2024 milestones: November

Tech highlights for November 2024 included:

- The Accredited Standards Committee X9 published a cloud management and security standard, X9.125, which specifies the minimum management and security requirements for the effective use of cloud computing in a financial services environment.

- Amazon announced it will invest an additional US$4 B in AI company Anthropic. Anthropic named AWS its primary training partner and will use AWS Trainium to train and deploy its largest foundation models.

- In Australia, the Intelligence Services and Other Legislation Amendment (Cyber Security) Act 2024 became law. The law stipulates that cybersecurity information voluntarily shared with the Australian Signals Directorate, or which is acquired or prepared by the agency with consent, is protected.

The Australian Parliament also passed the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill 2024 to protect young Australians. Social media platforms like Snapchat, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and X must take reasonable steps to prevent Australians under 16 years of age from having accounts, and ensures systemic breaches will see platforms face fines of up to A$49.5 M.

- Bitcoin hits a record high of above US$93,000.

- The Bletchley Declaration was announced. Convened by the UK, 28 countries reached a world-first agreement establishing a shared understanding of the opportunities and risks posed by frontier AI and the need for governments to work together to meet the most significant challenges. APME countries involved included Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, KSA, the Philippines, Korea, Singapore, Türkiye, and the UAE.

A spokesperson for the Republic of Korea government said at the time of the announcement: "Minister Lee is delighted that Korea will be the co-hosts of the mini virtual summit. Korea is a world leader in technologies like AI and recognises the importance of multilateral cooperation to ensure AI technologies are designed, used and governed in safe ways."

- Bluesky, a decentralised alternative to X, has seen its user base grow to 18 M since it opened membership to the public in February 2024. A blog post in October noted that it had 13 M customers at the time. A near-realtime counter is available at Bcounter.

- Epson, formally Seiko Epson Corporation, has sold over 100 M Epson high-capacity ink tank printers since the launch of EcoTank in 2010. The ink tank printers are sold in 170 countries and regions worldwide today. 

- Ewpartners (formerly eWTP Arabia Capital), has announced a US$50 M investment in Leshines, the supply chain solutions arm of Chinese multinational tech company Lenovo. The investment accelerates the localisation of Leshines capabilities in KSA.

Source: Ewpartners. Ewpartners and Leshines announced strategic investment at Future Investment Initiative 2024. From left: Cliff Chau, Managing Partner of ewpartners; Jerry Li, Founder and Managing Partner of ewpartners; Alan Zhao, COO of Leshines; and Jessica Wong, Founder and Managing Partner of ewpartners.

- HCLTech announced a Singapore-based AI/Cloud Native Lab. The lab will be the company’s 5th, and is expected to open in 2025.

- LG Display unveiled the world's first stretchable display capable of expanding up to 50%, the highest rate of elongation in the industry. The new prototype features a 12" screen that stretches up to 18" while simultaneously delivering a resolution of 100 pixels per inch (ppi) and full red, green, and blue (RGB) colour. Use cases showcased by the company included an automotive panel that transforms into a convex shape and can be operated by hand, as well as a wearable display attached to firefighters' uniforms that provides real-time information.

Source: LG Display. The stretchable display.

- Malaysia selected U Mobile to implement the country's 2nd 5G network.

 

- Nutanix expanded a collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to accelerate cloud migration. Through the collaboration, customers can leverage Nutanix Cloud Clusters (NC2) on AWS.

 

- The Sultanate of Oman, represented by Oman Lens, has launched its first satellite registered with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The OL-1 satellite is the first locally-developed advanced optical satellite for AI-based computing and is dedicated to remote sensing and Earth observation technologies. Oman Lens aims to launch more satellites over the next five years, develop new technologies for smart cities and enhance data analytics in collaboration with partners.

- Singtel and Scale AI will work together, combining Singtel Digital InfraCo’s AI cloud offering RE:AI’s AI infrastructure with Scale AI’s expertise in frontier generative AI (gen AI) research, data management, and gen AI application building to deliver advanced gen AI solutions designed for vertical sectors such as telecommunications, finance, healthcare, advanced manufacturing and logistics.

Singtel also partnered Palo Alto Networks and Fortinet on quantum-safe solutions.

 

The Singtel Group further shared changes to its senior management to strengthen its leadership bench strength and support the new business priorities of its Singtel28 growth plan. All changes will take effect 1 January 2025: 

- The Group’s Business Development function will be expanded and renamed International Digital Services, led by Anna Yip as CEO. The unit will focus on building new telco-related digital services in the region, strengthening partnerships and enhancing synergies across the group and regional associates. Yip will relinquish her role as Singtel Singapore’s Deputy CEO, which she has held since the integration of the Singapore consumer and enterprise units.

Mark Chong was appointed Group Chief Corporate Officer. He was previously seconded to Thai regional associate AIS where he served as Deputy CEO. Chong was also the Group’s CTO from 2017 to 2022. Chong takes over from Lim Cheng Cheng, who is leaving the company.

- Viettel launched its Open RAN (O-RAN) 5G network, featuring key equipment developed in-house. This is the world's first O-RAN 5G network utilising Qualcomm Technologies' 5G RAN platforms, the telco said. Viettel is deploying over 300 sites across various Vietnamese provinces in early 2025.