At 9 o'clock, 1st Kr | Trump announces nominee for the next Chair of the Federal Reserve; Guangdong has been the top province in terms of birth rate for eight consecutive years; An investigation has been launched against "Zhou Yuan of the Black-and-White Reversal Incident".
Today's Hot Topics Guide
The latest list of China's richest people is out
The price of gold is expected to reach $8,000 to $8,500 in the next few years
The iPhone 18 Pro may directly connect to Starlink
The regulatory authority has reported on the incident of "a certain fund product attracting over 10 billion yuan in a single day"
Trump sues the US Treasury Department and the IRS, claiming at least $10 billion in compensation
Top 3 Big News
Trump Nominates New Federal Reserve Chairman
On the morning of January 30th local time, U.S. President Trump nominated Kevin Warsh, a former member of the Federal Reserve Board, to be the next Chairman of the Federal Reserve, succeeding the current Chairman Jerome Powell. Warsh joined the Federal Reserve in 2006 and was the youngest member of the Federal Reserve Board at that time. During his tenure at the Federal Reserve, Warsh held a hawkish stance on monetary policy, but in recent years he has turned to support Trump's tariff policies and the stance of accelerating interest rate cuts. Trump nominated Powell as the Chairman of the Federal Reserve during his first presidential term. At that time, both Powell and Warsh were candidates under Trump's consideration, but Powell was ultimately nominated.
According to the U.S. legal procedure, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve is nominated by the U.S. President and takes office after being approved by the Senate of the Congress. (CCTV News)
Guangdong Has Been the Province with the Highest Birth Rate for Eight Consecutive Years
Data shows that at the end of 2025, the permanent population of Guangdong Province reached 128.59 million, an increase of 790,000 compared with the end of the previous year. Throughout the year, there were 1.003 million births, with a birth rate of 7.82‰; 713,000 deaths, with a death rate of 5.56‰; and a natural population growth of 290,000, with a natural population growth rate of 2.26‰. In 2025, the proportion of the urban population in the permanent population (urbanization rate) was 76.58%, an increase of 0.67 percentage points compared with the end of the previous year. For a province, population growth includes natural growth and mechanical growth (i.e., "net population inflow"). Guangdong has been the only province in the country with over one million births for six consecutive years and has retained the title of "the province with the highest birth rate" for eight consecutive years. According to the data released by the Guangdong Provincial Bureau of Statistics on January 30, in 2025, Guangdong's GDP reached 14,584.676 billion yuan. Guangdong's economic aggregate has ranked first in the country for 37 consecutive years, accounting for over one-tenth of the national economic aggregate. (Yicai Global)
"Heibaidian Zhou Yuan" Under Investigation
In recent days, the internet celebrity Zhou Yuan, who claims to be the "Number One in Sexual Quotient," has been in the spotlight due to the continuous fermentation of the incident where her courses teaching women how to attract men were banned. Some media reported that the offline activities of the "Heibaidian Sexual Business School" under Zhou Yuan's name were still ongoing. On the morning of January 30th, reporters learned from the Market Supervision and Administration Bureau of Yuhua District, Changsha, Hunan that the bureau had joined hands with multiple departments including public security and culture to set up a working group to conduct an investigation on Heibaidian Zhou Yuan and ordered her to stop all online and offline social activities. (China News Service)
Big Companies/ Major Events
Kimi's Overseas Revenue Exceeds Domestic Revenue, with a Fourfold Increase in Global Paying Users
36Kr has exclusively learned that recently, in communication with investors, Kimi stated that the company's overseas revenue has exceeded its domestic revenue. After the release of the new model K2.5, the number of global paying users has increased fourfold. Following the launch of the previous - generation model K2, K2.5 has continued to trigger an overseas craze. On Openrouter, K2.5 has ranked third, only behind Claude Sonnet 4.5 and Gemini 3 Flash.
Pang Tianyu, former senior research scientist at Singapore's Sea AI Lab, is about to join Tencent
36Kr learned that, as confirmed by relevant sources, Pang Tianyu, former senior research scientist at Singapore's Sea AI Lab and a direct Ph.D. student in the Department of Computer Science at Tsinghua University in 2017, is about to join Tencent and will join the Exploration Center of Tencent's Hunyuan Multimodal Department, responsible for exploring cutting - edge algorithms in reinforcement learning.
Sora's Download Volume Plummets by 45%
According to data from Appfigures, the mobile - app download volume of Sora, an AI video - generation application developed by OpenAI, dropped by 45% month - on - month in January, and consumer spending decreased by 32% month - on - month to $367,000. Sora once topped the download list on the Apple App Store in October last year and reached the one - million - download target earlier than ChatGPT. However, now its user base is shrinking at an alarming rate. In the past two months, Sora has shown obvious signs of fatigue. The download volume in December decreased by 32% month - on - month, and the holiday season usually means a peak in mobile device usage. This decline may be related to copyright restrictions and increased competition from Google Gemini. (Cai Lian She)
Memory supply is tight. Apple will prioritize the launch of high - end iPhone models in 2026
On January 30th, affected by the marketing strategy adjustment and the tight supply in the supply chain, Apple is prioritizing the production and shipment of three new high - end iPhone models for 2026, while delaying the shipment time of the standard models. (Cailian Press)
JPMorgan: Gold prices are expected to reach $8,000 to $8,500 in the next few years
Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, a global market strategist at JPMorgan, predicted in his latest report that gold prices are expected to reach $8,000 to $8,500 in the next few years. One of the reasons is that retail investors are increasingly relying on gold rather than fixed - income products to hedge against the risk of a decline in the US stock market. However, Panigirtzoglou warned that commodity trading advisors (CTAs) and momentum traders currently have extremely overbought positions in both silver and gold, which means there is a risk of profit - taking or mean reversion in gold and silver in the short term. (Cailian Press)
iPhone 18 Pro May Connect Directly to Starlink
According to Kuaikeji, starting from the iPhone 18 series, Apple has adjusted its product release schedule. Only the iPhone 18 Pro series and the iPhone Fold will be released this fall, and the standard version of the iPhone 18 will make its debut next spring. Apple is in talks with SpaceX for a partnership, hoping to use SpaceX's low - Earth - orbit Starlink network to provide satellite communication services for the iPhone 18 Pro series models. Users won't need to pair additional hardware when using this function. Well - known tech journalist Mark Gurman once revealed that the iPhone 18 Pro is expected to support 5G non - terrestrial network technology, which allows mobile base stations to expand signal coverage with the help of satellites. (Kuaikeji)
Kunming City Clarifies: Property Fees for Vacant Homes Cannot Be Reduced
Netizens left messages on the government affairs consultation platform, suggesting that certain reduction and preferential policies be given for the property fees of vacant homes (unfinished and unoccupied) in Kunming City to relieve the burden on homeowners. In response, the Housing and Urban - Rural Development Bureau of Kunming City recently replied that since no national - level policy on property fees for vacant homes has been introduced, and it has been clearly pointed out that the policies on property fees for vacant homes introduced by some provincial and municipal governments lack the basis of superior laws, there are no legislative conditions for introducing a policy on property fees for vacant homes in Kunming City, and such a policy cannot be introduced. (The Paper)
ICBC: Limit management will be implemented for the Ruyi Gold Accumulation Business starting from February 7th
36Kr learned that the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) has issued an announcement regarding the adjustment of the business handling rules for the Ruyi Gold Accumulation Business and the sales of some branded physical gold products, as well as the revision of the Ruyi Gold Accumulation Business Agreement. Starting from February 7th, 2026, on non - trading days of the Shanghai Gold Exchange such as weekends and legal holidays, the Bank will implement limit management for the Ruyi Gold Accumulation Business. The limit types include the daily accumulation/redemption cap for all customers or a single customer, the cap for a single accumulation or redemption volume, etc., and these limits will be dynamically set. Gold withdrawal will not be affected.
Regulatory authorities issue a notice on the event of "a certain fund product attracting over 10 billion yuan in a single day"
In response to the previous market rumor that "the single - day subscription volume of a fund product managed by a certain fund company exceeded 10 billion yuan", the verification results of the regulatory authorities have been officially announced. The institutional regulatory notice issued by the regulatory authorities pointed out that Fund Company D collaborated with an Internet "big V" who does not have the qualifications for fund sales and related practice. By leveraging the V's traffic and influence, they encouraged investors to follow the trend and buy, inducing investors whose risk - bearing capacity did not match to purchase medium - and high - risk products. Currently, the regulatory authorities have taken regulatory measures against the company, ordering it to make corrections and suspending the acceptance of the registration of public - offering fund products. At the same time, the responsible persons such as the company's general manager, chief inspector, and the person - in - charge of the Internet business department will be held accountable. (Jiemian News)
The State Administration for Market Regulation announced four typical cases in the live-streaming e-commerce field, and Chengdu Kuaigou was fined over 26 million yuan
36Kr learned that the State Administration for Market Regulation centrally released the fifth batch of typical cases in the live-streaming e-commerce field today (the 30th). Among them, the State Administration for Market Regulation investigated and handled the case of Chengdu Kuaigou Technology Co., Ltd. for violating the law. In December 2025, the State Administration for Market Regulation comprehensively considered the parties' illegal facts, the nature of the case, the circumstances of the violation, and the degree of social harm, and legally imposed administrative penalties on the parties' illegal acts. The parties were ordered to immediately correct their illegal acts and were fined a total of 26,692,904.62 yuan.
Cudi to Cancel the Store-wide 9.9 Yuan Promotion
On January 30th, some netizens posted pictures on social platforms, stating that Cudi Coffee had issued a notice regarding the adjustment of store pricing strategies and promotions. The store-wide promotion of "unlimited 9.9 yuan for all products" will officially end at 24:00 on the evening of January 31st. Starting from February 1st, Cudi will launch a special offer zone, where some products will still be available at an unlimited 9.9 yuan price. All non-promotional products on all its platforms will be sold at the retail price. A relevant Cudi official confirmed to reporters that Cudi is indeed reducing the scope of the 9.9 yuan promotion. The official said that some products will continue to be available at the special price of 9.9 yuan without limit, and all products will continue to participate in various subsidy activities on food delivery platforms. However, the official did not disclose the reason for the adjustment of the promotion.
It is currently uncertain what proportion of Cudi's beverages are covered by the 9.9 yuan promotion. According to the ordering mini-program, the retail price of Cudi's beverages ranges from 10.5 yuan to 15.9 yuan. This means that after the adjustment, the overall price of its beverages will increase significantly. (Cover News)
QuanYin Hi-tech: Suspected of illegal and irregular information disclosure, investigated by the China Securities Regulatory Commission
36Kr learned that QuanYin Hi-tech announced that the company received the "Notice of Case Filing" issued by the China Securities Regulatory Commission on January 30, 2026. Due to the company's suspected illegal and irregular information disclosure, the China Securities Regulatory Commission decided to file a case against the company. At present, the company's production and operation are normal, and the case investigation will not have a significant impact on the company's normal production and business activities. The company will actively cooperate with the work of the China Securities Regulatory Commission and strictly fulfill its information disclosure obligations.
The three major U.S. stock indexes closed lower across the board, with the Nasdaq down 0.94%.
The three major U.S. stock indexes closed lower across the board. The Dow fell 0.36% and rose 1.73% in January; the Nasdaq fell 0.94% and rose 0.95% in January; the S&P 500 Index fell 0.43% and rose 1.37% in January. Technology stocks generally declined, with AMD down more than 6% and Intel down more than 4%. Gold and silver stocks tumbled sharply. The world's largest silver ETF, iShares Silver Trust, fell 28%. Coeur Mining was down more than 16% and Gold Fields was down more than 14%. (Jiemian News)
Noble Metal Prices Plunge Across the Board
On Friday, Eastern Time in the United States, the three major U.S. stock indexes all closed in the red, and precious metals continued to plummet. Spot gold fell more than 12% during the session, hitting a low of $4,682 per ounce; spot silver fell more than 35% during the session, reaching a low of $74.28 per ounce. Near the end of the session, the declines of spot gold and silver slightly narrowed. As of press time, spot gold in London was down 9.25% at $4,880.034 per ounce, spot silver in London was down 26.42% at $85.259 per ounce, COMEX gold was down 8.66% at $4,890.9 per ounce, and COMEX silver was down 26.07% at $84.6 per ounce. (China News Service)
The monthly sales of Xiaomi SU7 Ultra dropped to 45 units, once exceeding 3,000 units per month
According to data from platforms such as Dongchedi, the sales volume of Xiaomi SU7 Ultra in December 2025 was 45 units. The month with the highest sales previously was March, with 3,101 units sold. From March to August, the monthly sales of Xiaomi SU7 Ultra basically remained between 2,000 and 3,000 units. However, since September, the sales volume has dropped significantly, with only 488 units sold that month. In October, it further dropped to 130 units, and in November, it was less than 100 units. By December, the sales volume was less than 50 units. Xiaomi SU7 Ultra is the core product under Xiaomi's high - end automobile strategy. It was officially launched on February 27, 2025, with a price of 529,900 yuan. This model is equipped with a three - motor system, with a maximum horsepower of 1,548 hp. It can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in just 1.98 seconds, and has a maximum speed of up to 350 km/h. (Blue Whale News)
Liu Qiangdong, Lei Jun and Others Attend the China-UK Entrepreneurs' Meeting
According to a report from Star Market Daily on the 30th, on January 29, the 2026 China-UK Entrepreneurs' Council Meeting was held in Beijing. Star Market Daily reporters learned that JD.com, Xiaomi, Dreame Technology and other industry representatives were invited to participate in the meeting. Among them, Lei Jun, Liu Qiangdong and others attended as representatives of Chinese entrepreneurs.
Starbucks Plans to Net Add Over 2,000 Stores Globally in Fiscal Year 2028
Starbucks issued a statement on January 29 (local time), stating that its goal is to net add over 2,000 company - operated and licensed stores globally in fiscal year 2028, including approximately 400 company - operated stores in the United States. It also aims for a combined net revenue growth of 5% or more and at least a 3% growth in same - store sales globally and in the United States. (Caixin Press)
Trump Sues U.S. Treasury Department and IRS, Seeks at Least $10 Billion in Damages
It was learned on the 29th local time that U.S. President Trump has filed a lawsuit in federal court against the U.S. Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), accusing them of illegally disclosing his personal tax return information during his first presidential term and demanding at least $10 billion in compensation. (CCTV News)
Elon Musk Reportedly Plans to Promote Space Computing Power
American entrepreneur Elon Musk is considering integrating his assets to promote the layout of space computing power. Reports say that Musk's vision of deploying an AI data center in space may be realized through the above different paths. If engineering technology permits, one direction is that SpaceX's in - orbit data center will deliver huge computing power to xAI. Another direction is that Tesla's ability to manufacture energy storage systems will help SpaceX operate these data centers in space using solar energy. People familiar with the matter said that Musk has not made a final decision, details may change, and the relevant companies may also remain independent. (Xinhua News Agency)
The Cutting - Edge of AI
Apple Acquires AI Startup
Apple has acquired Q.ai, an artificial intelligence startup focused on "silent" communication technology. The Israel-based startup was founded in 2022, and its related plans have been highly confidential. A patent the company made public last year described a technology for interpreting non-verbal communication by recognizing human facial movements. (Sina Finance)
Ant Lingbo Technology Announces the Open-Source of the Embodied World Model LingBot-VA
36Kr learned that on January 30th, after the successive releases of the spatial perception model, the large embodied model, and the world model, Ant Lingbo Technology announced the open-source of the embodied world model LingBot-VA. LingBot-VA proposes an autoregressive video-action world modeling framework for the first time, deeply integrating large-scale video generation models with robot control. While generating the "next world state", the model directly infers and outputs the corresponding action sequence, enabling robots to "infer and act" like humans.
Waymo Officially Launches Passenger Pick-up and Drop-off Services at San Francisco Airport
Waymo, a subsidiary of Google, announced in a blog post on January 29th that it has initially opened its autonomous pick-up and drop-off services at San Francisco International Airport to a select group of users, and will gradually expand the service to all users in the coming months. In the early stage, the pick-up and drop-off points for this service are set at the airport's car rental center, and will be gradually extended to more areas such as the terminal buildings later. Waymo began providing autonomous passenger services on highways at the end of last year, which is also a necessary prerequisite for its entry into the airport pick-up and drop-off field. (Sina Finance)
Cosmo Becomes the World's First AI Education Institution to Receive Full Institutional Accreditation from WASC
36Kr learned that recently, Cosmo, a Silicon Valley-based AI education technology brand, announced that it has officially obtained full institutional accreditation from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), a leading school accreditation agency in the United States. This achievement makes Cosmo the world's first AI education institution to receive accreditation at this level. Public information shows that Shuai Ke, the co-founder of Yuanfudao, left the company in 2024 to establish Algorithm of Learning Inc. and completed early-stage financing. Cosmo is one of the core businesses of this company and has primarily targeted the US and Canadian markets.
On the Road to Going Public
OpenAI
It is reported that OpenAI plans to conduct an IPO in the fourth quarter and has held informal consultations with banks regarding a potential listing. It is learned that OpenAI has hired new senior executives to assist in preparing for the IPO. (Jiemian News)
Yigeer (Igor)
36Kr learned that Yigeer announced that the company submitted an application for the initial public offering of H shares and listing on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange to The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited on January 29, 2026, and published the application materials for this offering on the website of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. If the offering is ultimately implemented, the offering targets will be limited to overseas investors who meet the relevant conditions and qualified domestic investors who are entitled to make overseas securities investments in accordance with relevant Chinese laws and regulations. The company's offering still needs to obtain the approval, verification or filing 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, and there is still uncertainty about this matter.
Sunwoda Electronic Co., Ltd.
36Kr learned that according to documents from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Sunwoda Electronic Co., Ltd. has submitted a listing application to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The joint sponsors are Goldman Sachs and CITIC Securities.
Aixin Yuanzhi
36Kr learned that Aixin Yuanzhi announced on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that it plans to issue 104,915,200 H shares in Hong Kong (subject to the exercise of the over - allotment option), with an offer price of HK$28.2 per share. The H shares are expected to commence trading on February 10.
Montage Technology Group Limited
36Kr has learned that Montage Technology Group Limited announced on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that the company intends to conduct a global offering of 65,890,000 H shares, including 6,589,000 H shares for the Hong Kong offering and 59,301,000 H shares for the international offering, with an over-allotment option of 15%. The maximum offering price is HK$106.89 per share. It is expected that the shares will commence trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on February 9, 2026.
Financial Reports of Large Companies
Vanke's Loss Expanded to 82 Billion Yuan in 2025
On the afternoon of January 30th, Vanke A (000002.SZ) made such a statement when answering investors' questions on the interactive platform. The performance forecast for 2025 released on the same day confirmed this statement. The performance forecast shows that for the whole year of 2025, Vanke's net profit attributable to the parent company is expected to incur a loss of approximately 82 billion yuan, the net profit after deducting non-recurring gains and losses is expected to incur a loss of approximately 80 billion yuan, and the basic earnings per share is expected to incur a loss of approximately 6.89 yuan per share. In the same period of the previous year, the above three indicators were a loss of 49.478 billion yuan, 45.394 billion yuan, and 4.17 yuan per share respectively. It can be seen that the operating pressure is quite significant, and the historical burden is rather heavy. (Yicai Global)
360: Net profit is expected to be between 213 million yuan and 318 million yuan in 2025, turning a profit year-on-year
36Kr learned that 360 released its 2025 performance forecast. The report shows that the net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company in 2025 is expected to be approximately between 213 million yuan and 318 million yuan, turning a profit year-on-year; the net profit after deducting non-recurring gains and losses is approximately between 27 million yuan and 40 million yuan. The expected profit is mainly due to the increase in the income from long-term equity investments accounted for by the equity method.
Enlight Media: Net profit is expected to reach 1.5 billion - 1.9 billion yuan in 2025, a year - on - year increase of 413.67% - 550.65%
36Kr learned that Enlight Media announced that it expects its net profit attributable to shareholders in 2025 to be between 1.5 billion and 1.9 billion yuan, a year - on - year increase of 413.67% - 550.65%. The company's profit in the same period of the previous year was 292 million yuan. With the popularity of "Ne Zha 2: Born to Defy", the company's related IP operation business has contributed a relatively large amount of revenue and profit. In 2025, both the revenue and profit of the company's film and derivative business have increased significantly compared with the same period of the previous year.
Adidas Posts Preliminary Revenue Growth in Q4, to Repurchase €1 Billion in Shares
Adidas will launch a share - buyback program in 2026 after reporting preliminary revenue growth for its most recent quarter. The German footwear and apparel company said on the 29th that its preliminary financial results for the fourth quarter showed revenue of €6.08 billion (equivalent to $7.27 billion), up from €5.97 billion in the same period last year. The company also stated that the currency - neutral revenue of the Adidas brand in the fourth quarter increased by 11% year - on - year. The company said that, including the sales of Yeezy in 2024, revenue in the previous quarter grew by 10%. (Sina Finance)
Xinyisheng: Net profit in 2025 is expected to increase by 231.24% - 248.86% year-on-year
36Kr learned that Xinyisheng released its 2025 performance forecast. The report shows that the net profit attributable to the shareholders of the listed company in 2025 is expected to be between 9.4 billion yuan and 9.9 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 231.24% - 248.86%. During the reporting period, benefiting from the continuous growth of computing power investment and the rapid increase in demand for high-speed products, the company's sales revenue and net profit increased significantly.
Western Gold: Net Profit in 2025 is Expected to Increase by 46.78% - 69.23% Year-on-Year, Due to Increased Sales Volume and Rising Prices of Gold Products from Its Own Mines
36Kr learned that Western Gold released its 2025 performance forecast. The report shows that the net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company in 2025 is expected to be between 425 million yuan and 490 million yuan. Compared with the same period of the previous year (statutory disclosure data), it will increase by 46.78% - 69.23% year-on-year, and compared with the same period of the previous year (after retrospective adjustment), it will increase by 67.58% - 93.21% year-on-year. The growth in performance is mainly due to the increased sales volume and rising prices of gold products from its own mines.
Daye City: Expected net profit attributable to the parent company to incur a loss of 2.1 billion - 2.7 billion yuan in 2025
36Kr learned that Daye City released its performance forecast for 2025. The report shows that the net profit attributable to the shareholders of the listed company is expected to incur a loss of 2.1 billion - 2.7 billion yuan in 2025, compared with a loss of 2.977 billion yuan in the same period of the previous year. The net profit after deducting non-recurring gains and losses is expected to incur a loss of 2.25 billion - 2.85 billion yuan, compared with a loss of 4.05 billion yuan in the same period of the previous year. In this reporting period, the company expects the net profit attributable to the shareholders of the listed company to be negative, mainly because the company actively adjusted its volume - price strategy, and some projects showed signs of impairment. The company made impairment provisions for various assets that may incur impairment losses in accordance with the accounting standards for business enterprises.
Investment and financing
Yiteng Medical Completes Nearly 100 Million Yuan Series A Financing
36Kr learned that recently, "Yiteng Medical" announced the completion of nearly 100 million yuan in Series A financing. This round of financing was led by Honghui Capital, followed by Kunshan Guochuang Group and Kunyu Talent Fund. Qifeng Capital served as the financial advisor for this round. The raised funds will be mainly used for the R & D iteration and registration promotion of high - end CT tubes.
Yinshi New Materials Completes Angel Round Financing Worth Tens of Millions of Yuan
Recently, Hefei Yinshi New Material Technology Co., Ltd. completed an angel round financing worth tens of millions of yuan. This round of financing was led by Ruicheng Fund, the corporate venture capital (CVC) platform of Chery Group. Vertex Ventures, a venture capital firm under Temasek, and Guokong Investment Company under Anhui State-owned Capital Operation Holding Group participated as follow - on investors. Xiaomi's strategic investment continued to increase its stake. The financing funds will be mainly used for capacity expansion and technology R & D to help the company further promote the industrialization process of sulfide solid - state electrolytes.