China Executive Insights
Doubao, China's largest AI chatbot with 345 million monthly active users, has quietly introduced three paid subscription tiers on the Apple App Store: 68 yuan/month, 200 yuan/month, and 500 yuan/month. The move signals a broader industry shift toward token-based AI monetization.
Every Wednesday and Friday, TechNode’s Briefing newsletter delivers a roundup of the most important news in China tech, straight to your inbox. Your support helps TechNode continue to provide credible, on-the-ground journalism and industry insights about the Chinese tech industry. TikTok has secured approval for a $25 billion data center expansion project in Thailand, as the Southeast Asian nation accelerates efforts to position itself as a regional digital infrastructure hub. Thailand’s Board of Investment (BOI) announced that it had approved six large-scale investment projects with a combined value of 958 billion baht (about $29 billion), part of a broader push to strengthen power supply capacity, expand access to clean energy and attract strategic foreign investment. The largest approved project comes from TikTok System (Thailand) Co., Ltd., which plans to invest around 842 billion baht (around $25 billion) to expand its digital infrastructure footprint across Bangkok, Samut Prakan and Chachoengsao provinces. The investment will add servers and enhance data storage and processing capabilities to support rising demand for digital services in the region.
Yuanxin Tech, connecting online doctors and offline pharmacies, files for its sixth HK listing attempt with a 19.5 billion yuan valuation backed by Sequoia China and Tencent.
Li Auto CEO Li Xiang confirms the company will abandon sedan development, saying sedan architecture is fundamentally incompatible with the brand's 'home'-focused design philosophy.
XPeng's GX Native Wire-Control Chassis integrates human and autonomous driving control into one system, clearing 49 hairpin turns on a Yunnan mountain road in a single run as proof of concept.
Tsinghua-spunout humanoid robot startup Wujie Power raises over $200M in angel-stage funding from Sequoia China, Linear Capital, Hillhouse, Baidu Ventures, and SF Express.
Every Wednesday and Friday, TechNode’s Briefing newsletter delivers a roundup of the most important news in China tech, straight to your inbox. Your support helps TechNode continue to provide credible, on-the-ground journalism and industry insights about the Chinese tech industry. Kimi developer Moonshot AI is close to completing a new $2 billion funding round that would value the company at more than $20 billion, according to LatePost. The round is reportedly led by Meituan’s Long-Z Fund, with China Mobile and CPE joining as investors. Moonshot AI had already completed three funding rounds in January and February totaling $1.9 billion. With the new round, the company would have raised more than $3.9 billion in less than six months, making it the most-funded startup among China’s large model companies. [LatePost, in Chinese]
Every Wednesday and Friday, TechNode’s Briefing newsletter delivers a roundup of the most important news in China tech, straight to your inbox. Your support helps TechNode continue to provide credible, on-the-ground journalism and industry insights about the Chinese tech industry. China’s state-backed semiconductor investment vehicle, known as the Big Fund, is in talks to lead DeepSeek’s first external fundraising, which could value the AI company at about $45 billion, according to the Financial Times. Tencent is also among the investors still in discussions, though the final lineup has not been decided. The reported valuation is up sharply from about $20 billion only weeks ago, as investors look to back DeepSeek despite its limited commercial focus. A deal would also mark the first known investment by the Big Fund in a Chinese large language model company. [Financial Times]
Every Wednesday and Friday, TechNode’s Briefing newsletter delivers a roundup of the most important news in China tech, straight to your inbox. Your support helps TechNode continue to provide credible, on-the-ground journalism and industry insights about the Chinese tech industry. Samsung Electronics said Wednesday it will stop selling home appliances in mainland China, marking the company’s full exit from the country’s consumer appliance retail market amid shifting market conditions. The South Korean tech giant said the decision takes effect immediately and applies to all appliance categories, including televisions, monitors, refrigerators and washing machines. Its smartphone business in China will continue operating as usual. The company said customers who have already purchased Samsung appliances will continue to receive after-sales support in accordance with China’s consumer protection laws and national warranty regulations. Samsung was once a major player in China’s electronics market, but in recent years has faced mounting competition from domestic brands that have rapidly gained market share in both smartphones and home appliances. [TechNode reporting]
Narendra Modi hosts To Lam as both aim to raise trade to $25bn by 2030 Vietnam's President To Lam and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi pose for a photo at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on May 6. © Reuters NEW DELHI -- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Vietnamese President To Lam held wide-ranging discussions on Wednesday over cooperation in sectors such as defense, energy, critical minerals, rare earths and supply chain resilience, as they seek to expand their partnership and increase bilateral trade to $25 billion by 2030.
Country looks to become digital technology hub for Southeast Asia TikTok Shop is one of the top three players in Thailand's surging e-commerce market. © Reuters BANGKOK -- The Thailand Board of Investment (BOI) has approved a plan by a local TikTok unit to invest 842 billion baht ($26.2 billion) to expand data center operations in the country, the government agency said Wednesday.
Port on Gulf of Oman provides alternative, but Iran strike shows stability still needed The United Arab Emirates supplies roughly 40% of Japan's crude oil. © Reuters TOKYO -- Japan has agreed to buy an additional 20 million barrels of crude oil from the United Arab Emirates, Nikkei learned Wednesday, as Tokyo continues pursuing alternative supply channels amid the effective blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.