Over his 15 years as Apple CEO, Tim Cook navigated increasingly tense relations between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump, helping Apple avoid the worst fallout from a US-China trade war while keeping manufacturing operations in China intact. His approach included storing some Chinese user data on mainland servers starting in 2014, complying with Chinese app removal demands, and staging high-profile displays of goodwill with Trump, such as touring a Mac Pro plant together.
A Nature opinion piece argues that European doctoral programs should learn from China's emphasis on practical, industry-relevant PhD training without directly copying its system. The author contends Europe needs to adapt such approaches to fit its own academic and economic context rather than importing them wholesale.
Chinese regulators are introducing new oversight mechanisms designed to speed evaluation and approval of emerging biomedical technologies, according to a Nature report. The changes reflect an effort to keep pace with rapid advances in biotech research while maintaining safety and ethical review standards.
President Trump used a Truth Social post to criticize local communities resisting new AI data center construction, saying such opposition would leave them 'backwards and poor' compared to areas that welcome the projects. The remarks follow a National Republican Senatorial Committee memo flagging voter backlash over data centers as a political risk ahead of the midterms, particularly in Ohio's tight Senate race.
President Trump posted on Truth Social criticizing the growing local opposition to AI data center construction across the U.S., arguing that communities rejecting these projects are choosing poverty and stagnation over prosperity. He also claimed that China benefits from the anti-data-center sentiment spreading through American towns and cities.
Clipto, a San Francisco-based startup with teams in Singapore and Hong Kong, closed a $15 million all-equity funding round that values the company at $250 million. The startup's software indexes videos, audio, images, and meeting recordings stored on a user's computer, letting people find files by describing them in natural language or through AI assistants like ChatGPT and Claude. Founder Henry Kang, whose prior startup ZenVideo was acquired by Tencent in 2020, built Clipto around the idea that AI has created a glut of unused content rather than a shortage of it.
Taoyuan prosecutors raided Unimicron Technology's headquarters and a plant, questioning 14 staff over allegations the company relabeled China-manufactured circuit boards as Taiwan-origin products. Several executives were released on bail ranging from NT$300,000 to NT$15 million, and the investigation into possible forgery and false origin-marking continues.
A Taiwanese man remotely accessed his robot vacuum's camera to catch his wife with another man, then used the footage to win roughly $16,000 in a civil suit over infringement of spousal rights. His wife countersued for illegal filming without consent, and a court sentenced him to five months in prison and fined him about 30% of his award.
BYD's Hong Kong shares dropped nearly 5% after the company reported first-half net profit down 20.5% to 12.3 billion yuan and revenue down 7.1% to 344.8 billion yuan, even as second-quarter profit rose 30% year-over-year. The automaker cited weak domestic demand, intense price competition, and higher costs for commodities and chips squeezing margins, though overseas exports jumped 67.8% to 792,000 vehicles.
Washington expanded its restrictions on foreign-made robotics and drones in July and August, citing national security, adding steep tariffs on imported drones that take effect this September, with component tariffs to follow in 2027. The rules extend the FCC's Covered List, which previously targeted telecom firms like Huawei and Hikvision, to now cover drones and advanced robotic devices, even as Chinese firms dominate global humanoid robot shipments.
Liux, a Spanish EV startup, is preparing to launch the Liux Big, a compact electric city car built at Spain's first new auto plant in three decades. The vehicle uses a novel linen-based biocomposite body designed for eventual material recovery and recycling, alongside batteries meant to be charged at home, including via solar power. Co-founders Antonio Espinosa de los Monteros and David Sancho say full supply-chain independence in Europe isn't realistic, so they're focusing instead on sustainability and repairability as differentiators.
At an annual robotics showcase in Beijing, humanoid robots competed across events including sprints, standing high jump, kickboxing and dance routines. Several machines reportedly surpassed human world records, including in the 100-meter and 400-meter sprints, while others suffered dramatic falls during the competitions.
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