launch economics and orbital governance.
xAI Co‑Founder Jimmy Ba Announces Departure, Calls 2026 a Pivotal Year for AI
xAI co‑founder Jimmy Ba announced he will leave the company, thanking Elon Musk and saying he will remain close to the team. He warned that 2026 will be an exceptionally consequential year for global development, underscoring the high stakes facing AI companies.
SMIC Projects Roughly 40,000‑Wafer Monthly Capacity Gain in 2026 but Flags Rising Depreciation
SMIC expects its monthly capacity to rise by about 40,000 12‑inch wafer equivalents by the end of 2026 over last year, but warns that early equipment purchases may not immediately translate into full production. Heavy capital spending will lift depreciation by around 30% year‑on‑year in 2026, squeezing margins unless utilization and cost efficiency improve.
SMIC Posts Healthy 2025 Profit Gain as Chinese Foundry Doubles Down on Capacity — but Growth Outlook Is Cautious
SMIC reported a 2025 revenue increase of about 16% and a 36% rise in net profit, driven by higher wafer shipments, improved utilisation and a better product mix. The firm spent $8.1 billion on capital expenditure in 2025 and guided for flat first‑quarter sales and an 18–20% gross margin, while forecasting full‑year growth above its peers and capex roughly unchanged.
Newest F-35s Reportedly Delivered Without Functional Radar, Raising Readiness and Industrial Concerns
A report says Lockheed Martin delivered a batch of F-35s since June 2025 without the AN/APG-85 radar installed, leaving only the radar pedestal and preventing simple retrofit with the older AN/APG-81. The gap could degrade readiness, increase retrofit costs and spotlight supply-chain and integration strains within the U.S. defense-industrial base.
AI Build‑out Exposes Power‑Equipment Bottleneck — Chinese Suppliers Poised to Fill a Global Gap
Rapid AI deployment is straining power‑equipment and critical materials markets, widening a global supply gap that benefits capable Chinese suppliers. The crunch has knock‑on effects for grid policy, commodity prices (notably indium), cybersecurity demand and the commercialisation of AI content.
China’s AI “Red‑Envelope” War: Alibaba’s Qianwen Rockets to 58m Daily Users — But Will They Stay?
Alibaba’s Qianwen vaulted to 58.48 million daily users on day one of its Spring Festival cash giveaway, narrowing the gap with ByteDance’s Doubao and eclipseing Tencent’s Yuanbao. The spike underscores how massive subsidies can reconfigure app rankings quickly, but low retention figures suggest the gains may be fleeting unless platform AI capabilities and habit formation improve.
Amazon Eyes a 'Content Marketplace' to Sell Publishers’ Texts to AI Firms — A New Supply Chain for LLMs
Amazon is reportedly planning a content marketplace to let publishers license text to AI developers, a move that could streamline data procurement for large language models and provide new revenue for publishers. The plan raises questions about market power, licensing terms, and the control and provenance of training data.
ByteDance Rolls Out Seedream 5.0 Preview, Bringing 2K–4K Image Generation into Its Consumer Apps
ByteDance has launched Seedream 5.0 Preview, enabling 2K and 4K image generation within its Jianying and Xiaoyunque apps and opening grey testing on the Jimeng AI platform. The move integrates higher‑resolution generative capabilities into mass‑market creative tools, accelerating adoption while raising moderation and provenance concerns.