8:01 AM | CAD drawings of the entire iPhone 17 series leaked; A member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference suggests lowering the legal age of marriage to 18; Xiaomi's launch event is scheduled for February 27.
Listing in Progress
Biren Technology
36Kr has learned that it is reported that AI chipmaker Biren Technology is reportedly considering a Hong Kong IPO and may seek to raise approximately $300 million. People familiar with the matter said that this artificial intelligence chipmaker is collaborating with China International Capital Corporation, Bank of China International, and Ping An Securities on the potential IPO transaction and may issue stocks this year. The insiders said that the discussions are still ongoing, and details such as the scale and timing may change. They stated that Biren Technology may also decide not to proceed with the IPO.
TOP 3 Big News
Leaked CAD Drawings of the Entire iPhone 17 Series: Product Lineup May Change
On February 24, based on multiple leaks, it can be confirmed that the product lineup of this year's iPhone 17 series will change. The Plus model has been canceled, and the Air model has been added. The new product lineup is: iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max.
On February 24, the overseas leaker Majin Bu released the CAD design drawings of the four models of the entire iPhone 17 series. There are a total of four models with three different designs, which is the first time in Apple's history.
Previously, the iPhone's appearance design was at least neat and simple, and the four models of the entire series uniformly used two appearances to maintain a certain order. Now, the iPhone 17 Air adopts a long rear camera module, but the single-camera module is exaggeratedly large. The iPhone 17 maintains the current design of the iPhone 16, with a vertically arranged rear camera, but the back cover seems to have also followed the splicing scheme of the Pro series. (Fast Technology)
CPPCC Members Suggest Lowering the Legal Marriage Age to 18
To prevent an ultra-low fertility pattern and alleviate the severe structural imbalance that China's population will face, the team of Chen Songxi, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has put forward the following suggestions: First, amend the Population and Family Planning Law to lift the restrictions on the number of children a family can have. The Population and Family Planning Law of the People's Republic of China revised in 2021 only stipulates that a couple can have three children. It is suggested that the "Population and Family Planning Law" be renamed the "Population and Fertility Law" to fully liberalize childbirth to meet the urgent needs of population development in the new era. Second, lower the legal marriage age to increase the base of the fertile population. Currently, the legal marriage age in China is 22 for men and 20 for women, which is a product of the family planning era. China has the highest legal marriage age in the world, and the generally accepted legal marriage age internationally does not exceed 18. It is suggested that the legal marriage age be lowered to 18 to increase the base of the fertile population and release the potential for childbirth. (21st Century Business Herald)
The Xiaomi launch event is scheduled for February 27th, and products such as Xiaomi 15Ultra and SU7Ultra will be released simultaneously.
36Kr learned that, according to the official Weibo of Xiaomi, Xiaomi 15Ultra and Xiaomi SU7Ultra are scheduled for February 27th. In addition, Lei Jun, the founder, chairman, and CEO of Xiaomi, said on Weibo on February 24th that Xiaomi's first AI professional office laptop, REDMI Book Pro 16 2025, will also be released simultaneously, and it will be available for sale immediately upon release.
Big Companies/Big Events
The National Score Line for the 2025 Postgraduate Entrance Examination is Released
On February 24, the Ministry of Education released the "Basic Requirements for the Initial Test Scores of Candidates Entering the Reexamination for the 2025 National Postgraduate Enrollment Examination" (the national score line). Based on the national score line, each enrollment unit independently determines and announces the initial test score requirements and other academic requirements for candidates applying to their unit to enter the reexamination in accordance with the "Regulations on the Administration of the 2025 National Postgraduate Enrollment Work". (CCTV News)
The Kimi arbitration case remains unsettled, and Zhang Yutong may be sued separately
Exclusive to 36Kr, the long-delayed Kimi arbitration case has not been settled as expected but has entered the next process of the arbitration case. According to an insider: The two parties in the kimi arbitration case, the old shareholders of Cycle Intelligence and Yang Zhilin, etc., have completed the payment at the HKIAC (Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre) in late January and late February respectively, and the formation of the arbitration tribunal has also been completed. And the more crucial protagonist behind the entire incident, Zhang Yutong, may be sued separately.
Nezha Auto: Has Never Filed a Lawsuit Against the Producer of the Movie "Nezha: Devil Child Causes Havoc in the Sea"
36Kr has learned that the legal department of Nezha Auto issued a statement, denying that it has filed a lawsuit against the producer of the movie "Nezha: Devil Child Causes Havoc in the Sea". Messages such as "Nezha Auto sues Nezha Movie" and "Nezha Auto claims 5 million from Nezha Movie" spread on the Internet are all fabricated. The statement said that in response to the rumors maliciously fabricated by individual self-media, the legal department of Nezha Auto has completed the evidence collection work on the online platform.
The three major U.S. stock indexes closed with mixed results, and most large technology stocks weakened
36Kr learned that as of the close on February 24, the three major U.S. stock indexes closed with mixed results. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.08%, the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 1.21%, and the S&P 500 Index fell 0.5%. Most large technology stocks weakened. NVIDIA fell more than 3%, Tesla, Meta, and Arm fell more than 2%, Microsoft and Netflix fell more than 1%, and Google declined slightly; Apple rose slightly. Popular Chinese concept stocks generally declined. Alibaba and Bilibili fell more than 10%, Tencent Music fell more than 9%, Pinduoduo fell more than 8%, JD.com fell more than 7%, iQiyi fell more than 6%, NetEase and Li Auto fell more than 4%, Baidu fell more than 3%, NIO and Xpeng Motors fell more than 1%.
Huawei Insider: "Tajie" Has Nothing to Do with Hongmeng Zhixing
Regarding the recent rumors on the Internet that "A Huawei team of nearly 300 people has entered Avita; Avita Technology has completed the trademark registration of 'Tajie', and it may become another 'Jie' cooperative brand of Hongmeng Zhixing.", a Huawei insider said: The so-called registration of "Tajie" by Avita has nothing to do with Hongmeng Zhixing. (CBN)
Xiaomi Integrates with DeepSeek
After a period of testing, following the announcements by mainstream domestic mobile phone manufacturers such as Huawei and Honor that they have successively integrated with DeepSeek-R1, Xiaomi has also officially integrated with DeepSeek-R1. According to the reporter's understanding, on February 23, Xiaomi's Super Xiao Ai has launched DeepSeek-R1, which uses the default online search. Users can input "Open Deep Thinking" to activate it. (China Fund News)
JD Group: All costs of the five social insurance and one housing fund for food delivery riders will be borne by JD.
36Kr has learned that JD Group announced that considering that the average salary of current food delivery riders is much lower than that of JD couriers, for salary fairness, all costs of the five social insurance and one housing fund for full-time food delivery riders signed in the future for a certain period, including the portion that individuals need to contribute, will be borne by JD to ensure that the riders' cash income will not be reduced due to the payment of the five social insurance and one housing fund. This measure includes both existing riders and new ones. In the future, JD Group will vigorously promote equal pay for equal work, gradually improve the welfare benefits of food delivery riders, and significantly reduce management costs through the realization of integrated management, so that full-time food delivery riders, like JD couriers, can become a large employment group with stable income, a happy job, and guaranteed old-age security.
Tesla Is Reported to Be Ready to Update Software in China to Deploy FSD Function, Which Will Be Rolled Out in Different Vehicle Models in Batches
On February 24, sources familiar with the matter revealed that Tesla is preparing a software update for Chinese customers to provide driving assistance functions similar to "Full Self-Driving" (FSD) in the US market. The sources said that the update planned to be carried out in the coming period will allow Tesla owners to use the driving assistance function on urban roads. Tesla plans to inform customers that the system will guide the vehicle to exit ramps and intersections, and be able to recognize traffic signals, make turns, handle lanes, and adjust vehicle speed. These functions will be deployed to customers who have paid 64,000 yuan ($8,800) for what Tesla calls FSD. The sources said that the function will be launched on some vehicle models and gradually expanded. (Jiemian News)
Gree Executives Talk About "Dong Mingzhu's Healthy Home": To Break the Stereotype That "Gree Only Has Air Conditioners"
On February 24, Zhu Lei, the marketing director of Gree Electric Appliances, had a discussion with the media about the new strategic brand "Dong Mingzhu's Healthy Home". Zhu Lei said that the planning for Dong Mingzhu's Healthy Home started at the end of last year, and the current public opinion situation is within expectations. Previously, at the Gree Electric Appliances (Sichuan) 2025 Brand Strategy Launch on February 13, Gree's new strategic brand "Dong Mingzhu's Healthy Home" was officially launched. Recently, Gree's offline stores in many places across the country have been changing their signs to "Dong Mingzhu's Healthy Home".
Zhu Lei said that the purpose of launching Dong Mingzhu's Healthy Home is to break the stereotype that the entire terminal market and consumers think that "Gree only has air conditioners" in a very short time. "Judging from the results of the past week, this goal has been achieved." (IT Home)
The probability of an asteroid hitting the Earth is adjusted to be nearly zero
Currently, according to the latest astronomical observation results of NASA, the probability of the asteroid "2024 YR4" hitting the Earth has been adjusted to "nearly zero". The reason why the probability of an asteroid hitting the Earth keeps changing is that after scientists determine the initial state of the asteroid based on ground-based astronomical observations, and then combine it with the high-precision model of the solar system, they can predict the position of the asteroid at any future time. As the observational data continues to accumulate, the prediction of the impact probability will become more and more accurate. (CCTV.com)
2025 Spring Festival Movie Season New Films Box Office Surpasses 20 Billion
36Kr has learned from Dengta Professional Edition data that as of 18:00 on February 24, the total box office (including presales) for new films released during the 2025 Spring Festival movie season has exceeded 20 billion yuan! (Including post-schedule screenings), with "Nezha: The Devil Child Causes Havoc in the Sea" grossing over 13.64 billion yuan (including presales), continuously setting new global single-market box office records. (CCTV.com)
The largest cross-sea bridge project in Northeast China has been launched, with a plan to be completed and open to traffic in 2030
On February 24, the Changhai Bridge project, the largest cross-sea bridge project in Northeast China, was officially launched in Dalian, Liaoning. This project is an important part of National Highway 507, with a total length of 25.5 kilometers, of which the cross-sea section is about 19 kilometers. It starts from the east side of Yuanyang Port on Dachangshan Island, Changhai County, Dalian, crosses the Lichangshan Strait, and lands on the east side of Pikou Port in Pulandian District, Dalian. The total investment of this project is about 7.9 billion yuan. The entire line adopts the technical standards of a first-class highway, with two-way four lanes and a design speed of 80 kilometers per hour. It is planned to be completed and open to traffic in 2030. By then, it will break the transportation predicament of Changhai County, the only island border county in the country, where people have to leave in the morning and arrive in the evening, and the departure depends on the weather. (CCTV News)
Shanghai Port's Annual Automobile Throughput Exceeds 3.63 Million Vehicles, Ranking First in the World for the First Time
The latest data shows that in 2024, the annual automobile throughput of Shanghai Port reached 3.63 million vehicles, with an annual increase of 15%. It surpassed the Port of Antwerp-Bruges in Belgium (3.23 million vehicles) for the first time, becoming the port with the highest automobile throughput in the world. According to the "15th Five-Year Plan" goal of Shanghai Port, a throughput capacity of over 5 million vehicles will be overall deployed in Waigaoqiao, Lingang, and Haitong Taicang. Currently, the automobile roll-on/roll-off terminal of Shanghai Port has opened 15 international routes, covering 120 countries worldwide, and serving 55 shipping companies. (Kankan News)
Four "scalpers" detained by Beijing police for reselling "Ne Zha 2" movie tickets at prices ranging from 300 to over 2,000 yuan
"Ne Zha 2" has been a box office hit since its release, and the IMAX GT theater at the China National Film Museum is in high demand among movie lovers. The Beijing police have cracked down on the "scalpers" who resell the IMAX tickets of the Film Museum, and have now detected and dealt with four illegal persons including Wu and others.
According to the Beijing police, Wu and others smelled the so-called "business opportunity" from the tight supply of IMAX tickets at the China National Film Museum. Instead of buying tickets for their own viewing, they maliciously occupied the official ticket sources with the purpose of making illegal profits, and then resold them at higher prices on the online platform. They sold the movie tickets with an original price of 83 yuan at prices ranging from 300 to over 2,000 yuan depending on the different positions and time slots of the movie tickets. Currently, the four people including Wu have been administratively detained by the public security organs for reselling valuable tickets. (Beijing Daily)
Cook Posts to Commemorate Jobs' 70th Birthday
According to IT Home, February 24 is the 70th anniversary of the birth of Apple's founder and late CEO Steve Jobs. Apple CEO Tim Cook posted on Weibo to commemorate: Steve not only saw the world as it is, but also saw its infinite possibilities. His vision continues to inspire us to break boundaries and create the future. Today, on his 70th birthday, we remember his legacy and pay tribute to his eternal influence.
It is understood that Jobs was born on February 24, 1955, and died of pancreatic cancer on October 5, 2011. In 1976, Jobs, along with another co-founder, Steve Wozniak, founded Apple, invented the first Apple computer, and was responsible for successfully bringing Apple products, including the iPod and iPhone, to the market. (IT Home)
Omdia: It is expected that the shipment of storage devices will grow at a CAGR of 12.5% by 2029
36Kr has learned that Omdia published an article stating that the next wave of the artificial intelligence trend will focus on the deployment of AI agents and the enhancement training of private data, which will lead to an increase in data center storage expenditures. It is expected that the storage growth will continue to recover in 2025, and by 2029, the shipment of storage devices will grow at a CAGR of 12.5%. However, the secondary market segments of traditional Storage Area Network (SAN) and Network Attached Storage (NAS) are already mature, and it is expected that these areas will experience slow growth or even negative growth.
Insiders say Hong Kong is considering legalizing basketball betting to increase tax revenue
According to the South China Morning Post, the Financial Secretary of Hong Kong is considering legalizing basketball betting to increase government revenue. The report said that an industry insider stated that the authorities may allow the Hong Kong Jockey Club to expand its betting scope to include basketball, which will increase the government's betting tax revenue. (South China Morning Post, Jiemian News)
Samsung Electronics and the South Korean labor union reach an agreement to increase salaries by 5.1%
Samsung Electronics and the company's labor union in South Korea issued a statement on Monday, stating that Samsung Electronics has reached an agreement with the labor union to increase salaries by 5.1%. (Sina Finance)
Ten companies under Samsung Group publicly recruit foreign R&D talents in South Korea
It is reported that ten companies under Samsung Group, including Samsung Electronics, Samsung Display, Samsung SDI, Samsung Electro-Mechanics, and Samsung SDS, have publicly recruited foreign R&D talents since February 24. It is learned that this is the fourth time that Samsung Group has recruited experienced foreign talents for local units. Samsung first targeted foreigners with work experience in August 2023, and only three subsidiaries participated at that time. Since last year, the number has increased to ten. (Jiemian News)
South Korea will lift the stock short-selling ban as scheduled at the end of March
The head of South Korea's financial regulatory agency said on Monday that the temporary short-selling ban will be lifted as planned on March 31, and the impact of this move on the market is expected to be limited. Kim Byoung-hwan, the head of the Financial Services Commission (FSC) of South Korea, said at a press conference on the same day: "If there are no systemic problems, short-selling transactions will be fully resumed as originally planned on the 31st." He said: "We have updated the relevant systems and regulatory rules for more than a year. We have no reason to partially open short-selling." Kim said that his agency is working to implement some restrictive measures to prevent certain stocks from being overly short-sold due to concerns about severe fluctuations. (Sina Finance)
Thailand's Finance Minister: There is room for easing the interest rate of the Thai Central Bank
Thailand's Finance Minister said on Monday that the country's low inflation means there is room for a rate cut to boost economic growth and help weaken the baht to support exports. The Thai Central Bank will announce the interest rate decision this week. Of the 26 economists surveyed by the media, 16 predict that the Thai Central Bank will keep the key interest rate unchanged at 2.25% on Wednesday. "If we lower the interest rate, it will help stimulate the economy, so that we can maintain the momentum of the economy this year," Pichai Chunhavajira said. (Sina Finance)
The Forefront of AI
DeepSeek Initiates Open Source Week
On February 24th, Beijing time, DeepSeek announced the launch of "Open Source Week". The first open-source code library is Flash MLA, which is an efficient MLA decoding kernel optimized for Hopper GPU. It is optimized for variable-length sequences and has been put into production. (Jiemian News)
Dr. Zhao Tiancheng and the Om AI Lab team have made the DeepSeek R1 model break through into the visual language field for the first time
36Kr has learned that Dr. Zhao Tiancheng, a doctoral supervisor at Zhejiang University, and the Om AI Lab team announced the successful migration of DeepSeek R1 from the pure text field to the visual language field. This is the first breakthrough of the DeepSeek R1 model to the visual reasoning level. It is introduced that the model is the VLM-R1 visual language model, which already has precise video understanding and reasoning capabilities, confirming the universality of the R1 method and opening up the imagination space for the training of multimodal models.
Baidu App's Full-Term Upgrade: Integrating Capabilities Such as AI Search and Digital Human Intelligent Agents
36Kr learned that on February 24, Baidu App fully launched a new AI entrance, integrated the model capabilities of Wenxin Model and DeepSeek, and released a new upgraded version. This upgrade integrates intelligent experiences such as "AI Search", "Refining Information from the Entire Network", "Pinch for AI Summary", "Digital Human Intelligent Agent", etc., to achieve a more personalized search experience, more abundant content services, and a broader product boundary. It is worth mentioning that the upgraded Baidu App restarts the slogan "Baidu, You Know It Once You Search". Previously, on February 16, it announced the full access to the latest deep search functions of DeepSeek and Wenxin Model.
Central China Normal University and Tencent Cloud jointly launch DeepSeek R1 Full-Blooded Version
36Kr has learned that recently, Central China Normal University and Tencent Cloud have jointly launched the DeepSeek R1 Full-Blooded Version. Teachers and students can conveniently use it by logging into the school's one-stop service platform. It is introduced that this model integrates cutting-edge technologies such as machine learning and deep learning, as well as advanced algorithms such as variational autoencoders and generative adversarial networks (GAN). It supports the analysis of complex academic issues and the processing of long texts, providing customized support for teaching and scientific research. In addition, Tencent Cloud's complete set of GPU exclusive resources + RAG engineering + workflow + agent configuration capabilities can quickly create educational and teaching intelligent agents, helping to innovate teaching and research, as well as campus services.
PixVerse V4 Officially Launched
36Kr has learned that recently, Aishi Technology, a domestic AI video innovation enterprise, has officially launched the PixVerse V4 version. This upgrade marks that the AI video generation technology has entered the "Audible AI Video 2.0" era. It is understood that PixVerse V4 enables one-click generation of sound effects and human voices that match the video content during AI video creation, and has been upgraded in terms of character expression details, environmental physical rules, etc., achieving a more efficient and realistic AI video generation effect. In addition, this PixVerse V4 has added a video style redrawing function, which can convert the original video into a variety of dazzling video styles with one click, further enhancing the gameplay of video creation and the possibility of application in professional video creation.
Investment and Financing
"Yunnan Angrui" Secures Ten-Million-Level Pre-A Round Financing
36Kr has learned that recently, Yunnan Angrui Construction Machinery Co., Ltd. announced the completion of a ten-million-level Pre-A round of financing. The investor in this round is Tengxin Investment. Li Mi, the general manager of Yunnan Angrui, said: "The financing funds will be mainly used for technological research and development iterations, market expansion, and talent team building." According to the introduction, in the next 3 years, Yunnan Angrui plans to focus on breaking through two major directions: One is to be committed to developing intelligent construction machinery based on 5G remote control, and to build a "virtual mechanical construction scene" system, using digital twin technology to establish a virtual model.
AI Image Generation Platform LiblibAI Announces Completion of Four Consecutive Rounds of Financing in the Past Year
36Kr has learned that the AI image generation platform LiblibAI has announced the completion of four consecutive rounds of financing in the past year, setting a record for the financing speed in the domestic AI application track. The latest two rounds of financing are led by INCE Capital and Shunwei Capital, with existing shareholders such as MingShi Ventures oversubscribing, and Giant Network participating in industrial investment. It is introduced that LiblibAI reduces professional-level AI capabilities to the mass creative scene through the "open-source model ecosystem + modular tool flow" architecture. Currently, its model/image creators have exceeded 20 million, with a cumulative generation of over 500 million images, and it provides AI image solutions to B-end customers such as Kingsoft Office, Wondershare Technology, G-bits Games, Tmall Campus, and Tsinghua University.
AI Map
FlashMLA core, enabling low-cost training with simple deployment.
How to Help Beginners Create Blockbuster Apps with DeepSeek?
After quitting his million-dollar-a-year job at a big company, he has zero coding foundation, but he used DeepSeek to create an app that ranked first on the paid list. How did he do it? What are the methodologies for creating a blockbuster? What else can ordinary people do to seize this wave of DeepSeek?
At 19:00 on February 26 (this Wednesday), 36Kr invites the developer of "Kitten Fill Light", AI blogger Huasheng, and the person in charge of Jingxuan AI, Yang Xiaohe. Let's talk together about: How to Help Beginners Create Blockbuster Apps with DeepSeek. Come and make an appointment!
Arranged|Yu Yaoming