Krypton Evening News | Germany: Artificial Intelligence Drives Record Growth for German Startups; Lei Jun Responds to SkyNomad's Launch Timeline; SpaceX AI Will Open Grok4.5 to the Public Tomorrow
Big Companies:
Lei Jun Responds to the Launch Timeline of SkyNomad
36Kr has learned that on July 8, Lei Jun, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Xiaomi, officially announced the new Xiaomi EV series SkyNomad on his personal social media account. When a netizen asked about the vehicle's release timeline in the comment section, Lei Jun replied that "it's coming soon".
BHP Workers at the World's Largest Iron Ore Export Port to Stage an 8-Hour Strike
On July 8, the trade union stated that workers at BHP Group's Port Hedland iron ore export terminal in Western Australia will hold an 8-hour strike on July 16. This action will involve operational and maintenance staff at the world's largest iron ore export port, who are represented by the United Workers Union. The union noted that employees are seeking an agreement that recognizes their professional skills, harsh working conditions, and significant personal sacrifices.
Honda Recalls Over 320,000 Odyssey Vehicles in the U.S. Due to Backup Camera Malfunctions
The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced on July 8 that Honda is filing for a recall of select 2018 to 2020 Odyssey multi-purpose vehicles, covering a total of 325,588 units. Reports indicate that water may seep into the rearview cameras of the affected vehicles, causing the backup display to fail when the car is shifted into reverse gear.
SpaceX AI to Open Grok4.5 to the Public Tomorrow
Elon Musk stated that SpaceX AI will make Grok4.5 accessible to the general public tomorrow.
In midday news on July 8, ByteDance released a company-wide notice outlining the 2026 semi-annual performance evaluation, which will kick off on July 15. The notice specifies that starting this cycle, employees with a comprehensive performance rating of E or above will qualify for semi-annual incentives. The company will increase incentive intensity, with the calculation base adjusted from monthly base salary to total monthly compensation (base salary + monthly options/RSUs); the payout structure will change from 100% cash to 25% cash and 75% performance-based options/RSUs (both vest evenly on a monthly basis). Additionally, ByteDance has further clarified the impact of ByteStyle and leadership principles on overall performance. The notice states that comprehensive performance is evaluated holistically based on business outcomes, with full consideration of ByteStyle and leadership principles. In most cases, comprehensive performance aligns with business outcome scores, but exceptional performance or gaps in ByteStyle or leadership principles can serve as references for upward or downward adjustments to the final performance rating.
Tencent Announces Former OpenAI Researcher Yonglong Tian Has Joined to Participate in VLM R&D
According to relevant Tencent representatives, former OpenAI researcher Yonglong Tian has recently joined Tencent's Large Language Model department, where he will participate in R&D related to VLMs (Vision-Language Models). This marks another instance of Tencent recruiting talent from OpenAI. Last December 17, Tencent announced an upgrade to its large model R&D structure, establishing new AI Infra, AI Data, and Data Computing Platform departments, and appointing former OpenAI Senior Researcher Shuyao Yao as Chief AI Scientist in the "CEO / President's Office" (reporting to Martin Lau), while also serving as head of the AI Infra and Large Language Model departments (reporting to Lu Shan), a move that drew widespread attention across social media at the time.
New Products:
Alipay's "Tap to Connect" Upgrades 30 Million Offline Touchpoints into an AI Business Network
36Kr has learned that on July 8, Alipay announced that its "Tap to Connect" feature has completed an AI upgrade: millions of merchant-side Tap to Connect devices have been fully updated to "Tap Device Agents", with the simultaneous launch of the "Tap Everything Agent" service platform for small and medium merchants, and an "AI Open Infrastructure" for developers.
Investment and Financing:
Samsung-Backed Korean AI Chip Startup Rebellions Plans South Korean IPO Next Year
According to reports, Sunghyun Park, CEO of Samsung Electronics-backed Korean AI chip startup Rebellions, stated that the company plans to go public in South Korea in the first or second quarter of next year. Sunghyun Park noted that Rebellions has now begun generating tangible revenue, "which is why we are working with underwriting teams from JPMorgan Chase and Samsung Securities to prepare for the IPO."
Today's Perspectives:
Recent market rumors claimed that Apple's first foldable device might see a delayed launch due to complex assembly processes and low production yields. In response, reporters interviewed multiple executives from Apple's supply chain, who revealed that the product plan for Apple's foldable device was finalized long ago, and related enterprises are now in peak production season with normal mass production underway. Multiple sources also stated that September delivery should be "no problem", and that they "have not heard" any rumors about a delayed product launch.
Other Notable News:
36Kr has learned that the Cybersecurity Threat and Vulnerability Information Sharing Platform (NVDB) under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has detected severe security backdoor risks in the AI programming tool Claude Code. Developed by U.S. company Anthropic, Claude Code is an AI programming tool that can autonomously complete code writing, debugging, and other tasks based on text instructions. Due to its built-in monitoring mechanism, it can transmit sensitive user information including geographic location and identity identifiers to remote servers without user consent. Affected versions of Claude Code range from 2.1.91 to 2.1.196.
On July 8, the "Sihang Yongsheng", China's full-rotation semi-submersible crane vessel with the largest lifting capacity, was officially delivered in Jiangmen, Guangdong Province. The vessel is equipped with a massive full-rotation luffing crane at its stern, with a 149-meter boom and a maximum lifting height of 172.5 meters, capable of precisely "grabbing" cargo at the equivalent height of over 50 stories. When the stern crane is fixed in place, the vessel can lift 2,200 tons of cargo in a single operation — equivalent to hoisting 1,500 passenger cars at once — making it the full-rotation semi-submersible crane vessel with the largest lifting capacity in China to date.
Germany: Artificial Intelligence Drives Record Growth for German Startups
According to the latest survey jointly released by the German Startup Association and data analytics firm Startupdetector, 3,053 new startups were established in Germany in the first half of 2026, marking an all-time high for the period and a 52% increase compared to the second half of 2025. Among these new ventures, 1,038 have a clear artificial intelligence business focus, accounting for more than one-third of total new startups. The report shows that artificial intelligence has significantly lowered the barriers to entry for startups, allowing founders to launch businesses faster and with less capital. The software sector remained the strongest performing industry, with 844 new startups founded.