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<a href="/company/bytedance">ByteDance</a> has added real-time video calling to its Doubao chatbot, letting users activate their phone camera during voice calls for live AI assistance. Powered by a visual reasoning model, the feature enables Doubao to interpret scenes, respond to queries, and retrieve real-time information.

<a href="/company/deepseek">DeepSeek</a> has quietly released R1-0528, a revised version of its R1 reasoning model. While update details were not disclosed, benchmarks show the model now leads all Chinese peers in <a href="/industry/ai">AI</a> coding performance, trailing only <a href="/company/openai">OpenAI</a> on LiveCodeBench. The upgrade comes as domestic competition intensifies and anticipation builds for DeepSeek’s next-gen R2 model.

Futu reported Q1 2025 revenue of HKD 4.69 billion, up 81.1% YoY, with net income doubling to HKD 2.14 billion. Trading volume reached HKD 3.22 trillion, while client assets rose 60% to HKD 830 billion. The firm added 262,000 funded accounts, driven by regional growth and strong IPO activity.

Chinese <a href="/industry/ev">EV</a> maker <a href="/company/li-auto">Li Auto</a> reported Q1 2025 net income of RMB 646.6 million, up 9.4% YoY, as deliveries rose 15.5% to 92,864 units. Total revenue reached RMB 25.9 billion, with gross margin steady at 20.5%. Despite a sequential drop in revenue, the company projects up to 128,000 vehicle deliveries in Q2.

<a href="/company/didi">Didi</a> has launched its overseas charter service in 26 cities across 11 countries, including Singapore, Thailand, Japan, and South Korea. Designed for Chinese travelers, the service features Chinese-speaking drivers, ride packages, and RMB payments via Alipay and WeChat Pay.

<a href="/company/jd">JD.com</a> and <a href="/company/xiaohongshu">Xiaohongshu</a> have launched a partnership enabling brands to add JD.com shopping links to Xiaohongshu ads starting June 5. The move streamlines the path from content to purchase, letting users jump directly to the JD.com app. It builds on earlier efforts to integrate product discovery with transactions across platforms.

At the Embodied Intelligence Developer Conference in Zhangjiang, Shanghai’s Pudong New Area unveiled a 16-point support package for the embodied AI sector. The plan includes RMB 10 billion in initial funding, backing for core components like dexterous hands and sensors, and subsidies for high-potential firms to advance China’s humanoid robot market.

AliExpress has partnered with over ten overseas warehouse providers to launch a certified warehouse program in European markets including the US, Germany, Spain, and the UK. Eligible products receive a “Local+” badge and priority placement in local channels. The Germany site now accepts domestic merchants, with more EU markets to follow.

<a href="/company/xpeng">Xpeng</a> has launched the Mona M03 Max in China, an <a href="/industry/ev">EV</a> aimed at bringing high-end AI features to the mass market. Priced around RMB 150,000, the model combines Xpeng’s Turing assisted driving system with its proprietary XGPT LLM and offers up to 620 kilometers of range.

Telegram announced a USD 300 million partnership to integrate xAI’s Grok chatbot across its platform, touting revenue sharing and AI-driven features. But Elon Musk denied on X that any deal had been signed, casting doubt on the agreement’s status and whether terms have been finalized.

Apple will rename all its operating systems by year, starting with iOS 26 in 2025, replacing version numbers to simplify branding across platforms. The change aims to reduce confusion for users and developers, and will be announced at WWDC on June 9 alongside new interfaces and features.

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Nvidia’s data center revenue surged 73%, but new export restrictions triggered a USD 4.5 billion writedown.

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Ignored by investors and baffling to experts, the startup quietly built one of China’s bestselling smart gadgets: a guitar with no strings.

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Doubao gains real-time visual assistant mode

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Blackwell rollout lifts Nvidia in Q1, but China loss stings

Deals in brief: Temasek’s Xora invests in GridCare, Airwallex raises Series F funding, Antler backs three early-stage SEA startups, and more

No strings attached: How LiberLive turned rejection into a runaway hit