MACAO, Oct. 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- On October 30, the 16th China (Macau) International Automobile Exposition opened at The Venetian Macao's Cotai Expo. Under the theme "Where Craft Meets Technology," GAC presented multiple new-energy models. The GAC ALL-NEW E8 was officially launched in Macao, while the AION i60 and AION N60 made their Macao debuts. As the only Chinese automotive brand to have participated in the Macao Auto Expo for 16 consecutive years, GAC continues its "In Macao, For Macao" commitment, with sales in Macao up 113% year-on-year this year.
In product terms, GAC showcased an all-star lineup including the GAC ALL-NEW E8, GAC ALL-NEW M8, AION i60, AION N60, AION UT, AION V and GAC E9 PHEV, covering battery-electric, plug-in hybrid and extended-range powertrains, as well as sedans, SUVs and MPVs. In sales and service, GAC places GAC CARE+ at the core, supporting users from vehicle selection and purchase to use and maintenance. It has a showroom presence in Macao and offers the "Bay Area Link" service for maintenance across the Greater Bay Area, backed by the unified "One GAC" network. The GAC Owner APP enables one-tap vehicle control, and more service showrooms are planned. GAC also connects with users through global sports marketing, partnering with clubs including Chelsea FC Men, Villarreal CF and Flamengo to share a passion for football.
Designed for families in Macao and the Greater Bay Area, the GAC ALL-NEW E8 offers a pure-electric range of 281 km, charge-sustaining fuel consumption as low as 3.98 L/100 km, approximately 56 square feet of cabin space with 18 seating configurations, a 540° panoramic surround-view camera system, and a CLTC combined range of 1,537 km. The MAX variant is priced at HKD 339,800 and the ULTRA at HKD 369,800, with an early-bird discount of HKD 6,000.
Regionally, GAC's retail sales in Asia-Pacific rose 109% year-on-year in the first three quarters. In September, retail sales in Portugal grew 34% month-on-month, while Brazil surged 280% year-on-year. As a gateway to Portuguese-speaking markets, Macao plays a key role in GAC's global layout. Looking ahead, GAC will continue its long-term commitment to Macao, enhance local products and services, and deepen collaboration with Portuguese-speaking and Asia-Pacific markets.
For further information about GAC, please visit: https://www.gacgroup.com/en or follow us on social media.
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GAC Showcases GAC ALL-NEW E8 at 2026 Macao Auto Expo
SINGAPORE, Oct. 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- As Silicon Valley startups race to secure critical minerals and reduce dependence on China in the AI era, a company with deep academic roots from Stanford and MIT is taking a different approach: using AI to discover the next generation of mineral resources beyond the geopolitical fault lines dividing the world's major powers. Oxus Metals AI ("Oxus" or the "Company"), founded by David Zhen Yin, former director and co-founder of Stanford University's Mineral-X program, closed a nearly US$36 million initial funding round in late July, valuing the Company at US$180 million. The Singapore headquartered company plans to deploy the capital to accelerate AI driven mineral exploration across Central Asia and other resource rich regions, positioning itself at the intersection of Silicon Valley technology, global capital, and the growing strategic demand for critical minerals.
The Next Energy Crisis is a Mineral Crisis
Global demand for critical minerals is surging across power grids, renewable energy, electric transportation, and AI data centers, but supply is failing to keep pace. According to the International Energy Agency's (IEA) Global Critical Minerals Outlook 2026, supply from announced copper projects is projected to fall 25% short of demand in 2035. The IEA has also found that mining projects take an average of 16.5 years to move from discovery to first production. The long lead times and high costs of traditional exploration have created an urgent need for faster, more efficient technologies capable of locating deeper deposits. While much of the debate focuses on securing existing mineral supplies, Oxus is pursuing a different question: Can AI fundamentally transform the economics of mineral discovery while breaking free from the constraints of growing geopolitical rifts?
AI Redefines Exploration Economics
Pioneered by its founder and scientific team, Oxus builds on years of academic research in geoscience, artificial intelligence, and decision-making under uncertainty. Rather than relying on a single geological hypothesis, Oxus's proprietary AI platform generates thousands of plausible subsurface models consistent with available data evidence. As new drilling become available, the system eliminates inconsistent hypotheses and proposes exploration decisions that could most efficiently reduce mineral uncertainty in over a long time horizon.
"Our approach is like playing Go with planet Earth," said David Zhen Yin. "Our AI computes all scientific hypotheses about mineral deposits, and integrates complex multiphysics data to test every geological possibility to guide smarter exploration decisions. The result is much fewer drill holes, lower costs, and faster discoveries of the mineral resources needed to power the energy transition."
Central Asia as the Proving Ground
Kazakhstan is emerging as a major proving ground for Oxus's technology. The Company is working with one of Central Asia's largest mining operators to extend the life of a copper mine that has operated for nearly 80 years. Despite tens of thousands of historical drillholes, the location of additional mineralization at depth remains uncertain. Oxus's platform generates thousands of candidate models, rejects those that conflict with the data, and produces ranked drill targets with quantified risk. Oxus has also signed a memorandum of understanding with Kazakhstan's Ministry of Industry and Construction and Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development to advance the nation's AI in mineral exploration.
Zhaslan Madiyev, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development of Kazakhstan, commented: "Energy, critical minerals, and data underpin every AI solution, and Kazakhstan has all three. Our task is to turn them into technological value inside the country rather than exporting them raw. The agreement between our two ministries and Oxus Metals AI is a practical example of the applied layer of the AI economy, where Kazakhstan stands to gain the most. A team with roots at Stanford and MIT will work with our geologists to make decades of geological data machine-readable, digitize drill cores, and train Kazakh specialists to apply AI in exploration. The data stays in Kazakhstan, as does the expertise. That is how we intend to shorten the path from exploration to investment decision."
The company also has a strong presence in Mongolia, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, and Brazil, expanding the deployment of its AI platform across major mineral exploration frontiers.
A Team Bridging Silicon Valley and Global Mining
Oxus brings together world-class academic and industrial expertise across AI, geoscience, and the global mining industry. David Zhen Yin as a senior research scientist at Stanford, has over 15 years of experience at the intersection of geoscience, subsurface exploration, and data science. His co-authored book Data Science for the Geosciences, won the 2025 PROSE Award in Earth Science. The book served as a textbook for Stanford's graduate-level course Data Science for Geoscience (EPS 240), which Yin taught.
The Company's leadership and advisory team includes Dr. Robert Quartermain, a Canadian Mining Hall of Fame inductee and global strategy advisor with over 45 years building and leading public mining companies; Prof. Jef Caers, Stanford Earth and Planetary Sciences professor and technical advisor, a global leader in geostatistics and AI-enabled exploration; and Dr. Pablo Mejia Herrera, Chief Geologist, a 20-plus year veteran of porphyry copper-gold exploration with a track record of major discoveries at Ero Copper and NorthIsle Copper and Gold.
"AI is fundamentally transforming how we make discoveries under geological uncertainty," said Prof. Caers. "Oxus is pairing rigorous academic research with real-world exploration expertise to translate cutting-edge AI into practical discoveries across the world's most important mineral frontiers."
About Oxus Metals AI
Headquartered in Singapore, Oxus Metals AI builds proprietary AI platforms that integrate multimodal exploration data to advance critical mineral discoveries. The company works with asset owners, governments and strategic partners to lift exploration success rates while reducing costs, timelines and environmental impacts. Oxus' model extends beyond conventional mining software or technical services. The Company partners with asset owners via joint ventures that combine AI technology, capital, and local execution to fully capture the upside from new discoveries.
CONTACT: info@oxusmetals.ai
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From Stanford to Central Asia: Oxus Metals AI Raises US$36 Million to Transform Mineral Discovery Beyond Geopolitical Fault Lines
