Shanghai-based semiconductor start-up StarFive aims to boost adoption of its chips with the financial backing of the Hong Kong government, according to its founder, as China bets on the open-source RISC-V architecture to strengthen its chip industry amid escalating tensions with the US. The six-year-old RISC-V chipmaker secured an undisclosed sum from the Hong Kong…
Chinese lawmakers and political advisers have urged the country’s education system to make quick changes to cope with challenges brought by artificial intelligence and a rapidly greying population. These suggestions echoed remarks made by President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the “two sessions”, the annual meetings of China’s top legislature and political advisory body….
China is producing twice as many research papers as the US on chip design and fabrication, laying the foundation for a possible leadership role in next-generation semiconductor technology, according to a US think tank. While China is behind in advanced semiconductors and is restricted from buying high-end chipmaking tools such as the extreme ultraviolet lithography…
Hong Kong is betting on the RISC-V open-source chip architecture to drive innovation and secure a position in China’s semiconductor landscape amid escalating US chip restrictions. RISC-V stands for the fifth generation of the Reduced Instruction Set Computer, a design philosophy for simplified architectures for central processing units (CPUs). As an open-source project, it is…
China is vying with Japan and Britain to host the 2030 maths Olympics for the second time, after it first held the event in 2002, an initiative led by eminent mathematician Shing-Tung Yau. Yau is leading a team of 40 Chinese and international mathematicians in the bid for the 2030 International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM),…
In the first instalment of a series to mark the 10th anniversary of the Future Science Prize, Holly Chik and Shen Xinmei look at Professor Dennis Lo’s groundbreaking discovery of fetal DNA in maternal plasma, which earned him the inaugural award in the Life Sciences category in 2016. The blood tests of the future can…
China has approved the construction of a deep-sea research facility in the South China Sea to support marine exploration. The station is claimed to be one of the deepest and most technologically advanced underwater installations globally, with a target operational date of around 2030. The design details of the station were disclosed by researcher Yin…
After years of debate and technical reviews, China has given the green light to a deep-sea research facility that could redefine marine exploration, while amplifying Beijing’s geopolitical leverage in one of the world’s most resource-rich areas. The “cold seep” ecosystem research facility will be anchored 2,000 metres (6,560 feet) below the surface of the strategically…
The world’s top organisations for high-quality physics research are all in China or Europe, with the US’ highest-ranked institution coming in at No 13, according to the latest Nature Index. A China-based observer said this could have far-reaching implications for the United States’ technological edge, with physics underpinning much of modern technology and innovation. But…
The sudden success of Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) start-up DeepSeek comes as a morale booster for the country’s researchers and tech companies, who have been tasked by Beijing to push for breakthroughs in the face of US-led curbs on the trade, industry participants and analysts said. DeepSeek’s emergence has also changed perceptions among economists and…