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… Insight Partners, and CrowdStrike Falcon Fund.</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://growsari.com/">GrowSari</a>, a tech startup helping Philippine sarisari stores to digitally transform their operations, received a USD 5 million investment from Oppenheimer Generations Asia.</li>
</ul>
If there are any news or updates you'd like us to feature, get in touch with us at: <a href="mailto:hello@kr-asia.com">hello@kr-asia.com</a>.
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Deals in brief: Mushroom Material secures funding to produce fungi-based styrofoam alternative, UnaBiz closes first pre-Series C round, Evo bags USD 2.1 million, and more

Venture Capital

Private Equity

Investment

Merger &amp; Acquisition

Singapore

Southeast Asia

Oceania

… maintenance.
Fu Shibo, a physician at a tertiary hospital in Shanghai and a medical science writer on Zhihu, explained to 36Kr that, although the specific connection method of ECMO-free was not clarified, it likely involves a “converter” with a structure similar to a dialysis membrane, establishing a blood flow link between the parent and the fetus, thus preventing the immune system from attacking the fetus as a foreign body while ensuring the exchange of gasses, nutrients, and metabolic waste across the membrane.
In terms of effects, the advantages and disadvantages of this experimental approach are relatively clear.
Firstly, there is a reduction in cost. Zhao mentioned in an interview with Chinese publication Health Times that the initial and daily operating costs of ECMO are RMB 60,000–70,000 (USD 8,381–9,778) and RMB 10,000–20,000 (USD 1,397–2,794), respectively. For a research team still in its early stages, the cost burden is substantial.
"The ECMO-free solution helps to reduce reliance on high-end overseas equipment and its associated consumables, especially in cases where there are no domestic alternatives for these consumables. Additionally, although not disclosed, the membrane structure device used in the ECMO-free solution is likely a self-developed device with independent IP rights, meaning the overall equipment cost would be lower," Fu said.
Moreover, from the experimental design perspective, the ECMO in overseas teams’ solutions is only responsible for oxygenation. In other words, other nutrients must still be injected into the fetus's blood. Comparatively, the Chinese team's solution simultaneously addresses both gas and nutrient issues, making it simpler.
However, Fu added that the membrane structure device used in the ECMO-free solution cannot compare to the natural placenta in terms of blocking blood type antibodies, which might lead to neonatal hemolysis, thus imposing several limitations. For instance, the team itself mentioned that the fetal blood type must match that of the parent.
<h3>Awaiting the birth of a living lamb</h3>
Currently, a breakthrough in synthetic womb technology heading toward reality is the extended survival time of experimental animals.
In 2017, the maximum survival time of experimental lambs in CHOP’s biobag was four weeks. In 2023, Japanese scientists reported that six lantern sharks birthed using synthetic womb technology survived up to seven months.
In China, experimental lambs born from previous ECMO experiments by ZDYFY survived for seven days. With the latest ECMO-free solution, the animal survived 90 minutes. "The team indeed provided a new, equipment-reducing technological path. However, the earliest report of synthetic womb technology was in 2017, and Chinese scholars started relatively late, with shorter experimental observation times.” Fu believes this is a regrettable aspect of the ZDYFY team’s experiment.
However, none of the teams have yet delivered a living lamb that survived for a considerable period of time, challenging claims that animals birthed in artificial wombs can develop normally.
"This confuses me a bit," Fu said. "If the experimental results show that the lamb’s systems develop normally, why not conduct longer observations, especially post-birth? Perhaps there are still inherent flaws that cannot be resolved, such as how to trigger the lamb's first breath when removed from the amniotic fluid. If a cesarean section method was used to stimulate the lamb post-extraction, was it successful? None of this has been disclosed."
Moreover, current research progress is largely still at the animal experiment stage. From a clinical perspective, doctors are most concerned about to what extent it can serve human premature infants who need it.
In September 2023, the US FDA <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Wellness/artificial-wombs-tested-human-trials-new-technology/story?id=103356485">held</a> an independent advisory meeting to discuss how to better evaluate the safety and effectiveness of synthetic womb technology, such as the limitations of animal data and ethical difficulties of human trials. However, this discussion did not disclose specific human trial plans.
According to various media reports, the CHOP team has already submitted an application for human trials of the relevant equipment to the FDA. The Michigan Medicine team also hopes to advance to human clinical trials within 3–4 years. However, it is acknowledged that there remains fundamental gaps in understanding how human fetuses grow in synthetic wombs that need to be addressed before formal trials.
Ethics is also a concern for scientists. Some scholars have pointed out that surgeries involving extremely premature infants often occur early in pregnancy, with larger uterine incisions compared to full-term pregnancies, posing risks such as uterine rupture and abnormal placenta implantation, thus raising informed consent issues. "We worry that parents, after being informed of the child’s poor condition, might do anything, even if these technologies are completely untested and risky."
KrASIA Connection features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This <a href="https://36kr.com/p/2890514596043652">article</a> was written by Hu Xiangyun for 36Kr.

Are synthetic wombs the future of childbirth? New Chinese experiment sparks debate

Medtech

Deep Tech

China

… of Malaysia, said the 10% tax his country imposed in January has not had much impact on the influx of cheap Chinese imports. Online vendors marketing to Malaysians are now supposed to register with the customs department if they sell more than MYR 500,000 (USD 108,000) a year in low-priced goods, though.
Significantly, Thailand's new 7% VAT on incoming small purchases covers goods routed through the country's free trade zones. Since 2010, goods brought in through these zones have been protected from tax by the China-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement.
The pact was supposed to benefit Southeast Asian companies making goods using Chinese intermediate products. While many expected that ASEAN SMEs might be negatively affected by eased restrictions on Chinese imports in the short term, the agreement was expected to boost northbound shipments of agricultural products and industrial inputs from Southeast Asia.
In 2022, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, signed by the 10 members of ASEAN as well as China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand, further brought down barriers to Chinese imports into Southeast Asia. The pact set rules for e-commerce and IP protection but contained no provisions to curb government subsidies for exporting industries.
"The problems for SMEs started with the China-ASEAN FTA, and then RCEP," Aat said. "We have to review what were the positive benefits and negative impacts on SMEs and agricultural products in Thailand."
A silicone smartphone case can now be bought on Lazada for as little as THB 35 (USD 1). Compared to the cheapest offerings in a Thai department store, usually priced at THB 400 (USD 11.2), a 7% tax is marginal for consumers prioritizing savings.
Other Asian nations outside of ASEAN are wrestling with similar issues. South Korea, Asia's fourth largest economy, recorded its first trade deficit with China in 31 years in 2023.
While South Korean companies still lead their Chinese counterparts in high-tech items like semiconductors, there are growing signs that the country's consumers are seeking cheaper alternatives for basics like houseware, clothing, and accessories. Companies are also sourcing more high-tech products from China, including smartphones and batteries.
Analysts have linked the growing influx of Chinese goods into South Korea with a spike in corporate bankruptcies. Nearly 1,000 South Korean companies filed for bankruptcy in the first half of the year, up from 724 in the same period last year.
Yet rather than clamp down on Chinese imports, the South Korean government in May agreed to accelerate an expansion of the country's existing free trade agreement with China as well as step up talks for <a href="https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/International-relations/China-Japan-and-South-Korea-vow-to-seek-progress-on-FTA" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a three-way pact including Japan</a>.
South Korea, though, has found a partial solution to its worsening trade balance with China by focusing more closely on the US, which has recently become Seoul's top export market, <a href="https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Defense/South-Korea-ramps-up-defense-exports-to-Europe-eyeing-Ukraine-war" target="_blank" rel="noopener">as well as on Europe</a>. This shift has helped enable South Korea to record year-on-year total export growth for the past nine months.
Australia has similarly pushed to diversify its export markets following years of informal Chinese trade blocks on shipments of wine, beef, timber, coal and other goods that were put in place amid political tensions. Most of the trade barriers have been lifted over the past year as the government of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has worked to rebuild warmer ties.
Other niche products that have faced blocks from Beijing in recent years include wool from New Zealand, liquor from France, and bananas from the Philippines. Durian farmers in Thailand may need to take care should things get heated between Bangkok and Beijing.
This article first appeared on <a tabindex="0" href="https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/The-Big-Story/Southeast-Asia-pushes-back-on-cheap-Chinese-imports" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-token-index="1">Nikkei Asia</a>. It has been republished here as part of 36Kr’s ongoing <a tabindex="0" href="https://www.kr-asia.com/nikkei-teams-up-with-36kr-in-asia-tech-news-coverage/" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-token-index="3">partnership with Nikkei</a>.

Southeast Asia pushes back on cheap Chinese imports

E-commerce

Electric Vehicles

Mobility

Retail

Consumer Economy

On August 6, Figure AI launched its second-generation humanoid robot, Figure 02, not through a typical press conference but via the social media accounts of the company and its CEO. Despite this unconventional approach, the announcement captured global attention.
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Touted as the strongest humanoid robot yet, Figure 02 stands at 1.70 meters tall and weighs 70 kilograms. The team at Figure AI designed a modern exoskeleton for the robot, closely resembling humanoid robots envisioned in popular culture. Compared to its predecessor, Figure 02 appears more ready for market deployment. Improvements also include hidden wiring and concentrated interfaces in the limbs, preventing tripping hazards in factory settings.
According to Figure AI, the team nearly reconstructed Figure 02, enhancing its eyes, brain, limbs, and more. The robot boasts more powerful visual, perceptual, and interactive abilities than Figure 01. Its hands, wrists, and fingers have 16 degrees of freedom, with strength comparable to human hands, capable of performing various actions.
<figure id="attachment_149418" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-149418" style="width: 1024px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-149418" src="https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Figure-AI-Figure-01-1024x768.jpg" alt="Photo of the Figure 01 humanoid robot." width="1024" height="768" srcset="https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Figure-AI-Figure-01-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Figure-AI-Figure-01-300x225.jpg 300w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Figure-AI-Figure-01-768x576.jpg 768w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Figure-AI-Figure-01.jpg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-149418" class="wp-caption-text">Based on appearance alone, Figure 02 is a marked improvement over its predecessor, Figure 01, which looked like it came straight out of a lab demo. Photo of the Figure 01 humanoid robot. Photo source: Figure AI.</figcaption></figure>
Figure 02 is equipped with six RGB cameras on its head, front torso, and back torso, constructing a comprehensive artificial intelligence-based vision system. The robot's "brain," developed in collaboration with OpenAI, allows it to interact directly with humans through built-in speakers and microphones. Its visual language model (VLM) can semantically understand and perform commonsense visual reasoning.
Figure 02 also surpasses human abilities in certain aspects. It is equipped with a 2.25 kilowatt-hour battery, enabling it to work continuously for over 20 hours, a 50% improvement over the previous generation. Additionally, it features a stronger CPU and GPU, tripling the computing and reasoning abilities of Figure 01.
These improvements are exciting, especially considering Figure 01’s capabilities. Previously, the robot impressed by handing an apple from a table after being instructed to provide something to eat. This capability highlights the robot's ability to not only understand words but also visually recognize objects and what they represent.
Historically, humanoid robots were more about showcasing advanced technology rather than practical application. Now, they are finally making significant strides, with factories as their first stop. Figure AI’s strategy mirrors <a href="https://kr-asia.com/tesla-showcases-second-gen-optimus-humanoid-robot-in-shanghai-eyes-2025-launch">Tesla’s Optimus</a>, starting with the labor-intensive and less desirable settings of automotive factories.
whereRelatedArticle
In January, Figure AI <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/figure-announces-commercial-agreement-with-bmw-manufacturing-to-bring-general-purpose-robots-into-automotive-production-302036263.html">announced</a> a collaboration with BMW to deploy robots in the latter’s automotive manufacturing facilities, claiming that its robots can autonomously complete real-world tasks that are difficult, unsafe, or tedious. This was showcased in an application where the robot took ten hours to learn to brew coffee, showcasing human-like accuracy in interacting with its environment. Figure 02 has subsequently demonstrated similar abilities in a demo, walking steadily in a factory and freely transporting car parts.
However, factories are just the beginning. Brett Adcock, Figure AI's founder, outlined in the company’s <a href="https://www.figure.ai/master-plan">master plan</a> that the ultimate goal is to pave the way for humanoid robots to enter workplaces and homes.
Founded in 2022 by Adcock, Figure AI has since risen to become a Silicon Valley sensation. Having committed the next three decades to maximizing impact on human utility. Figure AI has launched two products under Adcock’s charge in just two years, targeting application scenarios including warehouse management, logistics distribution, and healthcare.
Figure AI has attracted significant investment, raising USD 730 million to date. The most recent <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/figure-raises-675m-at-2-6b-valuation-and-signs-collaboration-agreement-with-openai-302074897.html">Series B funding round</a> secured USD 675 million from investors including Intel, OpenAI, Amazon, Nvidia, Ark Invest, Parkway Capital, and Align Ventures, among others, bringing the company’s valuation to USD 2.6 billion. OpenAI is not only an investor but a major partner, aiming to build a general-purpose humanoid robot that is both structurally and intellectually robust.
With Silicon Valley's capital and cutting-edge technology converging on humanoid robots, it may very well be a clear sign that humanity is edging closer to a new technological era.
From this year’s participation in the Nvidia GTC and the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) to its latest product launch, Figure AI’s trajectory aligns with the prediction of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang: the era of robots has arrived, and embodied intelligence could be the next wave of AI.
KrASIA Connection features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This <a href="https://36kr.com/p/2895307704179335">article</a> was written by Annabella Chang for 36Kr.

Is Figure 02 the most powerful humanoid robot yet?

… href="mailto:hello@kr-asia.com">hello@kr-asia.com</a>.
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Deals in brief: Singapore-based Aprisium secures Series A funding, OneVentures launches seventh fund, Alibaba and Tencent invest in Moonshot AI, and more

Philippines

… dimensions, including the quantity, quality, and field types of pre-training data. In terms of data processing, most Chinese companies choose between two main solutions: one is to entrust third-party companies that provide infrastructure services, such as Intsig’s TextIn platform or Amazon’s Textract text extraction service. The other is to combine traditional optical character recognition (OCR) algorithms with internally developed models, more applicable to vertical use cases by banks and securities firms, among others.
Tang told 36Kr that "companies' selection criteria for suppliers mainly focus on three dimensions: speed, stability, and accuracy."
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Speed: The document parsing engine must be fast. According to Intsig, the TextIn platform maintains a parsing time within 1.5 seconds, while some similar tools on the market are 3–5 times slower.</li>
<li aria-level="1">Stability: The platform must handle a large volume of complex corpora, such as PDF files and forms, with high accuracy.</li>
<li aria-level="1">Accuracy: The platform should precisely restore document information into tables.</li>
</ul>
Currently, the shortage of high-quality, curated corpora is a major issue, "especially for Chinese data, which is even scarcer," Tang said. Both Chinese and international large model datasets are mainly in English, trained from many open-source datasets like Common Crawl, RedPajama, BooksCorpus, The Pile, and ROOT, among others. Despite the abundance of data, the quality varies. A large amount of high-quality Chinese corpus data remains dormant in reports, papers, newspapers, and other documents, yet to be utilized.
The processing of corpus data in the pre-training stage is crucial, moving from acquiring massive data to high-value data. Providing large model companies and developers with the foundational means of achieving this capability is therefore essential for seed user adoption.
Tang experienced such a situation. A merchant engaged in secondhand luxury goods trade had accumulated many receipts. To calculate profits, he needed to manually subtract the original price from the selling price and record the final result in the backend. This process involved complex formula calculations, including price differences and inventory issues for various styles, which traditional OCR models could not handle. After reaching out to Tang, the problem was quickly solved by adjusting small parameters on the accelerator platform.
This is just a subtle problem in a specific scenario. In the era of large models, the fundamental nature of platform tools diverges from the traditional single-layer privatization deployment logic. Instead, it emphasizes the importance of generalized engineering capabilities that can be applied across a wide array of scenarios.
Accordingly, Intsig did several things in the product design stage. First, it anticipated various scenarios by enriching models with substantial high-quality expertise in specific vertical domains during the pre-customization phase. This approach targets common challenges in specific industries like finance, law, and education, offering solutions in product design tailored to user needs. Consequently, this strategy enhances the performance of the large model accelerator in key application scenarios.
Secondly, it emphasizes productization by not only offering APIs for general scenarios but also providing a range of tool-based products. This approach reduces the barriers to application and ensures easy, out-of-the-box usability. It is particularly beneficial for traditional companies with limited technical resources, small and medium enterprises, and individual developers.
In the current trend of large model transformation, the importance of data-centricity is widely acknowledged by industry professionals involved in large model research and application. However, significant work remains in the upstream stages of large models, particularly in areas like text parsing, logical layout, and document question answering.
Looking ahead, Intsig plans to introduce specialized products for vertical domains such as finance and healthcare. Additionally, it will promote internal testing programs for developers, aiming to attract more users to participate in the co-creation and optimization of these products.
KrASIA Connection features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This <a href="https://36kr.com/p/2873139580342659">article</a> was written by Huang Nan for 36Kr.

Speed, stability, accuracy: How Intsig enhances LLMs with high-quality corpora

Artificial Inteligence

… over a decade and collaborated with visionary companies like OpenAI to create its miracles. Yet, the semiconductor industry is rife with stories of giants overtaking others on sharp bends.
The battle to encircle Nvidia has already ignited. Who will come out on top?
KrASIA Connection features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This <a href="https://36kr.com/p/2886074785536640">article</a> was written by Qiu Xiaofen for 36Kr.

Nvidia's empire shows signs of cracking as rivals wisen up

Nvidia

Japan, Korea, and the West

Semiconductors

NVIDIA

… the toolchain infrastructure is built and the model structure stabilizes, people may no longer be needed." Lastly, it is model post-processing. The output of E2E large models could still be unreliable, and a small number of engineers will be needed to write rules to cover it.
Engineers' anxiety also stems from this. "On one hand, the E2E large model itself does not need so many people. On the other hand, everyone wants to do E2E, but the company's production business still needs people to operate."
An unnamed smart driving developer expressed regret over missing the opportunity to join the E2E project group due to his company's current production commitments. However, he is conflicted; even if he joins the E2E team, he would be in a non-core position. Staying in his current role allows him to accumulate significant experience, which might still be relevant to traditional car companies for a few more years.
The risk, however, is that once E2E solutions become widespread, his accumulated expertise could become obsolete. "Maybe I will have to leave the smart driving industry," he lamented. To transition, Tian Wei has started undertaking graduate-level deep learning courses. He acquired classic deep learning materials and a graphics card to implement simple image recognition algorithms from his textbooks. "At least I need to digest the knowledge first to understand how the model itself operates," he said. After two months of study and practice, he felt he could slightly understand some E2E large model open-source code.
Tian Wei is not alone in his anxiety; his employer is equally concerned. The company collaborates with an automaker on smart driving production solutions but also has an internal team advancing E2E solutions. According to Tian Wei, with thousands of hours of video data, an E2E demo can be trained. However, the company can only produce a demo proving feasibility, far from achieving mass production.
This new technological divergence will first manifest in resource allocation. Musk emphasized the importance of data for E2E, stating, "Training with one million video cases is barely enough. Two million is slightly better, three million will make you say 'wow,’ and ten million will be unbelievable." Additionally, Musk made large-scale purchases of Nvidia graphics cards for training, claiming that by the end of the year, Tesla's AI training computing power would be equivalent to 90,000 Nvidia H100 GPUs.
For smart driving companies still struggling to be profitable, the threshold is quite high. Without cooperation with car companies, collecting sufficient training data independently is difficult. Moreover, cloud training chips are scarce in China, and many car companies are buying them at high prices. "Production projects and financing are still unclear, making it difficult to invest in E2E solutions long-term."
Another smart driving engineer felt similarly helpless. After working on his company’s E2E project for half a year, he received a notice to suspend the project. The company needs to focus its efforts and resources on developing an urban mapless smart driving solution. E2E large model development consumes too many resources.
While the new technology has yet to fully arrive in China, its impact on the talent structure and ecosystem of the smart driving industry is already emerging. Leading players will still strive to jump on this bandwagon, heralding an era where giants will master data, chip, and talent resources.
KrASIA Connection features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This <a href="https://36kr.com/p/2886269414677383">article</a> was written by Li Anqi for 36Kr.

AI engineers weigh future as end-to-end smart driving tech looms large

Autonomous Vehicles

… products.
Shopee also runs various discount activities, continually lowering product prices. Shopee Philippines offers free shipping on many women’s clothing items with a minimum spend of just PHP 1 (USD 0.017). Even for non-promotional items, prices rarely exceed PHP 120 (USD 2.1). Similar items on Temu range from PHP 160–200 (USD 2.8–3.5), offering less competitive pricing. For Southeast Asian consumers, there are simply too many choices for low-priced goods on e-commerce platforms. Temu's low prices are lost in a barrage of options.
The current Southeast Asian e-commerce landscape is highly competitive, with TikTok Shop quickly gaining ground and Shopee holding a significant market share, putting Temu at a considerable disadvantage. According to Momentum Works’ report, the total gross merchandise value (GMV) of e-commerce platforms in Southeast Asia reached USD 114.6 billion, with Shopee holding a 48% market share, followed by Lazada at 16.4%, and TikTok and Tokopedia each holding 14.2%, ranking third.
Additionally, TikTok <a href="https://kr-asia.com/tiktok-invests-usd-1-5-billion-in-gotos-tokopedia-to-restart-e-commerce-business-in-indonesia">acquired</a> a majority stake in Indonesian e-commerce platform Tokopedia last year, bringing their combined market share to 28.4%, making TikTok Shop effectively the second largest player in Southeast Asia. Beyond market share growth, Southeast Asia's young demographic has led to high social media penetration, with a strong acceptance of live and social commerce, and significant influence from key opinion leaders (KOLs).
whereRelatedArticle
Data from Statista shows that social media has become a primary shopping channel for Southeast Asian consumers, with only 4% of Vietnamese consumers not using social media networks for shopping. TikTok has a natural advantage in Southeast Asia's e-commerce landscape. Moreover, traditional e-commerce platforms like Shopee and Lazada are also adapting to the trend by incorporating live commerce, presenting further challenges for Temu.
Temu's primary focus remains on the European and American markets. Last year, it vigorously promoted the fully managed model, and this year, it has been pushing the semi-managed model, aiming to continuously increase its market share in the West and acquire more customers.
Furthermore, Temu's return policies and low-price strategies in the European and American markets have already dissatisfied many sellers. After entering the Southeast Asian market, it is uncertain how many sellers will be willing and able to participate.
KrASIA Connection features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This <a href="https://36kr.com/p/2887704025422726">article</a> was written by Leslie Zhang for 36Kr.

Temu expands into Thailand, takes cautious approach to Southeast Asia

Temu

East Asia

Thailand