36Kr Evening News: Jensen Huang Says Elon Musk Is Like Superman; Build the "Strongest" AI Training Cluster in 19 Days; Bilibili Upgrades Cooperation with E-commerce Platforms for "Double 11"
Big Companies:
On October 13 local time in the United States, SpaceX successfully conducted the fifth test flight of the Starship system at the Starbase in southeastern Texas, creating a new milestone in space exploration. During this test flight, SpaceX not only successfully launched the Starship rocket but also, for the first time during the booster's return process, used a robotic arm nicknamed "chopsticks" to recover the 71-meter-tall "Super Heavy" booster on the launch pad. Wendy Cobb, a professor at the Air Force Institute of Technology's School of Advanced Aerospace Studies, said this successful move will cause "the cost of accessing space to drop at an astronomical rate". (The Paper)
Bilibili Upgrades E-commerce Platform Cooperation for "Double 11"
The "Double 11" promotion has officially started. Bilibili will invest three billion traffic to specifically support high-quality content for product recommendations, and join hands with Tmall to launch live broadcasts and product promotion sessions with tens of thousands of UP hosts. At the same time, in response to the large-scale home appliance trade-in and subsidy policy launched by the country, Bilibili will increase traffic support for product recommendations and promotions related to such goods and launch special events. The latest data shows that Bilibili's average daily active users reach 102 million.
EasyJet Announces Appointment of Raeymaeker as New Chief Financial Officer
EasyJet, Europe's second-largest low-cost airline, announced on Monday that it has appointed Jan De Raeymaeker as its chief financial officer, effective from January 20, 2025. Raeymaeker is currently the chief financial officer of Lineas, Europe's largest private rail freight operator. Before joining Lineas, he was the chief financial officer of Brussels Airlines. Earlier in his career, he held management positions at Arthur D. Little and De Valck Consultants. (Sina Finance)
It is reported that the social media platform Xiaohongshu achieved a net profit of $200 million in the first three months of this year, with revenue slightly higher than $1 billion. This performance is significantly higher than the $40 million net profit and $600 million revenue in the same period last year. This strong growth is mainly due to Xiaohongshu's increased advertising efforts towards Generation Z female consumers. (The Observer)
36Kr has learned that on October 14, Fliggy announced that the "Double 11" in 2024 has been upgraded from the "Wonderful Travel Festival" to the "Global Travel Festival", and it officially started at 8 pm on the 14th. It is understood that the number of merchants and products registered for the 2024 Fliggy Double 11 has reached a historical high. Among them, the proportion of outbound travel products has increased by nearly twice compared to last year, and the destinations cover nearly 200 countries and regions.
XPeng Motors Establishes a New Technology Company, Including Multiple AI Businesses
36Kr has learned that the Aiqicha App shows that recently, Guangzhou Pengxiao Technology Co., Ltd. was established, with Chen Zhiyuan as the legal representative and a registered capital of 5 million yuan. Its business scope includes the development of artificial intelligence application software, technical consulting services for artificial intelligence public service platform, basic artificial intelligence software development, artificial intelligence general application system, artificial intelligence public data platform, and integration services for artificial intelligence industry application systems. According to the equity penetration of Aiqicha, the company is wholly owned by Guangzhou Zhipeng Internet of Vehicles Technology Co., Ltd., which is respectively held by Guangzhou XPeng Motors Technology Co., Ltd. and Chen Zhiyuan with a 50% stake.
America's Largest Public Pension Fund CalPERS Invests in UK Electricity Company Octopus Energy
It is reported that America's largest public pension plan, CalPERS, has invested in the UK electricity company Octopus Energy. CalPERS is responsible for supervising the pensions of California civil servants and manages approximately $500 billion in assets. The institution confirmed that it has invested in this private company this year as part of its push into climate-related assets. (Jiemian)
Investment and Financing:
Intelligent Homestay Brand "Tujia Mingyu" Secures 30 Million Yuan in Series A Financing
36Kr has learned that recently, Suzhou Tujia Mingyu Business Operation Management Co., Ltd. announced the completion of a 30 million yuan Series A financing round. This round of financing is led by Central China Capital, with multiple institutions participating. The financing funds will be used for brand building, market expansion, technology application, etc. It is introduced that Tujia Mingyu is a C2B2C model homestay operation platform, providing one-stop solutions from property selection, cost negotiation, design and construction to supply chain support, rental and sale release, and daily cleaning.
Xiaomi Jingming Invests in Linyi to Establish an Automotive Technology Company
36Kr has learned that the Aiqicha App shows that recently, Linyi Xiaomi Jingming Automotive Technology Co., Ltd. was established, with Ye Hangjun as the legal representative and a registered capital of 5 million yuan. Its business scope includes the sales of new energy vehicles, automotive sales, and the sales of intelligent in-vehicle equipment. Shareholder information shows that the company is wholly owned by Xiaomi Jingming Technology Co., Ltd.
"Lanjiang Technology" Announces Completion of a Series A Financing of Several Ten Million Yuan
36Kr has learned that Jiangsu Lanjiang Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. announced that it has completed a Series A financing of several ten million yuan. This round of financing is led by Yilian Capital, with Weiguang Ventures participating, and Yibai Capital serving as the exclusive financial advisor. The funds will be mainly used to further expand production capacity and the global market layout of products.
New Products:
36Kr has learned that according to the data from the Sensor Tower Store Intelligence platform, in the rankings of overseas market revenue and download volume of Chinese mobile game products in September 2024, "Honkai: Star Rail" topped the growth chart, and "Whiteout Survival" remained the revenue champion. In the middle and late September, "Whiteout Survival" reached a milestone of over 90 million global downloads. Driven by multiple events, the game's overseas revenue increased by 7% month-on-month, setting a new historical record. Coupled with its strong growth in the Chinese iOS market, the global cumulative revenue of "Whiteout Survival" has exceeded $1.3 billion as of the end of September.
36Kr has learned that MINISO and Meituan have announced a deep strategic cooperation. The two sides focus on the instant retail business. MINISO will launch more than 800 "24H Super Stores" in the form of Lightning Warehouse on Meituan within the year to serve consumers' instant needs of "ordering online and delivering within the fastest 30 minutes". At the same time, the two sides will also explore cooperation in the in-store business. Meituan will provide multiple digital marketing supports to MINISO based on the consumers' in-store consumption scenarios.
Today's Views:
Huang Renxun Calls Musk Like Superman: Building the "Strongest" AI Training Cluster in 19 Days
In an interview aired on October 13, Nvidia CEO Huang Renxun talked about Musk's artificial intelligence company xAI building the AI training cluster Colossus in a short period of time, praising Musk and his team as incredible and like Superman. Huang Renxun said, "xAI completed what others would take a year to accomplish in 19 days. No one has ever done that before. That's something only Superman can do, and there is only one person in the world who can do this, and that is Elon Musk. His understanding of engineering, construction, large-scale systems, and resource allocation is unique." (The Paper)
Institution: The Monetary Authority of Singapore May Loosen Policies in January Next Year
The Monetary Authority of Singapore may loosen its monetary policy in January next year, when the country's core inflation rate is expected to fall below 2%. Chua Hak Bin and Brian Lee Shun Rong from Maybank Research wrote in a research report: "The Monetary Authority of Singapore is forward-looking, so it will closely monitor external risks and may seek to shift to a more pro-growth policy stance." (Sina Finance)
Other News Worth Noting:
China's Trade Surplus in September Was 582.62 Billion Yuan
36Kr has learned that data released by the General Administration of Customs shows that China's exports (in RMB terms) in September increased by 1.6% year-on-year, compared with an 8.4% increase in the previous value; imports decreased by 0.5%, compared with a flat figure in the previous value; the trade surplus was 582.62 billion yuan, compared with 649.34 billion yuan in the previous value. China's exports (in US dollar terms) in September increased by 2.4% year-on-year, compared with an 8.7% increase in the previous value; imports increased by 0.3%, compared with a 0.5% increase in the previous value; the trade surplus was $81.71 billion, compared with $91.02 billion in the previous value.
It is learned from the industry that in order to further clarify the market positioning and grasping standards of the Beijing Stock Exchange, guide and standardize the listing declaration behavior, the Beijing Stock Exchange recently provided guidance within the industry on how to carry out the information disclosure and demonstration of the innovation characteristics of potential listed enterprises, requiring the sponsor institutions to conduct a full and prudent verification and express a clear opinion. (China Securities Journal)
South Korea's Semiconductor Export Volume Reached a Record High of $13.63 Billion in September
According to a data released by the Ministry of Science and ICT of South Korea, the country's information and communication technology (ICT) export volume in September this year increased by 36.3% year-on-year to $22.36 billion, maintaining a growth trend for 11 consecutive months and setting the second-highest record for a single month in history. Benefiting from the AI technology trend that has driven up server investment, the semiconductor export volume was $13.63 billion, setting a new historical high. During the same period, the ICT import volume increased by 15.9% to $12.48 billion, resulting in a $9.88 billion trade surplus in ICT in September. (Jiemian)