Technology

News on tech innovations and their impact on businesses and markets.

Technology
Samsung misses big as AI chip race heats up
Samsung Electronics has forecast a 56% year-on-year plunge in second-quarter operating profit to ₩4.6 trillion (US$3.3 billion), sharply undercutting LSEG’s smart estimate of ₩6.26 trillion. Revenue is projected at ₩74 trillion, also below expectations of ₩75.55 trillion. The miss underscores Samsung’s struggle to keep pace with rivals SK Hynix and Micron in the booming high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chip market. While SK Hynix has secured NVIDIA certification and is shipping next-gen HBM3E chips, Samsung’s latest offerings are still undergoing evaluation, delaying its access to the AI infrastructure boom. Analysts cite United States export restrictions on advanced chips to China, inventory write-downs, and weak foundry utilisation as key drags. With NVIDIA commanding 70% of global HBM demand, Samsung’s delay in securing certification is a costly setback in the AI arms race. Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (KRX: 005930) was trading at ₩61,450, down ₩250 (0.41%) today. It has a market cap of around ₩405.18 trillion.
Technology
Sydney scientists develop 'biological AI system'
Australian scientists, including those at the University of Sydney’s Charles Perkins Centre, have developed a breakthrough system dubbed PROTEUS (PROTein Evolution Using Selection), which applies biological artificial intelligence to design and evolve molecules directly within mammalian cells. The new platform, researchers say, could revolutionise gene therapies and the development of precision medicines. Unlike traditional artificial intelligence (AI), which processes digital data, PROTEUS uses a process known as directed evolution - a laboratory technique that mimics natural selection - to create molecules with improved or novel functions. What once took years of trial-and-error experimentation can now be accomplished in weeks. “This means PROTEUS can be used to generate new molecules that are highly tuned to function in our bodies, and we can use it to make new medicine that would be otherwise difficult or impossible to make with current technologies,” said co-senior author Professor Greg Neely, Head of the Dr. John and Anne Chong Lab for Functional Genomics at the University of Sydney. PROTEUS overcomes a major limitation of existing directed evolution systems by operating within mammalian cells, rather than bac
Technology
Twitter co-founder Dorsey's new messaging app Bitchat
Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey has launched Bitchat, a new messaging app that operates over Bluetooth networks. Bitchat, a potential rival to WhatsApp or Signal, offers encrypted communication without requiring access to the internet or mobile networks. It is available in beta, with a full release date yet to be announced. “Bitchat addresses the need for resilient, private communication that doesn't depend on centralised infrastructure,” said Dorsey in a white paper describing the app. “By leveraging Bluetooth Low Energy mesh networking, Bitchat enables direct peer-to-peer messaging within physical proximity, with automatic message relay extending the effective range beyond direct Bluetooth connections.” According to Dorsey, Bitchat messages can be sent between nearby devices. These devices can also form local Bluetooth clusters to pass messages forward, connecting users up to 300 metres apart. Later updates will add Wi-Fi Direct, which can bridge two devices without an intermediary internet connection, as another option to send messages. The app does not require any servers or infrastructure. Users do not need to provide a phone number or email. The most widely available Bluetooth messaging app, Bridgefy, was
Technology
Apple receives different reactions on its recent projects
Two of Apple’s major launches this month have garnered very different results. Apple recently announced new AI advancements for their systems and released a new film titled “F1: The Movie”. The film, starring Brad Pitt generated US$293 at the global box office after 10 days of release, overtaking Napoleon, which generated US$221 million, as Apple’s highest-grossing movie to date. Ticket sales for the film mark a step in the right direction for Apple’s theatrical ambitions, especially after success in AppleTV+ series like Severance and Ted Lasso. “F1” cost Apple more than US$250 million to produce and roughly US$100 million more to market, making it harder to justify the racing drama. However, Apple’s US$3 trillion market cap helped the film get off the ground. So far, Imax has fuelled US$60 million globally, accounting for 20.4% of the films' worldwide total. Outside of the U.S. and Canada, the film grossed $109.5 million, with top-earning territories including China, the U.K., Mexico, France and Australia. At WWDC, Apple announced its biggest overhaul to iPhone software since 2014, taking a new approach to bringing generative AI to its iPhone, iPad and MacBook users by getting third-party developers to chip i
Technology
Smartphone makers face new pressures despite strong 2024
The global smartphone market had a banner year in 2024. While the Covid-era economic downturn had caused two consecutive years of declining shipments, the market grew by 7% in 2024 to 1.22 billion units, according to a Canalys report. The industry is currently projected to reach US$520.7 billion in revenue by 2030. However, smartphone companies could face additional pressures from the artificial intelligence arms race, United States tariffs, and even new devices intended to challenge phone use.The AI arms raceSmartphone makers have overwhelmingly moved to implement artificial intelligence into their devices, often with a focus on AI assistant apps, photo and text editing, and personalisation. “As the technology evolves, people will expect their smartphones to act as intelligent assistants that understand and adapt to their needs as individuals — in an integrated and personalised way,” according to Samsung’s VP of Mobile eXperience for Southeast Asia and Oceania Carl Nordenberg. Samsung is reportedly in talks to partner with AI search company Perplexity AI, which would see Perplexity’s app added to new Samsung devices and its search functions included in Samsung’s web browser. Perplexity reached a deal for its app to be pr

Technology
US$88m pollution-tracking satellite goes missing
An US$88 million pollution tracking satellite has gone missing in space in a major setback for climate efforts. The MathaneSat satellite has the backing of Google and billionaire Jeff Bezos and was launched only last year on a SpaceX rocket. The satellite was designed to collect data for five years on sources of methane greenhouse gas. This is responsible for nearly a third of human-induced warming, and will help curb the most serious offenders. The mission failure on 20 June came just as New Zealand was poised to take over the project. The New Zealand government invested NZ$29 million in the satellite and the New Zealand Space Agency was supposed to take over the project in June. "Clearly this is a disappointing development. As those who work in the space sector know, space is inherently challenging, and every attempt, successful or not, pushes the boundaries of what we know and what we're capable of,” the agency said in a statement. According to the Environmental Defence Fund, which oversees the satellite, communication was lost 10 days ago, and an investigation is underway to see what happened. While methane doesn't hang around the atmosphere as long as carbon dioxide it is 28 times stronger over a 100-year
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Musk's xAI gets permit for supercomputer gas turbines
Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI has received a permit to use natural gas-burning turbines to supply its data centre in Tennessee, as residents protest its impact on the area’s air quality. The Colossus data centre in Memphis supports xAI’s Grok chatbot, available through the social media platform X as well as its own app and website. Colossus previously operated these turbines without state or federal permits. According to permits issued by Tennessee’s Shelby County, the company can now operate 15 natural gas fired turbine generators for a limited time each year. “The facility owner or operator shall limit the combustion turbines to a maximum of 22 startup events and 22 shutdown events per year, with a total combined duration of 110 hours annually.” These permits also add limits on Colossus’ emissions, with visible emissions capped at 20% opacity and nitrogen oxide emissions at 25 parts per million. The facility currently uses at least 24 portable methane gas turbines, per satellite images, and emits nitrogen oxides and formaldehyde. It is located near Boxtown, a historically Black neighbourhood that had already reported higher rates of cancer linked to industrial pollution before the Colossus facility
Technology
Tech stocks that could make 2025 a quantum leap year
The quantum computing revolution isn't coming - it's already transforming labs into commercial battlegrounds where physics bends to human ambition. And as Wall Street debates AI's sustainability, there's real money quietly flowing into groundbreaking tech that makes today's supercomputers look like pocket calculators. McKinsey's latest Quantum Technology Monitor paints a picture of the quantum market hitting US$100 billion within a decade. The quantum Trinity - computing, communication, and sensing - collectively targets $97 billion in global revenue by 2035. Computing operations alone are projected to surge from today's $4 billion base to $72 billion over the next decade. So will 2025 emerge as the year when experimental breakthroughs transition into market-ready solutions - and which stocks are attempting to make the quantum leap?Blue chips with exposureAlphabet (GOOGL) remains the institutional favourite among quantum investments, reflecting growing confidence in the company's quantum capabilities. Trading at $188.50, up 18% year-to-date. Google's parent company maintains a war chest of $95.7 billion in available capital plus $19 billion in quarterly cash generation. This financial ammunition dwarfs the combined res
Technology
ACMA plans to not take spectrum licences to auction
The Australian Communications Media Authority (ACMA) is proposing to renew spectrum licences for up to $3.2 billion less than what they bought them for. ACMA is proposing not to hold auctions for the 69 expiring spectrum licences they bought for $8.2 billion but instead renew them for between $5 billion and $6.2 billion. However, the move has been met with controversy by consumer advocates, the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN). According to the ACMA’s own calculations, the Australian Treasury stands to lose between $2 billion and $3.2 billion over the duration of licences if they aren’t taken to sale. In advice commissioned by ACCAN, Scientia Professor of Economics at UNSW Business School Richard Holden warned that ACMA’s approach was filled with “fundamental economic errors." The proposed approach is prefaced on a "fundamentally flawed methodology and provides no evidence in support of the conclusions drawn from it,” he said. Holden said that rolling over the licences to existing telcos would “shortchange the Australian public, erode trust in regulatory processes, and undermine competition in the telecommunications sector.” ACCAN warns that the reduction in revenue will be reflected i