Last year, China saw a booming prosperity in the basic model, all the large language models that were fundamental to the AI revolution. This year, the focus has shifted to AI agents, which is less than responding to user queries and more about doing their jobs for them independently.
Many Chinese startups are now building these universal digital tools that can reply to emails, browse the internet to plan holidays, and even design an interactive website. Many of these have emerged in the footsteps of Manus in the past two months. Manus’ Footsteps is a universal AI agent that inspired weeks of social media craze invitation code after launching a limited release in early March.
As defining useful AI agents evolve, a mix of ambitious startups and deeply rooted tech giants are testing how these tools actually work in practice and for whom. Read the full text.
—Caiwei Chen
Find GPS alternatives in the game
Later this month, an inconspicuous 150kg satellite was set to space in the SpaceX Transporter 14 mission. Once in orbit, it will test ultra-accurate next-generation SATNAV technology designed to compensate for the shortcomings of the US Global Positioning System (GPS).
Despite the essential nature of the system, GPS signals are easily suppressed or destroyed, worth dozens of dollars, from space weather to 5G cellular towers to phone-sized jammers. The issue has been whispering among experts for years, but it has indeed surfaced in the past three years since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Now, launching Xona Space Systems hopes to create a space-based system that can do GPS functionality, but better. Read the full text.
–Eteza Pultarova
