China sends cloud powered by homebrew Loongson CPUs into space

Plus: Korea cracks down on Temu; US, Vietnam, sign infosec pact; India extends controversial hardware import law; and more

Asia In Brief Chinese chip designer Loongson last Friday announced its processors are powering a cloud computing platform that has been launched into space.

The silicon slinger announced that its tech was built into a payload called Star Eye that launched on November 15 aboard the Tianzhou-8 cargo mission to the Tiangong Space Station..

Star Eye observes sources of radiation on Earth, captures images for remote sensing missions, and includes what Loongson described (via machine translation) as "storage, computing, and transmission functions" plus "on-orbit data processing, storage, forwarding, power conversion and control, task management, and thermal management."

Loongson didn't reveal which of its processors made it into space. It uses a proprietary instruction set architecture that is compatible with MIPS but includes elements of RISC-V, and offers products designed for use on the desktop, in servers and in industrial machinery.

The Chinese chippie's wares are modest and are a few years behind rivals like AMD and Intel, but this announcement nonetheless suggests Loongson silicon is ready to be used as a space-based cloud platform.

A day after announcing the launch, it published a statement in which it hosed down rumors it has sought new sources of private investment.

– Simon Sharwood

India's hardware license requirement extended another year

India's government has reportedy decided to extend its IT hardware import authorization regime until the end of 2025.

The scheme – introduced suddenly and seemingly without consultation in late 2023 – meant electronics manufacturers needed approval to ship certain products to India. The regulation was opposed by big manufacturers, leading India to excise desktop PCs from the scheme and quickly sign on off on many approvals.

The scheme was originally set to expire in September of this year, but was extended until the end of 2024.

"The present scheme has been extended till December 2024. Beyond December also, it is to also continue for one more year for the time being. We will review at the end of that period and somewhere through the calendar year 2025 and figure out what is to be done with the scheme next," Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) secretary S Krishnan told NDTV Profit.

Korea cracks down on Chinese e-commerce

South Korea's Fair Trade Commission (FTC) last week issued corrective orders to Chinese e-commerce platforms AliExpress and Temu, alleging that the two use 47 unfair terms and conditions in agreements offered to local shoppers.

The FTC found 13 clauses that limited consumer rights, excluded the platforms from liability, and violated local e-commerce laws. It also was unhappy with extensive personal data collection without clear consent or usage duration, and required the platforms to comply with Korea's Personal Information Protection Act.

In other Chinese e-commerce news, on Thursday Alibaba Group announced the merger of its domestic and international business into a single unit.

"The e-commerce industry in China and around the world is entering a new era, and the global supply chain capabilities, fulfillment capabilities and consumer service capabilities will determine the future competitive landscape," reportedly commented chief executive Eddie Wu in a post on Alibaba's intranet.

JAXA, ESA agree to space exploration partnership

The European Space Agency (ESA) and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) signed an agreement to deepen their partnership on space exploration.

The two agencies already collaborate on missions – like BepiColombo to travel to Mercury, and EarthCARE to study climate here at home.

The new agreement focuses on multiple space initiatives, including ESA's Ramses mission to the asteroid Apophis. The agencies will also collaborate on the Gateway program to create a crewed station in lunar orbit, with contributions from both ESA and JAXA to NASA's Artemis program.

ESA and JAXA also outlined joint lunar exploration efforts, such as lunar landers and rovers, and plans for lunar communications through ESA's Moonlight program. Mars exploration is also on the agenda.

The partnership extends to space science, including ESA's New Athena X-ray telescope and potential future projects like M-Matisse to study Mars's habitability.

OpenAI sued in India

Indian news outfit ANI sued OpenAI in a New Delhi court for scraping its content to train ChatGPT without permission.

Other organizations that have sued OpenAI include the New York Times and the Chicago Tribune.

"We build our AI models using publicly available data, in a manner protected by fair use and related principles, and supported by long-standing and widely accepted legal precedents," the chatbot maker has reportedly argued.

APAC Dealbook

Alliances and deals spotted by The Register across the region last week include:

• SoftBank's global venture capital fund Vison Fund 2 announced it's investing in cloud security company Wiz to support its expansion into the Asia-Pacific region. The exact amount was not publicly exposed.
• Vietnam signed an MOU with the US to partner on cyber security. Tran Quang Hung, acting director general of Vietnam's Authority of Information Security, said the alliance aims to protect critical digital infrastructure and ensure a secure cyberspace.
• Equinix announced a $260 million investment to build a sixth datacenter in Singapore, expected to open in Q1 2027.
• Singaporean investment firm 65 Equity Partners purchased 13 percent of Chinese cloud platform Tuya.

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