Sectors

To sharpen its own defences, OpenAI built a remarkably potent ‘AI hacker’

by

Yesterday OpenAI expanded its Daybreak cyber-security programme and launched GPT-5.6-Cyber, a model built for security scenarios. Notably, GPT-5.6-Cyber splits AI cyber capability into two directions: Daybreak Blue for defence work, and Daybreak Red for advanced security research and attack simulation. This red-blue confrontation is the core drill mechanism traditional security uses to validate system safety. … Read more

One AI factory needs 1.5 million GPUs: NVIDIA is eyeing a US$600 billion prize

by

How expensive is AI, really? We once measured compute in GPU counts. Now OpenAI and NVIDIA measure it in gigawatts. On 17 August, the PORTS-Pike project disclosure showed OpenAI building world-class AI infrastructure in Ohio. OpenAI said it has secured about 8 GW of IT capacity at the site, with NVIDIA providing credit support for … Read more

A San Francisco startup runs Unitree robots as cleaners at US$30 an hour, and loses money to buy data

by

In late July, San Francisco startup Tau Robotics launched a humanoid home-cleaning service at US$30 an hour, about RMB 200. It is invite-only, covering the city’s Mission and Noe Valley neighbourhoods. Tau runs three robots named Chelsea, Elon and Tony, in black uniforms with assigned roles. Chelsea tackles kitchen counters and mirror water marks. Tony … Read more

Dyna-2: embodied AI’s ‘GPT-3 moment’ has finally arrived

by

In August 2026, Dyna Robotics released Dyna-2, its new robot foundation model. Pretraining used over 1 million hours of first-person human video, roughly 170 years of continuous awake experience. Across seven benchmarks, the WAM architecture reached 1.55 times the success rate of the previous VLA models. High-precision manufacturing task success jumped from Dyna-1’s 20 per … Read more

Galbot and NVIDIA just punctured the biggest lie in humanoid robotics

by

Open any tech outlet and humanoid funding looks like a flood. 2026 was crowned the first year of embodied intelligence, capital queuing to pay. Step into an embodied-AI lab and you see something else. No sci-fi autonomy. No elegant conversation. An operator wears a VR headset, motion-capture suit and handheld controller, repeatedly driving an arm … Read more

America’s humanoid robot race: six players, three distinct paths

by

In 2026, America’s humanoid robot industry stopped showing off and started defending itself. Against whom? The United States now fields at least six serious robot companies: Tesla, Figure, Boston Dynamics, Agility, Apptronik, plus Norway-born, US-landed 1X. Six firms, six completely different technical routes. Rankings are easy to fake. What matters is the choices each company … Read more

Nation Technologies bets on high-end MCUs for embodied AI and AI infrastructure

by

Future MCU competition is not just about performance, but who understands the application better, said Yang Ping, marketing director of Nation Technologies, at the Munich Shanghai Electronics Fair. The fair opened on 1 July in Shanghai. Amid the displays, control-chip innovation around robots and AI infrastructure stood out. As an MCU leader in AI, Nation … Read more

Chery’s full takeover of a Nissan South Africa plant signals China’s auto-export surge

by

Chery’s full takeover of a Nissan factory in South Africa sends a signal: China’s auto exports could top 10 million units and reach 2.5 times Japan’s level. The move shows how Chinese carmakers are not just shipping vehicles abroad but acquiring and operating foreign production assets, a step change in globalisation. For European supply chains … Read more

Solid-state battery reality check: China bets on hybrid electrolytes first

by

2026 is the first year of mass production for hybrid, or solid-liquid, batteries. Huang Xuejie, one of China’s leading lithium-battery scientists and convener of the energy-storage direction at the Institute of Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, argues that all-solid-state batteries cannot overturn the table before 2035, so hybrid electrolytes must be taken seriously. … Read more

Li Shufu steps back as Geely posts its best half-year results and ends fossil-fuel R&D

by

An Congrong has succeeded Li Shufu as chairman of Geely Auto, in a leadership handover announced at the company’s H1 2026 results briefing on 17 August. Geely Auto Holdings said Li Shufu, chairman of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, resigned as chairman and executive director of Geely Auto, taking the honorary chairman-for-life role while staying chairman … Read more