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DeepSeek raised about USD 7 billion in its first external funding round at a USD 59 billion valuation, with Tencent, CATL, and founder Liang Wenfeng p…

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<a href="/company/deepseek">DeepSeek</a> raised about USD 7 billion in its first external funding round at a USD 59 billion valuation, with <a href="/company/tencent">Tencent</a>, <a href="/company/catl">CATL</a>, and founder Liang Wenfeng participating.

Cathay Pacific will increase passenger and cargo fuel surcharges starting August 1, citing a surge in jet fuel prices amid rising Middle East tensions. The airline will raise long-haul passenger surcharges by 41% to HKD 1,362 per sector and plans to review rates every two weeks.

<a href="/company/xpeng">Xpeng</a> has confirmed it will introduce its flagship GX SUV to the Australian market, with pricing expected to exceed AUD 100,000. The six-seat vehicle is available in pure electric and extended-range versions in China and may require a name change in Australia because of trademark conflicts with Lexus.

Visa and Lianlian DigiTech completed the first live B2B transaction in Greater China using an AI agent, LoopXPay. The transaction allowed the AI agent to source products and process payments within predefined controls.

TikTok Shop US reported a near twofold YoY increase in midyear sales, driven by the growth of interest-based e-commerce. Cross-border merchant sales nearly doubled, while its fully managed US business grew by about 50%. The platform is increasingly used by Chinese brands to reach US consumers through short video and live stream shopping.

<a href="/company/tiktok">TikTok</a> is testing a paid short drama app called LimeShorts in the US. The app offers subscriptions for USD 20 per week or USD 200 per year. Users can also unlock episodes with virtual coins. LimeShorts features one- to five-minute vertical dramas sourced from third-party partners.

<a href="/company/insta360">Insta360</a> founder and CEO Liu Jingkang said the company plans to redefine its action and panoramic camera categories. Liu said the company will focus on R&amp;D and customer insight to build market barriers rather than compete on price, which he called unsustainable for consumer electronics.

Stellantis appointed Xin Tianshu as head of China and Asia Pacific, effective August 3. Xin, currently CEO of the Leapmotor international joint venture, will join the Stellantis leadership team and report to CEO Antonio Filosa. The company also named Gregoire Olivier as a strategic adviser reporting to Xin.

Hugging Face used Z.ai’s open-source GLM 5.2 model to respond to an autonomous cyberattack after US-based commercial models refused to process malicious code because of safety guardrails. By hosting the model locally, engineers traced the breach, patched a zero-day vulnerability, and restored internal operations.

<em>Love and Deepspace</em> has halted plans to add new male leads after player backlash over character introductions and content concerns. The controversy highlights broader industry challenges, as developers try to balance monetization models with player expectations for narrative depth and safety.

<a href="/company/tencent">Tencent's</a> system-level <a href="/industry/ai">AI</a> agent Marvis reached more than 300,000 daily active users (DAUs) within two days of its May 20 launch. The product focuses on local device management and task execution rather than general-purpose search, with a reported seven-day retention rate of about 54%.

Photo of a China Southern Airlines plane in flight.

China Southern, Air China, and China Eastern all point to fuel costs as a drag on earnings.

China's big three airlines lose up to USD 1.3 billion amid Middle East war

China&#8217;s big three airlines lose up to USD 1.3 billion amid Middle East war

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ByteDance, a Chinese internet company, uses machine learning to recommend engaging videos, news, and social content (via TikTok and Douyin).

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The hardware executive succeeds founder Henry Zhou as Pico shifts focus toward mixed reality and spatial computing.

ByteDance names Li Xiaokai to lead Pico’s next phase

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Xiaohongshu, also known as RedNote, is a platform that connects users to curated content for fashion, beauty, travel, and more.

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It may lack the gaming roots of Bilibili and HeyBox, but Xiaohongshu’s community dynamics can help smaller titles turn authenticity into attention.

DeepSeek raises USD 7 billion

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