DeepSeek released an updated version of its V4.1 Flash artificial intelligence (AI) model on October 17, improving coding and reasoning performance while reducing task execution time and output length. The DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 update arrived five weeks after the previous version and was designed to make AI agents more efficient across software development and other task-based applications.

Anthropic is offering Blackstone a total return of more than 10% to help finance a US$60 billion artificial intelligence (AI) chip procurement package, as higher infrastructure financing costs make expanding computing capacity more expensive. The proposed arrangement, reportedly code-named Project North Star, would fund purchases of Google tensor processing units (TPUs) with a combined capacity of approximately 1.5 GW.

Acer Inc. subsidiary Weblink International Inc. has secured agency rights for AvePoint in Taiwan and the Asia-Pacific region, expanding its enterprise solutions portfolio amid accelerating cloud and AI adoption and the growing importance of data governance and information security.

Canon Marketing Taiwan President Hu Da-gang said the global camera market performed well in 2026, with demand rebounding after the pandemic and smartphone photography helping cultivate a new generation of photography enthusiasts. He also expressed optimism about 2027, as Canon and other brands prepare to launch more new models and capitalize on market momentum.

Toyota plans to transition its entire lineup of approximately 50 vehicle models to software-defined vehicles (SDVs) by 2030, equipping them with advanced software capabilities that allow owners to upgrade vehicle functions through over-the-air (OTA) updates after purchase.

Anthropic has opened its fifth Asia-Pacific office in Singapore and signed a memorandum of understanding with the city-state's digital ministry, broadening cooperation on AI safety, security, evaluation, and adoption. The move expands the company's presence in a market where Claude use is among the highest in the world, with implications for governance.

China's precision manufacturing giant Lens Technology is expanding into AI server infrastructure through a proposed US$25 million acquisition of a controlling stake in PMG International, gaining access to server rack manufacturing and liquid-cooling technologies. The transaction marks a further diversification beyond the company's established consumer electronics and automotive components businesses.

Anthropic has signed its first data center lease in Canada, taking capacity at the Point Tupper data center campus planned by energy company EverWind Fuels in Nova Scotia. The facility will be built in two phases, with the first 95-megawatt phase scheduled to open by the end of 2027.

Taiwan-based iBase Solution is expanding from industrial computers (IPCs) and energy storage into liquid-cooled prefabricated modular data centers, targeting AI infrastructure construction and engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contracts. The company aims to leverage its energy storage expertise, system integration capabilities, and customer relationships to capture opportunities in power, cooling, and data center development as global AI investment grows.

TECO Electric & Machinery is shifting from a motor-focused manufacturer to a platform-based provider of integrated power, energy, drive-system, and AI infrastructure solutions, as chairman Morris Li says artificial intelligence is accelerating demand for autonomous power, microgrids, virtual power plants, and faster data center construction worldwide.

Hyundai Motor Group is accelerating plans to mass-produce and sell its Atlas humanoid robot while establishing an RX Business Strategy Team to oversee its global robotics strategy under the banner "Robotics Everything." The move signals a restructuring aimed at putting the group's robotics business on a more systematic growth path.