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DeepSeek's V4 technical report lists ten former employees among nearly 300 contributors. Since the second half of 2025, at least five key researchers …

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Photo of James Li, CEO of Honor, on stage at Mobile World Congress 2026.

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

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Honor designs smartphones and wearables, balancing price and performance for a tech-savvy, value-focused audience.

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Honor sees phones as key to on-device AI, even if they are not the endgame

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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.

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Photo shows Peng Zhihui, president and CTO of Agibot, on stage with one of the company’s humanoid robots.

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Attention is turning to intelligence, a robotics area constrained by data bottlenecks and other limitations.

After mass production, Agibot shifts focus to architecture and ecosystem

From left to right: Genping Liu, Dennis Sze, Lemuel Low, Edmund Tan, and Chan Yip Pang. Sze, Low, and Tan are co-founders of ReN3, while Liu and Chan serve as general partner and executive director of investments, respectively, at Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India.

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Deals in brief: Vertex Ventures backs ReN3 and Formas.ai; Featherless and SiamDL raise Series A funding; latest 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/deepseek">DeepSeek's</a> V4 technical report lists ten former employees among nearly 300 contributors. Since the second half of 2025, at least five key researchers have left for roles at <a href="/company/tencent">Tencent</a>, <a href="/company/xiaomi">Xiaomi</a>, <a href="/company/bytedance">ByteDance</a>, and DeepRoute.ai, spanning teams in base models, reasoning, OCR, and multimodal technologies.

<a href="/company/pony-ai">Pony.ai</a> said it has built the infrastructure needed for large-scale robotaxi deployment, according to CEO James Peng. The company is now focused on scaling operations, upgrading its <a href="/industry/ai">AI</a> systems, and reducing production costs. It aims to lower the cost of its seventh-generation robotaxis to below USD 34,000 by 2027 as it expands services in China and overseas.

<a href="/company/bytedance">ByteDance</a> has introduced a paid subscription model for Doubao with standard, enhanced, and professional tiers priced between RMB 68–500 per month. The move follows the platform reaching 345 million monthly active users in Q1 2026, as the company seeks to manage high inference costs and shift its user base toward productivity-focused features.

Southwest Airlines confiscated the battery of a 31.8-kilogram humanoid robot from Unitree Robotics during a flight from Oakland to San Diego. The robot, owned by Elite Event Robotics, had been assigned a passenger seat after its transport case exceeded weight limits. The battery removal, due to size restrictions, delayed the flight by more than one hour.

Wuliangye reported 2025 revenue of RMB 40.53 billion and net profit of RMB 8.95 billion, following a restatement of its quarterly financial results. The company maintained a cash position of RMB 124.26 billion in liquid assets as of March. It also plans to distribute RMB 20.01 billion in total dividends, alongside a share buyback program to reduce registered capital.

Chinese fintech company OPay has engaged JPMorgan and two other banks to prepare for a US IPO targeting a USD 4 billion valuation. The company, which focuses on the Nigerian market, previously raised USD 400 million in a 2021 funding round.

Realme has no plans for future smartphone releases in the Chinese market. The GT8 Pro and Neo8 models will be the final devices from the brand's independent operating period in the country. This follows a March announcement that Realme will integrate its mainland China after-sales services into the Oppo network.

Cybersecurity tests conducted by Oslo transport authority Ruter found that electric buses manufactured by Yutong could be remotely accessed. The findings have reportedly influenced new EU regulations on Chinese-made transport technology and strained trade relations.

Xiaomi will increase the price of its upcoming Redmi K100 smartphone series. The company expects the price hike to be smaller than those implemented by competitors. The new series, which includes the Redmi K100 Pro Max, is expected to feature upgraded audio, haptics, and a 200-megapixel main camera.

Chinese production companies uploaded nearly 50,000 <a href="/industry/ai">AI</a>-generated short dramas to <a href="/company/douyin">Douyin</a> in March, nearly matching the platform's total output for all of 2025. The market for such shows is projected to exceed USD 3 billion this year, as companies use new video tools to reduce production costs.

Chayan Yuese has launched its first two locations in Shenzhen, marking the brand's debut in a tier-one city. The company plans to operate at least ten stores in the city by 2026. Despite initial queues on opening day, the brand faces significant competition from established chains and higher operating costs in the region. Analysts estimate a 2.5-year payback period per store.

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Dreame

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The company’s weeklong Silicon Valley launch highlighted both ambition and risk appetite.

Dreame’s next act stretches from robot vacuums to rocket-boosted cars

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DeepSeek, a Chinese AI company, develops large language models and machine learning solutions for enterprise applications and scientific research.

Foundation and Large Models

DeepSeek V4 has clear advantages, but it also shows why no AI model can serve every use case yet.

DeepSeek V4 report lists ten departures

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Deals in brief: Vertex Ventures backs ReN3 and Formas.ai; Featherless and SiamDL raise Series A funding; latest China investments, and more

Dreame’s next act stretches from robot vacuums to rocket-boosted cars

How do industry professionals in China view DeepSeek V4’s strengths and limits?