Eastly - Issue #3 | We Know You'll Cheat Before You Cheat 🔮
By Eastly.co | Asia Tech News • Issue #3
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.
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This week we're seeing AI dominate the tech headlines – for two very different reasons...
AI Invigilator To Detect Exam Cheats
Caught out: exam cheats beware
Date: 06 July, 2020
The organisation governing this year's Liaoning General College Entrance Examination – China's answer to the US SAT tests – issued a document on July 5 stating the use of AI will be used to detect suspected violations of the exam.
It'll do this through a combination of video monitoring, computer vision, behaviour analysis, and other technologies to effectively identify cues associated with cheating.
Source: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/HIorMBopUoKHoplcaABgkA
China's LGBTQ+ Dating App Heats Up NASDAQ
BlueCity's IPO makes it a real contender
Date: 09 July, 2020
BlueCity, the 20 year old software company behind Blued – China's largest LGBTQ+ dating app – went public on the US' NASDAQ stock exchange on 8 July.
Starting the day with a share price of $16, by close of trading this had soared to over $23 – a 46% hike.
Source: https://news.mydrivers.com/1/699/699609.htm
5G Paper Towel Machine Co. Raises US VC Funds
Sanbang – dispensing paper towels, disinfectant, and indoor 5G
Date: 09 July, 2020
Sanbang Technology, the company behind one of China's most curious, yet popular, inventions has secured a significant amount of funding, in a series A round led by US VC firm, Innovation Capital.
The investment, rumoured to be in the region of tens of millions of yuan, will help Sanbang build, create, and install up to 100,000 more of its paper towel and disinfectant vending machines combined with indoor 5G beacons.
Source: https://36kr.com/p/785515445842312
Tech Giant Wants To Cure COVID With AI's Help
Can AI cure COVID? Maybe. Just maybe.
Date: 09 July, 2020
Internet and gaming giant, Tencent (and the company behind China's biggest social media platform, WeChat), has launched an AI-driven research and development platform – iDrug – which aims to accelerate the development of new drugs.
It's hoped that iDrug will increase the efficiency of pre-clinical drug discovery, and as it's fast and low cost, will be used to help develop a cure for COVID-19.
Source: https://36kr.com/p/786801692947079
Li Xiang-Owned Ideal Motors Eyes US IPO
Li Xiang is Ideal Motors' largest shareholder
Date: 11 July, 2020
Electric vehicle manufacturer, Ideal Motors is set on raising US$100 million in funds through an initial public offering (IPO) in the USA.
The company – which is majority-owned by Li Xiang Automotive – officially submitted form F-1) to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Friday: which all foreign companies intending to get listed on a US stock exchange need to file.
Source: https://tech.sina.com.cn/it/2020-07-11/doc-iirczymm1726774.shtml
Notes:
Tencent: one of China's biggest conglomerates, Tencent, founded in Shenzen in 1998, is the world's biggest video game company – and the company behind China's most popular messaging, social media, and payments service, WeChat.
Asia Markets
Asian and emerging markets offer value, but be careful about frontier markets like Sri Lanka: Aberde
Markets Summary: https://www.bloomberg.com/markets/stocks/world-indexes/asia-pacific
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Thank you all for reading and see you next Sunday!
Yours, Eastly
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