Cisco announces collaborations to boost AI ecosystem in Malaysia, unpacks AI strategy for businesses  

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  • Developed partnerships with TM and PNB to advance AI technology
  • collaborated with MDEC and UTM to close the gap in Malaysian AI knowledge.

Cisco announces collaborations to boost AI ecosystem in Malaysia, unpacks AI strategy for businesses  

At its annual AI Day celebration, Cisco, a worldwide innovator in networking and security, formalized three cooperation aimed at fostering AI-led development in Malaysia. An AI hackathon to bridge the gap between AI skills and give students valuable hands-on experience was announced by the company in conjunction with the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation ( MDEC ) and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia ( UTM). Also, it outlined its strategy to enable Indonesian businesses to leverage AI for unlocking fresh company opportunities.

AI has the potential to deliver a US$ 115 billion ( RM493 billion ) boost to Malaysia’s gross domestic product. While it creates new prospects, it also introduces safety risks and risk vector that must be addressed. At Cisco AI Day, the business presented a comprehensive plan to assist Indonesian businesses in addressing these issues by integrating AI across its full portfolio and establishing a trusted infrastructure to support and safe AI workloads.

Cisco announces collaborations to boost AI ecosystem in Malaysia, unpacks AI strategy for businesses  Fabian Bigar ( pic ), &nbsp, secretary general of the Ministry of Digital, Malaysia, delivered a speech at the event on the importance of AI in driving Malaysia’s digital economy. He stated,” The potential for AI to enhance performance, optimize operations, and uncover innovative strategies for growth is tremendous. It gives Malaysia the opportunity to increase its standing in the world while promoting equitable growth for all people. By embracing AI, we may address pressing issues, modernise important sectors, and secure long-term prosperity”.

Additionally, Cisco announced two collaboration agreements as part of its Country Digital Acceleration ( CDA ) initiative in Malaysia. CDA is Cisco’s co-investment and co-innovation system that operates in 50 locations worldwide. Cisco uses CDA to promote social participation and economic resilience by recognizing the value of digitization.

The first project will be a collaboration with Telekom Malaysia ( TM) to assist JDN in updating its modern infrastructure. TM will create a safe, efficient system for JDN’s Putrajaya school, enhancing community performance, reliability, and capacity to support bandwidth-intensive applications, quite as AI and machine learning technologies. To facilitate smooth and stable individual workstation experiences, Cisco does offer AI-enabled collaboration tools, including Cisco Spaces and Webex Boards. Employees will be able to manage the business effectively with the aid of AI-powered 3D maps and real-time insights into room accessibility and occupancy trends, which will help JDN optimize its space usage.

In collaboration with Permodalan Nasional Berhad ( PNB), Cisco will equip PNB’s innovation lab, network operations centre, and open collaboration areas with AI-powered networking, IoT, collaboration, and security solutions as it transitions to a new office. The technology facility, featuring Cisco’s Webex, Meraki devices, and ThousandEyes, may help PNB to analyze and create sustainable work technologies. Cisco ThousandEyes ‘ AI-driven intelligence in the Network Operations Centre will enhance PNB’s ability to detect, diagnose, and remediate disruptions impacting user experience. Cisco Webex Boards will facilitate inclusive work experiences with AI-enhanced video, audio, and other capabilities. Additionally, PNB will make use of Cisco Spaces to improve employee productivity.

Cisco has a role to play in every step of the AI revolution,” said Hana Raja ( pic ), Managing Director for Cisco Malaysia”. Our unique ability to combine network power with individualityCisco announces collaborations to boost AI ecosystem in Malaysia, unpacks AI strategy for businesses  industry-leading security, observability, and data enables us to offer visibility and insight across our customers ‘ entire digital footprint. What partners like TM and PNB have announced today shows how our AI innovations can support Malaysian businesses by enhancing their operations, improving customer experiences, and fostering long-term growth.

Additionally, Cisco, MDEC, and UTM announced the launch of an AI hackathon open to all university students from engineering and computer science faculties nationwide. Students will have a platform at the hackathon to create AI-driven solutions that could improve education, from enhancing learning experiences to automating administrative tasks for staff.

The event will begin with training sessions provided by Cisco, the hackathon’s technology partner for networking, security, collaboration, and data centres, which students will use to develop their ideas. They will also be given guidance and coaching through one-on-one mentoring with Cisco solution engineers. A maximum of 20 teams, each consisting of two to five members, will compete in the hackathon.

Following an exchange of MoU documents between the two parties, MyDigital Corporation, an agency under the Ministry of Digital that oversees and facilitates the execution of initiatives under the Malaysian Digital Economy Blueprint ( MDEB ) and the National 4IR Policy, recognized its partnership with Cisco as a Technology Immersion Partner for its Executive Digital Leadership ( EDL ) Programme. EDL aims to give C-suite executives in both the public and private sectors a thorough understanding of how various technologies work and how to successfully integrate them into their organizations. Cisco will incorporate its Internet of Things course into EDL as part of its Cisco Networking Academy curriculum, which is one of the longest-running skills-to-jobs programs in the world. This course will outline the IoT and demonstrate how it affects digital transformation across various industries.

To date, Cisco Networking Academy has equipped over 150, 000 learners in Malaysia with in-demand digital skills, including networking, cybersecurity, and data science, in collaboration with 120 higher learning institutions and organisations offering Networking Academy courses. The programme has contributed to a diverse workforce, with 37 % of learners being female.

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AI fueling rapid race for new chip-making materials – Asia Times

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The US Department of Commerce has announced an empty competitors to show “how AI can help in developing new green silicon materials and processes that meet industry requirements and can be designed and adopted within five decades.”

Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology Laurie Locascio calls this” a special chance to make the United States a world leader in effective, safe, high-volume, and dynamic silicon manufacturing”. Locascio serves as the director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Up to US$ 100 million will be awarded by the CHIPS Research and Development Office ( CHIPS R&amp, D) to winners who “develop university-led, industry-informed, collaborations about artificial intelligence-powered autonomous experimentation ( AI/AE ) relevant to sustainable semiconductor manufacturing”.

The US CHIPS and Science Act, which US President Joe Biden signed into law in August 2022, established CHIPS R&amp, D. The Department of Commerce is given$ 50 billion for initiatives that aim to revive and strengthen US semiconductor production and R&amp, D.

Of that sum,$ 39 billion went to the CHIPS Program Office for investment in infrastructure and technology in the United States, including high-profile companies being built by Taiwan’s TSMC and America’s Intel. $ 11 billion was allocated to CHIPS R&amp, D for projects such as this one.

The Commerce Department notes that” for the US semiconductor business to prosper in the long-term, it must be able to develop innovative and economically dynamic systems to safely make materials and production chips in a way that protects the environment and local communities.”

That seems clear. After all, the largest American manufacturer of semiconductor production equipment named itself Applied Materials, whereas silicon companies spend billions annually on developing more advanced integrated circuits, using electricity and water more effectively in the production process, and reducing industrial waste and greenhouse gas emissions.

However, Gina Raimondo, the secretary of commerce, feels more necessity. ” Best now”, she says, “new silicon materials generally take years to become production-ready and are very resource-intensive.

We need to use AI to rapidly develop green material processes if we want to quickly expand America’s semiconductor manufacturing base in a way that is long-term sustainable in the face of growing threats from the climate crisis.

Raimondo even feels a sense of vision, saying,” With this new software, the Biden-Harris management will harness the huge potential of our workers and innovators to create a more stable and enduring home semiconductor industry.

What are these presentations all around, aside from making grandiose claims for a sum of money that seems like a drop in the bucket in comparison to the billions of dollars spent annually on R&amp, D? ( In the second quarter of this year alone, Intel’s R&amp, D budget was$ 4.2 billion. )

The answer is that AI/AE, which combines system understanding and automatic facilities, is” ushering in a paradigm change in materials science, “according to Taro Hitosugi, Ryota Shimizu and Naoya Ishizuki of the Tokyo Institute of Technology”. These systems make decisions and carry out all exploratory steps without the need for human intervention by using computer systems and robots.

” Given the possible mixtures of elements,” they continue”, there is an almost infinite number of new materials … Thus, optimizing high-dimensional synthesis parameters in a vast search area is necessary for materials production … In a way, the world of materials is a border for investigation, much like place or the deep water.”

AI/AE should enable a vast acceleration of the process of materials discovery and synthesis, not only in the semiconductor industry but across the spectrum of applied science, from electronics, energy, aerospace and defense to biology, chemistry and pharmaceuticals.

Writing in Nature Synthesis, Eugenia Kumacheva of the University of Toronto and Milad Abolhasani of North Carolina State University write:

Through the integration of machine learning, lab automation, and robotics, the recent growth of data science and automated experimentation techniques has led to the development of self-driving labs ( SDLs ).

An SDL is a machine-learning-assisted modular experimental platform that iteratively operates a series of experiments selected by the machine-learning algorithm to achieve a user-defined objective. Through quick exploration of the chemical space, these intelligent robotic assistants aid researchers in accelerating the pace of fundamental and applied research.

The main benefit of SDLs is the “research acceleration” to produce new knowledge that can lead to the development of novel compounds or manufacturing processes for the best-performing materials 10 to 1000 times more quickly than with one-at-a-time variable exploration or combinatorial experiments.

In other words, AI and robots can perform tasks much more effectively than trial and error that are scientifically sound. According to researchers led by Professor Alán Aspuru-Guzik of the University of Toronto’s Department of Chemistry,

The Aspuru-Guzik group’s goal is to reduce the amount of time and money needed to develop new functional materials or improve existing ones by a factor of ten, namely from ten million dollars and ten years of development to one million dollars and one year. This will eventually change the way we conduct scientific research.

Aspuru-Guzik is also a professor of computer science, a member of the University of Toronto’s strategic initiative Acceleration Consortium, which brings together researchers from industry, government, and academia.

This may be the model for the US Commerce Department’s semiconductor materials initiative. In addition, the department’s AI/AE competition bears a strong resemblance to the SDL Grand Challenge proposed by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies ( CSIS ) think tank in its January 2024 report entitled” Self-Driving Labs: AI and Robotics Accelerating Materials Innovation.”

The CSIS report asks whether the United States is giving enough policy attention and resources to ensure the advantage in SDLs, stating that” the development and adoption of alternative and new materials is central to US leadership in emerging technologies.

At that time, according to CSIS, US spending on SDLs was less than$ 50 million and” not done in a directed, programmatic manner, “while Canada had awarded$ 200 million to the Acceleration Consortium at the University of Toronto.

In this context, the US Commerce Department’s$ 100 million award will be a belated but meaningful step forward. Its five-year time frame matches the semiconductor industry’s roadmap to 1nm process technology.

CSIS also pointed out that the University of Liverpool, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, Argonne National Lab, and Carnegie Mellon University were creating SDLs, noting that” University of Liverpool researchers in 2020 used a mobile platform robot arm to create and search for catalysts across 10 design parameters, ultimately conducting 688 experiments over eight days completely autonomously and identifying chemical formulations that were 6 times better than the baseline. ” &nbsp,

Imec, the Inter-university Microelectronics Centre headquartered in Belgium that conducts advanced R&amp, D with and for the semiconductor industry, is using AI to identify new materials. For example, scientists affiliated with imec write:

Semiconductors are becoming more challenging to manufacture as a result of decreasing dimensions and increasing complexity. In particular, the allowed deposition temperature becomes lower. Amorphous materials, which do not require annealing steps, are therefore becoming more interesting.

However, modeling crystalline materials is much more challenging than modeling crystalline ones from first principles. Especially to screen for new materials, a fully&nbsp, ab initio approach is hence too expensive. We address this issue by combining high throughput first principles calculations with artificial intelligence ( AI ).

The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory ( APL) is using AI to accelerate the development of new materials capable of withstand the harsh conditions that characterize deep-sea exploration, space exploration, hypersonic vehicles, and other applications that are related to national security.

Morgan Trexler, program manager for Science of Extreme and Multifunctional Materials&nbsp, at APL says,

There are more operations in austere environments as the US faces pressing national security challenges, and those operations require revolutionary new materials. We ca n’t wait for decades to find the materials that will satisfy those demands. By infusing AI approaches throughout the discovery process, we can more quickly and intentionally identify materials for complex, specific applications.

Keith Caruso, chief scientist at APL’s Research and Exploratory Development Department, adds that” The approach to building on existing materials will only ever yield limited improvements. To create groundbreaking materials, we need to make a fundamental leap.”

The RIKEN National Research and Development Agency in Japan is utilizing high-performance computing and AI for genomic medicine and drug discovery.

Japanese analytical instrument maker Shimadzu Corporation, which works with Kobe University, is targeting” a platform for autonomous scientific discoveries by robots and AI” as its vision of future laboratories for the development of new materials, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, including” smart cells” with altered genes.

According to Science China Press,” the idea of large materials models as deep-learning computational models for materials design has attracted great interest.”

Researchers at Tsinghua University are pursuing the creation of “models” that can handle a range of material structures across the periodic table’s various components.

A robotic chemist with an AI background and a team of Chinese scientists created a catalyst to produce oxygen from Martian meteorites almost a year ago, according to China Daily.

The catalyst can consistently produce oxygen without apparent deterioration, according to a stress test at minus 37 degrees Celsius, which suggests it can operate in the harsh conditions on Mars.

Although it is unclear what the Chinese are doing with the development of autonomous materials for the semiconductor and other industries, it is possible.

Follow this writer on&nbsp, X: @ScottFo83517667

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AI versus the climate as data center emissions soar – Asia Times

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AI is curating your social media feed and providing you with information to the train station. It’s even throwing the fossil fuel industry a backbone.

Three of the biggest technology firms, Microsoft, Google and Meta, have reported ballooning greenhouse gas emissions since 2020. Data centers crammed with machines running Artificial courses all day and evening are largely to blame.

According to the World Economic Forum, the number of system horsepower dedicated to AI is estimated to be double every 100 days starting in April. Oil power plants that were once scheduled to shut down had been revitalized to fuel this increase in the US, where numerous Artificial technology inventors are based.

Second, what actually is AI?

According to Sandra Peter and Kai Riemer, technology researchers at the University of Sydney,” the kind of Artificial we are seeing in consumer goods now identifies habits.” ” Unlike standard coding, where developers directly plan how a program works, AI’ learns ‘ these patterns from huge datasets, enabling it to execute tasks”.

Data computers operate 24/7 while Artificial programs are” trained” and fed sizable amounts of data over a period of weeks and months. When up to speed, an AI can perform a task 33 times more efficiently than conventional application.

According to Gordon Noble and Fiona Berry, conservation researchers at the University of Technology Sydney, a single keyword to an AI-powered robot can take ten times as much energy as a standard Google research.

According to them,” This huge demand for energy causes increases in carbon emissions and water use, which may put additional strain on power systems that are already under pressure from climate change.”

Data centres are both hungry and power-hungry: thousands of liters of water must be pumped to keep them cool. These huge server warehouses are competing with people for more power and water, which could be lethal in the event of a heat or drought.

A controversial answer

According to Noble and Berry, experts just have a limited understanding of AI’s source diet. Only 5 % of Australian conservation professionals believed data centre operators provided thorough knowledge about their economic effects, according to a survey.

Despite its ferocious taste, AI is hailed as a Swiss army knife of planet-repairing.

According to Ehsan Noroozinejad and Seyedali Mirjalili, AI researchers at Western Sydney University and Torrens University Australia, AI’s capability to process mountains of information allows it to identify early warning signs of a developing storm or storm and monitor how the environment is changing.

” For instance, it is apparently measure changes in oceans 10, 000 times faster than a mortal can”, they add.

The University of East London management experts Kirk Chang and Alina Vaduva raise concerns that AI may improve the accuracy of Earth’s climate models.

AI could monitor the entire electricity grid carefully and organize generators so that they use less energy while meeting demand. Artificial models may identify waste materials for recycling and look at air pollution to identify its sources. AI systems on farms had monitor the weather and soil conditions to make sure crops are given the least amount of water possible.

But, AI’s claims to productivity are unfortunately undermined by a well-worn trouble. When mankind improves an action through technology, the power or source savings are typically used to improve the activity or others.

” The advantage of an automatic car may increase people’s vacation and in a worst-case situation, double the amount of electricity used for transfer”, says Felippa Amanta, a PhD candidate in modern technologies and climate change.

And while it is beneficial to consider what AI might do, it is crucial to remember what it is presently doing. According to a Scientific American research, AI was used in oil removal in 2019 to significantly boost production. Somewhere, targeted marketing that uses AI creates desire for material items. More mass-produced things, more pollution.

Does our response to climate change have to be high-tech?

A reliable energy source is frequently the first thing to go when a culture disaster like Hurricane Helene, which over the weekend claimed more than 150 life in the south-eastern US. AI can be of much support in these situations.

Low-tech answers to life’s issues are usually more resilient and small coal. In fact, the majority of them have been around for a very long time, much like the fruit rooms, which were used in England as early as the Middle Ages to create Mediterranean produce.

” ‘ Low-tech’ does not mean a profit to mediaeval ways of living. However, more thoughtful decision in our technology choices and consideration of their benefits are required, according to engineering expert Chris McMahon from the University of Bristol.

” What’s more, low-tech options generally rely on camaraderie. This involves encouraging social relationships, for example through social music or dancing, rather than fostering the hyper-individualism encouraged by resource-hungry online devices”.

Jack Marley is environment energy editor, The Conversation

This article was republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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13 businesses selected for Tegas Fundraising Accelerator batch 3

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  • The throttle helps startups develop pitches, bring capital
  • aims to place native startups at the top 20 in the global business ecosystem by 2030.

Participants engaged attentively during a session on the first day of the TEGAS Fundraising Accelerator.

Through its TEGAS Digital Village ( TDV), Tabung Ekonomi Gagasan Anak Sarawak ( TEGAS ) has made the selection of 13 businesses for the third cohort of the TEGAS Fundraising Accelerator ( TFA ) program. The TFA is designed to promote the growth of local businesses and social organizations, aligning with Sarawak’s Post-COVID-19 Development Strategy and the Sarawak Digital Economy Blueprint 2030.

In a statement, the agency confirmed that the selected organizations for the program include NR&amp, Sons Holdings, Best Academy, Evolving Brilliance Technologies, Ensera, Harapan Anak Urang Sarawak, Fit Two Shape, OINC, Spearcompute, Miaw Destiny Solution Management, Noms Fochun Founders, Ark Hill, Zinsolar Engineering, and HY Energy Services.

TEGAS is responsible for the four-day TDV Kuching program, which is co-hosted by PitchPlatforms Sdn Bhd ( pitchIN ) and MyStartup. While MyStartup, a national initiative created by the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation ( MOSTI ) and Cradle Fund Sdn Bhd, aims to boost the competitiveness of local startups with the goal of achieving a top 20 position in the Global Startup Ecosystem by 2030, PitchIN is Malaysia’s Digital Fundraising and Investment Hub.

13 businesses selected for Tegas Fundraising Accelerator batch 3The TEGAS Fundraising Accelerator was created to assist business owners with little or no experience in obtaining additional funding. Through this ongoing initiative to nurture startup growth in Sarawak, founders will be equipped with essential techniques and insights needed to successfully raise capital”, said Len Talif Salleh ( pic ), Deputy Minister of Urban Planning, Land Administration, and Environment, who is also Chairman of TEGAS.

” This program offers an in-depth investigation into the subtleties of funding, ensuring businesses are better prepared for buyer engagement”, he added.

Xelia Tong, Chief Operating Officer of pitchIN, is one of the instructors for the project, alongside other significant early-stage owners, funding organizations, and venture capitalists. These experts may offer valuable insights into the fundraising process and give participants a thorough understanding of buyer expectations and tactics to secure financing.

The accelerator aims to help startups improve their pitches, navigate challenging investment environments, and maximize their potential to get additional funding.

” Since partnering with TEGAS in 2019, we’ve seen remarkable growth in the local habitat, especially in nurturing Sarawak companies. We’re confident that this program will help local entrepreneurs expand their fundraising capabilities and help them grow and contribute to the state’s expanding firm landscape as we approach the second year of operation of the Sarawak fundraising accelerator,” said Tong.

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Nobody talkin’ about an AI smartphone revolution – Asia Times

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Last year, Apple unveiled a new series of iPhones, as is customary at this time of year. The only thing that was promised to make these new gadgets appealing to us was AI, or Apple Intelligence, as they called it. However, customer technology’s global community has cooled down.

Over a hundred billion dollars were soon wiped off of Apple’s share price because the lack of enthusiasm from the public was so obvious. Fans of all new things technology, yet the Wired Gadget Lab podcast, did not find anything in the new features that would compel them to switch to the iPhone 16

The addition of a fresh lens lock button on the side of the mobile did not seem to cause much excitement, but rather the inclusion of a new camera shutter button. Something is obviously wrong if a box is a better selling level than the most gimmick-filled technology of the past few years.

The Media Copilot described Artificial as having passed what its “wondering period” as. We were pleasantly surprised two years ago when conceptual AI systems like ChatGPT, DALL-E, and others were able to produce clear writing and practical images from a few words in a text quick.

But then, AI needs to show that it can really be successful. Since their launch, the concepts driving these activities have become much more powerful – and rapidly more expensive.

However, Google, NVidia, Microsoft and OpenAI just met at the White House to explore AI system, suggesting these companies are doubling down on the systems.

According to Forbes, the industry is US$ 500 billion short of recovering the significant investments in AI hardware and software, and the$ 100 billion in AI revenue projected for 2024 is not even close to this figure.

Apple must also support the inclusion of AI features in its products for the same purpose that Google, Samsung, and Microsoft are doing it to give customers a reason to purchase a new system.

Strong market?

Before AI, the industry was attempting to spread awareness about the Metaverse and virtual reality, which probably peaked with the release of the Apple Vision Pro helmet in 2023 ( a product that, ironically, was hardly mentioned in previous week’s news ).

Tech firms needed something else to generate income after the Metaverse failed, and AI has come to be the new bright object. However, it’s still to be seen if users will adopt AI-based features like reading and photo-editing capabilities.

This does not mean that the current AI is ineffective. AI systems are used in billion-dollar market applications, in everything from online advertising to care and energy optimization.

Restaurant
Apple’s Physical Intellect allows the telephone lens to be aimed at things, like a cafe, to get information without doing a search. Photo: Heiko Kueverling via The Talk

Generative AI has also grown to be a useful tool for practitioners in a variety of areas. A study found that 97 % of software developers have employed AI tools to support their work. Some editors, visual artists, musicians and artists have adopted Iot tools to create content more swiftly and more effectively.

Despite attempts at AI-supported search proving to be prone to mistakes, the majority of us are not really willing to pay for a company that draws hilarious cartoon cats or summarizes text. Apple’s strategy for deploying unnatural intelligence seems to be largely a jumble of existing functions, many of which are now integrated into well-known third-party apps.

Apple’s AI can help you build a custom icon, record a telephone call, edit a photo, or read an email – beautiful, but no more groundbreaking stuff. There is also a feature called Reduce mode that is supposed to make you feel less unimportant and only through important notifications, but it’s anyone’s guess how well that will actually work.

The one forward-looking feature is called Visual Intelligence. Without performing a search on your part, you can use the camera to point it at something in the air and get information. For instance, you might take a picture of a restaurant sign and receive a phone message with the menu, reviews, and possibly even assistance with table reservations.

Although this is very reminiscent of the Lens in Google’s Pixel phones ( or ChatGPT’s multimodal capabilities ) it does point towards a future use of AI that is more real-time, interactive, and situated in real-world environments.

Apple Intelligence and the Reduce mode could change into what has been envisioned and demonstrated in research projects since the 1990s, but the majority of the time it has n’t developed into a real product category. This has been done since the 1990s.

The ironic part of all this is that Apple Intelligence is not yet really accessible for anyone to try, as the new iPhones do not yet include them. They might turn out to be more valuable than the lack of details seems to suggest.

However, Apple used to be known for only releasing products when they were fully and truly ready, which meant that the use-case was unmistakably perfect and the user experience was flawless.

This is what made the iPod and iPhone so much more appealing than the previous generation of MP3 players and smartphones. It’s anyone’s guess if Apple’s AI strategy will be able to recover some of the lost stock price, not to mention the hundreds of billions that they and the rest of the tech industry have invested.

After all, AI still has a lot of potential, but it might be time to step back and consider where it will actually be most useful.

Lars Erik Holmquist is professor of design and innovation, Nottingham Trent University

The Conversation has republished this article under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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TM Global extends collaboration with Radian Arc to strengthen cloud gaming offerings

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  • Attempts to strengthen M’sia’s sky games, grow to the Middle East &amp, Africa
  • Collaboration is in line with TM’s goal of becoming a modern superstar by 2030.

TM and Radian Arc signed an agreement for Cloud Gaming services witnessed by Fahmi Fadzil, minister of Communications, Malaysia (Middle).

The domestic and international wholesale division of Telekom Malaysia ( TM) has announced a two-year extension of its cooperation with Radian Arc, a provider of global cloud infrastructure, through TM Global. This ongoing relationship will concentrate on expanding TM’s global sky gaming services.

TM Global and Radian Arc may strengthen Malaysia’s sky game landscape while extending services to areas like the Middle East and Africa following their successful 2022 cooperation. The prolonged deal leverages Radian Arc’s GPU Edge systems and the low-latency SHAKS Gamepad joystick developed by AKSys Co., ensuring a smooth gaming experience and boosting TM Global’s ability to offer high-quality, real-time applications.

The drafting took place in Seoul, attended by Malaysia’s Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil. TM Global’s Executive Vice President, Khairul Liza Ibrahim, signed on behalf of TM, while Radian Arc was represented by CEO David Cook.

Khairul stated,” This engagement with Radian Arc reinforces our responsibility to delivering cutting-edge options for digital change. The diversity of GPU technology enables us to meet the changing demands of our clients. We are looking forward to expanding our partnership with Radian Arc, which will improve both our existing companies and open up new markets.

The partnership supports TM Global’s aim to explore innovative solutions such as Bandwidth-on-Demand and GPU-based options, enabling high-performance programs like AI inferencing, Big Language Model education, and Desktop-as-a-Service. Customers will have access to flexible, cloud-based resources through these offerings to advance digital innovation in their journey through digital transformation.

David Cook, CEO of Radian Arc, said,” We are delighted to expand our relationship with Telekom Malaysia, paving the way for companies like GPU-as-a-Service and BoD. Collectively, we may increase TM’s offerings and develop into new areas, empowering businesses with the technologies they need to thrive”.

This partnership is in line with TM’s strategic goal of becoming a Digital Powerhouse by 2030, promoting online conversion across all industries, and positioning Malaysia as a key electronic gateway in Southeast Asia.

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GLICs begin targeted capital deployment under MOF’s Gear-uP programme to boost key sectors

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  • attempts to use US$ 29.1 billion over the course of five times to stimulate economic growth.
  • Initiative aims to boost M’sian business, increase the rakyat’s quality of life

Panel Session Group Photo at Invest Malaysia 2024 featuring (from left) CEO Bursa Malaysia, Muhamad Umar Swift, CEO Employees Provident Fund (EPF) , Ahmad Zulqamain Onn, managing director Khazanah Nasional, Amirul Feisal Wan Zahir, CEO Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (Diperbadankan) (KWAP), Hajah Nik Amlizan Mohamed and chief executive Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera (LTAT) , Mohammad Ashraf Md, Radzi.

Malaysia’s Government-Linked Investment Companies ( GLICs ) reiterated their joint commitment to supporting the Ekonomi Madani framework through targeted capital deployment in high-growth, high-value sectors at the Invest Malaysia 2024 Conference, themed” Where Policy Meets Progress”, launched recently by Anwar Bin Ibrahim in Johor.

During a panel session, GLIC heads highlighted their focus areas within the Ministry of Finance ( MOF ) -led Gear-uP initiative, which aims to deploy US$ 29.1 billion ( RM120 billion ) over the next five years to drive economic growth. The eyes of KWAP, EPF, Khazanah, and LTAT discussed areas for targeted investment, including agriculture, the semiconductor business, the venture capital habitat, system, clean energy, data centres, care, and biopharmaceuticals.

The Malaysian economy has shown significant growth in the first half of 2024, expanding by 5.1 % year-to-date (YTD ). The Ringgit’s 5.1 % increase against the USD YTD reflects this good trend. Also, the Malay equity market has outperformed the place, with the KLCI rising 13.5 % YTD and reaching a multi-year substantial of 1, 678.8 in August. The Ekonomi Madani Framework’s success, particularly in terms of financial reform and governmental measures, is reflected in this consistent economic efficiency.

Building on this success, the Gear-uP initiative seeks to further strengthen Malaysia’s economic foundations, with GLICs leading efforts to” Raise the Ceiling” of Malaysia’s economic stature and” Raise the Floor” of the rakyat’s quality of life. By concentrating on domestic investments, the initiative aims to bring about new financial ecosystems and gain Malaysians equally.

Hajah Nik Amlizan Mohamed, CEO of KWAP, said,” KWAP is implementing a new Strategic Asset Allocation ( SAA ) to optimise our portfolio’s risk-return profile, aiming to diversify further with private market investments. This is in line with our goal, which is to maximize returns while also advancing the national agenda of creating a vibrant local personal market in accordance with the framework of the Madani Economy.

She added,” We have identified three key strategic focus areas: agriculture and food security, the semiconductor industry, and the venture capital ecosystem. Our crops goal is to promote nationwide food security by supporting novel agribusinesses. We want to advance Malaysia’s reputation internationally by moving away from simple production to more sophisticated production processes like chip design and difficult presentation. Through our walk money efforts, we are cultivating an ecology that encourages innovation, creativity, and risk-taking”.

” These proper investments aim to gain significant long-term worth while contributing to Malaysia’s economic growth. By focusing on these businesses, KWAP is positioned to drive technology, create high-skilled career, and help sustainable economic growth, benefiting our partners and reinforcing KWAP’s function as a vital institutional investor in Malaysia’s financial landscape”, she concluded.

As part of the Gear-uP initiative led by the Ministry of Finance, KWAP has committed to allocating US$ 9.7 billion ( RM40 billion ) to Malaysia’s private sector, contributing to the collective US$ 29.1 billion ( RM120 billion ) pledged by six major GLICs.

Employees Provident Fund ( EPF ) CEO Ahmad Zulqarnain Onn stated that the company’s reallocation into domestic direct investments supports our national strategy for sustainable growth while remaining compliant with the broader national agenda for sustainable growth. A significant portion may be directed towards infrastructure projects, including clean energy, data centres, and critical transportation centers like airports and burden roads —sectors necessary to Malaysia’s long-term growth. As we anticipate the growing demands of an aging population, our health is also at the forefront of our strategy to ensure our investments deliver long-term value while ensuring our mission is to provide a secure and dignified retirement for Malaysians.

Khazanah Nasional’s managing director, Amirul Feisal Wan Zahir, stated that the company will continue to leverage its strategic position to deploy capital across the continuum of capital, starting with the National Fund-of-Funds initiative and pursuing initiatives for Mid-Tier Companies and efforts in the semiconductor sector. Khazanah’s ‘ A Nation that Creates ‘ framework will focus on boosting national productivity through investments in productivity, innovation, and business transformation. We will prioritise connectivity, energy transition, and digitalisation to raise the ceiling for all Malaysians”.

He continued,” To raise the floor, we will concentrate on sustainable economic development with an emphasis on capacity building through talent upskilling and reskilling to align with global megatrends.”

Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera ( LTAT ), the company’s CEO Ashraf Radzi, emphasized LTAT’s commitment to strengthening Malaysia’s pharmaceutical value chain by promoting local biopharmaceutical production through its investee company, Pharmaniaga Berhad.

” This strategic focus aims to lower import dependence and ensure the supply of crucial pharmaceutical products, while enhancing public access to essential healthcare. He continued,” Investing in the domestic pharmaceutical sector contributes to the creation of a self-sustaining healthcare supply chain that benefits Malaysians and adds value to the national economy.”

Click here for more information on the MOF-led Gear-uP programme.

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Nexlaw.AI, Thomas Philip partner to launch legal AI trial copilot system in Malaysia

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  • Thomas Philip did liquidity Nexlaw’s tools throughout various stages of litigation
  • Deployment of solutions may permit firm to&nbsp, simplify, enhance&nbsp, test prep processes

Nexlaw.AI, Thomas Philip partner to launch legal AI trial copilot system in Malaysia

Nextlaw. AI, the company of constitutional AI systems, and Thomas Philip Advocates &amp, Solicitors, a debate quality law firm, have announced a partnership to build a pioneering trial preparation solution for disputes and litigation. The events stated in a statement that this collaboration makes use of cutting-edge AWS Cloud system and NVIDIA GPU systems to revolutionize trial preparation, giving law firms a major competitive advantage in courtrooms.

Through this agreement, Thomas Philip Advocates &amp, Solicitors may employ Nextlaw’s Legal AI tools, especially the Constitutional AI Trial Copilot, to strengthen its constitutional teams at different stages of dispute, including case strategy, document review, witness preparation, and courtroom presentation. This integration strengthens the agency’s position as a pioneer in legal-tech innovation and highlights the potential of AI to deliver better legal services and top-notch client outcomes.

” We are thrilled to mate with Thomas Philip, a strong synonymous with quality in the legal industry”, said Francis Lui, founder and CEO of Nextlaw. By incorporating our privacy-first developed AI technologies into their dispute process, we hope to provide their authorized groups with unmatched insights and capabilities, leading to the achievement of outstanding results for their clients and shaping the future of legal services.

Mathew Thomas Philip, managing partner of Thomas Philip, added,” This association with Nextlaw scars a major step for our company and the Malay legal environment. By harnessing the power of AI, AWS Cloud, and NVIDIA GPU technology, we are committed to enhancing our legal services, providing even greater value to our clients, and driving innovation in the legal industry”.

The deployment of the Nextlaw. Thomas Philip Advocates & Solicitors will benefit from the AI Trial Preparation Solution to transform the way its trial preparation process works, gain a significant edge in the courtroom, and deliver notable results for its clients.

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China is winning the race to net zero – Asia Times

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In: Asia, Technology

China is winning in the battle for fresh power.

Over the past five years, it has spent ten days more on clean power than either the US or Europe. It dominates the rapidly growing renewables manufacturing market, producing 90 % of all solar panels, over 70 % of all lithium batteries and 65 % of all wind turbines.

That’s a pretty wise move. There is no evidence, according to our new research, that solar and wind cannot maintain their current impressive growth rates. Renewables may be a multi-trillion-dollar worldwide market in the near future.

The eye-watering investments of the US’s Inflation Reduction Act ( IRA ) and the European Green Deal, which will each cost US$ 1 trillion over the next ten years, could close the gap in terms of their clean energy deployment, but they are unlikely to reverse China’s dominance.

China now processes the majority of the materials used in clean energy sources and has a sophisticated manufacturing center that is more suited to increase production in response to the rising demand. China’s Tongwei thermal production plant, for instance, was single-handedly meet 10 % of the 2023 worldwide solar market demand.

And some of the newest Foreign factories are flexible. Another one or two of these factories may be constructed fairly quickly if demand increases, increasing costs and increasing scale.

To know what is driving this amazing growth in China at a city levels, we canvased expert opinions from officials, scientists, economy and natural parties in two leading Chinese places: Beijing and Hong Kong.

As one participant in our study summarized, in both cities the choice of renewables policies is influenced by factors including “alignment with the regional plan, economic costs, simplicity of application, and the accessibility of co-benefits”.

China’s commitment at the 75th UN General Assembly to reach net zero emissions or carbon neutrality by 2060, a position where any carbon pollution are equal to the amount of carbon being emitted from the environment.

This top-level mandate is accelerating cities toward their personal carbon neutrality goals, including Hong Kong’s goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050.

Solar appear to be popular in China across all levels of government. High-priority techniques at the city level were deemed to be utilizing the worldwide cost reductions of solar energy and accelerating the electrification of transportation.

In contrast, for Beijing and Hong Kong at least, alternatives like capturing carbon from fossil fuel usage and storing it underground were seen as decisions for state officials, and only necessary for the “last 8 % to 10 % of hard-to-abate emissions”.

Huge orange robot arm lifts big new blue solar panel in brightly lit factory
The world’s largest renewable panel producer is China. Photo: IM Imagery / Shutterstock via The Talk

Biofuels are among China’s net zero methods, along with significant investments in alternative clean systems like carbon capture on fossil fuel plants and atomic energy.

The US is building numerous multi-billion money facilities to generate hydrogen from renewable energy and carbon capture, and it has low gas, much of it. Additionally, both the US and Europe have a respectably longer history of nuclear power.

China is investing in these other systems, but no almost with the same vigour as solar.

In addition to our previous research, we discovered that renewable energy and electricity of transportation are becoming increasingly attractive investments for capital decision-makers in China because they are low cost, comparatively low risk, and have the potential to produce consistent emissions reductions at a rapid rate. These characteristics enable them to be potent agents of change.

Runaway decarbonization

Our socio-economic systems have sensitive intervention points ( Sips ) that can stop runaway decarbonization, just as the climate system has tipping points that can cause runaway climate change.

Sips enable a moderate policy intervention to generate transformational change and outsized results via “kicks” ( actions that trigger a positive feedback dynamic, such as learning-by-doing with renewables ) and” shifts” ( fundamentally altering the system to generate dramatic change, such as the UK Climate Change Act ).

Our prior research on Sips demonstrated that renewable energy and electrification of transportation are highly valued as “kick” Sips because they have high learning rates: the cost savings are lower and the demand is higher.

Why some technologies have such high learning rates while others do n’t, according to an illogical magic. These learning rates, once established, turn out to be persistent and quite predictable. We think that modularity, mass production, and mass appeal are all crucial elements in high learning rates.

All of these ingredients are present in solar, wind, and batteries, but particularly solar. You can put a single cell on your wristwatch, build a large solar farm, and everything in between. Their technological progress lies in manufacturing and mass production, after which it is virtually plug-and-play to deploy them.

And most people view solar and wind favorably more than alternatives like nuclear or carbon capture.

Lessons from two cities

What could countries like the UK, that do n’t have China’s manufacturing base, do to stay in this clean energy race? The research group on climate econometrics at the University of Oxford has demonstrated how five policy changes could help the UK return to its climate pledges.

These proposals include triggering both kicks and shifts to promote a sizable expansion of renewable energy, such as utilizing electric vehicles as a network of storage units and establishing more vertical and underground farms in inner cities.

There are currently less than 26 years until net zero by 2050. We think that the most effective green transition policies will make use of” Sips-thinking” to accelerate progress as urbanization quickly increases and more cities reveal their net zero plans.

Matthew Carl Ives is senior researcher in economics, University of Oxford and Natalie Sum Yue Chung is PhD candidate, Center for Policy Research on Energy and the Environment, Princeton University

The Conversation has republished this article under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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The Deep Tech goldmine: Challenges and opportunities in Malaysia’s growing ecosystem

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  • Strength of the transistor habitat provides a good foundation for the development of new capabilities
  • It is crucial to encourage designers to rise as owners in order to foster innovation.

Ir. Dr Bernard Lim, vice chairman of MBAN Penang believes that Malaysia’s existing semiconductor ecosystem offers a strategic advantage for deep tech startups, particularly those focused on hardware.

As technology evolves, Malaysia is positioning itself at the vanguard of profound software, a business promising long-term growth and innovation. But, startups and investors alike continue to face a significant problem as they try to commercialize deep systems. Ir. speaking at the monthly MBAN Forum next year. Dr Bernard Lim, vice president of MBAN Penang, highlighted the potential of serious technology, while also managing expectations for buyers.

Malaysian Business Angels Network is abbreviated as MBAN.

Understanding strong technical

Deep software, or heavy technology, is different from standard technology startups models where innovation revolves around business models and consumer-facing applications. Strong technology on the other hand, focuses on medical advances and engineering-driven options. Startups in this space work on disruptive technologies such as artificial intelligence ( AI), blockchain, biotechnology, and advanced computing, which require long research and development ( R&amp, D) cycles before delivering commercial returns.

” The gestation period is longer”, Lim emphasised. It’s not just about coming up with an idea and putting it into action. In heavy software, you need major R&amp, D, testing, prototyping, and constant elegance before even thinking about marketplace entry”.

Long birth period, large investment challenges

Deep tech’s lengthy gestational cycle and difficulty provide unique challenges. Companies in this industry usually need a few years to introduce their products. Unlike technology companies, which can run fast, deep technology solutions involve equipment development, extensive research, and stringent regulatory compliance, particularly in sectors such as healthcare and biotechnology.

Buyers, especially those expecting quick results, need to change their perspective when dealing with deep-tech companies. As Lim noted,” Do n’t expect a three-year return. You may wait five to eight times, and in health industries, it might take even more”.

This prolonged timeline, coupled with higher cash requirements, creates major barriers to entry. Investors must be persistent and have a thorough understanding of the complex industrial processes involved.

Malaysia’s place in the semiconductor business

Malaysia’s solid foundation in the silicon industry is one promising place. Since entering the world semiconductor industry in 1972, the state has grown to become the sixth-largest producer of electronics. Lim said that by 2030, the global semiconductor market could reach US$ 1 trillion globally ( RM4.21 trillion ).

Despite a momentary decline in the market following Covid-19, demand for electronic parts is expected to recover, driven by advances in high-performance technology, artificial intelligence, and consumer technology. Malaysia’s existing semiconductor ecosystem offers a strategic advantage for deep tech startups, particularly those focused on hardware.

Penang: The Silicon Valley of the East?

Penang is emerging as Malaysia’s hub for deep tech innovation. The state has for decades been at the forefront of Malaysia’s semiconductor sector, often referred to as the” Silicon Valley of the East.” With a rich pool of engineering talent and an established manufacturing infrastructure, Penang is well-positioned to lead the country’s deep tech charge said Lim.

However, challenges remain. As Lim noted, many engineers in Penang have traditionally worked in factories, focusing on production rather than entrepreneurship. ” Many engineers in Penang have spent years in factories, focusing on production, but what we need now is for them to take the leap into entrepreneurship, to lead their own startups and drive innovation in the ecosystem”. &nbsp, Encouraging these engineers to take this leap is crucial for the ecosystem’s growth, he asserts.

Collaboration and the development of the ecosystem

Another encouraging development is that Malaysia’s deep tech ecosystem is no longer limited to Penang. Selangor and Sarawak, along with projects like the Selangor IC Design Park and Sarawak’s growing interest in integrated circuit design, are also making progress. These initiatives aim to expand the nation’s capabilities in semiconductor and deep tech, encouraging cooperation among states.

Although the road to deep tech success may be difficult, Malaysia is well-positioned to capitalize on the upcoming wave of technological advancements with its expanding expertise in semiconductors and a push for innovation across multiple states. We hope to eventually imitate Silicon Valley and expand as quickly as possible. That’s our wish. And longer term, we aim to expand the deep tech ecosystem throughout Malaysia”, said Lim​.

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