Singapore Land Authority (SLA) has launched GeoWorks, the first geospatial industry centre in Southeast Asia (SEA). The centre will kick off by housing 22 geospatial technology start-ups from across the region to network and interact with government agencies and the industry with the aim of developing geospatial solutions.
Category: Enterprise
PC market inches up 2.7% in Q2

Global traditional PC shipment posted the strongest growth in more than six years during the past quarter, according to IDC. Total shipment was 62.3 million units, which translates to a 2.7 percent year-on-year growth.
Broadcom to acquire CA for US$18.9b
Fresh from its failure to acquire Qualcomm in March, Broadcom has made a move for former software giant CA Technologies. The US$18.9b deal brings together two unlikely partners — one a chipmaker and the other a software company that had its glory days in the 1990s.
Bosch and Daimler pick NVIDIA Drive Pegasus for robotaxis
Daimler and Bosch have chosen NVIDIA Drive Pegasus AI supercomputer to power their robotaxis, which are expected to start testing in Silicon Valley next year.
Suning Tesco opens first UAV logistics route in Wuhan
China e-commerce firm Suning Tesco has opened the first pilot route for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) logistics and transportation in Wuhan, China. Its logistics arm Suning Logistics and Ewatt Aerospace jointly developed two UAVs for this purpose.
China tops IDC’s smart cities awards
China has emerged tops with five out of 19 winners in the 2018 IDC Smart City Asia Pacific Awards (SCAPA). Taiwan and Singapore were next with four and three awards respectively across 12 functional categories.
IBM snags A$1b Australia government contract
IBM has scored a massive win with a five-year A$1 billion agreement with the Australia government.
To Dell and back
Dell Technologies is making a comeback on the New York Stock Exchange. The PC giant went private in 2013 as part of a transition strategy in the midst of changes in the industry brought about by mobile and cloud computing.
Banking spend drives external storage Q1 growth in India
Banking led professional services, manufacturing, telecommunications and government to contribute more than 80 percent to overall external storage market in India in Q1, according to IDC India. The quarter saw a jump of 12.7 percent year-on-year to US$84.1 million.
APrivacy launches WhatsApp bot for financial services industry
APrivacy has introduced APrivacy Bot on WhatsApp to help banks and insurance companies better engage with their customers. It offers a fully programmable chatbot, or connection with an existing chatbot, providing interaction with customers directly over WhatsApp.
AMAX launches AI-optimised server platform
High-performance server maker AMAX has launched the DL-E48A, a reconfigurable single/dual root high-density GPU platform designed for artificial intelligence (AI) training and inference.
Intel tweet that launches a new GPU war
On June 13, Intel had the GPU world in a flurry when it tweeted “Intel’s first GPU coming in 2020”. The media were quick to post stories of this incoming new GPU, which would add interesting competition to a market dominated by NVIDIA with AMD a distant second.
JD.com gets US$550m cash injection from Google
China e-commerce giant JD.com has received a US$550 million investment from Google as part of a strategic partnership.
Dell EMC widens lead on HPE as worldwide server revenue grew 33.4% in Q1

Dell EMC turned in a stellar performance in Q1 by growing 51.4 percent in server revenue, enabling it to widen the gap with second-place Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) which nevertheless grew an impressive 21.5 percent.
The US recaptures world’s fastest supercomputer title with first exaop AI system

The United States has regained its pole position at the fastest supercomputer race with the aptly named Summit.
NVIDIA announces platform to build intelligent robots

NVIDIA has announced the availability of NVIDIA Isaac, a new platform to power the next generation of autonomous machines, bringing artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities to robots for manufacturing, logistics, agriculture, construction, and many other industries.
Taiwan’s MOST and NVIDIA to collaborate on AI efforts

Taiwan is going big on artificial intelligence (AI) and its Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) will be collaborating with NVIDIA on AI initiatives.
Computex dishes out 35 Best Choice Awards
As a prelude to Computex Taipei next week, co-organiser Taipei Computer Association (TCA) has announced 35 winners of the 17th Best Choice Award (BC Award).
Power efficient chipsets to drive edge AI

Power efficient chipsets are set to be the main driver as artificial intelligence (AI) moves makes a significant shift from the cloud to the edge, according to ABI Research.
NVIDIA unveils first unified AI and HPC platform
NVIDIA has introduced the NVIDIA HGX-2, the first unified computing platform for both artificial intelligence (AI) and high performance computing (HPC).
ICT spending in APAC (sans Japan) to hit US$1.5t in 2021

Information and communications technology (ICT) spending in Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan) will hit US$1.5 trillion in 2021, according to IDC.
No cloud storage access for SingHealth staff
Apple iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive, and Microsoft OneDrive will have one more thing in common besides being cloud storage services — they will not be accessible to all 28,000 staff of SingHealth from July 1.
Google moves to top of smart speaker market in Q1
Google has ousted Amazon from the perch of the global smart speaker market. According to Canalys, Google shipped 3.2 million units with its Google Home and Google Home mini series , surpassing the 2.5 million units of the Amazon Echo series for the first time in Q1.
Foxconn Industrial Internet targets US$4.3b China IPO
China’s biggest initial public offering (IPO) since 2015 will come to pass if Foxconn Industrial Internet hits its target of 27.1 billion yuan on May 24.
Cryptocurrency and Carry
Singapore-headquartered Carry is teaming up with Spoqa of South Korea to bring cryptocurrency payment and blockchain-enhanced loyalty points to brick-and-mortar retailers.
Carousell secures US$85m funding
Singapore-based Carousell has secured US$85 million in Series C funding to grow and expand its e-commerce business across the region.
CIARA to build AMD-based high performance servers for high frequency trading
High performance systems maker CIARA has announced that it will produce an AMD-based ORION HF server line, as well as customised Blockchain platforms, running on AMD’s high-performance processors, with GPU mining cards.
Alibaba acquires Daraz to extend South Asia reach
Alibaba Group has acquired Daraz, its second purchase for a Rocket Internet company following the earlier deal for Lazada in Southeast Asia.
BitcoinWiki.org announces Crypto University
BitcoinWiki.org has launched Crypto University which will teach topics such as Bitcoin technology, blockchain, economy, and world affairs.
Panasonic powers facial recognition solution with NVIDIA deep learning technologies
Security is a major concern in airports, government buildings and major infrastructures around the world. Governments need to be able to quickly identify potential threats among the many people that enter and exit their countries daily. An effective facial recognition system is critical in safeguarding the country and critical infrastructures.
Yahoo fined US$35m for security breach
Yahoo, now part of Altaba, has been fined US$35 million for failing to disclose a 2014 security breach.
DEEPCORE teams up with NVIDIA to boost AI startups
Tokyo-based startup incubator DEEPCORE is partnering NVIDIA to support AI startups and promote university research programmes across Japan.
Forensic accountants uncover potential breaches at Trek 2000
Thumb drive inventor Trek 2000 International may have breached Singapore laws, according to forensic accountants from RSM Corporate Advisory.
Fujitsu HK appoints new CEO
Fujitsu Hong Kong has appointed Leo Ng as Chief Executive Officer. An industry veteran with more than 20 years of experience in Greater China and Asia Pacific, Ng will chart the company’s direction and business strategy, steering the company on its transformation journey by supporting customers to embrace cutting edge technologies such as AI and IoT in the digital era.
Spotting insurance claim and eye anomalies using GPU-powered AI
What does a fraudulent insurance claim and eye problem have in common? Well, both can be identified, thanks to powerful NVIDIA GPUs deployed by AIDA Technologies, a Singapore-based artificial intelligence (AI) startup which began in 2016.
Amazon has more than 100m Prime subscribers
The number is staggering even if the company is Amazon. Jeff Bezos has announced that Amazon Prime has more than 100 million members globally.
Canon Medical Systems accelerates deep learning in healthcare with NVIDIA DGX
Canon Medical Systems will use NVIDIA DGX systems to process large volumes of medical data generated by Abierto VNA, its proprietary, in-house, medical data management system launched in January.
Gaming and VR focus at Computex
With the global gaming market expected to touch US$128.5 billion in 2020, this year’s Computex will have gaming and virtual reality (VR) as a focus area, alongside artificial intelligence (AI), 5G, blockchain, Internet of Things, and innovations and startups.
Leadtek releases NVIDIA Quadro GV100 for workstations
Leadtek has released the Volta-based NVIDIA Quadro GV100 with 32GB of HBM2 memory, delivering more than 40 percent the double precision compute performance and over 2.5 times the deep learning procession performance of the previous-generation Quadro GP100.
Expereo and SecureOps form strategic partnership
Expereo and SecureOps have formed a strategic partnership to provide total network security for enterprises.

Apple fully powered by clean energy

New SAS division to fight fraud with AI and analytics
SAS has formed a global Fraud and Security Intelligence Division to help organisations better detect and
ANSYS to acquire OPTIS
Pittsburgh-based engineering simulation software maker ANSYS has agreed to acquire France-based optical simulation software provider OPTIS with the transaction expected to be completed in Q2.
India external storage market dips 4.7% in Q4
India’s external storage market dropped 4.7 percent year on year to US$74.1 million in Q4, according to IDC.
The taxi that looks for you
Where’s a taxi when you need one? That’s the bane of passengers from around the world, except possibly in Taipei where taxis somehow seem to be just where you need them.
VR to impact retail and marketing
Virtual reality (VR) has been tipped to be the next innovative technology to improve and impact retail and marketing.
Adobe and NVIDIA team up to improve Sensei
Adobe and NVIDIA have formed a strategic partnership to rapidly enhance their industry-leading artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning technologies.
Nyriad and ThinkParQ to certify GPU-accelerated storage
Nyriad and ThinkParQ are partnering to develop a certification programme for high performance, resilient storage systems that combine BeeGFS with NSULATE, Nyriad’s solution for GPU-accelerated storage-processing.
VRgineers ups the notch in enterprise VR
VRgineers is harnessing the potential of the new NVIDIA Quadro GV100 GPU for its high-resolution virtual reality (VR) headset, enabling even complex 3D scenes, high-poly models and high-resolution textures to perform smoothly at full refresh rates.
Leadtek introduces new entry-level workstation GPU
Leadtek has released NVIDIA Quadro P620, an entry level professional GPU that gives designers an expansive visual workspace to view all creations in stunning detail.
Project Clara is truly amazing
One of the most eye-catching demo during NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang’s keynote address at GTC 2018 is Project Clara.
NVIDIA DGX-2: Insanely powerful

NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang (above) dubbed it the “world’s biggest GPU”. And he certainly wasn’t kidding as the NVIDIA DGX-2 is a massive 350-pounder that delivers an amazing two petaflops of computational power.
GTC hits new highs

The GPU Technology Conference (GTC) has hit new highs with a record of more than 8,000 participants, and filling the entire San Jose McEnery Convention Center.
Broadcom’s takeover bid of Qualcomm takes broadside hit
Singapore-based Broadcom has been dealt a major blow in its takeover bid of Qualcomm. US president Donald Trump has issued an order against the US$117 billion deal.
Xjera Labs zooms in to AI to enhance security

Security is a growing concern among governments and organisations of all sizes. They must balance the need to provide access to the right people while keeping suspicious folks at bay. Any lapse can result in dire consequences that impact confidence in the country or company.
ViSenze takes visual search and image recognition to the next level

Every day, around three billion images and videos are uploaded online, creating a massive need to make them discoverable and searchable.
Emtech Asia: AI, quantum computing and more

Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre was a hive of activities of a different sort as more than 700 technologists from 21 countries converged for EmTech Asia on January 30 and 31.
Dathena transforms data from liability to asset

It’s been said that more data was generated in 2017 than in the previous 5,000 years. According to Statista, this figure will increase 10 times in less than a decade.
Towards a longer life

Throughout the ages, men have always been searching for the mythical Fountain of Youth and ways to extend life. Needless to say, many have tried and failed.

Singtel and Razer have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to connect their respective e-payment systems into an interoperable network to reach out to up to 50 million users in Southeast Asia.