At 9 a.m., Here's the Latest News | A Switch 2 damaged by a staple was sold at an astronomical price of 1.79 million yuan; A Shenzhen land plot worth 23.9 billion yuan may be sold at a 70% discount; The State Administration for Market Regulation summoned food delivery platforms, demanding rational competition.

Going Public in Progress

Shuanglin Co., Ltd.

36Kr learned that Shuanglin Co., Ltd. issued an announcement stating that the company intends to issue H-shares and list them on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (referred to as "HKEX").

Unitree Technology

36Kr learned that the official website of the China Securities Regulatory Commission shows that Unitree Technology has initiated the listing guidance process, with CITIC Securities serving as the guidance institution. According to the guidance filing report, Wang Xingxing, the controlling shareholder and actual controller of Unitree Technology, directly holds 23.8216% of the company's equity and controls 10.9414% of the company's equity through Shanghai Yuyi Enterprise Management Consulting Partnership (Limited Partnership), with a total control of 34.7630% of the company's equity.

Top 3 Big News

The "Stapler Gate" Comes to an End: The Switch 2 Console Damaged by a Stapler Sells for a Sky - high Price of $1.79 Million

Recently, American retailer GameStop announced on the X platform that it was auctioning the Nintendo Switch 2 console involved in the "Stapler Gate".

According to previous reports, during the early release of the Switch 2, a GameStop employee stapled the receipt directly onto the front of the console's outer box when delivering the console. As a result, the staples penetrated the outer cardboard box and the plastic packaging, and finally pierced the display screen of the Switch 2. However, GameStop turned this crisis into a public - relations miracle. They put the Switch 2 damaged by the stapler and the culprit stapler up for a charity auction on eBay. Eventually, this Switch 2 with the stapler sold for $250,000 (approximately RMB 1.794 million). All the proceeds from the auction will be donated to the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals.

There are a total of four items in this auction, and their authenticity was confirmed by a letter personally signed by GameStop's CEO Ryan Cohen. These four "accident relics" include: the "main character of the accident" stapler, the Switch 2 console, the original packaging box with clear staple marks, and the staple itself which was "carefully removed and preserved", along with an exclusive display bag. It's worth noting that the console itself functions perfectly as the screen has been repaired. (Kuaikeji)

Shenzhen's Land King Worth 23.9 Billion May Be Sold at a 70% Discount

On July 18th, Shimao Group issued an open letter to all investors of CITIC Trust - Shenzhen Longgang Financing Collective Fund Trust Plan. The content included opinions on a land acquisition compensation and distribution plan worth 6.8 billion yuan for Longgang, Shenzhen, and three statements were made. The core of this land - acquisition risk - mitigation plan is that relevant departments in Longgang District, Shenzhen will take back 12 plots of land that Shimao Group won in 2017. These plots were the core assets of the once - highly - anticipated Shenzhen - Hong Kong International Center project, with a land - acquisition cost of about 23.9 billion yuan at that time. The compensation price for this acquisition (6.8 billion yuan) is equivalent to a 70% discount. Shimao Group once planned to build a domestic tallest building over 600 meters high in this area. Currently, most of the plans for this project are on hold. (Yicai Global)

The State Administration for Market Regulation Conducts Administrative Interviews, Requiring Food Delivery Platform Enterprises to Compete Rationally

On July 18th, the State Administration for Market Regulation interviewed three platform enterprises, namely Ele.me, Meituan, and JD. It required relevant platform enterprises to strictly abide by laws and regulations such as the E - commerce Law of the People's Republic of China, the Anti - Unfair Competition Law of the People's Republic of China, and the Food Safety Law of the People's Republic of China. They are required to strictly fulfill their main responsibilities, further standardize promotional activities, participate in competition rationally, and jointly build a good ecosystem where consumers, merchants, food delivery riders, and platform enterprises can all achieve win - win results, so as to promote the standardized, healthy, and sustainable development of the catering service industry. (CCTV News)

Large Companies/ Major Events

Tea Yan Yues Apologizes and Removes Product as New Product Packaging Suspected of Infringing Fang Datong's Album Cover

Recently, many netizens reported on social platforms that the packaging of Tea Yan Yues snacks features the album cover of singer Fang Datong's "Dreamer", which has sparked controversy. The customer service of Tea Yan Yues responded to netizens that this is not a co-branding. Therefore, some netizens believe that Tea Yan Yues is suspected of infringement, while others think it is a tribute.

On July 17, the relevant person-in-charge of Tea Yan Yues responded to reporters, saying, "We are very sorry for the bad experience we've brought to everyone. After receiving feedback from customers, our company has quickly and comprehensively removed the product from the market. We sincerely apologize to everyone for the lack of supervision in our creative review process. We are very grateful to everyone for pointing out our mistakes. We will correct them immediately. We also welcome everyone to continue to give us feedback on any issues. Thank you very much for your attention." (Nanfang Daily)

Verdict Reached in Poisoning Incident Involving ByteDance Employees in Singapore

Yunhaiyao, a catering company, was fined the maximum of S$7,000 (approximately RMB 39,000) on Thursday (July 17) due to a collective food poisoning incident that occurred at ByteDance's Singapore office last year. Lu Zhitao, the CEO of Yunhaiyao Group's Singapore branch, represented the operating company in court to receive the verdict. After the case was adjudicated, Yunhaiyao issued a statement publicly apologizing to the affected ByteDance employees and the public, revealing that it had permanently shut down its "corporate group meal" service and also closed its Nafu City branch. (The Paper)

Trump Diagnosed with Venous Disease

On July 17 local time, White House Press Secretary Levitt said that recently, U.S. President Trump had mild swelling in his calf. An ultrasound examination of Trump's leg showed that he suffered from chronic venous insufficiency. Levitt explained that "this is a common condition, especially prevalent among people over 70. The key is that the examination found no signs of deep vein thrombosis or arterial disease." Levitt also said that after the examination, "no signs of serious diseases such as heart failure or renal dysfunction were found." Trump is 79 years old. When he watched the FIFA Club World Cup final live in New York last week, photos showed obvious swelling in his ankles, sparking speculation from the outside world about his health. (Jiemian News)

After Coca - Cola, PepsiCo also responded to the formula change

On July 17 local time, PepsiCo said that if consumers demand it, its beverage products will also use sucrose. According to Cailian Press, in addition to being willing to change the formula of its cola, PepsiCo executives also said that later this year, the company plans to re - launch its Lay's and Doritos brands, emphasizing that their potato chips or tortilla chips do not contain artificial colors and flavors. Previously, according to CCTV News, on July 16 local time, US President Donald Trump said on a social platform: "I've been working with Coca - Cola to get the US version of Coke to use real sugar. They've agreed. I want to thank all the people at Coca - Cola." However, Coca - Cola later responded that it had not promised to make changes. The company said in a statement, "We appreciate President Trump's enthusiasm for our iconic brand, Coca - Cola. We will soon share more details about innovative products in our Coca - Cola product portfolio." Currently, both Pepsi and Coca - Cola's sodas use high - fructose corn syrup, a raw material that is generally more cost - effective. (Jiemian News)

Lei Jun Accompanies Wang Chuanfu to Visit Xiaomi's Car Factory

Recently, many netizens posted videos on social platforms, claiming that they accidentally witnessed a meeting between Lei Jun, the founder of Xiaomi Group, and Wang Chuanfu, the chairman and president of BYD, at Xiaomi's car factory. In the video, Wang Chuanfu was visiting the factory accompanied by Lei Jun, who personally acted as a "guide" to introduce the situation of the Xiaomi factory to Wang Chuanfu. A man in a short - sleeved shirt behind Lei Jun is suspected to be Hu Zhengnan, an investment partner of Shunwei Capital, who once served as the dean of Geely Automobile Research Institute.

It is understood that BYD is an important battery supplier for Xiaomi's cars. Xiaomi's first car, the Xiaomi SU7, is available in a standard version, a Pro version, and a Max version. The standard version is equipped with either Fudi Blade Batteries from BYD or batteries from CATL. The standard and Pro versions of Xiaomi's second car, the Xiaomi YU7, are both equipped with 96.3 kWh lithium - iron phosphate batteries supplied by Fudi and CATL.

In the mobile phone business, BYD also cooperates with Xiaomi. On July 27, 2024, Wang Haoyu, the deputy general manager of BYD's Energy Storage and New Battery Division, said at the 2024 Zhongguancun Forum Annual Conference that many people think BYD is just a car company, but that's not the case. Currently, most of the smartphones on the market, including those from Huawei and Xiaomi, are actually produced by BYD. (Jiemian News)

A New Generation of Domestic Oral Antiviral Drugs for Influenza Hits the Market

On July 18th, the official website of the National Medical Products Administration showed that the oral antiviral drug for influenza, Maseroloxavir Tablets (brand name: Jikeshu), has been approved for marketing. It is used to treat adults with uncomplicated influenza A and B who were previously healthy, excluding patients at high risk of influenza-related complications. Maseroloxavir is a new-generation polymerase acidic protein (PA) endonuclease inhibitor independently developed by Zhengxiang Pharmaceutical. It has the characteristic of broad-spectrum anti-influenza virus and has antiviral activity against influenza A and B viruses, highly lethal avian influenza viruses, etc.

Spring Airlines Responds to "Plane Crashed to the Ground After Takeoff": The Report Is Not True

On the evening of July 17th, Spring Airlines' official Weibo account issued a statement: Today, there were online reports about Flight 9C7760 on July 15th. After verification, the content of the report is not true.

On July 15th, Flight 9C7760 was postponed until 20:50 to fly from Lanzhou to Shanghai Hongqiao due to traffic control. During the taxiing phase of the plane, a temporary mechanical failure occurred. The flight crew handled it promptly according to the procedures, taxied the plane back to the terminal, and arranged for the passengers to disembark. During the handling process, the plane was always on the ground. It did not take off and "leave the ground" as reported, and there was no such thing as "crashing directly" as described in the report. The report is completely inconsistent with the facts.

Spring Airlines replaced the plane immediately. The flight took off at 22:45 that day and safely delivered the passengers to their destination. Spring Airlines always adheres to the principle of safety first. To ensure the safety of the flight and all passengers, it will never take off with any potential hazards. We sincerely apologize for the flight delay caused by this and thank all passengers for their understanding and support. (Yicai Global)

After a SF Express courier sold oil cards worth a total of 1.07 million yuan, SF only agreed to compensate a total of 2,500 yuan

Recently, the incident of "a man's oil cards worth 1.07 million yuan were sold by a courier" has made it onto the Weibo hot search list, attracting public attention. According to Jiupai News, after the oil cards worth a total of 1.07 million yuan were sold by a SF Express courier, SF only agreed to compensate a total of 2,500 yuan.

Previously, it was reported that since April 24th, Mr. Liang from Yangzhou sent five parcels containing hundreds of fuel cards to his customers through SF Express. Four of the parcels were each worth 200,000 yuan, and one parcel was worth 270,000 yuan, with a total value of 1.07 million yuan. The customers always used excuses such as "the company's account is frozen" and "the finance department is off work" to delay paying the payment.

Almost at the same time, Mr. Liang found that the oil cards he sent were being sold on a second - hand sales platform. "The contact information provided by the seller is the same as that of the courier in charge of my parcels," Mr. Liang said. From this, he suspected that the courier colluded with the customers and sold the oil cards on the second - hand platform for cash. On May 13th, Mr. Liang reported the case to the local police on the grounds of fraud. During this period, Mr. Liang claimed compensation from SF because he clearly paid the insurance fee when sending the parcels, with each parcel insured for about 50,000 yuan. The compensation plan given by the SF claims adjuster was to compensate only 500 yuan for each parcel, with a total compensation of 2,500 yuan. Recently, Mr. Liang has sued SF Express Co., Ltd. through legal channels, hoping that the company will compensate for all the losses caused during the express delivery process. According to Dahe Daily, on July 16th, Mr. Liang, the person involved, told reporters that the local police in Yangzhou have filed a case, and currently, the involved personnel have not been subject to criminal coercive measures. (Jiemian News)

Goodsnatured Responds to the Controversy of "Selling One Share Twice"

On July 18th, Goodsnatured responded to the controversy over the controlling shareholder's alleged "selling one share twice" as announced the previous day. Goodsnatured told Jiemian News reporters that Ningbo Hanyi, which is currently involved in a lawsuit, is one of the shareholders in this transaction. According to the lawyer's judgment, it will not affect the normal progress of the overall transaction. "Simply put, it's possible that the two major state - owned assets entities both consider the listed company a high - quality target, and the parties in the business negotiation have differences."

On the evening of July 17th, Goodsnatured announced that Yangtze River International Trade under the Wuhan State - owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission signed a "Conditional Share Transfer Agreement" with Ningbo Hanyi, Liangpin Investment, and Dayong Co., Ltd. respectively. Yangtze River International Trade intends to acquire 120 million shares of Goodsnatured, accounting for 29.99% of the company's total share capital. The actual controller of the listed company will change from Yang Hongchun, Yang Yinfen, Zhang Guoqiang, and Pan Jihong to the Wuhan State - owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission. Among them, it will acquire 72.2399 million shares of the listed company held by Ningbo Hanyi at a price of 12.42 yuan per share, accounting for 18.01% of the listed company's total share capital. On the same day, the company received a notice from Ningbo Hanyi that Guangzhou Light Industry and Trade Group Co., Ltd. filed a lawsuit against Ningbo Hanyi over the equity transfer dispute and applied for property preservation. 79.764 million shares of Goodsnatured held by Ningbo Hanyi were frozen, accounting for 56.46% of the shares it holds in the company and 19.89% of the company's total share capital, which may lead to uncertainties in the transfer of control rights between Ningbo Hanyi and Yangtze River International Trade. (Jiemian News)

Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao Meets with Jensen Huang

On July 17, Wang Wentao, Minister of Commerce, met with Jensen Huang, President and CEO of NVIDIA Corporation in the United States. Wang Wentao stated that China's policy of attracting foreign investment will remain unchanged, and its door to the world will only open even wider. The Chinese market is huge in scale, rich in application scenarios, and full of innovation and creativity. He hopes that multinational companies, including NVIDIA, will provide high - quality and reliable products and services to Chinese customers. Jensen Huang said that the Chinese market is very attractive, and NVIDIA is willing to deepen cooperation with Chinese partners in the field of artificial intelligence. (China News Service)

Artificial Intelligence Leads NATO's Air Defense Test for the First Time

According to foreign media reports, NATO recently completed its first air defense test led by artificial intelligence (AI). The results show that the performance of the AI system in terms of early - warning timeliness, information processing, and interception efficiency is superior to manual operation under the same conditions. Analysts say that NATO member states have been very active in the field of military application of AI recently, and the relevant developments deserve attention. (China National Defense News)

The registered capital of Jiefu Ruitong, a subsidiary of Xiaomi, has increased to 300 million yuan

36Kr learned that according to the Aiqicha App, recently, Jiefu Ruitong (Inner Mongolia) Payment Co., Ltd. has undergone industrial and commercial changes, with its registered capital increasing from 100 million yuan to 300 million yuan. Jiefu Ruitong (Inner Mongolia) Payment Co., Ltd. was established in January 2011, with Liu Wei as its legal representative. Its business scope includes Internet payment, mobile phone payment, bank card acquiring, etc. Shareholder information shows that the company is jointly held by Xiaomi Technology Co., Ltd. and Xiaomi Credit Management Co., Ltd.

iOS 26 Upgrade to Enhance Genmoji Feature

According to IT Home, citing technology media 9to5Mac, Apple plans to further upgrade the Genmoji feature in the iOS 26 system, allowing users to create personalized emojis more freely.

Genmoji can almost infinitely expand the emoji options on the iPhone. However, in the actual creation process, achieving the desired results may require some effort, and sometimes it may even be impossible to fully realize your ideas. Nevertheless, the iOS 26 update will greatly simplify this process.

The new Genmoji features include adding custom expressions to character emojis, changing the physical features of characters (such as hairstyles), and creating new emojis by combining existing ones. (IT Home)

The Cutting - Edge of AI

Reports: Meta Poaches Two AI Researchers from Apple Again

According to people familiar with the matter, Meta Platforms has hired Mark Lee and Tom Gunter, two artificial intelligence researchers from Apple, to join its Super Intelligence Lab team. It is understood that Lee has started working at Meta after leaving Apple in recent days, while Gunter will start working at Meta in the near future. Prior to this, Meta had recruited Ruoming Pang, the former head of Apple's AI foundation model team, offering him a compensation package worth $200 million. (Sina Finance)

Investment and Financing

AI startup Anthropic plans a new round of financing, with a potential valuation exceeding $100 billion

According to people familiar with the matter, Anthropic, a competitor to OpenAI, is in the early stages of a new round of financing, which could value the company at over $100 billion. (Cailian Press)

"GritWorld Technology" Completes Series B3 Financing Worth Tens of Millions of US Dollars

Recently, "GritWorld Technology" completed a Series B3 financing worth tens of millions of US dollars. This round of financing was jointly led by Wuxi Venture Capital Group, Wuxi Binhu Industrial Group, and BYD, with follow - on investments from existing shareholders such as PeakView Capital. Clover Capital served as the exclusive financial advisor. In addition to using the funds from this round of financing for the native AI - powered upgrade of GritWorld Technology's 3D graphics engine GritGene, the company will also allocate the funds to research and development in areas such as embodied intelligence and simulation training of world models, and multi - modal intelligent human - machine interaction. Moreover, it will further achieve implementation and commercialization in more vertical industry scenarios such as intelligent cockpits, terminal graphics, and spatial intelligence.

Jinsan Biotech Completes Tens of Millions of Yuan in Pre-A+ Round Financing

36Kr learned that Tuoxin Pharmaceutical, a company listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, announced a strategic investment of tens of millions of yuan in Jiangsu Jinsan Biotech and signed a cooperation agreement. It has only been three months since Jinsan Biotech completed a 100-million-yuan Pre-A round of financing, indicating the capital market's continuous optimism about the industrialization of the anti-aging raw material ergothioneine.

Kaimi Biotech Completes Nearly 170 Million Yuan in Pre-A Round Financing

36Kr learned that according to Kaimi Biotech, recently, "Kaimi Biotech", which focuses on the development of innovative therapeutic vaccines, officially announced the completion of its Pre-A round of financing. This round of financing was oversubscribed, with a total scale of nearly 170 million yuan. This financing was led by SDIC Venture Capital, followed by Zhongke Chuangxing, Guosheng Innovation, and existing shareholder Longpan Investment. The funds will be used to accelerate the global early clinical development of core products SN3001 (prostate cancer therapeutic vaccine) and SN2001 (chronic hepatitis B immunotherapy vaccine), upgrade the R & D center, and continuously layout subsequent oncology therapeutic vaccine products.

Hong Kong insurance company Bowtie secures $70 million in Series C financing

On July 18, Bowtie, the first virtual insurance company in Hong Kong, announced that it had secured $70 million in Series C financing. This round of financing was led by Sun Life Hong Kong Limited. (Jiemian News)

Cool Products

OpenAI Releases ChatGPT Agent: Capable of Active Thinking and Tool Selection

OpenAI released the ChatGPT Unified Agent (ChatGPT Agent) through a technology livestream. It is reported that ChatGPT Agent has the ability to think and act autonomously, and can actively select appropriate tools from its skill library, including Operator, Deep Research, and ChatGPT, to complete various ultra - complex tasks. (Jiemian News)

Color lineup of iPhone 17 Pro exposed, with 4 colors

According to IT Home, citing a blog post published by tech media majinbuofficial yesterday, it was learned from accessory manufacturers and insiders that Apple's iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max will offer 4 colors for consumers to choose from. The news said that Apple's iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature an aluminum alloy middle frame. In addition to black, dark blue, and silver, there will also be a vibrant orange option. (IT Home)

Compiled | Anya Sun