In a move that underscores Southeast Asia’s growing adoption of autonomous and AI-driven defense technologies, Vietnam has recently begun deploying advanced humanoid robots for enhanced border security in the northern province of Lao Cai. According to reporting from Earth.com and corroborated by several regional security bulletins, the initiative is being piloted along key segments of…

As 2026 approaches, geopolitical analysts and AI researchers alike are converging on a shared thesis: we are entering a hinge year — a cyclical convergence point when multiple global inflection trends intersect with high-impact outcomes. These include the rapid scaling of frontier AI systems, the reordering of geopolitical alliances post-Ukraine war, volatility in commodity markets,…

Amid ongoing macroeconomic turbulence, high interest rates, and a skeptical venture funding environment, real estate technology—or “proptech”—has shown surprising resilience. New data as of Q1 2025 indicates a slight rebound in funding across segments of the industry, reversing much of the sharp decline witnessed in 2023 and early 2024. While the rebound is neither uniform…

As the dust begins to settle from the AI gold rush of the early 2020s, a drastically different reality has emerged: the popping of the so-called “AI bubble.” The euphoric hype that once propelled valuations of generative AI startups and mega-cap tech firms alike has given way to investor skepticism, public fatigue, and a deeper…

In the first quarter of 2025, shares of AI-focused companies accounted for over 40% of the S&P 500’s gains, according to data from Goldman Sachs’ U.S. Equity Strategy team. Names like NVIDIA, Supermicro, and Palantir continue to soar, buoyed by promise more than profit. This echoes late-stage dot-com exuberance. While foundational advances in generative AI…

In April 2025, Microsoft executive Jean-Philippe Courtois laid out a stark forecast: the AI sector will undergo more changes in the next six months than in the past six years. His assertion, shared during the AI For Good Global Summit, underscores the pace of radical transformation sweeping across AI infrastructure, capabilities, and socio-economic applications. These…