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Mortgage tech platform Ringkas has closed a USD 5.1 million pre-Series A funding round, with backing from Flourish Ventures, Kadan Capital, and other …

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Mortgage tech platform Ringkas has closed a USD 5.1 million pre-Series A funding round, with backing from Flourish Ventures, Kadan Capital, and other investors. The company partners with developers and banks to offer embedded home financing, and will use the funding to scale infrastructure, deepen its footprint in Indonesia, and expand R&amp;D efforts in Vietnam.

Meizu launched five smartphones and two smart wearables on May 20, marking its return to the global market. The lineup features the Mblu 22 and Note 22 series, StarV View AR glasses, and the health-focused StarV Ring2. The launch supports Meizu’s AI ecosystem strategy and expansion into more than 30 countries.

Home to <a href="/company/alibaba">Alibaba</a> and <a href="/company/deepseek">DeepSeek</a>, Zhejiang has unveiled a multi-year plan to become a global AI hub, aiming to double industry output to over RMB 1 trillion by 2027. Taking effect May 31, the policy package includes funding for foundational models, talent incentives, consumer subsidies, and support for startups and hardware adoption. Hangzhou and Ningbo have been designated as core cities in the initiative.

Elon Musk pledged to remain <a href="/company/tesla">Tesla</a> CEO for another five years, citing the need for “reasonable control” amid investor concerns. Speaking at the Qatar Economic Forum, he addressed recent blowback over his political activity. The remarks come amid earnings pressure and growing criticism of his ties to US President Donald Trump and his role in government advisory work.

On May 20, JD Cloud unveiled new tools to accelerate <a href="/industry/ai">AI</a> adoption across industries, including JoyAgent 2.0, a multi-agent system tailored for enterprise use; JoyBuild, a platform for large model development and customization; and JoyScale, a GPU-centric infrastructure for model training and inference. The rollout is designed to help businesses deploy digital workers, scale AI applications, and standardize underlying infrastructure.

<a href="/company/catl">CATL</a> shares opened at HKD 320 on day two in Hong Kong, extending gains after closing at HKD 306.2 on debut. The price marks a 22% premium over the IPO level of HKD 263, underscoring strong investor interest in the Chinese battery giant.

<a href="/company/kuaishou">Kuaishou</a> will reduce required deposits for enterprise sellers across over 70% of product categories under a new rating-based policy. High-rated merchants with no violations may see deposits lowered to as little as RMB 2,000. New sellers can also open shops with zero upfront cost. The move follows support measures introduced in February to reduce merchant operating costs.

Chinese autonomous driving startup WeRide has partnered with <a href="/company/tencent">Tencent Cloud</a> to support the global rollout of its robotaxi services. Tencent will provide localized, compliant cloud infrastructure to help WeRide build a stable, scalable network for autonomous driving operations in overseas markets.

<a href="/company/pony-ai">Pony.ai</a> reported Q1 2025 revenue of USD 14 million, up 11.6% YoY, fueled by a 200% rise in robotaxi services and 800% growth in fare-charging revenue. Net loss widened to USD 37.4 million on scaling and IPO costs, with non-GAAP net loss at USD 28.4 million. The company expanded in China, launched fleets with Toyota, BAIC, and GAC, and began pilot ops in Seoul and Luxembourg.

<a href="/company/byd">BYD</a> has signed an agreement with Car Inc to expand EV deployment ahead of summer 2025. Building on an April pilot, the deal includes vehicle procurement, joint marketing, data integration, and after-sales services, with Car Inc planning to scale up models like the Qin Plus DM-i and Bao 8.

Vipshop reported Q1 2025 revenue of RMB 26.3 billion, down 5% YoY, while net income fell 16% to RMB 1.94 billion. Despite declines in orders and active users, gross margin held steady at 23.2%, and non-GAAP net income reached RMB 2.31 billion. The company maintained profitability through cost discipline and continued buybacks under its USD 1 billion repurchase program.

Deals in brief: CrediLinq secures Series A funding, Vertex Ventures backs Quantified Energy, Ringkas raises 5.1 million, and more

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Armed with fresh capital and a growing network of banks and developers, the startup is working to ease mortgage challenges across the region.

With USD 5.1 million in new funding, Ringkas aims to make homeownership more attainable in Indonesia

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In his first formal response to the accident, CEO Lei Jun acknowledged rising expectations for Xiaomi and committed to meeting higher standards.

After fatal SU7 crash, Xiaomi vows to rebuild trust and lead on EV safety

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Ringkas closes pre-Series A round

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Deals in brief: CrediLinq secures Series A funding, Vertex Ventures backs Quantified Energy, Ringkas raises 5.1 million, and more

With USD 5.1 million in new funding, Ringkas aims to make homeownership more attainable in Indonesia

After fatal SU7 crash, Xiaomi vows to rebuild trust and lead on EV safety