8 o'clock Latest News: Lin Junyang's New Company Valued at $2 Billion, Jia Yueting Shifts to Robotics Business, Popular Online Candy Found Adulterated with High

Lin Junyang, the former head of the technology for Alibaba's Qianwen large model, has recently started his own business. Areas under consideration include world models and embodied brains.

Today's Hot News Guide

Tencent's Liu Chiping: Tencent has no large-scale layoff plan
The South Korean government said it will support Samsung in dialoguing with the labor union to resolve disputes and avoid strikes
China-US economic and trade consultations have begun in South Korea
Unitree Technology has registered multiple robot trademarks
TikTok officially announced its lifestyle service brand TikTok GO in Indonesia, the United States, and Japan

Top 3 Big News

Lin Junyang Starts a Business, New Company Valued at Approximately $2 Billion

36Kr exclusively learned that Lin Junyang, the former technical leader of Alibaba's Qianwen large model, has recently started a business. The directions under consideration include world models and embodied brains. Currently, Lin Junyang has recruited several members with backgrounds from ByteDance, Tencent, and overseas, and has started fundraising with a valuation of approximately $2 billion. The funds he has contacted include Sequoia Capital China, GaoRong Capital, etc.

After 12 Years of Failed Car - making, Jia Yueting Announces a Shift to Robotics

Recently, Jia Yueting, the founder of Faraday Future, said in a video posted on a social platform: "I'm announcing a major strategic upgrade for the company: FF (Faraday Future) will be upgraded to a physical AI ecosystem company, focusing on two major engines of embodied intelligent robot business. One is humanoid and bionic robots, and the other is automotive robots. In terms of the strategic execution rhythm, in the first stage, humanoid and bionic robots will be the main focus, with automotive robots as a supplement."

However, in fact, 12 years have passed since Jia Yueting officially announced his plan to make cars in 2014, and Faraday Future is still far from mass - producing cars. In the past decade, Faraday Future has delivered less than 20 cars in total. Moreover, Jia Yueting has not returned to China for 8 years and is burdened with huge debts. (Yicai Global)

Shanghai Market Supervision Bureau: Sampling found that a popular internet candy contains 125,000 milligrams of Viagra per kilogram

Recently, the Shanghai Market Supervision and Administration Bureau found through sampling that a candy product called "Aibixiang" contains as much as 125,000 milligrams of sildenafil per kilogram. Sildenafil, commonly known as Viagra, is a prescription drug and is prohibited from being added to ordinary food. Long - term or improper consumption may cause health risks such as dizziness, sudden drop in blood pressure, and liver and kidney damage, and it is particularly harmful to children, women, and patients with cardiovascular diseases. This product was reported in September 2025, but the merchant went out of contact, used a false registered address, and closed the involved online store. Currently, the relevant products cannot be found. In response, a staff member from the Food Sampling Department of the Shanghai Market Supervision and Administration Bureau said that there will be follow - up verification and disposal, and the information of non - compliant products will be reported to the relevant provinces and municipalities outside Shanghai. (Red Star News)

Big Companies/Big Events

China-US Economic and Trade Consultations Begin in South Korea

On May 13 local time, He Lifeng, the Chinese lead negotiator for China-US economic and trade issues and Vice Premier of the State Council, held economic and trade consultations with Janet Yellen, the US lead negotiator and US Treasury Secretary, in South Korea. Guided by the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, the two sides, in accordance with the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation, had candid, in-depth and constructive exchanges on resolving economic and trade issues of mutual concern and further expanding practical cooperation. (CCTV News)

Trump Arrives in Beijing

On the evening of the 13th, Trump arrived in Beijing to start his visit to China. Many heavyweight representatives from the American business community, such as Elon Musk and Jensen Huang, accompanied him. (CCTV News)

"Love and the Abyss" Accused of Using Suggestive Promotion Videos, Staff of Dielian Paper Apologize to Players

On May 12th, "Love and the Abyss" faced another controversy over vulgarity. Some netizens reported that the promotional video of the hot - spring plot posted on the official Weibo account of "Love and the Abyss" was overly suggestive. In the video, the male protagonist was half - naked while taking a bath and was being stroked on the chest and back by the female protagonist, accompanied by a gasping background music. The relevant video had over 3 million views. The staff of Dielian Paper Games responded, saying they were sorry for affecting the players' experience and had conveyed the complaints and reports. (Cover News)

Tencent's Martin Lau: Tencent Has No Plan for Mass Layoffs

At Tencent's general meeting of shareholders, in response to the question of whether Tencent will conduct mass layoffs, Tencent President Martin Lau said that there is definitely no plan for mass layoffs. Tencent is quite different from Silicon Valley companies. (NBD)

The South Korean government says it will support Samsung in dialogue with the union to resolve disputes and avoid strikes

The South Korean presidential office said on Wednesday that it plans to actively support dialogue between Samsung Electronics and its labor union to resolve wage disputes and avoid the threat of a strike. Kang Youzhen, a senior spokesman for the South Korean presidential office, said at a news conference: "The government plans to actively support both labor and management to find a solution through dialogue. There is still some time before the strike." Earlier on Wednesday, Samsung Electronics and the union failed to reach an agreement after two days of government - led mediation talks. These talks were seen as the last effort to avoid a strike originally scheduled for May 21. (Sina Finance)

Fuel surcharge hike triggers ticket hoarding wave, Dragon Boat Festival ticket bookings surge 84%

The fuel surcharge for domestic flights will be raised again on May 16. Coupled with the more than 40% drop in the average domestic air ticket price after the May Day holiday, domestic passengers are eager to seize the window period before the price hike and book tickets in advance. Data from online platforms shows that on May 12, the number of tickets booked for flights departing during the Dragon Boat Festival (June 19 - 21) increased by 84% compared with the previous day. The number of ticket bookings for the summer vacation period (July - August) increased by 58% compared with the previous day and 45% compared with the same period last year. According to the official direct - sales platform of civil aviation, Travelzen, many domestic routes have offered air tickets at prices as low as 100 yuan after the May Day holiday. Tickets for routes from Beijing/Shanghai to Sanya, Qingdao, Changsha, etc. are on sale at around 300 yuan. (Yicai Global)

Citi Names Alibaba as Top Pick for AI Investment in China, Sets HK$204 Target Price for H-Shares

On May 12, Citi released a research report stating that Alibaba's Alibaba Cloud has the vertically integrated full-stack artificial intelligence capabilities from its chip division Pingtouge, Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS) to Model as a Service (MaaS). Coupled with the continuous progress of its Tongyi Qianwen large language model (LLM) and Model-Scope platform, Citi is optimistic that the company will occupy a favorable position in the rapidly growing token economy and names it the top pick for artificial intelligence investment in China. Citi reaffirms its "Buy" rating on Alibaba, setting a target price of HK$204 for its Hong Kong shares and US$205 for its ADRs, believing that the company's continuously improving full-stack artificial intelligence capabilities can bring cost synergies and profit expansion space. The bank expects that the AI-related revenue of Alibaba Cloud will achieve a compound annual growth rate of 90% from fiscal year 2026 to 2031 and will account for 70% of the total cloud business revenue by fiscal year 2031. (Caixin)

Elon Musk Praises Unitree's Manned Transformable Mech GD01

Unitree Technology released the world's first mass - produced manned transformable mech GD01 on the 12th. Elon Musk replied on the social platform, saying, "Cool!" According to Unitree Technology, the starting price of this mech is 3.9 million RMB. It is a civilian vehicle, and its weight is about 500 kg (after carrying a person). It is worth noting that some netizens dug out a post Elon Musk published on the social platform in 2018, which said, "It's time to create a mech." Some netizens joked that a Chinese company has helped him fulfill his dream. (China News Service)

Tencent: Yuanbao Supports One-Click Summarization of WeChat Group Chats

36Kr learned that Yuanbao announced support for summarizing WeChat chat records. Select the chat records in a WeChat group chat, forward them to other apps, choose Yuanbao, copy and paste them to Yuanbao, and it will help you summarize. In addition, you can also send invoice reimbursements to Yuanbao to generate a table, and let Yuanbao formulate a personalized travel plan based on the chat records.

The total revenue of the national radio, television, and online audio-visual industry in 2025 increased by 5.22% year-on-year.

36Kr learned that the National Radio and Television Administration released the statistical bulletin of the national radio and television industry in 2025. The total revenue of the national radio, television, and online audio-visual industry in 2025 was 1,546.429 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.22%. Among them, the actual revenue from radio, television, and online audio-visual services was 1,330.813 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5%; the financial subsidy income was 104.245 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 4.59%; and other income was 111.371 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 8.61%. By entity, the total revenue of radio and television institutions was 717.112 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.48%. The new media business of radio and television and the 5G business of radio and television continued to drive the revenue growth of radio and television institutions; the total revenue of online audio-visual service providers was 829.317 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.00%.

The EU Plans to Introduce a Bill to Delay Children's Use of Social Media

As the issue of online safety for minors continues to draw attention, the EU is considering further tightening the rules for children's use of social media. The European Commission said on May 12 that the EU may propose a legislative plan as early as before this summer, considering implementing a "delayed use of social media" policy for children. In recent years, multiple EU member states have continuously promoted the strengthening of children's online protection. Countries such as France, Spain, Denmark, Cyprus, and Greece have been calling on the EU to set a unified minimum age standard for social media use. (CCTV News)

Unitree Technology has registered multiple robot trademarks

36Kr learned that Tianyancha App shows that Unitree Technology Co., Ltd. was established in August 2016. The legal representative is Wang Xingxing, and the registered capital is approximately 364 million RMB. Its business scope includes the R & D of intelligent robots, the sales of intelligent robots, the manufacturing of industrial robots, etc. It is jointly held by Wang Xingxing, Hanhai Information Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., Ningbo Hongshan Kesheng Equity Investment Partnership (Limited Partnership), etc. Intellectual property information shows that the company has applied to register trademarks such as "Robot License", "KONGFBOT", and "Yang BOT". The international classifications include transportation tools, scientific instruments, website services, etc. Some of these trademarks have been successfully registered.

TikTok Officially Launches Lifestyle Service Brand TikTok GO in Indonesia, the United States, and Japan

36Kr learned that TikTok recently announced the official launch of its lifestyle service brand, TikTok GO, in the United States and Japan. It is understood that the number of food orders for TikTok GO in Indonesia increased by more than 20 times last year, and it provided 80,000 and 360,000 travel experience services in Japan and the United States respectively.

Elon Musk Says Starship's 12th Test Flight Will Be Conducted Next Week

Elon Musk reposted a post from SpaceX's official account on the X platform, stating that the 12th test flight of the Starship will be conducted next week. The post from SpaceX said, "The 12th flight test of the Starship will showcase the new - generation Starship and Super Heavy vehicle for the first time. They will be equipped with the latest - generation Raptor engines and will be launched from the newly built launch pad at Starbase. This launch is tentatively scheduled for next Tuesday, May 19th at the earliest." (Sina Finance)

Behind the Fierce Promotion of "Interest First, Principal Later" in Moments: Banks' Rush to Catch the "Last Train" of Consumer Loans

Recently, WeChat Moments has become an arena for banks to seize the retail credit market. Reporters frequently see loan marketing advertisements from banks such as Ningbo Bank, Hangzhou Bank, and China CITIC Baixin Bank here. Common promotional slogans include "Interest first, principal later", "Annualized interest rate starting from 3.0%", and "Pure online application". Multiple consumer loan products have frequently appeared in Moments, competing for traffic entry. For a while, it seems that all users can access low - interest loans at their fingertips. Industry insiders said that behind this round of marketing boom of banks, there is not only the "accelerated running" mentality under policy pressure, but also the deep - seated logic of banks actively adjusting strategies and competing for the increment of retail credit during the interest rate window period when the LPR has remained unchanged for many consecutive months. (China Securities Journal)

Going Public: In Progress

Biwin Storage Files for Listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange Again

36Kr learned that according to documents from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, on May 12, Shenzhen Biwin Storage Technology Co., Ltd. submitted a listing application to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Huatai International is the sole sponsor.

The Cutting - Edge of AI

Tencent: Hy3 preview call volume remains at the top of OpenRouter, and Agents are being intensively released

36Kr learned that Tencent released its financial report for the first quarter of 2026, with AI accelerating across the board. Among them, Hunyuan was rebuilt in less than three months, and Hy3 preview has significantly improved in capabilities such as context, Agent, and Coding. OpenRouter data shows that after Hy3 preview ended its free trial period, its daily and weekly Token usage still ranked first; it topped the OpenRouter weekly overall list for three consecutive weeks from April 27th to May 11th. Since the beginning of this year, Tencent has launched dozens of general and vertical scenario Agents in total.

South Korea's Stock Exchange Begins to Adopt AI Technology in Capital Market Monitoring

The Korea Exchange (KRX) said on Wednesday that it has started to adopt artificial intelligence (AI) technology in its capital market monitoring work. The official adoption of AI technology came about three months after the KRX acquired Fair Labs, a local AI startup, with the aim of accelerating its AI transformation and strengthening its data business. (Sina Finance)

Baidu Huibo Star Upgrades to Baidu Yijing

36Kr learned that at the Create2026 Baidu AI Developer Conference held on May 13th, Robin Li, the founder of Baidu, announced that Baidu Huibo Star has been upgraded to "Baidu Yijing". It has evolved from a digital human mainly used in the live - streaming e - commerce scenario to a "full - scenario digital human platform" featuring digital humans, covering multiple forms such as live - streaming, videos, and real - time interactions, and can generate highly interactive content lasting for several minutes or even hours.

Baidu Buddy DuMate Officially Debuts

36Kr learned that at the Create2026 Baidu AI Developers Conference held on May 13th, Baidu Buddy DuMate launched a new mobile app. It is understood that DuMate integrates the core product capabilities of Baidu AI Search, Miaoda, Famou, Baike and other products into built - in skills that can be called at any time, while strengthening the long - range task execution and active decision - making abilities.

Financial Reports of Large Companies

Alibaba: Revenue in Q4 of Fiscal Year 2026 Reached 243.38 Billion Yuan, a Year-on-Year Increase of 3%

36Kr learned that Alibaba released its financial report for the fourth fiscal quarter of fiscal year 2026. The report shows that Alibaba's revenue in the fourth fiscal quarter was 243.38 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 3%. Excluding the revenue from the disposed businesses of Sun Art Retail and Intime, the revenue on a comparable basis would have increased by 11% year-on-year. The net profit was 2.5476 billion yuan.

Tencent: Q1 Revenue Reaches 196.458 Billion Yuan, Up 9% Year-on-Year

36Kr learned that Tencent released its financial report for the first quarter of 2026. The report shows that Tencent's revenue in the first quarter was 196.458 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 9%; its Non-IFRS operating profit was 75.63 billion yuan, also up 9% year-on-year. Excluding the impact of new AI products, the Non-IFRS operating profit increased by 17% year-on-year to 84.4 billion yuan. During the period, Tencent's free cash flow reached 56.7 billion yuan.

Siemens' Net Profit Reached €2.24 Billion in the Second Quarter

On May 13th, Siemens released its second - quarter performance report. Siemens' revenue in the second quarter was €19.76 billion, while the market expectation was €20.07 billion. The net profit in the second quarter was €2.24 billion, a year - on - year decrease of 8.3%. (Jiemian News)

MINISO: Revenue in Q1 is expected to increase by approximately 113% - 116% year-on-year

36Kr learned that MINISO announced that based on a preliminary review and assessment of the unaudited consolidated management accounts for the quarter ended March 31, 2026, the Group is expected to record revenue of approximately RMB 5678 million - RMB 5728 million, representing an increase of approximately 28% - 29% year-on-year; operating profit of approximately RMB 1511 million - RMB 1531 million, representing an increase of approximately 113% - 116% year-on-year; and profit for the period of approximately RMB 1228 million - RMB 1248 million, representing an increase of approximately 195% - 200% year-on-year.

Investment and Financing

Xinchi Technology Completes Nearly $100 Million Series C Financing

36Kr learned that on May 13th, Xinchi Technology officially announced the completion of nearly $100 million in Series C financing. This round of financing was led by Jiangsu Industrial Investment Group. Shaanxi Automobile Hongde Investment joined as a new strategic shareholder, and several well - known investment institutions and industrial capitals such as Yizhuang State - owned Investment, Beijing Advanced Manufacturing Fund, Xi'an Financial Investment, and Yizhong Gentai participated in the follow - on investment. The successful implementation of this round of financing will further strengthen Xinchi Technology's technological barriers, mass - production advantages, and industrial ecosystem layout in the automotive - grade chip field, and accelerate the company's full - stack "chip" breakthrough from the automotive to the embodied intelligence track.

"Weiyuan Synthesis" Completes a New Round of Financing Worth 1.5 Billion Yuan

36Kr learned that recently, "Weiyuan Synthesis" announced the completion of a new round of financing worth 1.5 billion yuan. This round of financing consists of equity financing and long - term bank loans. The equity financing involves Zhang Qibin, Tan Ruiqing, and Xingyin Investment, while the long - term bank loans are supported by the Beijing Branch of Industrial Bank. This round of financing is mainly used for the acquisition of Yuxin and the large - scale mass production of multiple bulk products.

Compiled | Xu Jiatong

This article is originally produced by「8点1氪」， For reprint or content cooperation, please click Reprint Instructions ；Unauthorized reprint will be held accountable.