Tag Archives: Shanghai

26Oct/26

Audi Ditches Its Logo in China

October 26, 2026TransportAudi, Automotive industry in China, Automotive industry in Germany, Beijing, BEVs, BMW, Car body styles, CARIAD China, Cars, China, China Technology Company, Coupés, Executive cars, Germany, Gernot Döllner, Hefei, Horizon Robotics, SAIC Motor, Sedans, Shanghai, Station wagons, Volkswagen, Volkswagen Group, Volkswagen Group China, Xiaomi, Zeekradmin

The Great Automotive Realignment: How China Upended Germany’s Global Car Supremacy

Mon, July 26 2026 /Mpelembe Media/ — For decades, German automotive giants—Volkswagen Group, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz—dominated the global industry and derived a significant share of their corporate profits from mainland China. However, a severe structural contraction has destabilized this industrial core, culminating in a 76% year-on-year collapse in combined Q3 operating profits down to €1.711 billion. China’s share of total global vehicle deliveries for German carmakers dropped from 39% in 2020 to 29% in 2025, with quarterly deliveries in China plummeting between 30% and 41% by mid-2026. Domestically, annual German passenger vehicle output fell from 5.6 million units in 2017 to 3.4 million in 2024, burdened by high labor costs averaging €62 per hour and severely underutilized assembly plants—such as Wolfsburg operating at just 61% capacity—compelling Volkswagen to shutter a domestic manufacturing plant in Germany for the first time in its 88-year history. Continue reading →

29Jul/26

ASML panic and AI circular funding

July 29, 2026Finance.google, Behavioral finance, Beijing, Capitalism, ChangXin Memory Technologies, China, Howard Lutnick, Hua Hong Semiconductor, Intel, Investment, Japan, KOREA SE KOSPI INDEX, Market trend, Microsoft, Nasdaq, NASDAQ 100 INDEX, Nvidia, OpenAI, Samsung Electronics, Shanghai, Shanghai Aishengna Electronic Technology Group, SK Group, SK Hynix, South Korea, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, United States, Washingtonadmin

Historic Tech Plunge: Asian Markets Tumble Amid Fears of Unsustainable AI Spending and New Chinese Rivals

Wed, July 29 2026 /Mpelembe Media/ — The summer of 2026 witnessed a profound global market recalibration as major technology and semiconductor stocks faced a severe sell-off, pushing the tech-heavy Nasdaq-100 index into correction territory. This downturn reflected a fundamental shift in investor sentiment, moving from speculative optimism surrounding artificial intelligence to a rigorous demand for tangible monetization and balance sheet stability. The correction was not triggered by a singular event, but rather by a confluence of escalating capital expenditures, systemic credit risks tied to circular financing, and significant geopolitical shifts in the Asian semiconductor supply chain. Continue reading →

06Feb/26

Why the $38 Billion BI Industry Failed Luxury—And How AI is Finally Fixing It

February 6, 2026LifestyleArtificial intelligence, Claude, Computational neuroscience, Cybernetics, Data science, Digital Luxury Group, Geneva, New York, Pablo Mauron, Shanghaiadmin

06, Feb. 2026 /Mpelembe Media — Digital Luxury Group (DLG) has announced the launch of LuxuryIQ MCP, the first AI data integration layer specifically designed for the luxury industry. Addressing the “data fragmentation” that 38% of luxury executives cite as a primary barrier to AI adoption, the platform consolidates 1.4 billion proprietary and public data points into a system accessible through natural language conversation. Continue reading →

27Apr/25

viaim Hosts World’s First Silent Party in Shanghai, Empowering Inclusive Communication Through AI on Earth Day 2025

April 27, 2025EntertainmentCounterculture of the 1960s, Earth Day, Environmental volunteering, Shanghaiadmin

On April 22, viaim hosted the world’s first “Silent Party” in Shanghai, harnessing its innovative AI-powered RecDot earbuds to bridge communication gaps and empower barrier-free interactions. Dedicated to inclusivity and environmental sustainability, the event celebrated Earth Day by uniting diverse communities, particularly highlighting hearing-impaired individuals, through music and cutting-edge technology. Continue reading

15Nov/22

Facial recognition: An ethical policing tool?

November 15, 2022SecurityAutomatic identification and data capture, Beijing, Belgium, Bill, Biometrics, Caitlin Chin, China, Closed-circuit television, Colombia, Crime prevention, Evani Radiya-Dixit, Face ID, Facial recognition system, Lauren Rhue, Law enforcement, Learning, London, Luxembourg, Mark Travis, Morocco, National security, Netflix, Nicol Turner Lee, Prevention, Samuel Woodhams Digital, Shanghai, Surveillance, United Kingdom, United States, Video surveillance, Xinjiangadmin

By Samuel Woodhams | Digital rights researcher and journalist

Facial recognition technology made headlines again last month as researchers at the University of Cambridge, UK said that the UK police’s use of the technology was unethical and potentially unlawful. The report from the Minderoo Centre for Technology and Democracy urged police to stop using live facial recognition (LFR) in public spaces and said trials by the Metropolitan Police and South Wales Police failed to meet the “minimum legal and ethical standards.” Continue reading →

25Oct/22

Upland Brings Fashion and Fine Art to the Metaverse with Iconic Jacky Tsai MetaSkull Collection

October 25, 2022ArtGeography of California, Jacky Tsai, London, Metaverse, Shanghai, Upland, California, Virtual reality in fictionadmin

London-based contemporary artist Jacky Tsai and his fashion-forward MetaSkull Collection become the designer’s first foray into the metaverse debuting in Upland, the largest open metaverse mapped to the real world. Fans of the Shanghai-born designer around the world and the Upland community will have the unique opportunity to collect and trade three different rarities of the iconic MetaSkull in the form of digital collectibles, Upland’s coveted Block Explorers, and structural decor used to decorate metaverse neighborhoods in time for Halloween. Continue reading