Krypton Evening Post | SpaceX, owned by Elon Musk, sues California regulatory agency, accusing it of political bias; XPeng Motors: Has never privately reached any form of agreement with the European Union; TSMC's second factory in Japan will be built in Kumamoto Prefecture within this year.
Big Companies:
Elon Musk's SpaceX Sues California Regulatory Agency, Alleging Political Bias
Elon Musk's space company has sued the California regulatory agency after officials rejected a request to allow SpaceX to increase the number of rocket launches. Musk claims that the decision was politically motivated.
36Kr learned that Seres announced that as of October 17, 2024, the company's key team has increased the company's shares by a total of 2.0586 million shares through centralized bidding transactions, accounting for 0.14% of the company's total share capital, and the total increase amount is 189 million yuan. This increase plan has been completed. During the implementation period of the increase plan and within 6 months after the completion of the increase, the above-mentioned personnel promise not to reduce the company's shares increased this time.
XPeng Motors: Has Never Privately Reached Any Form of Agreement with the EU
According to Shell Finance, XPeng Motors stated that it has never privately reached any form of tariff agreement with the EU. XPeng Motors strictly follows the relevant unified deployment of the country and participates in and cooperates with the EU tariff negotiation work. XPeng Motors' Legal Affairs Department Weibo said that it will initiate legal procedures for the attacks of online trolls.
At the 2024 World Intelligent Connected Vehicle Conference held today, Lei Jun, the chairman of Xiaomi Group, disclosed that Xiaomi SU7 will fully sprint to deliver 20,000 vehicles this month. Lei Jun revealed that Xiaomi Group's research and development expenses are expected to reach 24 billion yuan this year and more than 30 billion yuan next year, and the breakthroughs in Xiaomi Automobile's intelligent driving technology will be announced soon.
TSMC's Second Factory in Japan Will Start Construction in Kumamoto Prefecture within This Year
It is reported that JASM President Yuichi Hotta said in a speech in Fukuoka City on October 16 that TSMC's second factory in Kikuyo-cho, Kumamoto Prefecture, is planned to start construction within 2024 and go into production in 2027. He said that the preparatory work is advancing as planned. The second factory will be built to the east of the first factory that will start mass production in December.
Xiaodu Products Have Connected More Than 46 Million Households
36Kr learned that in the first half of the year, Xiaodu released DuerOS X based on Baidu's Wenxin Large Model, completing the full-line brain replacement and continuously evolving in the field of whole-house intelligence. Data shows that currently, Xiaodu products have connected more than 46 million households.
At the 2024 World Intelligent Connected Vehicle Conference that opened today, Thorsten Jaede, the Chief Executive Officer of Volkswagen Passenger Cars Brand in China, stated that by 2030, Volkswagen will launch 22 new energy vehicle models including pure electric and plug-in hybrid in the Chinese market to realize the "2030 Vision" in China. Specifically, it aims to achieve a market share of more than 10%, an annual delivery of more than 3 million vehicles, and become a leading mass-produced vehicle brand of "intelligent connected vehicles suitable for everyone".
Amazon Announces the Discontinuation of Kindle Oasis
Amazon has announced that it will stop producing its only e-reader with physical page-turning buttons - Kindle Oasis. With the launch of a new Kindle product line, Amazon confirmed this news to foreign media The Verge, marking the end of the Oasis series.
Apple Launches New Services to Help Enterprises Connect with 1 Billion Users
Apple has expanded its "Apple Business Connect" tool to help enterprises strengthen their connections with customers and create a brand image in Apple applications. After the update, certified enterprises can display their LOGOs in applications such as Maps, Wallet, Phone, and Mail to enhance recognition. New features include brand email registration, business caller ID, and tap-to-pay display.
Intel Announces It Will Lay Off 1,300 People in Oregon
Intel has informed the Oregon state government of the upcoming layoffs. The announcement shows that 1,300 Intel employees in four offices in Oregon will be laid off.
New Products:
Huawei Yu Chengdong: Zunjie Will Debut at the Guangzhou Auto Show and Be Launched Next Spring
Huawei's Executive Director and Chairman of the Intelligent Automotive Solution BU, Yu Chengdong, revealed at the 2024 Intelligent Connected Vehicle Conference that Huawei's Zunjie, in cooperation with JAC Motors, will debut at the Guangzhou Auto Show next month and be launched next spring. It is a high-performance vehicle with a price of more than 1 million yuan.
BMW Group will mass-produce vehicles with "Vehicle-Road-Cloud Integration" (V2X) technology in China starting from 2025. BMW stated that the V2X technology that BMW is about to install in mass-produced vehicles can enable the interconnection and real-time data exchange and information communication between the vehicle end, road end, and cloud end, enhancing the synergy of different terminals in the smart city network and providing a solid support for achieving the goal of future smart transportation. Currently, BMW is strengthening cooperation with Shenyang from several aspects such as test vehicles, information sharing, and participation in the formulation of policies, regulations, and standards to jointly promote the urban construction of vehicle-road-cloud integration in Shenyang.
OPPO Releases ColorOS 15, to Be First Equipped on OPPO Find X8 Series and OnePlus 13
36Kr learned that OPPO has released a new operating system, ColorOS 15. In terms of interaction methods, ColorOS 15 supports the system-level interaction "One-click Query Screen", providing AI one-stop services through voice dialogue, circle search, and other methods. In terms of image creation, ColorOS 15 supports one-click AI image editing, such as AI anti-reflection and anti-trailing functions. ColorOS 15 also features self-developed smooth dual engines, "Aurora Engine" and "Tide Engine", providing a 22% improvement in the overall smoothness of the device. ColorOS 15 will be first equipped on the OPPO Find X8 series and OnePlus 13.
Investment and Financing:
"Yuntong Technology" Completes B1 Round of Tens of Millions of Yuan in Financing
Recently, "Yuntong Technology" completed the B1 round of tens of millions of yuan in financing. This round of financing was completed by Kaiding Capital and Foshan Talent Group. The financing funds will be mainly used for the research and development of new applications/new products, accelerating the mass production of existing products, and providing support for the company to continuously serve the main engine factory and assist in the localization and safety of the new energy vehicle supply chain.
"Dayu Technology" Obtains Seed Round Financing
36Kr learned that "Dayu Technology" has obtained seed round financing, with a post-investment valuation of tens of millions of yuan. This round of financing was exclusively invested by TusStar, and the funds will be used for the manufacturing and testing of the second-generation prototype vehicle. Mush Capital serves as the exclusive financial advisor.
Today's Views:
36Kr learned that with the launch of a series of measures such as Taobao's relaxation of the "only refund" policy and the launch of the "Return Guarantee", the business environment for merchants in this year's Tmall Double 11 has been significantly improved. Taobao will also launch more strategies to improve the business environment in the near future, including increasing the coverage of return vouchers, upgrading multiple after-sales tools, and closing the evaluation entry for full-amount only refund, to help merchants reduce costs, improve efficiency, and establish a fair and vibrant e-commerce ecosystem during Tmall Double 11. At the same time, to reduce unreasonable product evaluations, Taobao will close the evaluation entry for full-amount only refund, which is expected to reduce 2.65 million medium and poor reviews in a year.
Robin Li: Baidu Does Not Touch Sora-like Video Generation
36Kr exclusively learned that recently, Baidu held the 2024 Third Quarter Director Meeting. Robin Li mentioned that Baidu does not touch Sora-like video generation. He pointed out that for the ToB business, it should try not to touch the project-based systems that are difficult and unrewarding, and try to launch standardized products. And for the ToC new search application "Wen Xiaoyan" after the rename of Wenxin Yiyan, its promotion will not be as aggressive as ByteDance's Doubao and Yuezhi Anmian's Kimi.
Other News Worth Noting:
Reuters Survey: The Dollar Strengthens, Investors Turn Bearish on Most Asian Currencies
A Reuters survey released on Thursday shows that analysts have turned bearish on most Asian currencies. The short position on the Indian rupee has reached a one-year high as expectations that the Federal Reserve will reduce interest rates less aggressively have strengthened the dollar and overshadowed riskier Asian assets. A biweekly survey of 11 analysts shows that the bearish bets on the South Korean won, the Philippine peso, and the Indonesian rupiah have reached their highest levels since July 25. Against the backdrop of weakened expectations of a significant interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve and the uncertainty of the US presidential election, the increased demand for the dollar has weakened investors' confidence in Asian currencies.
Xu Jiayin's Ex-wife's Nearly $300 Million Properties May Be Auctioned
According to Bloomberg, Ding Yumei, the ex-wife of Evergrande founder Xu Jiayin, owns multiple properties worldwide worth up to $285 million. As the liquidators in Hong Kong search for Evergrande-related assets globally, Ding Yumei's properties may be taken over or auctioned to repay creditors.