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… map to guide the development of Indonesia's venture capital industry.
It places governance and risk management at the center of its agenda, identifying them as the first pillar to strengthen venture capital firms.
"This road map outlines the efforts OJK will undertake, together with the industry, to build venture capital institutions that are sound, integrity-based, and focused on financing startups to support MSME development and consumer protection, while contributing to national economic growth," Agusman said.
But just two years into the road map, high-profile cases involving MDI Ventures and BRI Ventures have highlighted persistent governance lapses.
Some startups have grasped the governance nettle and are reaping the rewards. Andi Taufan Garuda Putra, founder and CEO of Amartha, a 15-year-old fintech company focused on microfinance, said good governance begins with leadership values. "Integrity as a leader is a must. It all starts with us to see how far we will go."
Since its founding, Amartha has stuck to its core mission of financing MSMEs managed predominantly by women in rural areas. It has disbursed loans worth IDR 35 trillion rupiah (USD 2.1 billion) to 3.3 million customers.
"Our business is managing risk. … And what we have done so far is uphold our mandate," Putra said.
Unlike many startups that pursued aggressive cash burning strategies before the 2020 pandemic, Amartha has taken a more cautious approach.
"We invest in resources, talent, and marketing that align with cash-flow capabilities," Putra said. "The formation of Amartha's business is not solely aimed at investor profit, but to create value for small business partners in rural areas."
This has paid off. In June, it secured USD 55 million in funding from Sweden's Swedfund, Finland's Finnfund, and the Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries (BIO). This was part of a broader USD 199 million syndicated loan arranged by the International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group.
As Amartha's president commissioner, Rudiantara highlighted another key to the company's resilience: focusing on continuity of business development rather than chasing rapid growth. This contrasts conspicuously with TaniHub, which quickly expanded from B2B funding to peer-to-peer lending.
In August, Amartha launched a payment system and e-wallet service within its user ecosystem, an expansion strategy that took at least a decade to finalize.
Danusaputro and Firmanto both said the ongoing slump in tech funding is being prolonged by difficult macroeconomic conditions, notably the US Federal Reserve’s high interest rates, which continue to restrain capital flows into developing economies. “Globally, Southeast Asia remains weak, not just Indonesia,” Danusaputro said.
"Funding is still happening, but what's being looked at is no longer solely the top line, but rather the path to profitability, sustainability and other measures. "For investors, he added, the exit pathway is critical. "Investing is easy, divesting is difficult," Danusaputro said.
Firmanto added that "VCs have money, but they’re only looking for good late-stage deals where startups are in a cash crunch and in need of support."
However, he said he remained cautiously optimistic, noting that money from developed economies which are barely growing and experiencing population decline is beginning to flow more into Southeast Asia, with Indonesia seen as a key market.
“This is especially the case with Hong Kong acting as a funnel for funds from China, as well as from South Korea and Japan,” he said.
This article first appeared on <a href="https://asia.nikkei.com/spotlight/asean-money/indonesian-startups-face-funding-fallout-from-corruption-scandals">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>.

Indonesian startups face funding fallout from corruption scandals

Venture Capital

Indonesia

Southeast Asia

Mindray is reportedly preparing for an IPO in Hong Kong with a fundraising target of at least USD 1 billion. As one of China’s leading medical device makers, it holds strong positions across its three core businesses: medical imaging, in vitro diagnostics (IVD), and patient monitoring and life support.
As of September 25, Mindray’s market capitalization exceeded RMB 280 billion (USD 39.2 billion). Although revenue growth slowed in 2024, it delivered RMB 11.7 billion (USD 1.6 billion) in net profit attributable to shareholders, maintaining positive growth. That resilience reflects its product competitiveness, established distribution channels, and growing international presence.
Given its steady earnings and leadership status, why is Mindray moving ahead with a Hong Kong listing now?
<h3>Overseas revenue keeps climbing</h3>
One key factor is its rising share of overseas sales, which now account for half of total revenue. According to its financial statements, Mindray generated RMB 8.33 billion (USD 1.2 billion) in overseas revenue in the first half of 2025, representing 50% of its total, up ten percentage points from 2021.
Over the years, the company has built a global network covering R&amp;D, manufacturing, marketing, and after-sales services. By mid-2025, its products reached more than 190 countries and regions, supported by 64 overseas subsidiaries across more than 40 countries. Of its 12 R&amp;D centers worldwide, five are located outside China.
Mindray has also moved into the top tier of international healthcare. It now supplies 80 of the world’s 100 leading hospitals. Within its IVD and patient monitoring and life support divisions, it added more than 160 and 100 high-end clients, respectively, in the first half of 2025 alone.
Two dynamics are driving this shift in revenue mix: domestic sales have slowed while overseas sales have continued to grow, lifting the proportion of foreign revenue. In addition, acquisitions have strengthened its product portfolio, particularly in high-end devices.
<h3>IPO aims to fuel overseas push</h3>
With half of its revenue now coming from abroad, Mindray’s Hong Kong IPO appears aimed at accelerating global growth. The funds could go into expanding sales channels, reinforcing supply chains, and ramping up R&amp;D.
In China, demand for low- and mid-tier devices has largely been met, and competition in high-end segments is intensifying. Abroad, Mindray has already moved beyond competing on price and is challenging multinational giants in premium markets, where it has gained traction.
Technology is central to this effort. Mindray channels 9–10% of revenue into R&amp;D, higher than industry leaders such as Medtronic, Abbott, Siemens Healthineers, and GE HealthCare, which typically spend 5.6–8.7%. Even when R&amp;D spending dipped slightly in early 2025, it fell less than revenue, keeping the ratio stable. This consistency supports its ability to innovate and compete head-to-head with global peers.
Fresh capital from the IPO would strengthen high-end device development and overseas R&amp;D hubs, helping sustain product innovation and deepen local presence.
Acquisitions have also been key. Since 2020, Mindray has completed several deals:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">2021: Acquired Finland’s HyTest to secure upstream IVD reagents.</li>
<li aria-level="1">2023: Bought Germany’s DiaSys to deepen its IVD portfolio and reinforce overseas supply chains.</li>
<li aria-level="1">2024: Purchased APT Medical, a STAR Market–listed company, entering electrophysiology and cardiovascular devices.</li>
</ul>
This path mirrors those of multinational peers whose histories are marked by acquisitions. The Hong Kong listing could help Mindray build capital reserves for future cross-border mergers and acquisitions.
Listing in Hong Kong may also reduce foreign exchange risks compared with raising funds in mainland China for offshore projects, while optimizing the balance sheet.
The potential remains large: analysts estimate Mindray’s overseas addressable market at more than RMB 450 billion (USD 63 billion). Its 2024 overseas revenue of RMB 16.4 billion (USD 2.3 billion) translated into less than 4% market share, leaving ample room for expansion.
<h3>Will investors buy in?</h3>
Mindray first went public in October 2018 on Shenzhen’s ChiNext board, raising RMB 5.93 billion (USD 830.2 million) in what was then the market’s largest IPO. Eight years later, it is targeting at least USD 1 billion in Hong Kong.
Both IPOs share the theme of expansion. In 2018, proceeds funded new plants, R&amp;D centers, sales networks, and debt repayment. Ahead of its Hong Kong debut, Mindray has again been scaling through acquisitions and R&amp;D spending, signaling growth-driven financing.
The context, however, differs. In 2018, leverage was climbing, liquidity was thinner, and fundraising partly aimed at easing short-term debt pressures. Today, the balance sheet is stronger, with a 25% debt ratio and larger cash reserves.
Mindray was in a high-growth phase in 2018, having just exited the New York Stock Exchange. Listing in Shenzhen allowed it to tap higher valuations. In contrast, slower revenue growth and profitability pressures today are prompting it to court overseas investors and boost international visibility.
Despite headwinds in China’s healthcare sector, Mindray remains among the domestic leaders. Its push into high-end niches, digital transformation, and overseas breakthroughs have seemingly reinforced that position. Domestically, medical equipment procurement rebounded in early 2025, and overseas momentum appears set to continue, suggesting earnings could recover soon.
Valuation may be more complex. After peaking in 2021, Mindray’s A-share price has halved. As of September, its average valuation was about 31 times trailing earnings, in the 35th percentile of the past five years. Compared with the 90-times multiple at the height of pandemic-driven ventilator demand, today’s valuations rest on more sustainable growth drivers: overseas expansion into larger, less saturated markets, and a likely near-term rebound in domestic sales.
At the same time, Mindray is investing in digital transformation, building an ecosystem that combines devices, IT, and <a href="/industry/ai">artificial intelligence</a>. This strategy could strengthen its technology moat and eventually support a valuation premium.
KrASIA Connection features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This <a href="https://36kr.com/p/3481794343279745">article</a> was written by Huang Yida for 36Kr.

Mindray eyes USD 1 billion Hong Kong IPO to fuel global growth

Medtech

Deep Tech

Hong Kong

China

… consumer tech investor told 36Kr.
But China’s hardware market is unforgiving. Industry consensus is that no company can sustain a run of breakout products. Hardware upgrade cycles are longer than those of consumer goods, and buyers tend to make more deliberate decisions. Without leapfrog-level innovation, sales momentum quickly stalls.
The challenge is structural. Hardware must be designed not only for novelty but also for manufacturability. Plaud learned this after the success of the Plaud Note, when it released the Plaud NotePin, a pill-shaped wearable recorder. The compact form made it light and discreet but also introduced usability problems. Some users reported delays when starting or stopping recordings, causing missed content.
The small size also limited microphone number and spacing, reducing its ability to capture clear sound in noisy environments. Algorithms could not fully compensate, making the device effective only in quiet settings.
Sales reflected these shortcomings: the NotePin failed to match the Note’s momentum on Amazon.
<figure id="attachment_157636" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-157636" style="width: 1920px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-157636" src="https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Plaud-NotePin.jpg" alt="The Plaud NotePin (pictured) can be clipped to clothing, similar to how a lapel microphone or pin badge might be worn." width="1920" height="1080" srcset="https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Plaud-NotePin.jpg 1920w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Plaud-NotePin-720x405.jpg 720w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Plaud-NotePin-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Plaud-NotePin-768x432.jpg 768w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Plaud-NotePin-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Plaud-NotePin-480x270.jpg 480w" sizes="(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-157636" class="wp-caption-text">The Plaud NotePin (pictured) can be clipped to clothing, similar to how a lapel microphone or pin badge might be worn. Image source: Plaud.</figcaption></figure>
This plateau overseas may have pushed Plaud back toward China, where competition is even tougher. Smartphone giants like Huawei and Xiaomi already offer transcription built into their devices, while platforms such as DingTalk and Lark integrate it directly into workflows. For these players, hardware is only an entry point. Their real strength lies in software, which ultimately defines hardware’s ceiling.
“In pure business scenarios, it’s very hard for new brands like Plaud to gain share,” a founder of an overseas transcription-focused startup told 36Kr. “Users are locked into existing platforms for recording habits, storage, and collaboration. Even if Plaud outperforms in one area, it’s hard to break entrenched workflows.”
These entrenched rivals overlap Plaud’s functions and enjoy the advantage of ecosystem integration, from data connectivity to localized services. For independent hardware makers, that means shrinking room to maneuver.
Yet China’s market remains vast. Plaud has targeted iPhone users, a group several hundred million strong in China. These users often pay for premium experiences, which could give Plaud some space to compete.
Pricing, however, is a critical test. Plaud’s overseas model combined hardware sales with an annual subscription of at least USD 240. Without strong brand loyalty or ecosystem lock-in, Chinese users are unlikely to accept such costs.
As a result, Plaud has adjusted its pricing strategy. Membership now comes in three tiers: a free standard plan offering 300 minutes of transcription per month, a professional plan at RMB 299 (USD 41.9) per year for 1,200 minutes, and a premium plan at RMB 899 (USD 125.9) per year for unlimited transcription.
Compared with rivals, Plaud’s mid-tier pricing looks competitive. DingTalk A1 offers 1,000 minutes free each month plus 10 gigabytes of cloud storage; its paid tiers cost RMB 599 (USD 83.9) and RMB 1,499 (USD 209.9) annually. Mobvoi’s TicNote charges RMB 578 (USD 80.9) per year for 1,500 minutes and RMB 1,188 (USD 166.3) for 6,000 minutes.
While software subscription pricing is stable across the industry for now, whether it holds remains uncertain.
Plaud’s founder, Xu Gao, a former financial advisor and serial entrepreneur, recognized the difficulty of China’s market early on, which is why the company first sold overseas. Now, with more experience and resources, Plaud is testing the waters at home. This return may be both a trial run and its final chance to break through its growth ceiling.
KrASIA Connection features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This <a href="https://36kr.com/p/3477812772559239">article</a> was written by Huang Nan for 36Kr.

Can Plaud’s overseas-first strategy give it an edge in China’s crowded voice recorder market?

Artificial Intelligence

Hardware

… closed approach, 2025 has seen nearly all model makers expand their open-source commitments. Among China’s tech giants, Alibaba has been the most aggressive.
Its early start in open-sourcing and ecosystem building is now paying off. Alongside DeepSeek, Qwen is one of the few Chinese models with global recognition. To date, Alibaba has open-sourced more than 300 models across formats, with more than 600 million downloads and 170,000 derivative models worldwide.
Alibaba also introduced a new agent development framework, ModelStudio-ADK, which lets agents plan and invoke models autonomously, though at higher compute costs. Daily model calls on its Model Studio platform have reportedly increased 15-fold in the past year.
This open-source push has already translated into revenue. Alibaba Cloud’s quarterly revenue rose 26% year-on-year, with AI-related income growing at triple-digit rates for eight consecutive quarters. According to Omdia, China’s AI cloud market reached RMB 22.3 billion (USD 3.1 billion) in the first half of 2025, with Alibaba Cloud holding 35.8%, more than the next three players combined.
<h3>“The Android of the LLM era”</h3>
In 2024, <a href="/company/openai">OpenAI’s</a> video generator Sora and the lukewarm reception to GPT-5 briefly dampened industry optimism. That lull did not last. Just days before Apsara, <a href="/company/nvidia">Nvidia</a> announced a USD 100 billion investment into OpenAI. Wu predicted that global AI investment will exceed USD 4 trillion over the next five years.
In a media interview after the conference, CTO Zhou noted that while companies agree broadly on technical direction, execution can differ greatly. “Model competition is now about systems versus systems,” he said. “Innovation isn’t about holding back for a big reveal. Models, infrastructure, and cloud are all interdependent.”
The “systems” in question point to strategic choices. After <a href="/company/deepseek">DeepSeek</a> shifted the debate, major players have increased spending on compute power, cloud services, and open-source ecosystems.
<a href="/company/tencent">Tencent</a> has focused first on applying AI to its existing businesses before expanding outward. <a href="/company/bytedance">ByteDance</a>, meanwhile, has followed an iOS-style path, with tight integration from model to application, though it prefers to perfect closed versions before selectively open-sourcing.
Alibaba Cloud, after Wu’s arrival in 2023, took a different turn. It shed low-margin projects and doubled down on AI, investing in startups, scaling in-house model development, pushing open source, and rebuilding infrastructure. Its approach resembles Google’s full-stack strategy, spanning compute, cloud, and models.
Alibaba’s ASI roadmap isn’t entirely novel, echoing Google DeepMind’s <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/2311.02462">framework</a>, which outlines six levels of AGI, ending with a stage “superhuman.”
Wu’s push underscores the inseparability of AI and cloud solutions. As he put it: “Tokens are the electricity of the AI world.”
The AI era is still in its early stages. Model usage accounts for only a small share of enterprise cloud consumption, but the shift is accelerating. Xu Dong, general manager of Qwen, noted that while most requests a year ago involved offline data labeling, online tasks have now surged by several orders of magnitude as companies embed models into their workflows.
For 16 years, Alibaba Cloud has described itself as the “water and electricity” of the digital world. Its new tagline, “the Android of the LLM era,” extends that metaphor into a platform strategy for the age of AI.
KrASIA Connection features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This <a href="https://36kr.com/p/3480736735845506">article</a> was written by Deng Yongyi for 36Kr.

Alibaba Cloud lays out vision for artificial superintelligence at Apsara Conference 2025

Alibaba Cloud

East Asia

On September 22, the markets were jolted by news that <a href="/company/nvidia">Nvidia</a> and <a href="/company/openai">OpenAI</a> had signed a letter of intent to form a partnership. According to reports, OpenAI will deploy at least ten gigawatts of data center capacity on Nvidia’s computing systems to train and run its next-generation models. To support that effort, Nvidia has pledged to invest up to USD 100 billion in OpenAI in phases.
The first round of funding is expected in the second half of 2026, after OpenAI completes its first gigawatt-scale data center. This facility will be built on Nvidia’s upcoming Vera Rubin platform. The deal raises key questions: how should the investment be interpreted, and what impact will it have on both Nvidia and OpenAI?
<h3>A capital game of chips for equity</h3>
This USD 100 billion investment is not a straightforward cash infusion. It resembles a structured exchange of computing power for equity. Based on disclosures, Nvidia’s phased investment will finance OpenAI’s data center expansion, with a combined capacity of about 10 GW. Each tranche will be tied to construction milestones, ensuring the funds go specifically to infrastructure.
In return, OpenAI is expected to channel the capital back into Nvidia’s ecosystem by purchasing four to five million GPUs and related systems built on the Vera Rubin platform.
The result is a closed capital loop: Nvidia invests in OpenAI, OpenAI buys Nvidia’s chips, and the money cycles back. It is less about one-time spending than about restructuring asset ownership.
For OpenAI, the arrangement secures access to Nvidia’s accelerators, ensures large-scale computing capacity, and deepens integration with Nvidia’s software ecosystem. For Nvidia, it provides years of substantial chip sales.
During an earnings call in August, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said that building a 1 GW data center costs USD 50–60 billion, with roughly USD 35 billion going to Nvidia’s hardware. By that calculation, OpenAI’s planned buildout would cost USD 500–600 billion, of which about USD 350 billion would flow to Nvidia.
Nvidia’s USD 100 billion investment is also expected to secure a 25% stake in OpenAI, based on the company’s reported valuation of USD 500 billion. That would give Nvidia both a guaranteed hardware revenue stream and exposure to OpenAI’s software income and longer-term developments in artificial general intelligence.
The deal also signals to the industry that Nvidia’s dominance in <a href="/industry/ai">artificial intelligence</a> infrastructure remains firm. It suggests that competition is expanding beyond chip sales to include funding, technology platforms, talent, and alliances.
<h3>Microsoft’s exclusive partnership under threat</h3>
Microsoft has been OpenAI’s closest ally since 2019, investing more than USD 13 billion in the company. In return, OpenAI made Microsoft Azure its exclusive cloud provider, channeling its computing needs into Azure’s data centers. This arrangement helped anchor Azure’s growth strategy on OpenAI’s development of large-scale models.
The partnership also gave Microsoft the right to integrate OpenAI’s technologies into many of its core products, including Office, Bing, and GitHub Copilot. That integration reshaped Microsoft’s software into adaptive, AI-driven services and strengthened its position in enterprise applications.
But the exclusivity of the pact has weakened. OpenAI’s cooperation with Oracle was an early sign, and Nvidia’s investment could accelerate the shift.
By funding OpenAI, Nvidia reduces the company’s dependence on Azure and strengthens its negotiating position. If OpenAI is no longer tied to Microsoft for compute, Microsoft’s influence over its roadmap diminishes. This could open the door for OpenAI to work with other tech companies, including Google and Amazon, altering the balance of competition in applied AI.
If that happens, Microsoft’s advantage in AI applications may narrow.
<h3>Nvidia’s revaluation moment</h3>
For Nvidia, the OpenAI deal could reshape how investors value the company.
Until now, Nvidia has been viewed primarily as a hardware company, subject to cyclical demand and large capital commitments. Software companies like OpenAI, by contrast, are valued more highly for their scalability, recurring revenue, and lower marginal costs once infrastructure is in place.
By taking a significant stake in OpenAI, Nvidia positions itself on both sides of AI’s evolution. It secures near-term chip revenue while gaining exposure to longer-term, higher-margin software growth.
That dual role could shift Nvidia’s valuation from being seen as a hardware supplier to an integrated AI ecosystem leader spanning hardware, software, and services.
There is precedent for such a shift. Apple’s valuation once rose and fell in line with iPhone sales cycles. As Apple expanded its software and services, investors began treating it as an ecosystem company, giving it steadier multiples and shielding it from hardware downturns.
Nvidia may now be entering a similar phase. If so, this deal could mark the start of a new valuation framework, driven not only by chips but also software, partnerships, and developments in artificial general intelligence.
KrASIA Connection features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This <a href="https://36kr.com/p/3480159679896448">article</a> was written by Ding Mao for 36Kr.

Nvidia to invest in OpenAI, tying GPUs to equity in landmark deal

Nvidia

OpenAI

AI Infrastructure

… https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/DJI-Osmo-Pocket-3-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/DJI-Osmo-Pocket-3-150x150.jpg 150w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/DJI-Osmo-Pocket-3-768x768.jpg 768w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/DJI-Osmo-Pocket-3-600x600.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-152155" class="wp-caption-text">Photo of the DJI Osmo Pocket 3. Photo source: DJI.</figcaption></figure>
It is a familiar playbook: strong brand equity, mastery of supply chains, and R&amp;D strength. The same strategy will likely appear soon in the panoramic drone market.
Multiple sources confirm DJI began developing a panoramic drone in 2022, refining the design through several iterations. The product has now entered mass production and is expected to debut around the start of the new year.
Leaked photos suggest a lightweight design with propeller guards similar to the Avata series, a panoramic lens on a rotating gimbal, best-in-class video resolution and frame rate, ten-bit D-Log M, and likely a one-inch sensor. It may feature DJI’s O4 transmission system for high-definition video at up to ten kilometers, plus stereo vision or even LiDAR (light detection and ranging) for obstacle avoidance.
Citing insider knowledge, 36Kr said DJI’s strategy is to maximize specs while keeping prices lower than any comparable product.
So why, if its product strategy is bold and unhesitating, does DJI stay muted in publicity?
<h3>Staying above the noise</h3>
A supply chain insider close to DJI says there are two reasons.
First, DJI’s style is to talk less and do more.
Second, it does not play along even as others chase clout by dragging its name. The view is that responding would only validate rivals far behind, creating a false impression of competitive equality.
For years, challengers across industries have followed this formula: benchmark against the leader. Every Android smartphone launch seemed to both salute and provoke Apple. By adding more cameras or sharper displays, rivals claimed to “beat” Apple. But Apple rarely responded, knowing engagement would only legitimize the comparison.
The same playbook appears everywhere. Pepsi defined itself against Coca-Cola as the “young” choice. New hair dryer brands rose by touting “Dyson-like performance at lower prices.”
But unlike colas or hair dryers, drones are orders of magnitude more complex. Panoramic drones especially cannot be faked with simple assembly or outsourced software.
Most panoramic shooting still relies on multi-lens stitching, plagued by seams, color mismatches, and lag. On the ground, consumers may tolerate it as “good enough.” In the air, under fast motion, these flaws cause distortion, crashes, and signal loss.
A panoramic drone is not just a panoramic camera strapped to propellers. Safety, stability, and image quality demand rigorous engineering.
Consider DJI’s stabilization systems. Strong winds, high altitudes, and rugged terrain routinely defeat traditional stabilization. DJI’s fusion of mechanical, optical, and electronic stabilization has become the gold standard, enabling everything from smooth hovering to coordinated drone shows.
Its propulsion systems undergo equally extreme testing: agricultural drones tested on vast farms for endurance, and heavy-duty models delivering 15 kilograms of supplies to Mount Everest in 12 minutes despite low oxygen, freezing temperatures, and fierce winds.
Then there is imaging, DJI’s strongest suit. Beyond lens assembly, it designs optics, tunes sensors, and engineers color science. Its custom CMOS improves low light and noise control, while its proprietary D-Log M gives professionals richer post-production options.
These capabilities come from years of teamwork among optical engineers, imaging algorithm specialists, and color scientists. And they are at a level far beyond what rivals can replicate with off-the-shelf components.
<figure id="attachment_156828" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-156828" style="width: 1920px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-156828 size-full" src="https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Antigravity-A1-Cover.jpg" alt="" width="1920" height="1280" srcset="https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Antigravity-A1-Cover.jpg 1920w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Antigravity-A1-Cover-720x480.jpg 720w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Antigravity-A1-Cover-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Antigravity-A1-Cover-768x512.jpg 768w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Antigravity-A1-Cover-1536x1024.jpg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-156828" class="wp-caption-text">DJI’s closest rival in the drone segment is Insta360, also based in Shenzhen, China. The company recently <a href="https://kr-asia.com/shenzhen-breeds-a-new-rivalry-as-dji-and-insta360-clash-across-markets">entered the market</a> with its new Antigravity drone brand. Image source: Antigravity.</figcaption></figure>
<h3>Playing the long game</h3>
In many ways, DJI reflects the depth of China’s industrial ecosystem, and its journey is a parable about focus and discipline.
Its founding story is one of visionaries building a massive market from nothing, when few believed in consumer drones. Its evolution highlights China’s supply chain and R&amp;D advantage.
Despite foreign crackdowns and domestic competition, DJI’s moat has only widened through years of patient engineering, from flight control to drones, gimbals, and panoramic cameras.
Today, in an era of capital chasing hype and rivals leaning on flashy marketing, DJI stands apart like a calm chess player. It keeps its eyes fixed on the board—products and technology—while building an edge too deep to challenge. Each new product quietly sets the industry standard.
Some learn from DJI’s culture of innovation. Some chase it, discovering both their strengths and limits. Each sees in DJI the reflection of their own ambitions and anxieties.
But DJI itself is not playing for one move or one market. It is playing to define the game.
KrASIA Connection features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This <a href="https://36kr.com/p/3462149854041735">article</a> was written by Xiao Xi for 36Kr.

DJI eyes panoramic drones, extending its quiet dominance into a new frontier

Drones

… results.
If Chinese AI companies can clearly show business value, winning clients becomes much easier. We’ve benefited from China’s industrial AI push. Our system shows value directly, so client acquisition hasn’t been difficult.
<h3>36Kr: Which industries or companies show the best results with your OS?</h3>
DZ: It’s universal, a general operating platform. We already have clients in metal smelting, steel, environmental management, renewable energy, and electronics manufacturing. The range is broad.
<h2>Competition builds confidence</h2>
<h3>36Kr: Do you think your business has a moat?</h3>
DZ: First, we understand industries deeply. Second, we understand model development just as deeply. Third, our technology and products are forward-looking. And finally, we execute well. It’s the combination of knowledge, design, and practical ability that sets us apart.
<h3>36Kr: Many companies claim to have industry know-how. What does that really mean?</h3>
DZ: At Huawei, I worked on more than 100 projects related to AI and industry. Even with traditional AI, we learned how companies operate, how executives think, what their data looks like, and how value chains function. That insight came from years of hands-on work.
So today, a few points matter:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Understanding how industries run and how decision-makers think.</li>
<li aria-level="1">Understanding AI’s current limits, and where it will be in six months, a year, or two. If you only design for today’s AI, you’ll soon have to rebuild.</li>
<li aria-level="1">Understanding costs, compute needs, business setups, and data sensitivity. It’s always a complex system.</li>
</ul>
<h3>36Kr: How do you forecast AI’s capabilities one or two years ahead?</h3>
DZ: We don’t need precise forecasts, just direction.
First, I don’t think large models will break the data barrier soon. Most natural data has already been consumed. Progress is more like standing on your own shoulders. So general capabilities will improve linearly, not exponentially.
Second, in specific scenarios, models will improve quickly in reasoning, self-correction, and reinforcement learning. That’s where real breakthroughs will be.
<h3>36Kr: How do these judgments shape AlignBase’s work?</h3>
DZ: It means we can’t rely on AI improvements alone. We need to solve problems through business workflows. That’s why our models are not just industry-specific, but DAG (directed acyclic graph)-based compositions and logic graphs. That’s the foundation of our full-factor modeling.
<h3>36Kr: In your two years of entrepreneurship, do you regret any technical decisions?</h3>
DZ: At 01.AI, the team was excellent. In mid-2024, we explored deep reasoning. The models demonstrated strong reasoning ability, but each inference took more than ten minutes, which we judged too slow for complex tasks.
Looking back, we could have invested more in chain-of-thought and reinforcement learning.
<h3>36Kr: What lesson does that hold for your current startup?</h3>
DZ: Tie tech closely to real and future scenarios. That’s the most direct measure of value. And judge more from technical principles, not just a handful of metrics.
<h3>36Kr: Any recent technical progress you find critical?</h3>
DZ: Not yet. I’m waiting for models that learn from feedback in real scenarios without relying on short-term memory. That’s possible, and we’re working on it too.
<h3>36Kr: Are you worried about competition?</h3>
DZ: Not at all. We’ve built knowledge, understanding, and technology over nearly a decade. Other teams may match us in some areas, but as a whole, we’re rare.
The market is also huge. China has more than 500,000 major industrial companies. Most have the ability and willingness to pursue intelligent transformation.
We’re the first in China to fully automate workflow modeling. I hope more companies join us. That will help traditional enterprises upgrade faster.
Competition, overall, is positive. More successful case studies build client confidence and make acquisition easier. If the market were small, one or two failures could kill it. But here, it’s large enough for many players to thrive.
KrASIA Connection features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This <a href="https://36kr.com/p/3458998949467527">article</a> was written by Zhou Xinyu for 36Kr.

Cutting months to a day: AlignBase taps AI to automate enterprise workflows

Enterprise Services

… competition, and of the company’s globalization, will be judged not only by technical breakthroughs but also by how well they translate into durable protections for consumers, institutions, and the financial systems that serve them.
This article was published in partnership with <a href="https://en.finvgroup.com/">FinVolution Group</a>.

A decade in the making: FinVolution’s competition spotlights visual deepfake detection

Chinese customs authorities seized 1.83 million counterfeit Labubu dolls from January to mid-August, as a country that has faced international criticism over counterfeits of foreign brands now scrambles to protect its newfound global hit.
On a recent day at a wholesale market in Zhejiang, a man touted counterfeit Labubu toys, promising prices as low as RMB 2.5 (USD 0.35) each if buying ten or more. Authentic Labubu dolls usually retail for about RMB 100 (USD 14).
"These are fake, so if I'm caught selling them, I'll get arrested," the man said.
Labubu first appeared in a picture book by Hong Kong-born illustrator Kasing Lung. In 2019, Chinese toy maker <a href="/company/pop-mart">Pop Mart</a> began selling Labubu stuffed toys and figurines under its The Monsters series.
The character became a worldwide sensation after Lisa, a member of K-pop group Blackpink, shared photographs of Labubu goods on Instagram. Soon, young people around the world were hanging the dolls from their bags, and other celebrities joined in.
The dolls are also wildly popular in China this year. Sales of "The Monsters" series in the January-June period jumped to RMB 4.8 billion yuan (USD 672 million), nearly eight times higher than a year earlier.
As Labubu's popularity has grown, so has the appearance of counterfeits. The high prices fetched by some Labubus on Chinese resale apps have fueled the rise of fakes.
Some Chinese consumers are outraged by the spread of fakes. Others say they are fine since the doll is only going to get dirty anyway hanging from their bag.
Authorities are cracking down.
"The trick to authenticating is to look at the teeth," a senior customs official said at a July press conference. "A real Labubu has nine teeth."
Counterfeit dolls typically have a different number of teeth because they are made using different molds, but fakes are now appearing with nine teeth, as the cat-and-mouse game continues.
From January to mid-August, Chinese authorities uncovered 237 cases of Labubu counterfeiting nationwide, seizing 1.83 million units intended for export to 61 countries and regions.
Pop Mart has begun working with customs authorities in the UK, France, and other jurisdictions to combat counterfeits and said 7.91 million fakes have been intercepted abroad.
In addition to attaching QR codes to products to verify authenticity, the company is increasing the production capacity at partner factories to boost the supply of genuine dolls. The increased supply has led to lower prices in the resale market, Chinese media report.
China's factories have long been criticized as a source of counterfeit and imitation goods. In 2018, during US President Donald Trump's first term, his administration imposed punitive tariffs on Chinese products, accusing the country of violating the IP rights of US companies. This helped spark a trade war between the world's two largest economies.
In a US-China trade agreement that took effect in 2020, Beijing promised to crack down harder on IP infringement. But in a report released in April of this year, the Office of the United States Trade Representative noted that serious concerns remain about China's commitment to IP protection.
China is now working to improve its legal and enforcement systems as it aims to become an IP powerhouse. Under the country's revised copyright law from 2021, violators are required to pay significant compensation.
The number of IP disputes has grown to around 500,000 per year, an increase from before 2018, according to the Supreme People's Court.
"Counterfeiting is no longer something that China can see as someone else's problem," a content industry insider said. China's soft power has grown thanks to global hits such as Ne Zha 2, the highest-grossing animated film of all time, and video game Black Myth: Wukong.
"In advanced technologies like <a href="/industry/ai">artificial intelligence</a>, we are seeing China set world-leading precedents," said Takashi Nomura, chief representative of the Shanghai office of law firm Nishimura &amp; Asahi.
In 2024, a court in Guangzhou ruled that a generative AI service provider was liable for copyright infringement. The AI was found to have created images resembling characters from Japan's Ultraman series, infringing on its creators' copyrights. The court ordered the AI service provider to pay RMB 10,000 (USD 1,400) in damages.
This article first appeared on <a href="https://asia.nikkei.com/business/media-entertainment/china-battles-labubu-fakes-in-role-reversal-on-ip-protection">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>.

China battles Labubu fakes in role reversal on IP protection

Consumer Economy