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… class="wp-caption-text">Image of the Xpeng G6 (left) and the G9. Image and header image source: Xpeng Motors.</figcaption></figure>
Still, competition is intensifying. In the latter half of the year, the premium electric SUV segment will see new entries like <a href="https://kr-asia.com/xiaomis-new-yu7-can-it-stand-up-to-teslas-model-y">Xiaomi’s YU7</a> and Li Auto’s i6. The contest is heating up even before the G7 reaches customers.
Ultimately, Xpeng’s broader ambitions in assisted driving hinge on the success of the Turing chip. At the same time, the chip’s mass production and deployment are closely linked to the company’s roadmap for Level 3 capabilities and VLA model integration. Progress on either front depends on the other.
KrASIA Connection features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This <a href="https://36kr.com/p/3333034241730822">article</a> was written by Li Anqi for 36Kr.

Is Xpeng’s G7 the new benchmark for assisted driving thanks to Turing silicon?

Xpeng Motors

East Asia

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… adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This <a href="https://36kr.com/p/3333355053115910">article</a> was written by Huang Nan for 36Kr.

As robots get smarter, D-Robotics ships an SoC kit to close the loop

Artificial Intelligence

Hardware

… href="https://asia.nikkei.com/Economy/Trade/EU-pushes-for-China-trade-rebalancing-as-Trump-factor-looms">Nikkei Asia</a>. It has been republished here as part of 36Kr’s ongoing partnership with <a href="https://www.kr-asia.com/nikkei-teams-up-with-36kr-in-asia-tech-news-coverage/">Nikkei</a>.

EU pushes for China trade "rebalancing" as Trump factor looms

Europe

On June 10, <a href="/company/tencent">Tencent Music Entertainment (TME)</a> announced it had signed a merger agreement with Ximalaya and several other parties to acquire the long-form audio platform.
Under the terms of the deal, TME will pay USD 1.26 billion in cash and issue a number of Class A ordinary shares—equivalent to no more than 5.1986% of its total shares outstanding, based on the five trading days prior to closing—as well as incentive shares amounting to no more than 0.37% of total shares for Ximalaya’s founding shareholders. Altogether, the acquisition is valued at nearly USD 2.9 billion.
The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including antitrust clearance from China’s market regulators. Both parties will jointly proceed with the required regulatory steps.
According to 36Kr, both companies signed off on the deal at the board level on June 9. An official announcement was originally scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on June 10 but was later moved up.
To ensure a smooth transition, Ximalaya’s founder and core management team will remain in their roles following the agreement. TME and Ximalaya will collaborate on identifying the best path forward for business integration.
Rumors of a sale had been circulating as early as April, when it was reported that TME was offering USD 2.4 billion to acquire Ximalaya. The final price tag came close. Media reports also suggested that the two parties were in discussions as far back as 2022, though those talks failed to produce a deal.
TME reported a net profit of RMB 4.3 billion (USD 602 million) in the first quarter of 2025. By that measure, the Ximalaya acquisition represents nearly five quarters' worth of profit, representing a costly endeavor by any metric.
And yet, it still marks a steep discount from Ximalaya’s peak valuation of USD 5 billion during its first IPO attempt in 2021. According to 36Kr, founder Yu Jianjun once envisioned a valuation as high as USD 10 billion.
Founded in 2012, Ximalaya rode a wave of explosive growth in China’s long-form audio market. Its expansive content ecosystem featuring audiobooks podcasts, and more helped it quickly amass a massive user base. By 2019, its total users surpassed 600 million, with 160 million monthly active users, making it the market leader.
Before filing for an IPO in the US, Ximalaya raised close to RMB 10 billion (USD 1.4 billion) over 12 funding rounds. Its cap table boasted heavyweights like Xiaomi, Baidu, General Atlantic, Goldman Sachs, and Tencent itself.
But behind the numbers was a long stretch of financial losses. According to its IPO prospectus, Ximalaya lost RMB 774 million (USD 108.3 million), RMB 773 million (USD 108.2 million), RMB 605 million (USD 84.7 million), RMB 718 million (USD 100.5 million), and RMB 296 million (USD 41.4 million) from 2018–2022, respectively, totaling RMB 3.166 billion (USD 443.2 million).
It wasn’t until 2023 that the company finally turned a profit, reporting net earnings of RMB 224 million (USD 31.4 million), thanks largely to aggressive cost-cutting, including layoffs, pay cuts, and reduced marketing spend.
That profit push began in August 2022, when Yu first communicated a detailed profitability roadmap to the entire staff, including the target of full-year profitability in 2023.
According to a LatePost report, someone familiar with the company said that the collapse of online grocer Missfresh left a lasting impression on Ximalaya’s leadership. “They saw it as a wake-up call,” the person said. “It’s dangerous to run a company that can’t reach profitability.”
Yet, just as it began to make money, Ximalaya’s revenue growth came to a standstill. From 2021–2023, the company posted revenues of RMB 5.856 billion (USD 819.8 million), RMB 6.061 billion (USD 848.5 million), and RMB 6.163 billion (USD 862.8 million), respectively, representing growth rates of 43.7%, 3.5%, and 1.7%.
Ximalaya’s income sources include subscriptions, ads, and live streaming. Subscription revenue growth fell from 49% in 2021 to just 3.49% in 2023. Advertising revenue slipped from RMB 1.488 billion (USD 208.3 million) to RMB 1.423 billion (USD 199.2 million) during the same period.
The company’s underwhelming financials weighed heavily on its IPO prospects. From April 2021–2024, Ximalaya made four separate attempts to go public, and they were all unsuccessful.
So why would TME still want to acquire a struggling platform like Ximalaya? The answer may lie in its own long-form audio ambitions.
Back in 2020, when Ximalaya was at its peak, TME launched a long-form audio strategy and released a new app, Kuwo Changting. Peng Jiaxin, CEO at the time, declared that long-form audio would be a strategic focus for TME moving forward, setting the stage for what became a full-on offensive against Ximalaya.
Tencent’s early tactics were blunt: it spent heavily to poach top talent from Ximalaya. Among those lured away by deep pockets were celebrity podcasters Cheng Yi and Rui Xi.
Competing wasn’t cheap. In the second quarter of 2020, TME’s sales and marketing expenses ballooned to RMB 579 million (USD 81.1 million), much of which went to promotions. By 2021, new CEO Liang Zhu merged Lanren Tingshu and Kuwo Changting into a unified platform dubbed Lanren Changting, just eight days after taking the helm.
Yet even after those moves, TME struggled to gather traction. Meanwhile, ByteDance was gaining ground fast. Its app Fanqie Changting converted Fanqie Novel’s text content into audio and attracted users with a free-to-listen model.
With Ximalaya now under its wing, TME stands to patch a major hole. The acquisition brings with it a rich catalog of podcasts, audiobooks, and premium learning content, plus access to Ximalaya’s 300 million monthly active users. That’s a huge advantage in a world where user acquisition costs are rising, especially amid growing competition from short-video platforms.
Ximalaya’s decline may have been shaped by internal missteps, such as its dual-CEO structure that led to muddled strategy, but it also reflects the difficult business model and mounting pressure from video-first content trends.
Whatever the cause, a decade after its founding, Ximalaya’s long journey seems to have found its final chapter. A sale, it turns out, was the best ending left.
KrASIA Connection features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This <a href="https://36kr.com/p/3330826411387137">article</a> was written by Li Xiaoxia for 36Kr.

Ximalaya’s swan song plays out in a USD 2.9 billion Tencent buyout

Music

Creative

… limitations. They require expensive manufacturing equipment, tight tolerances, and advanced expertise in materials, heat treatment, and gear design. For now, these constraints hinder cost reduction and limit scale.
“China is catching up fast to international standards in harmonic drives,” Jia added. “But deep customization, like what’s possible with planetary-based joints, is still hard to achieve. It’s a chicken-and-egg problem: customization requires volume orders, but volume depends on access to customized prototypes. Harmonic joints cost around five times more than planetary ones, so scaling remains a challenge.”
In Jia’s view, neither approach is definitively superior. Harmonic and planetary drives offer different strengths in lifespan, shock resistance, noise, and failure modes. As a result, both are likely to coexist, with optimal use determined by the demands of each humanoid application.
<h3>Standardized yet flexible, with broad applicability</h3>
Citing a 2024 report on humanoid robot development, 36Kr postulated that cost reduction in humanoid robot manufacturing will occur in three major phases: small-scale production (1,000 units) can lower costs by 20–30% to around USD 100,000 per unit; at 10,000 units, costs drop by 50% to USD 50,000; at hundreds of thousands of units, costs could fall by 70–80%, reaching USD 20,000–30,000.
If mass production takes off, demand for core components like joints will skyrocket. Scale matters, and ZeroErr is preparing accordingly. To meet diverse needs across industries and applications, the company has launched multiple joint models including the straight eRob I-type and Corner T-type series.
The eRob modules vary widely in size and torque capacity. The smallest model has a diameter of just 70 millimeters with a maximum torque of 70 newton-meters, while the largest stretches to 170 mm and supports up to 1,180 Nm. Compared to peers with similar torque ratings, ZeroErr’s modules are significantly more compact.
This small-form, high-torque design has real-world advantages. In warehousing, for example, smaller joints allow robots to operate smoothly in tight quarters. In surgery, they enable robotic arms to work closer together, reducing incision size. For humanoids, they bring form factors ever closer to the proportions of the human body.
For downstream clients, ZeroErr’s standardized yet diverse joint lineup simplifies the fabrication process. Developers can skip hundreds of hours of selecting, sourcing, and assembling mechanical and electronic parts, and focus instead on developing full robot systems and applications.
Meanwhile, the trend toward domestic sourcing is gaining traction. The industry’s dependence on imported joint components is gradually eroding.
Except for certain chips, all of ZeroErr’s core parts are now either domestically developed or sourced from local supply chains.
“Full localization is our goal,” Jia said. “We’ve already begun testing domestic chips. Before long, we won’t have to worry about supply chain choke points.”
The company has also invested in infrastructure. It operates multiple workshops for five-axis precision machining, quality inspection, and precision assembly. Each joint module is fully tested for backlash, rigidity, noise, precision under load, and vibration. After assembly, modules undergo simulation testing to ensure performance under varied industrial conditions, helping to minimize market failures.
The sudden boom in humanoid robotics has propelled component suppliers that once seemed obscure into the spotlight. But for firms like ZeroErr, long-term survival won’t depend on humanoid robotics alone. Enduring revenue still comes from proven customers in established markets. Serving them remains the company’s most critical mission.
KrASIA Connection features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This <a href="https://36kr.com/p/3263916211306626">article</a> was written by Huang Nan for 36Kr.

Behind the robotics boom, ZeroErr raises funds to build the parts that power it

… Sinovation Ventures, Puhua Capital, China Growth Capital, MiraclePlus, Glory Ventures, and Meituan. China Renaissance served as the financial adviser. The capital will be used for hiring, R&amp;D, and international expansion. —<a href="https://36kr.com/p/3329074255669761">36Kr</a></li>
<li aria-level="1">Astronstone, a developer of reusable stainless steel rockets, has raised nearly RMB 100 million in an angel plus round. Fibonacci VC led the round, with follow-on investment from Huacang Capital and continued support from existing backer KylinHall Partners. The company will channel the funds into rocket R&amp;D, test facility expansion, and team building. —<a href="https://36kr.com/p/3328721086933507">36Kr</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.eaglecloud.com/">Eagle Cloud</a>, an enterprise security provider, has secured nearly RMB 100 million in pre-Series B funding. HongShan led the round, with continued backing from Vision Plus Capital and QC Capital. Voyagers Partners acted as the financial adviser. The funds will support development of its AI-driven secure office platform and fuel international market entry. —<a href="https://www.eaglecloud.com/">36Kr</a></li>
<li aria-level="1">Enhanced Robotics, a robotics hardware startup, has raised an eight-figure RMB sum in a pre-Series A+ funding round led by HongShan. Other investors include Brizan Ventures, Peak Patience Capital Ventures, and repeat backers such as iFlytek co-founder Hu Yu. The company specializes in adaptive torque systems and lightweight robotic actuators. —<a href="https://36kr.com/p/3324680733124866">36Kr</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://aquahelpers.com/">Aqua Helpers</a>, a maker of autonomous surface vessels, has raised an eight-figure RMB sum in a Series A funding round led by Old Fisherman Group’s Shanghai Fansheng Investment. The company plans to use the capital for product development, team expansion, and commercialization. —<a href="https://36kr.com/p/3324709966047488">36Kr</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="http://en.goaltech.com/">Goal Tech</a>, a precision motor manufacturer, has raised an eight-figure RMB sum in a Series A funding round from SCGC. The funds will be used to scale production and accelerate R&amp;D in sectors such as semiconductors, robotics, and automotive. —<a href="https://36kr.com/p/3324472875624963">36Kr</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.sanway.tech/">Sanway Tech</a>, a developer of cross-architecture cloud applications, has raised nearly RMB 100 million in a funding round co-led by 37 Interactive Entertainment and Peakview Capital. With this funding, Sanway will invest in foundational technology and aim to expand its enterprise client base across operating systems and chipsets. —<a href="https://36kr.com/p/3324450819270921">36Kr</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://directdrive.com/">Direct Drive Tech</a>, a robotics actuator and motor developer, has closed its Series B and B+ rounds of financing, bringing its total funding to a nine-figure RMB sum. The rounds were led by Beijing-based manufacturing and materials funds, with participation from Legend Star and other investors. Proceeds will be used to support modular actuator production, new product iterations, and deployment across industrial use cases. —<a href="https://36kr.com/p/3324371342944770">36Kr</a></li>
</ul>
whereRelatedArticle
<h3>Syfe, Bolttech, Neuralink, and more made recent headlines:</h3>
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Syfe, a leading digital wealth platform, closed its Series C funding round at USD 80 million, including a USD 53 million Series C2 tranche. The new investment was co-led by two UK family offices, alongside returning backers Unbound and Valar Ventures.</li>
<li aria-level="1">Bolttech, an insurtech platform, completed a USD 147 million Series C funding round, bringing its valuation to USD 2.1 billion. New investors include Japan’s Sumitomo Corporation and Portugal’s Iberis Capital, joining existing backers such as Dragon Fund, Baillie Gifford, and Generali’s Lion River.</li>
<li aria-level="1">Neuralink, the brain-computer interface company founded by Elon Musk, raised USD 650 million in a Series E funding round. Investors include Ark Invest, DFJ Growth, Founders Fund, G42, Human Capital, Lightspeed, QIA, Sequoia Capital, Thrive Capital, Valor Equity Partners, and Vy Capital.</li>
</ul>
If there are any news or updates you'd like us to feature, get in touch with us at: <a href="mailto:hello@kr-asia.com">hello@kr-asia.com</a>.
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Deals in brief: Atome secures USD 75 million facility, Sam Altman backs Coco Robotics again, 12 new China deals, and more

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Private Equity

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Merger &amp; Acquisition

Philippines

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India

Oceania

… fiercely competitive industry.
Laifen is betting on innovation to break through, and it’s a strategy that requires top-tier marketing.
The company’s performance in the high-speed hair dryer space hints at its potential. In 2022, Laifen posted RMB 290 million (USD 40.6 million) in sales from that line alone, marking a tenfold year-on-year jump. Its Singles’ Day sales soared from RMB 20 million (USD 2.8 million) in 2021 to RMB 290 million in 2022, and RMB 440 million (USD 61.6 million) in 2023.
Grassroots marketing helped drive that growth.
Ye often shares his origin story as part of the brand narrative: growing up poor, scavenging trash as a child, working on factory lines at 17. In 2007, he rode China’s e-commerce boom on Taobao and made over RMB 10 million (USD 1.4 million), only to lose it all chasing projects like manned aircraft and electric scooters.
Those experiences, he says, shaped his mindset. His early struggles instilled a desire to democratize access to technology. E-commerce taught him how to understand users. And his foray into aviation sharpened his motor engineering skills. That convergence led to Laifen and its first breakthrough product.
In the hair dryer market, Dyson had already done the heavy lifting of educating consumers. Laifen merely needed to execute well with a competitive local product.
But the shaving market lacks a defining player. That absence makes Laifen’s path forward less certain, and far more difficult to navigate.
KrASIA Connection features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This <a href="https://36kr.com/p/3308284701612548">article</a> was written by Leslie Zhang for 36Kr.

After hair dryers, Laifen targets the other side of bathroom counters with a shaver built from scratch

Retail

Consumer Economy

As a wave of cost-consciousness sweeps across China, businesses offering quality at a discount have seen earnings surge while their high-end peers struggle.
Quanjude, the restaurant chain known for its gourmet Peking duck, saw revenue shrink 7% on the year during the first quarter through March.
"Consumers are increasingly looking for more mass-market, bargain establishments," said Zhou Yanlong, general manager of Quanjude.
During that quarter, China's retail sales grew 4.6% from the year-earlier period to RMB 12.4 trillion (USD 1.7 trillion), far below the roughly 10% growth the country once posted consistently.
Expensive restaurants and shops are taking the brunt of the slowing consumption. Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group's sales dropped 12% during the first quarter.
Retail giant Wangfujing Group experienced a 14% decline in revenue at its mainline department store segment. But revenue increased 4% at the company's outlet store arm.
"Outlets have the same quality as the official stores, but they are much cheaper," said a 26-year-old female shopper who lives in the northeastern city of Dalian. "I go to [outlets] once every week."
<a href="/company/luckin-coffee">Luckin Coffee</a>, which rose to become China's largest coffee chain, reported a 41% jump in sales in the first quarter. The performance dwarfed the 5% gain by Starbucks' Chinese operations.
While Starbucks sells a cup of coffee for about RMB 30 (USD 4.2) in China, Luckin's brew generally is less than half the price. Customer reviews suggest little difference in flavor between the two chains.
Going to the movies has caught on as affordable entertainment. Wanda Film Holding, China's largest cinema operator in terms of ticket sales, grew revenue by 23%, thanks in part to hit films.
"I'd rather go on a trip with a friend, but my pay isn't going up," a 23-year-old Zhejiang province man said. "Instead, I go to movie theaters with fully equipped sound equipment."
Even those who can afford travel are taking cost and performance into account. H World Group, which chiefly manages budget and midrange hotels, reported a 2% increase in revenue for the first quarter.
H World's key locations maintained high occupancy rates of 76%. The company is rapidly opening more lodgings, with roughly 2,300 new locations planned for this year alone.
Consumer spending accounts for about 40% of China's GDP, a reality government authorities cannot ignore. During the National People's Congress in March, the need to boost consumption by stimulating domestic demand "across the board" was the first major task cited by <a href="https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/China-People-s-Congress/China-sets-GDP-growth-target-at-around-5-amid-rising-trade-war">premier Li Qiang</a> in his government work report.
In 2024, the government started offering subsidies for consumers to upgrade old home electronics for new ones. That initiative is bearing fruit.
Appliance retailer Suning.com turned in a net profit for the January-March quarter after four straight years in the red from 2020–2023, thanks partly to the subsidy.
Yet high unemployment among younger generations and the cost of supporting an aging population loom heavy over China's economy, squeezing consumer sentiment. Concern exists that demand for cheap goods could spur an excessive price war, pushing the Chinese economy into deflation.
This article first appeared on <a href="https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Business-trends/Discount-coffee-hotels-thrive-in-China-s-penny-pinching-economy">Nikkei Asia</a>. It has been republished here as part of 36Kr’s ongoing partnership with <a href="https://www.kr-asia.com/nikkei-teams-up-with-36kr-in-asia-tech-news-coverage/">Nikkei</a>.

Discount coffee, hotels thrive in China's penny-pinching economy

… engagement.
PI’s Pi-0 is world-class, but it didn’t make a splash. Without real-world interaction, these models remain academic.
And you can’t replicate open-source models exactly. No lab can reproduce another’s environment. Hardware-based data can’t be distilled. That’s a major difference from software.
Open source won’t unlock the market for embodied AI. Not in this domain.
KrASIA Connection features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This <a href="https://36kr.com/p/3312504088306690">article</a> was written by Wang Fangyu for 36Kr.

“A PR stunt”: X Square Robot CEO says humanoid robots don’t belong in factories, calls for focus on generalization