Bloomberg Samsung Electronics Co. is aiming to introduce a smart speaker in the first half of 2018, entering a crowded field of voice-controlled devices from Amazon.com Inc., Apple Inc. and Alphabet Inc., people briefed on the plans said. The device by the South Korean technology giant will have a strong focus on audio quality and the management of connected home …

Bloomberg China is churning out robots. Annual production of industrial robots surpassed 100,000 for the first time — and it only took 10 months. Shipments were up 67 percent through October compared with a year earlier, state media reported. And there’s more to come: full-year output will reach 120,000 units, according to Ministry of Industry and Information Technology forecasts. China …

Bloomberg Japanese companies are planning to kick-start the lunar economy by backing a local startup’s mission to land on the moon by 2020. Tokyo-based Ispace Inc . said it raised $90 million from some of the country’s biggest businesses, including Japan Airlines Co. and television network Tokyo Broadcasting System Holdings Inc. The funds will be used to send a spacecraft …