APAC in brief Chinese researchers have told The New York Times that open source software has helped them to accelerate AI development.

The paper last week reported that interviews with a dozen technologists and researchers at Chinese tech companies yielded the opinion that "open source technologies were a key reason that China's AI development has advanced so quickly."

"They saw open source AI as an opportunity for the country to take a lead," the Times reported.

- Simon Sharwood

Internet shutdown sees Bangladesh miss CrowdStrike chaos

The nation of Bangladesh spent over a week without internet after services were cut off from July 18 amid violent anti-government protests.

Students protested against a decision of the High Court that ordered reinstatement of what many believe is a discriminatory quota system for desirable civil service jobs. Those protests were met with deadly violence before internet services were shut down.

A swath of organizations, including policy lab TechGlobal Institute, issued a statement condemning the violence and urging authorities to "uphold human rights, and restore access to the country's communication and internet services that can save lives during a conflict."

"Protesters are calling for the restoration of telecoms, the release of detainees, and accountability for over 150 deaths," explained internet connectivity watcher NetBlocks earlier this week.

NetBlocks added that "the Bangladesh telecoms blackout came into effect a day before the bad CrowdStrike update went out" and thereby "protected Bangladesh from the blue screen as a kind of macabre silver lining."

Some publications have noted that broadband internet serves were restored in select areas, but mobile networks remained down.

Last Wednesday The Register heard from one resident that they had been without internet for six days, but that business use had been restored - with limited bandwidth and without access to social media.

That resident likened the experience to "being back in the '90s."

Kakao founder jailed over K-pop caper

The founder of Kakao - a South Korean technology biz known for its popular messaging app KakaoTalk - was arrested last Tuesday over allegations of stock manipulation.

Kim Beom-su allegedly manipulated the stock price of SM Entertainment in February 2023 in an attempt to prevent a competitor form purchasing it.

The entertainment consortium is known for producing and managing some of the country's most popular K-pop artists and groups.

Kim has reportedly denied involvement.

Grab abandons Trans-cab acquisition, chomps Chope instead

Uber-analog Grab no longer plans to acquire Singapore taxi-operator Trans-cab and instead purchased restaurant booking business Chope last week.

Grab's intention to purchase the cab company sparked competition concerns from Singapore's Competition and Consumer Commission (CCCS) earlier this month.

On Thursday, CCCS noted Grab had withdrawn its application to acquire Trans-cab.

Grab did finalize the purchase of restaurant booking app Chope last Tuesday for an undisclosed sum. Chope operates in Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Hong Kong and China.

"The vast majority of the merchants on our platform are small, medium-sized businesses who don't have the same resources or know-how that big food and beverage brands have," a Grab spokesperson told The Register. "Our focus is to help level the playing field for them through tools that empower them to grow and manage their businesses more efficiently."

"We believe the addition of Chope's products and services provides more synergies for our merchant-partners, especially in helping them capture online-to-offline opportunities," the spokesperson added.

"Chope" is a slang term, often used in Singapore and Malaysia, meaning to reserve a seat or space - typically by placing a personal item on it.

Alibaba denies NYT report alleging cronyism

Chinese tech giant Alibaba issued a statement last week claiming that a New York Times article alleging founder Jack Ma was backed by a corrupt investor tied to China's political elite, was "false and unsubstantiated."

The report claimed that now incarcerated billionaire Xiao Jianhua secretly invested over $1 billion in Jack Ma's businesses - including Alibaba and Ant Group - through a network of shell companies and proxies over five years.

Ma, who is known for his criticism of cronyism, has denied connection with Xiao.

"Their story is contrary to the facts available in public filings and our corporate records," asserted Alibaba. "We dispute the credibility of their source and the truthfulness of the information. We strongly reject the article's narratives and inferences."

APAC Dealbook

Recent alliances and deals spotted by The Register across the region last week include:

• Equinix is expanding in the Philippines after acquiring three datacenters from Total Information Management.

  "The acquisition of the three high-performance datacenters will provide capacity for Equinix to address the digital needs of local and overseas businesses in the Philippines," explained Equinix of the all-cash transaction.

• South Korean online portal operator Naver launched a digital twin platform project with the Saudi Arabian government.

  The digital twin service will offer 3D models of major cities in Saudi Arabia and ultimately assist in services like urban planning and flood simulation.

• The National Quantum Office of Singapore, together with the country's science agency, national university, and supercomputing center announced that it will utilize Quantinuum's H-Series and next generation Helios quantum computers to promote joint R&D activities.

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https://www.theregister.com//2024/07/29/asia_tech_news_roundup/