8 o'clock, Yi Krypton News | Netizens expose that a Xiaomi car owner fell asleep while driving; The price increase of badminton exceeds that of gold; A survey shows that about 50% of the population in first-tier cities are renting houses.
Top 3 Big News
Netizens Expose Xiaomi Car Owner Falling Asleep While Driving, Xiaomi Customer Service Responds: The Intelligent Driving System Is Only for Assisted Driving, and Manual Takeover Is Required When Necessary
Recently, netizens exposed that a Xiaomi car owner fell asleep while driving, which attracted attention. In the video, it can be seen that a Xiaomi car owner in Zhejiang fell asleep while driving, with both hands off the steering wheel, and the vehicle was still moving normally. Some netizens questioned whether the driver could sleep while using the intelligent driving system and whether the system could detect it if the driver fell asleep. In response, China Newsweek consulted a Xiaomi car customer service staff member, who said that the intelligent driving system is only for assisted driving, and manual takeover is still required when necessary. There is a detection camera in the car, which has functions of fatigue monitoring and distraction reminder. When the vehicle is delivered, the staff will explain this and suggest turning on this function. After it is turned on, if the system detects that the driver is fatigued, it will give a voice prompt and pop up a window on the central control screen to remind the driver to pay attention to driving safety. After the reminder, if there is still no manual takeover for a long time, the vehicle will slowly decelerate until it stops. (China Newsweek)
Badminton prices have continued to rise after the Chinese New Year, with the increase rate exceeding that of gold during the same period
The trend of rising badminton prices has continued into this year. "Basically, there are no playable badminton balls priced under 100 yuan now," a badminton enthusiast told a reporter from Lanjing. Since the beginning of the year, multiple badminton manufacturers have raised their prices, and brands like Victor increased prices again on April 1st. Taking Yonex, known as the "price - hiking king", as an example, the retail price of its mainstream high - end AS - 05 badminton balls has risen from 210 yuan per dozen before April 2024 to 225 yuan per dozen. After July, the price soared further, reaching 275 yuan per dozen. Chen Zui, a senior badminton enthusiast, told a reporter from Lanjing News that he used to buy this type of badminton ball from wholesalers for 95 yuan per dozen more than two years ago, and now the price of this product has risen to 190 yuan. Calculated based on this, the price of this model of badminton balls has increased by 100% in two years, which is higher than the increase rate of gold during the same period. (Oriental Finance)
Approximately 50% of the population in first-tier cities are renting, and renters over 35 years old have the largest proportion
According to a report by Sina Finance, recently, the "Blue Book on the Development of the Long-term Rental Market in Chinese Cities in 2025" was released. The data shows that in the four first-tier cities, the number of people renting homes is close to 40 million, accounting for nearly 50%. In the rental markets of 40 key cities across the country, the proportion of renters over 35 years old has reached over 35%, a significant increase of 4.9 percentage points compared to 2021, making them the group with the fastest-growing proportion among all age groups of renters.
Data shows that over half of the renters can accept renting for more than 5 years, and nearly 20% of renters can accept renting for more than 10 years. Among the group of renters who accept long-term and stable renting, nearly half said that they "prefer to sign long-term rental contracts with professional institutions." Convenient maintenance and good service are the reasons mentioned by respondents for preferring long-term rental institutions. (Sina Finance)
Large Companies/ Major Events
Xiaomi Customer Service Responds to the Battery Issue of SU7 in the Accident, CATL Denies
The accident where a Xiaomi SU7 caught fire on the highway, resulting in the deaths of three people in the car, has drawn public attention. On the morning of April 2nd, a customer service representative from Xiaomi's official car customer service hotline responded that the Xiaomi SU7 comes in three versions: Standard, Pro, and Max. The Standard version is equipped with either BYD Blade batteries or CATL batteries. "The two types of batteries are mixed and randomly installed, and car owners cannot choose at the time of purchase," the customer service representative added. The Pro and Max versions are only equipped with batteries produced by CATL.
Meanwhile, 36Kr learned that an investor asked: "Was the battery in the Xiaomi SU7 involved in the accident on March 29th from your company?" In response, CATL replied: "It's not our battery." (The Paper)
DeepSeek Overcomes Language Barrier in Myanmar Disaster Relief in 7 Hours
After a 7.9-magnitude earthquake hit Myanmar, the Chinese Embassy in Myanmar said that the frontline is using a Chinese-Myanmar-English translation system urgently developed based on DeepSeek. According to the survey, the developers of the system developed a Chinese-Myanmar translation platform in just seven hours with the help of DeepSeek. So far, more than 600 people in Myanmar have used this platform. (Yuyuantan Tian)
Apple CEO Tim Cook Cashes Out Stocks, Profiting $24 Million
Apple CEO Tim Cook recently sold company stocks, making a profit of over $24 million (approximately 175 million RMB). The stocks sold were from the Restricted Stock Unit (RSU) plan granted in 2020. In addition to Cook, other Apple executives have also sold stocks recently. (IT Home)
Zhangxiaoquan Group and its legal representative, etc. have been subject to enforcement of 3.13 billion yuan and have been restricted from high - end consumption
Legal litigation information from Tianyancha shows that recently, Hangzhou Zhangxiaoquan Group Co., Ltd., Shanghai Fuchun Investment Co., Ltd., Zhang Zhangsheng, Zhang Guobiao, etc. have a new piece of information as persons subject to enforcement, with an enforcement amount of more than 3.13 billion yuan. The enforcement court is the Intermediate People's Court of Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province.
Hangzhou Zhangxiaoquan Group Co., Ltd. was established in January 2001. Its legal representative is Zhang Zhangsheng, and its registered capital is approximately 16.817 million RMB. It is jointly held by Hangzhou Fuquan Investment Co., Ltd. and the labor union of Hangzhou Zhangxiaoquan Group Co., Ltd. Tianyancha risk information shows that the company currently has 6 pieces of information as a person subject to enforcement, with a total enforcement amount exceeding 3.8 billion yuan. In addition, the company and its legal representative Zhang Zhangsheng have been restricted from high - end consumption. (Observer.com)
Tesla Releases Latest Video of Humanoid Robot
On April 2nd, Tesla's Weibo account released a latest demonstration video of the Optimus humanoid robot, stating that its robot has been updated again. "The gait is more stable, the arm swing is more effortless, and the AI technology is the same as that used in its cars, with continuous evolution." The first Optimus humanoid robot from Tesla has rolled off the production line. Elon Musk said that Tesla holds "all the aces in humanoid robots", including real - world AI capabilities and technologies shared with electric vehicles (such as batteries and electric drive systems), and the mass - production cost is only $20,000 - $30,000 (approximately 145,000 - 218,000 RMB at the current exchange rate). Musk said that the Optimus robot will start trial production this year, and it is predicted that the production capacity this year can reach 5,000 - 10,000 units. Tesla aims to produce 50,000 units in 2026. (IT Home)
It will cost an additional 9 yuan to fill up a 50-liter tank with 92-octane gasoline
The official website of the National Development and Reform Commission announced on April 2 that starting at 24:00 that day, domestic gasoline and diesel prices will be increased by 230 yuan and 220 yuan per ton respectively. This round of price adjustment is the third increase this year, ending the previous trend of three consecutive declines. So far, domestic refined oil prices have gone through seven rounds of adjustments, showing a pattern of "three increases, three decreases, and one suspension." After offsetting the increases and decreases, the overall prices of gasoline and diesel this year have risen by 55 yuan per ton compared to the end of 2024.
According to calculations by Longzhong Information, this price adjustment corresponds to an increase of 0.18 yuan, 0.19 yuan, and 0.19 yuan per liter for 92-octane gasoline, 95-octane gasoline, and 0 diesel respectively. Accordingly, the prices of vehicle diesel in most parts of the country will rise to 7.2 - 7.4 yuan per liter, and the retail price of 92-octane gasoline will rise to 7.6 - 7.7 yuan per liter. (Yicai Global)
US Astronauts Stranded in Space Attend Public Event for the First Time
US astronauts Wilmore and Williams, who were stranded at the International Space Station for over nine months due to a malfunction of the "Starliner" spacecraft, returned to Earth on March 18 aboard the "Dragon" spacecraft of SpaceX. Against this backdrop, Wilmore and Williams answered journalists' questions at a press conference held at the Johnson Space Center of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on March 31. This was the first public event the two astronauts attended after returning to Earth. (Red Star News)
Tencent Meeting Apologizes for Inability to Enter Meetings
On April 2nd, many netizens reported that they were unable to enter meetings normally on Tencent Meeting. In the afternoon, the official of Tencent Meeting responded, saying that the current users' entry into meetings was affected, and the engineers were accelerating the repair. They apologized for the inconvenience caused.
At 19:39 on April 2nd, the official Weibo account of Tencent Meeting posted a message saying that the service had fully recovered and could be used normally. (Daily Economic News)
Tesla Vice President Says Our Primary Principle in Car Manufacturing Is Safety
Tesla's official Weibo account reposted a Weibo post by Tao Lin, the global vice president, on the 31st. Tao Lin emphasized, "For Tesla, our primary principle in car manufacturing will always be safety. Safety not only means protecting the driver but also the passengers in the car, pedestrians, and other road users. In addition to passive safety after a collision, Tesla's active safety capabilities have also prevented a large number of accidents from happening. From hardware to software, and from design and R & D to production and manufacturing, Tesla only compares itself with the physical limits." (NBD)
Zhi Huijun Recruits a 90s Veteran in the Field of Embodied Intelligence
On April 2nd, Zhiyuan Robotics, a startup under Zhi Huijun, officially announced two new developments. One is about personnel changes. Dr. Luo Jianlan, an international leading scholar in the field of embodied intelligence, recently joined the company and assumed the position of Chief Scientist. Luo Jianlan has been deeply involved in this field for 10 years. He has served as a research scientist at Google X and Google DeepMind and was a core member of the team led by Sergey Levine, a highly - cited expert at UC Berkeley with over 170,000 citations. He participated in the creation of the world's first super - human robotic real - machine reinforcement learning system, SERL/HIL - SERL, which for the first time achieved a 100% task success rate and has been widely applied globally. Next, he will lead the establishment of the "Zhiyuan Embodied Intelligence Research Center" and be in charge of the research and development of cutting - edge algorithms and their engineering implementation. The other development is about a new corporate cooperation. Physical Intelligence (Pi), a world - class embodied intelligence company, has officially reached a partnership with Zhiyuan Robotics. The two sides will conduct in - depth technological cooperation in the field of embodied intelligence, focusing on long - cycle complex tasks in dynamic environments. (Sina Technology)
Will Chanel Cut 20% of Its Staff in China? Chanel China: No Comment
Recently, some media reported that French luxury brand Chanel will initiate a strategic adjustment in the Chinese market. It plans to reduce the total number of its Chinese employees from 462 to 373 by the end of 2025, with a lay - off rate approaching 20%, involving multiple departments. In response, Chanel China said it would not comment. (Jiemian News)
Xiaomi's market value shrank by over HK$120 billion in two days, and its stock price fell by over 25% from its historical high
On April 2, affected by the accident of Xiaomi SU7, the stock price of Xiaomi Group continued to decline. As of the close, the stock was reported at HK$44.55 per share, down 25.06% from the historical high of HK$59.45 per share on March 19, 2025. Based on the latest market value, Xiaomi Group's total market value shrank by over HK$120 billion in the past two days. (Jiemian News)
Ai Tiecheng Leaves, Shen Fei, Head of NIO Energy, Assumes Presidency of LeDao
On April 2nd, NIO made organizational and personnel adjustments to its LeDao brand. That morning, Ai Tiecheng, the former president of LeDao Motors, announced his departure through the LeDao App and would no longer serve as the president of LeDao Motors and the senior vice president of NIO. Subsequently, NIO made a personnel appointment for LeDao Motors, announcing that Shen Fei, the former head of the energy business, would assume the presidency of LeDao Motors, taking full responsibility for LeDao's sales work and regional company management, and reporting to Qin Lihong, the co - founder and president of NIO. (Jiemian News)
Li Xiang, the founder of Li Auto, calls for the standardization of Chinese names for intelligent driving
Recently, Li Xiang, the founder of Li Auto, posted on social media, calling on people not to turn autonomous driving into a word game. He said that he called on the media and industry institutions to standardize the Chinese terms for autonomous driving. He pointed out that terms like L2 and L3 are professional jargon that users can't understand. He suggested the following unified names: L2 = assisted driving; L3 = automated assisted driving; L4 = autonomous driving; L5 = driverless driving. He also emphasized that there should be no redundant Chinese characters to avoid misunderstandings among users caused by exaggerated publicity. He said, "Restraint in promotion and investment in technology are beneficial to users, the industry, and enterprises in the long run." (Sohu Technology)
JD.com: Dada Employees' Salaries to Be Increased to 20 Months' Pay Next Year
36Kr learned that according to JD.com's bulletin board, Dada employees' salaries will be upgraded to 19 months' pay this year and 20 months' pay next year. In addition, some outstanding Dada employees will be awarded JD Group stocks.
HarmonyOS Mobility: The Alleged Rear - end Collision of the Enjoy World S9 on the Highway Does Not Exist
36Kr learned that the spokesperson of HarmonyOS Mobility posted on Weibo, stating that regarding the online rumor that "the Enjoy World S9 had a rear - end collision on the Guangzhou - Shenzhen Coastal Expressway", HarmonyOS Mobility has contacted the police for confirmation, and there was no such accident. In response to the malicious acts of spreading rumors, we have reported the case to the police immediately and will cooperate with the police to pursue the corresponding legal responsibilities.
ST Yongyue: Company applies for the removal of other risk warnings for its shares
36Kr learned that ST Yongyue announced that, in accordance with relevant regulations, the circumstances that triggered other risk warnings for the company have been eliminated, and there are no circumstances that trigger delisting risk warnings or other risk warnings. The company has submitted an application to the Shanghai Stock Exchange to remove the corresponding other risk warnings. The Shanghai Stock Exchange will, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the "Stock Listing Rules" and based on the actual situation, decide whether to remove the other risk warnings imposed on the company's shares. During the review period of the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the company's shares will not be suspended from trading and will continue to be traded normally. The final result of the application for removal shall be subject to the review opinion of the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
Microsoft CTO's Prediction: There Will Be a Major Breakthrough in the Memory Ability of AI Agents in the Next Year
During a program aired on March 31 local time, Kevin Scott, the CTO of Microsoft, predicted that "in the next year, there will be a major breakthrough in the memory ability, which is the biggest flaw of AI agents at present, and the interaction mode between AI agents and humans will change significantly." (The Paper)
Liu Yao, Former CFO of Tuya Smart, Joins Hardware Company xTool
36Kr has exclusively learned that Liu Yao, the former CFO of Tuya Smart, has joined xTool, a Shenzhen-based startup specializing in laser engraving machines, to be in charge of finance and part of the operation. It is understood that in 2024, xTool's revenue was between 2 billion and 3 billion yuan. As of press time, xTool has not responded to this news.
National Development and Reform Commission: Will explore the use of blockchain technology to promote key data to be "on the chain"
Li Chunlin, Deputy Director of the National Development and Reform Commission, said at a press conference held by the State Council Information Office that in terms of strengthening technical support and guarantee, the National Development and Reform Commission has applied new technologies such as privacy computing to the sharing and application of credit information to reduce the risk of information leakage. At the same time, it will explore the use of blockchain technology to promote key data to be "on the chain" and achieve encrypted data processing and malleable processes. (Securities Times)
The forefront of AI
Alibaba Tongyi Qianwen Tops the Global Open-Source Model List
36Kr learned that on April 2nd, Hugging Face, the world's largest AI open-source community, updated the large model list. Qwen2.5-Omni, an end-to-end full-modal large model recently open-sourced by Alibaba Tongyi Qianwen, topped the overall list, followed closely by DeepSeek-V3-0324 and GroupCore's SpatialLM-Llama-1B. It is understood that Alibaba has open-sourced more than 200 models globally so far, and the number of derivative models of Qianwen has exceeded 100,000, surpassing the US Llama series to become the world's largest open-source model family.
ZhiYuan Robotics Reaches a Cooperation in the Field of Embodied Intelligence with Physical Intelligence
36Kr learned that on April 2nd, ZhiYuan Robotics announced a partnership with Physical Intelligence (Pi), a world - leading embodied intelligence company. The two sides will carry out in - depth technical cooperation in the field of embodied intelligence, focusing on long - term complex tasks in dynamic environments. Dr. Luo Jianlan, who recently joined ZhiYuan, will fully lead ZhiYuan's Embodied Intelligence Research Center and promote the in - depth cooperation between the two sides.
Baidu PaddlePaddle Framework 3.0 Official Version Released
36Kr learned that on April 1st, PaddlePaddle, China's first self-developed, open-source, and feature-rich deep learning platform, announced the official release of the new-generation PaddlePaddle Framework 3.0. It speeds up the training and inference of large models with five core technological innovations such as "unified dynamic and static graph automatic parallelism". Currently, PaddlePaddle Framework 3.0 supports multiple mainstream large models such as Wenxin 4.5 and Wenxin X1. The throughput of the full-blooded version of DeepSeek-R1 in single-machine deployment has doubled. Through technological and algorithmic innovation, PaddlePaddle has made inference services with low latency, high throughput, and low computing power costs a reality.
Financial Reports of Large Companies
Haitian Flavoring Industry Reported a Net Profit of 6.344 Billion Yuan Last Year
On April 2nd, Haitian Flavoring Industry released its annual report for 2024. The company achieved an operating income of 26.901 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 9.53%. The net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company was 6.344 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 12.75%. The company plans to distribute a cash dividend of 8.60 yuan (tax included) for every 10 shares to all shareholders. (NBD)
Guizhou Moutai: Operating revenue in 2024 reached 170.899 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 15.71%
36Kr learned that Guizhou Moutai released its 2024 performance report. The report shows that the operating revenue in 2024 was 170.899 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 15.71%; the net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company was 86.228 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 15.38%; it plans to distribute a cash dividend of 276.24 yuan (tax included) for every 10 shares to all shareholders.
Investment and Financing
Shanghai Zhonghanlian Robot Engineering Co., Ltd. Completes 10 Million Yuan Angel Round Financing
36Kr learned that recently, Shanghai Zhonghanlian Robot Engineering Co., Ltd. completed an angel round financing of 10 million yuan, which was exclusively led by a well - known investment institution. This financing will help the company accelerate its transformation from traditional automation to informatization and intelligence, invest more R & D efforts in high - end fields such as industrial vision inspection, and create better intelligent manufacturing solutions for customers.
“Xinchen Baisheng” Completes Tens of Millions of Yuan in Series A Financing
36Kr learned that recently, Xiamen Xinchen Baisheng Interactive Entertainment Media Co., Ltd. announced the completion of tens of millions of yuan in Series A financing, invested by Zhihua Shubiao (Shenzhen) Technology Group Co., Ltd. The funds from this round will be used for the research and development of the AI content production engine, the construction of overseas regional operation centers, and the development of cross - industry ecological cooperation, including the democratization of AI - driven creation, the cross - media value - added of short drama IPs, and the reconstruction of cultural consumption scenarios integrating virtual and real elements.
Compiled | Su Yuhan