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Pop Mart’s Wang Ning urges restraint amid global Labubu surge

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Pulses

Lufax admits rule breaches, restates

just now
Nikkei Asia
Lufax acknowledged breaching Hong Kong listing rules and restated its 2022 and 2023 reports, disclosing 59 previously unreported wealth product subscriptions totaling over RMB 45 billion. Four transactions worth RMB 2.1 billion required shareholder approval. The moves follow auditor warnings over possible related-party transactions.

ByteDance in talks to sell Moonton

just now
Reuters
ByteDance is in advanced talks to sell Moonton, creator of Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, to Saudi Arabia’s Savvy Games Group for USD 6–7 billion. The companies have reached broad agreement on terms and could seal a deal this quarter. ByteDance bought the studio in 2021 at a roughly USD 4 billion valuation.

Qwen sees 130 million AI shoppers

just now
36Kr
More than 130 million people tried using Qwen’s AI for shopping for the first time during the Lunar New Year holiday, according to data released by the app’s operator on February 17. Ticket orders rose 22-fold in two days, transport bookings climbed more than sevenfold, and movie ticket purchases jumped 372-fold, with nearly half of orders coming from county-level areas.

Robot orders jump 150% after gala

just now
Securities Times
Robot orders jumped 150% in the first two hours of China’s televised Lunar New Year gala, with JD.com searches rising more than 300%. Unitree, which showcased humanoid robots performing complex routines, is targeting 10,000–20,000 shipments in 2026. Galbot’s RMB 700,000 model reportedly secured hundreds of orders within 24 hours.

BYD, Geely eye Mexico plant

just now
National Business Daily
BYD and Geely have reportedly made the final shortlist to acquire a vehicle factory in Guanajuato, Mexico. The plant produces the Mercedes-Benz GLB and Nissan Sentra, and has established production capacity and supply chains, offering access to North and South American markets.

ByteDance upgrades Doubao model

just now
Reuters
ByteDance has launched Doubao 2.0, upgrading China’s most widely used AI chatbot with complex reasoning and multi-step task execution capabilities. The company said the Pro version matches OpenAI’s GPT 5.2 and Google’s Gemini 3 Pro while cutting usage costs by roughly an order of magnitude.

ByteDance’s Seedance hit by IP row

just now
SCMP
ByteDance said it is strengthening safeguards in its Seedance 2.0 video model after Disney sent a cease-and-desist letter alleging infringement of characters from the Marvel and Star Wars franchises. The backlash includes criticism from SAG-AFTRA and the Motion Picture Association, as well as a Japanese government investigation into AI-generated anime content.

CaoCao hits 100 robotaxis in Hangzhou

just now
CaoCao Mobility
CaoCao Mobility has expanded its robotaxi fleet in Binjiang, Hangzhou, to 100 vehicles, marking a milestone in its shift toward fully driverless operations. The company also launched a mobility hub equipped with automated battery swapping and dispatch systems, and plans to debut a purpose-built robotaxi model this year with a target of deploying 100,000 units by 2030.

Genki Forest logs third year of growth

just now
Jiemian News
Genki Forest posted double-digit growth for a third straight year, with founder Tang Binsen saying profitability and operational efficiency improved further in 2025 after an initial breakthrough in 2024. Vitamin water sales jumped about 128% YoY, iced tea rose 56%, and the company expanded its retail footprint to 1.28 million outlets by year's end.

MiniMax unveils M2.5 model

just now
MiniMax
MiniMax has launched M2.5, a foundation model it said delivers state-of-the-art coding and agentic performance, including 80.2% on the SWE-Bench Verified benchmark. Served at up to 100 tokens per second (TPS), the model can reportedly run continuously for about USD 1 per hour at 100 output tokens per second, with a lower-speed version priced at roughly half the cost.

Tencent integrates Uber abroad

just now
IT Zhijia
Tencent has integrated Uber into its mobility-focused WeChat mini program, allowing users to book rides overseas without downloading a separate app. The feature spans more than 20 countries and regions, including Hong Kong, Japan, the UK, and the US, covers over 1,000 destinations, and supports WeChat Pay without the need for currency exchange.

Pangdonglai rules out IPO, caps scale

just now
Jiemian News
Pangdonglai will never go public and will halt expansion after completing its planned model targets, founder Yu Donglai said. He also mandated that the firm’s top executives step down from key roles before age 60. The announcement coincides with Yu’s formal retirement after the Lunar New Year, marking a leadership transition for the company.

Temu partners Dekra on testing

just now
Temu
Temu has partnered with Dekra to provide independent testing for selected electrical and electronic products, integrating the services into its platform to give merchants direct access. The move expands Temu’s network of more than 20 testing, inspection, and certification partners and follows a reported USD 100 million global investment in compliance and quality control in 2025.

OpenAI flags DeepSeek to US panel

just now
Bloomberg
ChatGPT maker OpenAI has told US lawmakers that DeepSeek used distillation and “new, obfuscated methods” to extract outputs from US-made AI models to train its R1 chatbot, according to a memo. The company said accounts tied to DeepSeek sought to bypass safeguards via third-party access routes.

Grab buys US fintech firm Stash

just now
Grab
Grab, operator of the eponymous Southeast Asian app, has signed definitive agreements to acquire 100% of US digital investment platform Stash, valuing an initial 50.1% stake at a USD 425 million enterprise value at closing, with the remainder to be acquired over three years. The deal, expected to close in Q3 2026, expands Grab’s fintech operations beyond Southeast Asia.

E-Power to form US grid venture

just now
E-Power
E-Power, formerly Sunrise New Energy, has signed an MoU with Kehui International to establish a US joint venture focused on microgrids for AI compute and power automation. E-Power will hold at least 55% and invest USD 1.5 million, while Kehui contributes patented technology with exclusive rights in the US and Canada. The venture targets USD 3 million in sales within three years.

WeRide, Uber launch Abu Dhabi robotaxis

just now
WeRide
WeRide and Uber have launched commercial robotaxi services in downtown Abu Dhabi, marking the emirate’s first deployment in its city center. The network covers about 70% of core areas, with the fleet quadrupling since December 2024. Rides are available via the Uber app under a phased rollout toward fully driverless operations.

ByteDance unveils Seedance 2.0

just now
ByteDance
ByteDance has launched Seedance 2.0, a multimodal generation model that supports text, image, audio, and video inputs. The system enables up to 15-second multi-shot outputs with dual-channel audio, expanded editing, and video extension features, and is available on Dreamina, Doubao, and Volcano Engine’s Model Ark.

Alibaba’s Qwen logs 120 million orders

just now
IT Zhijia
Alibaba said its Qwen app completed more than 120 million orders in six days during a Lunar New Year campaign backed by up to RMB 3 billion in subsidies, after users made 4.1 billion requests. Alipay’s “AI Pay” also surpassed 120 million transactions in a week.

ByteDance plans AI chip with Samsung

just now
Reuters
ByteDance is developing an AI inference chip and negotiating with Samsung Electronics for manufacturing and memory supply, with sample units targeted by end-March, sources said. The company plans to produce at least 100,000 chips this year, potentially scaling to 350,000. ByteDance said the reported in-house chip details are inaccurate.
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