Beijing Weighs Restricting Foreign Access To China's Top AI Models<!-- -->

• OpenAI researcher Miles Wang is departing the company to launch a new AI startup specifically focused on accelerating drug discovery. • Wang is currently in negotiations to raise approximately $200 million in funding, with a target valuation of $2 billion.

• Multiverse Computing has announced a Series C fundraising round targeting up to $570 million (€500 million) to advance efficient AI across edge and cloud environments. • The funding round is led by a consortium including Forgepoint Capital International, BNPP Solar Impulse Venture Fund, and Bullhound Capital.

• The European Union has introduced a major new regulatory regime to oversee AI safety, coinciding with the first reported instance of an artificial intelligence agent "going rogue." • The EU aims to establish global safety standards, but its influence faces significant challenges due to the intense geopolitical competition between the U.S. and China.

• European governments and businesses are increasingly shifting toward open-source software to achieve "digital sovereignty" and reduce dependence on American technology. • This trend is driven by the perceived unpredictability of Donald Trump's political leadership and the risk of US tech services being used as geopolitical leverage.

• Global venture capital firms, including U.S.-based Sazze Partners and Singapore's Axiam Asia, are significantly increasing investments in South Korea's deep tech sectors, specifically AI, robotics, and semiconductors. • Key funding rounds include AI company Upstage securing 180 billion won (~$122.7 million) in a Series C round in April and video AI developer Twelve Labs completing a 150 billion won (~$102.2 million) Series B round this month.

• Singapore is implementing its National AI Strategy 2.0 (NAIS 2.0) to establish the city-state as a global AI hub despite lacking domestic tech giants or semiconductor fabrication plants. • Key technical initiatives include the development of SEA-LION (South-East Asia Large Language Models) and MERaLiON, a multimodal AI project focused on advanced language processing.

• HSBC is launching its first global AI centre of excellence in Singapore, which is scheduled to open later in 2026. • The bank plans to hire over 200 specialized staff in the fields of artificial intelligence and wealth management to form the center's core team.

• SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics shares declined as a broader chip sector sell-off weighed heavily on Asian stock markets. • The downturn is driven by growing investor skepticism regarding whether the massive billions of dollars invested in AI infrastructure can be justified by actual returns.

• Major Chinese A.I. companies are developing models that are increasingly competitive on a global scale, yet they are struggling to establish viable monetization strategies. • Despite technical advancements, these firms lack a clear path to profitability, facing challenges in converting high-performance A.I. tools into sustainable revenue streams.

• HSBC has selected Singapore as the location for its new global AI centre of excellence to develop advanced artificial intelligence capabilities. • The bank plans to begin developing these AI tools in the second half of this year, with the intention of rolling them out across its global operations.

• Microsoft has introduced "Project Perception," a new initiative aimed at redesigning the "Cyber Stack" to address the evolving challenges of AI-driven security. • The project responds to a shifting landscape where autonomous systems can now reason and adapt, while the cost for attackers to launch offenses is decreasing.

• Nvidia has formed a strategic coalition with other major technology firms, including Microsoft and SpaceX, to develop open-source safety and cybersecurity tools for artificial intelligence. • The alliance aims to create standardized frameworks that allow AI systems to be freely used and audited by the broader developer community.