(RTTNews) - Pony.ai, a company specializing in autonomous driving mass production and commercialization, has announced an upgraded strategic partnership with BAIC BJEV, the electric vehicle arm of BAIC Group. The expanded collaboration is aimed at accelerating the deployment of h
(RTTNews) - Pony.ai, a company specializing in autonomous driving mass production and commercialization, has announced an upgraded strategic partnership with BAIC BJEV, the electric vehicle arm of BAIC Group. The expanded collaboration is aimed at accelerating the deployment of h
China is stockpiling oil . All in, says Michael Haigh, global head of FIC and commodities research at Société Générale, the country probably has some 1.4 billion barrels stashed away. That’s “gigantic,” he says, covering its needs for “hundreds of days” should something go wrong with the global supply chain. Ninety days is more the international norm. But China isn’t stopping there: some think it ...
China is stockpiling oil . All in, says Michael Haigh, global head of FIC and commodities research at Société Générale, the country probably has some 1.4 billion barrels stashed away. That’s “gigantic,” he says, covering its needs for “hundreds of days” should something go wrong with the global supply chain. Ninety days is more the international norm. But China isn’t stopping there: some think it could keep going until supplies clear 2 billion barrels. This isn’t a cheap business. You’ve not only got to buy the stuff, you have to store it. The US has natural salt caverns, but in China, it’s all about huge, metal-intensive, purpose-built facilities. However, it also makes obvious sense. In the old days you hoarded US Treasuries, collected interest and felt happy in the knowledge you could transform those holdings into commodities any time you felt like it. No more. In our new, low-trust world , as my colleague John Stepek points out, everyone moves from relying on just-in-time supplies to frantically finding and storing just-in-case supplies of all the same things. Just in case there’s a hot war. Just in case shipping routes stop working. Just in case someone invades your supplier and says they can’t supply you any more. That kind of thing. It’s possible the Trump administration was thinking along these lines when its military attacked Venezuela and captured its president, Nicolás Maduro. Short term, the US has more than enough oil. It has its own Strategic Petroleum Reserve of course (up from 350 million to 400 million barrels in the last two years) and is a net exporter. So on the face of it, America has enough. But what’s enough in a crisis? Long-term you might as well have backup. And what better backup than controlling a country with (probably) the largest oil reserves in the world? Sure, you can’t have it all right away (Venezuelan production is below one million barrels a day after years of neglect and isolation ) and it’s not as close as Texas. But like the j...
2026 年 CES 开幕当天,拉斯维加斯的 Uber 司机望着展馆外的人流脱口而出:“中国人太多了。” 是的,中国硬件力量正以空前力量和密度涌向全球舞台。 在机器人展区,星动纪元技术 VP 侯伟的感受更为具体:“国内一线的厂商都来了。而且双足机器人这个赛道,非中国厂商展现方式都非常保守,没有炫酷的动作,甚至做 live demo 的也很少。” 中国已经成为全球硬件供应链的重要基地,新兴硬件品牌也...
2026 年 CES 开幕当天,拉斯维加斯的 Uber 司机望着展馆外的人流脱口而出:“中国人太多了。” 是的,中国硬件力量正以空前力量和密度涌向全球舞台。 在机器人展区,星动纪元技术 VP 侯伟的感受更为具体:“国内一线的厂商都来了。而且双足机器人这个赛道,非中国厂商展现方式都非常保守,没有炫酷的动作,甚至做 live demo 的也很少。” 中国已经成为全球硬件供应链的重要基地,新兴硬件品牌也基于中国的供应链优势不断涌现。他们的目标是,到全球去,以及用 AI 重做硬件。 但热情中也弥漫着一丝紧张。 AI 陪伴硬件创业公司 Ludens AI 创始人薛立君回忆,一个美国白人记者反复质问展区内所有亚洲面孔:“你们的供应链是不是在深圳?你们团队内有没有中国工程师?我们的数据被储存在哪里?” 这种焦虑在数据上也有印证:2026 年以中国注册地址参展的企业为 935 家,虽仍占总数近 20%,却较 2025 年的 1300 余家大幅下滑。有品牌高管向 InfoQ 坦言,签证障碍是缺席的主要原因。 然而,这些阻力并未浇灭全球市场对中国 AI 硬件的热情。 乐享科技旗下新品牌“元点智能”刚在 CES 做完发布会,就已经收获欧美本地连锁渠道采购商和其他代理商的合作意向。 Ludens AI 仅带两个原型机参展,在产品还未上众筹平台的情况下,2000 张名片就快要发完了。 AI 厨电品牌万得厨(wan AIChef)首次参展 CES,品牌管理总监林燕妮向 InfoQ 表示,团队原本以调研北美市场为主要目的,却意外收到大量本地代理商和售后服务商的接洽,并吸引了包括 Best Buy 和 Home Depot 在内的多家大型零售商的合作意向。 这些信号共同指向一个事实:尽管地缘政治带来摩擦,市场仍然被产品本身的价值与体验打动。 也正是在这个背景下,AI 硬件在 2026 年 CES 呈现出新的趋势: 一些曾被认为是前景不明的“小玩意”,正被大厂重新定义为 Physical AI 生态的关键入口。 AI 硬件的初创公司,则更加细致地从数据、场景、人群等方面,思考自己的生存之道。 机器人如何融入物理世界这一点更加清晰了,家用具身智能已经有了明确的商业目标。除了人形机器人厂商,卡特彼勒、西门子这样的工业巨头也来了,迫切地想告诉所有人:我们不仅跟上了 AI 的发展,还在支撑着 AI 所需要的...
The video, published online by a Minnesota-based news site, Alpha News, and reposted by the Department of Homeland Security, shows the shooting from the perspective of the officer who fired the shots. (Image credit: John Locher)
The video, published online by a Minnesota-based news site, Alpha News, and reposted by the Department of Homeland Security, shows the shooting from the perspective of the officer who fired the shots. (Image credit: John Locher)
An enemy-to-lovers romance in hit Canadian show Heated Rivalry. Plus: a fresh new look for Casualty on its 40th anniversary. Here’s what to watch this evening 9pm, Sky Atlantic Continue reading...
An enemy-to-lovers romance in hit Canadian show Heated Rivalry. Plus: a fresh new look for Casualty on its 40th anniversary. Here’s what to watch this evening 9pm, Sky Atlantic Continue reading...
Call me a wild optimist, but I think Planet Labs (NYSE: PL) might be the best space stock to buy today. This may sound strange to hear. Just a couple of years ago, I was one of Planet Labs' biggest critics, faulting the company for promising big things in the run-up to its 2021 initial public offering (IPO) -- and then failing to live up to its promises . In my defense, I had good reason. Prior to...
Call me a wild optimist, but I think Planet Labs (NYSE: PL) might be the best space stock to buy today. This may sound strange to hear. Just a couple of years ago, I was one of Planet Labs' biggest critics, faulting the company for promising big things in the run-up to its 2021 initial public offering (IPO) -- and then failing to live up to its promises . In my defense, I had good reason. Prior to its IPO , Planet Labs portrayed itself as an extraordinary growth stock . But promised sales growth rates of 50% and up, and gross margin rates in excess of 70%, were by 2023 coming in closer to 20% and 50%, respectively. Planet wasn't growing nearly as fast as it had hoped, nor generating nearly the profits it promised. Continue reading
Authorities in Australia declared a state of disaster on Saturday after bushfires destroyed houses and razed vast belts of forest in the country’s southeast. Temperatures soared past 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) as a heatwave blanketed the state of Victoria this week, with hot winds fanning some of the most dangerous fire weather since the “Black Summer” bushfires of 2019 to 2020. O...
Authorities in Australia declared a state of disaster on Saturday after bushfires destroyed houses and razed vast belts of forest in the country’s southeast. Temperatures soared past 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) as a heatwave blanketed the state of Victoria this week, with hot winds fanning some of the most dangerous fire weather since the “Black Summer” bushfires of 2019 to 2020. One of the most destructive bushfires ripped through almost 150,000 hectares (370,000 acres) near...