At 8:00, here are the latest news: The founder of Zhongxuegao wins the lawsuit: "Buy it or leave it" was not said by me; The "Are you dead?" app will be renamed Demumu; McDonald's customer service responds to the claim that hamburgers are getting smaller.
Today's Hotspot Guide
The "Dead or Not" APP will be renamed Demumu
The engineering prototype of Xiaomi Air is exposed: It is fully comparable to the iPhone Air
Over 10,000 bank branches will be closed by 2025
Top 3 Big News
Founder of Zhongxuegao Wins Lawsuit: 'Buy it or leave it' Wasn't What I Said
On January 13th, Lin Sheng, the founder of Zhongxuegao, posted a video stating that the final judgment of the case regarding the maliciously edited interview about the "buy it or leave it" remark upheld the original verdict. It was determined that it was a malicious edit by self - media. "I never said this. They made a malicious edit for traffic and commercial interests." According to previous reports, in a video that went viral in 2018, Lin Sheng's controversial remark "You can take it or leave the 66 - yuan Zhongxuegao ice cream" was actually Lin Sheng relaying the attitude of the supplier towards high - priced raw materials. In 2025, the Beijing Internet Court's first - instance judgment found that the edit constituted a reputation infringement. The defendant was required to pay 2.3 million yuan in compensation and issue a public apology. It is reported that on July 16th, 2025, Zhongxuegao had been applied for bankruptcy. Lin Sheng said, "Although it doesn't help Zhongxuegao's current situation at all, it's still good news." (Cover News)
Report shows: Over 60% of Chinese people budget over 300,000 yuan for their next car, and fuel-powered cars remain the top choice
According to reports, the "2026 Global Automotive Consumer Research Report" released by Deloitte shows that over 63% of Chinese respondents plan to buy a car worth 300,000 yuan or more. In terms of price preference, the range of 300,000 - 399,900 yuan has the highest proportion, reaching 30%; the range of 400,000 - 499,900 yuan accounts for 22%; and cars worth 500,000 yuan or more account for 11%. In contrast, the proportions of cars in the ranges of 200,000 - 299,900 yuan and 100,000 - 199,900 yuan are only 25% and 8% respectively, and cars worth less than 100,000 yuan account for only 2%. This report is Deloitte's 14th consecutive annual survey, and the data comes from questionnaires completed by more than 28,500 consumers in 27 countries around the world from October to November last year.
In terms of vehicle model selection, Chinese consumers still choose fuel-powered cars as their top choice, accounting for 41%; the proportions of pure electric vehicles, hybrid vehicles, and plug-in hybrid vehicles are 20%, 19%, and 17% respectively. This result reflects the upgrading trend of the Chinese automotive consumer market and also shows that fuel-powered cars still have a solid user base at present. (Gelonghui)
McDonald's Customer Service Responds to Claims of Shrinking Hamburgers
Recently, on social media platforms such as Weibo, Xiaohongshu, and Douyin, more and more consumers have started to complain that the size of McDonald's hamburgers has shrunk, believing that "McDonald's hamburgers are getting smaller and smaller." Relevant discussions have been heating up. Many netizens have posted comparison photos of earphone cases and hamburgers on social media, joking, "Is this a hamburger or a small steamed bun from McDonald's?" The photos show that the hamburger is not much bigger than the earphone case. Some consumers have also measured the size of the hamburgers with a ruler. Photos on social media show that "the 23-yuan McDonald's Double Cheeseburger is only 8 centimeters." Many consumers have complained that "the price is going up while the size is getting smaller..."
On the afternoon of January 13th, Jiemian News called McDonald's official customer service to verify this. The answering customer service representative responded that "this issue has been recorded accurately and will be reported to the relevant department." (Jiemian News)
Big Companies/Big Events
ByteDance Raises Option Price Again: Nearly 13% Higher Than August Last Year, Over 4 Times Higher Than in 2019
It is learned from multiple informed sources that since January this year, ByteDance has raised the option price from $200.41 in August last year to $226.07, a nearly 13% increase. However, the latest price of $226.07 is currently only applied in scenarios such as recruitment offers for total compensation packages, and the repurchase price for employees has not been adjusted. Calculated in this way, ByteDance's option price has soared from $44 in 2019 to the current price, an increase of more than 4 times. (The Paper)
The "Sileme" APP will be renamed Demumu
According to a message from @Sileme APP on the evening of January 13th: After careful decision - making by the team, the "Sileme" APP will officially adopt the global brand name Demumu in the upcoming new version. It is reported that in the future, Demumu will continue to adhere to the original intention of safety protection, bring the protection solutions originating from China to the world, and serve more single - living groups globally. (Beijing News)
Ctrip insider responds to "accidental issuance of mass dismissal notices"
On January 13th, in response to netizens' revelation on the 12th that "Ctrip accidentally sent mass dismissal notices to its employees", a Ctrip insider made a response. After verification, this text message was indeed caused by an operational error of a secondary department and was only accidentally sent to employees within that department, not to all employees of the company. Meanwhile, the insider said that the relevant employee who made the mistake had been in a state of self - blame on the 13th. The team where the employee works has applied for paid leave for the employee and prepared stress - relief gifts as a sign of concern. The employee will resume work after calming down and adjusting to a better state. (China Newsweek)
Xiaomi Air Engineering Prototype Exposed: Fully Competing with iPhone Air, High Completion Rate
According to blogger @Digital Chat Station, in fact, the completion rate of the Xiaomi Air engineering prototype was already quite high. However, the internal assessment concluded that there was no market for ultra-thin phones, so it was ultimately decided to cancel the project.
It is reported that the Xiaomi Air engineering prototype is fully competing with the iPhone Air. It features a 6.59-inch mid-sized screen and supports 3D ultrasonic fingerprint recognition. With a metal middle frame, it is only 5.5mm thick. Similar to the iPhone Air, it also weighs 16x grams. This phone supports both eSIM and physical SIM cards, and the exposed mold has a physical SIM card slot structure at the bottom. It is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen5 and is equipped with a rear dual-camera setup with a large sensor and 200-megapixel resolution, enabling telephoto capabilities. (Sina Finance)
Pinduoduo Is Conducting an Internal Test on "Hundred-Billion Supermarket"
It is reported that Pinduoduo is quietly conducting an internal test on a new business called "Hundred-Billion Supermarket" within its app. Relying on the mature Hundred-Billion Subsidy system, with time-limited and quantity-limited coupon issuance and low-price subsidies as the core gameplay, it is currently only open to some randomly selected users for experience. The low-price strategy remains Pinduoduo's core competitiveness. "Hundred-Billion Supermarket" continues the combined gameplay of "Hundred-Billion Subsidy + Coupons". This model is expected to accurately attract price-sensitive users in the sinking market and at the same time leverage consumer groups in first - and second-tier cities who pursue high cost-effectiveness, thus forming differentiated competition with traditional supermarkets and other e-commerce platforms.
Judging from the exposed information on the internal test page, the core attractions of "Hundred-Billion Supermarket" are concentrated in two dimensions: the discount intensity and the richness of products. The platform has launched a weekly coupon collection activity. Every Monday at 00:00, users can grab large-value coupons such as 20% off and 15% off on time. These coupons cover multiple core daily life scenarios such as fruits and vegetables, nuts and snacks, dairy and beverage mixes, and mother and baby products. (Cailian Press)
Haidilao: Zhang Yong, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director, Has Been Appointed as Chief Executive Officer
36Kr learned that Haidilao announced that Gou Yiqun has resigned as an executive director and the chief executive officer of the company. Based on the overall adjustment of the company's management arrangements and comprehensive consideration, Zhang Yong, the chairman of the board and executive director, has been appointed as the company's chief executive officer, effective January 13, 2026.
Debang Co., Ltd. Plans to Voluntarily Delist
Debang Co., Ltd. announced that the company intends to voluntarily withdraw the listing and trading of its A - shares on the Shanghai Stock Exchange through a resolution of the shareholders' meeting. After obtaining the decision of the Shanghai Stock Exchange to terminate the listing, it will apply for continued trading on the delisting sector of the National Equities Exchange and Quotations. This matter still needs to be approved by more than two - thirds of the valid voting rights held by all shareholders present at the Debang Co., Ltd. shareholders' meeting.
This move is to better adapt to the development trend of the logistics industry, more efficiently and effectively coordinate and integrate the logistics resources within the JD Logistics system. It also takes into account the active fulfillment of the commitment made by JD Zhuofeng, the indirect controlling shareholder of the company, regarding competition in the same industry when acquiring the company. After the company's listing is terminated, the company's assets, personnel, and business will not be adversely affected, and it will still maintain an independent brand and operation. The company's shares will resume trading on January 14, 2026 (Wednesday) at the opening of the market. (Yicai Global)
Hyundai Motor Hires Former NVIDIA and Tesla Executives to Lead Autonomous Driving Business
Hyundai Motor Group announced in a statement that it has appointed Minwoo Park, a former executive who worked on the R & D and commercialization of autonomous driving technology at NVIDIA and Tesla, as the new head of its Advanced Vehicle Platform (AVP) division. This move aims to enhance Hyundai's competitiveness in the fields of software - defined vehicles and autonomous - driving - based vehicle software and accelerate the product development process. (Caixin Press)
NDRC: Management Measures for the Comprehensive Utilization of New Energy Vehicle Power Batteries to Be Issued Soon
On January 13th, the State Council Information Office held a regular policy briefing to introduce the situation regarding the "Action Plan for Comprehensive Solid Waste Management". Zhou Haibing, the deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission, stated that the "Action Plan" clearly defines the responsibility boundaries between the government and enterprises, adheres to the principle of "the polluter pays", and aims to prevent the phenomenon where "enterprises make profits while leaving behind pollution" and the government and the public have to foot the bill. Next, the NDRC will work with relevant departments to improve supporting systems, issue management measures for the comprehensive utilization of new energy vehicle power batteries, revise the guidance catalog for industrial structure adjustment, and intensify the restrictions and elimination of backward production processes and equipment. (Securities Times)
XPeng to Establish an Overseas Localized Supply Chain Team
Based on the local production that has been launched in Europe and Southeast Asia in 2025, XPeng Motors plans to establish an independently - operated overseas localized supply chain team in the European and ASEAN markets in 2026. This is to support and deepen the overseas supply resource layout and operation, improve the supply chain response speed, and promote the implementation of the long - term strategy of "rooting locally, local production, and global supply". (Yicai Global)
Over 10,000 Bank Branches Closed in 2025: Cost Reduction and Efficiency Improvement While Ensuring Good Service
According to statistics from the information disclosed in the "Financial License Information" section on the website of the National Financial Regulatory Administration, in 2025, over 11,000 offline bank branches were approved to exit, and over 8,400 offline branches were approved to be established. This means that the net number of bank branches decreased by over 2,000 in 2025. Industry insiders analyzed that the reduction in the number of bank branches is mainly due to two factors: the reform and risk resolution of small and medium - sized financial institutions and the banks' active closure of inefficient branches. While reducing costs and improving efficiency, banks also need to actively assume social responsibilities and build a three - dimensional service network of "online + offline + mobile". (China Securities Network)
Zhao Changjiang Officially Announces Joining ZJ Auto
36Kr learned that on January 13th, Zhao Changjiang, former General Manager of the Denza Sales Division and General Manager of the Denza Fangchengbao Direct Sales Division, posted a message saying that he has officially joined Hongmeng Smart Mobility - ZJ Auto. His Weibo verification information has been changed to Executive Director and Executive Vice President of ZJ Auto.
Meta Plans to Lay Off About 10% of Employees in Reality Labs and Further Shift to AI
Meta Platforms plans to cut about 10% of positions in its Reality Labs division, driving the company's resources to shift further from virtual reality products to AI wearables. A source familiar with Meta's plans but not authorized to speak publicly revealed that the layoffs are expected to take place this week. According to a report in December, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg asked executives at the end of last year to find room to cut the budget within the Reality Labs division, including cutting some virtual reality and metaverse products. (Sina Finance)
Trump Says Microsoft Will Make Major Adjustments to Data Centers to Prevent the Public from Paying for Related Energy Price Hikes
US President Trump posted on the social media platform Truth Social that Microsoft will "make major adjustments" to its data centers starting this week to prevent the American public from paying for the energy price hikes related to data centers. Trump said that data centers are crucial for the development of artificial intelligence, but large technology companies building these facilities must bear the related costs themselves. (Sina Finance)
US Justice Department Reportedly Launched Criminal Probe into Powell Last November
It was learned on January 12 local time that multiple sources with knowledge of the matter revealed that the US Justice Department launched a criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and the institution as early as last November. Moreover, before issuing subpoenas, the US Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia did not notify the White House, senior Justice Department officials, or the Treasury Department in advance. (CCTV News)
US Government Approves Export of NVIDIA H200 Chips to China
On January 13th local time, the US government approved NVIDIA to export its H200 artificial intelligence chips to China. Previously, former US President Donald Trump said through social media that the US government would allow NVIDIA to sell H200 artificial intelligence chips to China. It is reported that the above - mentioned sales to China will be subject to approval and security review by the US Department of Commerce, and the US side will also collect about 25% of the fees from relevant transactions. (CCTV News)
The three major U.S. stock indexes closed down collectively, and large technology stocks showed mixed performance
36Kr learned that at the close on January 13, the three major U.S. stock indexes fell collectively. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.8%, the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.1%, and the S&P 500 Index slipped 0.19%. Large technology stocks showed mixed performance. Intel rose more than 7%, Google and Netflix climbed more than 1%, and NVIDIA and Apple posted slight gains; Meta, Amazon, and Microsoft dropped more than 1%, and Tesla edged lower. Most popular Chinese concept stocks fell. Pinduoduo tumbled more than 5%, Miniso Group dropped more than 4%, NIO and XPeng Motors declined more than 3%, iQiyi, JD.com, and Li Auto slipped more than 2%, and Baidu and Bilibili fell more than 1%; 36Kr soared more than 6%, and BeiGene climbed more than 5%.
Going Public
Liftoff
On January 13th local time, Liftoff Mobile, Inc., an effect marketing and monetization platform, announced that it has publicly submitted a Form S-1 registration statement to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding its proposed initial public offering (IPO) of common stock. The number of shares to be issued, the price range, and other terms have not yet been determined. If the offering is completed, Liftoff plans to list its common stock on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol "LFTO." (Jiemian News)
GigaDevice Semiconductor Inc.
36Kr learned that GigaDevice Semiconductor Inc. announced that 28.9158 million H shares issued by the company have been listed and traded on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited. The Chinese short - name of the H shares is "GigaDevice", the English short - name is "GIGADEVICE", and the stock code is "3986". The total number of H shares offered globally this time is 28.9158 million. The number of shares offered publicly in Hong Kong is 2.8916 million, accounting for approximately 10.00% of the total global offering; the number of shares offered internationally is 26.0242 million, accounting for approximately 90.00% of the total global offering. The issue price per H share is HK$162.00, and the net proceeds from the global offering that the company will receive are estimated to be approximately HK$4.611 billion.
Gaote Electronics
36Kr learned that the 1st review meeting of the Listing Review Committee of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 2026 was held on January 13, 2026. The review result: Hangzhou Gaote Electronic Equipment Co., Ltd. (for the initial public offering) meets the issuance conditions, listing conditions, and information disclosure requirements.
The Cutting - Edge of AI
DeepSeek Releases New Paper Signed by Liang Wenfeng and Opens Sources Related Memory Module Engram
DeepSeek released a new paper titled "Conditional Memory via Scalable Lookup: A New Axis of Sparsity for Large Language Models" on the evening of the 12th. This paper was jointly completed by Peking University and DeepSeek, and Liang Wenfeng is listed as one of the co - authors. The paper proposes conditional memory. By introducing a scalable lookup memory structure, it significantly improves the model's performance in tasks such as knowledge retrieval, reasoning, code, and mathematics under the conditions of equal parameters and equal computing power. Meanwhile, DeepSeek opens sources the related memory module Engram. (Caixin)
OpenAI Acquires AI Healthcare App Torch for $100 Million
OpenAI has agreed to acquire Torch, an AI healthcare app company that has been established for only one year, for an equity consideration of approximately $100 million. The Torch app can help users view and analyze health data from different sources, including healthcare systems such as Kaiser Permanente, medical imaging companies such as Prenuvo, and fitness tracking apps such as Apple Health. Acquiring this startup may assist OpenAI's own R & D plan, which is to launch a personalized health assistant function in the intelligent chatbot ChatGPT. This function can analyze users' medical records and provide suggestions for health problems. (Sina Finance)
US Defense Secretary Says Musk's AI Chatbot to Be Integrated into Pentagon System
US Defense Secretary Hegdahl said that the artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot "Grok" under the American entrepreneur Musk will be introduced into the Pentagon's network and will operate within the US Department of Defense along with Google's generative AI system. (CCTV News)
Moore Threads: Collaborated with Beijing Academy of Artificial Intelligence to Successfully Complete the Full - Process Training of Beijing Academy of Artificial Intelligence's Self - Developed Embodied Brain Model RoboBrain 2.5
36Kr learned that recently, Moore Threads, in collaboration with Beijing Academy of Artificial Intelligence, based on the FlagOS - Robo framework and relying on the MTT S5000 kilocalorie intelligent computing cluster, successfully completed the full - process training of Beijing Academy of Artificial Intelligence's self - developed embodied brain model RoboBrain 2.5.
Zhiyuan Robot's Design Patent for Manipulator Appearance Granted
36Kr learned that according to the Aiqicha App, recently, Zhiyuan Innovation (Shanghai) Technology Co., Ltd., an affiliated company of Zhiyuan Robot, had its design patent for the appearance of a "manipulator" granted. The patent abstract shows that this design product is used for the manipulator of intelligent robots, and its applications include gesture interaction, object recognition, item grasping, tactile perception, and human - machine collaboration. The main design point lies in the shape of the product.
Omni Health Officially Launches Its New-Generation AI Wearable Product Portfolio
36Kr learned that recently, Omni Health officially launched its new-generation AI wearable product portfolio, including the Omni Health Ring Pro focused on long-term vital sign monitoring and the Omni Health Pin, an automated nutrition tracking terminal based on AI vision technology. Currently, the Ring Pro has started large-scale sales globally, and the Omni Health Pin will be launched within 2026.
Financial Reports of Large Companies
Donpeng Beverage: Net profit is expected to increase by 30.46%-37.97% year-on-year in 2025
36Kr learned that Donpeng Beverage released its performance forecast for the year 2025. The report shows that the net profit attributable to the owners of the parent company is expected to be between 4.34 billion yuan and 4.59 billion yuan, representing an increase of 30.46%-37.97% compared to the same period of the previous year.
Shanghai Pufa Bank: Net profit of 50.017 billion yuan in 2025, a year-on-year increase of 10.52%
36Kr learned that Shanghai Pufa Bank released its 2025 performance report. The report shows that the operating income in 2025 was 173.964 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 1.88%. The net profit attributable to shareholders of the parent company was 50.017 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 10.52%. The basic earnings per share were 1.52 yuan, a year-on-year increase of 11.76%.
China Yangtze Power Co., Ltd.: Net profit reached 34.2 billion yuan in 2025, a year-on-year increase of 5.14%
36Kr learned that China Yangtze Power Co., Ltd. released its performance bulletin for the year 2025. The report shows that the total operating revenue was 85.882 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 1.65%; the net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company was 34.167 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.14%. The basic earnings per share were 1.3964 yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.14%. The company explained that the performance growth was mainly due to the increase in electricity sales revenue and the reduction in financial expenses.
Yonyou Network: Expected net loss of 1.3 billion - 1.39 billion yuan in 2025
36Kr learned that Yonyou Network announced that the cumulative deviation of the daily closing price increase of the company's stock exceeded 20% within three consecutive trading days on January 9th, 12th, and 13th, 2026, which is a situation of abnormal fluctuations in stock trading. After self - inspection, the company's current production and business operations are normal, and the internal business order is normal. It is expected that the net loss attributable to the owners of the parent company in 2025 will be 1.3 billion to 1.39 billion yuan, with a year - on - year reduction of losses by 671 million to 761 million yuan. After self - inspection, the company's current production and business operations are normal, and the internal business order is normal. There have been no major adjustments to the market environment and industry policies in which the company operates.
Chinese Online: Expected net loss of 580 million - 700 million yuan in 2025, overseas short drama business in investment phase with profit loss
36Kr learned that Chinese Online released its 2025 performance forecast. The report shows that it is expected that the net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company will be a loss of 580 million yuan - 700 million yuan in 2025, compared with a loss of 243 million yuan in the same period of the previous year. During the reporting period, in order to expand the scale of overseas business, the company increased the promotion investment in overseas short drama business. The relevant business was in the investment phase with profit loss in 2025, resulting in a significant decline in the net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company compared with the same period of the previous year.
Investment and financing
Wuce Space Completes Pre-A Round of Financing
36Kr learned that recently, "Wuce Space" completed a Pre-A round of financing. This round of financing was led by Guohua Investment, and Yunyue Capital served as the financial advisor for this round. The financing funds will be mainly used for the iterative upgrade of the AI low-altitude platform and the large-scale deployment of hundreds of drone airports across the country, aiming to further strengthen the company's core barriers in the field of low-altitude economic infrastructure and deepen the scenario collaboration with the low-altitude economy and spatial intelligence tracks.
"K2 Lab" Completes Seed Round Financing Worth Tens of Millions of Yuan
36Kr learned that "K2 Lab" has announced the completion of a seed round financing worth tens of millions of yuan, exclusively invested by Cloud Time Capital. The funds from this round of financing will be mainly used for product and AI capability building, user growth, and the accelerated construction of an AI Native team, to promote the infrastructure construction of the world's first content e-commerce Agent for super individuals. It is understood that K2 Lab was founded by Wang Ming, the former vice president of Alibaba DingTalk.
"Shanhe Aviation" Completes 17 Million Yuan Angel + Round of Financing
36Kr learned that "Shanhe Aviation", which focuses on the R & D of eVTOL compound - wing aircraft and low - altitude scenario applications, announced that it will complete an angel + round of financing, with the financing amount close to 17 million yuan. This round of financing is led by the Beijing Science and Technology Innovation Fund, followed by Shunxi Fund and independent investors in the industry. The funds from this round of financing will be mainly used to accelerate the R & D of the flight control system and the assembly and offline of the eVTOL compound - wing aircraft under Shanhe Aviation.
Compiled | Stuffed Tofu