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Aerofugia plays the long game by focusing on passenger eVTOL aircraft

5 mins read

Pulses

Mini Labubu hype cools after rapid sellout

just now
Jiemian News
Prices for Pop Mart’s mini Labubu figurines have dropped 10–30% just a week after selling out online on August 28. Early resale listings topped RMB 2,500, but rising supply and mixed product feedback have cooled demand. More than 56,000 units have reportedly traded hands on resale platforms.

DeepSeek targets OpenAI with new agent tech

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Bloomberg
DeepSeek is racing to launch a new AI model with agent-like autonomy by year's end, aiming to compete with OpenAI in developing tools that perform complex tasks with minimal user input and learn from past actions. The release would mark DeepSeek’s most ambitious move since its R1 debut in January.

TikTok Shop adds tools for creators

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Ebrun
TikTok Shop has rolled out new tools to help creators optimize e-commerce performance ahead of the peak shopping season. Updates include a 30-day pilot for smaller accounts, health and promotion scoring, and content policy quizzes, aimed at gradually onboarding new users and ensuring readiness for holiday sales.

Investor demand lifts Xiaohongshu value

just now
Bloomberg
Xiaohongshu’s valuation reportedly rose 19% to USD 31 billion in recent GSR Ventures fund trades, up from USD 26 billion in March. The platform comprised 92% of the fund’s assets by June, as investor interest grew amid China’s tech policy support and TikTok’s global headwinds.

TikTok faces age law deadline in Australia

just now
Bloomberg
TikTok, along with platforms like Meta and Google, has been ordered by Australia to enforce a December 10 ban on users under 16. Companies must verify age beyond self-declaration and block circumvention attempts, with fines of up to AUD 50 million for noncompliance.

Chagee expands into fashion apparel

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Yilan Shangye
Chinese tea chain Chagee has launched a premium apparel line as part of a broader lifestyle push. With prices above typical fast fashion, the move comes amid a 38% profit drop and slowing same-store sales. As performance weakens, analysts question whether fashion can help revive its stock.

Seres posts strong midyear earnings

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Seres
Seres reported RMB 62.4 billion in revenue and RMB 2.94 billion in net profit for H1 2025, an 81% YoY increase driven by strong Aito sales. NEV deliveries reached 172,108 units, while R&D spending rose 155% to RMB 5.12 billion.

Love and Deepspace wins at Gamescom

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TechNode
Love and Deepspace, a 3D romance game by Infold Games, won "Best Mobile Game" at the latest Gamescom, becoming the first female-oriented title to earn the honor. Since launching in January, it has reportedly topped iOS charts in over 30 countries and drawn 70 million players with its blend of sci-fi themes, cinematic immersion, and character intimacy.

JD.com launches takeover bid for Ceconomy

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Jiemian News
JD.com has launched a EUR 2.2 billion cash offer to acquire Germany-based Ceconomy, the parent company of MediaMarkt and Saturn. The deal would give JD.com access to more than 1,000 stores across 12 European countries and a localized supply network. The offer remains subject to regulatory approvals through November 2026.

Chinese firms lean on used Nvidia GPUs

just now
Tom's Hardware
Chinese firms are reportedly turning to refurbished Nvidia A100 and H100 GPUs after regulators blocked the H20, a chip tailored to meet US export rules. Originally built for training, the older cards are now being retooled for inference tasks amid rising demand and tightening supply.

Airwallex acquires billing firm OpenPay

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Airwallex
Airwallex has acquired billing platform OpenPay, adding subscription management, payment orchestration, and revenue analytics to its suite. Announced on September 3, the deal will provide Airwallex customers with multicurrency billing and usage-based subscription tools from Q4 2025, positioning the firm to compete with Stripe Billing and Recurly.

AnyMind expands with Nadesiko takeover

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AnyMind Group
AnyMind Group has announced the acquisition of Japan-based creator studio Nadesiko to expand its capabilities in social commerce. Tokyo-based Nadesiko, known for short-form beauty content on platforms like TikTok, will strengthen AnyMind’s integration of social marketing with e-commerce and digital transformation.

Anthropic lands USD 13 billion in Series F funding

just now
WSJ
Anthropic has raised USD 13 billion in a Series F funding round at a USD 183 billion valuation, nearly tripling its worth since March. The financing was co-led by Iconiq, Fidelity Investments, and Lightspeed Venture Partners, with participation from the Qatar Investment Authority and other major investors. The company said the funds will support enterprise demand, safety research, and international expansion.

OpenAI to buy Statsig for USD 1.1 billion

just now
Bloomberg
OpenAI has agreed to acquire product testing startup Statsig for USD 1.1 billion in stock, pending regulatory approval. Founded in 2021, Statsig develops feature testing tools used by firms including Eventbrite and SoundCloud. CEO Vijaye Raji will join OpenAI as CTO of applications, reporting to division head Fidji Simo.

Zuzu raises Series B extension funding

just now
Wavemaker Partners
Zuzu Hospitality has raised USD 5.9 million in a Series B extension round led by Wavemaker Growth, with Velocity Ventures, Vulpes Ventures, and Latin Leap also participating. The Singapore-based firm will use the funds to scale its AI-driven revenue management platform, designed to help independent hotels compete with global chains.

Ant Group invests in chipmaker InnoStar

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SCMP
An Ant Group subsidiary acquired a 1.87% stake in Shanghai-based InnoStar Semiconductor, a developer of ReRAM memory chips, registry filings from late August showed. The deal underscores Chinese tech giants’ push to support domestic chipmakers and reduce reliance on imports amid US trade uncertainty.

Musk shifts Tesla’s focus to robots

just now
Bloomberg
Elon Musk said Tesla will eventually derive about 80% of its value from its humanoid robot project Optimus, signaling a future shift in focus away from cars. The projection followed Tesla’s latest “master plan,” its first to mention robots, though details remain limited. The comment comes as Tesla’s global deliveries fell 13% in the first half of 2025.

Meituan debuts open-source AI model

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SCMP
Meituan launched its first open-source large language model, LongCat-Flash-Chat, on September 2 via Hugging Face, GitHub, and its website. The model, comprising 560 billion parameters, uses a mixture-of-experts (MoE) architecture and reportedly benchmarks on par with Alibaba’s Qwen, Anthropic’s Claude, and Google’s Gemini.

Unitree to file IPO papers by year’s end

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Reuters
Unitree Robotics said on September 2 it expects to submit listing application documents between October and December. The company, known for its quadruped and humanoid robots, disclosed in July that it had started preparing for a potential IPO.

Mihoyo, Tencent case stirs speculation

just now
The Paper
A Shenzhen court will hear a civil case on September 5 involving Mihoyo and Tencent, prompting speculation about disputes tied to Genshin Impact and Honor of Kings. Tencent said the matter concerns Mihoyo's request for QQ user data in another matter, while Mihoyo has not publicly commented.
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