Krypton Evening News | Musk says he will continue to sue OpenAI; During the May Day holiday, the passenger flow at Shanghai's two major airports exceeded 1.93 million, hitting a record high for the same period over the years; PwC will lay off about 1,500 people in the United States.
Large Companies:
Elon Musk Says He Will Continue Lawsuit Against OpenAI
Lawyers for American billionaire Elon Musk, Mark Trooboff, said on Monday that Musk plans to continue his lawsuit against OpenAI, even though the artificial intelligence startup earlier announced it was abandoning plans to convert to a for-profit company. Under OpenAI's newly proposed plan, its non-profit parent company will continue to control the for-profit business and become the major shareholder. This adjustment appears to be a response to Musk's lawsuit, attempting to quell outside controversy. Musk is one of the co-founders of OpenAI. He has previously filed a lawsuit to try to block OpenAI's transition from a non-profit to a for-profit company, among other claims. A jury trial in this case was originally scheduled for March 2026.
PwC to Lay Off About 1,500 Employees in the US
The Financial Times of the UK reported, citing people familiar with the matter, that PwC will lay off about 1,500 employees in the US, accounting for 2% of its total 75,000 employees in the country. Affected employees will be notified on Monday and Tuesday. A PwC spokesman confirmed the layoff news and said that due to the low employee turnover rate, this measure was necessary.
Indian IT Company Coforge Misses Profit Expectations Due to Rising Costs
Indian company Coforge reported lower-than-expected fourth-quarter profits. The information technology services company was affected by increased expenses. According to data compiled by LSEG, in the quarter ended March 31, the company's consolidated net profit rose 16.8% to 2.61 billion rupees ($31 million), lower than analysts' expectations of 2.81 billion rupees. Coforge's costs related to acquisitions and mergers increased significantly, causing its total expenses to rise by 49%.
Maserati China Gets New Leadership
36Kr learned that Tianyancha App shows that recently, Maserati (China) Automobile Trading Co., Ltd. underwent industrial and commercial changes. DAVIDE GRASSO stepped down as the legal representative and chairman, and was succeeded by SANTO FICILI. Meanwhile, several key personnel also changed. The company was established in June 2014 with a registered capital of $10 million. Its business scope includes acting as the general distributor of Maserati brand imported cars for wholesale, import and export, and commission agency of Maserati brand imported cars, car sales, providing automotive technical consultation, after-sales service and support, etc. It is wholly owned by MASERATI S.P.A.
Tesla: Over 95% of Parts for Model 3 and Refreshed Model Y Are from China
36Kr learned that Tesla posted on Weibo: More than 95% of the parts in each Model 3 and refreshed Model Y are made in China.
Waymo to Build a New Car Factory in Arizona, US, in Partnership with Magna
Waymo, the self-driving technology company under Alphabet, announced on May 5 (local time) that it plans to expand its self-driving taxi service to Atlanta, Miami, and Washington, D.C., in the US by 2026. Waymo said it will invest in US manufacturing and build a new self-driving car factory in the Phoenix metropolitan area in the US in partnership with Magna.
Volvo-Owned NOVO Energy to Lay Off Nearly 50% of Employees and Adjust Operations
NOVO Energy, a battery company owned by Volvo, announced on May 5 that it will take measures to reduce costs and conduct organizational restructuring to reshape the business scale. The layoff will affect about 50% of the company's employees. The statement said that these measures were taken after the bankruptcy of its technology partner Northvolt and a comprehensive business assessment by the company. NOVO Energy said it will continue limited operations, complete the first-phase construction, and continue to explore solutions for large-scale resumption of work in the future.
New Products:
BabyTree Launches AI Agent Product
36Kr learned that during the May Day holiday, domestic maternal and child platform BabyTree announced that its BabyTree Pregnancy App completed a new round of upgrade and launched an AI Agent product—the Beta version of "Mika AI".
Investment and Financing:
DoorDash to Acquire Deliveroo for £2.9 Billion
US online food delivery platform DoorDash said on Tuesday that it will acquire UK food delivery company Deliveroo for £2.9 billion (about $3.85 billion) as part of its plan to expand into international markets. DoorDash proposed to acquire all of Deliveroo's shares last month, offering 180 pence per share, and said the financial terms of the deal were final and would not be increased.
Israeli Social Investment Platform eToro Aims for $4 Billion Valuation in US IPO
Israeli social investment platform eToro Group said on Monday that its target valuation for its initial public offering (IPO) in the US is up to $4 billion. The retail trading platform and some existing shareholders plan to raise up to $500 million by selling 10 million shares, with an offering price range of $46 to $50 per share.
Zhongwei Semiconductor Receives $500,000 Angel-Round Financing
36Kr learned that "Zhongwei Semiconductor" has received $500,000 in angel-round financing from Xiamen High-Tech Investment and plans to conduct a Series A financing of tens of millions of yuan next year. The funds from this round will be mainly used for the construction of equipment and factories for high-purity lithium sulfide, the core electrolyte material for solid-state batteries.
Today's Views:
Yellen: The 145% Tariff Imposed on China Cannot Be Maintained in the Long Run
According to CNBC, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in an interview on Monday (local time) that she expects progress in US-China trade negotiations in the coming weeks and pointed out that the 145% tariff imposed on China by Trump cannot be maintained in the long run.
Other Noteworthy News:
According to Shanghai Airport Group, preliminary statistics show that during the May Day holiday (from May 1 to May 5), Shanghai Pudong and Hongqiao airports together handled 12,000 flight takeoffs and landings (8,000 at Pudong Airport and 4,000 at Hongqiao Airport), a year-on-year increase of 6.2%; they served 1.937 million inbound and outbound passengers (1.224 million at Pudong Airport and 713,000 at Hongqiao Airport), with an average daily passenger flow of 387,000, a year-on-year increase of 14.1%; the inbound and outbound passenger flow was 568,000, with an average daily flow of 114,000, a year-on-year increase of 24%. During the holiday, the flight volume and passenger flow at Shanghai airports both reached record highs for the same period.
EU Plans to Ban Natural Gas Imports from Russia by End-2027
According to three EU officials, the EU will announce a plan on Tuesday to ban new natural gas deals with Russia by the end of this year and phase out existing contracts with Russia by the end of 2027.