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Capital Today purchased a ByteDance stake at a valuation of about USD 480 billion after a competitive auction for shares held by Bank of China Group I…

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Alibaba, China’s e-commerce giant, operates online retail marketplaces, cloud computing services, and digital payment networks across Asia and beyond.

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The launch comes as Alibaba consolidates its model lineup under a single brand.

Alibaba’s Qwen app marks its latest bid to unify AI efforts and challenge ChatGPT

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36Kr is China's most influential business and technology network, delivering high-quality content focused on China’s innovation and new economy trends since 2010. With its extensive traffic and network, 36Kr has built a comprehensive database and strong data analytics capabilities to provide insights into China’s technology landscape.

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The Shenzhen-based startup’s first product is an exploration camera inspired by the “One Hundred Thousand Whys” encyclopedia series.

KidoAI reimagines children’s learning with interactive AI-driven hardware

Photo of Tho Kit Hoong (left), founder and CEO of ArmourZero, with angel investor Tunku Syed Razman bin Tunku Syed Idrus Al-Qadri.

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An alias used when humans and machines team up in our newsroom. Articles under this byline may be shaped with the help of AI, but are always vetted by a human before publication.

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Capital Today purchased a <a href="/company/bytedance">ByteDance</a> stake at a valuation of about USD 480 billion after a competitive auction for shares held by Bank of China Group Investment. The USD 300 million deal, well above ByteDance’s recent buyback levels, signals strong investor demand as the company advances its <a href="/industry/ai">AI</a> businesses and faces US negotiations over TikTok ownership.

<a href="/company/gac">GAC</a> and <a href="/company/huawei">Huawei</a> have launched Qijing, a high-end <a href="/industry/ev">EV</a> brand offering cars priced above RMB 300,000 and jointly defined from design through launch using Huawei’s development systems. The first model, due in June next year, targets younger buyers focused on design and driving performance, giving GAC a new entry into the premium segment as it restructures after recent losses.

<a href="/company/catl">CATL</a> co-founder Huang Shilin has sold a 1% stake for RMB 1.7 billion, transferring 45.6 million A shares to 16 investors at a small discount to the market price. He retains more than 9% of the company, whose shares have rallied on technology advances and overseas growth as CATL delivered 297.2 GWh of <a href="/industry/ev">EV</a> batteries in the first nine months.

Unitree Robotics and Star Plus Legend have formed an equal-stake joint venture to develop bipedal and quadrupedal robots built around character IP. The companies plan to combine Unitree’s <a href="/industry/robotics">robotics</a> technology with Star Plus' content expertise and explore commercial formats such as musical performances to make consumer robots more personable and versatile.

<a href="/company/byd">BYD</a> has unveiled its Atto 2 DM-i hybrid car model in Barcelona, offering up to 90 kilometers of electric-only driving and a total range of about 1,000 kilometers through a 1.5-liter engine that supports the motor. The launch also included the fully electric Atto 2 Comfort, expanding BYD’s compact SUV lineup in Europe.

KKR is seeking USD 15 billion for its fifth Asia private equity fund, sources said, with the final size potentially exceeding the target. The raise comes amid rising regional deal activity and follows more than USD 7.3 billion returned from KKR’s Asia portfolio this year, alongside recent exits in Japan and India and continued fundraising by global peers.

<a href="/company/lenovo">Lenovo</a> will introduce a global “personal <a href="/industry/ai">AI</a> super agent” in January after posting Q2 revenue of USD 20.5 billion, up 15% YoY, and a 5% profit decline to USD 340 million. The company added its long-term supply contracts may help offset rising memory chip prices.

<a href="/company/lenovo">Lenovo</a> and <a href="/company/xiaomi">Xiaomi</a> have warned of upcoming price increases as memory chip shortages push up component costs. Lenovo reported a 5% YoY drop in quarterly net profit to USD 340 million as margins narrowed, while Xiaomi said long-cycle memory price rises will pressure margins for phones, tablets, and notebooks and may weigh on next year’s smartphone demand.

<a href="/company/xiaomi">Xiaomi</a> has produced its 500,000th car at its Beijing factory 19 months after its first rollout, setting a record pace in China’s <a href="/industry/ev">EV</a> market. CEO Lei Jun said the milestone demonstrates Xiaomi’s manufacturing and service capabilities as it targets more than 400,000 deliveries this year and plans RMB 200 billion in R&amp;D investment over five years.

US authorities have cleared sales of up to 70,000 advanced <a href="/industry/ai">AI</a> chips to the UAE’s G42 and Saudi Arabia’s Humain, reversing earlier security concerns while adding controls to prevent access by China. The decision follows recent talks between US President Donald Trump and Gulf leaders and opens the door for wider exports by <a href="/company/nvidia">Nvidia</a>, AMD, and major US cloud providers.

UBTech Robotics plans to raise annual humanoid robot output to 5,000 units in 2026 and 10,000 in 2027, saying China’s supply chain is reducing manufacturing costs by up to 30% a year. The firm has delivered about 500 units in 2025 and holds more than RMB 800 million in orders, with deployments across automotive and logistics sites.

As smart glasses gain traction, they could soon redefine how we see and interact with technology.

Smart glasses: The optics behind the comeback of wearable displays

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Photo of Laifen’s flagship store at Coco Park in Shenzhen during its official opening. Photo source: Laifen.

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The personal care brand plans to open 300 stores to build a retail network around its expanding product lineup.

Laifen turns to offline retail to anchor its next phase of growth

Photo of CTO Lou Tiancheng (left) and CEO James Peng ringing the bell at Pony.ai’s listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Pony.ai develops self-driving technologies for cars and trucks, collaborating with automakers to bring safer, fully autonomous mobility to public roads and fleet services worldwide.

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Lou’s relentless pursuit of excellence has been central to Pony.ai’s resilience through years of highs and lows.

ByteDance stake draws USD 480 billion valuation

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Smart glasses: The optics behind the comeback of wearable displays

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Inside Pony.ai’s staying power and the mindset of its CTO, Lou Tiancheng