I am just full of advice about social media, most of which can be boiled down to “put down your phone” and “stop engaging.” Which is funny, because I am incredibly bad at doing both of those things, despite my best efforts (downloading a little app that grows trees while you don’t use your phone, setting a goal to read more books, having the same conversation with my therapist over and over). But I’ve finally found a trick—a clever iPhone app—that seems to be working. For now.
Ironically, I made this discovery while mindlessly scrolling Twitter on my iPhone, which is what I do during any given moment of inactivity, from taking the dog out to pee, to waiting for the elevator, to putting the kettle on the boil. In these moments, I don’t actually want anything Twitter has to offer; it’s simply a mindless habit, and that lack of purpose never stops that quick swipe from turning into 10 useless minutes.
But this Shortcut Automation app—called “one second” by its innovator, Frederik Riedel (@FrederikRiedel)—seeks to inject some mindfulness into that mindless habit. To use it, you set up an automation that will trigger one sec to run when you attempt to open whatever social media, gaming, or other app is eating into your day. It’s a simple, soothing bit of animation that will interrupt the process, encouraging you to take a deep breath before you tap a second time to confirm that you truly do want to open that app—or not.
You can see how it works in this Tweet from Riedel:
screenshot: Joel Cunningham
I realize that there are many other tools that encourage you to limit social media use, from Apple’s own Focus Modes to screen time alerts, but one sec has worked best for me because it cuts me off at the right moment; it’s easier to force me to think with intention (“6 attempts to open Twitter within 24 hours”) than to scold me into stopping doing something that I’m already doing (any pop-up telling me my app usage for the day has elapsed is instantly ignored). You can block one app for free, and unlock additional features (use with multiple apps, more robust breathing exercises, time tracking, website blocking) with a premiumsubscription ($14.99/year).
Don’t get me wrong, I still have a fairly serious internet addiction. But I’ve also managed to stop myself from staring at my phone while waiting for the dog to poop for five days straight. That’s not nothing.
EVO, the year’s biggest fighting games event, went down over the weekend, and in terms of news perhaps the biggest announcement was that not one but two games will be getting Rollback Netcode improvements over the next 12 months. Don’t know what that means, or why it’s important? I got you!
So in online multiplayer games, a large part of allowing everyone to play together is the way the game registers everyone’s actions at the same time. when a person in Canada is playing someone in Germany they’ll both be pressing buttons in their own homes, and the game needs to pick up those inputs, apply them to the game and have them play out in a way that makes the whole thing look as seamless as though they they were playing with (or against) each other in the same room.
Different games (and different genres) handle this differently, depending on how important speed and accuracy is to the player’s experience, but one type of input recognition that’s especially important to anyone playing a fighting game—where every frame and millisecond can mean the difference between victory and defeat—is called Rollback Netcode.
Rollback Netcode doesn’t rely on waiting for everyone’s input before registering actions; instead it lets both players press their buttons and see the action play out instantly without lag or delay, as though they were playing offline, and in the downtime between that and the opponent’s action arriving the game basically guesses what was going to happen next. If it guessed right the game continues with nobody noticing, and if it was wrong, it checks down to play out the action that the other player actually made, which sometimes involves a little “teleporting”.
The very helpful video below, by Coby Mystics, explains how Rollback Netcode works, and how in fighting games it’s speed and accuracy make it so superior to the more traditional Input Delay:
Code Mystics Explains Netcode: Input Delay vs. roll-back
OKAY! So now that we’re all up to speed on Rollback Netcode, you can understand why such a seemingly minor announcement is actually a huge deal for fighting game fans, and why these two announcements made at EVO went down so well with fans.
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First up, producer Tomoko Hiroki took to the stage to announce that the upcoming versions of dragon ball fighter z on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S will be getting Rollback Netcode, as will the PC version, though on the latter players will get the option whether to use Rollback Netcode (which will carry a slightly steeper system requirement) or stick with Input Delay.
It doesn’t look like the upgrade will be coming to the PS4, Xbox One or Switch versions of the game, though the last-gen PlayStation and Xbox versions will have upgrade paths made available for anyone who upgrades to newer systems.
As for when this is actually coming, it doesn’t sound like it will be soon, with the announcement saying “It will take some time until the system is implemented, but we sincerely hope you will enjoy it as soon as possible. More information will be released at a later date. Please wait for further details.”
The 2019 reboot of samurai showdown got the same announcement, with SNK teaming up with Code Mystics—creators of the vid above—to implement the upgrade. It’ll be coming to the PC, PS4, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S versions of the game (again leaving the Switch behind), and is “planned” for Spring 2023.
The process of owning an iPhone these days feels like you’ll need to take out a small loan.
While its intuitive design makes it an easy choice among consumers, they’re not always the most affordable option. But one telco is turning the tables, allowing you to upgrade your device for less, while also offering a more sustainable solution for purchasing a new device.
In recent weeks Telstra MVNO Belong announced its partnership with Kingfisher Mobile Australia to bring customers to Second Life Shop, which offers both refurbished iPhones and Samsung Galaxy smartphones for a fraction of the price.
Watch the latest News on Channel 7 or stream for free on 7plus >>
Here’s what you can expect from your refurbished device:
12-month warranty
A SIM card loaded with $80 of credit. This is available for use on any of Belong’s three postpaid mobile plans
100 per cent functionality
A minimum of 80 per cent battery health
When you do the maths, you can potentially receive as many as the first three months’ worth of phone bills covered with the purchase of a given device. But it’s important to note these devices are not available on a traditional Belong repayment plan. Even if you’re not after a new phone, it’s a great bonus if you’re after a new SIM.
Sounds like a great deal? Check out the widget below for a quick round-up of Belong’s current postpaid plans:
Another perk to partnering with Belong is that it has doubled the data on these two plans:
$35 monthly plan with 40GB of data + 40GB bonus data for 12 months = 960GB total data per year
$45 monthly plan with 100GB of data + 100GB bonus data for 12 months = 2400GB total data per year
These plans offer 480GB and 1200GB bonus mobile data, respectively, when you total the monthly bonus across the year. Take advantage of double the data on their $35 and $45 monthly plans over 12 months when you stay on your chosen plan.
So which models are up for grabs? At the time of writing, Belong’s refurbished device reseller stocks the following brands and models:
Apple iPhone X from $399
Apple iPhone XR from $419
Apple iPhone XS from $429
Apple iPhone 11 from $599
Apple iPhone 11 Pro from $739
Apple iPhone 11 from $829
Samsung Galaxy S20 5G from $669
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G from $769
Samsung Galaxy S20+ 5G from $659
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra from $949
Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G from $609
The range of devices on offer via the Belong Second Life Store is, however, more limited than what you’ll find at both carrier-agnostic retailers like Amazon and major carriers like Optus.
At the time of writing, numobile and Boost Mobile are the only other MVNOs on Telstra’s network offering refurbished devices.
The Refurb Shop, aka Boost’s competing refurbished phone store, offers some devices at a slightly cheaper price but they only include a $30 prepaid SIM rather than $80 of credit.
Compare Boost Mobile, numobile and Belong’s mobile plans to make sure you’re getting the most bang for your buck:
This article contains affiliate links, whereby7NEWS.com.aumay earn a commission if you click on a link – at no extra cost to you.
Watch: Scientists stunned by discovery of a ‘walking shark’.
Watch: Scientists stunned by discovery of a ‘walking shark’.
After Google said they had achieved what quantum computing researchers had sought for years, a team of Chinese researchers now claim to have replicated the performance of Google’s Sycamore quantum computer using traditional hardware.
In 2019, Google researchers claimed they had passed a milestone known as quantum supremacy when their quantum computer Sycamore performed in 200 seconds an abstruse calculation they said would tie up a supercomputer for 10,000 years.
Now, scientists in China have done the computation in a few hours with ordinary processors. A supercomputer, they say, could beat Sycamore outright.
Also Read | Artificial Intelligence is not sentient, at least not yet
“I think they are right that if they had access to a big enough supercomputer, they could have simulated the task in a matter of seconds,” said researcher Scott Aaronson, a computer scientist at the University of Texas, Austin.
The team used a system comprised of 512 GPUs to complete the same calculation developed by Google to demonstrate it had passed the quantum supremacy milestone back in 2019.
The advance takes a bit of the shine off Google’s claim, said Greg Kuperberg, a mathematician at the University of California, Davis.
Still, the promise of quantum computing remains undimmed, the team said.
Also Read | When bee dance inspires robot design
Sergio Boixo, principal scientist for Google Quantum AI, said in an email the Google team knew its edge might not hold for very long.
“In our 2019 paper, we said that classical algorithms would improve,” he said. But, “we don’t think this classical approach can keep up with quantum circuits in 2022 and beyond”.
The “problem” Sycamore solved was designed to be hard for a conventional computer but as easy as possible for a quantum computer, which manipulates qubits that can be set to 0, 1 or any combination of 0 and 1 at the same time.
ASUS hit the ground running with the release of the Zenfone 8 last year, a compact smartphone that had a lot of promise.
However, there were a couple of problems that plagued the device – especially within Australia – when it came to connectivity across our local telco networks.
Has this changed with the impending release of the Zenfone 9? Keep reading to find out as we test the newest release from the Taiwanese company.
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How do I get it and what will it cost?
The Zenfone 9 will be released in Australia, however there is currently no official word on when, how much it will cost and color availability. As soon as we get this information, we’ll update.
There are four colors available internationally; black, white, red and blue.
It’s worth noting that you’ll get a USB-C charging cable, 30W charging brick and phone case included in the box, so you won’t need to shell out extra dollars for the accessories. The box is also environmentally friendly and 100 per cent recyclable.
Who is it good for?
Over the course of the last decade, smartphones have increasingly become bigger and more powerful – with very few smaller options in the market that don’t have compromises that become dealbreakers.
The Zenfone 9 sits within the smaller flagship niche. It’s a phone for people who don’t want a large phone, and instead need something more compact without sacrificing good cameras, performance and solid battery life.
This is a 5.9-inch device that is easy to use one-handed. It also fits easily within pockets without any bulk.
If a phone with a smaller footprint sounds appealing to you, the latest from ASUS might be worth taking a closer look at.
How does it work?
Coming from a Pixel 6 Pro, the Zenfone 9 is an absolutely tiny 5.9-inch and weighs only 169 grams. The frame is a matte aluminum, with the usual power (multi-function button) and volume rocker to the side.
ASUS has created a multi-function button which allows for controlling certain parts of the phone with your thumb or finger such as opening the notification shade, scrolling as well as media controls. It’s quite clever, and useful.
On the back is a textured plastic material that helps with grip, but I found easily scuffs with some marks becoming visible in a short amount of time. The bottom back part also became a little duller, compared to when I first started using the phone. I’d guess this is from placing the phone into my pocket. There is a case included in the box if this is something that might worry you.
Around the front is a flat AMOLED display that, quite frankly, is one of the best I’ve seen outside of Samsung’s flagship Galaxy range (it is a Samsung panel after all). The display is also coated in the latest Gorilla Glass Victus to help with scratch resistance.
The display also has a high 120Hz refresh and 240Hz touch-sampling rate, HDR10+ and can be easily viewed under direct sunlight.
As with most flagships, it has the latest Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor, making the whole experience very snappy and responsive. There is also support from the latest Wi-Fi 6E technology and IP68 water and dust resistance. It really does have all the bases covered.
But outside the tech specs, how does the Zenfone 9 actually perform in the real world?
They say good things come in small packages, and that is especially true this time around. ASUS has packed in a very good display, which is great for viewing content and the basic phone features work without an issue.
Clarity of phones calls is fantastic, and network connectivity is a solid performer with 5G, VoLTE and VoWiFi working across Optus, Vodafone and Telstra networks. There were also none of the issue I had around network drop-outs that I saw on the Zenfone 8.
Battery life was better than the Pixel 6 family and Samsung Galaxy S22 series. I was easily seeing over 7 hours of screen on time most days. This was with the high refresh rate turned on as well as 5G – both known to drain batteries quicker. In terms of charging there is no wireless charging, which may disappoint some folks. But I found charging the Zenfone 9 to be pretty quick.
When it comes to the cameras, the main 50MP wide camera is a Sony IMX766 sensor with a six-axis gimbal for some very good stabilization, and it takes some pretty decent snaps in both good and low-lighting conditions. In fact, the night mode from this lens comes extremely close to what the Pixel 6 can achieve when adding in more light and retaining detail.
The 12MP ultrawide (Sony IMX363) struggles a bit more when there isn’t good lighting, but it’s good enough for most situations when you have favorable lighting conditions. This lens also allows for taking macro shots too, if that’s your thing.
The 12MP front-facing camera (Sony IMX663) comes with auto-focus and does a good job of taking a selfie or two, which is typical of most smartphones. It won’t match the quality you get out of a flagship Samsung though which, in my opinion, takes the best selfie photos out of any smartphone.
What surprised me the most was the dual speakers. The sound they produce is fantastic for listening to music, watching YouTube or your favorite streaming service. While there is also a 3.5mm headphone jack, a rarity on a smartphone, the quality of the stereo speakers is very impressive from such a small device.
What we think
I had a love hate relationship with last year’s Zenfone 8. I really put the effort into the relationship, but at the end of the day there were too many things that just soured my time with the device such as sub-par cameras, weak battery life, unreliable fingerprint sensor and hit and miss network connectivity.
These were things that I was keen to test out with the new Zenfone 9, and I can happily say that ASUS has done a stellar job at correcting all those things.
We have three very capable Sony camera sensors, a larger battery cell compared to the previous generation, more responsive fingerprint sensor and during testing across both the three Aussie mobile networks I had no issues when it came to connectivity.
However, there are three things that I can see turning people away from this otherwise very capable phone. The lack of wireless charging could be a hassle for those who have invested into the technology.
ASUS’ software update policy, which currently stands at two years of both Android version and security updates, doesn’t match what other manufacturers are offering.
And the price. Yes, the price hasn’t been announced yet for the Australian market, but the Zenfone 8 started at $999. Anything over the $1000 mark could be a problem.
Our reviews always remain independent of the manufacturer and the first time they will see the review is at the same time you’re reading it.
Police are warning Australians to be vigilant after more than $2 million has been stolen from victims under a “Hi mum” text scam.
The scam involves the offender sending a text message from an unknown mobile number claiming to be their son or daughter.
The message will say they have lost their phone, telling the victim to delete their old number.
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Once the victim engages in conversation, the offender will make an excuse about how they are unable to make a payment before asking to borrow money or have a payment made on their behalf.
The offender will usually state it’s a matter of emergency before providing details for the payment.
NSW Police has provided an example of the messages, warning Aussie parents to “beware of this scam!!!!”.
“Hey mum it’s me. I got a new number, you can delete the old one,” the offender writes alongside a thumbs up and heart emoji.
“Which is it to me????” the victim responds.
“Your oldest and cutest child xx,” the offender writes, before continuing the conversation.
“I got a new phone. I’m still transferring everything. I have a little problem I can’t solve… Can you help me with it?
“Well because of the new device I have to transfer all apps, but the banking app has put a 48-hour security on the app due to fraud. All nice but I have to pay 2 payments. Very annoying because I can’t do anything about it. Could you possibly pay for me and I’ll return it as soon as possible???”
Social media users were quick to respond to the warning, admitting they too could fall for the scam.
“I’d fall for that… Not even gonna lie,” one person wrote.
“I’d know it wasn’t my kid by the way it’s written, but I can see how people can fall into this trap,” another wrote.
A third said they received a similar message, but challenged the sender.
“I received this. I replied back with ‘what is your middle name if this is truly my child?’ They never responded. Number blocked and reported,” they wrote.
Cybercrime Squad Commander, Detective Superintendent Matthew Craft said victims of the “Hi Mum” scam dated back to October last year, but they have seen a “significant increase in reports” since May.
Victims in NSW and Victoria account for just over half of all “Hi Mum” scam reports made to Australian law enforcement bodies, followed by Western Australia and Queensland.
“We encourage people to look out for suspicious behaviors demonstrated by these scammers; including their failure to personalize any communication and excuses as to why they can’t speak on the phone,” Det Supt Craft said.
“If you receive a suspicious message on your mobile, particularly through social media or encrypted messaging, reach out to your relative by an alternative method of communication or call to confirm it is in fact them.
“In just a matter of months, the losses accumulated by Australian victims of this scam easily exceed $2 million when you consider the significant underreporting by victims of cybercrime generally.”
Det Supt Craft said the demographic of victims is predominantly aged over 55.
“Sadly, many parents are falling victim because they’re simply nice people who are concerned for their child’s welfare,” he said.
He said people who have lost money to a scam should contact their bank or financial institution as soon as possible and report the matter to the police.
For more advice on how to avoid scams and what to do if you or someone you know is a victim of a scam, visit the Scamwatch website.
Here’s a sign of the times: Activision has confirmed via newly released financial documents that it made more money on its phone games last quarter than it did on all of its console and PC games combined.
As spotted by tweaktown, Activision’s quarterly report was published last week and sheds some light on how its biggest games across PC, console, and mobile are doing financially. And because of games likeDevil Immortal, Call of Duty Mobileand Candy Crush Sagathe beleaguered Call of Duty publisher’s making a lot of cash off phone games. In fact, more than half of its total earnings for the second quarter of 2022 came from mobile titles and not console or PC games.
According to the report, about 51 percent of Activision’s total earnings from the Q2 2022 period came from mobile games. That adds up to a total of $831 million in mobile game earnings. Meanwhile, its console games earned around $376 million and PC games brought in a bit less, $332 million. Finally, it made $105 million from events and esports.
What you might not expect, especially if you don’t realize how massive mobile gaming has become over the last decade, is that of the $831 million made off phone games, most of it came from King’s titles and not stuff like Call of Duty Mobile. In the report, Activision says that King titles like candy crush and FarmHeroes brought in over $680 million.
ReadMore:Lawyer To Pay Activision For Not Playing Call Of Duty
What these numbers reveal is that for big publishers like Activision, the future is likely one where it invests even more resources and money into mobile games and focuses less and less on console games. In an era where AAA games are more expensive to make than ever, take years to createand often flop, mobile games have become a lifeline for large game companies looking to keep their heads above water.
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For Activision it’s especially important asCall of Duty continues to lose millions of players and underperform. Seeing as the company has spent years focusing much of its energy on Call of Duty—at one point even having every studio it owned working on the franchise in some capacity—it’s likely it will seek to diversify into mobile more, not less, moving forward.
It should also be noted that Activision’s hugely successful mobile games are one of the main reasons Microsoft began the process of buying the company earlier this year following a huge, public fallout after the company was sued over years of sexual harassment and discrimination.
in some way, Call of Duty and warcraft are more like bonuses that Xbox gets top of King and his money-printing games.
We’ve all been there: You have an external hard drive or USB thumb stick plugged into your Mac, and you’re ready to part ways. You drag it to the the Trash, or right-click to eject it, only to be greeted by the infamous, “The disk wasn’t ejected because one or more programs may be using it.” You look around your Mac: No app is open, no program is running. Whatever is causing the ejection delays certainly isn’t your fault. In the wise words of Peter Parker“I missed the part where that’s my problem.”
Unfortunately, macOS has made it your problem. There could be multiple reasons why your computer won’t let go of your disk (we’ve run through them before), but often, the main issue is this: macOS is running a process accessing a file on the disk you can’t see. That’s why, even though everything is shut down and closed as far as you can see, your Mac insist the disk is in use. We all have trouble letting go sometimes.
That said, your Mac doesn’t always leave you hanging out to dry: Occasionally, you’ll see the option to Force Eject the disk, but even that solution comes with a caveat: How do you really know your Mac isn’t currently writing something to the disk? If you force eject it, either with software or by unplugging the disk from your Mac, you could damage your data.
Luckily, there’s a simple solution, so long as you’re OK usingTerminal. in to Reddit thread musing on this subjectone user suggested the following command to quickly end any unknown processes running between macOS and your hard drive:
sudo lsof /Volumes/{Name of the disk}
The “lsof” command, which stands for “list open files,” does exactly what is says: It’s a command meant to list all open files in your system, and dish on the processes that opened them in the first place. Because of this, it’s often used when users cannot unmount (or eject) disks—the command tells you which process is using which file, something you wouldn’t see just by using surface-level macOS. As long as you’ve stopped using the hard drive yourself, you should only see whatever process is holding things up on macOS’ end.
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Once you know the process in question, you can terminate it, and safely eject the disk without worry. To do so, you’ll need to open Activity Monitor (press Command + Space then search “Activity Monitor”). Switch to the Disk tab, then scroll through the “Process Name” list until you see the one out in Terminal. Click on it, then click the (X) at the top of the menu bar. Finally, choose “Quit” on the pop-up to end the process. Now, try ejecting your disk: It should leave your computer right away.
As pointed out by another user in that Reddit thread, the culprit in many cases—at least on macOS—is Quick Look. Quick Look is the feature that allows you to peek at documents, images, and other files without needing to actually open those files first. If Quick Look pops up for you after running this Terminal command, this user recommends you try using Quick Look on another file not on your external disk. For example, open your Mac’s main disk and Quick Look a file there: That process can shake things loose, and allow you to eject your disk without issue.
Do you remember how your parents tried to convince you to eat your vegetables as a kid by promising they were good for your health? That’s the same tactic a lot of wearable makers are using today, by adding health-tracking features to devices like smartwatches. Now, researchers have developed a way for earbuds to track your ear health, too.
Every time Apple holds an event, it spends a few minutes touting the health benefits of wearing an Apple Watch, which has heart rate tracking features that can potentially identify heart problems before they become a serious complication. Yot’s also rumored that the long overdue update to Apple’s AirPods Pro wireless earbuds will potentially include body temperature measuringallowing the devices to detect a fever: an early symptom of countless other conditions.
It turns out the inherent capabilities of earbuds—namely blasting sound into your ears—also allows them to potentially detect conditions that can afflict the inner ear and the ear canal, as researchers from the University of Buffalo have found with an experimental device they’ve called EarHealth.
What’s most interesting about EarHealth is that it relies on earbuds that more or less feature off-the-shelf hardware, although with an upgraded microphone inside designed to pick up sounds in the ear, not around the wearer. Based on shared images of the prototype, the EarHealth doesn’t even appear to rely on wireless earbuds, although an official release on the research on the University of Buffalo website does specifically mention the use of Bluetooth earbuds—which is good, because none of us want to go back to wires.
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whereas the Apple Watch uses optical detection tricks to monitor heart health, the EarHealth uses sound instead. The earbuds emit a quick chirp which reverberates through the ear canal, producing unique sounds and echoes which are captured by the microphone. The captured sounds are then processed by a custom app on a connected smartphone that relies on a deep learning algorithm to generate a profile of the user’s inner ear geometry.
The first chirp is done while the user is healthy to generate a baseline profile of their inner ear, while later chirps, which can be regularly scheduled, generate profiles that are compared against the original to spot differences. estos can be used to diagnose one of three different conditions: earwax blockage, ruptured ear drums, and otitis media, which is a common infection or inflammation of the middle ear caused by colds or sore throats.
In tests done with 92 users that included 27 healthy subjects, 22 with ruptured eardrums, 25 with a confirmed case of otitis media, and 18 with earwax causing a blockage, the EarHealth had a diagnosis accuracy of 82.6%, but that can potentially be improved as the researchers refine both the hardware and the sample base of users. The benefit to using AI-powered algorithms is that they will continue to improve and become more accurate at making diagnoses over time as more sample data is made available.
Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional has defended its decision not to make an early investment in Southeast Asia’s ride-hailing and food delivery superapp Grab.
Chief Investment Officer Azmil Zahruddin told CNBC the fund’s investment strategy was to focus on large investments — not direct startup deals.
Khazanacould notclose an early deal to fund the Malaysian-founded Grab.
Other investors including Singapore’s state-owned investor Temasek eventually took a stake in Grab and the ride-hailing giant moved its headquarters to Singapore. The company went on to raise $4.5 billion and listed on Nasdaq in late 2021 through a SPAC merger with Altimeter Growth Corp, making Grab the biggest listing in the US by a Southeast Asian company.
Khazanah came under criticism for what some have said was a “missed opportunity” for Malaysia.
Anthony Tan, chief executive officer of Grab Holdings Inc., center right, and Tan Hooi Ling, co-founder of Grab Holdings Inc., celebrate on stage during a bell-ringing ceremony as Grab begins trading on the Nasdaq, in Singapore, on Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021.
Pray Huiying | Bloomberg | Getty Images
“You have to look at what Khazanah is and what its DNA is,” Zahruddin said in an exclusive interview with “CNBC Squawk Box Asia” on Thursday.
“Our DNA is that we manage large investments. [Venture capital] investing is not really what we do, and it’s not really our expertise and skill set.”
“So what we try to do is, instead of trying to do those investments directly, we actually seed investments into VC funds who then invest into companies around the region.”
Zahruddin agreed, however, that it was important for Malaysia to support its entrepreneurs and retain its talent.
He said Khazanah would continue to help Malaysian startups through an indirect approach of investing into funders that take a stake in these new companies and potentially investing in them directly after they have matured to a size that meets the fund’sinvestment criteria.
To that end, Zahruddin said Khazanah invested in Grab’s competitor Uber through an intermediary funder which was willing to invest in Uber at an early stage.
Khazanah’s investment in the foreign-owned Uber instead of Grab, which was started by two Malaysians, raised eyebrows in the Malaysian investment community.
Stock picks and investing trends from CNBC Pro:
Outlook for venture capital markets
Zahruddin said the venture capital markets have been quite challenging and many endowment funds that have been active in venture capital have seen their investments fall by up to 40% in the past year.
But Khazanah would continue to deploy funds into the technology sector and has been doing so in the past 10 years.
“In hindsight, it is a good thing that we’re not really able to do direct investments anyway, because that is something that is quite challenging for anyone who’s been in VC,” Zahruddin said.
In hindsight, it is a good thing that we’re not really able to do direct investments anyway, because that is something that is quite challenging for anyone who’s been in VC.
Azmil Zahruddin
Khazanah National
Khazanah posted a nearly 80% drop in annual profits in 2021 to 670 million Malaysian ringgit, or $150.36 million. The year before profits also fell about 60% to RM $2.9 billion.
The sovereign wealth fund said the fall in profits were due to its continued extension of financial assistance to its airlines and tourism investments suffering from Covid-19 disruptions.
Last month, Khazanah announced it would explore new investment opportunities in Turkey following a meeting between representatives from the fund and the Turkey Wealth Fund in Istanbul.
