Krypton Evening News | Jensen Huang Visits China for the Third Time This Year, Wearing a Leather Jacket to Pose for Photos with Lei Jun on a Hot Day; Elon Musk Says He Doesn't Support the Merger of Tesla and xAI; The Replacement Rate of Domestic Instrument and Equipment Hits a New High, with the Quantity Proportion Exceeding 93%
Large Companies:
Chatbot Causes Trouble, Company Under Musk Apologizes
On July 13, according to Xinhua News Agency, local time on the 12th, xAI, an artificial intelligence company under American entrepreneur Elon Musk, apologized for remarks such as its chatbot Grok praising Hitler. It explained that the incident was caused by the misuse of a discarded code after a system update, and the relevant code has now been removed. xAI wrote on its official social media account, "We deeply apologize for the terrible behavior (of Grok) that many people have experienced." According to The New York Times, on July 8, Grok generated a series of "anti - Semitic" remarks by referring to content posted by users on the social media platform X under Musk's control, including praising Nazi German leader Hitler; claiming that people with Jewish surnames are more likely to spread hate speech online; and stating that it is "effective" to respond to hate speech against white people with remarks related to the Nazi mass - killing of Jews during World War II.
Ye Jun, Vice President of Alibaba, Resigns
Recently, there are reports that Ye Jun (nickname: Buqiong), vice president of Alibaba Group and former CEO of DingTalk, has completed the approval process and is about to leave the company.
On July 14, two photos of Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA, and Lei Jun, founder, chairman, and CEO of Xiaomi Group, taken in Beijing, were circulated. According to a report on July 13 by Reference News citing the media, an executive of NVIDIA said on the 13th that the company's CEO, Jensen Huang, will hold a media briefing in Beijing on July 16. The 3rd China International Supply Chain Promotion Expo will be held in Beijing from July 16 to 20. Yu Jianlong, vice president of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, introduced at a press conference of the State Council Information Office on June 17 that there are many new faces at this year's Supply Chain Expo, with more than 230 new Chinese and foreign partners participating for the first time. NVIDIA will also make its debut at the Supply Chain Expo.
Mars Releases "2024 Generation's Sustainability Report"
36Kr learned that Mars, Inc. has officially released the "2024 Generation's Sustainability Report", continuing to decouple carbon emissions from business growth. The report shows that as of the end of 2024, while maintaining steady business growth, Mars has achieved a 16.4% reduction in carbon footprint compared to the 2015 baseline, and at the same time, its annual net sales have increased by more than 69%, reaching approximately $55 billion. To continuously promote progress, Mars also announced the establishment of the "Mars Sustainability Investment Fund" (MSIF), with a fund size of $250 million, aiming to provide financial support to companies that develop cutting - edge solutions to address key sustainability challenges in the industry.
Japanese Semiconductor Company JS Foundry Files for Bankruptcy
On July 14, information released by Tokyo Shoko Research (TSR) showed that JS Foundry, a Japanese company engaged in power semiconductor foundry business, filed for bankruptcy procedures with the Tokyo District Court on July 14, with a total debt of approximately 16.1 billion yen.
New Products:
As the competition among domestic large models becomes increasingly fierce, Dark Side of the Moon recently released a new open - source model, Kimi K2, trying to regain the leading position in the market. An industry insider is optimistic about the release of the K2 model. He believes that "Kimi is now on a more correct path than before, and having in - depth research capabilities is the core of providing real value for large models." The industry insider said that the previous strategy of large models relying on low - price competition based on Tokens will not last.
36Kr learned that recently, Hive Energy launched the Broadsword energy storage battery. It is reported that this battery integrates three technologies: short - blade laminated cells, CTR design, and upper - lower stacking of system compartments. Therefore, its structural strength has been increased by 30%, the number of system components has been reduced by 36%, and it can solve the problem of overweight in overseas transportation of 6 + MWh energy storage systems, saving 13% of transportation costs.
Investment and Financing:
"Judi Hall" Completes Angel - round Financing in the Tens of Millions
36Kr learned that recently, Guangdong Judi Hall Health Management Co., Ltd. announced the completion of 10 million yuan in angel - round financing. This round of financing will be mainly used to deepen the construction of the Internet hospital platform, expand the supply chain of health products, and promote the large - scale development of "Judi Hall" brand chain stores.
"Langyi Robotics" Obtains Angel - round Financing of Tens of Millions of Yuan
36Kr learned that recently, "Langyi Robotics" successfully completed angel - round financing of tens of millions of yuan. This round of financing was led by well - known investment institution Inno Angel Fund, followed by Jiadao Capital, and the old shareholder Miracle Plus continued to increase its investment. The funds obtained will be mainly used for the mass production and technological upgrading of embodied navigation modules, the continuous iteration and data accumulation of spatial intelligent algorithms, and the ecological co - construction with humanoid robot manufacturers, further accelerating the large - scale implementation of robots in scenarios such as autonomous guided tours, security inspections, industrial operations, mall services, family companionship, and elderly care.
Today's Views:
Elon Musk Says He Does Not Support the Merger of Tesla and xAI
Elon Musk said on Monday that he does not support the merger of his electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla and his artificial intelligence startup xAI. xAI has the Grok chatbot, which competes with products such as OpenAI's ChatGPT. A user posted on the X platform asking if Tesla investors support the merger of the two companies, and Musk replied "No."
Other Noteworthy News:
The Communist Party of China Central Committee issued an opinion on strengthening judicial work in the new era. It proposed to improve the legalized business environment. All kinds of economic crimes should be severely punished according to law, and corruption crimes such as embezzlement, job occupation, bribery, and acceptance of bribes should be severely punished according to law, effectively maintaining the order of the socialist market economy. Improve the judicial protection mechanism for property rights, implement the same liability, the same crime, and the same punishment for acts of infringing on the property rights and legitimate interests of all forms of ownership economy, prevent and correct the use of administrative and criminal means to interfere in economic disputes, and apply property preservation and judicial coercive measures according to law to avoid adverse impacts on legitimate production and business operations.
After US President Donald Trump suddenly announced a 30% tariff on the EU, EU trade ministers held a meeting in Brussels on Monday. The EU is the largest trading partner of the United States and the largest trading bloc in the world. This decision by the United States will have an impact on governments, businesses, and consumers on both sides of the Atlantic. "At this stage, we should not take counter - measures, but we should be prepared to use all the tools in our toolbox at any time," Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen told reporters before the meeting. "So we hope to reach an agreement, but there is an old saying: 'If you want peace, prepare for war.'"
A relevant person in charge of the Certification and Inspection Department of the State Administration for Market Regulation introduced that in 2024, there were 6,025 institutions recognized as high - tech enterprises in China, accounting for 11.36% of the industry, which is 14.95 times the average proportion of national enterprises; 1,500 institutions were recognized as specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative small and medium - sized enterprises, accounting for 2.83% of the industry, which is 11.32 times the average proportion of national enterprises. At the same time, breakthroughs have been made in the independent innovation of domestic instrument and equipment technology. As of the end of 2024, inspection and testing institutions had a total of 10.6701 million sets of instrument and equipment, among which 9.9251 million sets were domestic instrument and equipment, a year - on - year increase of 4.11%. The substitution rate of domestic instrument and equipment reached a new high, with the quantity proportion exceeding 93%, indicating a significant enhancement of China's independent R & D ability of core testing equipment.