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Lithium, nickel, and cobalt prices are sliding as global output outpaces EV demand. Lithium carbonate has dropped 37% since March 2024, while nickel f…

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Lithium, nickel, and cobalt prices are sliding as global output outpaces <a href="/industry/ev">EV</a> demand. Lithium carbonate has dropped 37% since March 2024, while nickel futures are down 29%. With production surging in China, Africa, and Indonesia, analysts expect lithium oversupply to last until 2032 despite long-term growth projections.

Elon Musk denied reports of a <a href="/company/tesla">Tesla</a> deal to supply 10,000 robots to PharmAGRI, while detailing progress on Optimus 3. Tesla is piloting Optimus 2.5 and expects mass production to begin by year's end, with output goals of up to 100,000 units by 2027. Musk called Optimus central to Tesla’s latest "master plan" and said it could eventually represent most of the company’s value.

Zijin Gold International, the overseas arm of Zijin Mining, has filed for a Hong Kong IPO of up to HKD 24.9 billion. The spinoff will see the parent firm exit overseas gold mining, with proceeds earmarked for a Kazakhstan acquisition and project upgrades. Trading begins September 29.

HIMA and BAIC’s Stelato S9T sedan drew more than 7,500 orders within 24 hours of launch, a record for the brand. Priced at RMB 309,800–369,800, the four-model lineup offers up to 1,305 kilometers of range and comes with <a href="/company/huawei">Huawei’s</a> ADS 4.0 system. Deliveries begin September 21.

Chinese <a href="/industry/ai">AI</a> developer <a href="/company/deepseek">DeepSeek</a> said training its R1 model cost USD 294,000 on 512 <a href="/company/nvidia">Nvidia</a> H800 chips, according to Nature. The low figure, far below US peers’ costs of more than USD 100 million, renews scrutiny of DeepSeek’s chip access, data sourcing, and use of distillation techniques.

<a href="/company/didi">Didi Chuxing</a> will invest BRL 2 billion in its Brazilian food delivery arm 99Food by 2026, expanding to 20 cities and offering couriers vehicles and credit. The Latin America push highlights Didi’s shift abroad as growth slows in China and competition from <a href="/company/meituan">Meituan</a> and <a href="/company/alibaba">Alibaba</a> rises.

<a href="/company/alibaba">Alibaba</a> has launched an open-source deep research <a href="/industry/ai">AI</a> agent with 30 billion parameters, touting efficiency gains over US rivals. Integrated into Amap and Tongyi FaRui, it reportedly outperformed <a href="/company/openai">OpenAI’s</a> Deep Research on benchmarks and is gaining traction on Hugging Face, though its context length remains a limit.

<a href="/company/nvidia">Nvidia</a> will invest USD 5 billion in Intel and co-develop chips for PCs and data centers, the companies said. The deal, which values Intel shares at USD 23.28 each and targets a potential USD 50 billion market, sparked Intel’s biggest stock surge since 1987 as the firm seeks new products and capital support.

SAIC Motor is set to cut its 49% stake in its Indian joint venture with JSW Group and halt new investment, people familiar with the matter said. The move follows India’s curbs on Chinese funding, unresolved regulatory reviews, and partner frictions, highlighting the strain on cross-border automotive ventures.

<a href="/company/huawei">Huawei</a> outlined plans for a computing cluster built on Ascend processors, targeting exaflop-scale performance by 2027. The disclosure, made as US-China tech tensions deepen, underscores Beijing’s drive to cut reliance on foreign chipmakers such as <a href="/company/nvidia">Nvidia</a> while expanding domestic capacity.

China’s internet regulator has ordered major tech firms, including <a href="/company/alibaba">Alibaba</a> and <a href="/company/bytedance">ByteDance</a>, to halt testing and purchases of <a href="/company/nvidia">Nvidia’s</a> RTX Pro 6000D, according to people familiar with the matter. Regulators concluded domestic <a href="/industry/ai">AI</a> processors now match Nvidia’s China-only models, underscoring Beijing’s drive to reduce reliance on US chips and accelerate local semiconductor adoption.

The plan outlines three steps for China to embed AI across science, industry, and society.

Analysis: China’s roadmap to integrate AI across its economy through 2035

KrASIA Connection curates technology and innovation updates from China.

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Chair Zhao Yan is steering the company away from hype-driven marketing, investing in synthetic biology to rebuild growth and credibility.

After years of “sleep,” Bloomage faces biotech’s hard realities with a bet on science

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Lithium and nickel prices slump on glut

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Analysis: China’s roadmap to integrate AI across its economy through 2035

After years of “sleep,” Bloomage faces biotech’s hard realities with a bet on science

Deals in brief: Carro and Dat Bike raise funding, Terra Oleo debuts with seed round, six new China deals, and more