Qualcomm launches AI R&D centre in Vietnam
HANOI, June 11 (Reuters) - U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm has launched an artificial intelligence research and development centre in Vietnam, the company said on Tuesday.
Its researchers will focus on advancing generative and agentic AI solutions across smartphones, personal computers, XR (extended reality), automotive and IoT applications, it said in a statement.
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New Statesman
39 minutes ago
- New Statesman
How AI could transform Wigan
Image: Nick Beer/Shutterstock Atificial Intelligence is often used as a shorthand for the future of our economy. But to say we want a future shaped by AI says little about what that future looks like. AI is a tool, a way of generating answers to questions from massive quantities of data. An AI-powered future is a future that uses data to achieve things we care about. What those things are is up to us. Beyond Whitehall, there is little serious grappling with what this future should look like for places like Wigan. As the Member of Parliament for Makerfield and the leader of Wigan Council, we have been thinking carefully about how AI can be harnessed to give working people in our area a better future. While it's a work-in-progress, we wanted to share it, because it will matter for leaders across the country in the coming years. The government's approach is centred around AI Growth Zones. These are effectively energy-intensive data centres, which are important for the future of AI in the UK but do not, in themselves, generate good jobs or productivity growth in local areas. Data processing is not like coal mining: there is no relationship between the people who do it and the physical place the processing happens. We must be clear that AI will not herald a return of place-based industrial capitalism. To actually harness AI to generate growth and employment in a local area, we must be much more granular and specific. It starts by looking at the real-world businesses that generate data and could use it better to drive efficiencies and productivity. In Wigan, we have UK-wide strengths in sports, food manufacturing and other process manufacturing that is generally high-volume and low-margin. For instance, Heinz has one of the largest food factories in Europe in Wigan, producing three million tins of beans a day, and the largest wet-wipe factory in Europe is in the Makerfield constituency. Local business Uncle Joe's Mint Balls has grown from selling sweets at a Wigan market stall in 1898 to being exported across the world today. It is a particular favourite in Japan. These factories work on fine margins, producing hundreds of thousands of cheap outputs. On a daily basis, they generate millions of datapoints. Unlocking that data, using it to make improvements in the process of packaging, or bringing products to market faster and more cheaply, can be transformative to the productivity and profitability of these companies, and in turn, the wages and work of local people. Or take sport. Wigan Warriors, which is owned by the New Statesman's owner, Mike Danson, has been one of the best rugby league teams in the world for most of the game's history, and this season, Wigan Athletic and Wigan Warriors women's teams have been almost undefeated. Each game generates hundreds of datapoints about each player, team tactics, fan attendance and spending, and a host of other pieces of information that clubs can use to professionalise and secure their finances. Wigan can lead the way in this kind of analysis. AI is a tool. How you decide to use that tool, and how an area develops distinctive expertise in improving and deploying AI, will depend on that area's existing strengths. For us in Wigan, it's not about building cutting-edge large language models or generative AI, it is about potential for global businesses building and doing things in the physical world to use data and AI to drive up productivity and boost our economy. Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe Local authorities can make a real difference here. They must collect, store and process data much more effectively to understand how best to serve their populations and inform better decisions. To make preventative healthcare a reality, target financial assistance or educational programmes, or get people back to work, Wigan is working to improve how it gathers and processes data. A more data-driven council can be a more community-led council, more tailored to the needs of specific, hyper-local places and people. This approach has seen success in London, where the London Office for Technology and Innovation has pooled data from a variety of boroughs to give better data sets, to intervene on issues from community health to tackling widespread mould problems. This summer, we will launch Scale Space North – an AI and digital innovation hub working with Wigan Council's digital partner, Agilisys. Wigan's Civic Centre has been repurposed to act as a catalyst for local start-ups and new business propositions. Such partnerships and digital innovation are vital for the public sector to radically transform to meet community needs and to create skills and jobs for the future. Wigan powered Britain's industrial revolution. Mining, for example, was hard, physical work, but it gave people jobs, skills and, importantly, purpose. Wigan helped Britain win wars, become the world's wealthiest nation and to protect our country from threats. Despite its promise, the internet revolution has provided little for northern towns like Wigan. Our public realm has been battered, while too many people, from kids to pensioners, have retreated into the addictive haze of social media and fragmented digital worlds. People are angry, and they are right to be. Levelling up did not provide what our towns really need: a huge boost of productivity, capital investment and real attention to the potentials and the problems of specific places, from the ground up. The job of people like us is to ensure the AI and data revolution actually benefits working people. Often, this won't always be shiny or glamorous, it will be about understanding the distinctive strengths of an area, and how they can be built on to generate, store and analyse data better, then integrate data-driven tools across businesses and public organisations. AI is neither a silver bullet nor a destructive disaster. It is a tool that should be part of the future we choose to build. It is we, the people, who give meaning to family, work and communities. The shape of our AI-powered future is up to us. Related
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Innovation takes a backseat at small companies as tariffs become a full-time preoccupation
Toy robots that teach children to code. Sneakers made in America. Mold-resistant kitchen gadgets. The three items are among new products that have gotten stuck in the pipeline due to President Donald Trump 's unpredictable trade policies, according to the brand founders behind the stalled items. They say that instead of fostering U.S. innovation, Trump's tariffs are stifling it with extra costs and unexpected work. At Learning Resources in Vernon Hills, Illinois, Made Plus in Annapolis, Maryland, and Dorai Home in Salt Lake City, research and development have taken a backseat to recalculating budgets, negotiating with vendors and tracking shipments in the shifting tariff environment. 'If we don't have enough cash to cover just the restocks of the things that we know we need, do we want to take a risk on this new thing when we don't know how well it will sell yet?' Dorai Home founder Kelsey O'Callaghan said. O'Callaghan started the eco-friendly home goods company with a stone bath mat and now offers about 50 kitchen and bathroom accessories, which are made in China with a non-toxic material that dries quickly. New launches are critical to increasing sales and attracting customers, she said. As Trump increased the tariff on Chinese goods to 20% and as high as 145% before reducing the import tax rate to 30% for 90 days, Dorai Home postponed introducing new merchandise. O'Callaghan said she had to lay off the CEO as well as the head of product development, who helped the company jump on new trends. 'I haven't really put the time or the emphasis on (innovation) because I'm covering too many other people's roles,' she said. The company paused shipments from China in early April but resumed some on a staggered basis after the president's rate reduction. On Wednesday, Trump touted progress in U.S.-China trade talks. With details still sketchy and a deal not finalized, entrepreneurs interviewed by The Associated Press said they viewed the tariffs war as an ongoing threat. Tariffs and American innovation The potential stunting of innovation follows an economic slowdown during the coronavirus pandemic, when companies also had to put projects on hold. Some experts think the on-again-off again tariffs may have more enduring consequences because they rewire markets and upend business strategies. 'When executive attention shifts from innovation to regulatory compliance, the innovation pipeline suffers. Companies end up optimizing for the political landscape rather than technological advancement,' economists J. Bradford Jensen, a nonresident senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, and Scott J. Wallsten, president of the Technology Policy Institute think tank, wrote in an April blog post. Trump has argued that curtailing foreign imports with tariffs would help revive the nation's diminished manufacturing base. Analysts and various trade groups have warned that fractured trade ties and supply chains may depress R&D activity of U.S. tech and health care companies that rely on international partnerships or foreign suppliers. Small companies, which often drive the innovations that create jobs and economic growth, already are under strain. With fewer people on staff and tighter budgets compared to large corporations, entrepreneurs say they are spending more time on cutting costs, suspending or arranging orders, and deciding how much of their tariff-related costs to charge customers. That means they're spending less time thinking of their next big ideas. Schylling Inc., a Massachusetts company that produces modern versions of Lava lamps, Sea-Monkeys, My Little Pony and other nostalgic toys, has its products made in China. As part of its strategy to account for tariffs, the company put a group of employees on temporary unpaid leave last month to reduce expenses. Marketing director Beth Muehlenkamp said she and other furloughed workers typically would have been planning products for the final months of 2026. But Schylling isn't focusing on designing new products given the unstable trade outlook. 'It's really hard to focus on innovation and creativity when you're consumed with this day-to-day of how we're just going to balance the books and deal with the changing rates,' Muehlenkamp said. An uneven product pipeline Even some companies that do their manufacturing in the U.S. are scaling back investments in new products. Made Plus, a Maryland company that makes athletic shoes at a small factory in the state capital, put a planned golf line on hold because two key components — a foam insole and the tread for the bottom of the shoe — currently are made in China, founder Alan Guyan said. The company customizes its shoes on demand and charges $145 to $200 a pair. The footwear is made from recycled plastic bottles with advanced knitting, 3D printing and computerized stitching techniques. It's looking into getting components from Vietnam instead of China. Embracing new technology is essential to restoring manufacturing capability in the U.S. and competing with Asia, Guyan said. But given ongoing trade frictions, he said he does not want to invest time or money evaluating the latest embroidery and knitting machines, which come from Germany, Italy, China and the U.S. 'We're just battening down the hatches a little bit and just hoping that there's enough influence in the community of footwear that it will somewhat change and get resolved and we can move forward,' he said of the tariff roller coaster. In contrast, many big companies are forging on. Google parent Alphabet confirmed late last month that it still planned to spend $75 billion on capital expenditures this year, with most of the money going toward artificial intelligence technology. What's next for R&D? Sonia Lapinsky, a managing director at consulting firm AlixPartners, has advised her clients to limit tariff discussions to a small group of executives and to keep their product creation cycles in motion. Businesses have an even greater imperative to come up with attention-grabbing innovations when consumers may be reluctant to open their wallets, she said. Yet smaller companies may struggle to wall off tariff discussions from the rest of the business. Learning Resources CEO Rick Woldenberg said that roughly 25% to 30% of the 350 employees at the educational toy company's headquarters, including product developers, are working at least part-time on tariff-related tasks. The company usually develops 250 different products a year and expects to get half that many off the drawing board for 2026, Woldenberg said. While exploring factories in countries besides China, he said, Learning Resources is delaying the next generation of its interactive robots that help children develop computer programming skills through games and other activities. The family-run business and Woldenberg's other toy business, hand2Mind, are locked in a legal battle with the Trump administration. The jointly owned companies filed a lawsuit accusing the president of exceeding his authority by invoking an emergency powers law to impose tariffs. A federal judge ruled in favor of the two companies last month, and the administration has appealed the decision. Woldenberg said he's ready to take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court. 'It's a win at the Supreme Court that we need,' he said. 'And so until then, there will be no certainty. Even then, if the government is bound and determined to keep us in an uncertain situation, they'll be able to do that.'
FF News
2 hours ago
- FF News
Synthetic Identity Document Fraud Surges 300% in the U.S. - Sumsub Warns E-Commerce, Healthtech and Fintech at Risk
Sumsub , a global leader in verification, today released Q1 2025 identity fraud trends based on internal data, revealing a dramatic rise in AI-enabled fraud across the United States . According to platform data, deepfake fraud has surged by 1100%, while synthetic identity document fraud rose by over 300% with attackers exploiting generative AI to create fake passports, IDs, and biometric data. Sumsub analyzed millions of verification checks conducted on its platform between January and March 2025 across industries such as fintech, e-commerce, healthtech, and edtech to uncover emerging fraud trends. One of the most pressing concerns is the rise of synthetic identity document fraud, where criminals use AI tools to generate fake identity documents such as driver's licenses or passports. These synthetic identity documents are often realistic enough to bypass basic KYC checks, posing a significant challenge for businesses. Unlike synthetic identity documents, which involve the creation of entirely fake personas using a mix of real and fabricated data, synthetic identity documents refer specifically to falsified documents or images generated by AI. Fraudsters then use these AI-generated visuals to open accounts, conduct illicit transactions, or bypass compliance processes, making detection increasingly difficult without advanced verification tools North America-Specific Insights (Q1 2025): Synthetic identity document fraud spiked by 311% in North America compared to Q1 2024 , making it the region's most alarming growth vector. , making it the region's most alarming growth vector. Deepfake fraud jumped by 1100%, marking a clear signal that generative AI is being used to bypass facial recognition and biometric checks. marking a clear signal that generative AI is being used to bypass facial recognition and biometric checks. High fraud activity was recorded in e-commerce, healthtech and edtech ––industries have seen accelerated digitization post-pandemic. ––industries have seen accelerated digitization post-pandemic. The U.S. in particular saw a sharp increase in fintech fraud attempts, underscoring the need for real-time, multi-layered fraud prevention solutions. Key Global Findings (Q1 2025): Synthetic identity document fraud is rising across all regions, fueled by widespread access to GenAI tools that can generate highly realistic fake IDs. Top markets for synthetic identity document fraud include: Ethiopia (2.17%) Pakistan (2.08%) Nigeria (1.52%) Other notable markets: Hong Kong (0.99%), Indonesia (0.84%), Turkey (0.80%) Deepfake-related attacks are growing globally, particularly to bypass biometric systems—now one of the fastest-evolving fraud vectors. Healthtech fraud attempts rose by 384%, signaling its emergence as a high-value target alongside fintech and e-commerce. Regional deepfakefraud surges: Canada : 3,400% Hong Kong : 1,900% Singapore : 1,500% Mainland China : 1,183% Germany : 1,100% United Kingdom : 900% United States : 700% 'The pace at which fraud tactics are evolving is staggering,' said Andrew Sever , CEO of Sumsub. 'As generative AI becomes more accessible, so does the ability to generate synthetic identity documents and deepfakes at scale. What we're seeing is a broader trend, in which Fraud-as-a-Service is becoming a reality, where malicious actors can easily access sophisticated tools to carry out attacks. Businesses can no longer rely on outdated verification tools. It's imperative they adopt an intelligent, adaptive approach to stay ahead.' To combat this new wave of fraud, Sumsub continues to invest in advanced AI-powered fraud detection, document authenticity analysis, and biometric defense tools to protect businesses and users worldwide. The company urges organizations to stay proactive by integrating multi-layered verification and continuous monitoring into their onboarding and transaction workflows. People In This Post Andrew Sever Sumsub
