US, China power up rivalry in EVs as trade war escalates

This week’s On the Rise analyzes the US-China race for EV domination, an AI bot that speaks Singlish, and the latest chapter of the Hodlnaut drama. [Read from your browser]( On the Rise 🚀 Welcome to On the Rise! Delivered every Tuesday via email and through the Tech in Asia website, this free newsletter breaks down the biggest stories and trends in emerging tech. If you’re not a subscriber, get access by [registering here](. --------------------------------------------------------------- IN FOCUS In today's newsletter, we look at: - [The EV race]( between US and China - A generative AI [that can speak]( in Singlish and other dialects - In Token Issue we’ll be updating you on the Hodlnaut bankruptcy proceedings Hello {NAME} , At home, I’m known for my love of weird movies. My particular niche is ‘80s cult films like [Repo Man]( [The Forbidden Zone]( and [Near Dark](. Why do I like them so much? Because knowing the movie isn’t supposed to make much sense allows me to turn off my brain, sit back, and enjoy the on-screen weirdness without - and this is the important part - having to write about it. It’s pretty much the opposite of my work. This month, I tried to make sense of a lot of things as part of my job. I spent a couple days writing about why the US ban on high-end semiconductors to China was going to [cause World War III](. My colleague Shadine is also writing about the US-China tensions in this week’s Big Story, but thankfully she’ll be writing about competition involving electric vehicles instead of war. But for our second Big Story this week, I jump right back into chaos - I wrote about how generative AI is transforming call centers. The news isn’t bad, but there are certainly a few bits there that people won’t be happy about. For one last bit of drama, I’ll also be taking you through the drama at the Hodlnaut bankruptcy in Token Issue. It looks like the crypto platform finally found a white knight to ride to their rescue. Spoiler alert: The “knight” is actually the founders of Three Arrows Capital (3AC), who are still on the wanted list in Singapore - Hodlnaut’s home market. After the month I had, it’s definitely movie time. -- Scott  --------------------------------------------------------------- THE BIG STORIES 1️⃣ [Mapping the US-China rivalry in global EV race]( BYD recently overtook Tesla to become the top-selling electric vehicle firm, and China has been growing its dominance over the US in the EV race. 2️⃣ [This AI firm’s bots can speak Singlish, use WhatsApp to collect loan repayments]( Wiz.ai set out to make bots that could talk to people in their own accents. The resulting software has the potential to change the call center industry.  --------------------------------------------------------------- TOKEN ISSUE Who’s going to invest in a platform run by Hodlnaut and 3AC? Last week, [the end of Hodlnaut]( seemed imminent, but it didn’t happen. To refresh your memory, Hodlnaut is the Singapore-based crypto platform that got caught with its hands in the [Anchor Protocol cookie jar](. The company [lied]( about its losses, which became clear when it [filed for creditor protection](. Hodlnaut has been under interim judicial management (IJM) since the end of August 2022. The case has been contentious, with claims of [impropriety]( leveled against [both sides](. But when a judge scheduled a hearing for August 7 to wind down the company, the end seemed in sight: Hodlnaut would be liquidated. But just last week, a white knight came charging in and made an offer to Hodlnaut directors [Simon Lee]( and [Zhu Juntao](. The digital asset exchange would rescue Hodlnaut by [buying a 75% stake](. BUZZ! Sorry, that’s not allowed when a company is under IJM. The IJM is the only one in charge, not Lee and Zhu. The managers handling the Hodlnaut case, [Angela Ee]( and [Aaron Lee]( weren’t happy with the attempt to strike a deal behind their backs. Worse, the judge wasn’t happy. Justice Aedit Abdullah said he did not like behind-the-scenes “manoeuvring” and warned that as court officers, the IJMs should not be ignored, according to a recap of the hearing issued by Hodlnaut. But despite the founders’ blunder, Ee and Lee are [reviewing]( Lee and Zhu’s dealings with Opnx, according to an announcement on August 14. The two are supposed to report back to the judge at the next hearing, but no date has been set. Maybe you’re wondering, who’s behind Opnx, Hodlnaut’s white knight? Things get weird when you lift the veil and find Kyle Davies and Su Zhu, the founders of an even bigger Singaporean crypto disaster: [Three Arrows Capital]( (3AC). Davies and Zhu are still [wanted]( in the US and in Singapore for their involvement in 3AC. Both have moved to Dubai, where they [started their new firm]( called - you guessed it - Opnx. But some things never change. In May, [Dubai regulators]( formerly reprimanded Davies and Zhu for operating an unregulated exchange. So the question for Hodlnaut’s IJMs and Justice Abdullah is: Should they let a couple of crypto bros, already under investigation for billions in losses, bail out another crypto firm that has admitted to lying about how it handled assets? The answer may seem obvious, but there are other complications, such as the an ongoing [legal fight]( between Hodlnaut and Samtrade Custodian Limited. Samtrade, which is also being liquidated, had over US$127 million in stablecoins in Hodlnaut when it filed for creditor protection. But Hodlnaut believed those funds should be included in its own assets and used to pay its creditors. If Justice Abdullah rejects Opnx’s offer to rescue Hodlnaut and Samtrade wins the right to those stablecoins, there will be virtually nothing left of Hodlnaut to liquidate. But if the judge allows it, he could be approving the creation of a platform run by some of the most infamous names in crypto. -- Scott  --------------------------------------------------------------- FYI 1️⃣ [Rejection, not dejection: learning from failed VC pitches]( Founders needn’t despair when their pitches get turned down by VCs. Take each meeting as a learning opportunity instead. 2️⃣ [The good, the bad, and the ugly of Malaysia’s govtech push]( The country’s latest tech drive may sound enticing, but startups should only go in with eyes wide open. 3️⃣ [This AI startup said no to VCs after ‘perplexing’ experiences with them]( Known as a “Swiss Army knife” for hate speech and other problematic content, Singapore-based Tisane Labs bootstrapped its way to profitability.  --------------------------------------------------------------- NEWS YOU SHOULD KNOW Also check out Tech in Asia’s coverage of the emerging tech scene [here](. 1️⃣ [Layoffs are not noice]( Indonesian audio-streaming platform Noice has laid off some of its staff amid a "strategic organizational restructuring." The company has offered severance packages and career transition assistance for retrenched employees. 2️⃣ [Tencent doubles down on AI]( The Chinese tech titan’s future focus is AI, company president Martin Lau said during its latest earnings call. He sees AI's potential going beyond chatbots similar to OpenAI's ChatGPT. 3️⃣ [Investing in good health]( HealthXCapital, an early-stage investment platform based in Singapore, has merged with Jungle Ventures. The deal will improve Jungle Ventures’ capacity to invest in Asia’s healthcare sector and give it access to HXC’s network and resources. 4️⃣ [Beep beep, funding complete]( IoT firm Deep has raised an undisclosed seed round led by GGV Capital and investor Wing Vasiksiri. The Singapore-based startup is also launching VoltNet, an electric vehicle roaming network. 5️⃣ [Ether's ETF Path]( The US Securities and Exchange Commission is poised to approve the first ETFs based on Ether futures. The move could allow various firms including Volatility Shares and Bitwise to offer such products.  --------------------------------------------------------------- That’s it for this edition - we hope you liked it! Do also check out previous issues of the newsletter [here](. Not your cup of tea? You can unsubscribe from this newsletter by going to your “edit profile” page and choosing that option in our preference center. See you soon! [ADVERTISE]( | [SUBSCRIBE]( | [HIRE]( | [FIND JOBS]( P.S. Don't miss out on the biggest tech news and analysis. Add newsletter@techinasia.com to your address book, contacts, or safe sender list. Or simply move us into your inbox. Too many emails? Switch to a different frequency or get new content through our [preference center]( or [unsubscribe](. You can also break our hearts and remove yourself from all Tech in Asia emails over [here](  Copyright © 2023 Tech in Asia, All rights reserved. 63 Robinson Road, Singapore 068894