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ByteDance said it is strengthening safeguards in its Seedance 2.0 video model after Disney sent a cease-and-desist letter alleging infringement of cha…

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China’s tech ecosystem serves as a driving force behind the world’s second largest economy, influencing global digital markets.

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Dingdong Maicai, a fresh grocery delivery service, caters to busy urbanites seeking high-quality produce at their doorstep.

Dingdong Maicai

Explore East Asia’s thriving tech hubs, global electronics producers, and fast-evolving digital platforms shaping cross-border innovation.

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JD.com, a Chinese e-commerce leader, ensures trusted transactions, efficient logistics, and a wide product selection for online shoppers.

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Meituan, China’s all-in-one local services platform, covers food delivery, travel bookings, and lifestyle deals, simplifying daily consumer choices.

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Meituan’s takeover closes a chapter in China’s fresh grocery e-commerce race.

Meituan beats JD.com to acquire Dingdong Maicai’s China business

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KrASIA

Cheng Zi is based in China, covering technology- and business-related events. She works with her colleagues at 36Kr Global to provide coverage in both English and Chinese.

Cheng Zi

Baidu leads Chinese search engines, voice assistants, autonomous driving research, and AI platforms connecting users with information and services.

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Ernie is embedded into Baidu’s main app to leverage its search dominance.

Baidu integrates AI into search as rivals pursue superapp ambitions

From left to right: Joseph Lin, investment manager at Kymco Capital; Gary Ting, CEO of Kymco Capital; Kantinan Tunveenukoon, CEO of Sleek EV; and Ong Zhang Quan, COO of Sleek EV.

Sea Group operates digital entertainment (Garena), e-commerce (Shopee), and fintech (SeaMoney) platforms across Southeast Asia.

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Southeast Asia’s tech ecosystem is a melting pot of startups and businesses of all sizes, all vying for rapid growth.

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Deals in brief: Sleek EV and Polybee raise funding, Sea Limited backs Noematrix, eight other China investments, and more

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.

Sudo Lim

KrASIA tracks China’s tech and business stories, alongside key developments across the broader Asia Pacific region.

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<a href="/company/bytedance">ByteDance</a> said it is strengthening safeguards in its Seedance 2.0 video model after Disney sent a cease-and-desist letter alleging infringement of characters from the Marvel and Star Wars franchises. The backlash includes criticism from SAG-AFTRA and the Motion Picture Association, as well as a Japanese government investigation into <a href="/industry/ai">AI</a>-generated anime content.

CaoCao Mobility has expanded its robotaxi fleet in Binjiang, Hangzhou, to 100 vehicles, marking a milestone in its shift toward fully driverless operations. The company also launched a mobility hub equipped with automated battery swapping and dispatch systems, and plans to debut a purpose-built robotaxi model this year with a target of deploying 100,000 units by 2030.

Genki Forest posted double-digit growth for a third straight year, with founder Tang Binsen saying profitability and operational efficiency improved further in 2025 after an initial breakthrough in 2024. Vitamin water sales jumped about 128% YoY, iced tea rose 56%, and the company expanded its retail footprint to 1.28 million outlets by year's end.

<a href="/company/minimax">MiniMax</a> has launched M2.5, a foundation model it said delivers state-of-the-art coding and agentic performance, including 80.2% on the SWE-Bench Verified benchmark. Served at up to 100 tokens per second (TPS), the model can reportedly run continuously for about USD 1 per hour at 100 output tokens per second, with a lower-speed version priced at roughly half the cost.

<a href="/company/tencent">Tencent</a> has integrated Uber into its mobility-focused WeChat mini program, allowing users to book rides overseas without downloading a separate app. The feature spans more than 20 countries and regions, including Hong Kong, Japan, the UK, and the US, covers over 1,000 destinations, and supports WeChat Pay without the need for currency exchange.

Pangdonglai will never go public and will halt expansion after completing its planned model targets, founder Yu Donglai said. He also mandated that the firm’s top executives step down from key roles before age 60. The announcement coincides with Yu’s formal retirement after the Lunar New Year, marking a leadership transition for the company.

<a href="/company/temu">Temu</a> has partnered with Dekra to provide independent testing for selected electrical and electronic products, integrating the services into its platform to give merchants direct access. The move expands Temu’s network of more than 20 testing, inspection, and certification partners and follows a reported USD 100 million global investment in compliance and quality control in 2025.

ChatGPT maker <a href="/company/openai">OpenAI</a> has told US lawmakers that <a href="/company/deepseek">DeepSeek</a> used distillation and “new, obfuscated methods” to extract outputs from US-made <a href="/industry">AI</a> models to train its R1 chatbot, according to a memo. The company said accounts tied to DeepSeek sought to bypass safeguards via third-party access routes.

<a href="/company/grab">Grab</a>, operator of the eponymous Southeast Asian app, has signed definitive agreements to acquire 100% of US digital investment platform Stash, valuing an initial 50.1% stake at a USD 425 million enterprise value at closing, with the remainder to be acquired over three years. The deal, expected to close in Q3 2026, expands Grab’s fintech operations beyond Southeast Asia.

E-Power, formerly Sunrise New Energy, has signed an MoU with Kehui International to establish a US joint venture focused on microgrids for <a href="/industry/ai">AI</a> compute and power automation. E-Power will hold at least 55% and invest USD 1.5 million, while Kehui contributes patented technology with exclusive rights in the US and Canada. The venture targets USD 3 million in sales within three years.

WeRide and Uber have launched commercial robotaxi services in downtown Abu Dhabi, marking the emirate’s first deployment in its city center. The network covers about 70% of core areas, with the fleet quadrupling since December 2024. Rides are available via the Uber app under a phased rollout toward fully driverless operations.

iFlytek drives voice recognition and natural language processing AI, enhancing smart assistants, language learning, and enterprise solutions.

iFlytek

Its singular focus on transcription is cited as a key differentiator from office software that treats it as a secondary feature.

iFlytek’s audio transcription tool reaches 100 million users

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How do stores adapt to digital shifts? Explore e-commerce integration, inventory analytics, and omnichannel strategies for modern shoppers.

Retail

Nine years in, the company’s founder says the priority is shifting away from aggressive expansion.

Genki Forest calls 2025 a breakthrough year, tightens ops to focus on steady growth

Photo of Sagrada Madre’s store in MixC Shenzhen Bay.

Hong Kong

Once a niche favorite among Hong Kong shoppers, the Argentine incense brand is expanding into China’s high-end malls.

ByteDance's Seedance hit by IP row

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iFlytek’s audio transcription tool reaches 100 million users

Genki Forest calls 2025 a breakthrough year, tightens ops to focus on steady growth

Sagrada Madre enters mainland China after building a following in Hong Kong