Alibaba

ByteDance

CATL

Huawei

Meituan

Tencent

Xiaomi

Most Followed

KrASIA Connection

Venture Roundup

Earnings Reports

China's Auto Sector

Inside China's Startups

100 AI Creators

View All

Collections

News

Features

Insights

Ecosystem

Press Releases

DeepSeek

Li Auto

Luckin Coffee

Mixue Bingcheng

Pop Mart

Xpeng

On the Radar

Events

Latest

About

Consumer

Robotics

Fintech

Collaborate

… during glacier expeditions. Norrona has also introduced features such as tunnel tents, backpack monitoring systems, and avalanche safety tech.
Both brands cover a broad price range, though Arc’teryx tends to be more expensive in China due to stronger brand recognition. Norrona’s men’s hardshell jackets retail from EUR 219–1,199 (USD 250–1,367), with the Lofoten series at the top end. Prices are expected to stay consistent in China. Arc’teryx jackets range from USD 99–999 overseas, with limited editions exceeding USD 3,600. In China, they typically sell for RMB 3,000–15,000 (USD 420–2,100), and popular items like the Alpha SV jacket often sell out. Some buyers turn to resale platforms, where prices have surpassed RMB 20,000 (USD 2,800).
Norrona leans into Scandinavian minimalism, combining sleek silhouettes with vibrant colors designed to improve visibility in snowy terrain. Even its more mainstream offerings like the Lofoten line use bold palettes.
Arc’teryx, in contrast, favors muted, nature-inspired tones and emphasizes ergonomic design to support comfort and movement. Some female consumers have described its aesthetic as overly masculine. Ironically, when comparing men’s jackets from both brands, Arc’teryx may be the one that looks more like the “old man’s head.”
Despite its design credentials and technical merit, Norrona remains one of the few outdoor brands with a recognizable nickname but no clear Chinese name, making it harder to build brand identity.
As one industry observer put it, “Chinese outdoor consumers need a badass logo.” That visual identity must be backed by a compelling origin story, the source added. Arc’teryx delivers on that front: its name and logo are derived from the fossil of the Archaeopteryx, the earliest known bird, symbolizing evolutionary progress.
Norrona, for all its heritage, lacks a singular narrative hook. Cold climates and rugged terrain are common to Nordic brands, making its origin story less distinct. The region is also crowded, with competitors like 66North and Helly Hansen already established.
<figure id="attachment_154641" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-154641" style="width: 1920px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-154641" src="https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Norrona-Store-Interior.jpg" alt="" width="1920" height="1080" srcset="https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Norrona-Store-Interior.jpg 1920w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Norrona-Store-Interior-720x405.jpg 720w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Norrona-Store-Interior-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Norrona-Store-Interior-768x432.jpg 768w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Norrona-Store-Interior-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Norrona-Store-Interior-480x270.jpg 480w" sizes="(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-154641" class="wp-caption-text">Norrona emphasizes its historical roots, a theme reflected in the design of its stores. Still, its brand story can feel less distinctive when compared with other Nordic labels that share similar origins. Photo source: Norrona.</figcaption></figure>
<h3>The “Nordic Arc’teryx” needs its own Anta</h3>
Arc’teryx’s success in China wouldn’t have been possible without Anta Group. Like most international outdoor brands, Norrona requires a strong local partner to gain traction.
The brand’s first attempt at the China market came in 2016 via Sanfo Outdoor. At its peak, Sanfo represented over 400 brands, including Arc’teryx, The North Face, and labels under Amer Sports. It also distributed names like Haglofs, Mammut, Discovery Expedition, and Klattermusen.
With so many responsibilities, Sanfo didn’t prioritize Norrona. The brand never received a proper Chinese name, and its Western sizing and fit posed challenges for local consumers. Within three years, Norrona exited the market due to low brand awareness and disappointing sales.
By contrast, Arc’teryx gained momentum the following year when Anta acquired its parent company. Anta repositioned Arc’teryx as a premium brand for China’s middle class, opened stores in top-tier locations, implemented a quota-based model to create scarcity, and shifted to direct-to-consumer retail.
The pandemic further accelerated growth in the outdoor segment. Activities like camping, skiing, and hiking became increasingly popular, and Arc’teryx emerged as a market leader. By 2024, the brand reportedly generated USD 2 billion in global revenue.
whereRelatedArticle
Chinese consumers are also evolving, moving from buying the most expensive to buying what’s most suitable. Affordable brands like Pelliot and Montbell have gained a following, while Arc’teryx reported no net store expansion in its latest quarter, hinting at a more measured approach to high-end growth in China.
Norrona’s second entry into the market depends on its ability to work more closely with a committed partner. This time, it’s betting on Topsports to oversee brand building, sales, and consumer engagement.
Topsports has shown promise post-pandemic by moving away from its Nike-inspired model and successfully developing brands like Hoka and Kailas. For Norrona, this could mark the beginning of a more sustainable chapter in China.
KrASIA Connection features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This <a href="https://36kr.com/p/3302168864889350">article</a> was written by Peng Qian for 36Kr.

The “Nordic Arc’teryx” returns to China, but will Norrona finally find its name?

Fashion

Creative

Retail

Consumer Economy

China

Europe

Chinese major hotelier H World Group aims to add about 9,000 hotels by 2030, mostly on its home turf, betting that demand for affordable stays will continue to grow as the domestic economy faces headwinds.
Headquartered in Shanghai, the group has over 20 hotel brands—in China and overseas—with 11,685 properties as of the end of March, up 538 locations from the previous quarter. In 2025 alone, it plans to add 2,300 hotels, while also shutting down between 500 to 600 underperforming properties, according Jihong He, the company's chief strategy officer.
The group aims to keep a similar pace of expansion through 2030 and potentially longer.
"In five years time, we would like to double our number of hotels in China," He told Nikkei Asia in an interview. "After we reach 20,000 hotels, our next goal is 30,000. Our vision is to cover China with our product offering as much as possible."
By hotel count, H World trails behind the country's top hotelier, Jin Jiang International, which operated 13,513 hotels as of the end of March. However, the Shanghai municipal government-owned hospitality group added only 97 hotels in the first quarter, meaning H World is poised to overtake Jin Jiang sometime next year if both groups continue to expand at their current pace.
Formerly known as China Lodging Group, H World was founded in 2005 by Qi Ji, who also co-founded travel booking platform <a title="" href="https://asia.nikkei.com/Editor-s-Picks/Interview/Trip.com-aims-to-double-overseas-revenue-ratio-within-5-years-CEO" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trip.com Group</a> and the Home Inns hotel chain. The Nasdaq and Hong Kong-listed company began with its budget brand HanTing before expanding into the mid-tier segment with its Ji and Orange brands. It also manages several brands of the French hotel group Accor in China, including Mercure and Ibis, and ventured overseas with its 2020 acquisition of Germany's Steigenberger Hotels.
H World's expansion comes amid growing headwinds in the Chinese economy, including a property market downturn, a weak job market, and ongoing trade tensions with the US. While the economy <a title="" href="https://asia.nikkei.com/Economy/China-GDP-grows-5.4-in-first-quarter-as-tariff-war-darkens-outlook" target="_blank" rel="noopener">grew by 5.4%</a> year-on-year (YoY) in the first quarter, the consumer price index has remained in negative territory since February, extending deflationary pressures that have persisted for the past two years as supply continues to outpace demand. China's travel industry is growing but it remains vulnerable to intense price competition.
According to a survey by real estate consultant JLL last October, 33% of hotels in Greater China expected the average daily room rate to worsen YoY in 2025, a higher ratio than any other Asian region. In comparison, just 2% of hotels in North Asia and 9% in Southeast Asia anticipated a drop in room rates.
H World's average room rate, excluding Steigenberger, was RMB 272 (USD 38.1) in the first quarter, down 2.6% from a year ago.
He likened the current hotel market in China to the image of a water drop, where demand is heavily skewed toward budget hotels with limited amenities and narrows toward the most expensive properties. "Our goal is to absolutely dominate the limited-service hotel segment," He said, while also capturing the cost-cutting trend in business travel with its Ji and upper midscale Intercity brands.
"In the last couple of years, a lot of corporations have cut their spending budget," He noted, adding that investment bankers now also stay at those properties. She said that while there is a "cloud of uncertainty" over the outlook of the US-China tariff war, the company has so far not felt any major impact and has not revised its guidance for the year.
Still, competition remains intense with local chain Atour Lifestyle Holdings planning to open 500 hotels this year. US hotel group Hilton aims to open 600 locations of its midscale Hampton brand by 2034 under a franchise agreement with Jin Jiang.
Marriott CFO Leeny Oberg said in an investor call last month that 10% of existing rooms and 18% of its pipeline are in China. "In China, there's been terrific interest in particular in our select-service brands," she said, referring to brands like Courtyard and Four Points that offer limited amenities.
H World's revenue grew 2.2% YoY to RMB 5.4 billion (USD 756 million) in the first quarter, while net profit increased 35.7% to RMB 894 million (USD 125.2 million). Analysts say the challenge for H World is maintaining the quality of its hotels while managing a rapidly growing number of franchisees.
Billy Qi, an analyst at 86Research, said H World's plan to add 1,800 hotels this year is still within reach, but "the pace is likely to moderate in the years ahead." "Expansion also hinges on the ability to maintain product quality, which makes purely volume-driven growth structurally unsustainable over the long term," he said.
More than 90% of H World's hotels are built by franchisees but operated by general managers hired and trained by the company, a model that the company calls "manachised," designed to ensure that its properties meet its standards.
H World's He explained that the franchisees later reimburse the cost of the managers. The group also charges the franchisees a fee for using its technology suite, which includes its reservation system, property management system and customer database.
He defended the company's business model as well-suited to the current challenging macro environment.
"We also cannot dictate supply growth," He said. "But in the bigger picture, our hotels are the most resilient in the whole industry because they are affordable, and people are still willing to pay to stay in them."
This article first appeared on <a href="https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Travel-Leisure/China-s-H-World-to-add-9-000-hotels-by-2030-in-budget-travel-push">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's H World to add 9,000 hotels by 2030 in budget travel push

Travel

<blockquote>China Recap is a weekly roundup tracking Chinese companies expanding abroad, covering market entries, funding rounds, product launches, and global partnerships.</blockquote>
China’s corporate globalization strategy is evolving fast. Industry giants are rewriting the global playbook, while a new generation of companies charts fresh paths overseas.
China Recap tracks both—focusing on strategic expansion, brand building, and localized operations—to help readers make sense of shifting trends and understand how Chinese firms are reshaping their global approach.
Here’s what made headlines last week:
<h3>China doubles down on embodied intelligence</h3>
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Uniview <a href="https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/UE0Kk5j5yNLloBjjHhJbzA">said</a> it has formed an alliance with Deep Robotics and Xiaoyuan Robot have formed an alliance to co-develop smart patrol and inspection solutions. The partnership brings together Deep Robotics’ quadruped mobility, Uniview’s visual sensing and camera systems, and Xiaoyuan’s integration expertise to accelerate the deployment of <a href="/industry/ai">artificial intelligence</a>-powered patrol systems for urban safety and emergency response.</li>
<li aria-level="1">Horizon Robotics plans to raise HKD 4.67 billion (USD 594.9 million) through a top-up share placement to support business expansion and R&amp;D. The self-driving chipmaker will sell 681 million shares at HKD 6.93 (USD 0.9) each, with support from existing investors and placement agents Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and UBS, amid bullish sentiment in Hong Kong. —<a href="https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3314097/horizon-robotics-plans-raise-us595-million-hong-kong-share-placement">SCMP</a></li>
<li aria-level="1">Nanjing launched an action plan to grow its embodied AI sector to over RMB 10 billion (USD 1.4 billion) by 2027. At a June 11 conference, the city unveiled a dedicated industry park and alliance, aiming to support more than 150 companies and scale mass production. The plan includes new R&amp;D hubs, data labs, and pilot deployments in the public sector. —<a href="https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_30967852">The Paper</a></li>
<li aria-level="1">Kandi Technologies and Deep Robotics agreed to jointly develop smart golf gear and quadruped security robots for the North American market. Kandi will oversee product adaptation, manufacturing, and marketing, while Deep Robotics provides core technology and components. —<a href="https://www.36kr.com/newsflashes/3333305544927494">36Kr</a></li>
<li aria-level="1">Chinese <a href="/industry/robotics">robotics</a> firm EngineAI filed a patent for a control method enabling straight-leg walking in humanoid robots. The system reportedly combines gait data, adversarial networks, and real-world feedback to enhance energy efficiency, stability, and human-like agility. —<a href="https://news.cgtn.com/news/2025-06-10/China-s-humanoid-robot-startup-develops-straight-leg-walking-control-1E5wbtQJ1RK/p.html">CGTN</a></li>
<li aria-level="1">China launched a three-year pilot to deploy eldercare robots in homes, communities, and institutions, aiming to ease labor shortages and improve quality of life for seniors. Backed by state ministries, the initiative includes over 200 trials and promotes standards development. By 2035, seniors will make up over 30% of the population. —<a href="https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/article/3313739/china-turns-robots-elderly-care-national-pilot-programme">SCMP</a></li>
</ul>
<h3>TikTok launches first showroom in Ho Chi Minh City</h3>
<a href="/company/tiktok">TikTok</a> has opened its first offline showroom in Ho Chi Minh City’s Tan Binh district, offering product displays, live sampling, and daily live streams. The center will host monthly content creator events and closed-door merchant workshops to enhance product engagement and creator access. —<a href="https://www.ebrun.com/ebrungo/zb/582179.shtml">Ebrun</a>
<h3>Gojek migrates services to Tencent Cloud</h3>
Gojek, the ride-hailing and delivery arm of Indonesia’s GoTo Group, has migrated over 1,000 microservices to <a href="/company/tencent">Tencent Cloud</a>. The cutover was completed within five hours after eight months of joint planning and testing. —<a href="https://36kr.com/newsflashes/3322985136024067">36Kr</a>
<h3>ASD plans Vietnam plant investment</h3>
Chinese home appliance maker ASD plans to invest up to RMB 150 million (USD 21 million) in Vietnam to develop cookware, small appliances, and industrial robots. The company said the move would enhance its global layout and help mitigate external economic uncertainties. —<a href="https://36kr.com/newsflashes/3320725600610823">36Kr</a>
That wraps up this edition of China Recap. If your company is expanding internationally, we’d love to hear about your latest milestones. <a href="mailto:changweiqian@global.36kr.com">Get in touch</a> to share your story.

China Recap | Doubling down on embodied intelligence

… Autohome has built a suite of AI-powered solutions for industry partners. These include a marketing dashboard to refine sales strategies, a content automation tool for lead generation, and a resale value estimator for used vehicles. Collectively, these offerings signal Autohome’s shift from a consumer platform to a full-spectrum technology provider for the automotive sector.
<figure id="attachment_154663" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-154663" style="width: 1920px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-154663" src="https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Autohome-2025-International-Automotive-and-Supply-Chain-Expo-Experience.jpg" alt="" width="1920" height="1280" srcset="https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Autohome-2025-International-Automotive-and-Supply-Chain-Expo-Experience.jpg 1920w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Autohome-2025-International-Automotive-and-Supply-Chain-Expo-Experience-720x480.jpg 720w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Autohome-2025-International-Automotive-and-Supply-Chain-Expo-Experience-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Autohome-2025-International-Automotive-and-Supply-Chain-Expo-Experience-768x512.jpg 768w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Autohome-2025-International-Automotive-and-Supply-Chain-Expo-Experience-1536x1024.jpg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-154663" class="wp-caption-text">Photo source: Autohome.</figcaption></figure>
<h3>From content platform to ecosystem enabler</h3>
This technological push aligns with Autohome’s broader goal of supporting Chinese automakers expanding overseas. On June 30, it will launch an English-language website featuring export-ready models from Chinese brands. The platform will provide detailed specifications, pricing, and dealership links where available.
According to Yang, the new site is intended to close an information gap faced by international buyers unfamiliar with Chinese cars. During remarks at the expo, he described the initiative as part of a long-term effort to build both online and offline infrastructure to support global expansion.
Looking ahead, Autohome intends to enter markets across Southeast Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and Europe. It aims to support automakers not only with sales and marketing but also with logistics, spare parts, and after-sales services. “Selling a car is only the beginning,” Yang said. “The real challenge lies in spare parts, maintenance, and market-level scale.”
<h3>“A relay race for the entire ecosystem”</h3>
These moves reflect a broader shift in China’s automotive strategy. Rather than focusing solely on exporting products, companies are increasingly aiming to deliver integrated capabilities spanning logistics, services, and full-cycle support. Yang described this transition as one from “single product exports” to “integrated industry exports,” noting that sustained global expansion will depend on operational readiness and close coordination across borders.
Autohome’s own trajectory mirrors that evolution. Once known primarily as a content platform, it now offers a suite of tools for automakers, dealers, and secondhand platforms. Its AI-driven systems help partners lower costs and improve efficiency across multiple functions.
This transformation is taking place as China cements its status as a global automotive heavyweight. In 2024, it became the world’s largest car exporter, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chinas-vehicle-exports-rise-228-2024-2025-01-13">shipping 6.41 million units</a>, up 23% from the previous year. Yang also noted that China now produces more than 60% of the world’s EV batteries and holds 43% of global patents in autonomous driving, crediting these gains to long-term investment and supply chain optimization over the past two decades.
For him, the industry’s momentum is not the result of sudden breakthroughs, but of long-term work by engineers and entrepreneurs across the ecosystem. “This isn’t a sprint by one automaker,” Yang said. “It’s a relay race for the entire ecosystem.” In this race, Autohome is betting that its platform can help carry the baton.
This article was written in partnership with <a href="https://www.autohome.com.cn/">Autohome</a>.

Through AI, Autohome seeks to rewrite the global car buying playbook

Artificial Intelligence

Transportation

Electric Vehicles

Deep Tech

Mobility

… 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

Autonomous Vehicles

Semiconductors

… 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

Hardware

AI Infrastructure

… 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

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

… 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