happy new year. Welcome to the first issue of #techAsia in 2025. This newsletter is brought to you from Las Vegas. As always, my colleagues and I are covering the first tech extravaganza of the year, the CES technology trade show.
As you might expect, artificial intelligence is back in the spotlight. At the show, which officially opened on Tuesday, every company involved in the field is displaying some kind of AI product. Although there are far more real-world use cases this year than last, chipmakers are likely still the only companies to announce market-ready and profitable AI products.
Nvidia’s prominent CEO Jensen Huang made waves during his keynote speech Monday night, announcing a series of new products including a $3,000 personal AI computer powered by the company’s highly popular Blackwell chip.
But the next day, Nvidia’s stock price fell more than 6 percent, even though every industry member, analyst, and journalist I spoke to on the show said they were impressed by the announcement.
Hwang didn’t seem too concerned about Wall Street’s reaction when he hosted a media briefing on the sidelines of CES on Tuesday morning. He reiterated NVIDIA’s continued lead in the AI chip race with the Blackwell platform and his belief that AI will transform the physical world through applications such as self-driving cars.
The CEO, wearing a leather jacket, was kind enough to encourage Samsung during a media briefing. He told reporters there was “no doubt” the South Korean giant would bounce back from its recent semiconductor woes and catch up with rival SK Hynix to supply Nvidia with critical high-bandwidth memory chips.
CES isn’t over yet. My colleagues and I discuss the AI innovations that could be put to practical use this year, what Chinese companies are doing in Las Vegas despite President Trump’s return to the White House, and other hot technologies to watch in 2025. We will continue to report on the theme from the program. Adjusted.
New AI PC game
Nvidia has undoubtedly dominated the data center chip game in the AI era. Now, the US chip giant is launching a new phase in the AI PC race by introducing its powerful Blackwell chips into personal computers.
According to Nikkei Asia’s Yifan Yu and Sissy Chou, Jensen Huang announced the GB10 chipset, which turns your PC into an AI supercomputer, in his keynote speech on Monday.
Good news for AMD, Intel, and Qualcomm, which are already in the race. Nvidia says it’s not interested in replacing all other AI PCs.
The GB10-powered AI supercomputer starts at $3,000 and is aimed at AI researchers who need to prototype AI models locally. Is it for people who need an AI PC for productivity or other needs? There may be better, cheaper options.
Tencent rebounds
Chinese social media and gaming giant Tencent woke up in shock on Monday to learn it had been labeled a “Chinese military” by the Pentagon, Eleanor Alcott and Wu Zijing of the Financial Times say. Written by Mr.
Tencent plans legal action if it fails to reach an agreement with the U.S. Department of Defense, challenging its addition to the annually updated list of companies deemed to have ties to China’s military machine. He said that
While the listing will not have a direct impact on Tencent’s business, analysts say it could be a precursor to tougher measures against the company by the incoming Trump administration.
This comes after the first Trump administration accused Tencent’s ubiquitous messaging app WeChat in 2020 of allowing the Chinese government to monitor Chinese citizens living overseas and carry out misinformation campaigns. This comes after an attempt was made to ban its operations in the United States. A federal judge issued an injunction, saying President Trump’s executive order violated the Constitution.
There is precedent for Chinese technology companies being excluded from the list. Consumer electronics group Xiaomi was successfully removed from the Pentagon’s list after a federal court ruled there was insufficient evidence for the designation. Tencent hopes to get a similar reprieve from U.S. courts.
crunch time
Rapidus began moving its state-of-the-art EUV chip manufacturing equipment to its Hokkaido factory in December. Now, the Japanese government-backed startup is preparing for a crucial moment. Test production is expected to begin around April, and a lot is riding on its success.
Japan is aiming to get back into the global semiconductor manufacturing game after decades on the sidelines. The government is pouring billions of dollars into the effort and is trying to encourage private investors to get involved, writes Nikkei Asia’s Mitsuru Obe.
While questions remain over funding and customer acquisition, this is Japan’s best chance in a generation to realize its chip dreams, as the U.S.-China conflict accelerates efforts to build alternative supply chains around the world. Some people see it as such.
lift off economy
Once a trade show focused on consumer electronics, CES has increasingly become a popular platform for automakers to showcase their latest, and sometimes outlandish, innovations. Flying cars may have sounded like the latter just a few years ago, but they could become a reality as early as next year.
Chinese automaker Xpeng’s flying car has made its international debut at CES 2025. Mass production of land aircraft carriers — combining a two-seat flight module for low-altitude transport with a six-wheel, four-seat module for ground use — will begin in 2026, according to Nikkei Asia’s Sissy Chou and Yifan Yu. It was reported that it was planned to be done.
Xpeng launches its flight venture as the Chinese government promotes a “low-altitude economy” as a new growth area.
The US government is also paving the way for companies to launch consumer flying cars by updating related regulations, which could become the latest frontier in the US-China technology race.
recommended reading
China’s Honor enters Indonesia market amid iPhone ban (Nikkei Asia)
KKR asks Fujisoft to take legal action against Bain in $4 billion takeover battle (FT)
Chinese venture capitalists force failed founders to be placed on debtor blacklist (FT)
Lenovo to start operating Saudi PC factory by 2026 (Nikkei Asia)
Magic monkey story inspires Chinese game industry to pursue blockbuster (FT)
Rapidus aims to supply samples of cutting-edge 2nm chips to Broadcom (Nikkei Asia)
Toyota’s futuristic Woven City attracts first tenants this year (Nikkei Asia)
Why China’s giant industry won’t be harmed by the latest US blacklisting (FT)
Samsung’s fourth quarter profit drops 30% due to memory recession and labor costs (Nikkei Asia)
Technology groups will pay premium for energy for data centers in Malaysia, minister says (FT)
