Baidu subsidiary Kunlunxin seeks US$50B IPO valuation, asks investors to buy its chips

Kunlunxin, the semiconductor subsidiary of Chinese search engine giant Baidu, is targeting a US$50 billion valuation for its Hong Kong public offering. The company is also asking investors to commit to buying its chips as a condition of participation, according to The Information, underscoring the competitive dynamics shaping chip makers as Beijing moves to strengthen its domestic AI supply chain.

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DARPA seeks radically low-power, damage-tolerant computers for austere battlefield environments

The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) issued a request for information (RFI) on June 18 seeking concepts for “low-resource computing” that can operate with almost no electricity, minimal memory, and continued function despite hardware damage. The RFI invited input from academic institutions, companies, and individual inventors and set a July 17 deadline for replies; DARPA said it will follow up with an invitation-only workshop in August in Hanover, New Hampshire, to review promising proposals.

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Taiwan launches quantum talent program, sends 15 abroad

Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs has tasked Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) to set up the Quantum Industry Technology Promotion Office (QITPO) and has named dozens of companies as members of the quantum industry supply chain. To strengthen Taiwan’s quantum science and application base, the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) has announced the launch of a quantum technology program, with the first 15 PhD-level candidates selected for overseas study.

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