Eastly - Issue #19 | Intuitive Interaction 🤔

By Eastly.co | Asia Tech News • Issue #19

Nov 01, 2020

Eastly: Asia Tech News Direct From The Source

Welcome to Eastly, your weekly infusion of all the top tech stories from the world’s innovation powerhouse: East Asia!

Every Sunday we’ll bring you a short, sharp roundup of the biggest stories our team in China have spotted – the kind of stuff that takes a few weeks for the Western media to notice.

At a time when social distancing, shielding, and remote – well – everything is becoming more and more commonplace, we look to technology to find ways to bring us closer together – to help us work, rest, and play digitally. And judging by the increased innovation happening across the board, the way we interact with tech can only become smarter and more intuitive.

Short Form Video Platforms Eye Hong Kong IPO

silhouette photo of person holding smartphone

Short for cash? No, just raising a humble $5bn.

Date: 28 October, 2020

Kuaishou and Douyin, China’ two most popular short video apps, are planning initial public offerings (IPOs) in Hong Kong.

Douyin owner, ByteDance (also the parent company of international video app, TikTok) has not disclosed how much it intends to raise. However, Kuaishou, backed by Chinese gaming giant, Tencent, aims to raise $5 billion from the IPO.

The two companies are planning to list in early to mid-2021. Both are currently aggressively boosting their e-commerce businesses.

Source: https://en.pingwest.com/w/7941

Competition Rises In Online EdTech Battle

War over education is a.. good thing?

Date: 30 October, 2020

The dramatic surge in online learning, particularly in K-12 education, is fueling China’s edtech war.

While the two main players in the sector, unicorns Yuanfudao and Zuoyebang, are busy raising substantial amounts of funding to maintain their market lead; up-and-coming platforms – including ByteDance, Kuaishou, and bilibili – are keen to get in on the action.

Source: https://en.pingwest.com/a/7948

Alibaba's Hometown Plans Facial Recognition Tech Ban

Banning the Big Brother

Date: 30 October, 2020

The Chinese city of Hangzhou – the hometown of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba – is planning a new regulation that will prohibit the use of facial recognition technology and other biometric scans in residential communities.

The proposed ban is being called for amid concerns over potential data leaks and the possible infringement of personal privacy.

The city has drafted the new regulation and submitted it to the Standing Committee of the People’s Congress. If passed, Hangzhou will be the first city in China to ban facial recognition technologies in this way.

Source: https://en.pingwest.com/w/7951

Smart ‘Magic Mirror’ Reflects Growing Interest In Home Fitness

Stay fit with FITURE

Date: 30 October, 2020

A new "hardware + content + service + AI" smart mirror, aims to help users optimise their health and fitness through a combination of data, action recognition, live broadcast, and online social interaction.

The mirror, developed by FITURE, operates using an AI camera and self-developed motion algorithm engine recognition system.

FITURE co-founder and CTO, Fu Qian, said that by monitoring the human body through the camera, the algorithm engine can detect and track user’s health needs – doing everything from correcting posture; reviewing fitness and body exercise data; and making exercise class recommendations for each user.

The hardware and annual membership service fee is less than 10,000 yuan per year.

Source: https://36kr.com/p/946404634799750

Huawei Announces Intelligent Automotive Solution

Still bulding For Cars not The Cars

Date: 31 October, 2020

Tech giant, Huawei, recently unveiled the ‘HI’ brand, a full-stack solution for smart cars.

The announcement was made at a press conference on October 30. The HI solution includes a new computing and communication architecture and five smart systems – smart driving, smart cockpit, smart electric, smart network, and smart car cloud.

Huawei's smart screen will be equipped with most of the same functions as Huawei’s smartphones – music, video, calls, and games – tailored for in-vehicle scenarios.

Despite these new technologies, Huawei remains insistent that it does not intend to build vehicles themselves any time soon.

Source: https://36kr.com/p/948299780206210

Notes:

Yuanfudao: Founded in 2012, Yuanfudao is the largest online live course platform in China. With a paying user base of over 1 million – mostly primary and secondary school students – Yuanfudao offers a comprehensive all-encompassing curriculum.