Krypton Evening News | Volkswagen plans massive layoffs, with up to 120,000 jobs potentially cut; Goldman Sachs says the current environment for arbitrage trades is the best since 2000; the number of private equity firms managing over 10 billion yuan has reached 142, hitting a new all-time high
Big Companies:
SK Hynix's US IPO Could Net Wall Street Banks Combined Commissions of Up to $140 Million
The investment banking teams working on SK Hynix's IPO project will reap huge commissions totaling hundreds of millions of dollars. This South Korean chip giant with a market capitalization exceeding $1 trillion is about to list on the US stock market, and the offering is expected to rank among the largest IPOs in history. Two people familiar with the transaction revealed that the total commission pool for underwriters including Goldman Sachs and Citi on this Nasdaq stock offering could exceed $140 million; the commission consists of two parts: a basic underwriting fee of 0.5% of the total fundraising amount, and a floating incentive bonus paid separately by SK Hynix.
Google Requires Clear Labeling for AI-Generated Ads Across Search and YouTube
On local time July 9, Google announced a full expansion of disclosure requirements for generative AI advertisements. The new rules mandate that commercial ads created or edited by AI be explicitly labeled in Google Search, YouTube, and Discover feeds, to prevent consumers from being misled by false synthetic scenarios.
Volkswagen Plans Major Layoffs, Potentially Cutting Up to 120,000 Jobs
The Volkswagen Group held a supervisory board meeting on local time the 9th to discuss a new round of cost reduction plans. Reporters learned that the proposal may involve further job cuts and adjustments to the layout of German factories, with global layoffs potentially reaching 100,000 to 120,000 positions. Some German factories including those in Zwickau, Hanover, Emden, and Neckarsulm face the risk of closure. Volkswagen stated that the company is studying future development plans aimed at enhancing group competitiveness, noting that excess capacity needs to be cut, but specific plans are still under discussion by the supervisory board. In response to the plans, Germany's IG Metall union organized protests at multiple Volkswagen production sites across the country the same day, opposing factory closures and further layoffs. The state government of Lower Saxony in Germany also opposed the plans, arguing that closing factories is not a solution for the company's future development.
Samsung Develops AI PC Accelerator Chip GAIA, Has Provided Samples to Lenovo and HP for Testing
On July 10, according to reports, Samsung Electronics is developing an AI PC accelerator chip named GAIA, and has provided prototype products to Lenovo Group and HP for performance testing, with mass production scheduled to begin next year. GAIA is manufactured using a 4-nanometer process, equipped with a Neural Processing Unit (NPU) for generative AI tasks, and designed to support Processing-in-Memory (PIM) technology.
TSMC Targets Monthly CoWoS Capacity of At Least 200,000 Wafers by 2027
According to Taiwan's Electronic Times, advanced packaging capacity remains in short supply, and TSMC is accelerating capacity expansion. Supply chain sources point out that construction at almost all of TSMC's new factories is being carried out on 24-hour rotating shifts to speed up progress. Equipment manufacturers indicate that based on information released by TSMC, monthly CoWoS capacity was about 30,000+ wafers in 2024, will reach 70,000 wafers in 2025, originally targeted 110,000 wafers by the end of 2026 but will ultimately exceed 130,000, with a 2027 expansion target of around 200,000 wafers, which is considered a conservative baseline. The market is optimistic that monthly CoWoS capacity could rise to 240,000~260,000 wafers by the end of 2027. However, TSMC has still not finalized order allocations for equipment suppliers, leaving the supply chain on edge and fearing a price-cutting order-grabbing atmosphere. In addition, the lead time from equipment ordering to production and delivery is at least 7~9 months, and suppliers are worried that they will not be able to deliver equipment on schedule.
New Products:
Qijing GT7 Officially Launches National Deliveries, With Huawei ADS 5 Shipped as Standard
On July 9, the Qijing GT7 officially launched national deliveries, making it the industry's first mass-produced vehicle model to ship with Huawei's Qiankun ADS 5 as standard. It natively supports all scenarios including high-speed commuting, urban roads, campus areas, and off-road unpaved surfaces. Features such as RCA roaming cruise that automatically follows and changes lanes without navigation, and Parking to Parking 3.0 automatic parking covering over 1.2 million parking lots across China are all ready to use out of the box.
Ant Group's Lingbo Unveils LingBot-VA 2.0
36Kr learned that on July 10, Ant Lingbo released LingBot-VA 2.0, the industry's first embodiment-native world action model. It represents a key strategic choice in the development of embodied intelligence: the robot's "brain" no longer relies on "grafting" capabilities from digital world models, but is natively designed based on the original environmental interaction needs such as dynamic modeling, causal prediction, and real-time execution.
Investment and Financing:
"Enn Fusion" Completes Pre-A Financing, Valuation Exceeds 10 Billion Yuan Post-Money
36Kr learned that recently, Beijing Enn Fusion Energy Technology Co., Ltd. completed its first round (Pre-A) of financing, with a post-money valuation of 10.6 billion yuan. This financing round was led by Loongson Venture Capital, co-led by CAS Star and Matrix Partners China, with participation from CDH Investments, Cathay Capital, SAIC Hengxu Capital, Legend Star, China Merchants Zhiyuan, and Yizhuang Industrial Investment. Enn stated that it will accelerate the commercialization process of fusion energy.
"Xspark AI" Completes Nearly 100 Million Yuan Angel Round Financing
36Kr learned from CDH Investments that recently, trusted physical intelligence company "Xspark AI" completed its first nearly 100 million yuan angel round of financing. This round was co-led by CDH VGC, In Capital, and SEE Fund, with participation from multiple financial investment institutions including Shenzhen Angel FOF and Shuimu Alumni Seed Fund. The funds will be mainly used for core technology R&D, product iteration, and large-scale implementation of Physical AI.
Today's Insights:
Goldman Sachs Says Carry Trades Are in Their Best Shape Since 2000
Goldman Sachs Group stated that carry trades, one of the most commonly used strategies in the $9.5 trillion daily foreign exchange market, are currently enjoying their best environment in more than two decades. Goldman Sachs said it currently favors executing such trades using the Japanese yen, Swiss franc, or euro as funding currencies in the coming months: borrowing lower-yielding currencies to invest in higher-yielding ones. Strategist Stuart Jenkins wrote in a report that within the G10 currency universe, carry trades now make more sense than almost any other time since 2000.
Musk Outlines Space Vision: Lunar City Built in 10 Years, Manned Mars Landing in 5 Years
In a recent program, Elon Musk stated that he hopes to send tens of thousands of people to a lunar base in the next ten years, with the goal of sending the first batch of supplies to the Moon and Mars by the end of this year to begin establishing colonies. Musk predicts that in the next two to three years, SpaceX will first send astronauts to the Moon, then rapidly expand based on that foundation, send humans to the Moon and Mars within five years, and build a permanent city on the lunar surface within ten years. This lunar city is expected to be fully functional and self-sufficient, where people can either settle permanently or go on vacation. However, he also emphasized that sending people to Mars is far more difficult due to the much longer travel time, but SpaceX plans to achieve a manned Mars landing within five years and is expected to send thousands of people there in the next 10 to 12 years.
Other Notable News:
Number of 10-Billion-Yuan Private Equity Firms Reaches 142, Hitting New All-Time Record
Data from Private Equity PaiPaiWang shows that as of June 30, 2026, the number of private equity firms with assets under management exceeding 10 billion yuan reached 142, an increase of 3 from 139 at the end of May and 29 from 113 at the end of last year, setting a new historical record once again.