China’s southern technology hub of Shenzhen is ramping up support for hardware powered by artificial intelligence (AI), unveiling two new investment funds totalling 7 billion yuan (US$1 billion) to back start-ups in robotics and other smart devices. The funds – a 5 billion yuan vehicle and a separate 2 billion yuan pool – were announced on Thursday at the opening of the Global AI Terminal Expo 2025, a three-day event drawing more than 300 smart hardware exhibitors, according to the organisers....