Tencent's Open Source LLM skyrockets to #1; Baidu & Meta Battle over AI Glasses
November Week 1: Nov 5 - Nov 11
Welcome, Asia Startup enthusiasts
The open-source LLM space has turned into Silicon Valley's hottest battle royale, with Grok, Mistral, and Meta's LLaMA fighting for victory. But wait - Player 4 (aka Tencent) has entered with Hunyuan, & looks to have best-in-class performance.
And do you remember Google Glass? Of course! An image of those awkward spectacles still live in my head, rent-free. A decade later, Baidu claims to have cracked the smart glasses code – but let's see if they deliver.
In today’s edition:
Tencent’s Open Source AI Model is now #1, outshining Meta’s Llama 3
Baidu Unveils AI-Powered Smart Glasses, Challenging Meta's AR Ray-Bans
The Next Blackpink might just be a girl-gang of virtual avatars
More Asia Startup News
⚡ Tencent’s Open Source AI Model is now #1, outshining Meta’s Llama 3
The scoop: Tencent's new Hunyuan large language model has claimed the top spot in Chinese & English language processing among open-source models, surpassing Meta's Llama 3.1 405B across many key benchmarks. With 389 billion parameters, this powerful model enables developers to build within Tencent's ecosystem, affecting millions of users across WeChat, QQ, and enterprise applications. It’s worth noting, the model isn’t universally the top performer on all benchmarks, but is #1 on many, and highly competitive on almost all.
Fun facts:
Hunyuan-Large exceeds Llama3.1 70B's performance on multiple English and Chinese benchmarks. It matches Meta's flagship Llama 3.1-405B in language understanding, coding, mathematics, and logical reasoning.
The model achieves its edge through innovative techniques, including training on 1.5 trillion tokens of refined synthetic data within its 7 trillion parameter training set. It employs advanced model structure enhancements to optimize memory usage, boost performance, and balance token distribution.
Why it matters: Hunyuan's emergence marks a shift in the LLM landscape, where regional expertise and platform integration have become crucial. By excelling in Mandarin, Tencent gains an advantage over Meta's Llama in this vital market, establishing itself as China's AI leader.
👓 Baidu Unveils AI-Powered Smart Glasses, Challenging Meta's AR Ray-Bans
The scoop: Baidu is launching AI-enabled smart glasses to compete directly with Meta's Ray-Ban Stories. Powered by Baidu's ERNIE large language model, these glasses feature real-time translation and live navigation assistance, targeting China's wearable tech market.
Fun facts:
The glasses deliver up to 5 hours of active use, exceeding current market standards.
A high-resolution micro-LED display provides a 23-degree field of view, matching leading competitors while preserving clear vision.
Priced at 1,500 to 2,000 RMB ($210-280 USD), they compete directly with Meta's Ray-Ban Stories.
The integrated ERNIE model processes multiple Mandarin dialects and regional accents, addressing China's linguistic diversity.
Why it matters: Baidu's smart eyewear launch marks its strategic entry into consumer AI products. With longer battery life, competitive pricing, and language capabilities tailored for Chinese users, Baidu emerges as a formidable player in Asia's wearable market. This move could transform how Chinese consumers experience augmented reality while strengthening Baidu's position in the expanding consumer tech landscape.
🎤 The Next Blackpink might just be a girl-gang of virtual avatars
The scoop: Metaverse Entertainment is positioning itself as the next-generation version of YG Entertainment, best known for Blackpink, but with a virtual twist. Their digital K-pop group Mave and virtual influencer Rina represent a new frontier in entertainment: AI-powered, hyper-realistic avatars designed for the digital stage.
Since Mave's debut in January 2023, one of their songs, for example, has amassed over 10 million YouTube views, while Rina's online presence has scaled rapidly to 85,000 Instagram followers and k-pop group Mave to 350,000 Instagram followers. Financially, it’s worth noting, that the company raised a Series A in 2022 of $11.4 million - with the money coming from multiple Korean Technology Conglomerates.
The team:
Their CEO is a seasoned digital entertainment leader, formerly with NCSOFT and Kakao Games, bringing 20+ years of experience in gaming and media.
Their CTO specializes in AI-driven character design, previously at Naver, with a PhD from KAIST, focusing on advanced virtual modeling.
Their Chief Creative Director, formerly with SM Entertainment, is a K-pop veteran with 15 years in the industry, expertly blending music production with fan engagement.
Bull case: Mave and Rina, as virtual avatars, are uniquely positioned to capture a global fanbase similar to Blackpink but without the physical constraints of traditional idol groups. Virtual idols can deliver endless performances, meet fans across time zones, and interact with audiences on multiple platforms 24/7, potentially achieving deeper engagement. In South Korea's AI- and AR-driven entertainment landscape, Metaverse Entertainment could pioneer a scalable model for global digital fandom.
Bear case: The novelty of virtual avatars risks waning as more entertainment and tech companies create AI-powered idols. The rapid rise of digital avatars could lead to market saturation, with fans gravitating back to live performances by traditional idols. Moreover, established K-pop agencies like YG and SM Entertainment, backed by their well-oiled marketing machines, may develop their own virtual stars to compete, potentially challenging Metaverse's early lead in the virtual idol space.
🇸🇬 Singapore NewsOpenAI's Singapore-based Developer Day has been announced for November 21, alongside a GovTech X OpenAI Hackathon. Both events are open to the public, but require individuals to apply online for access.
🇻🇳 Vietnam NewsShein and Temu are likely to be blocked by the Vietnamese Government in January 2025 unless they are approved for additional (& very strict) regulatory requirements. This would stop the service for their 2 million users in the country.
🇮🇩 Indonesia NewsGoTo, Tencent, and Alibaba are investing over $100 million into a joint cloud project in Indonesia. The partnership aims to capture a share of Indonesia's $2.3 billion cloud market, with initial infrastructure expected to launch by Q3 2025. This collaboration highlights a regional play for the Chinese tech giants to serve Indonesia's 270 million population, while relying on a local trojan horse (GoTo).
🇯🇵 Japan News 7-Eleven Japan has launched a trial of robot deliveries targeting Tokyo's aging population. With nearly 30% of Tokyo's residents aged over 65, these robots aim to make around 200 deliveries daily. If successful, 7-Eleven plans to scale to 1,000 delivery robots by 2025, aiming to reduce delivery costs by 20%.
Japan Airlines has committed $500 million to a new electric taxi project with Soracle and Archer (think like Boom Supersonic in the USA). The venture aims to deploy 100 electric taxis by 2026, reducing transportation emissions by 40% over conventional taxis and helping Japan meet its carbon neutrality target by 2050.
🇰🇷 Korea News JAY-Z has invested in a South Korean music copyright platform that offers fractional ownership, where users can buy into music copyrights starting at just $100. This startup has facilitated over 10,000 transactions in the past year, marking South Korea as a new tech investment hotspot for global celebrities.
South Korea's "Startup Korea" visa, launched on November 7, 2024, offers a 5-year visa for foreign entrepreneurs and startups, aiming to attract 1,000 new startups by 2026. The program has already received over 200 applications, highlighting South Korea's push to become a startup hub in Asia.
🇮🇳 India News Swiggy, India's $10 billion food delivery giant, has filed for a $1 billion IPO, expected in H1 2025. This IPO will be one of the largest in India's history, testing investor appetite for tech companies after the mixed performance of Paytm's $2.2 billion IPO in 2021.
