Krypton Evening Post | Tesla releases a video introducing the usage skills of FSD intelligent assisted driving; TikTok plans to invest 8.8 billion US dollars in Thailand within 5 years; The number of foreigners entering China visa-free will double in 2024.
Big Companies:
36Kr learned that at 8 p.m. on February 27, Li Jiaqi's live stream for the 38 Festival promotion officially kicked off. Domestic products in many subcategories such as beauty, maternity and baby, and pet products were highly favored by consumers. As of 4 p.m. on February 28, more than 90,000 pieces of KeFuMei Collagen Sticks have been sold, and more than 50,000 pieces of Proya Ultra-Film Silver Tube Sunscreen have been sold; Proya Ruby Cream, Proya Double Anti-Essence Mask, and Mistine Little Yellow Cap Sunscreen respectively ranked in the top 3 in terms of the number of pre-sale exposure.
Toyota Plans to Pay Higher Prices for Parts Produced in Japan to Help Suppliers Raise Wages
Toyota Motor Corporation said on Friday that it plans to increase the prices it pays for domestically produced parts in Japan so that suppliers can raise wages and thereby help Toyota maintain a stable supply base. Previously, the Japanese government said they hope to see small businesses join the ranks of large companies in this year's annual wage negotiations and propose significant salary increases. Toyota's domestic parts supplier network in Japan has expanded to about 60,000 companies, and its position in the annual negotiations is seen as a bellwether for Japanese businesses.
Tesla Releases Video Introducing FSD Intelligent Assisted Driving Usage Skills
36Kr learned that Tesla officially released a video detailing the usage skills of Tesla's FSD Intelligent Assisted Driving, which lasts for 4 minutes and 11 seconds. Tesla reminds that the FSD Intelligent Assisted Driving function is currently still defined as L2 combined driving assistance in GB/T 40429-2021 "Automotive Driving Automation Classification". The operational performance of this function may be affected by actual road conditions, weather and other factors, and may differ from expectations. In many cases, the driver's intervention may be required, and failure to intervene in a timely manner by the driver may result in risks including but not limited to collisions, inability to accurately identify traffic lights or road signs, etc.
TikTok Plans to Invest $8.8 Billion in Thailand within 5 Years
According to Bloomberg, TikTok plans to invest $8.8 billion in Thailand within 5 years.
BMW's New Generation Electric Vehicle Model Plans to Start Production in Germany Next Summer
On February 27 local time, BMW Group announced that the Munich plant in Germany is accelerating the production preparations for the "New Generation" electric vehicle models and plans to officially start production in the summer of 2026. While the existing production lines continue to operate, the plant is currently building three new production workshops - the body shop, the final assembly shop, and the supporting production logistics area. From 2027, the plant will be fully transformed into a pure electric vehicle production base.
JD.com's Amazon Overseas Official Flagship Store Surpasses One Million Products
36Kr learned that recently, JD.com's Amazon Overseas Official Flagship Store officially expanded its product categories and launched 500,000 new clothing, shoes, and bags products from 1,600 international brands. Up to now, the total number of products in the Amazon Overseas Official Flagship Store has exceeded one million, and the total number of brands has exceeded 7,000. In the future, the flagship store will continue to add 100,000 new products every week.
36Kr learned that on February 28, the B2B overseas platform Alibaba International Station announced: It has initiated deep cooperation with the international shipping giant Maersk to jointly transform the shipping experience for small and medium-sized enterprises. A few days ago, the first batch of logistics routes of the cooperation between the two parties has been launched, not only the cost can be saved by 10%, but the process has also been simplified. Alibaba International Station said that in the future, it will work with more partners to transform more routes, cover more markets, and make a simple and reliable logistics experience the norm in foreign trade. With the optimization of the experience, it is expected that more new customers around the world will flock to the B2B field, and the foreign trade business scale of small and medium-sized merchants will also expand rapidly.
Tesla Seeks to Provide Driverless Taxi Services in California, USA
According to the California regulatory agency, Tesla has applied for a license related to driver services, marking the first step in Tesla's regulatory approval for the driverless taxi (Robotaxi) business. Tesla is currently approved to test self-driving cars with a safety driver in California, but has not yet obtained a driverless test or operation license issued by the California Department of Motor Vehicles.
OpenAI Founder Responds to Meta's Plan to Release an Independent AI Application
On February 27 local time, Sam Altman, the founder of OpenAI, posted on the social platform X to respond to Meta's plan to release an independent AI application in the second quarter. He said, "If Meta tries to come at us, and we can counter in an unexpected way, it will be very interesting. Maybe we'll make a social app."
New Products:
Elon Musk: The New Version of Grok App is Now Available
On February 28 Beijing time, Elon Musk posted on the social platform X to announce that the new version of the Grok app is now available. Elon Musk suggests that users try the Grok voice mode for a significantly improved experience.
Xiaomi Releases Multiple New Technological Appliance Products
36Kr learned that at the Xiaomi 15 Ultra and Xiaomi SU7 Ultra product launch event, Xiaomi also released multiple new technological appliance products such as the Mijia Central Air Conditioning Pro and Xiaomi Smart Speaker Pro. Among them, the Mijia Central Air Conditioning Pro is Xiaomi's first multi-connected central air conditioning product for the home.
Amazon Launches New Quantum Computing Chip Ocelot
On February 27 local time, Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced the launch of a new quantum computing chip Ocelot. Compared with existing solutions, this chip can reduce the cost of quantum error correction by up to 90%. Ocelot was developed by the team at the AWS Center for Quantum Computing at the California Institute of Technology. The relevant results have been published in the journal Nature.
Investment and Financing:
Meta Negotiates with Private Equity Apollo for $35 Billion Data Center Financing
According to Bloomberg, sources familiar with the matter said that alternative asset management giant Apollo Global Management Inc. is negotiating to lead an investment of approximately $35 billion in Mark Zuckerberg's "Metaverse Company" Meta Platforms to help (the latter) build a series of data centers in the United States. Apollo will be the main contributor, and the financing plan is still in the early stages of discussion. Recently, Meta has already claimed that it will invest up to $65 billion in artificial intelligence (AI) related fields by 2025.
Interstellar Glory Will Invest 3.3 Billion Yuan in Chengdu to Build a Rocket Production Base
36Kr learned that according to Chengdu Release, recently, Interstellar Glory Space Technology Group Co., Ltd. (referred to as "Interstellar Glory"), the first private company in China to successfully complete the orbital launch mission of a carrier rocket, will invest 3.3 billion yuan in Chengdu to build a rocket production base to produce products with a production capacity comparable to that of the Falcon 9 rocket of the US space exploration technology company (referred to as "SpaceX").
Today's Views:
According to media reports, IBM internally issued an announcement stating that International Business Machines (China) Investment Co., Ltd. and its branches will cease business activities from March 1, 2025, and the relevant office spaces will also be closed. The official response stated: IBM has not withdrawn from the Chinese market, and IBM is integrating product development functions globally. Following the adjustment of the China laboratory last autumn, the International Business Machines China (Investment) Co., Ltd., which was originally mainly aimed at carrying out IBM's product development functions, has completed its main mission, and therefore plans to close. The closure process will be carried out in accordance with relevant national laws and regulations.
Other News Worth Noting:
36Kr learned that according to the National Bureau of Statistics, the results of the Fifth National Economic Census show that the number of business entities in China's tertiary industry has increased significantly, the overall scale has expanded, and the development quality has improved, becoming an important force driving economic growth and promoting full employment. In 2023, the added value of the tertiary industry accounted for 56.3% of GDP, an increase of 2.2 percentage points compared with 2018.
The Number of Foreigners Entering China Visa-Free Doubles in 2024
The 2024 National Economic and Social Development Statistical Bulletin released by the National Bureau of Statistics on the 28th shows that in 2024, 20.12 million foreigners entered China visa-free, an increase of 112.3%.