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<a href="/company/huawei">Huawei</a> and HP have signed a multiyear global patent cross-licensing agreement covering certain Wi-Fi technologies.
Under the agreement, HP will receive licenses to certain Wi-Fi patents held by Huawei, while Huawei will obtain reciprocal patent rights from HP. Neither company disclosed the financial terms or specified which patents are covered.
HP said the agreement grants a standard essential patent license covering Wi-Fi technology and that it does not consider the deal a broader strategic or commercial relationship, partnership, or collaboration with Huawei.
The deal centers on Wi-Fi, a technology used in devices ranging from laptops and smartphones to household appliances. Wi-Fi standards are developed with technical contributions from companies across the industry, with successive generations designed to improve speed, capacity, latency, and energy efficiency.
Huawei said its contributions span multiple generations of Wi-Fi technology. It highlighted Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 7, which are designed to support bandwidth-intensive applications such as high-definition and 8K video, gaming, augmented and virtual reality, video conferencing, and cloud computing.
Alan Fan, Huawei’s chief IP officer, said the company uses patent licensing to make its technologies available to the broader industry, particularly technologies incorporated into technical standards.
Steven Geiszler, who represented Huawei during the negotiations, said the agreement licenses Huawei patents covering standardized Wi-Fi technologies while giving the company reciprocal patent rights from HP.
The agreement follows earlier disputes over Wi-Fi 6 patents. Huawei, a founding licensor of Sisvel’s Wi-Fi 6 patent pool, sued HP in 2025 over alleged infringement of Wi-Fi 6 patents. HP later <a href="https://www.sisvel.com/news/hp-becomes-sisvel-wi-fi-6-pool-licensee-ending-disputes-with-wilus-huawei/">joined the Sisvel pool</a> under an agreement that ended related litigation with Huawei and other pool licensors.
The cross-licensing structure gives both companies rights to use parts of the other’s patent portfolio, rather than limiting the arrangement to a one-way license of Huawei’s Wi-Fi patents to HP.
Huawei and HP did not disclose how long the agreement will remain in effect beyond describing it as multiyear.
Update: This article has been edited to include HP’s statement on the agreement and context on earlier Wi-Fi 6 patent disputes involving Huawei, HP, and Sisvel.
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Huawei licenses Wi-Fi patents to HP in global cross-licensing deal

East Asia

China

Telecommunications

<a href="/company/shein">Shein</a>, the online fashion and lifestyle company, launched its Hong Kong public offering on August 24, seeking to raise up to USD 1.8 billion and list on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on September 1. The company is offering about 280 million Class B shares globally at a maximum offer price of HKD 49.5 (USD 6.3) per share. As of August 25, Shein said investor demand had fully covered the Hong Kong offering.
According to its prospectus, Shein recorded net revenue of USD 41.8 billion and net profit of USD 2.064 billion in 2025. It served 273 million active customers and offered more than two million apparel styles. The company is also expanding beyond fashion retail by opening parts of its supply chain to global brands, a shift it frames as building infrastructure for the fashion industry.
<h3>Supply chain efficiency underpins growth</h3>
According to China Insights Consultancy, the global online fashion market expanded from USD 522 billion in 2021 to USD 606 billion in 2025. Based on apparel and footwear retail sales value in 2025, the consultancy ranked Shein as the world's largest online fashion destination.
A central part of Shein's operating model is its LATR system, short for large-scale automated test and reorder. Shein began testing the model in 2014. It uses small initial orders to gauge demand before increasing production.
With LATR, Shein typically launches test orders of 100–200 units, with reorders and restocking completed in as little as five days. In 2025, its inventory turnover stood at 36 days, while unsold inventory remained in the low single digits. By comparison, according to figures Shein provided to KrASIA, Zara operator Inditex recorded inventory turnover of 71 days, Uniqlo owner Fast Retailing 114 days, and Adidas 164 days.
Revenue growth slowed to 8% in 2025, but operating income rose 76.7% to USD 1.707 billion. Its operating margin increased to 4.1% from 2.5% in 2024. The figures show that profitability improved even as revenue growth moderated and the company faced tariff-related pressures.
In 2025, Shein upgraded and launched the Shein Xcelerator incubation program, opening its supply chain and related infrastructure to external brands and designers.
Separately, service revenue has become a larger part of Shein's business, driven mainly by the growth of its marketplace. It accounted for 14.3% of total revenue in the first quarter of 2026, up from 2.7% in 2023.
By the end of 2025, 20 brands worldwide had reportedly joined the program, with Shein reporting the generation of about USD 580 million in combined revenue and average first-year sales growth of 190%. In one case disclosed in the prospectus, a brand increased sales by about 15 times in its second year in the program. Its operating margin rose by more than 30 percentage points, while inventory turnover days fell by about two-thirds.
According to Shein, its wider ecosystem also includes around 7,500 contract manufacturers and numerous merchants.
<h3>Tariff pressure tests resilience</h3>
The removal of the US de minimis exemption and the European Union's EUR 150 (USD 175) customs duty exemption for low-value consignments stoked doubts over Shein's growth outlook and the economics of its cross-border model.
One area of focus is pricing flexibility. Since May 2025, Shein has passed on the majority of additional tariff costs in the US through higher prices under a cost-plus pricing strategy. Its ability to pass on those costs reflects the efficiency of its supply chain, although higher prices could still affect demand.
Shein has also expanded localized inventory. As of June 30, the company managed about six million square meters of warehouse space globally across Asia, North America, Europe, the Middle East, and South America. About 409,000 square meters were in the US and 1.018 million square meters were in Europe. Holding more inventory closer to customers can reduce the share of shipments directly exposed to cross-border tariffs.
The company has also expanded its trade compliance capabilities. For products previously eligible for de minimis treatment, Shein has shifted from simplified customs clearance to formal customs declarations. It has also established a dedicated trade compliance function to monitor changes in customs and trade policies.
The EU's removal of the EUR 150 exemption took effect on July 1. Europe accounted for about one-third of Shein's revenue, making the policy change financially significant.
Although the US tariff shock in 2025 blunted sales in the second half of the year and the first quarter of 2026, Shein said it has since seen signs of normalization in consumer purchasing behavior and sales trends. That experience could offer a reference point for how the company handles similar changes in Europe, although the two markets differ in their regulatory structures and consumer behavior.
whereRelatedArticle
<h3>Liquidity and brand expansion support growth</h3>
As of March 31, 2026, Shein had total cash resources of USD 14.831 billion, up from USD 11.721 billion at the end of 2024. Net cash generated from operating activities reached USD 2.838 billion in 2025, a 102% year-on-year increase despite tariff-related headwinds.
Shein is also expanding its brand portfolio across price points and product categories. Its main Shein brand focuses on women's fashion, while Motf offers more premium options. Glowmode specializes in activewear and Sheglam in cosmetics.
Shein also acquired women's apparel and accessories brand Everlane in May for about USD 80 million, according to the prospectus.
Together with its brand enablement business and expansion into new categories, the broader portfolio gives Shein additional avenues for growth beyond its core fashion retail business.
This article was published in partnership with Newslink.
Note: EUR, HKD figures are converted to USD at rates of EUR 0.86 = USD 1 and HKD 7.84 = USD 1 based on estimates as of August 25, 2026, unless otherwise stated. USD conversions are presented for ease of reference and may not fully match prevailing exchange rates.

Shein launches Hong Kong public offering with its efficiency model in focus

Shein

Fashion

Creative

Hong Kong

On a single day last month, at least eight Chinese automakers—from big names like Great Wall Motor (GWM) to such smaller players as Leapmotor—unveiled new models. Six showed off new or revamped <a href="/industry/ev">electric vehicles</a> or other new energy vehicles (NEVs).
Local media dubbed July 16 "Crazy Thursday" for the automotive sector, using the name of a viral weekly discount campaign by Kentucky Fried Chicken.
This rush underscores the war of attrition in the world's largest automotive market, as companies flood China with new releases in a scramble to keep up sales.
Chinese sales of EVs, plug-in hybrid vehicles, and other NEVs grew roughly 30% last year to 16.49 million units, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. EVs sales rose 38% to 10.62 million and accounted for 31% of total automotive sales, up six percentage points from 2024.
But these figures include exports, a key growth driver. Domestic sales of NEVs rose more slowly, climbing 20% to 13.87 million.
<a href="/company/byd">BYD</a> remained head and shoulders above other Chinese automakers in terms of EV sales, with a 23% market share based on factory deliveries, data from MarkLines shows. <a href="/company/geely">Geely</a> ranked second at 13%, followed by SAIC Motor at 12%.
Local automakers are fighting over a shrinking pie. Overall domestic automotive sales, including gasoline-powered vehicles, sank 21% on the year in the first half of 2026, while NEVs slid 13%. On top of weak demand, a lower cap on tax breaks for EV purchases played a role.
Automakers are trying to ride out the slump with new models, but their earnings are under strain. "Crazy Thursday" is not the only sign of escalating competition.
Last month, BYD executive vice president He Zhiqi posted an image on the Weibo social media app that he said had been sent to him by a colleague. It said that 542 models had been released from January to May, for an average of 3.6 per day—the same pace that people eat meals. This figure appears to include gasoline-powered models, but the post suggests that even top EV makers are worried about the level of competition.
"Even if you invest RMB 1 billion (USD 148.4 million) on one model and spend two years or more on development, the peak [of sales] doesn't last even three months," He wrote, calling the competition "brutal" and comparing the market to a gym meant to whip companies into shape.
BYD's new vehicle sales in January to June shrank 16% on the year to 1.8 million units—the first decline for the half in six years. Sales of passenger EVs fell 15% to 860,000.
GWM projects a roughly 60% drop in first-half net profit, while midsize player Seres Group, which makes the Aito brand with <a href="/company/huawei">Huawei</a>, expects to post a net loss. State-owned Guangzhou Automobile Group (GAC) sees its losses widening. Besides the intense competition, the rising cost of batteries and semiconductors is weighing on profits.
Some expect the slump to last.
"We do not expect domestic vehicle demand to recover in the second half of the year," William Li, founder and CEO of EV startup Nio, told an audience in Chongqing in mid-June. "Many households already own one vehicle."
China's auto market has grown steadily as many consumers have bought their first car. But with ownership rates rising, helped by the growing availability of lower-priced NEVs, Li indicated that automakers need to rethink their marketing and product strategies around customers replacing their old cars.
"The automotive market must shift from the traditional era of increasing volume to one that considers growth based on the premise of existing vehicle ownership," he added.
But Li also argued that this year marks a faster transition to EVs. He pointed to Norway, where EV adoption has reached around 90%, as an example of where the Chinese market might be heading.
"The value consumers derive from EVs now far outweighs the inconvenience of charging or battery swapping," he said.
China's car market may be at a crossroads, but EV growth is expected to continue. In early July, the Chinese government unveiled a plan to raise the share of NEVs among owned vehicles to 30% by 2030, up from 13% at the end of June.
A former top official at the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said in April that NEVs will probably account for more than 70% of new vehicle sales in 2030.
This article first appeared on <a href="https://asia.nikkei.com/spotlight/electric-cars-in-china/china-automakers-ev-rush-culminates-in-crazy-thursday">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>.
Note: RMB figures are converted to USD at rates of RMB 6.74 = USD 1 based on estimates as of August 25, 2026, unless otherwise stated. USD conversions are presented for ease of reference and may not fully match prevailing exchange rates.

China automakers' EV rush culminates in "Crazy Thursday"

Transportation

Electric Vehicles

Mobility

… a collaboration combining Tanaka’s precious metal materials expertise with Clean Planet’s work on next-generation energy systems.
Founded in 2012, Clean Planet is developing “Quantum Hydrogen Energy,” or QHe, for clean energy systems intended for industrial and social infrastructure applications. The company is working toward commercialization, deployment, and mass production of the technology.
Through the partnership, Tanaka will contribute capabilities in surface engineering, analysis, evaluation, and other materials technologies. The companies will also explore ways to improve the performance and reliability of QHe systems and identify potential new products and services.
The amount and financial terms of Tanaka’s investment were not disclosed.
whereAdBanner.Uptake
<h3>Recent deals completed in China:</h3>
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Cheng Bai, a Chinese fragrance brand centered on traditional craft techniques, has raised an eight-figure RMB sum in a pre-Series A round from Shanghai Film New Vision Fund. Linglu Capital served as financial advisor. Cheng Bai develops incense and fragrance products incorporating Chinese intangible cultural heritage techniques. Its portfolio spans traditional stick incense, scented plush ornaments, and handcrafted fragrance vessels. The brand said it will use the funding for product R&amp;D, expansion of key sales channels, recruitment, and brand building. —<a href="https://36kr.com/p/3947925280832901">36Kr</a></li>
<li aria-level="1">Real Thermal Management Tech, a Beijing-based provider of aerospace-grade thermal management solutions, has raised an eight-figure RMB sum in a Series A+ round. Innoangel Fund, FG Venture, Jicui Huacai, and Xiangjiang Xincheng participated, alongside existing investor Jolmo Capital. The company develops active and passive thermal management products for spacecraft, including pump-driven liquid cooling systems, radiators, heat pipes, and thermal control coatings. It said its liquid cooling systems are already operating aboard multiple satellites. The funding will support R&amp;D for active liquid cooling systems used in aerospace applications, expansion of its passive thermal management production line, and investments across its upstream and downstream supply chain. —<a href="https://36kr.com/p/3953370022034820">36Kr</a></li>
<li aria-level="1">Pandag, a commercial landscaping <a href="/industry/robotics">robotics</a> company founded in 2021, has raised an eight-figure RMB sum in a Series A round from Seas Capital. The company develops commercial landscaping robots and an intelligent operations platform, beginning with its Pandag G1 robotic lawn mower. Its products are designed for large commercial environments, including golf courses, photovoltaic sites, and municipal green spaces, and have been deployed overseas. Pandag will use the funding to establish delivery capabilities in Europe, the US, and Australia, and expand its global distribution network. —<a href="https://36kr.com/p/3947977664347270">36Kr</a></li>
<li aria-level="1">Tianxing Tansuo, a Beijing-based provider of satellite internet connectivity and data services, has raised an eight-figure RMB sum in an angel plus round from Landstone Capital and Plum Ventures. Landstone, the sole investor in the company’s angel round, reinvested in the latest deal. Founded in April 2025, Tianxing Tansuo develops satellite communication terminals, software applications, and a data platform. It will use the funding for product R&amp;D and production, as well as to build a multi-system integration pilot platform and a software platform. —<a href="https://36kr.com/p/3948924484107395">36Kr</a></li>
<li aria-level="1">FiveAges, an embodied intelligence company founded in 2024, has raised more than RMB 1 billion (USD 148.4 million) across consecutive Series A1 and Series A2 rounds. The Series A1 round was backed by Wuxi High-tech Investment Group, Bank of China’s AIC fund, and Triplex Investment. The Series A2 round drew investment from KHK Fund, the same Bank of China fund, Zhongshan Investment Holdings, Horizon Investment, Beyondsoft, and Jin Venture Capital. FiveAges will use the funding to support its global expansion, with Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and South Korea among its priority markets. —<a href="https://36kr.com/p/3947288204770693">36Kr</a></li>
</ul>
whereRelatedArticle
<h3>N2TP, Grass, K2 Therapeutics, and others made recent headlines:</h3>
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">N2TP, a Hanoi-based AI research company, secured seed funding from Touchstone Partners. The amount was not disclosed.</li>
<li aria-level="1">Graas, a Singapore-headquartered retail AI company, raised USD 17 million in a Series B round led by LemmaTree, an investment firm founded by Temasek. Integra Partners, Tin Men Capital, The Xander Group, Incred Wealth, and Orzon also participated.</li>
<li aria-level="1">K2 Therapeutics, a biotechnology company, has disclosed USD 50 million in seed financing from MPM BioImpact, which founded the company in 2024.</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>.
Note: AUD, RMB, SGD figures are converted to USD at rates of AUD 1.40 = USD 1 and RMB 6.74 = USD 1 and SGD 1.27 = USD 1 based on estimates as of August 25, 2026, unless otherwise stated. USD conversions are presented for ease of reference and may not fully match prevailing exchange rates.

Deals in brief: Buddy Bites raises Series A funding, KCP reaches first close for two investment vehicles, Chandra Asri to acquire Cycle & Carriage businesses, and more

Venture Capital

Private Equity

Investment

Merger &amp; Acquisition

Singapore

Malaysia

Thailand

Japan

Australia

New Zealand

Southeast Asia

Oceania

CCSH Corporation, the parent of Chinese memory chip giant Yangtze Memory Technologies Corporation (YMTC), announced on August 21 that it plans to raise at least RMB 33 billion (USD 4.9 billion) in a listing on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
The company, which recently became the world's third largest NAND flash chipmaker, will list on the tech-focused Star Market as the <a href="/industry/ai">artificial intelligence</a> boom brings a windfall to data center suppliers. 1.98–2.43 billion shares will be issued.
Industry executives expect its valuation to match that of <a title="" href="https://asia.nikkei.com/business/markets/ipo/china-s-cxmt-jumps-465-on-debut-tops-intel-s-market-cap" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recently listed peer ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT)</a>.
CCSH disclosed in its prospectus for the first time that revenue for the first three months of 2026 reached RMB 48.21 billion (USD 7.2 billion), while net profit hit RMB 36.71 billion (USD 5.4 billion), more than double of all of last year, thanks to a significant price surge in the memory chip market.
It also said the company turned a profit for the first time in 2024, according to its prospectus filed with the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
Capital raised will be used toward upgrading production lines and investing in further R&amp;D, the company said.
Research company Counterpoint said Samsung is the market leader in NAND flash memory with about a 25% share, while SK Hynix and its affiliate, Solidigm, together held 22% of the market in the April-June period.
YMTC controls about 14%, similar to Japan's top memory chipmaker Kioxia, Counterpoint data showed.
CCSH's listing comes as Chinese chipmakers ride a wave of strong memory chip demand driven by AI data centers. CXMT raised RMB 57.9 billion (USD 8.6 billion) in Asia's largest IPO in July, becoming the <a title="" href="https://asia.nikkei.com/business/markets/equities/chipmaker-cxmt-becomes-china-s-most-valuable-company-as-tencent-slips" target="_blank" rel="noopener">most valuable company listed in China</a> and Hong Kong, and overtaking Intel in market value.
CCSH is the listing vehicle while wholly owned subsidiary YMTC is the main operating business. The company was founded in 2016 by Tsinghua Unigroup, the Hubei provincial government and state-owned China Integrated Circuit Industry Investment fund. YMTC was established with the mission of helping China build its NAND flash memory capabilities.
YMTC, not CCSH, was added to the US Entity List, which restricts exports of goods that are considered a threat to national security, in October 2022. It was later designated an affiliate of China's People's Liberation Army.
YMTC has sued the Pentagon to have itself removed from the Chinese military blacklist, but it did not address the US government's designation in its prospectus.
Apple had completed verification of YMTC's products in 2022, but its plan to source chips from the memory maker was suspended amid US political pressure, Nikkei Asia has reported.
The CCSH filing highlighted that recent escalating geopolitical tensions and an increasingly complex global trade environment have created greater uncertainty for global expansion and supply chains.
NAND flash memory is a critical component for data storage and is used across a wide range of electronic devices, from smartphones and PCs to cars and servers. Global NAND flash memory prices will grow more than 250% from last year thanks to AI infrastructure buildout, research company Omdia said.
Nikkei Asia exclusively reported in February that <a title="" href="https://asia.nikkei.com/business/tech/semiconductors/china-s-cxmt-and-ymtc-to-massively-expand-memory-output-amid-global-crunch" target="_blank" rel="noopener">YMTC, along with its peer CXMT</a>, has launched its largest ever capacity expansion to meet an accelerating memory chip crunch.
This article first appeared on <a href="https://asia.nikkei.com/business/markets/ipo/ymtc-parent-seeks-4.9bn-shanghai-ipo-on-ai-memory-boom">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>.
Note: RMB figures are converted to USD at rates of RMB 6.74 = USD 1 based on estimates as of August 25, 2026, unless otherwise stated. USD conversions are presented for ease of reference and may not fully match prevailing exchange rates.

YMTC parent seeks USD 4.9 billion Shanghai IPO on AI memory boom

Deep Tech

Semiconductors

… voice capability.
Voice is a primary interface inside a vehicle. Traditional systems typically move through several stages, converting speech to text, processing the request, and then generating spoken output. Each stage can add latency and reduce the natural flow of a conversation.
Doubao’s end-to-end speech model is designed to process and generate speech more directly, enabling faster and more natural exchanges.
The second factor is latency.
Drivers are less tolerant of slow responses in a vehicle than they may be when using an AI service on a phone or computer. Delivering low-latency interaction depends not only on the model, but also on inference optimization, cloud infrastructure, and coordination between the vehicle and backend systems.
ByteDance’s infrastructure gives Volcano Engine resources to support that workload.
The third factor is automotive engineering experience.
Deploying an LLM in a production vehicle involves more than connecting an API. The system must meet automotive validation, safety, data compliance, deployment, and reliability requirements.
Volcano Engine has said its automotive technologies have been deployed across more than seven million vehicles and used by dozens of automakers.
That experience could reduce some of the engineering risk for Tesla.
Third-party data cited by 36Kr also showed that the Doubao app had more than 382 million monthly active users in June, giving the model broad consumer exposure before its integration into Tesla vehicles.
Taken together, Doubao offered Tesla a combination of model capability, voice interaction, infrastructure, and automotive deployment experience.
<h3>Could Doubao and FSD become Tesla’s China formula?</h3>
The automotive sector has spent years debating what a smart vehicle should ultimately become.
Some companies have focused on turning the cockpit into an entertainment and services hub. Others have prioritized autonomous or assisted driving.
Tesla’s combination of Grok and FSD points toward another model: one system handles driving, while another understands and interacts with the people inside the vehicle.
In North America, Grok has gradually gained access to more vehicle functions, moving beyond conversation toward a broader role in controlling and coordinating the car.
A similar path is possible for Doubao in China.
Today, it remains relatively separate from Tesla’s core vehicle controls. Over time, its permissions could expand into areas such as navigation and other vehicle functions. If eventually connected with FSD, the two systems could form a broader loop spanning user interaction, decision-making, and execution.
There are already signs of this approach elsewhere in China.
Volcano Engine has worked with Seres on AIVA and with SAIC Roewe on vehicle-wide AI control systems. In such deployments, the LLM moves beyond being a standalone cockpit feature and toward coordinating functions across the vehicle.
Doubao itself is also moving toward an agent-based architecture.
According to 36Kr, the system is expected to use three or four core cloud-based agents working together on tasks involving driving and cockpit coordination, passenger experience, comfort controls, and conversational interaction. That could eventually allow Doubao to move from responding to individual commands toward understanding broader intent and carrying out multi-step tasks.
Whether that becomes Tesla’s standard AI architecture in China will depend partly on how deeply Doubao is integrated and whether FSD gains wider availability.
<h3>From cockpit AI to physical AI</h3>
Doubao’s Tesla integration also adds to its growing presence in the automotive sector.
Volcano Engine said its technology has been deployed in more than seven million vehicles. Its automotive partners include international brands, Chinese automakers, joint ventures, and newer EV companies. Tesla adds a prominent global automaker to that list.
But the significance of the partnership should not be overstated. Tesla’s adoption of Doubao validates its suitability for one deployment, rather than establishing it as a standard across the industry.
Still, the deal shows how local LLM providers are becoming more deeply embedded in the technology stacks of automakers operating in China.
For Doubao, automotives could also provide a route into a broader category of physical AI, where models interact not only through screens but with devices that sense and act in the physical world.
Tesla’s previous technology decisions have often been closely watched by Chinese competitors and suppliers. Its Shanghai factory helped accelerate development of China’s EV supply chain, while FSD has influenced the direction of assisted driving research and development.
The rollout of Doubao in Tesla vehicles may now offer another test: whether a locally developed LLM can become an important part of how a global automaker builds its AI experience for China.
KrASIA features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This <a href="https://36kr.com/p/3944901139758216">article</a> was written by Xiao Xi for 36Kr.

Why Tesla chose ByteDance’s Doubao for its AI push in China

Tesla

Doubao

Artificial Intelligence

Embodied Intelligence

Foundation and Large Models

… https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Pop-Mart-Nyota-Chibi-Marukochan-300x300.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-163716" class="wp-caption-text">Pop Mart’s “Nyota × Chibi Maruko-chan” collaboration series. Image source: Pop Mart via Instagram.</figcaption></figure>
The shift toward plush products is increasingly important to the group as a whole. Plush toys generated RMB 9.82 billion (USD 1.5 billion) in first-half revenue, up 60.0% YoY, and accounted for 57.2% of total revenue. Figure toys generated RMB 5.19 billion (USD 771.3 million), up just 0.3%.
Not every established character benefited. Molly generated RMB 900.6 million (USD 133.8 million) in first-half revenue, down 33.6% from a year earlier. At the results briefing, Si said Pop Mart expects to introduce a major new Molly product around the end of this year or in the first half of next year, with the aim of expanding beyond its traditional product formats.
whereRelatedArticle
<h3>Profit discipline moves ahead of expansion</h3>
As growth slows, Pop Mart is putting more emphasis on profitability and operational efficiency.
Gross margin fell 0.6 percentage points YoY to 69.7% in the first half. Pop Mart attributed the decline mainly to a lower proportion of higher-margin overseas sales and an increase in procurement costs caused by higher raw material prices.
Combined distribution and selling expenses and general and administrative expenses increased by RMB 894.7 million (USD 133 million) from a year earlier. Pop Mart ended June with 676 stores worldwide, a net increase of 46 from the end of 2025. Even with the additional operating costs, adjusted net margin remained at 30%, although that was down 3.9 percentage points YoY. Pop Mart still plans to expand its overseas store network in the second half while upgrading stores in China. But Wang said at the results briefing that the company would not pursue an aggressive model that increases revenue without a corresponding increase in profit.
That puts more emphasis on the quality of growth rather than expansion alone.
Shareholder returns are also becoming a larger part of the company’s capital allocation. At the results briefing, Wang said Pop Mart intends to repurchase between RMB 2–5 billion (USD 297.2–743.0 million) of shares over the next six months.
The plan would follow substantial repurchases earlier this year. Pop Mart bought back 11.22 million shares for a total of HKD 1.74 billion (USD 221.9 million) in the first half. About HKD 1.4 billion (USD 178.6 million) of that spending took place across six consecutive trading days from March 26 through April 2.
The company also paid RMB 3.15 billion (USD 468.1 million) in dividends during the first half. For context, Pop Mart reported profit attributable to shareholders of RMB 12.78 billion (USD 1.9 billion) and net cash generated from operating activities of RMB 10.87 billion (USD 1.6 billion) in 2025.
The combination of dividends and buybacks indicates that shareholder returns are taking a more prominent role as the company adjusts to slower growth.
The broader picture is of a company shifting gears after an exceptional period of expansion. Pop Mart now needs to show that Twinkle Twinkle can help offset slowing growth in The Monsters. Its overseas operations must regain momentum while improving inventory management, logistics, and customer acquisition. At the same time, the company needs to demonstrate that it can sustain demand across a broader range of characters rather than rely disproportionately on a single global hit.
Those questions will not be settled by a single half-year report. But Pop Mart’s 2026 interim results make the change in priorities clearer: growth remains important, while profitability, operational control, portfolio diversification, and shareholder returns are becoming more central to how it manages its next stage.
KrASIA features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This <a href="https://36kr.com/p/3949149310975362">article</a> was written by Xie Yunzi for 36Kr.
Note: HKD, RMB figures are converted to USD at rates of HKD 7.84 = USD 1 and RMB 6.73 = USD 1 based on estimates as of August 24, 2026, unless otherwise stated. USD conversions are presented for ease of reference and may not fully match prevailing exchange rates.

Pop Mart’s next act gets harder as Labubu growth cools

Retail

Consumer Economy

… 1536w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Aimoga-Robotics-World-Robot-Conference-2026-36Kr-480x270.jpg 480w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-163710" class="wp-caption-text">Robots wearing police-style uniforms at Aimoga Robotics’ WRC 2026 booth, where the company showcased a traffic management application. Photo source: 36Kr.</figcaption></figure>
Companies from more established robotics segments are also applying their existing capabilities to new tasks. Sunseed continues to focus on food processing, where frequent changes in production requirements make automation difficult but potentially valuable.
A Sunseed staff member said a meat processing line may switch from pork belly to ribs or foreleg meat within an hour, requiring robots to adapt quickly. Food production also imposes strict standards and constant pressure to increase throughput. Those characteristics have kept parts of the sector labor-intensive while creating demand for more flexible automation.
The company said its robots are already producing nearly 10,000 airline meals per day at aviation catering facilities. It has also deployed a meat weighing and packing project for a retailer in Beijing, boxing products such as pork belly while reducing waste.
Keenon Robotics is applying a similar division of labor in hospitality. At one demonstration, a staff member described a laundry room workflow in which a delivery robot transports dirty laundry to a humanoid robot. The humanoid loads and starts the machines, then folds clean clothes into baskets. The delivery robot returns the laundry to guest rooms.
The setup runs on KOM 3.0, a VLA system integrated with a world model, while Keenon ProS is fine-tuned as a domain-specific model for the scenario.
The company describes the setup as a combination of general-purpose and specialized robots. Repetitive, route-based delivery work can be cheaper and more efficient for specialized robots, while flexible operations such as loading machines and folding clothes are assigned to general-purpose humanoid robots. The two categories are designed to complement rather than replace each other.
According to the staff member, the laundry room scenario is undergoing proof-of-concept testing with a large hotel chain.
WRC 2026 offered some evidence that the robotics sector is moving beyond spectacle. Many exhibitors emphasized practical demonstrations over attention-grabbing stunts, while wheeled, articulated, and humanoid robots were increasingly presented as tools for specific jobs.
That does not mean the technology is ready for every scenario. Household robots remain slow and limited, embodied models still need more training data, and some commercial deployments still require human help. But WRC showed that the industry is focusing more on practical engineering, reliable performance, and real-world use.
For manufacturing, those practical questions may matter more than the flashy demonstrations that once drew the biggest crowds.
KrASIA features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This <a href="https://36kr.com/p/3948754198117504">article</a> was written by Qiu Xiaofen for 36Kr.
Note: RMB figures are converted to USD at rates of RMB 6.73 = USD 1 based on estimates as of August 24, 2026, unless otherwise stated. USD conversions are presented for ease of reference and may not fully match prevailing exchange rates.

At World Robot Conference 2026, robots face the test of real work

Robotics

Game Science released the first <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oi2QgPH61JM">15-minute gameplay demo</a> for Black Myth: Zhong Kui on August 20, marking the second anniversary of Black Myth: Wukong’s launch.
The video, released at 10 a.m, showed the protagonist in combat for the first time, alongside several story sequences. It quickly climbed the trending lists on Weibo and Bilibili, and the Bilibili upload was approaching one million views about 50 minutes after release, according to 36Kr.
<figure id="attachment_163708" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-163708" style="width: 480px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-163708" src="https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Black-Myth-Zhong-Kui-Preview-Combat.webp" alt="A snippet of the combat mechanics in Black Myth: Zhong Kui, captured from the August 20 gameplay demo." width="480" height="200" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-163708" class="wp-caption-text">A look at the combat mechanics in Black Myth: Zhong Kui, captured from the August 20 gameplay demo. Graphic source: Game Science.</figcaption></figure>
Game Science said the footage was captured from a work-in-progress build running at a 21:9 aspect ratio. The game remains in an early stage of development, and the studio cautioned that the final release may differ from what was shown.
Black Myth: Wukong launched globally on August 20, 2024, becoming one of the most prominent Chinese-developed blockbuster games to reach an international audience. According to 36Kr, the game has since sold more than 30 million copies worldwide and generated more than USD 1 billion in revenue. It also won "Best Action Game" at The Game Awards in December 2024.
A year later, at Gamescom Opening Night Live on August 20, 2025, Game Science unveiled the first cinematic teaser for Black Myth: Zhong Kui. The video ran for less than two minutes and introduced Zhong Kui riding a tiger.
That same day, the official Black Myth: Wukong Bilibili account was renamed “Black Myth.” The move was widely interpreted as a sign that Game Science intended to build a broader universe.
On February 10, ahead of Lunar New Year, the studio released another <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2tW6ewI5ls">six-minute video</a> billed as gameplay footage. Rather than showing controllable gameplay, combat, or Zhong Kui himself, the video depicted a woman preparing a monster as a traditional-style dish.
Co-founder Feng Ji joked at the time that the studio had “basically made nothing,” but the video was still widely read as a showcase of the project’s visual quality. It exceeded one million views on Bilibili within an hour, per 36Kr.
The new 15-minute demo marks a clearer step forward. Compared with the early development cycle of Black Myth: Wukong, Game Science appears to have reached a substantial gameplay reveal for Zhong Kui more quickly.
During the first overseas stop of the Black Myth: Wukong symphonic concert in Los Angeles in July, Game Science told media that Black Myth: Zhong Kui would center on the theme of life and death and use a more direct narrative than Wukong.
The studio also said Zhong Kui would fight with a sword rather than Wukong’s staff, while the art direction would retain the series’ realistic style. Game Science said it plans to release at least one trailer each year to update players on development.
<figure id="attachment_163719" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-163719" style="width: 1920px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-163719" src="https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Black-Myth-Zhong-Kui-Preview-Unknown-Character.jpg" alt="Image shows an unnamed character emerging from the water in the Black Myth: Zhong Kui gameplay demo." width="1920" height="1080" srcset="https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Black-Myth-Zhong-Kui-Preview-Unknown-Character.jpg 1920w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Black-Myth-Zhong-Kui-Preview-Unknown-Character-720x405.jpg 720w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Black-Myth-Zhong-Kui-Preview-Unknown-Character-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Black-Myth-Zhong-Kui-Preview-Unknown-Character-768x432.jpg 768w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Black-Myth-Zhong-Kui-Preview-Unknown-Character-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Black-Myth-Zhong-Kui-Preview-Unknown-Character-480x270.jpg 480w" sizes="(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-163719" class="wp-caption-text">An unnamed character emerging from the water in the Black Myth: Zhong Kui gameplay demo. Image source: Game Science.</figcaption></figure>
In early August, art director Yang Qi responded to questions about <a href="/industry/ai">artificial intelligence</a> on social media, saying the team would continue developing without AI for now. He also suggested that the August 20 update would be routine and would not include a full gameplay demonstration.
The studio ultimately released 15 minutes of combat footage. It is the first official video to show Zhong Kui fighting, filling one of the main gaps left by the two earlier teasers and giving players a clearer view of the game’s combat and story direction.
After the demo was released, some members of the <a href="/industry/gaming">gaming</a> community began speculating that a 2028 launch could be possible. Game Science has not announced a release date.
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There was also no update on downloadable content for Black Myth: Wukong. Feng has previously said the title’s story would not end there, but the new Zhong Kui project appears to have taken priority.
A year after Black Myth: Zhong Kui was announced with little more than a cinematic teaser, Game Science now has a lengthy gameplay demo in public view. The second major entry in the Black Myth universe is beginning to take more concrete shape.
KrASIA features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This <a href="https://36kr.com/p/3947276220988808">article</a> was written by Liu Shiwu for 36Kr.

Game Science marks Wukong anniversary with Black Myth: Zhong Kui gameplay reveal

Gaming