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As rivals pile on, Meituan braces for a brutal fight in delivery and commerce

7 mins read

Pulses

Shopee tightens delivery time rules

just now
Ebrun
Shopee will require sellers to ship non-long-tail orders within one working day starting July 21. Sellers will receive a two-month grace period to ease the transition, during which cancellation rules will be relaxed. Orders without shipping codes or pickup arrangements submitted on time will be voided, as the platform moves to improve fulfillment efficiency.

xAI secures anchor investor in debt round

just now
Bloomberg
TPG Angelo Gordon is backing a loan in a new debt package for Elon Musk’s AI firm xAI. Marketed by Morgan Stanley, the financing includes senior notes and floating-rate loans, with commitments due June 17. Proceeds may support the firm’s Memphis data center project.

ByteDance grows Douyin base in Hong Kong

just now
SCMP
Douyin has surpassed three million monthly users in Hong Kong, or 40% of the population, marking a 150% increase since 2022. The growth comes as ByteDance prepares to expand the app’s e-commerce tools locally, nearly five years after pulling TikTok from the city over national security concerns.

Xiaohongshu hits USD 26 billion valuation

just now
Bloomberg
Xiaohongshu, known internationally as RedNote, hit a USD 26 billion valuation in Q1 2025 secondary trades, up from USD 20 billion, per GSR Ventures filings. The lifestyle-focused social networking app has gained traction as a TikTok alternative and is expected to double profits this year amid IPO speculation and easing tech oversight in China.

Blackwell chips slash AI training time

just now
Reuters
Nvidia’s Blackwell chips trained Meta’s Llama 3.1 405B model in 27 minutes using just 2,496 units, per MLCommons benchmarks, more than halving the chip count versus the previous generation. The results reinforce Nvidia’s lead in training massive AI systems amid rising competition from rivals like AMD and China’s DeepSeek.

Syfe expands APAC push with new funding

just now
KrASIA
Singapore-based digital wealth firm Syfe has raised USD 80 million in Series C funding, comprising USD 53 million in new equity (Series C2) and USD 27 million secured in August 2024 (Series C1). The round, which follows its acquisition of Australian platform Selfwealth, includes backing from UK family offices and existing investors to support its APAC expansion.

Bolttech closes Series C round

just now
KrASIA
Bolttech, a Singapore-headquartered insurtech firm, has closed its Series C round at USD 147 million, adding Sumitomo Corporation and Iberis Capital to its investor base while reaffirming a USD 2.1 billion valuation. Sumitomo will also launch an embedded insurance joint venture with Bolttech in Asia as the company expands globally.

CATL updates on A-share buyback plan

just now
CATL
CATL repurchased 6.64 million A-shares for RMB 1.55 billion by May 31 under a buyback plan of up to RMB 80 billion. The shares were acquired via centralized bidding on the Shenzhen exchange, priced between RMB 231.50–237.38 per share. The plan aims to support equity incentives and runs through April 2026.

Xunlei finalizes Hupu acquisition

just now
Xunlei
Chinese cloud tech firm Xunlei has completed its RMB 500 million acquisition of Kuanghui, the operator of Hupu. The deal includes an upfront payment of RMB 400 million, with the remainder to be paid in two equal installments over the next two years. The acquisition brings one of China’s top sports media platforms under Xunlei’s umbrella, strengthening its digital entertainment portfolio.

Zhipu AI hit by exits amid sales pressure

just now
36Kr
Zhipu AI's COO Zhang Fan will exit by the end of June to start a new venture, joining a string of core team departures as the AI firm grapples with underwhelming model updates and limited commercial traction. Sources say Zhipu is shifting from enterprise to government clients amid rising costs and mounting pressure from open-source rivals like DeepSeek.

Huawei’s Pangu tops benchmarks with new method

just now
SCMP
Huawei said its Pangu AI model outperformed peers like Alibaba’s Qwen 2.5 using a new mixture-of-grouped-experts (MoGE) method that improves efficiency and balances workloads on its Ascend chips. Researchers reported top scores on Chinese benchmarks and strong performance in long-context tasks.

Pop Mart’s toys spark craze in UAE

just now
Dao Insights
Pop Mart’s Labubu toys have sparked long lines and sold-out shelves in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah following the launch of its “Big Into Energy” series. The craze has spread across the UAE and into Saudi Arabia, as fans queue for rare models amid a wider regional toy frenzy.

Amber secures funding for global rollout

just now
Amber
Amber Electric has secured USD 45 million in funding to expand its battery and EV automation technology globally. The round was led by ETF Partners, with participation from existing backers. The firm reportedly powers 40% of Australia’s new automated home batteries and is scaling into Europe through utility partnerships, ahead of anticipated demand from Australia’s 2025 battery rebate.

Nebius unveils convertible offering

just now
Nebius
Nebius Group will raise USD 1 billion through convertible notes due in 2029 and 2031 to support AI infrastructure expansion. The proceeds will fund computing power and data center growth. The notes, set to be issued on June 5, carry semi-annual interest and include conversion options under defined conditions.

Top Toy gears up for Hong Kong IPO

just now
Bloomberg
Miniso has hired JPMorgan and UBS to prepare a Hong Kong IPO for its collectible toy brand Top Toy, sources said. The company is also seeking investment from sovereign funds ahead of the listing. Top Toy operates 280 stores and is expanding overseas, following rival Pop Mart’s surge.

Ant unveils AI platform for fintech firms

just now
Ant International
Ant International has launched an "AI-as-a-service" platform under Alipay+ to help fintech firms build AI-native services. The solution supports workflows such as fraud detection, onboarding, and dispute resolution, with client deployments beginning June 2025 in South and Southeast Asia.

Manus launches text-to-video tool

just now
Bloomberg
Chinese AI startup Manus has launched a text-to-video feature that turns prompts into sequenced videos, rivaling tools from OpenAI, Alibaba, Tencent, and others. Early access is available to paying users ahead of a broader rollout.

AliExpress opens to local Polish sellers

just now
Sina
AliExpress has opened its platform to Polish sellers as it expands local operations in Europe. One in three Polish e-commerce users now regularly shops on the site, per Mediapanel, with Euromonitor ranking it alongside Allegro as a top platform. The move includes seller incentives and warehouse partnerships to boost growth.

Nvidia reclaims top market cap ranking

just now
CNBC
Nvidia overtook Microsoft on June 3 to become the world’s most valuable listed company, closing with a USD 3.45 trillion market cap. Shares rose 3% as strong demand for its AI chips fueled 69% YoY revenue growth last quarter.

Ma Dong-seok returns as AliExpress rep

just now
Caijing
AliExpress has renewed its partnership with actor Ma Dong-seok as brand ambassador for a third year in South Korea. In 2024, the platform captured 85% of Chinese cross-border e-commerce spending and ranked second in monthly active users, briefly surpassing Coupang in key engagement metrics, according to WiseApp.
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