🔥 Hot topics in deep tech – EV, chips, AI
🚗 EV
Chinese EVs still dominate the media attention worldwide. The new 100% US tariff on EVs from China announced by the Biden administration is widely regarded as symbolic and pre-emptive, as existing barriers have already kept Chinese EVs out. Bloomberg explained who is afraid of Chinese EVs, why, and what the Biden administration is up to.
The Biden tariffs, however, caused more concern in Europe, where an urgent and fierce debate over the same issue is going on. The EU took in nearly 40% of China’s EV exports last year. Brussels will announce its tariff decision on Chinese EV imports in early June.
Some observers in the UK think EV is only the tip of the iceberg – beneath the surface is a trend that deserves more attention but is not yet well understood in the West. It’s about China transforming from a major trade partner to a major tech provider, among other developments. More on this topic can be found in the Insights section of this newsletter👇 and here on our website.
🔲 CHIPS
China set up a new $47.5 billion semiconductor investment fund on May 24 to further beef up its domestic chip industry. This is the country’s largest-ever of its kind, in time to tackle escalating tensions with the US in the advanced 14nm chips field and mounting pressure from the EU on the 28nm front.
The investment vehicle, known as the Big Fund III, raised money from the central government and various state-owned banks and enterprises. China aims to achieve 70% self-sufficiency by 2025. The previous Big Funds have had mixed results.
🤖 AI
It took roughly one year for China’s AI market to go from zero to a major price war. When Alibaba Group unveiled steep discounts, Baidu and other players followed suit in AI era speed, and users found themselves spoiled with choices of much cheaper and more free services available.
Observers say it’s about LLM: the more users, the more data, and the better your LLM. The big players are in for the long run, and the window of opportunities for many startups is closing fast.
So, is it now LLM’s turn to go through a brutal elimination round in China, following the steps of EVs, e-commerce, internet service and mobile phones?
Further reading …
- China Creates $47.5 Billion Chip Fund to Back Nation’s Firms – Bloomberg
- Alibaba Sparks China AI Price War With Spate of Steep Discounts – Bloomberg
- Semiconductor Giant ASML Has a New Boss, and a Big Problem | WIRED
🚗 Insights: What could 25%-100% US tariffs on Chinese goods mean to the UK and the EU?
The new round of tariff hikes by the US on China raised a few questions in Europe. The tariffs announced in mid-May range from 25% to 100% on 14 categories of goods from China worth US$ 18 billion, under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. Targeted goods include face masks, syringes and needles, semiconductors, batteries, solar cells and EV cars, among others.
The move by the Biden administration fuels the EU’s anxiety and a fierce and urgent debate over the influx of Chinese-made EVs. Should the EU follow suit or look for alternative solutions? Solutions to what? The debate is still going on.
Some in the UK believe the whole EV phenomenon is only the tip of the iceberg, and the current under the surface needs to be understood better.
🔊 FINALLY
✈️ More speakers have been confirmed and more details released by Cambridge Tech Week 2024. As a partner, Crayfish.iois actively promoting CTW 24 in China, aiming to bring some leading tech companies, enterprises and investors from China and Asia to Cambridge in September.
📆 Before we see some of you at CTW24 (hopefully), we are looking forward to seeing you on June 12 at the Cambridge Wide Open Day. Do pop in at the St John’s Innovation Centre Ltdbetween 11-15 on the day to say hello, or chat over tea or coffee. Mark the date. We are proud to be one of the active participants in the CWOD.
🎉 Big congratulations to our long-time client, Cambridge Mechatronics Ltd for a splendid May 2024, when it got on Cambridge’s Top 10 Tech Funding Rounds of 2024 list with $40 million raised earlier in the year, opened a new R&D centre in Copenhagen, Denmark, and brought home the “Technology Company of the Year” trophy at the 2024 Cambridge Independent Science and Technology Awards. Triple happiness! 👏👏👏