Amazon

AI Start-Up Baichuan Secures USD$300m; Amazon Announces Expansion to South Africa

In today's ExchangeWire news digest: China's Baichuan amasses USD£300m (~£246m) in funding; Amazon announces it will launch in South Africa next year; and X trials a paid-subscription model for users.

China’s Baichuan raises USD$300m in latest funding round

AI start-up Baichuan has raised USD$300m (~£246m) from investors including Alibaba, Tencent, and Xiaomi. The company was one of the first to receive China’s approval to release a chatbot to the public and, on Tuesday (17th October), launched the newest version of its generative AI model, Ernie 4.0.

Amazon to launch in South Africa next year

Retail behemoth Amazon has announced it will take its operations to South Africa in 2024. In a press release, the company stated that the move will help independent sellers in the country to “rapidly launch, grow, and scale their businesses while leveraging the innovative capabilities provided by Amazon.”

X trials USD$1 annual subscription

Elon Musk’s X is reportedly testing a new paid subscription model for users. For a fee of USD$1 (~£0.82) a year, new website users of the platform will be able to share, like, or reply to posts. The model, which will be introduced to new users in the Philippines and New Zealand, is Musk’s latest attempt to eradicate bots on the site.

New on ExchangeWire

CTV Advertising Measurement and Attribution: Challenges and Solutions

U of Digital's Shiv Gupta on Stopping Ad Fraud, Meta's Ad-Free Tier and the Microsoft Activision Deal

The Revival of Contextual Advertising: Adapting to the Privacy-First Landscape

PressBox Digest

VIOOH Research Finds UK Advertisers Expected to Increase Programmatic DOOH Spend by a Third

Cedara Launches Reduction Marketplace to Measure & Optimise Carbon Emissions of Pret A Manger Ad Campaigns

Hivestack Announces Key Partnership with Grupo Expansión for Programmatic Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) in Mexico

Want to see your latest press releases featured on ExchangeWire? Email info@exchangewire.com to find out more about our PressBox service.

Fact of the Day

+USD$1bn – Baichuan's valuation, following its latest funding round.

Source: Silicon Angle
Hannah Dillon

Hannah joined ExchangeWire as staff writer in 2022, having previously worked in marketing, communications, and social media. Hannah graduated from the University of Manchester with a BA in Drama and English Literature.

Recent Posts

Adform Campaign Planner Launch Generates Significant Online Engagement

Adform, the most powerful and safe media buying platform built for game changers, celebrates today…

4 days ago

Opti Digital Unveils New Brand Identity Reflecting Strategic Growth

Opti Digital, a premium ad revenue platform, unveils a new brand identity that embodies its…

4 days ago

Digest: Ireland pushes for Big Tech to Vet Financial Ads; Warner Bros. Discovery Considers Split as Financial Loss Continues

In today’s Digest, Ireland pushes for Big Tech to vet financial ads, Warner Bros. Discovery…

4 days ago

2025’s All In Census: Is the Ad Industry Trustworthy? 60% of Members Don’t Think So

We look at some of the key findings from this year’s All In Census (created…

7 days ago

The Stack: A Big Week for Google

This week, Google dominated headlines with bold moves across content, advertising, and AI, while lawmakers…

1 week ago

Intent IQ Achieves SOC 2 Compliance, Reinforcing Enterprise-Grade Trust in Data Security & Privacy

Intent IQ, a leading provider of identity resolution and data technology, today (May 8th, 2025)…

1 week ago