Latest news with #WangMinjie
Malay Mail
5 days ago
- Business
- Malay Mail
Amazon shuts Shanghai AI lab amid rising US-China tech tensions
SHANGHAI, July 25 — US tech giant Amazon has shut down its artificial intelligence research lab in Shanghai, a source with direct knowledge of the matter confirmed to AFP. News that the lab, part of cloud division Amazon Web Services (AWS), has closed comes with AI at the forefront of a tech race between China and the US. In a screenshot of a WeChat post widely circulated on Chinese social media this week, Wang Minjie, a scientist at the lab, said its disbanding was 'due to the strategic adjustment between China and the United States'. AWS announced job cuts across its operations last week, with some reports putting the losses at hundreds. Amazon declined to confirm the Shanghai lab's closure directly when contacted by AFP. 'We've made the difficult business decision to eliminate some roles across particular teams in AWS,' spokesman Brad Glasser said in a similar statement to the one released in response to the broader job losses. 'These decisions are necessary as we continue to invest, hire, and optimise resources to deliver innovation for our customers.' A dedicated AWS China webpage for the lab seen on Wednesday by AFP was no longer accessible today. According to an archive of the page, the lab was established in autumn 2018, with part of its remit to 'actively foster collaboration with the research community'. Other US tech firms such as Microsoft and IBM have scaled back their research divisions in China recently, as the tech competition between Washington and Beijing shows no sign of abating. — AFP
HKFP
5 days ago
- Business
- HKFP
Amazon shuts down AI lab in Shanghai, source says
US tech giant Amazon has shut down its artificial intelligence research lab in Shanghai, a source with direct knowledge of the matter confirmed to AFP. News that the lab, part of cloud division Amazon Web Services (AWS), has closed comes with AI at the forefront of a tech race between China and the United States. In a screenshot of a WeChat post widely circulated on Chinese social media this week, Wang Minjie, a scientist at the lab, said its disbanding was 'due to the strategic adjustment between China and the United States'. AWS announced job cuts across its operations last week, with some reports putting the losses at hundreds. Amazon declined to confirm the Shanghai lab's closure directly when contacted by AFP. 'We've made the difficult business decision to eliminate some roles across particular teams in AWS,' spokesman Brad Glasser said in a similar statement to the one released in response to the broader job losses. 'These decisions are necessary as we continue to invest, hire, and optimize resources to deliver innovation for our customers.' A dedicated AWS China webpage for the lab seen on Wednesday by AFP was no longer accessible on Friday. According to an archive of the page, the lab was established in autumn 2018, with part of its remit to 'actively foster collaboration with the research community'. Other US tech firms such as Microsoft and IBM have scaled back their research divisions in China recently, as the tech competition between Washington and Beijing shows no sign of abating.
The Sun
5 days ago
- Business
- The Sun
Amazon closes Shanghai AI lab amid US-China tech tensions
SHANGHAI: US tech giant Amazon has closed its artificial intelligence research lab in Shanghai, according to a source familiar with the matter. The lab, part of Amazon Web Services (AWS), was disbanded as AI becomes a key battleground in US-China tech competition. A WeChat post by Wang Minjie, a scientist at the lab, stated the closure was due to 'strategic adjustment between China and the United States.' The post circulated widely on Chinese social media this week. AWS recently announced job cuts, with reports suggesting hundreds of positions were affected. Amazon did not directly confirm the Shanghai lab's shutdown when contacted but acknowledged broader restructuring. 'We've made the difficult business decision to eliminate some roles across particular teams in AWS,' said spokesman Brad Glasser. 'These decisions are necessary as we continue to invest, hire, and optimize resources.' The AWS China webpage for the lab, previously accessible, was taken down this week. Archived records show the lab was launched in 2018 to foster research collaboration. Other US tech firms, including Microsoft and IBM, have also reduced research operations in China as geopolitical tensions persist. - AFP
New Straits Times
5 days ago
- Business
- New Straits Times
Amazon shuts down Shanghai AI lab, source says
SHANGHAI: US tech giant Amazon has shut down its artificial intelligence research lab in Shanghai, a source with direct knowledge of the matter confirmed to AFP. News that the lab, part of cloud division Amazon Web Services (AWS), has closed comes with AI at the forefront of a tech race between China and the United States. In a screenshot of a WeChat post widely circulated on Chinese social media this week, Wang Minjie, a scientist at the lab, said its disbanding was "due to the strategic adjustment between China and the United States". AWS announced job cuts across its operations last week, with some reports putting the losses at hundreds. Amazon declined to confirm the Shanghai lab's closure directly when contacted by AFP. "We've made the difficult business decision to eliminate some roles across particular teams in AWS," spokesman Brad Glasser said in a similar statement to the one released in response to the broader job losses. "These decisions are necessary as we continue to invest, hire, and optimise resources to deliver innovation for our customers." A dedicated AWS China webpage for the lab seen on Wednesday by AFP was no longer accessible on Friday. According to an archive of the page, the lab was established in autumn 2018, with part of its remit to "actively foster collaboration with the research community". Other US tech firms such as Microsoft and IBM have scaled back their research divisions in China recently, as the tech competition between Washington and Beijing shows no sign of abating.
Miami Herald
7 days ago
- Business
- Miami Herald
Amazon to close China-based AI research lab
July 23 (UPI) --Amazon will shut down its AI research lab in a cost-cutting move as tensions flare with China and as other global companies seek to leave the nation because of Chinese influence. The Shanghai-based Amazon Web Services announced job layoffs last week while as the conglomerate shutters its artificial intelligence and development wing. The closures were first reported by The Financial Times. It was due to "strategic adjustments amid U.S.-China tensions," an applied scientist at the lab, Wang Minjie, wrote on WeChat early this week as Amazon disbanded the team. It was not immediately clear how many people or jobs were affected. The Shanghai facility was established in 2018 to focus on areas such as machine learning and processing natural language. In a statement, company spokesman Brad Glasser said Amazon "made the difficult business decision to eliminate some roles across particular teams" in its AWS division. Meanwhile, a growing number of American corporate giants, like Microsoft and IBM, have opted to either downsize or end operations in China as geopolitical tensions rise exasperated by U.S. President Donald Trump's fluctuating tariff policies. It came the same day McKinsey & Company, a large U.S. defense contractor, also revealed it was pulling back its own AI base in China as companies look to other nations such as India. About 300 India-based Chinese workers at FoxConn, Apple's main iPhone producer, were ordered to return home earlier this month by Chinese authorities as Apple looks elsewhere, too, for its business operations. Amazon has been actively retreating from China in recent years, going so far in 2019 to shut down the e-commerce giant's Chinese marketplace. Copyright 2025 UPI News Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
