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As China’s luxury market cools, brands turn to food and wine to stir demand

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Pulses

Neuralink closes Series E funding round

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Neuralink
Neuralink has confirmed the closure of its Series E funding round at USD 650 million, with backing from Ark Invest, DFJ Growth, Founders Fund, G42, Human Capital, Lightspeed, QIA, Sequoia Capital, Thrive Capital, Valor Equity Partners, Vy Capital, and others. The funding will expand its clinical trials in the US, Canada, and UAE, and advance brain-computer interface applications for vision and speech restoration.

Wada FoodTech raises USD 5 million

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Wada FoodTech
Wada FoodTech has raised USD 5 million in a pre-Series A3 funding round co-led by MindWorks ETEC Fund and Golden Resources, bringing its total backing to over USD 10 million. The company will use the funds to scale its hot-chain bento vending platform across Japan, the UK, EU, and Australia through franchising and AI-powered logistics.

BYD targets Japan’s kei car market

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Financial Times
BYD plans to launch a low-cost electric kei car in Japan by 2026, targeting the USD 18 billion minicar segment that accounts for roughly 40% of local automotive sales. The EV will be tailored to Japan’s unique minicar specs and tax incentives, marking one of BYD’s first models designed specifically for export.

Truely raises funding to grow eSIM service

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Truely
Truely has raised an additional USD 2 million from DG Daiwa Ventures, Goodwater Capital, Disrupt.com, and existing investor Beenext, bringing its total funding to USD 5.5 million. The travel tech firm offers eSIM data access without requiring SIM swaps and is expanding globally through consumer growth and B2B2C partnerships across travel and fintech sectors.

GCash parent approves stock split ahead of IPO

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Bloomberg
Globe Fintech Innovations, the company behind GCash, has approved a stock split to increase its authorized shares from 2.15 billion to 71.7 billion ahead of a potential IPO. The move maintains a PHP 2.15 billion capital base and is pending regulatory clearance, shareholder Ayala Corporation said.

Nvidia plans compliant AI chip for China

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The Information
Nvidia is developing a China-specific AI chip, the B30, that reportedly enables multi-unit clustering and complies with US export rules. Expected in July and based on the Blackwell platform, the chip is key to Nvidia’s efforts to retain market share amid H20 restrictions and mounting competition from Huawei.

Temu gains ground in UK after two years

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Ebrun
Nearly two years after launching in the UK, e-commerce platform Temu is winning over local consumers, with 80% calling it good value and citing 25% average savings in the past year, according to Ipsos. Price remains the top reason for continued use among 60% of users, while 74% would recommend the platform and 40% plan to spend more in 2025.

Amber Premium’s revenue jumps post-merger

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Amber International
Amber Premium posted Q1 2025 revenue of USD 14.9 million, rebounding to profitability after merging with iClick. Wealth management solutions led with USD 9.9 million, while client assets rose 11% to nearly USD 1.3 billion. Adjusted EBITDA reached USD 1.6 million, driven by product expansion and platform scale.

Touch-sensitive robots get funding boost

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KrASIA
Lumos Robotics has secured nearly RMB 200 million across three angel funding rounds to scale its visuotactile robotics platform. Its LUX series modules, designed for touch sensitivity, integrate haptic and visual input for fine control. The funds will support commercialization and deployment of its tech in logistics, manufacturing, and service robots.

Deepthink debuts AI imaging in GAC cars

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KrASIA
Deepthink’s AI imaging tech has debuted in GAC’s Hyptec HL, with broader rollout planned across the brand’s vehicle lineup. Previously focused on drone-based night vision, the company is shifting to automotive applications, enhancing imaging in low-light conditions. Founder Zhang Qining expects the firm to turn a profit this year.

Dunhuang scrolls go digital with AI

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Tencent Cloud
Over 9,900 ancient Dunhuang manuscripts are now searchable and readable via a new AI-powered platform launched by the Dunhuang Research Academy and Tencent Cloud. The “Digital Library Cave” uses smart indexing, LLMs, and multilingual support to offer summaries, translations, and real-time Q&A, making millennia-old Buddhist and historical texts accessible for the first time.

Pony.ai to deploy 1,000 robotaxis in Shenzhen

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Pony.ai
Pony.ai will deploy over 1,000 Gen 7 robotaxis in Shenzhen through a partnership with taxi operator Xihu Group. Under an asset-light model, Xihu will manage fleet operations while Pony.ai provides autonomous driving technology and dispatch, aiming to scale driverless mobility in urban China.

BYD expands megawatt charging network

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Shanghai Securities News
BYD will partner with Xiaoju Charging and Xindiantu to co-build 15,000 megawatt-level fast chargers across China, expanding its existing network of over 500 stations and accelerating the nationwide rollout of high-speed EV charging.

iQiyi slashes virtual studio rental rates

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Sina
iQiyi slashed the daily rental price of its XR virtual production system to as low as RMB 35,000 from RMB 160,000, effective June 1. The move aims to lower cost barriers for creators as virtual production use across the company's projects rose 50% YoY, supported by major infrastructure upgrades in Hebei and Zhejiang.  

China’s RISC-V chipmaker Eswin targets IPO

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Shanghai Securities News
Eswin Computing, a leading Chinese RISC-V chip provider led by BOE founder Wang Dongsheng, filed for a Hong Kong IPO on May 30. The firm derives most of its revenue from smart terminal solutions and could become China’s first listed RISC-V specialist, underscoring momentum in domestic chip innovation.

Ant’s AI health app clears trust review

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36Kr
Ant Group’s AI health assistant has become the first product to pass China’s trusted model review for medical applications, according to CAICT. Launched in September 2024, the service is said to support over 40 million users with features like report reading and diagnosis support, backed by AI agents representing more than 60 leading physicians.

US investors race to license China biotech

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WSJ
US investors are rushing to license drugs from China as the country’s biotech sector gains global clout. Nearly 30% of recent pharmaceutical licensing deals involved Chinese firms, up sharply from prior years. VCs cite competitive pricing, speed, and innovation, with companies like Pfizer and Verdiva already securing major deals.

Synopsys halts China sales amid US curbs

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Reuters
Synopsys halted sales, services, and support in China from May 29 after receiving new US export restrictions. The freeze affects all users in China, including global clients' local operations. The company also suspended forecasts and is awaiting clarification, as Washington tightens tech curbs on semiconductors.

Samsung may preload Perplexity AI on devices

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Bloomberg
Samsung is reportedly nearing a deal to preload Perplexity AI’s assistant on future devices, including default integration in the Galaxy S26 line, with talks also covering Bixby upgrades. The tie-up may involve an investment in Perplexity’s USD 500 million funding round as Samsung seeks to expand its AI stack and lessen reliance on Google.

RoboSense sees record Q1 on LiDAR demand

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RoboSense
RoboSense posted record Q1 2025 revenue of RMB 581 million, up 36.4% YoY, as LiDAR demand rose with broader smart driving adoption. The firm shipped over 72,000 units and saw gross profit climb 42.6% to about RMB 176 million. Growth came from both passenger and commercial vehicle markets, pushing its gross margin to 30.3%.
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