8:00, Yike Daily Update | Dong Mingzhu says she'll never hire returnees; Intel will announce a 20% lay - off this week; Apple's Siri team undergoes a major reshuffle.
Going Public in Progress
Uncle Tea
36Kr learned from documents filed with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that Uncle Tea (Shanghai) Industrial Co., Ltd. has passed the listing hearing of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. CITIC Securities, Haitong International, and Orient Securities are the joint sponsors.
Green Tea Group Limited
36Kr learned that according to documents from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Green Tea Group Limited has passed the listing hearing of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The joint sponsors are Citigroup and CMBC International.
Top 3 Big News
Dong Mingzhu Says She'll Never Hire Overseas Returnees and Will Cultivate Her Own Talents in Domestic Universities
According to Dahe Daily, on April 22, the interim general meeting of shareholders of Gree Electric Appliances deliberated and approved the proposal for the re - election of the company's board of directors. Dong Mingzhu smoothly began her fifth three - year term in charge of Gree Electric Appliances. When asked about the question of "how Gree Electric Appliances promotes the rejuvenation of the management" at the meeting, Dong Mingzhu responded: "Gree attaches great importance to talent cultivation, not measured by age or seniority. The key is that the thinking of talents should remain young, with innovation ability, sense of responsibility and the courage to fight. We'll never hire overseas returnees and will only cultivate our own talents in domestic universities." (Jiemian News)
Intel to Announce 20% Layoffs This Week, Over 21,800 Employees May Be Cut
According to Jiemian News, on April 23, multiple media outlets reported that Intel plans to announce a layoff plan of over 20% this week. This will be the company's largest organizational adjustment since its establishment in 1968. It is also the first major restructuring promoted by new CEO Lip-Bu Tan after taking office. As of the end of 2024, Intel had a total of 108,900 employees globally. Calculated at a 20% ratio, the layoff scale will exceed 21,800. (Jiemian News)
Apple's Siri Team Undergoes Major Overhaul
Bloomberg published a blog post at Beijing time on April 23, reporting that Mike Rockwell, Apple's new head of Siri engineering, is carrying out sweeping reforms on the development and management team of the voice assistant Siri. According to people familiar with the matter, Rockwell has brought in several capable individuals from the Vision Pro software team to replace the original leadership of Siri. Among them, Ranjit Desai is in charge of the core engineering of Siri, including the underlying platform and system group. He is a senior deputy of Rockwell and has shown outstanding performance in the development of Vision Pro.
Rockwell emphasized to employees that Desai's experience in "high - performance, low - latency systems" will significantly improve Siri's performance. In addition, Olivier Gutknecht takes over the user experience team, while Nate Begeman and Tom Duffy are responsible for the underlying architecture, aiming to create "world - class and scalable" technology. (IT Home)
Big Companies/Big Events
BMW Says It Plans to Integrate DeepSeek into New Models in China
36Kr learned that Oliver Zipse, the CEO of German automaker BMW (BMW), said at the Shanghai Auto Show on Wednesday that BMW plans to integrate the artificial intelligence technology of Chinese startup DeepSeek into its new models in China starting later this year. "The key advancements in artificial intelligence are happening here. We are strengthening our AI partnerships to integrate it into our cars in China," he said. "Starting later this year, we will integrate DeepSeek's AI into our new cars in China." (Sina Finance)
OpenAI is interested in buying Google Chrome browser
Nick Turley, the product lead of ChatGPT, testified at a Google antitrust trial on April 22 local time that OpenAI is interested in acquiring Google's Chrome browser if antitrust enforcers successfully force Google to sell it. The judge overseeing the case ruled last year that Google had monopolized online search and related advertising services. Google has not sold Chrome yet and plans to appeal the monopoly ruling. (Jiemian News)
Apple and Meta Fined a Total of 700 Million Euros by the EU for Violating Tech Rules
On April 23, the European Commission announced that it had fined Apple 500 million euros and Meta 200 million euros, totaling 700 million euros, under the Digital Markets Act (DMA). This is the first fine issued since the act came into force in March 2024.
In this penalty, Apple was fined for violating the DMA's guidance and restriction provisions in its App Store. EU investigations showed that Apple set multiple restrictions in the App Store, preventing developers from freely informing users of other payment channels, depriving consumers of the right to access better consumption options, and Apple failed to prove the objective necessity of these restrictions.
Meta, on the other hand, violated the DMA's requirement that "gatekeeper" companies provide an option for "low-data usage advertising services" with the "consent to data collection or pay for a subscription" binary model it launched in November 2023. Although Meta subsequently adjusted the relevant model, the penalty targets its behavior during the period of violation. (Jiemian News)
Elon Musk: Won't Resign from the "Department of Government Efficiency" in the US
On April 22 local time, Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, said that he plans to "significantly" reduce his work for the Trump administration in May to focus on Tesla. However, Musk also said that he won't resign from his position at the "Department of Government Efficiency" in the US, but will only reduce the time allocation. Tesla announced on the same day that its net income in the first quarter was $409 million, a 71% decline compared with the same period last year. (Jiemian News)
General Manager of Xiaomi's Public Relations Department Debunks Rumors of Xiaomi YU7's Delayed Release
36Kr learned that Wang Hua, the general manager of Xiaomi's public relations department, debunked the rumors of Xiaomi YU7's delayed release, saying, "Just now, some media friends reported that foreign media reported that the release of YU7 was delayed, and some even said it would be released at the end of the year. It's really ridiculous. The release time of our YU7 has not changed. It is still from June to July this year as previously announced by Mr. Lei."
WeChat now allows users to add image notes when adding friends, and it's currently in a limited beta test.
On April 22nd, the official version 8.0.59 of WeChat for iOS was updated and launched. In previous versions, when applying to add friends, users could only enter text descriptions. However, in the official version 8.0.59 for iOS, a new "Add Image" option has been added, which supports adding image verification. Currently, this adjustment is in a limited beta test, and only a few users can use it. It's unknown when it will be officially launched. (IT Home)
iQiyi officially enters the content e-commerce market and implements a policy of waiving platform commissions for the first batch of merchants
On April 23, Gong Yu, the founder and CEO of iQiyi, announced that iQiyi's content e-commerce platform was launched on the 23rd. Relying on iQiyi's IP (intellectual property) content, celebrity artists, and members, it provides services such as live streaming with goods. Gong Yu said that members are the users with the strongest consumption power on the Internet, so members are iQiyi's largest potential e-commerce users. Currently, iQiyi is implementing a policy of waiving platform commissions for the first batch of merchants, providing support with hundreds of millions of views of traffic, and directly subsidizing user consumption. On April 20, iQiyi's e-commerce platform had its first live broadcast. (NBD)
Spot gold has fallen below the $3,300 per ounce mark, and the price of pure gold jewelry has dropped by $27 per gram overnight
36Kr learned that spot gold has fallen below the $3,300.00 per ounce mark, with the latest quote at $3,299.90 per ounce, down 2.40% for the day; the main contract of COMEX gold futures is currently quoted at $3,310.10 per ounce, down 3.20% for the day. Affected by the decline in international gold prices, the prices of pure gold jewelry in domestic gold stores began to adjust downward on the 23rd. Among them, the prices of pure gold jewelry at Chow Tai Fook and Saturday Fu dropped from 1,082 yuan per gram on April 22nd to 1,055 yuan per gram, a decrease of 27 yuan per gram; the price of pure gold jewelry at Chow Sang Sang dropped from 1,080 yuan per gram on April 22nd to 1,048 yuan per gram. (Caixin)
The payment industry continues to reshuffle, and five licenses have been cancelled this year
Recently, the official website of the People's Bank of China (hereinafter referred to as the "PBOC") updated the data of "institutions with cancelled licenses". Shandong Feiyin Payment Information Technology Co., Ltd. officially cancelled its payment license, becoming the fifth institution to cancel its payment license this year. As of April 22, the PBOC has cancelled a total of 101 third - party payment licenses, and the number of licensed payment institutions has been reduced to 170. (21st Century Business Herald)
Mafengwo: The popularity of "less - crowded and niche destinations during the May Day holiday" has skyrocketed by 200% month - on - month in the past month
36Kr learned that according to Mafengwo's big data, the popularity of "less - crowded and niche destinations during the May Day holiday" has skyrocketed by 200% month - on - month in the past month, and the popularity of "off - the - beaten - path family destinations" has increased by 100%. The average increase in the popularity related to "self - driving during the May Day holiday" in various places has reached 70%. It is worth noting that affected by factors such as the "plunge in air ticket prices" in the late booking period in previous years, the booking cycle for this year's May Day holiday has been significantly shortened, and the proportion of tourists who book 10 days in advance has reached 55.9%.
Musk Says He Is in Talks with China on Rare Earth Exports
According to a report by Reuters cited by Reference News, on April 22, Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, said that the production of its "Optimus" humanoid robot has been affected by China's restrictions on rare earth magnet exports. Musk said, "We are in talks with the Chinese side about this. We hope we can get permission to use rare earth permanent magnet materials. The Chinese side wants assurances that these materials will not be used for military purposes, which obviously won't happen. They will only be used in humanoid robots." (Yicai Global)
CATL Co-founder Donates 1 Billion Yuan to Fudan University
On April 23rd, Fudan University's official WeChat account announced that Li Ping, an alumnus from the 1985 cohort of the polymer major in the Department of Materials at Fudan University, and his wife Liao Mei, an alumnus from the 1986 cohort of the Department of History, have decided to make a one-time donation of 1 billion RMB to their alma mater to support the construction of the Xuemin Advanced Institute at Fudan University. It is understood that Li Ping is a co-founder of CATL and serves as the company's vice chairman. According to the "Hurun Global Rich List 2025", Li Ping ranks 449th with a fortune of 52 billion yuan. (IT Home, Red Star News)
Stock price of Mixue Group breaks HK$500
During intraday trading on April 23, the stock price of Hong Kong-listed Mixue Group broke through the HK$500 per share mark, reaching a high of HK$519.5 per share and hitting a new record high. On March 26, Mixue Group released its earnings announcement, stating that it achieved an operating income of 24.83 billion yuan in 2024, a year-on-year increase of 22.3%; and a net profit of 4.45 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 39.8%. In terms of its store network, as of December 31, 2024, the total number of Mixue Group's global stores reached 46,479, an increase of 8,914 compared with the same period in 2023. (Daily Economic News)
Alibaba.com Tops the Shopping Chart on the US App Store
36Kr learned that Alibaba.com topped the shopping chart on the US App Store at 4 p.m. on April 23rd.
The Cutting - Edge of AI
Tencent's Hunyuan 3D Generation Model Officially Releases New Version 2.5
36Kr learned that today, Tencent officially released a new version 2.5 of its Hunyuan 3D generation model. The modeling precision has been significantly improved, achieving ultra - high - definition geometric detail modeling. The surface is smoother, the edges are sharper, and the details are richer. The effective geometric resolution has reached 1024, upgrading from standard - definition to high - definition image quality. In terms of the model architecture, Hunyuan 3D v2.5 has also been comprehensively upgraded. The total number of parameters has increased from 1B to 10B, and the number of effective patches has increased by more than 10 times. The Hunyuan 3D AI creation engine has been fully updated to the v2.5 model base, and the free generation quota has been doubled to 20 times per day. The Hunyuan 3D generation API has also been officially launched on Tencent Cloud and is open to enterprises and developers.
ByteDance's AI Product Adjustments Reportedly: Head of "Mao Xiang" Departs, "Xing Hui" Merged into "Doubao"
According to a report by LatePost, there have been recent product adjustments within the Flow division of ByteDance's AI product department: Liang Chenqi, the former head of the social companion AI product "Mao Xiang", has left ByteDance; the position of the head of "Mao Xiang" will be taken over by Xiyuan (stage name), the former head of the "Xing Hui" product; meanwhile, the "Xing Hui" team plans to be merged into "Doubao" and will be jointly managed by Lu You (stage name), the head of the "Doubao" App. (Jiemian News)
Financial Reports of Large Companies
Volvo's net sales in the first quarter reached SEK 121.8 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 7%
On April 23, Volvo released its financial report for the first quarter of 2025, showing that net sales were SEK 121.8 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 7%. The adjusted operating profit was SEK 13.258 billion, and the adjusted operating profit margin was 10.9%. Earnings per share were SEK 4.86. (Jiemian News)
Kingsoft Office: Net profit in the first quarter increased by 9.75% year-on-year, and the monthly active device count of WPS Office reached 647 million
36Kr learned that Kingsoft Office released its first-quarter report for 2025. During the reporting period, the company's operating revenue was 1.301 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 6.22%. Among them, the personal business revenue was 857 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 10.86%. The revenue of the WPS 365 business in the first quarter was 151 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 62.59%. The net profit attributable to the parent company was 403 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 9.75%. As of March 31, 2025, the global monthly active device count of WPS Office was 647 million, a year-on-year increase of 7.92%. Among them, the monthly active device count of the WPS Office PC version was 301 million, a year-on-year increase of 11.30%, and the monthly active device count of the WPS Office mobile version was 346 million, a year-on-year increase of 5.14%.
Boeing's revenue in the first quarter was $19.496 billion, a year-on-year increase of 18%
Boeing released its first-quarter performance data. The revenue was $19.496 billion, a year-on-year increase of 18%. The production of the 737 gradually increased this quarter; it is expected to still reach 38 aircraft per month this year. At the end of the quarter, the company's total backlog of orders was $545 billion, including more than 5,600 commercial aircraft. (Jiemian News)
Wens Foodstuff Group Co., Ltd.: Net profit in the first quarter was 2.001 billion yuan, turning from loss to profit year-on-year
36Kr learned that Wens Foodstuff Group Co., Ltd. announced that in the first quarter of 2025, it achieved an operating income of 24.318 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 11.34%. The net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company was 2.001 billion yuan, turning from loss to profit year-on-year, mainly due to the profitable operation of the pig farming business. On the same day, Wens Foodstuff Group Co., Ltd. disclosed its annual report for 2024. The net profit attributable to the parent company in 2024 was 9.23 billion yuan, turning from loss to profit year-on-year. It plans to distribute a cash dividend of 2 yuan (tax included) for every 10 shares to all shareholders.
CNOOC Energy Technology & Services Limited: Net profit in the first quarter reached 594 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 18.48%
36Kr learned that CNOOC Energy Technology & Services Limited disclosed its first-quarter report. In the first quarter of 2025, the company achieved an operating income of 10.074 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 9.42%; the net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company was 594 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 18.48%.
Lotus Achieves Record Revenue and Deliveries: Total Revenue Reached $924 Million in 2024
36Kr learned that on the evening of April 22nd, Lotus Technology released its 2024 financial report. Lotus delivered over 12,000 vehicles in 2024, a year - on - year increase of over 70%. The total revenue was $924 million, a year - on - year increase of 36%. Among them, the European market soared by 179% year - on - year, contributing nearly 40% of the global deliveries and becoming Lotus' largest global market in 2024. China, as Lotus' second - largest global market, contributed 25% of the global deliveries. The North American market accounted for 21% of the total global deliveries. The Rest of the World (ROW) accounted for 15% of the annual deliveries, with a year - on - year increase of nearly 90%.
Montage Technology: Net profit in the first quarter was 525 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 135.14%
36Kr learned that Montage Technology disclosed its first-quarter report. In the first quarter of 2025, the company achieved an operating income of 1.222 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 65.78%; the net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company was 525 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 135.14%.
China General Nuclear Power: Net profit in Q1 was 3.026 billion yuan, down 16.07% year-on-year
36Kr learned that China General Nuclear Power disclosed its Q1 report. The company's operating revenue in the first quarter was 20.028 billion yuan, up 4.41% year-on-year (after adjustment); the net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company was 3.026 billion yuan, down 16.07% year-on-year (after adjustment).
Investment and Financing
“Quanzhi Technology” Completes Pre-A Round Financing of Tens of Millions of Yuan
36Kr learned from the official WeChat account of Tongchuang Weiye that "Quanzhi Technology", an innovative enterprise in the industrial robot field, recently announced the completion of a Pre-A round financing of tens of millions of yuan, led by Tongchuang Weiye. The financing will be used for the R & D iteration of core technologies, the expansion of intelligent manufacturing bases, and the exploration of market application scenarios.
"Jiutian Shugu" Completes 15 Million Yuan Angel Round of Financing
36Kr learned that recently, Jiutian Shugu (Hubei) Technology Co., Ltd. completed a 15 million yuan angel round of financing. Mr. Li Xuefeng, the founder of the company, said that this round of financing will be used for software development and technological R & D, etc.
"Silicon Core Technology" Completes a New Round of Financing
36Kr learned that "Silicon Core Technology" completed its Series A++ financing at the beginning of this year. The investor is Zhongguancun Capital, a subsidiary of Zhongguancun Development Group. It is understood that aiXcoder has received a total of four rounds of financing so far, attracting continuous capital injection from multiple venture capital institutions such as Galileo Capital, Hillhouse Venture Capital, Binfu Capital, Qingliu Capital, and 37 Interactive Entertainment.
Cool Products
Japan Develops 256-Qubit Superconducting Quantum Computer
Fujitsu Limited and the RIKEN research institute jointly issued a press release on the 22nd, stating that the two institutions have jointly developed a 256-qubit superconducting quantum computer. The number of qubits is four times that of the previous generation model, which can quadruple the computing power of the platform using this computer. Building on the 64-qubit superconducting quantum computer launched by the two institutions in October 2023, they have achieved a world-leading 256-qubit superconducting quantum computer by applying newly developed high-density packaging technology. (Xinhua News Agency)
Call for "Derailment Moments"
Have you ever had moments of "breaking away from the norm"? Two weeks ago, the sudden gale in Beijing blew with such force that it hit the pause button on our non - stop hustle. From childhood to adulthood, we've been gradually becoming "accomplished adults" in an orderly manner. As kids, we were expected to top the class; as adults, we strive in the workplace. Young people are fed up with KPIs, overtime, and emotional exhaustion. You must have secretly relished such moments - an unplanned "deviation".
It could be the "misdemeanor" during evening self - study in school; the courage to "slack off" when the deadline is looming; a long - planned but yet - to - visit "escape destination"; or perhaps, a moment of mental blankness when you suddenly discover the beauty of the world. On the eve of the May 4th Youth Day, we invite you to participate in a special collection. Please fill out the questionnaire and share your "derailment moments"!
Scan the QR code to participate in the survey
Compiled | Su Yuhan