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Huawei Launches New Software Brand for Intelligent Driving

FILE PHOTO: The logo of the Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. is seen outside its headquarters in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, April 17, 2012. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The logo of the Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. is seen outside its headquarters in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, April 17, 2012. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/File Photo
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Huawei Launches New Software Brand for Intelligent Driving

FILE PHOTO: The logo of the Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. is seen outside its headquarters in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, April 17, 2012. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The logo of the Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. is seen outside its headquarters in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, April 17, 2012. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/File Photo

Chinese tech company Huawei unveiled on Wednesday a new software brand for intelligent driving, marking its latest push to become a major player in the electric vehicle industry.
The new brand Qiankun, symbolizing a combination of heaven and the Kunlun Mountains, plans to provide self-driving systems involving the driving chassis, audio and driver's seat, Jin Yuzhi, CEO of Huawei's Intelligent Automotive Solution (IAS) business unit, said during an event ahead of the Beijing auto show.
"2024 will be the first year for mass commercialization of smart driving and the cumulative number of cars on road equipped with the Huawei self-driving system will top 500,000 by the year-end," Reuters quoted Jin as saying.
He also expected within a year more than 10 car models adopting Huawei’s Qiankun system would hit the market.
The Shenzhen-based tech conglomerate launched its smart car unit in 2019 with the aim that it could become the equivalent of German automotive supplier Bosch of the intelligent EV era and supply software and components to partners.
Huawei said in November that the unit would be spun off into a new company which would receive the unit's core technologies and resources and take investment from partners such as automaker Changan Auto.
It has also unveiled seven EV models in partnership with Chinese automakers so far and they are selling well, Jin said.
They include three Aito brand models under partnership with Seres, the Luxeed S7 sedan co-developed with Chery , two models with Changan Auto-backed Avatr and one with Beijing Automotive Group (BAIC)-owned Arcfox.
On Tuesday, Huawei also unveiled the S9 sedan, the first model under the premium Stelato brand it launched with BAIC.
Its diversification into EVs comes amid an intensifying price war in the world's largest auto market, which is grappling with slowing sales momentum and deepening overcapacity concerns as more than 40 brands vie for consumer attention.
Earlier this month, Huawei-backed Aito offered discounts of up to 20,000 yuan ($2,760) on its new M7 SUVs until the end of April.

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Technology

SDAIA, World Bank to Discuss Global Best Practices in Data Governance and AI in Belgium and Germany

The events aim to enhance international cooperation and explore global best practices in AI governance
The events aim to enhance international cooperation and explore global best practices in AI governance
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SDAIA, World Bank to Discuss Global Best Practices in Data Governance and AI in Belgium and Germany

The events aim to enhance international cooperation and explore global best practices in AI governance
The events aim to enhance international cooperation and explore global best practices in AI governance

The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA), in partnership with the World Bank, will organize 25 specialized sessions and meetings in Belgium and Germany from June 8 to 12.

The events aim to enhance international cooperation and explore global best practices in AI governance, with participation from leading experts, policymakers, and representatives of international organizations and entities concerned with AI governance.

The sessions aim to strengthen international cooperation and exchange expertise in data and artificial intelligence, showcase Saudi Arabia's experience in building a leading national data and AI ecosystem, and explore key enablers, policies, and legislation for AI governance.

The discussions are expected to contribute to international efforts to develop responsible governance frameworks for emerging technologies.

The sessions will address a range of key topics related to AI governance, including the EU AI Act, data governance and privacy, international cooperation in AI, European standards and regulations, and responsible AI applications, in line with global efforts to promote the safe and trustworthy use of these technologies.

Technology

Saving Siri: After Two Years of Stumbles, Is Apple’s AI Moment Here?

16 September 2023, US, New York: The Apple logo is seen on a building in Manhattan. (dpa)
16 September 2023, US, New York: The Apple logo is seen on a building in Manhattan. (dpa)
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Saving Siri: After Two Years of Stumbles, Is Apple’s AI Moment Here?

16 September 2023, US, New York: The Apple logo is seen on a building in Manhattan. (dpa)
16 September 2023, US, New York: The Apple logo is seen on a building in Manhattan. (dpa)

When Apple holds its developer conference at its Cupertino, California headquarters on Monday, the big draw will be a widely expected overhaul to Siri, the AI assistant the iPhone maker two years ago promised, but failed, to improve.

Siri debuted in 2011 and is accessible through the bulk of Apple's installed base of 2.5 billion devices, but hundreds of millions of consumers have been chatting with apps from OpenAI and Anthropic instead. In China and elsewhere, consumers are turning to AI agents - bots that can carry out complex tasks on behalf of human users - to manage daily schedules and take care of rote tasks.

But analysts say Apple is still sitting on an AI gold mine in the form of the personal data that lives on every iPhone -- emails, messages, calendar appointments and other information scattered across the operating system and apps. That data could make ‌Siri's answers more ‌useful and make the assistant more helpful and competent at carrying out tasks.

Apple's ‌challenge ⁠is that such ⁠data is locked down in its operating systems in the name of privacy and security. Third-party apps purposely cannot read data from one another, and even Apple cannot access much of it without a user's permission.

Its task will be unlocking the power of that data, both for itself and for developers. "They have to make Siri not suck, but Apple also has to put the framework together of how their developers can take advantage of AI themselves," said Patrick Moorhead, founder of tech consulting firm Moor Insights & Strategy. "It sounds kind of boring, but AI is all about data, because ⁠data is what creates context and what creates better results."

To be sure, Apple ‌has hardly been punished by Wall Street for its approach to ‌AI. Its shares are up about 50% over the past year, less than the roughly 120% gain of Google parent Alphabet, ‌which has benefited from the success of its Gemini model, but also better than Microsoft's 7% decline ‌in that time. That firm has suffered from being perceived as falling behind the capabilities of rivals such as Anthropic, in part due to Microsoft's close ties to OpenAI.

DEVELOPERS AWAIT SIRI TWEAKS

The most visible moves for Monday will likely be the introduction of a "chat" mode with Siri and a "personal context" option to share that data with the assistant, said Andrew Cornwall, a ‌senior analyst with tech research firm Forrester.

Cornwall expects Apple to let developers plug their apps into Siri using what Apple calls "extensions" and let those developers choose ⁠among AI models from ⁠OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google's Gemini in their apps.

Apple also might introduce a new method of tapping into the AI processing capabilities of its custom chips, Cornwall said.

The point on which analysts tend to agree is that Apple is likely to frame AI not as a technology but rather as experiences or features that its customers will find helpful.

Polls have found the US public uneasy about AI, and while Apple customers in other major markets such as China view AI more positively, Apple has historically never embraced technology for technology's sake.

While Nvidia and Microsoft this year have spent time trying to tame OpenClaw, a technology that can direct an army of AI agents on a personal computer to log into a user's online services and carry out tasks for business users, Ben Bajarin, CEO of tech consultancy Creative Strategies, does not expect Apple to follow suit just yet.

Bajarin said he does not expect Apple to put much emphasis on emerging technologies like OpenClaw, which still have potential security issues.

"It's way too early for the consumer," he said. "Honestly, I'm not even sure businesses are ready for this in an uncontrolled context."

Technology

Nvidia Clinches Deals with South Korean Giants Including SK Group to Advance AI Boom

US chip giant Nvidia Corp. CEO Jensen Huang (R), and SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won (L), arrive to a briefing after their meeting at the business group's headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, 08 June 2026. (EPA)
US chip giant Nvidia Corp. CEO Jensen Huang (R), and SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won (L), arrive to a briefing after their meeting at the business group's headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, 08 June 2026. (EPA)
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Nvidia Clinches Deals with South Korean Giants Including SK Group to Advance AI Boom

US chip giant Nvidia Corp. CEO Jensen Huang (R), and SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won (L), arrive to a briefing after their meeting at the business group's headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, 08 June 2026. (EPA)
US chip giant Nvidia Corp. CEO Jensen Huang (R), and SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won (L), arrive to a briefing after their meeting at the business group's headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, 08 June 2026. (EPA)

Nvidia on Monday announced a series of deals in South Korea with tech giants including SK Hynix and Naver, as it looks to secure crucial memory chips to power its AI ambitions and entice new customers.

The agreements come during a high-profile trip by Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang to South Korea that began on Friday and has seen him dine on grilled pork belly and local spirit soju with the country's top corporate bosses, throw a baseball pitch and meet with a well-known gamer.

Nvidia and its partners, which also included SK Telecom and conglomerate Doosan Group, did not disclose the value of the deals.

SK Group, South Korea's second-largest family-owned conglomerate, said its SK Hynix and SK Telecom arms had agreed deals with Nvidia.

Memory chip maker SK Hynix signed a multi-year technology partnership ‌that will see ‌it commit to developing advanced types of memory for global AI data centers, SK ‌Group ⁠said.

SK Hynix and ⁠Nvidia said the agreement, which comes as memory chip makers have been straining to keep up with demand, would enable supply to keep pace with Nvidia's plans, which have expanded to robotics, personal computers and AI supercomputers.

"SK Hynix has been Nvidia's largest memory partner. SK Hynix will continue to be Nvidia's largest memory partner," Huang said after a meeting with SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won at the headquarters of the chipmaker's parent.

Huang said the deal with SK Hynix, a rival to Samsung Electronics and US-based Micron Technology, was for more than two years with the option to keep extending.

"We already procure and we buy from SK Hynix already billions ⁠and billions of dollars each year, and it's going to grow substantially," he said.

Ryu Young-ho, ‌a senior analyst at NH Investment & Securities, said the SK Hynix-Nvidia partnership reinforced ‌the view that memory chips were evolving from a commodity product into a more customer-specific business.

OTHER DEALS

SK Telecom said it would build ‌a gigawatt-scale AI cloud in South Korea using Nvidia technology, with the first AI data center to come online in ‌2027. Nvidia said internet giant Naver and conglomerate Doosan would also use its technology to help build AI data centers.

Doosan, which is developing robots and makes materials used in Nvidia's most powerful Blackwell chips, said it expected its energy solution to be used in Nvidia's data center platforms and for it to use the US firm's physical AI technology as well.

Nvidia is also partnering with LG Group on electronics, mechanical ‌systems and AI for humanoid robots, Huang said after a meeting with the tech conglomerate's Chairman Koo Kwang-mo.

Huang said the pair were also working on the architecture ⁠of future data centers including cooling, ⁠power delivery and the entire design and building of the data centers.

SOUTH KOREA STOCK RALLY FALTERS

South Korea is an Asian manufacturing powerhouse, home to major producers of chips, electronics, cars and ships. SK Hynix and Samsung are the world's two largest makers of memory chips, which are key components in data centers.

The country's benchmark Kospi index has doubled in six months as heavyweights SK Hynix and Samsung benefited from the AI wave, but dove almost 9% on Monday after robust US jobs data fanned bets on a Federal Reserve rate hike this year and sparked a rout in global tech stocks.

Shares in Samsung and SK Hynix both plunged more than 10% in early trading before trimming some losses, with Samsung later down 4.6% and SK Hynix falling 0.6%.

When asked about the global chip stock rout, Huang waved off concerns, saying: "Everybody should be very excited; they can now buy stock at a cheaper price, and it's absolutely true that the future of AI is very bright."

Huang also told reporters after a fried chicken dinner with Chey on Sunday that he planned to meet Samsung's Jun Young-hyun, who leads the company's semiconductor business, on Monday. He will also meet with Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung on Monday afternoon.