8:01 Krypton | Nobel Laureate Labels Elon Musk a Ponzi Scheme; SK Hynix Hires Over 2,000 New Employees in the Past Year; Humanoid Robot U1 Exclusively for Adult Buyers

Nobel laureate in Economics Paul Krugman published an article titled "Elon Musk, Human Ponzi Scheme".

Today's Hotspot Guide

A Canadian mother sues Altman and OpenAI, accusing ChatGPT of inducing her daughter to commit suicide
Ten delisted companies in the A-share market affect more than 250,000 retail investors
SK Hynix added more than 2,000 new employees last year
H&M restructures its global architecture, downgrading the Greater China region
England's World Cup equipment was stolen, and most of it has been recovered

Top 3 Big News

Nobel laureate says Musk is running a Ponzi scheme, and SpaceX's listing forces ordinary investors to foot the bill

On June 12 local time, Nobel laureate in economics Paul Krugman published an article titled "Elon Musk, Human Ponzi Scheme", claiming that world's richest man Elon Musk is running a Ponzi scheme.

Krugman believes that SpaceX's IPO is entirely based on a "Ponzi scheme". Retail investors invest in SpaceX not because they have seriously evaluated the company's commercial value, but simply because they blindly believe that "Musk is a genius". However, this capital game is not one that retail investors can win in the end.

Krugman believes that "Elon Musk's large - scale real - life Ponzi scheme will eventually collapse. A traditional Ponzi scheme only harms investors who voluntarily participate, but this time, a large part of the funds supporting Musk's scheme will come from ordinary American citizens - they are essentially 'forced into the game'."

Currently, about 52% of mutual fund assets are invested in index funds or index - linked funds, and more than 50% of American households hold mutual funds. Musk's collusion with Wall Street and the general perception that the Trump administration backs him will cause the vast majority of ordinary investors to be involuntarily involved and become the 'fuel' for Musk's capital empire. (Global Market Report)

US Bans Foreigners Worldwide from Accessing Anthropic's Latest Model

The Trump administration has prohibited foreign governments, enterprises, and individuals from using the most advanced artificial intelligence models under Anthropic. This move means that the United States is further regarding cutting - edge artificial intelligence systems as core national security assets, and the relevant controls have been upgraded again. (Sina Finance)

The humanoid robot U1 has received over 3,800 pre - order orders, and it is only available for adults.

Within 10 days of its launch, the humanoid robot U1, which focuses on emotional companionship, has brought over 3,800 pre - order orders for Ubtech, with the total deposit amount exceeding tens of millions of yuan. The male model wears a tailored suit, and the female model can be made up. It is equipped with a "cultivation - style" emotional large - scale model and is only available for adults.

According to the product introduction on the e - commerce platform, the U1 series has two models, male and female. The male model is 183 cm tall and weighs 42 kg; the female model is 168 cm tall and weighs 35.2 kg. Both models support Wi - Fi connection, have a single - charge battery life of 2 to 4 hours, and do not have a "3C" certification. They are equipped with 88 high - degree - of - freedom motion joints, a "cultivation - style" emotional large - scale model, local encrypted storage for memories, support multi - dimensional appearance customization, and have started IP cooperation. The industry warns that ethical risks need to be noted. (Red Star News)

The forefront of AI

Ant Group Reportedly Conducting Secret Tests on AI Version of Alipay

On the afternoon of June 14th, the media reported that Ant Group is secretly testing an AI version of Alipay. The new version revolutionizes the original user interaction and allows users to switch to the native AI interface with a single click, enabling intelligent services from service provision to fund management. The news also states that the launch time of the new version is yet to be determined. Ant Group declined to comment. (Sina Finance)

German Digital Minister Suspected of Using AI to Write Official Documents

Karsten Wldberger, Germany's Minister for Digitalization and State Modernization, is currently facing doubts from German media and the public over suspicions that he used artificial intelligence (AI) tools to complete multiple official documents, including speeches.

According to a report in Germany's Die Zeit weekly on the 13th, based on an analysis by software specifically designed to detect AI-generated content, several speeches and opinion articles signed by Wldberger appear to have been mainly generated by AI. The report states that articles published in major German newspapers in Wldberger's name, as well as several parliamentary speeches, show a large number of signs of AI assistance; a speech he delivered at the Atlantic Council, a U.S. think tank, in 2024 is believed to have been completely generated by AI.

However, some experts point out that such detection software is not entirely reliable. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Digitalization and State Modernization confirmed to Deutsche Presse-Agentur that Wldberger uses AI as an auxiliary work tool, stating that this practice stems from "his firm belief that Germany must quickly learn to use artificial intelligence in an efficient and prudent manner. This applies to the economy, the public sector, and the political arena." (Global Times)

Canadian Mother Sues Altman and OpenAI, Alleging ChatGPT Induced Daughter's Suicide

A Canadian mother recently filed a lawsuit against artificial intelligence company OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, in a US court, alleging that the chatbot ChatGPT induced her daughter to commit suicide. This is the latest in a series of recent lawsuits accusing the company of failing to control dangerous conversations between users and the chatbot.

The lawsuit was filed in the Superior Court of San Francisco. Plaintiff Christie Carrier said that before her daughter Alice passed away, she confided her suicidal thoughts to ChatGPT more than a dozen times. However, OpenAI's security system neither marked the relevant conversations for human review nor terminated the conversations. OpenAI said that the company had specially trained the model so that when users showed signs of self - harm or suicide, the model would guide them to seek help and connect them with real - world rescue resources.

OpenAI spokesman Drew Pusateri said, "This tragedy is heartbreaking, and we extend our condolences to all those affected. Currently, we are reviewing the lawsuit. The relevant conversations mentioned in the lawsuit took place on an old version of ChatGPT, which is no longer in use." (China News Service)

Moore Threads: Completes Adaptation for MiniMax M3 Large Model

36Kr learned that on June 12th, MiniMax's new-generation native multimodal flagship model M3 was officially open-sourced. On the same day, Moore Threads' flagship AI training and inference integrated intelligent computing card MTT S5000 completed the Day-0 rapid adaptation for this model. It is reported that Moore Threads has the complete engineering capabilities covering the "adaptation - deployment - optimization" of cutting-edge models, helping developers to access the latest models with faster response, more stable operation, and lower migration costs, and accelerating the innovation, implementation, and large-scale application of large models.

Big Companies/Big Events

10 Delisted A-share Companies Affect More Than 250,000 Shareholders

Since 2026, the delisting efforts of A-share companies have been unprecedented. In just half a year, more than 20 companies have been locked in for delisting, among which more than 60% are delisted due to financial reasons. Among this batch of delisted companies, financial fraud is the most serious in nature, and the delisting of some companies is due to the drastic change in their performance forecasts.

According to the statistics of the peak number of shareholders within the claim period, the 10 delisted companies have affected more than 250,000 investors in total. (21st Century Business Herald)

Decathlon Responds to the Flood of Inferior Goods: Suggest Purchasing from Official Stores

It is reported that a large number of consumers have feedback that they bought inferior Decathlon products. Many merchants on e - commerce platforms marked similar words such as "Dixiaonong" in the product titles or pages, deliberately imitating the official brand and misleading consumers into thinking they were Decathlon official stores. Whether the involved goods are counterfeit still needs further testing.

The reporter called Decathlon's official hotline to inquire about this matter. The customer service representative on the line said that apart from the official flagship store, Decathlon has not authorized any other stores or third - parties. It is recommended that consumers purchase from the official flagship store. Regarding the question from many netizens about whether the official can provide quality testing for consumers who bought counterfeit goods for after - sales communication, the customer service representative said that currently the official cannot provide testing services and suggested that consumers communicate directly with the sellers or the platform for handling. In addition, the customer service representative also revealed that Decathlon is currently aware of the corresponding issue and at the same time suggests that consumers purchase from regular stores in the future, and the official will provide full - fledged after - sales service. (Blue Whale News)

Alibaba: "Zhou Jingren's Resignation" is Purely a Rumor

On the 14th, Alibaba Group replied to a query from Jiemian News, stating that "Zhou Jingren's resignation" is purely a rumor. "We've noticed that some people have been organizing and spreading this rumor online in recent days, and we also appeal to everyone not to spread false information." (Jiemian News)

Sam's Club customer service responds to customers buying near-expiry products via Express Delivery: You can write "No near-expiry products" in the order remarks

Recently, on online social platforms, many consumers have posted to safeguard their rights, pointing out the issue of Sam's Club Express Delivery sending near-expiry products. On the afternoon of May 10th, Ms. Liu (a pseudonym), a consumer from Jiangsu, placed an order for a vegetable salad via "Express Delivery". After receiving the goods, she subconsciously checked the expiration date - the production date was May 7th, and the expiration date was May 11th. That is to say, there was less than 24 hours left until it expired. "I spent 680 yuan to become an elite member, and the products I bought are even more expensive than those in the vegetable market. Yet, Sam's Club stuffed near-expiry vegetables to me without saying a word," Ms. Liu posted angrily on social media. The customer service responded, "It's our company's policy to put these products on the shelves. If you don't want near-expiry products, you need to write 'No near-expiry products' in the order remarks."

This is not an isolated case. Many consumers have also shared their experiences of buying near-expiry products when placing orders via Sam's Club Express Delivery. (Haibao News)

SK Hynix Added Over 2,000 Employees Last Year

Industry insiders recently revealed that driven by the global artificial intelligence boom, the demand for memory chips has skyrocketed, and SK Hynix added over 2,000 employees last year. This expansion is particularly notable against the backdrop of the overall slowdown in the South Korean job market. Data shows that as of the end of 2025, the total number of SK Hynix employees reached 34,549, an increase of 2,159 from the previous year. During the same period, the number of employees in the Device Solutions division of Samsung Electronics, which is in charge of the chip business, was 78,064, a slight decrease from 78,699 in the previous year. As of the end of last year, the total number of chip-related employees at the two technology giants was 112,613, an increase of 1,554 year-on-year. (Caixin)

H&M Restructures Global Architecture, Downgrades Greater China Region

36Kr has exclusively learned that Swedish fast-fashion giant H&M is advancing a global organizational structure adjustment: The original nine regional business segments divided by geography have been reorganized. They are now split into 26 sales markets, which will be managed by four newly established "continental" business units based on market performance. In this round of adjustment, the Greater China Region has been downgraded to one of the 26 sales markets and will be under the management of the newly established Continent Asia Pacific business unit. Saed El-Achkar, the former president of the Greater China Region, will serve as the Managing Director of this business unit. The appointment is expected to be officially announced around the release of the group's semi-annual report on June 25th, and the new structure will be implemented on July 1st.

The number of A-share investors has exceeded 250 million, a 5.86% increase from the previous year

China Securities Depository and Clearing Corporation Limited released its annual report for 2025 on June 12. The report shows that a total of 13.8695 million new investors were added throughout 2025, including 13.8284 million new individual investors. The number of investors at the end of 2025 was 250.6729 million, a 5.86% increase from the previous year.

China Securities Depository and Clearing Corporation Limited explained that the number of investors at the end of the period refers to the number of One Code Connect accounts holding non-cancelled and non-dormant A-share and B-share accounts. As of the end of 2025, the total market value of securities in the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges under the custody of China Securities Depository and Clearing Corporation Limited was 137.80 trillion yuan, the total market value of securities in the Beijing Stock Exchange was 869.442 billion yuan, and the total market value of securities in the National Equities Exchange and Quotations was 197.8021 billion yuan. Among them, the total market value of Shanghai and Shenzhen A-shares was 107.84 trillion yuan, and the total market value of B-shares was 11.1409 billion yuan.

Judging from the past data released by China Securities Depository and Clearing Corporation Limited, in the past decade, the number of new A-share investors added each year has exceeded 10 million, and in the peak period, it exceeded 20 million. (Securities China)

"Cathie Wood" Buys More Than $400 Million Worth of SpaceX Stocks

ARK Investment Management, led by "Cathie Wood," released its trading records for June 12 (Friday), indicating a significant shift in its investment strategy. The most eye - catching move was that several of its ETFs collectively bought 3,291,184 shares of SpaceX, with a total transaction value of up to $444,309,840, suggesting the fund's growing interest in the space technology sector. Meanwhile, ARK significantly reduced its holdings in AMD. Through three ETFs, ARKQ, ARKW, and ARKX, it sold a total of 80,536 shares, with a total transaction value of $39,337,809, continuing the trend of reducing its position in AMD. (Sina Finance)

SpaceX's business shows a pattern of "one profitable segment and two loss - making segments"

On the first trading day of SpaceX's public listing, the shares in circulation in the market accounted for only 4.2% of the total share capital. The supply of chips was in short supply, and the subscription enthusiasm was high. It was no surprise that the stock price soared in the short term. However, the company's price - to - sales ratio has exceeded 112 times, far higher than Tesla's 15 times and the chip giant NVIDIA's nearly 20 times. Simply put, SpaceX's business shows a pattern of "one profitable segment and two loss - making segments". Starlink is undoubtedly the "cash cow".

According to the prospectus, this satellite Internet business had a revenue of $11.39 billion last year, accounting for 61% of SpaceX's total revenue. As of the end of 2025, it had served more than 10 million users. The rocket launch business occupies about 80% of the global commercial rocket launch market with its reuse technology, but it still lost $657 million last year. Moreover, if Starship is to achieve manned landing on Mars, it still requires a large amount of capital investment and technological iteration. xAI and the future space computing power business are regarded as "money - burning black holes". According to the prospectus, SpaceX has accumulated losses of $41.3 billion since its establishment in 2002. (CCTV Finance)

Chinese referee Fu Ming makes his World Cup debut

In the first round of Group D of the World Cup, Australia played against Turkey. In this game, Chinese referee Fu Ming served as an assistant VAR referee, making his World Cup debut in his refereeing career. This is also the first appearance of a Chinese referee in this World Cup. In this World Cup, three Chinese referees, Ma Ning, Fu Ming, and Zhou Fei, were included in the referee list, as the main referee, VAR referee, and assistant referee respectively. (Beijing Daily)

Most of England's World Cup Equipment Stolen, Then Recovered

The England team, currently participating in the FIFA World Cup hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, encountered an unexpected incident in Kansas City, USA. The vehicle transporting the team's training equipment was stolen, and some of the team's equipment, including some sneakers and footballs, was taken. According to UK sources, as of June 13 local time, most of the stolen equipment of the England team has been recovered. (Beijing News)

US Justice Department Approves Paramount's Acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, Says Deal Won't Harm Competition

On June 12 local time, the antitrust division of the US Department of Justice has approved Paramount Pictures' acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery for $111 billion. The antitrust division said in a statement that it has completed its analysis of the proposed merger between Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery and, based on the evidence obtained from the investigation, determined that the deal is unlikely to harm competition or US consumers, specifically in the following areas: (1) Subscription video - on - demand services; (2) Linear TV; (3) Film development, production, or theatrical distribution by studios. (Jiemian News)

Indian Government Introduces Restrictions on Gasoline and Diesel Purchases

Indian media reported on the 12th that the Indian government has introduced a 90 - day restriction on gasoline and diesel purchases. Institutional users such as freight companies are prohibited from buying gasoline and diesel at gas stations for individual users. At the same time, daily diesel purchase limits are set for ordinary consumers to prevent hoarding and reselling of fuel, which could exacerbate the supply shortage. (Xinhua News Agency)

Expert: The Bank of Japan may raise interest rates to curb inflation

According to Japanese sources, the Bank of Japan may raise the policy interest rate from the current 0.75% to 1.0% at the monetary policy meeting to be held from the 15th to the 16th of this month. Kato Izuru, the president of Tokai Tokyo Research Institute, believes that the interest rate hike will put pressure on the lives of small and medium-sized enterprises and ordinary Japanese families, and the impact on the yen exchange rate remains to be further observed. If the interest rate remains too low, it may further fuel inflation. The Bank of Japan judges that the interest rate should be raised, even if only slightly. As the Bank of Japan continues to raise interest rates, it is indeed possible that some families with housing loans and some small and medium-sized enterprises will feel increasing pressure. However, from the perspective of overall balance, the interest rate has to be raised. (CCTV News)

Going public in progress

Shanghai Unicorn Races to Become the "First Brain-Computer Interface Stock"

Brincon, a leading domestic brain-computer interface company, has reached an important milestone in its IPO. On June 11, the official website of the Shanghai Stock Exchange showed that the review status of the IPO application of Brincon Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Brincon") on the Science and Technology Innovation Board has been changed to "accepted". The company plans to raise 2.5 billion yuan, which will be mainly used for brain-computer interface R & D projects, industrialization construction projects of brain-computer interfaces, and replenishing working capital. Sequoia Hengchen, Guofu Linghang with Shanghai state-owned assets background, and Pudong Venture Capital appear on the list of the top ten shareholders before this issuance.

Currently, although there are many brain-computer interface concept stocks in the A-share market, there is no listed company whose main business focuses on brain-computer interfaces. Against this background, Brincon is regarded as a strong competitor for the title of the "first brain-computer interface stock". (Shanghai Securities News)

Sanxing Electric: Application for H-share Issuance and Listing Submitted to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange

On June 14th, Sanxing Electric issued an announcement stating that Ningbo Sanxing Medical Electric Co., Ltd. submitted an application to The Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited on June 12, 2026, for the issuance of overseas shares (H-shares) and listing on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The application materials for this issuance and listing were also published on the website of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on the same day.

The application materials were prepared and published by the company in accordance with the requirements of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. They are in draft form, and the information contained therein may be updated and changed from time to time.

The company's issuance and listing this time still need to obtain approvals, clearances, or filings from relevant government agencies, regulatory authorities, and stock exchanges such as the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. It can only be implemented after comprehensively considering market conditions and other factors, and there are still uncertainties. (Jiemian News)

Cool Products

New Organic Molecules Achieve Ultra-Narrowband Luminescence

A research team from Kyoto University in Japan has developed a new type of organic light-emitting molecule. Without the need for strong laser excitation, it has achieved ultra-narrowband luminescence close to monochromatic light, breaking through the long - standing traditional perception that "spontaneous emission necessarily produces a broad spectrum". This provides a brand - new design idea for the development of a new generation of organic light - emitting diodes (OLEDs) with higher color purity and is expected to improve the color purity of OLEDs. The relevant research was published in the latest issue of Nature. (Science and Technology Daily)

Compiled | Yuting He