Latest news with #ZhangWen
New Straits Times
08-08-2025
- Entertainment
- New Straits Times
#SHOWBIZ: Taiwan-based singer Gary Chaw 'still hurting' from divorce
TAIPEI: It has been three years since Taiwan-based singer Gary Chaw divorced Taiwanese fashion blogger Wu Shuling, but it seems he has not fully moved on. The 46-year-old recently shared on Xiaohongshu (Red Note) a video of himself singing his 2019 song I'm Just A Fool – a ballad in which he confronts his shortcomings and expresses his unconditional devotion. The post quickly drew attention, with many netizens praising Chaw's soulful vocals, while others shared how the performance evoked a deep sense of nostalgia. According to China Press, Chaw also left two comments about Wu under his video. The former couple, who divorced in November 2022 after 14 years of marriage, share two children – Joe, 16, and Grace, 14. "I still haven't forgotten Shuling," read one of the comments. "I'm still in pain," he wrote in another. Chaw later deleted both comments mentioning Wu. In July 2023, Chaw made a series of Instagram posts about his ex-wife and their children – including a throwback wedding photo of him and Wu. A few months later, while performing his song Zhang Wen at a concert in Taipei, Chaw altered the original lyric "There is no winning or losing" to "There is no Shuling".
The Star
07-08-2025
- Entertainment
- The Star
Taiwan-based Malaysian singer Gary Chaw reportedly hasn't moved on from ex-wife: 'Still in pain'
It's been nearly three years since Malaysian singer Gary Chaw divorced Taiwanese fashion blogger Wu Shuling, but it seems he hasn't fully moved on. The 46-year-old recently shared on Xiaohongshu (Red Note) a video of himself singing his 2019 song I'm Just A Fool – a ballad in which he confronts his shortcomings and expresses his unconditional devotion. The post quickly drew attention, with many netizens praising Chaw's soulful vocals, while others shared how the performance evoked a deep sense of nostalgia. According to China Press, Chaw also left two comments about Wu under his video. The former couple, who divorced in November 2022 after 14 years of marriage, share two children – Joe, 16, and Grace, 14. 'I still haven't forgotten Shuling,' read one of the comments. 'Actually, I'm still in pain,' he wrote in another. It's reported that Chaw later deleted both comments mentioning Wu. This isn't the first time the singer has shown that he's still struggling to move on. In July 2023, Chaw made a series of Instagram posts about his ex-wife and their children – including a throwback wedding photo of him and Wu smiling blissfully. 'I'm messed up... But I still love her,' he wrote at that time. A few months later, while performing his song Zhang Wen during a concert in Taipei, Chaw altered the original lyric 'There is no winning or losing' to 'There is no Shuling'. 'I still love her… Taking it one step at a time,' he said back then.
Yahoo
01-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
China's AI Chipmaker Raises Stakes Before IPO
Biren Technology has just banked 1.5 billion ($209 million) in a fresh funding round as it gears up for a Hong Kong IPOan important bet on homegrown AI chips now that U.S. processors are off-limits. According to people familiar with the deal, Biren's latest fundraising values the company at 15.5 billion ($2.15 billion) post-money, up from 14 billion before the round. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 4 Warning Signs with NVDA. State-backed investors joined private backers to support development of the company's next-generation GPUs, which aim to rival Nvidia's (NASDAQ:NVDA) and AMD's (NASDAQ:AMD) hardware now barred from export to China. Biren sold about 400 million ($56 million) of chips last year and plans to file for an IPO in Hong Kong as soon as August. With U.S. export controls banning advanced AI processorsincluding Nvidia's H100 and H20 series and AMD's top-end acceleratorsChinese cloud providers and tech giants have little choice but to lean on domestic suppliers. Biren's 2022 BR100 launch claimed parity with Nvidia's H100, positioning it as the poster child for China's semiconductor self-sufficiency push. Its successor failurecould set the tone for a broader local chip industry forced to innovate without TSMC's foundry access. Biren's founders, former SenseTime president Zhang Wen and ex-Qualcomm/Huawei engineer Jiao Guofang, are wagering that enough capital and state support can overcome manufacturing hurdles. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
27-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
China's AI Chipmaker Raises Stakes Before IPO
Biren Technology has just banked 1.5 billion ($209 million) in a fresh funding round as it gears up for a Hong Kong IPOan important bet on homegrown AI chips now that U.S. processors are off-limits. According to people familiar with the deal, Biren's latest fundraising values the company at 15.5 billion ($2.15 billion) post-money, up from 14 billion before the round. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 4 Warning Signs with NVDA. State-backed investors joined private backers to support development of the company's next-generation GPUs, which aim to rival Nvidia's (NASDAQ:NVDA) and AMD's (NASDAQ:AMD) hardware now barred from export to China. Biren sold about 400 million ($56 million) of chips last year and plans to file for an IPO in Hong Kong as soon as August. With U.S. export controls banning advanced AI processorsincluding Nvidia's H100 and H20 series and AMD's top-end acceleratorsChinese cloud providers and tech giants have little choice but to lean on domestic suppliers. Biren's 2022 BR100 launch claimed parity with Nvidia's H100, positioning it as the poster child for China's semiconductor self-sufficiency push. Its successor failurecould set the tone for a broader local chip industry forced to innovate without TSMC's foundry access. Biren's founders, former SenseTime president Zhang Wen and ex-Qualcomm/Huawei engineer Jiao Guofang, are wagering that enough capital and state support can overcome manufacturing hurdles. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data
Economic Times
26-06-2025
- Business
- Economic Times
China AI chip firm Biren raises new funds, plans Hong Kong IPO
Chinese AI chip startup Biren Technology has raised about 1.5 billion yuan ($207 million) in fresh funding and is preparing for a Hong Kong initial public offering, people familiar with the matter said. ADVERTISEMENT The funding round and IPO plan come as China seeks to develop domestic alternatives to U.S. semiconductors amid escalating export restrictions by Washington on advanced chips. Beijing has prioritised building homegrown champions in graphics processing units (GPUs), which are critical for artificial intelligence development. The 1.5 billion yuan funding round was led primarily by state-linked investors, two of the sources said. Participants included a state-backed fund from Guangdong province and another from the Shanghai government, according to one source. Biren initially filed documents for a mainland China listing last year but has since shifted focus to Hong Kong, partly due to stricter regulatory requirements on the mainland including less tolerance for loss-making companies, two of the sources said. The company is preparing to file for a Hong Kong listing in the third quarter, potentially as early as August, one source said. It was not immediately clear if Biren had appointed advisers for the IPO. ADVERTISEMENT Biren was valued at approximately 14 billion yuan prior to the latest funding round, two of the sources said. Biren, and the Guangdong provincial and Shanghai governments, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. ADVERTISEMENT The sources, who spoke to Reuters, declined to be named as the information is not public. Developing domestic GPU capabilities has become critical for China as the U.S. has tightened export restrictions on advanced semiconductors. The latest measures, implemented in April, prompted U.S. chip giant Nvidia to halt sales of its H20 AI chips to Chinese customers. ADVERTISEMENT The potential market for Chinese AI chip companies is substantial. Investment bank Morgan Stanley predicted in a May client note that domestic GPU makers could generate 287 billion yuan in sales by 2027, capturing 70% of the Chinese market compared with 30% last year. Faced upheaval Founded in 2019, Biren's cofounders include Zhang Wen, formerly a president at leading AI face-recognition company SenseTime, and Jiao Guofang, who previously worked at Qualcomm and Huawei. ADVERTISEMENT The company initially drew attention from investors and industry observers in 2022 when it unveiled its first batch of products, including the BR100 chip, which it claimed could match the performance of Nvidia's advanced H100 AI processor. However, the company was added to the U.S. 'Entity List' in 2023, preventing it from using leading global foundries such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing to manufacture its chips. Biren has since experienced significant upheaval, with some senior executives departing, including co-founder Xu Lingjie. It continues to operate at a loss and generates limited revenue, recording 400 million yuan in sales in 2024, according to two of the sources. The company's general-purpose GPU products have been deployed across multiple intelligent computing centers, and its partners include China Mobile, China Telecom, ZTE, and the Shanghai AI Laboratory, according to its official website. Some of these companies have also been targeted by U.S. restrictions, including China Mobile and China Telecom, which the Federal Communications Commission said in March it is investigating for potential evasion of U.S. sanctions. Biren also faces intense competition from other Chinese AI chip companies, including Huawei and peers such as Tencent-backed Enflame and Metax.
