Wall Street Journal (July 23)
“In AI software, China is giving the U.S. an unexpected run for its money. Last week, Beijing-based startup Moonshot AI unveiled a new model, Kimi K3, that closely trails the performance of top models from American AI giants OpenAI and Anthropic. Xi delivered a speech positioning China as the global champion of open, accessible AI. Shares in U.S. chip makers fell.”
Tags: Accessible, AI, Anthropic, Beijing, China, Global champion, Kimi K3, Moonshot AI, Open, OpenAI, Performance, Shares, Startup, Top models, U.S., Unexpected, Xi
Nikkei Asia (July 19)
“A Chinese startup this month became the first in the world to mass-produce large, bendable perovskite solar panels, based on technology initially developed by researchers in Japan.” The revolutionary “technology is seen as a candidate to win a Nobel Prize” and holds tremendous commercial potential, but “Japanese companies have little capacity to make new investments, allowing China to take the lead in large-scale perovskite panels.”
Tags: Bendable, China, Commercial potential, Investments, Japan, Mass-produce, Nobel prize, Perovskite, Solar panels, Startup, Technology
Bloomberg (March 18)
Mercari Inc. just “became the first Japanese startup worth at least $1 billion,” making it Japan’s only unicorn. “Though the valuation is an accomplishment for Mercari, it also highlights the dearth of major private startups in the world’s third-largest economy.” Of the 155 unicorns worldwide, 92 are in the U.S., 25 in China, seven in India and only one in Japan. “Japan has suffered from a lack of venture capital and a risk-averse culture where the best and brightest strive for stable jobs at big companies and then stay for life.”
Tags: China, India, Japan, Mercari, Risk-averse culture, Startup, U.S., Unicorn, Valuation, Venture-capital
