Tech
Walton, BUET sign MoUs to work jointly on research and innovation
Country’s super brand as well as electronics giant Walton and Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) signed two memorandum of understanding (MoU) to conduct joint research and innovation works in the electronics and hi-tech products manufacturing sector.
In this regard, Walton Digi-Tech Industries Limited and BUET signed a MoU while Walton Hi-Tech Industries PLC signed another MoU with the Research and Innovation Centre for Science and Engineering (RISE) of BUET.
The MoUs were inked at a programme held at the Council Building of BUET on Tuesday last (January 18, 2022).
On behalf of their respective organisations, BUET’s Vice-Chancellor Prof. Dr. Satya Prasad Majumder and Walton Digi-Tech’s Chairman S M Rezaul Alam inked a MoU while Walton Hi-Tech’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Golam Murshed and RISE’s Director Prof. Dr. Muhammad Anisuzzaman Talukder signed the another MoU.
Among others, Walton Hi-Tech’s Deputy Managing Director Alamgir Alam Sarker, Walton Digi-Tech’s DMD Liakat Ali, Walton Hi-Tech Industries Research and Innovation’s Head Engineer Tapash Kumer Mojumder, Senior Executive Director Md. Sirajul Islam and Executive Director Krishnananda Bairagi also attended the programme.
At the event, Walton handed over the research project to BUET and also provided scholarship money, laptops and desktop computer for the students.
Earlier last year, four engineering universities individually signed memorandum of understandings with Walton to jointly work on research and development of the domestically produced hi-tech product’s technologies. These universities are: Rajshahi University of Engineering and Technology (RUET), Khulna University of Engineering and Technology (KUET), Islamic University of Technology (IUT) and Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST).
Addressing the event Tuesday last, BUET VC Prof. Dr. Satya Prasad Majumder said: ‘Our students are very rich in innovative talents. But due to the lack of adequate research opportunities within the country, they are moving out of the country. Now today’s industry-academy based collaboration has paved the way for them to work on research and innovation at Walton. All of our contribution will further boost up the domestic industry. In future, the ‘Made in Bangladesh’ tagged products will conquer the world. And, the local engineers will be proud to be able to work in a local company like Walton.’
He also added, ‘BUET is working as a partner in the development of local industries. We have been advising the government on giving priority to the domestic products. I will try to contribute more in providing policy support to the domestic industry.’
Walton Digi-Tech’s Chairman S M Rezaul Alam said: ‘Our engineers are very talented, which have to be used. The country as well as the local industrialization will further move ahead swiftly if we make the best use of our resources.’
Walton Hi-Tech’s Managing Director and CEO Golam Murshed said, the engineering universities are doing research and innovation. The local engineers are making significant contributions. But their work is not getting recognition and branding. We have created a field so that young engineers in Bangladesh can do research at Walton. Our goal is to represent Bangladesh in the world by turning Walton into a top brand. Achieving that goal will be easier when the country’s talented engineers utilize the huge opportunities for research and innovation we have. That is why Walton has taken initiative to work jointly with the engineering universities.
Walton’s MD and CEO also added: “Our goal is to make Bangladesh a sustainable country by 2030 as well as a developed country by 2041. For that first of all, innovation and development of technology industry are needed. Walton believes in sustainable products, policies and development. That is why we have taken the initiative of ‘Better Bangladesh Tomorrow’. Through this, work is going on to make the institution, and the country and the nation sustainable. Walton is reaching every corner of the globe. We recently signed an agreement with Danby to enter the North American market. We are launching a research and development center in Texas, USA very soon. Walton is working tirelessly for the development of the country and local industries.”
Tech
Apple to spend $30 billion on Broadcom chips as it boosts US sourcing
Apple , opens new tab plans to spend more than $30 billion under a multi-year chip supply deal with Broadcom, bolstering its U.S. sourcing as President Donald Trump’s administration pushes to expand domestic chip manufacturing.
Broadcom shares rose more than 4%, while Apple shares were down marginally.
Apple said on Wednesday the deal, which was struck earlier this week and runs through 2031, covers FBAR filters – or radio-frequency chips used for wireless connectivity in its devices – that it had been developing with Broadcom since at least 2023.
Broadcom will invest $1.5 billion to expand its Fort Collins, Colorado, factory under the deal, which Apple said would result in the production of at least 15 billion chips and support its work with the Trump administration to source more components domestically.
“The cutting-edge components built in Fort Collins are essential to delivering the incredible performance and connectivity our customers expect, and we’re proud to deepen our investments in U.S.-based suppliers that share our commitment to excellence and innovation,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a statement.
“We’re grateful to the president and his administration for supporting important projects like this.”
In August 2025, Apple raised its U.S. investment commitment to $600 billion over four years, adding $100 billion to a previously announced spending plan.
China
China plans to let top AI firms buy limited Nvidia H200 chips, the Information reports
China is planning to allow the country’s top AI companies to buy a limited number of Nvidia’s, opens new tab H200 chips, the Information reported on Wednesday, citing two people with direct knowledge of the matter.
Chinese officials have told Alibaba, opens new tab, ByteDance and DeepSeek in recent weeks that they may soon receive permission to buy some H200 chips, the report said.
Shares of Nvidia rose 1% after the report.
The chip giant did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment, nor did the U.S. commerce department, which oversees exports of advanced AI chips overseas.
China’s commerce ministry also did not immediately respond to a request for comment, while Alibaba, ByteDance and DeepSeek did not respond outside of regular business hours.
The U.S. government has allowed Nvidia to sell its advanced H200 chips to China, and licensed about 10 Chinese firms to buy the chips. However, Chinese officials, keen to nurture domestic suppliers, have withheld approval so far.
Reuters reported in March that Nvidia had won Beijing’s approval to sell the chips to China, citing sources, and around the same time, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang also told CNBC that the company had clearance from China.
Beijing is still determining the exact number of Nvidia chips to approve, and it could amount to fewer than 200,000 in total, the Information said, adding that was less than half of what the companies requested earlier this year.
Last month, Reuters exclusively reported that Nvidia told Chinese clients its new “Vera” central processors for AI data centres could be available as soon as August and that they can begin placing orders.
Nvidia’s market share in China has effectively fallen to zero, Huang said in October, hurt by U.S. export controls and Beijing’s push for self-reliance in key technologies.
The potential shift in China’s stance underscores the growing computing capacity crunch that the country’s tech companies are facing.
Tech
Australia’s under-16 social media ban fails first age check hurdle, study finds
A team of software testers found that Australian social media platforms did not request age proof for any of 50 accounts that declared themselves to be 16, a result that leaves the country’s world-first under-16 ban “ineffective” at the most basic screening stage, according to a study seen by Reuters.
Since December, platforms such as Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube have been required to bar people under 16 and take “reasonable steps” to verify age, with regulators recommending multiple layered checks. But the new research, conducted by those who advised the nationwide curb, shows that the initial vetting step, which estimates a user’s age from general online activity, is failing to flag young people for tougher verification.
The testers, who last year trialled age-assurance software on more than 1,000 Australians, opened 50 new accounts after the law took effect and set the age as 16. None of the platforms asked for additional proof, the researchers told Reuters. The findings highlight a flaw that has been largely overlooked while public debate has focused on photo-based age-estimation tools.
The ban’s rollout has been widely criticised after surveys indicated that most under-16s still access the platforms. The government last month doubled the maximum fine and warned of possible court action against tech giants, accusing them of setting the system up to fail. Platforms have countered that they are simply following the regulator’s guidance, which prioritises low-friction checks and prevents reliance on government ID alone due to privacy concerns.
Some advisers to the original trial said they had repeatedly warned that the testing process ignored real-world circumvention, including minors entering false birthdates. “We did want to talk about circumvention, but we kept on being told that that wasn’t part of the actual trial,” Colm Gannon of the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children told Reuters. A youth digital rights academic involved in a longer-term study of the ban said more impressive results might emerge once platforms move to age-inference methods later in the year. The regulator maintains that the recommended layered approach, if implemented correctly, ensures no single point of failure.
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