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… data is collected, the stronger the models’ training capabilities become. Once that flywheel starts turning, it will generate exponential network effects. Agibot believes the flywheel will begin accelerating in 2026.”</li>
</ol>
Agibot’s strategy appears to be mass producing robot bodies, iterating on models, opening up data, and building an open ecosystem platform. Peng described it as “the hardest path, but also the one with the greatest compounding returns.”
The shift toward openness among robotics companies in 2026, even among competitors, reflects a shared constraint: limited resources.
Large language and video generation models are consuming vast amounts of tokens. While such models can learn from text and video, embodied intelligence must learn through interaction with the physical world. Data scarcity has become a central bottleneck.
The day before the partner conference, Maniformer, an Agibot subsidiary, introduced a B2B data service platform for robotics companies.
“Who is the biggest consumer of tokens in the AI era? Not chat apps, not coding assistants, and not image or video generators, but embodied agents,” Peng said. “The task space for embodied agents spans both the digital and physical worlds. A robot operating continuously in the physical world consumes tokens at every moment.”
Robots have reached mass production, and large models have been developed. What remains missing is the data flywheel.
“GPT-5 used 100 trillion tokens of training data. One token is roughly equal to 0.75 English words. If an average person speaks 150 words per minute, a single person would need ten billion hours to produce that volume,” said Yao Maoqing, chairman and CEO of Maniformer. “Embodied intelligence is different. Even if you aggregate all high-quality data globally today, it amounts to only about 500,000 hours.”
In interviews after the conference, Peng reiterated the issue of data scarcity.
“The data gap in embodied intelligence remains large, and it is a major bottleneck for the industry. The threshold for collecting this data is also high, because it requires real-world physical interaction and capturing variables such as friction and gravity,” Peng said. “That is why we continue to launch data collection products and commercial solutions, while actively building open data ecosystems.”
The open ecosystem is intended to address data shortages collectively, while also helping establish standards and reducing duplicated effort across the industry.
“The more open-source work there is, the easier it becomes to build an ecosystem. The more participants there are, the easier it is to establish de facto standards. That is one of the paths we are taking to advance standardization,” Peng said.
KrASIA features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This <a href="https://36kr.com/p/3770721219035649">article</a> was written by Wang Yuchan for 36Kr.
Note: RMB figures are converted to USD at rates of RMB 6.83 = USD 1 based on estimates as of April 21, 2026, unless otherwise stated. USD conversions are presented for ease of reference and may not fully match prevailing exchange rates.

After mass production, Agibot shifts focus to architecture and ecosystem

East Asia

Agibot

China

Robotics

Deep Tech

Embodied Intelligence

… 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 6.83 = USD 1 based on estimates as of April 28, 2026, unless otherwise stated. USD conversions are presented for ease of reference and may not fully match prevailing exchange rates.

From VW to Nissan, automakers bet on "in China, for global" strategies

Transportation

Electric Vehicles

Mobility

… market research, and user insights. —<a href="https://36kr.com/p/3774891479712514">36Kr</a></li>
<li>DeepWay, a developer of autonomous heavy-duty trucks, has secured additional capital in its <a href="https://kr-asia.com/deepway-draws-global-investors-as-pre-ipo-round-exceeds-usd-310-million">pre-IPO round</a>, bringing the total raised to more than USD 310 million. The round was led by UAE-based Stone Venture, with participation from NGS Super and Xiamen Guosheng Fund. Existing investors, including ABC Impact and Nanjing Ronghe Venture Capital, also increased their stakes. The company will use the funds to advance autonomous driving R&amp;D and support the global rollout of its driverless freight fleet, with overseas expansion planned across the Middle East, Europe, North America, Australia, and Asia Pacific. —<a href="https://xueqiu.com/2854806290/384883435">IPO Zaozhidao</a></li>
<li aria-level="1">Elegoo, one of China’s leading 3D printing companies, has raised a nine-figure RMB sum in a <a href="https://kr-asia.com/with-new-funding-can-elegoo-close-the-gap-with-bambu-lab-in-3d-printing">Series B+ round</a>. The round was jointly backed by Meituan’s DragonBall Capital, Shenzhen Capital Group, Hillhouse Investment, Yintai Group, Panorama Capital, Mornway Capital, and Shenzhen HTI Group. The deal comes less than six months after an earlier round that included DJI. Elegoo, whose roots trace to Shenzhen’s Huaqiangbei hardware ecosystem, will use the capital to sharpen its product competitiveness and pursue growth. —<a href="https://36kr.com/p/3773892499096068">36Kr</a></li>
</ul>
whereRelatedArticle
<h3>Baskit, OrtCloud, Tencent, and others made recent headlines:</h3>
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Baskit, a Singapore- and Jakarta-based company, raised USD 4.4 million in the first close of a Series A round led by Cento Ventures, with participation from Kaya Founders, Analog Ventures, and Orvel Ventures. The company also secured a USD 3 million revolving credit facility from HSBC Innovation Banking.</li>
<li aria-level="1">OrtCloud, a Singapore-based startup, raised USD 1.7 million in a pre-seed round led by Golden Gate Ventures, with participation from Antler, as it builds infrastructure for fixed workloads and artificial intelligence agent sandboxes.</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="/company/tencent">Tencent</a> acquired a 3.2% stake in Kaspi.kz, with the purchase costing about USD 518 million based on prior market prices. The stake comprises six million American depositary receipts from Baring Fintech Venture Funds, purchased by the Chinese tech giant alongside other buyers, including Spice Expeditions and US university endowments such as Washington University and the University of Wisconsin Foundation.</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: RMB, SGD figures are converted to USD at rates of RMB 6.83 = USD 1 and SGD 1.27 = USD 1 based on estimates as of April 28, 2026, unless otherwise stated. USD conversions are presented for ease of reference and may not fully match prevailing exchange rates.

Deals in brief: Cube and PvX Partners raise Series A funding; Singapore’s MPA backs six firms; eight China investments; and more

Venture Capital

Private Equity

Investment

Merger &amp; Acquisition

Singapore

Southeast Asia

… Honor.</figcaption></figure>
<h3>36Kr: So far, different smartphone makers seem to be taking very different approaches to AI, but each is gradually developing its own characteristics and playbook. How would you assess Honor’s position and strategy in the wave of AI phones?</h3>
LX: At its core, specific AI functions are only the outward form, the visible expression. If you compare them to a tree, those features are only branches in differentiated competition. Fundamentally, everyone still has to think about what core value the combination of AI and terminals can bring to users.
Honor’s main direction is very clear. It continues to invest in proactive service, agent-based autonomous execution, personal knowledge bases, and multimodal interaction. I believe that as long as it stays on that main path of creating user value, it can remain standing at the end.
<h3>36Kr: Two years ago, senior executives from various smartphone makers said AI had not really begun driving device purchases. Has that changed?</h3>
LX: There has been a positive change. In earlier years, AI was more of a selling point than a buying reason. But starting in 2025, based on our user surveys, AI has entered the top four purchase considerations for new phones. In some models, such as the Honor Magic V5 and Magic V6, it has even entered the top three.
That is because we focused AI features on key pain points and scenarios for target users and ensured the experience formed a closed loop. Of course, in some models, the top purchase factor may still be a hardware feature, such as the thinness of a foldable phone or long battery life. But AI has become an increasingly important factor in purchase decisions.
KrASIA features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This <a href="https://36kr.com/p/3770819743728131">article</a> was written by Qiu Xiaofen for 36Kr.

Honor sees phones as key to on-device AI, even if they are not the endgame

Honor

Artificial Intelligence

Smartphones

Consumer Economy

Dubai's economic chief wants to reassure investors that the emirate is still a safe haven for capital, citing the opening of a "green corridor" with Oman, as the end of a fragile two-week US-Iran ceasefire looms.
Iran had retaliated with drone and missile attacks on Gulf neighbors after the US and Israel launched airstrikes on the isolated regime. Dubai has suffered some damage, but "it's very, very limited relative to what's been hurled at us," Hadi Badri, CEO of Dubai Economic Development Corporation, told Nikkei Asia in a recent interview. He added that the challenge was largely a psychological one and not a physical threat.
"Our commitment to attract and engage with global investors is unchanged, unconditional," said Badri whose organization is an arm of the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism. "We continue to push the agenda around diversification and being a truly global city for global investors."
The emirate has accelerated a plan to create a "green corridor" with Oman to bypass the Strait of Hormuz that Iran has effectively closed. The corridor, opened on March 14, is essentially a streamlined customs process that allows goods to be transported between Dubai and Oman via air and road.
It is "a direct result of the current environment," Badri said. "Maybe we wouldn't have done it otherwise."
In addition, Dubai announced on April 1 an economic package of AED 1 billion (USD 272 million) to support businesses and families. Under the package, companies may defer payment of government fees for three months and hotels may do so for sales fees, giving businesses some breathing space during a time of stress.
Badri's office has also intensified engagement with businesses across Dubai, including conversations every 48 hours with ten "champions" in the logistics sector to address supply chain disruptions.
"We are engaging two or three times more than in a normal scenario," said Badri, a former investor, adding that Dubai's priority was to provide predictability, reliability, and transparency of information.
After strong growth in 2025, Dubai's economy expanded 4.4% on the year in the first quarter of 2026. Dubai, part of the UAE, was ranked by fDi Markets as the world's top destination for greenfield foreign direct investment projects.
A growing number of Asian corporates, family offices and investors have turned to Dubai in recent years as a platform for regional expansion. Asia accounted for 46.9% of multinationals attracted to the emirate in 2025, according to the Dubai International Chamber.
"From our discussions with investors globally, including in Asia, there is a clear signal of long-term commitment," Badri said. "They are not suggesting any retreat from planned investments or a failure to follow through."
Badri acknowledged the possibility of "some marginal adjustments" in the near term, but said he remained confident "the underlying ecosystem is going to remain."
Economic indicators are mixed, though. Real estate transactions rose 6% in January-March compared with the previous three months, according to data from the Dubai Land Department.
But business sentiment has softened. The S&amp;P Global purchasing managers' index for Dubai fell to 53.2 in March from 54.6 in February, indicating the weakest expansion in non-oil private-sector activity in nine months. Companies also reported the lowest level of confidence since late 2020.
Dubai's leadership has long positioned the emirate as a partner to international business and is active in diversifying the economy, not least through its ambitious ten-year Dubai Economic Agenda D33 plan launched after the COVID pandemic.
Badri is resolute about those ambitions, including turning Dubai into a top four global financial hub by 2033. The current Middle East crisis could accelerate reforms, he said.
"We are turning the here-and-now challenge into an opportunity, as we did during [Covid-19]," he said.
Other financial centers are seeking to capitalize on the uncertainty in the Middle East. Hong Kong financial secretary Paul Chan predicted the conflict could drive capital inflows back to Asia, while bankers in the region report interest from clients considering relocating assets.
Badri dismissed such speculations. "We're not seeing a substitution dynamic," he said. "It's not really an either-or choice."
He argued that Dubai complements Asian financial hubs such as Hong Kong and Singapore.
"We're going to be looking more at a model which is a 'twin city' kind of approach," he said. "If you're a family office or a high-net-worth individual investor, you'll have an office in Singapore and an office in Dubai."
Dubai's role is to serve as a "super-connector," he said, linking capital to investment opportunities across the Middle East, Africa, and beyond.
"The opportunity in the next chapter is really about deepening collaboration between Asia and Dubai and delivering even more value from Dubai for Asian investors and businesses," Badri said. "We have a track record of resilience, and we come back stronger and more diversified each and every time we have some challenge. And so this episode is not going to be any different."
This article first appeared on <a href="https://asia.nikkei.com/editor-s-picks/interview/dubai-open-for-business-as-economic-head-cites-oman-green-corridor">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>.

Dubai open for business, as economic head cites Oman "green corridor"

Middle East

… two-way approach: developing homegrown tools while continuing to purchase foreign equipment whenever possible. Since imported tools often offer better performance, they are still buying aggressively, and even repurposing consumable parts from one piece of equipment to repair other chipmaking machines," another chip industry executive with knowledge of the matter told Nikkei Asia.
A third executive with a Chinese chipmaking tool supplier told Nikkei Asia that the aggressive expansion plans by Chinese logic and memory chipmakers have given local vendors more opportunities to break into and secure a position in the domestic supply chain.
Nikkei Asia was the first to report that Chinese top chipmakers led by SMIC, Hua Hong, and Huawei-linked chipmakers are aiming to <a title="" href="https://asia.nikkei.com/business/technology/tech-asia/china-aims-for-5-fold-increase-in-advanced-chip-output-to-meet-ai-demand" target="_blank" rel="noopener">aggressively expand advanced chip production capacity</a>, including on the performance level of seven- or even five-nanometer technologies, to support the rise of domestic AI chip developers. Meanwhile, top Chinese memory chip producers CXMT and YMTC are launching their <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">largest expansions</a> in response to the unprecedented global memory crunch amid the AI boom, Nikkei revealed in early February.
US allies such as the Netherlands and Japan have already introduced rules to align with US export controls, but policymakers in Washington feel those restrictions are still much too loose. The US has imposed multiple rounds of regulation on exports to China and has added many leading Chinese chip equipment suppliers and chipmakers to its Entity List.
The MATCH Act, if passed, could further limit global vendors' ability to supply critical tech to China. The bill targets some older but critical generations of chipmaking machines as well as components, both of which can be chokepoints for China's efforts to build up its domestic chip industry. Introduced in early April, the bill still needs to go through the legislative process, and it remains unclear how the Netherlands, Japan and other countries would respond to any diplomatic pressure to comply. For example, only ASML in the Netherlands and Canon and Nikon in Japan can produce commercially viable lithography machines, an area where China continues to face significant challenges, according to a <a title="" href="https://asia.nikkei.com/business/technology/tech-asia/the-final-chip-challenge-can-china-build-its-own-asml" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nikkei Asia exclusive analysis</a>.
This article first appeared on <a href="https://asia.nikkei.com/business/technology/tech-asia/china-snaps-up-us-chip-tools-via-southeast-asia-amid-supply-chain-shift">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 6.83 = USD 1 based on estimates as of April 20, 2026, unless otherwise stated. USD conversions are presented for ease of reference and may not fully match prevailing exchange rates.

China snaps up US chip tools via Southeast Asia amid supply chain shift

Semiconductors

Malaysia

… href="https://asia.nikkei.com/business/technology/artificial-intelligence/auntie-ai-china-s-chatbot-makers-cultivate-senior-users">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>.

Auntie AI: China's chatbot makers cultivate senior users

… players will narrow. At that point, what matters even more is everything beyond hardware, such as marketing costs and the supply chain.
That is an area where we are confident. Hardware performance will converge.
Especially now that we have additional support, product form will become much closer. After that, it is mainly a matter of time and accumulation.
<h3>36Kr: Elegoo’s path to survival sounds completely different from that of the market leader.</h3>
CB: Everyone has a different way of surviving. We are not a new company. We began overseas online e-commerce and offline distribution in 2015. We have strong control over brand and pricing because all of our online channels are operated directly by us.
Many competitors came out of trading. They first sold goods to distributors, and their control over the brand was weaker. We are different. My distributors are allowed to operate only offline, not online. That limits their options, but it allows me to control the brand across the entire market.
<h3>36Kr: That sounds a bit like the logic used by some smartphone makers.</h3>
CB: That is also one of the reasons investors recognize us. I may not be able to make a 100-point product, but I can sell that product very well.
In our view, in the Chinese market, 90 points may only be a pass, and 95 is what counts as excellent.
<h3>36Kr: Elegoo has always stressed its cost advantage. How is your thinking on cost different from traditional approaches?</h3>
CB: Our cost advantage does not come from cutting corners. It comes from industrial methods and engineering quantification. We aim to push nascent production technologies in the industry toward lower costs through scale.
Industrial collaboration is crucial. Hong Yingsheng, the founder and CEO, has deep experience. We often joke that if you hand any electronic product to him, he can estimate the bill of materials within 30 minutes. It is hard to get past his scrutiny.
For example, with cross-industry parts integration, some components are only auxiliary materials in larger industries, with limited volume. But if we integrate them and turn them into primary materials for our own use, then volume increases significantly and the scale advantage emerges. You need to know a large number of suppliers to do that.
<h3>36Kr: In supply chain management, corruption and cost control are always difficult problems.</h3>
CB: The power of institutional systems is far greater than most people imagine. What matters is what kind of system you have and whether it can screen out those problems.
We are extremely strict on cost control, and we monitor it continuously. If someone tells me the logistics price difference exceeds RMB 0.3 (USD 0.044), that person will not need to come to work the next day. A difference of RMB 0.3, multiplied by several thousand tons of cargo a month, means a gap of several million RMB. Finance is not afraid of differences of RMB 100,000 (USD 14,638.3) or RMB 1 million (USD 146,382.9). It is afraid of a difference of RMB 0.01 (USD 0.001). The advantage accumulated from these tiny line items is the hardest to detect.
<h3>36Kr: With a transformation of this scale, do conflicts emerge internally over resource allocation and culture?</h3>
CB: Of course. We believe product performance will remain central for a long time, so resources must tilt toward R&amp;D. Our operations team is in the Shenzhen North Station area, while our technical team is in Shenzhen Bay, where office conditions are better. That is one kind of compromise in organizational layout, and it also shows where the center of gravity lies.
<h3>36Kr: Back in 2023, when Bambu Lab was just taking off, your attitude toward it seemed quite different. Why such a big shift?</h3>
CB: My attitude has actually been consistent. At the time of that interview, our resin printing business was still our core, while FDM (fused deposition modeling) was a new competitive area for us, and our foundation there was relatively weak. Now the gap still exists, but we have moved closer.
The difference is that we have now entered the <a href="/industry/ai">artificial intelligence</a> era. AI is advancing rapidly, so whether all the content we accumulated before still counts as a positive asset is now also a question.
<h3>36Kr: Do you think AI could wipe out previously accumulated value?</h3>
CB: Yes. In the past, 3D printing content depended on individual designers, who created for all users to consume. Since ordinary users did not have the ability to produce 3D models, everyone focused on building model libraries and competing on quantity and quality, spending heavily in the process. That was essentially an internet-style strategy of heavy investment.
Looking back now, after AI entered the scene, those past investments may effectively be reset. AI-generated content will rapidly reshape existing model libraries. So now everyone is making a two-track bet: maintaining content libraries while also investing in AI-generated model production.
<h3>36Kr: What is the main bottleneck in training a large model specifically for 3D right now?</h3>
CB: Training is genuinely difficult, and talent is extremely hard to find. Large companies have built strong barriers, making it difficult for us to recruit from them. We want to build a team for training a 3D large model, but we cannot attract the most suitable AI talent from top companies.
To be honest, we cannot afford them, and at this stage, our competitors probably cannot either. Those core teams receive annual compensation packages above RMB 10 million, along with several times that amount in equity or options. It is very difficult to compete with that.
On the computing side, all we can do is purchase from major platform companies. There is no way for us to build that infrastructure ourselves, and there is little difference in pricing across buyers. At this stage, the only thing we can do is focus on our own strategy and determine the right time to enter.
KrASIA features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This <a href="https://36kr.com/p/3773892499096068">article</a> was written by Leslie Zhang for 36Kr.
Note: RMB figures are converted to USD at rates of RMB 6.83 = USD 1 based on estimates as of April 21, 2026, unless otherwise stated. USD conversions are presented for ease of reference and may not fully match prevailing exchange rates.

With new funding, can Elegoo close the gap with Bambu Lab in 3D printing?

Creative

Creator Economy

… shape. One clear sign is that major companies are placing greater emphasis on developing the IP they already hold:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">CMGE has acquired global rights to Chinese Paladin in an effort to build a broader franchise.</li>
<li aria-level="1">Wangyuan Shengtang has expanded Swords of Legends across film, games, and merchandise.</li>
<li aria-level="1">Tencent has also begun allocating dedicated space for single-player titles at its annual events.</li>
</ul>
Over time, developing single-player games may become both commercially viable and structurally supported, rather than a high-risk pursuit driven by personal sacrifice.
This shift also points to a broader redefinition of games as an entertainment medium. When short videos chop people’s attention into 15-second units and recommendation algorithms steadily wear away the possibility of deep thought, the strong immersion and interactivity of single-player games provide a form of engagement that remains difficult to replicate elsewhere. For Chinese games, that experience is often rooted in cultural expression that is still evolving.
In 2022, Genshin Impact released its <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiAhMr6IJTQ">“The Divine Damsel of Devastation”</a> chapter, a story rooted in Peking opera and fused with modern musical composition, and it sparked a wave of enthusiasm overseas. To understand Yun Jin’s lyrics, foreign players actively looked up the history of Chinese opera. On YouTube, large numbers of explainer videos appeared, breaking down operatic vocal techniques and the rhyme structure of traditional lyrics.
Gujian 3, meanwhile, centered on inheritance as its theme and elevated its focus from personal love and hate to questions of the survival of a people and the transmission of civilization, allowing countless players to feel, perhaps for the first time, the expressive mission of games as a cultural medium.
Emotions that are difficult to convey through language alone can often be communicated more effectively through interactive audiovisual design.
That is why the road ahead for Chinese games is their own. There is no ready-made template to follow, because the stories China wants to tell, the players it wants to reach, and the culture it wants to carry are all unique. The West has its fantasy epics. Japan has its samurai tales. Chinese wuxia, xianxia, mythology, history, and the small textures of contemporary urban life are still waiting for a game language of their own.
This returns to the original question: what is still missing?
Maybe what is missing has never been the ability to make good games. Maybe it is an ecosystem that allows good games to continue to live. The story of Wuchang: Fallen Feathers has already shown that a game that sells enough copies might be given the chance for continued investment in a mature overseas market. But here, after a first attempt that was deemed “not successful enough,” the team lost everything. That is the question the entire industry needs to answer: as more and more teams choose this road, can they be given a support system strong enough to sustain them?
After leaving Leenzee, producer Xia set up his own studio with just RMB 50,000 in registered capital. What he needs is not sentimental regret, but an environment in which he can once again make games with some degree of stability.
This road will have its twists. There will be failures. Teams will break apart. But this time, the people seated at the table are not just a small circle of dreamers. They are a whole generation of players and creators who lived through the rupture. They have seen the glory years, and they have seen the decline. Reality has worn them down, but the fire inside them has never gone out.
After all, victory and defeat are common in the world of warriors. A hero can always begin again.
KrASIA features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This <a href="https://36kr.com/p/3766718158324489">article</a> was written by Guofu (alias) for 36Kr.
Note: RMB figures are converted to USD at rates of RMB 6.83 = USD 1 based on estimates as of April 21, 2026, unless otherwise stated. USD conversions are presented for ease of reference and may not fully match prevailing exchange rates.

What does the fate of Wuchang: Fallen Feathers reveal about China’s game industry?

Gaming