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☆ China's Alibaba releases AI search tool for small businesses in Europe and the Americas
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-12 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Alibaba International promotes its e-commerce platform for small businesses at the Canton Fair in Guangdong, China, on Oct. 16, 2024. BEIJING — Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba on Tuesday unveiled an artificial intelligence-powered search engine for small businesses in Europe and the Americas to source supplies. Initial tests showed businesses' purchase intent using the new tool increased by 40% versus traditional search engines, according to Kuo Zhang, president of Alibaba.com and vice president of Alibaba International. The initial version is web-based and supports English, German, French, Portuguese and Spanish, according to the company. At the end of the search, the tool lists a number of procurement options for the business to discuss directly with each supplier.

Persons: Kuo Zhang, Alibaba.com, Harry Potter Organizations: Alibaba, Fair, Alibaba International, CNBC Locations: Guangdong, China, BEIJING, Europe, Americas

The Global Cooling Pledge – set to be announced at the upcoming United Nations climate summit, COP28 – represents a tough request given the cooling industry is only expected to grow. The emissions from both the refrigerants and the energy used in cooling now account for about 7% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and are expected to triple by 2050 as temperatures continue to rise. "We need cooling, but it has to become more efficient," UNEP Cool Coalition global coordinator Lily Riahi said. Another 13 commitments outlined in the draft pledge include establishing minimum energy performance standards for air conditioning by 2030, and including cooling emissions in countries' overall climate action plans, called Nationally Determined Contributions. The UNEP estimates that global efforts to tackle cooling emissions could have a significant impact by 2050, avoiding the release of up to 86 billion metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent.

Persons: Tyrone Siu, –, Noah Horowitz, Lily Riahi, Gloria Dickie, Katy Daigle, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: China Import, Export Fair, Canton Fair, REUTERS, Reuters, United, Programme's, Cool Coalition, International Energy Agency, UNEP, Coalition, Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson Locations: Canton, Guangzhou, China, India, United States, Nations, United Arab Emirates, Kigali, Montreal, Dubai, London

On Tuesday, the U.S. government accused a former Apple employee, Weibao Wang, of stealing trade secrets from the company's self-driving car division, including the entirety of Apple's "autonomous" source code. Following that, he worked as chief technology officer at Neolix, a Chinese self-driving car company. Wang is the third former Apple employee from China to be accused of stealing trade secrets from Apple's self-driving car division. Xiaolang Zhang, who worked at Apple around the same time as Wang, pleaded guilty to stealing trade secrets from Apple in August. Apple has reportedly been working on a self-driving car since at least 2015, although it has never discussed its goals or plans publicly and no car has been announced.

[1/3] A staff member attends to visitors at an oven retailer at the China Import and Export Fair, also known as Canton Fair, in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, China April 16, 2023. REUTERS/Ellen ZhangGUANGZHOU, April 16 (Reuters) - Chinese exporters exhibiting their products at the country's largest trade fair said the weak global economy was hurting their businesses, with many freezing investments and some cutting labour costs in response. Lin said the company cannot afford to sell at lower prices, but it may look to reduce labour costs. Vicky Chen, foreign trade manager at socket producer Qinjia Electric, said she did not expect a big sales boost at the fair, which runs until May 5. "The whole global economy is fairing poorly at the moment, and the fair won't change that."

☆ Chinese EV startup Jidu plans to use ChatGPT-like tech
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Visitors look at a Jidu Robo-01 electric SUV during the 20th Guangzhou International Automobile Exhibition at Canton Fair Complex on Dec. 30, 2022 in Guangzhou, China. BEIJING — Baidu's ChatGPT-like product is set to come to electric, assisted-driving cars, startup Jidu said Tuesday. Jidu, backed by Baidu and Geely , is using Baidu's Apollo system for the in-car user interface and assisted driving tech. The startup plans to deliver its first car this year. Jidu plans to use Apollo with Baidu's ChatGPT-like product, called Ernie bot in English, the startup said.

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