Westlake University Opens World Models Research Center Led by Yu Kai-chen

Shenzhen-based AI startup Hypersphere Technology has attracted hundreds of millions of yuan in an angel funding round, according to a report dated October 26.

Investors in the company include Legend Capital, CAS Star, SenseTime Guoxiang Capital, and WestSummit Capital. The company is founded by Professor Weiyan Liu of the University of Hong Kong, who focuses on developing next-generation foundational models.

Hypersphere's approach, which the company calls 'Infinite Models,' involves integrating specialized models into a single coordinated system. The company plans to create its own expert models while simultaneously integrating functionality from existing open and proprietary models, using routing and aggregation to suit various tasks.

The company's research covers areas such as model pre-training, post-training using reinforcement learning, efficient parameter tuning, and model merging.

Indian IT company HCL Technologies, in collaboration with Rapidus Corporation, a Japanese company specializing in the development and manufacturing of advanced logic semiconductors, opened two HCLTech development centers in India on Monday.

These centers are located in Bengaluru and Ghubbi and will leverage HCLTech's core engineering competencies to provide Rapidus with a range of capabilities. These capabilities include mask design, design infrastructure, development of design process kits, joint design technology optimization, and layout design.

According to an official statement, the opening of the two HCLTech centers in India is aimed at supporting Rapidus's evolving requirements in semiconductor engineering. Furthermore, HCLTech will collaborate with Rapidus to build a pipeline of Indian engineering talent to meet Rapidus's growing needs in Japan.

Atsuyoshi Koike, Director and CEO of Rapidus Corporation, stated that through this collaboration with HCLTech, they expect to gain access to a growing pool of Indian specialists in semiconductor engineering and create specialized design capabilities that complement their operations in Japan. He added that the company looks forward to the joint work to develop the technical knowledge and resources necessary to achieve long-term goals.

Chai Vijayakumar, CEO and Managing Director of HCLTech, noted that advanced semiconductors will define the technologies of the next decade. This partnership reflects the increasing strategic interaction between Japan and India, combining Rapidus's ambitions in next-generation semiconductors with HCLTech's engineering expertise to accelerate chip implementation, reduce time-to-market, and lay the foundation for a new era of semiconductor innovation.

China Mobile has introduced the first industry-wide general AI platform for the automotive industry. This platform is a suite of services that includes computing power, data, and models that car manufacturers can utilize without needing to build their own artificial intelligence infrastructure.

The platform was unveiled at the Intelligent Connected Vehicles Conference 2026 in Beijing. It was developed by the National Basic Platform for Pilot Application of AI in the Automotive Sector, which operates under China Mobile's guidance. According to reports from Science and Technology Daily and Sina Tech, this base positions itself as neutral because it does not manufacture cars, and its capabilities are open to the entire industry.

Executives from companies such as FAW, Dongfeng, Changan, BAIC, Li Auto, as well as representatives from Tsinghua University and the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area, attended the event. The creation of the platform took one year, and it is now available for shared use since its launch.

In terms of computational resources, the platform supports 112.7 EFLOPS, which manufacturers can request elastically instead of building their own data centers. Regarding data, the base ensures that manufacturers retain full control over their core data; this data is only transferred between partners within an established compliance system. Concerning models, a set of tools is offered covering the stages of development, validation, and deployment.

The platform covers four key areas: research and development, manufacturing, intelligent driving, and testing. It incorporates six specialized agents: vehicle body design, process planning, visual quality inspection, intelligent maintenance, driving data generation, and driving model training. It is reported that these agents are already being used by more than ten state-owned automakers.

The base presented several examples based on its own metrics. In Shanghai, a design agent that generates blueprints from sketches was able to create one design set three times faster. A process planning agent reduced the time to produce vehicle technical maps from five days to four hours. In Jilin, an inspection agent increased defect detection above 99.5% and reduced line adaptation time from four weeks to one, while the data generation agent lowered R&D costs in driving by 10%. In Chongqing, a maintenance agent can recognize over 20 types of malfunctions and reduce downtime by 30%. In Beijing, a training agent doubled the speed of driving policy learning.

A representative from China Mobile stated that the next phase involves opening up additional key capabilities, linking them to specific manufacturer use cases, and creating a set of reference implementations that other companies can copy. This launch marks an expansion of China Mobile's efforts from providing raw computing power to offering comprehensively packaged, industry-specific agents, giving smaller automakers the ability to test AI tools without the initial cost of building their own stack.