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… said.
Some owners straddle the line of full-fledged gambling, allowing players to win money by using a claw to roll dice. This is a legal gray area as claw machines do not require a gambling license.
Machine suppliers are clear winners.
Andy Chan, owner of claw machine supplier Cool Bear Amusement based in Guangzhou, said he is shipping 500 machines to Hong Kong per month, versus about 200 a month in 2022.
"This is the best time for this business," said Chan, who is in his mid-30s. Amid the economic doldrums, "it is easier for people to invest in the business due to the relatively lower capital on equipment and rents," he said, adding that he believes there is still room for growth.
But some expect Hong Kong's claw machine boom to be short-lived, not necessarily because they expect the property market to recover, but because the influx of newcomers to the business could lead to overcrowding.
Choi said he is already looking to use the money he has made from his claw machines to go into business on the mainland or overseas. Opening unstaffed billiards halls is an option, Choi said.
"Hong Kong is facing too many internal and external challenges," Choi said. He predicts a wipeout for catering and retail businesses that will drive shop rents "even lower in the upcoming five years."
"It's a cycle," he said. "Many things in Hong Kong are going backward. It's not hard to see there will be more downtrends."
This article first appeared on <a tabindex="0" href="https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Business-Spotlight/Hong-Kong-s-rise-of-the-claw-machines-reflects-property-fall" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-token-index="1">Nikkei Asia</a>. It has been republished here as part of 36Kr’s ongoing <a tabindex="0" href="https://www.kr-asia.com/nikkei-teams-up-with-36kr-in-asia-tech-news-coverage/" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-token-index="3">partnership with Nikkei</a>.

Hong Kong's rise of the claw machines reflects property fall

China

Tesla's fourth consecutive quarterly profit drop has raised questions about its resilience in the ever-competitive electric vehicle market. On July 23, Tesla reported close to a 45% decline in second-quarter net income, plunging to USD 1.5 billion from the USD 2.7 billion recorded in the same quarter last year. Despite a 2% revenue uptick to USD 25.5 billion for the quarter ending in June, the company's profitability remains a sore point, spotlighting Tesla's struggle to keep its earnings buoyant.
The EV titan faces dwindling demand in key markets, with China being a significant battleground. Local players like BYD have ramped up competition by <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-03-25/byd-takes-on-ev-laggards-toyota-vw-with-steep-china-price-cuts">slashing prices</a>, putting pressure on Tesla's sales. The Shanghai Gigafactory, once a cornerstone of Tesla's export strategy, saw a 16.8% year-on-year decrease in deliveries for the latest quarter, a stark contrast to its previous performance.
Adding fuel to the fire, <a href="https://kr-asia.com/eu-presses-ahead-with-chinese-ev-tariffs-as-talks-continue">recent tariff hikes</a> by the US and the European Union on China-made EVs have jeopardized the Shanghai plant's status as Tesla's cost-efficient export hub. The implications are significant, potentially disrupting the company's global supply chain.
Tesla's challenges aren't limited to tariffs and demand issues. Chinese EV makers like Nio and Li Auto are fast closing the gap. Nio's Onvo sub-brand recently launched the <a href="https://kr-asia.com/nio-launches-the-onvo-l60-suv-throwing-down-gauntlet-to-teslas-model-y">L60 SUV</a>, priced 12% lower than Tesla's Model Y, directly challenging Tesla's market share. Delivery of the L60 is expected to commence in September. Meanwhile, Li Auto is making strides in <a href="https://kr-asia.com/li-auto-advances-in-self-driving-tech-aiming-to-close-the-gap-with-teslas-fsd">autonomous driving technology</a>, aiming to rival Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) system.
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China remains a powerhouse in the EV market, accounting for 60% of global EV sales last year, according to the <a href="https://www.iea.org/reports/global-ev-outlook-2024/executive-summary">International Energy Agency (IEA)</a>. The country’s new energy vehicle (NEV) production and sales figures for June 2024 underscore this dominance, with both metrics up 28.1% and 30.1% year-on-year, respectively, according to data from the <a href="http://www.caam.org.cn/chn/4/cate_32/con_5236464.html">China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM)</a>. For the first half of 2024, NEV production and sales rose by 30.1% and 32%, respectively, compared to the previous year, signaling robust market activity despite Tesla's challenges.
Tesla's stock has been on a rollercoaster ride this year. A 40% plunge since January due to declining profits in previous quarters has left investors jittery. However, hopes are pinned on upcoming technological innovations, such as the highly anticipated robotaxi unveiling. Originally set for early August, the unveiling has been postponed to October 10, with Elon Musk hinting at significant improvements to the vehicle.
In the latest earnings call, Musk also teased the launch of a more affordable Tesla model by the first half of next year. Additionally, he expressed optimism about securing regulatory approval for the FSD system in China soon, a move that could potentially bolster Tesla's market position.

Tesla's grip on EV market loosens as latest earnings disappoint

Tesla

Autonomous Vehicles

Electric Vehicles

Mobility

Europe

<h3>Baichuan completes RMB 5 billion Series A1 round</h3>
<a href="https://www.baichuan-ai.com/home">Baichuan Intelligence</a>, one of China’s leading artificial intelligence companies, has completed its Series A funding round, raising RMB 5 billion (USD 690 million). The round, announced in October 2023, saw significant participation from Alibaba, Tencent, Xiaomi, and other top-tier institutions. Additional investments came from the Beijing AI Industry Investment Fund, Shanghai AI Industry Investment Fund, and Shenzhen Capital Group (SCGC).
Sources told <a href="https://36kr.com/p/2876035612430721">36Kr</a> that the company’s post-Series A valuation has now reached RMB 20 billion (USD 2.7 billion). Baichuan is already preparing for a Series B round based on this valuation. The company has yet to respond to media inquiries for confirmation.
Founded in April 2023 by former Sogou CEO Wang Xiaochuan, Baichuan boasts a core team of AI experts from prominent tech companies such as Google, Tencent, Baidu, Huawei, Microsoft, and ByteDance. Baichuan is distinguished by its focus on medical applications, having recently made significant advancements in this area. Notably, it has outperformed GPT-4 in medical evaluation tasks and launched an AI health advisor.
Since its inception, Baichuan has released 12 large models, including Baichuan-7B, Baichuan-13B, and Baichuan 4, and introduced its AI assistant, Baixiaoying, in May 2024.
Looking ahead, Baichuan aims to develop a roadmap for AI medical technology with benchmarks akin to autonomous driving levels. The goal is to enable AI to autonomously recommend treatment plans, with critical decisions confirmed by doctors.
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<h3>SeaVantage secures USD 2.3 million investment from HD Hyundai Marine Solution</h3>
<a href="https://www.seavantage.com/">SeaVantage</a>, a South Korean startup specializing in advanced maritime data analytics, has raised USD 2.3 million from HD Hyundai Marine Solution.
This partnership aims to enhance services for customers by providing extended visibility for shipment tracking, ports, terminals, and rail. SeaVantage will leverage this investment to boost its AI and big data capabilities, while HD Hyundai Marine Solution will benefit from advanced maritime analytics to drive sustainability initiatives.
<h3>Bitlayer Labs Raises USD 11 million in Series A funding</h3>
Bitlayer Labs, said to be the first Bitcoin Layer-2 network based on the BitVM paradigm, has raised USD 11 million following the completion of its Series A funding round. The round was co-led by Franklin Templeton and ABCDE, with additional participation from Stake Capital Group, WAGMI Ventures, Skyland Ventures, Flow Traders, GSR Ventures, FalconX, Metalpha, 280 Capital, Presto Labs, and Caladan. Notable angel investors include Domo, the creator of BRC20, and Brian Kang, co-founder of FactBlock KBW.
This latest round brings Bitlayer's total funding to USD 16 million. The funds will be used to expand Bitlayer's ecosystem, support the development of Mainnet V2, and enhance its Bitcoin-native rollup capabilities.
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<h3>i2i Ventures, Seeds Finance, Hive Health, and more led yesterday’s headlines:</h3>
<ul>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.i2iventures.com/">i2i Ventures</a>, a Pakistani female-led venture capital fund, secured a USD 3 million investment from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) under its Startup Catalyst Program. The investment consists of up to USD 2 million from IFC’s own account and up to USD 1 million from the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi).</li>
<li aria-level="1">Seeds Finance, a gamified investment platform, received further funding from its early-stage investor, Seven Capital Valor. The funding details were not disclosed.</li>
<li aria-level="1">Hive Health, a Philippine health insurance company, reportedly closed a pre-Series A funding round with the backing of various investors including Gentree Fund and Beenext.</li>
</ul>
If there are any news or updates you'd like us to feature, get in touch with us at: <a href="mailto:hello@kr-asia.com">hello@kr-asia.com</a>.
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Deals in brief: Chinese AI company Baichuan raises RMB 5 billion, SeaVantage and Bitlayer Labs secure funding, and more

Venture Capital

Private Equity

Investment

Merger &amp; Acquisition

Singapore

South Korea

Southeast Asia

US chipmaking equipment manufacturers have become more dependent on the Chinese market despite Washington's export restrictions on advanced products as they boost shipments of machinery used to make legacy chips.
China accounted for 43% of sales at Applied Materials in the February-April period, up 22 percentage points on the year. China's share of sales at Lam Research rose 20 points to 42% for the January-March period.
This seems to run counter to Washington's plans under the export curbs targeting China.
The US government in 2022 restricted shipments of chipmaking equipment used to manufacture cutting-edge semiconductors, aiming to curb Beijing's efforts in the field. Equipment for commodity-grade products are not part of the restrictions.
At chip industry event Semicon West, held in San Francisco from July 9–11, senior US government officials touted the success of another program: the CHIPS and Science act.
The law, also enacted in 2022, provides USD 52.7 billion in subsidies to chip research and manufacturing in the US, prompting chipmakers to announce big investment plans.
In a speech on July 9, US undersecretary of commerce Laurie Locascio listed the names of companies that have decided to invest in the US, including Intel, Samsung Electronics, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC).
"This growth would not have happened without the CHIPS and Science Act," she said, adding that "the dedicated teams have worked day and night to implement it back home" to put the program on track in less than two years.
Semiconductor equipment manufacturers are also benefiting, as the delivery of equipment is essential to launching chip fabrication plants. US revenue accounted for 15% of the total at Applied Materials in fiscal 2023, up 6 points from fiscal 2021.
But despite efforts to build a supply chain in the US, equipment makers have not been able to shake off their reliance on China, the top market.
If there were no restrictions, the proportion of our Chinese business would be even higher, an executive at a major equipment manufacturer said. The companies are seeing their sales to China rise solely from non-advanced equipment.
SEMI, the international trade group behind Semicon, announced on July 9 that global sales of chipmaking equipment are expected to grow 3.4% to USD 109 billion in 2024. China is expected to account for more than 30% of that figure, driving demand as the largest market.
"We have very strong commercial relations with China," US undersecretary for economic growth Jose Fernandez told Nikkei and other media at Semicon. Even though the US will regulate areas related to national security, its aim is not to decouple the two economies, he said.
But the rise of exports of non-advanced equipment to China also poses risks to the US, as the supply of any kind of products can help the growth of China's domestic chip industry.
Beijing has set a national policy to establish its own chip supply chains, potentially creating strong competition for US equipment makers in the long run.
This article first appeared on <a tabindex="0" href="https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Tech/Semiconductors/U.S.-chip-equipment-makers-rely-on-China-for-40-of-sales" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-token-index="1">Nikkei Asia</a>. It has been republished here as part of 36Kr’s ongoing <a tabindex="0" href="https://www.kr-asia.com/nikkei-teams-up-with-36kr-in-asia-tech-news-coverage/" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-token-index="3">partnership with Nikkei</a>.

US chip equipment makers rely on China for 40% of sales

Deep Tech

Semiconductors

… June, as an example. Its issue price was HKD 6 per share, but it plunged continuously after listing, recently closing at HKD 2.62, half of the issue price. Similarly, OnTime, which was listed on July 10, fell over 3% on the first day.
Dida has been one of the few profitable shared mobility platforms. Over the past three years, Dida has consistently been profitable, with adjusted net profits of RMB 238 million (USD 32.7 million), RMB 85 million (USD 11.6 million), and RMB 226 million (USD 31 million), respectively, and a stable profit margin above 70%.
The launch of autonomous ride-hailing in cities like Wuhan has heightened concerns about job security, not only among drivers but also in the capital markets, which clearly favor autonomous driving companies.
The rollout of Apollo Go briefly boosted Baidu’s stock price. Initially rebounding from a low of USD 85 in early July to over USD 100 the following week, the stock price subsequently retreated closer to the USD 90 mark.
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Zhang Ning, vice president at Pony.ai, told 36Kr that the emergence of robotaxis is driven by the need for new productivity and the rising labor costs in the transportation sector, which increase operational burdens and user travel costs. According to Zhang, autonomous driving can significantly reduce the demand for human drivers, thus compensating for labor shortages while effectively lowering the occurrence of traffic accidents.
However, the notion of autonomous ride-hailing vehicles replacing human drivers still has a long way to go. Behind the operation of unmanned taxis, companies need to invest heavily in scheduling and maintenance systems.
According to Zhang’s estimates, breakeven is attainable in cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, once city-wide deployment reaches 1,000 vehicles. Beyond this point, Zheng believes that costs will further decrease with each additional vehicle, increasing gross margins and entering a positive self-reinforcing cycle.
According to Shanghai Observer, the daily cost of each Apollo Go vehicle exceeds RMB 370 (USD 50.8). Even without considering upfront research and vehicle insurance costs, its current pricing model in Wuhan is insufficient to cover operating costs.
Compared to the more costly autonomous driving, the simpler and more direct methods to achieve profitability might still be to focus on commissions, subsidies, and competition.
KrASIA Connection features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This <a href="https://36kr.com/p/2865968033598087">article</a> was written by Song Wanxin for 36Kr.

Does autonomous driving solve the ride-hailing industry’s woes, or make them worse?

China Tech

Transportation

On-Demand Services

Ride-hailing

In February this year, after considering industry insiders' advice to set a monthly sales target of 3,000 units, Lei Jun made a bold decision: Xiaomi would produce 76,000 units annually of its <a href="https://kr-asia.com/xiaomi-ceo-lei-jun-expresses-unwavering-confidence-in-victory-at-su7-launch">new SU7 electric vehicle model</a>.
By May, Xiaomi's factory ramped up production, increasing the annual target to 100,000 units. Come July, Xiaomi accelerated again, announcing it could meet the 100,000-unit annual delivery target by November.
<figure id="attachment_147379" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-147379" style="width: 1024px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-147379" src="https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Xiaomi-SU7-1024x683.jpg" alt="Image of the SU7, Xiaomi’s first electric vehicle model." width="1024" height="683" srcset="https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Xiaomi-SU7-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Xiaomi-SU7-300x200.jpg 300w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Xiaomi-SU7-768x512.jpg 768w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Xiaomi-SU7.jpg 1080w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-147379" class="wp-caption-text">Image of the SU7, Xiaomi’s first electric vehicle model. Image from KrASIA’s archive.</figcaption></figure>
The SU7, initially underestimated, became a phenomenon in just six months. During this period, Lei frequently trended on social media, including for personally opening the car door for the first SU7 owner and visiting the Beijing Auto Show. Often, Lei's public acts overshadowed the product itself.
In his annual speech on July 19, Lei addressed these actions, explaining that most were unintentional. He attributed his "marketing genius" label to the immense success of the SU7.
Throughout the two-hour speech, determination and participation were repeatedly highlighted as the prerequisites for the SU7's success.
Lei recounted that, in January 2021, Xiaomi faced US sanctions. After proposing the idea of manufacturing cars in a board meeting, he formed a six-person research team. Over 70 days, they visited more than ten cities, interacted with over 200 industry insiders, and held four executive meetings. William Li and He Xiaopeng, CEOs of Nio and Xpeng Motors respectively, also advocated for Xiaomi to enter the automotive industry.
As the research deepened, Lei realized that smart EVs are an inevitable trend. At a critical juncture of integrating the automotive and consumer industries, Xiaomi, being one of the most established companies, had to build cars.
In response to doubts about entering the market too late, Lei said that the automotive industry is a century-long race. As long as there is genuine passion and commitment, any time is the best time. From inception to the launch of the SU7, Lei continually set new benchmarks for his involvement in the new business.
As a newcomer to the industry, Lei placed great importance on the first product. During the market research phase, he said, “A hundred reports can’t replace a face-to-face interview with a real user.” Lei and his team spent less than a month engaging in face-to-face conversations with over 300 of Xiaomi’s engineers. "But we felt it wasn't enough, so we went to Xiaomi’s parking lot and checked out what cars everyone was driving."
<h3>Building a good car takes passion</h3>
How to build a good car? Lei’s answer is simple: first, fall in love with cars yourself.
Over the past three years, Lei Jun has test-driven more than 170 cars. Besides experiencing cars as a customer in stores, he also explored new models in the company garage, borrowing employees' cars to test. Additionally, he read biographies of automotive giants and watched car racing movies.
Believing that only by understanding cars can one build good cars, Lei set a new goal for himself: "Can I become the best driver among all the automotive company bosses in China?" To find out, Lei obtained a racing license, alongside 100 of Xiaomi’s automotive management-level engineers.
During the SU7's development, Lei participated in winter tests, summer tests, and a series of road tests. The widely praised sun protection and heat insulation performance was a result of Lei’s experience in summer tests conducted in Turpan.
However, the SU7 was not expected to perform well before its launch. Anticipating that BBA (BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Audi) users wouldn’t buy the SU7, and that female users were less interested in performance-focused cars, Lei’s consultants suggested a monthly sales target of 3,000 units.
In February 2024, the SU7 began mass production, with Lei setting an annual production target of 76,000 units. This meant that, excluding the ramp-up time, Xiaomi had to sell over 10,000 units of the SU7 per month. Additionally, the factory's storage could only accommodate three days' worth of produced vehicles. If the SU7 didn't sell well, dealing with inventory would be a major issue for Xiaomi.
After the SU7 was launched, orders exceeded 10,000 within four minutes and surpassed 50,000 in 27 minutes. Lei recalled, "At that moment, all the grievances and misunderstandings of the past three years no longer mattered."
KrASIA Connection features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This <a href="https://36kr.com/p/2870173586018688">article</a> was written by Xu Caiyu for 36Kr.

Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun says passion is key to building a great car

<h3>IFC invests USD 3 million in i2i Ventures</h3>
<a href="https://www.i2iventures.com/">i2i Ventures</a>, a Pakistani female-led venture capital fund, has secured a USD 3 million investment from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) under its Startup Catalyst Program. The investment consists of up to USD 2 million from IFC’s own account and up to USD 1 million from the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi).
The Startup Catalyst Program aims to support incubators, accelerators, and seed funds that invest in innovative early-stage startups in underserved markets. This funding will help i2i Ventures back founders who are solving Pakistan's major problems by providing not only financial backing but also hands-on support.
In its statement, the IFC said that this investment aligns with its “counter-cyclical” role, helping to fill the gap in venture capital funding globally by investing in local VC managers like i2i Ventures. The organization added that, to date, the Startup Catalyst Program has supported 22 accelerators and seed funds, which have invested in over 1,180 startups across 24 emerging markets.
<h3>Seeds Finance secures further funding</h3>
Seeds Finance, a gamified investment platform, has received further funding from its early-stage investor, Seven Capital Valor, according to a report by DailySocial. The funding details were not disclosed.
Seeds offers an integrated investment education platform through gamification, targeting students and university students. Since launching its first version in September 2023, Seeds said its app has been downloaded over 70,000 times, more than doubling its monthly active users in the second quarter of 2024.
With this funding, Seeds plans to add educational content variants, develop gamification features, and collaborate with strategic partners to expand across Southeast Asia, including the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.
<h3>Grab acquires Chope’s Southeast Asian businesses</h3>
Grab, Singapore’s ride-hailing and food delivery giant, announced this week that it has <a href="https://kr-asia.com/grab-acquires-chopes-southeast-asian-businesses">acquired</a> restaurant reservation platform Chope for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition excludes Chope’s operations in Hong Kong and China but covers its businesses in Singapore, Indonesia, and Thailand.
Post-acquisition, Chope’s brand, app, and website will continue operating independently. Chope’s staff will join Grab’s offices in Singapore, Indonesia, and Thailand, with no redundancies expected.
Grab plans to integrate Chope’s booking system into its superapp to enhance value for its merchant partners.
<h3>Hive Health closes pre-Series A funding round</h3>
Hive Health, a Philippine health insurance company, has closed a pre-Series A funding round with the backing of various investors including Gentree Fund and Beenext, according to regulatory filings accessed by DealStreetAsia.
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<h3>Live Ventures, Zyp, Glance, and more led yesterday’s headlines:</h3>
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Singapore’s Duke-NUS Medical School launched Live Ventures, a SGD 20 million (USD 14.8 million) incubation program to commercialize innovative academic research.</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.zyptechnologies.com/">Zyp Technologies</a>, a provider of electric mobility solutions in Pakistan, secured USD 1.5 million in a pre-Series A funding round led by Shorooq Partners.</li>
<li aria-level="1">Glance, a Singapore-headquartered consumer technology company and unconsolidated subsidiary of InMobi Group, is reportedly in advanced discussions to raise up to USD 250 million in a funding round led by Google.</li>
</ul>
If there are any news or updates you'd like us to feature, get in touch with us at: <a href="mailto:hello@kr-asia.com">hello@kr-asia.com</a>.
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Deals in brief: IFC invests in Pakistan’s i2i Ventures, Seeds Finance secures further funding, Grab acquires Chope, and more

Indonesia

Philippines

Central Asia

Nvidia is developing a China-specific version of its flagship artificial intelligence chips, aiming to comply with stringent US export controls, according to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/nvidia-preparing-version-new-flaghip-ai-chip-chinese-market-sources-say-2024-07-22/">Reuters</a>. The AI chip giant is working with Inspur, a key distribution partner in China, on the new chip tentatively named B20. This chip is said to be an offshoot of the B200, part of the recently unveiled Blackwell series, which boasts speeds 30 times faster than its predecessor. The B20 is expected to begin shipments in the second quarter of 2025.
Nvidia’s decision to develop the B20 follows the potential ban of its H20 chip from sale to China when the US reviews its export controls in October this year, according to <a href="https://qz.com/nvidia-h20-chip-designed-china-us-ban-analysts-biden-1851599028">Quartz</a>, citing a research note published by Jefferies analysts.
The H20 chip was launched earlier this year and has seen significant sales growth in China. According to the <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/b76ef55b-21cd-498b-ac16-5660908bb8d2">Financial Times</a>, Nvidia is on track to sell over a million H20 chips in China this year, potentially generating more than USD 12 billion in revenue. This comes after Nvidia <a href="https://kr-asia.com/nvidias-ai-chip-faces-weak-demand-and-fierce-competition-in-china">lowered the H20’s price</a> to compete with Huawei’s Ascend 910B, selling at a 10% discount to clear its supply.
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China accounted for 17% of Nvidia's revenue in the fiscal year ending January, underscoring the market's importance. Forecasts indicate that China will represent over 30% of the global AI industry by 2035, according to a report by Chinese market research firm CCID Consulting. This highlights the strategic significance of Nvidia's efforts to maintain its market share.
In response to the tightened US export controls introduced in 2023 to curb advancements in China's military supercomputing capabilities, Nvidia has created three chips specifically for the Chinese market. The US is expected to continue tightening export controls on semiconductor technology to China, with further restrictions on chipmaking equipment from the Netherlands and Japan being discussed.
Additionally, the Biden administration is considering implementing guardrails for advanced AI models and possibly the foreign direct product rule to restrict products made with US technology.

Nvidia is making a new version of its flagship AI chip for China

Nvidia

Japan, Korea, and the West

NVIDIA

On July 17, Chinese electric vehicle maker GAC Aion celebrated the grand opening of its new factory in Rayong, Thailand, marking a significant milestone in its Southeast Asian expansion. This event comes hot on the heels of BYD's recent vehicle launch in Thailand, highlighting the rapid inroads Chinese automakers are making in this key market.
The Rayong factory aligns perfectly with Aion's strategy of emphasizing rapid output and adaptive scaling. Initially set to produce 50,000 units annually, the facility has plans to double its capacity to 100,000 units. It will manufacture several GAC Aion models, including the second-generation Aion V and Aion Y Plus, positioning itself as a crucial hub for Aion's operations in Southeast Asia.
Traditionally, automakers launch new models domestically before gradually introducing them to international markets, a process that involves extensive localization. However, GAC Aion has upended this approach by achieving a simultaneous global launch of the second-generation Aion V, thanks to cutting-edge technology from its lighthouse factory. Essentially, lighthouse factories are facilities that integrate high-tech solutions to maximize efficiency and operational benefits.
The Thai factory utilizes key production techniques to minimize waste and establish a highly efficient quality, cost, and delivery (QCD) system. It's a data-driven facility, leveraging technologies such as big data, artificial intelligence, internet-of-things, and vision modeling. This enables real-time optimization of production schedules, ensuring smooth and efficient operations.
To ensure the reliability of its vehicles, the factory employs machine vision technology for comprehensive quality control, alongside non-destructive techniques like ultrasonic flaw detection and 3D vision tracking. This combination significantly reduces defects, ensuring high-quality products for Thai consumers.
Moreover, the Rayong facility stands out as Thailand's only integrated photovoltaic energy storage and charging facility, underscoring GAC Aion's commitment to sustainable development by reducing energy consumption.
As the global automotive market undergoes electrification, Chinese automakers are rapidly building competitive advantages. Overseas expansion is now imperative. In 2023, China's exports of EVs, lithium-ion batteries, and solar cells surpassed RMB 1.06 trillion (USD 145.7 billion) for the first time, marking a 29.9% increase. In the first half of this year, China's automotive exports reached 2.793 million units, a 30.5% year-on-year increase.
While enthusiasm for international expansion is high, challenges remain. Navigating an uncertain global market and addressing localization issues require more than just exporting products. A systematic and robust approach to overseas expansion is essential, highlighting the strategic importance of GAC Aion's new factory in Thailand.
KrASIA Connection features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This <a href="https://36kr.com/p/2867871474897288">article</a> was written by Han Yongchang for 36Kr.

GAC Aion opens new factory in Thailand, eyes overseas growth

East Asia