29/07/2025

BIZ & FINANCE TUESDAY | JULY 29, 2025

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Humanoid robots embody China’s AI ambitions

Tesla taps Samsung for AI6 chips in US$16.5 billion deal: Musk SEOUL: Tesla CEO Elon Musk said yesterday that tech giant Samsung Electronics will provide his company with its next-generation AI6 chips, following the South Korean firm’s announcement of a US$16.5 billion (RM70 billion) deal. Samsung said yesterday it had secured an eight-year agreement, without naming the client, describing it only as a “major global company” in a regulatory filing. Under the deal, the partnership – effective from last Thursday – runs through the end of 2033. “Samsung’s giant new Texas fab will be dedicated to making Tesla’s next-generation AI6 chip. The strategic importance of this is hard to overstate,” Musk said on X. “Samsung agreed to allow Tesla to assist in maximising manufacturing efficiency,” he added, calling it a “critical point” in striking the deal. “I will walk the line personally to accelerate the pace of progress,” he said, noting Samsung’s Texas plant was “conveniently located not far from my house”. The deal represents about 7.6% of Samsung’s projected annual sales for 2024, the company said. It declined to confirm the client was Tesla, even after Musk’s message, citing confidentiality. The agreement is expected to provide a major boost to Samsung, which has faced headwinds in its foundry business, lagging rivals SK hynix and Taiwan’s TSMC in the race for cutting-edge artificial intelligence chips. Samsung Electronics is the flagship unit of South Korea’s Samsung Group, by far the largest of the family-run conglomerates that dominate Asia’s fourth-largest economy. The company said this month that it expected operating profit to fall 56% on-year and 31% from the previous quarter, citing a slump in its core semiconductor division. Experts have attributed the decline to weaknesses in its foundry operations, which involve contract-based manufacturing of chips designed by other companies. – AFP WELLINGTON: The New Zealand government yesterday proposed to ban surcharges on most in-store payments made using debit and credit cards from May next year, a move it said could save roughly NZ$150 million (RM382 million) for Kiwi consumers. The plan follows the decision last year by New Zealand’s Commerce Commission to lower fees that local businesses pay to accept Visa and Mastercard payments. “We are scrapping surcharges at the till. New Zealanders are paying up to NZ$150 million in surcharges every year. That’s money that could

Yang Yifan, R&D director at Transwarp, a Shanghai-based AI platform provider. This year’s WAIC is the first since a breakthrough moment for Chinese AI this January when startup DeepSeek unveiled an AI model that performed as well as top US systems for an apparent fraction of the cost. Organisers said the forum involved more than 800 companies, showcasing over 3,000 products – the undeniable crowd pleasers being the humanoid robots and their raft of slightly surreal party tricks. At one booth, a robot played drums, half a beat out of time, to Queen’s We Will Rock You while a man in safety goggles and a security vest hyped up a giggling crowd.

Other droids, some dressed in working overalls or baseball caps, manned assembly lines, played curling with human opponents or sloppily served soft drinks from a dispenser. While most of the machines on display were still a little jerky, the increasing sophistication year-on-year was clear to see. The Chinese government has poured support into robotics, an area in which some experts think China might already have the upper hand over the United States. At Hangzhou-based Unitree’s stall, its G1 android – around 130cm tall, with a two-hour battery life – kicked, pivoted and punched, keeping its balance with relative fluidity as it shadowboxed around a ring. Ahead of the conference’s opening, Unitree announced it would launch a full-size humanoid, the R1, for under US$6,000 (RM29,600). Most high-tech helpers do not need hardware though. At the expo, AI companions – in the form of middle-aged businessmen, scantily clad women and ancient warriors – waved at people from screens, asking how their day was, while other stalls ran demos allowing visitors to create their own digital avatars. Tech giant Baidu on Saturday announced a new generation of technology for its “digital humans” – AI agents modelled on real people, which it says are “capable of thinking, making decisions, and collaborating”. The firm recently ran a six-hour e-commerce broadcast hosted by the “digital human” of a well-known streamer and another avatar. The two agents beat the human streamer’s debut sales in some categories, Baidu said. Over ten thousand businesses are using the technology daily already, the department’s head Wu Chenxia told AFP. Asked about the impact on jobs – one of the major concerns raised around widespread AI adoption – Wu insisted that AI was a tool that should be used to improve quality and save time and effort, which still required human input. In China, the integration of AI into everyday life is beginning to pick up pace. At WAIC, Baidu also announced it had been granted a permit to operate fully driverless robotaxis in parts of the massive Pudong district, the service’s first foray into downtown Shanghai. For now, few visitors to the WAIC expo seemed worried about the potential ramifications of the back-flipping dog robots they were excitedly watching. “When it comes to China’s AI development, we have a comparatively good foundation of data and also a wealth of application scenarios,” said Transwarp’s Yang. “There are many more opportunities for experimentation.” – AFP

o Integration of artificial intelligence into everyday life beginning to pick up pace

SHANGHAI: Serving craft beer, playing mahjong, stacking shelves and boxing, the dozens of humanoid robots at Shanghai’s World AI Conference (WAIC) were embodiments of China’s growing AI prowess and ambition. The annual event is primed at showcasing China’s progress in the ever-evolving field of artificial intelligence, with the government aiming to position the country as a world leader on both technology and regulation as it snaps at US heels.

Opening the event on Saturday, Premier Li Qiang announced China would set up a new organisation for cooperation on AI governance, warning the benefits of development must be balanced with the risks. But in the cavernous expo next door, the mood was more giddy than concerned. “Demand is currently very strong, whether in terms of data, scenarios, model training, or artificial construction. The overall atmosphere in all these areas is very lively,” said

People watching a humanoid robot play boxing at a Unitree booth during the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai. – REUTERSPIC

New Zealand plans to scrap card payment surcharges

percentage is,” Commerce Minister Scott Simpson said in a statement. The government plans to introduce the bill to ban most card surcharges by the end of this year. Shops in New Zealand typically charge consumers around 0.7% for debit card payments and up to 2% for credit card payments, according to New Zealand’s Commerce Commission. Australia’s central bank this month proposed to scrap surcharges on most debit and credit card payments for consumers, saying it no longer achieved the intended purpose of steering consumers to make more efficient payment choices. – Reuters

time when payment acceptance costs have never been lower”. The proposed ban will not include online payments or transactions made using foreign-issued cards, prepaid, travel and gift cards. New Zealand’s Commerce Commission estimates consumers pay about NZ$150 million in surcharges annually, including up to NZ$65 million in excessive surcharges. “Surcharges cover the fees businesses pay for accepting contactless payments and credit cards, but we know these are often excessive. In some cases, the retailer doesn’t even make it clear what the

be saved or spent elsewhere,” Prime Minister Christopher Luxon told reporters. “You no longer will be penalised for your choice of payment method, whether that’s tapping, swiping, or using your phone’s digital wallet.” Banning surcharges was “a welcome win for transparency and fairness at the checkout for consumers and reflects Visa’s long-held view on surcharging globally,” Anthony Watson, country manager for New Zealand and South Pacific, said A spokesperson for Mastercard said the ban aligns New Zealand “with other leading economies at a