Tech China Post #92

China’s economy will reach more than $13 trillion by the end of 2018, propelled by growth in digital economy and the continued rise of the middle class. China continues to transform its traditional manufacturing and export economy to a technology and innovation-driven economy with its “Made in China 2025” plan. (link)

Chinese EV-car companies NIO and Xiaopeng (aka Xpeng) are increasing competitive pressure on Tesla in China. NIO announced a new generation of electric cars that are cheaper with better performance called ES6. Xpeng is also launching a new model called G3 in the similar price range and with comparable performance. Both ES6 and G3 could become compelling alternatives to Tesla’s Model Y. (link)

More than 30 news and media organizations in China are forming a China Financial Media Copyright Protection Alliance. One of the areas that the alliance will explore is using blockchain to digitize ownership and rights information to improve copyright protection and prevent infringement. (link)

The U.S. Government announced the National Quantum Initiative Act, providing more than $1 billion in funding to support research in quantum computing. Quantum computing is one of the technology areas that China is making investments. (link)

Intel Capital, the corporate venture capital arm of Intel, led series A investment in Sky Limit Entertainment Group. Sky Limit Entertain Group is looking to use the investment to accelerate its product development in virtual and augmented reality to enable large scale interactive games. The company’s existing investors include AVICTC, Lenovo Capital, Incubator Group (LCIG), Shenzhen Weiyue Creative Investment Group, and Mango Cultural and Creative Industry Private Equity Fund. (link)