GoKawiil
Tech News
Researchers at the National University of Singapore have built an optical atomic clock using lutetium ions that is four times more precise than the previous record-holder, a calcium-ion clock. The device would lose less than a second over roughly 260 billion years, making it the most accurate timekeeper reported to date, according to a study published in Nature on September 23.
Singapore's National Library Board began ReadSG on September 6, 2026, a five-year effort that pays people small amounts to read. Logging 15 minutes of reading on GovTech's CrowdTaskSG platform earns 20 virtual coins, with 1,000 coins worth S$1, capped at one session per day. A companion effort, Read for Good, tracks total reading minutes across all participants and pledges up to S$150,000 to charity if 7.5 million cumulative minutes are logged.
Waymo announced plans to bring its autonomous vehicles to Singapore, marking its expansion beyond the US and into a second Asian market after Tokyo. Jaguar I-PACE vehicles will arrive soon so specialists can manually drive and map Singapore's roads throughout 2027, adjusting Waymo's systems for local road layouts and weather before public rides begin via its app in 2028.
Waymo has started manually driving and mapping all regions of Singapore around the clock, gathering data it needs to seek approval from the Land Transport Authority for autonomous operations by 2027. Initial runs will use human specialists behind the wheel, with the company promising public notice before shifting to autonomous-specialist and eventually fully driverless operations. Data collected will be handled under Singapore's Personal Data Protection Act and Waymo's own privacy policy.
Waymo announced plans to bring its autonomous ride-hailing service to Singapore, with vehicles arriving within months to begin mapping and safety-driver testing in 2027 ahead of a public launch in 2028. The company must first pass safety assessments from Singapore's Land Transport Authority and its CETRAN testing center before carrying passengers, and it has already set up a local entity and joined the city-state's autonomous vehicle steering committee.
A birth-cohort study tracking 502 Singaporean children from age 1 to 8 found that higher screen viewing time, especially at age 1, 1.5 and 6 years, was linked to weaker academic performance at age 9 and poorer working memory at 10.5, even after adjusting for other factors. Cumulative screen exposure across childhood also predicted lower academic performance, though not working memory.
Shein Global Holdings, the fast-fashion company founded in China and now headquartered in Singapore, is preparing to go public on the Hong Kong stock exchange next month. The IPO comes after the company shifted away from earlier plans for a US or London listing, and it is expected to price well below the valuation once floated for those attempts.
Philips co-founded ASML in 1984 and was TSMC's largest shareholder through the late 1990s with roughly a quarter of each company. It also owned NXP outright as its internal chip division before selling it to a private-equity consortium in 2006. By the late 2000s Philips had exited its ASML and TSMC stakes entirely.