Moonshot AI (Kimi), a Chinese AI startup, has completed a $500 million Series C funding round led by IDG Capital, which invested $150 million. The round was oversubscribed by existing backers Alibaba, Tencent, and Meituan co-founder Wang Huiwen, valuing the company at $4.3 billion. With cash reserves now exceeding 10 billion RMB (approx. $1.37 billion), […]
Posted inHeavy Hitters
JD.com and Unitree to open first offline store in Beijing, offering hands-on robot experience and on-site orders
JD.com and Unitree Robotics will open their first joint offline experience store in Beijing tomorrow. The store signals a shift for consumer robots from primarily online showcases to in-person experiences, allowing customers to see, interact with and purchase products on site, as companies seek to accelerate adoption by lowering barriers to hands-on use. The store […]
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Meta Acquires Chinese AI Startup Manus for Billions in Third-Largest Deal
Meta has reached an exclusive agreement to acquire Butterfly Effect, a Chinese startup and developer of the AI agent Manus, for a multi-billion dollar sum. This transaction ranks as the third-largest acquisition in Meta’s history, following WhatsApp and Scale AI. Founded in 2022 by Xiao Hong in Wuhan, the company finalized the deal in approximately […]
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ByteDance reportedly plans to purchase $5.6 billion worth of Huawei’s Ascend AI chips
Chinese tech giant ByteDance is reportedly planning to purchase more than RMB 40 billion ($5.6 billion) worth of Huawei’s Ascend AI chips in 2026, a sharp increase from nearly zero procurement this year. According to sources, the first batch of Ascend AI chips is expected to enter delivery soon, with an initial order size valued […]
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China to enforce new EV energy consumption standard in 2026, capping 2-ton models at 15.1 kWh/100 km
China’s first mandatory national standard setting limits on energy consumption for electric vehicles will come into force on January 1, 2026, marking a major step toward improving efficiency in the country’s rapidly expanding EV market. The standard, Limits of Energy Consumption for Electric Vehicles – Part 1: Passenger Cars (GB 36980.1—2025), establishes compulsory requirements for […]
Posted inUp and Comers
TCL links AI deployment to efficiency gains and greener manufacturing
TCL this month showcased its latest AI applications at the 2025 TCL Global Technology Innovation Conference, outlining how the Chinese electronics maker is deploying AI across intelligent manufacturing, consumer devices and green technologies to drive tangible commercial value. The company said the focus of the event was on moving AI beyond conceptual development and embedding […]
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Leaders of South Korea’s four major tech conglomerates plan China visit in early 2026
The heads of South Korea’s four major technology and industrial groups—Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun, and LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo—are likely to visit China in early 2026 as members of a South Korean economic delegation, according to people familiar with the matter. South […]
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ByteDance’s Doubao reaches 100M DAU with minimal marketing spend
Doubao’s daily active users (DAU) have surpassed 100 million, according to people familiar with ByteDance’s internal data. Insiders say that Doubao’s user acquisition and marketing spend is the lowest among all ByteDance products that have ever reached 100 million DAU. Powered by AI features such as Seedream image generation and Seedance video generation, Doubao has […]
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JD.com says Paris-area warehouse hit by theft, disputes reported loss estimate
JD.com said a warehouse operated by the company in the Paris region was targeted by a professional theft ring in the early hours of Dec. 22 local time. Agence France-Presse reported on Monday that more than 50,000 consumer electronics devices — including smartphones, computers, tablets and headphones — were stolen, with losses estimated at around […]
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Kuaishou hit by cyberattack that floods live streams with illegal content
Chinese short-video and live-streaming platform Kuaishou said it was hit by a coordinated cyberattack by criminal online networks on Monday night, temporarily disrupting its live-streaming services and flooding the platform with illegal pornographic content. The company said automated tools were used to flood live rooms with illegal pornographic content, with dozens of posts appearing every […]