Regional

AI News Brief: Convenience store retailers are rolling out new store formats, reinventing themselves as apparel retail channels and community hubs to create new demand in a saturated market. Tokyo’s convenience store leaders are pursuing differentiated strategies: FamilyMart opened its new flagship concept store ‘Famima Park Azabudai’ in July, bringing on streetwear godfather Nigo as creative director to launch cross-category apparel like denim jackets.

AI News Flash: Taiwan’s stock market closed higher on Wednesday, riding the wave of optimism from Japanese listed companies’ recent upbeat earnings forecasts driven by AI infrastructure demand. Nikkei Asia reports that Japanese listed companies expect overall net profit to grow 14% year-on-year for the fiscal year ending March 2027, with growth momentum coming mainly from suppliers with leading market share in AI-related infrastructure and manufacturing products.

AI News Flash: Rakuten Group is partnering with German defense tech startup Helsing to bring AI-powered attack drones to Japan’s Self-Defense Forces, according to exclusive reporting from Nikkei Asia. The partnership could eventually expand into domestic Japanese production of unmanned autonomous equipment, signaling Rakuten’s push to turn defense tech into a new revenue growth engine beyond its core startup support business. The original summary only covers the partnership direction and potential expansion (domestic Japan production) at this stage.

AI news brief: China’s physical AI and robotics industry could replicate the ‘China Shock’ effect—even though it still lags in key components like advanced chips, sensors, and precision machine tools, Beijing is throwing its ‘whole-nation system’ behind next-generation robotics and physical AI, aiming to dominate the overall supply chain and mass production. That’s the warning from a major Taipei think tank’s latest assessment.

AI News Flash: Dentsu Group announced it will cut the number of its overseas subsidiaries by up to 30% before fiscal year 2028, as part of an effort to restructure its sprawling overseas business portfolio in response to AI’s disruption of the advertising industry’s competitive landscape. The move comes as pressure mounts from consulting and tech firms like Accenture and Google, which are using AI capabilities to muscle into the advertising market and upend the traditional business structure of legacy ad conglomerates. The report notes that Dentsu swung back to profit from January to June this year (versus a loss in the same period last year), and is currently pushing through business and organizational restructuring aimed at restoring profitability.

AI news brief: this report is extremely short and doesn’t offer much verifiable technical detail beyond the headline, so here’s the summary: Shanghai AI startup Z.ai announced on Friday the launch of its next-generation model GLM-5.3, claiming significant improvements in coding and security capabilities that put it on par with leading industry rivals. The report notes that Z.ai previously drew attention after its model successfully defended against a cyberattack targeting an OpenAI model, which suggests the company has already built some reputation in the security space — a positioning that echoes GLM-5.3’s emphasis on security performance.

AI News Brief: According to this Nikkei report, a group of US and Japanese VC funds and research institutions plan to launch a new fund this year aimed at bringing Silicon Valley technology to Japan, nurturing deep tech startups, and helping them expand into global markets, with a focus on AI, space, and defense. The fund is a joint investment vehicle formed by Global Innovation Labs and Z Venture Capital…

AI News Flash: Foreign investors have recently turned into net buyers of Indian equities, signaling a rebound in risk appetite. In the first half of this year, foreign investors dumped Indian stocks heavily, with net selling reaching $26.7 billion, but they’ve recently flipped to net buying, with the figure surpassing $3.8 billion. Two main forces are driving this capital inflow: first, a correction in previously overheated AI-related stock valuations has eased pressure, prompting investors to reassess India’s appeal as a relative…

AI News Flash: SMIC says the AI investment boom is driving a spillover effect that’s boosting demand for a wide range of peripheral AI chips, and even with weak smartphone and automotive demand, the company says there’s no chance it will cut prices on other product categories. As China’s largest chip foundry, SMIC notes that AI-driven demand for peripheral chips is substantial enough to offset the slump in consumer electronics and automotive chip markets, keeping the company firm on its pricing strategy.

AI news brief: Japanese self-driving startup Tier IV plans to develop AI semiconductor design solutions and release them for free, a move that could help automakers reduce their dependence on foreign suppliers for critical technology. With lower cost barriers, automakers may increasingly bring semiconductor development in-house rather than relying on external chip suppliers. Tier IV’s own vehicles already run on its self-driving technology. See the original article for details.