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Venture builder and investor Antler has invested USD 5.6 million in 14 <a href="/industry/ai">AI</a> startups demonstrating early commercial traction. Each received USD 400,000 in initial funding, with the portfolio spanning sectors from manufacturing to travel automation.

<a href="/company/bytedance">ByteDance</a> is pursuing <a href="/industry/ai">AI</a> smartphone partnerships with <a href="/company/vivo">Vivo</a>, <a href="/company/lenovo">Lenovo</a>, and Transsion to pre-install generative AI plugins on mid- to high-end models. Sources said Vivo has confirmed the collaboration, which aims to open new monetization channels through traffic sharing and subscription revenue. The rollout is expected to start overseas, with plans to reach up to 200 million devices.

TikTok said it will form a US joint venture majority-owned by US investors co-led by Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX, marking a key step in its separation from parent company <a href="/company/bytedance">ByteDance</a>. The USD 14 billion deal, expected to close on January 22, 2026, will give the new TikTok US entity control over data protection and algorithm security, pending Chinese regulatory approval.

AnyMind Group has announced plans to acquire Japan-based beauty distributor Sun Smile, marking its entry into offline retail and its 13th acquisition to date. The deal advances AnyMind’s strategy to integrate social media, <a href="/industry/e-commerce">e-commerce</a>, and nationwide store distribution into an <a href="/industry/ai">AI</a>-powered online-to-offline ecosystem that supports brand growth across Japan.

<a href="/company/byd">BYD</a> is accelerating development of its Level 3 autonomous driving systems after Beijing granted the first production licenses for “hands-off” vehicles. The company has completed more than 150,000 kilometers of testing with Shenzhen authorities and plans to expand efforts as competition in China’s self-driving market intensifies.

<a href="/company/gac">GAC</a> plans to open 600 new multi-brand dealerships by the end of 2026, uniting its Trumpchi, Aion, and Hyptec lines under one roof. The Chinese state-owned automaker aims to revive earnings and modernize the customer experience as competition from <a href="/company/xiaomi">Xiaomi</a>, <a href="/company/huawei">Huawei</a>, and other EV makers intensifies.

Manus said its annual revenue run rate has surpassed USD 125 million, eight months after launching <a href="/industry/ai">AI</a> agents designed to execute tasks. The company, which has grown more than 20% month-on-month since releasing Manus 1.5, is accelerating product and feature rollouts as demand increases.

<a href="/company/tencent">Tencent Holdings</a> has appointed former <a href="/company/openai">OpenAI</a> researcher Yao Shunyu as chief <a href="/industry/ai">AI</a> scientist, reporting to president Martin Lau. Yao will lead the company’s new AI infrastructure department and oversee R&amp;D of large models.

<a href="/company/xiaomi">Xiaomi</a> has launched MiMo-V2-Flash, an open-source <a href="/industry/ai">AI</a> model built for reasoning, coding, and agentic tasks. Operating at 150 tokens per second with 309 billion parameters, it is said to match leading models from <a href="/company/deepseek">DeepSeek</a> and Anthropic at a fraction of typical costs.

Shengshu Technology has launched Vidu Agent, a "one-click" <a href="/industry/ai">AI</a> tool that converts images into 15- to 30-second professional videos. By automating planning, scripting, and assembly, Vidu Agent aims to streamline production for creators and brands, supporting formats from advertising to music videos.

Manus has launched version 1.6, introducing a new "Max" agent that is said to offer higher task success and a 19.2% boost in user satisfaction. The update also adds mobile app development and "Design View," an interactive canvas for image editing and creation.

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Li Auto develops electric vehicles that combine smart cockpit systems, advanced safety features, and long-distance battery support.

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The new facility marks Li Auto’s latest move in its transformation into an “AI company.”

Antler invests in 14 AI startups

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How far are brain-computer interfaces from restoring and extending human ability?

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