8:00 AM, 1 Krypton: Sam's Club Addresses Mochi Box Live Mouse Incident, Mercury Thermometer Production Banned Next Year, JD Takeaway Responds to "Random Stockpiling" Bug, Bears Merchant Losses

A mouse was found in the insulated bag for Sam's Club mochi in Shenzhen. An apology was issued and a commitment was made to optimize services.

Today's Hotspot Guide

QQ intensively updates its features and launches a new form of messages
Trump announces: NVIDIA is allowed to sell H200 chips to China
Industry insiders say that Apple's SIM ejector has no recycling value
Lei Jun responds to Xiaomi's emergency shift of AES to auxiliary functions
The president of Nubia and the vice - president of Douyin respond to the issues of Doubao AI phones

Top 3 Big News

Sam's Response to "Live Rat Found in Mochi Box": Preliminary Judgment Indicates It Was Accidentally Infiltrated During Placement at the Pickup Point

Early in the morning on December 9th, a consumer in Shenzhen posted their regular order. They purchased a box of 24-piece Member's Mark original-flavored mochi and other items through Sam's Club's "Express Delivery" service on the Sam's App on the evening of December 8th. However, a rat was found in the silver insulated bag that was delivered that night. In response to this, Sam's Club told Jiemian News that it immediately collaborated with a professional pest control company to conduct a full-chain inspection. After reviewing the inspection records and in-warehouse surveillance videos of the product manufacturing, packaging, warehouse shelving, and picking processes, no signs of pests or abnormalities were found.

Sam's Club stated that the pickup point for this order was located outdoors. After on-site inspections by third-party professional pest control technicians at the pickup point, it was found that there were flower and shrubbery areas around the location, providing habitats for wild pests, and relevant activity traces were also found at the site. Based on the pest inspection results of the product manufacturing and storage and transportation processes and the identification results of the third-party pest control technicians, it is preliminarily judged that the product was accidentally infiltrated by pests from the surrounding area during its placement at the pickup point.

Currently, Sam's Club has communicated with the consumer in a timely manner and properly resolved the issue. In the future, it will strengthen packaging management and delivery services. Sam's Club said that it deeply apologizes for the trouble and inconvenience caused to its members by this incident and will strengthen packaging management and delivery services in the future. (Jiemian News, China News Service)

Production of Mercury Thermometers and Sphygmomanometers to Be Banned Starting Next Year

From next year, the production of mercury thermometers will no longer be permitted. According to a notice from the National Medical Products Administration, starting from January 1st, 2026, China will comprehensively ban the production of thermometers and sphygmomanometers containing the element "mercury". It is reported that due to their accurate measurement and low price, they have always been the "old friends" of family healthcare. Why is there a ban on them? The core reason boils down to one word: safety. Mercury, also known as quicksilver, is a highly toxic heavy metal. If a thermometer is broken, it takes nearly a month of ventilation. If a small thermometer is broken, the less than 1 gram of mercury that leaks out can cause the mercury concentration in a 15 - square - meter room to soar nearly a hundred times in a short period, and it takes nearly a month of ventilation to return to a safe level.

Reporters' inquiries on online drug - purchasing platforms show that the mercury thermometers in many pharmacies are out of stock. A customer service representative of a pharmacy said that mercury thermometers will probably not be restocked. In addition, some pharmacy staff said that the sales of mercury thermometers have increased significantly today. (Poster News, Dahe Daily)

JD Food Delivery Responds to Bug in "Free Storage" Feature: Platform to Bear All Merchants' Losses

On the evening of December 7th, a bug occurred in the "Free Storage" feature of JD Food Delivery. Multiple netizens reported that after purchasing 100 vouchers on JD Food Delivery and applying for a full refund, the platform only retrieved 1 voucher, and the remaining 99 vouchers were still in the users' hands. As a result, some netizens placed hundreds of consecutive food delivery orders. On the evening of December 8th, JD Food Delivery issued a statement saying that the platform will bear all the losses of the merchants. (Red Star News)

Big Companies/Big Events

SpaceX Plans to Raise Over $30 Billion Through IPO in 2026

According to media reports on Tuesday, SpaceX, owned by Elon Musk, is advancing its IPO plan. The planned fundraising scale will far exceed $30 billion, with a target valuation of approximately $1.5 trillion. The report cited sources familiar with the matter as saying that SpaceX's management and advisors are pushing for the entire company to go public between mid - 2026 and the end of that year. The IPO timing may be adjusted based on market conditions and other factors. Some sources said the listing could be postponed to 2027. (Sina Finance)

QQ Updates Features Intensively and Launches a New Form of Messages

On December 8th, Tencent QQ announced the return of the classic version of QQ, instantly attracting the attention of numerous users. The financial report shows that QQ currently has over 500 million daily active users.

In addition to the return of the classic mode, QQ has also iterated many new features. According to the "Feature Introduction" within the app, in the recent period, QQ has launched or updated more than 10 features, including Q Bubble Messages, QQ Flash Transfer, Cross - app Sharing, Group Chain Reactions, Special Interactions, and AI Avatars.

Among them, Q Bubble Messages are defined as a "new form of messages". Different from text - pictures and voice, they are 15 - second short video messages with built - in filters. After completing the testing in October, they were officially launched recently. (China Net Finance)

Trump Announces: NVIDIA Allowed to Sell H200 Chips to China

According to reports from media such as Reuters and Bloomberg, US President Trump posted on social media on the 8th local time, announcing that the US government will allow NVIDIA to sell its H200 artificial intelligence chips to China, but will charge a certain fee for each chip. The New York Times said that the H200 chip is NVIDIA's "second most powerful" chip. Trump said that the US side will take a 25% share from the relevant chip exports. He also said that the US Department of Commerce is finalizing the details of the relevant arrangements, and the same arrangements will also apply to other artificial intelligence chip companies such as AMD and Intel. (Global Times)

President of Nubia and Vice President of Douyin Respond to Questions about Doubao AI Phone

36Kr learned that on December 9, Ni Fei, the president of Nubia Technology Co., Ltd., posted that the team had received some questions and feedback and was actively communicating with partners to solve them. Li Liang, the vice president of Douyin Group, reposted the post with a caption saying that the transformation brought by AI is real, and so is the users' demand. The exploration by Doubao and ZTE is just a start. Whether this attempt will succeed or not, AI is definitely the future.

Lei Jun Reposts Real - World Test of Xiaomi's Safety Assisted Driving, Reiterating That Assisted Driving Is Not Autonomous Driving

Lei Jun, the founder, chairman, and CEO of Xiaomi, stated on his personal social media platform that he is reminding everyone again that assisted driving is not autonomous driving, and drivers still need to stay focused. Lei Jun reposted a real - world test of Xiaomi's safety assisted driving function conducted by a third - party media. The results showed that it successfully passed all 11 tests in three major scenarios: highways, urban areas, and at night.

Specifically, in the highway scenario, the Automatic Emergency Steering (AES) of the Xiaomi YU7 performed outstandingly. It successfully passed the stationary dummy car test at a speed of 130 km/h. In the scenario of a child suddenly darting out, it passed at a speed of up to 110 km/h. The combined test of AES and AEB (Autonomous Emergency Braking) also passed smoothly at a speed of 120 km/h. For common daily risks, in the scenario of a two - wheeler crossing diagonally at a speed of 80 km/h, its Autonomous Emergency Braking system responded precisely, effectively avoiding collisions. In the low - speed urban scenario, the Xiaomi YU7 also performed solidly. The Misacceleration Inhibition (MAI) function passed the verification, effectively reducing safety hazards caused by driver operation errors. The tests were conducted across day and night, dry roads and rainy days, and it still performed stably in complex environments such as blind tests at 80 km/h in the rain. (Sina Tech)

Spot silver hits $60 per ounce for the first time

According to Jin10 Data on December 9th, traders are betting on the Fed's interest rate cuts. International spot silver has continued to strengthen, hitting the psychological threshold of $60 per ounce for the first time, with an intraday increase of over 3%. The increase this year has exceeded $31, or 108%. (Jin10 Data APP)

Tesla Bot Demonstration Questioned for Remote Control

On December 7th, after Tesla's "Optimus" robot was caught making strange movements in Miami, USA, it was suspected of being remotely controlled. During the process of the robot falling, it raised its hands and made grasping motions, which was suspected of imitating an operator taking off a VR headset.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk once emphasized that the "Optimus" demonstration is driven by AI, not remote control. Currently, Tesla has not issued an official response. (Metro Express)

Industry insiders say Apple's SIM ejector tool has no recycling value

Recently, Apple's SIM ejector tool, which is priced at 60 yuan on the official website, was rumored to be "made of platinum and worth over 300 yuan when recycled", triggering a speculative frenzy. There was even a shortage of stock in some offline stores.

An official after - sales staff member of Apple clearly told reporters that the company has never claimed that the SIM ejector tool is made of platinum and has no idea where the relevant rumor came from. A seller said that he knew the Apple SIM ejector tool was not made of real platinum, but there were people who believed the rumor and were willing to buy it. An industry insider engaged in precious metal recycling said that he had never recycled the so - called "Apple platinum SIM ejector tool", and it has no specific recycling value. (Lightning News)

Did "Anti-fraud Lao Chen" Report That the "Jelly" Sold by Two Million-follower Internet Celebrities Suspected to Contain Laxatives? Official Response

On December 8th, the netizen "Anti-fraud Lao Chen" reported that the "dragon fruit jelly" and "grapefruit jelly" sold by two million-follower internet celebrities were suspected of illegally adding the laxative ingredient bisacodyl derivatives. The Zhanggong Branch of the Ganzhou Market Supervision and Law Enforcement Inspection Bureau, to which the above product manufacturer belongs, said that "the investigation has been underway for a long time."

The Lingbi County Market Supervision Bureau in Anhui, to which the sales company belongs, responded that it has launched a case for investigation. The involved company applied for cancellation before receiving the report, but because it is involved in the complaint and report, "we will not allow it to cancel." In addition, reporters noticed that the account of one of the million-follower internet celebrities "Ice Cream Sister" reported by "Anti-fraud Lao Chen" has been blocked by the platform. (Beijing News)

Pop Mart's stock price drops nearly 44% in four months, with market value evaporating over HK$200 billion

On December 9, the stock price of Pop Mart on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange continued to decline. As of press time, the company's stock price fell 4.94%, about 44% lower than the high in August, and its market value evaporated by more than HK$200 billion (equivalent to more than RMB 180 billion).

According to the latest research report of Deutsche Bank, to cope with the surge in demand, Pop Mart has significantly increased the production capacity of Labubu from 10 million pieces in the first half of the year to an average of 50 million pieces per month by the end of the year. The bank warns that for trendy toy brands driven by unique designs and scarcity, large - scale mass production is often a precursor to the fading of popularity. (NBD)

The ice cream business of Magnum generated revenues of 66.6 billion yuan and has been successfully listed as scheduled.

On December 8th, Magnum, the world's largest ice cream company, officially started trading on the Euronext Amsterdam, the London Stock Exchange, and the New York Stock Exchange. Magnum owns many well - known brands such as Magnum, Wall's, Cone Do, and Ben & Jerry’s. According to Unilever's disclosure, in 2024, its ice cream business revenues reached 7.9 billion euros (equivalent to approximately 66.6 billion yuan).

Magnum is also in such a situation. In 2024 and the first half of 2025, the company's revenues in China were 317 million euros (equivalent to approximately 2.616 billion yuan) and 270 million euros (equivalent to approximately 2.229 billion yuan) respectively, with double - digit year - on - year growth in the first half of 2025. (21st Century Business Herald)

The three major U.S. stock indexes closed mixed, with Baidu falling more than 4%

36Kr learned that at the close on December 9, the three major U.S. stock indexes showed mixed performance. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.38%, the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.13%, and the S&P 500 Index fell 0.09%. Large technology stocks showed mixed trends. Tesla, Google, and Arm rose more than 1%, while Microsoft and Amazon had slight increases; Meta fell more than 1%, and NVIDIA and Apple had slight declines. Most popular Chinese concept stocks declined. Baidu fell more than 4%, XPeng Motors and Li Auto fell more than 3%, Bilibili fell more than 2%, and Alibaba, iQiyi, Tencent Music, and NIO fell more than 1%.

China's First Unmanned Intelligent Control System for Gas Turbine Power Generation Successfully Put into Operation

Reporters learned from China Huaneng on December 9 that China's first intelligent autonomous operation control system for gas turbine power generation has been successfully put into operation at Huaneng Shanghai Gas Turbine Power Plant. This is the first time in China that unmanned intelligent autonomous control has been achieved throughout the entire process of thermal power gas turbine units, from startup, grid connection, load regulation to shutdown, marking that China's thermal power generation technology has entered a new stage of "intelligent autonomous operation" from "traditional manual monitoring". (CCTV News)

Renault Group Signs Strategic Cooperation on Passenger and Commercial Vehicles with Ford, to Launch Two Electric Vehicle Models in the European Market

On December 9th, news emerged that Renault Group and Ford announced a strategic partnership. The two parties signed a cooperation agreement regarding two new Ford-brand electric vehicle models. The new models will be developed based on the Ampere platform and produced at the Ampere ElectriCity. The two new models will be designed by Ford and jointly developed with Renault Group. In addition to the cooperation on electric vehicles, Renault Group also signed a letter of intent with Ford regarding the cooperation on light commercial vehicle models in Europe. According to the letter of intent, the two parties will jointly explore the possibility of jointly developing and producing specific light commercial vehicle models under the Renault and Ford brands. (Jiemian News)

Galaxy Universal Responds to Rumors of Hong Kong Listing: The News Is Untrue

On December 9th, market rumors suggested that Galaxy Universal, a domestic humanoid robot unicorn, is preparing for a Hong Kong listing. The rumors also claimed that the company has been in the preparation stage for several months and is expected to submit its listing application in the first quarter of next year. In response, a relevant person in charge of Galaxy Universal stated, "The above information is untrue. The company's shareholding reform is to meet normal subsequent financing needs and introduce new primary market investors." Public information shows that on November 27th, Galaxy Universal completed its shareholding reform. The company's name was changed from "Beijing Galaxy Universal Robot Co., Ltd." to "Beijing Galaxy Universal Robot Co., Ltd. (Stock Corporation)", and its market entity type was changed from a limited liability company (foreign - invested, non - wholly - owned) to a joint - stock limited company (foreign - invested, unlisted). (Daily Finance)

Trump Criticizes EU for Heavy Fine Imposed on Platform X

US President Trump said at the White House on December 8 that the EU's decision to fine the social media platform X, owned by US entrepreneur Elon Musk, 120 million euros (approximately 990 million yuan) was "terrible and inappropriate." Trump stated that Musk did not call him for help regarding this matter and expressed his confusion about "how the EU could do such a thing." He said he would discuss the matter after receiving a full report on it. Trump also warned Europe to be "very careful" as it is moving in a bad direction. (Global Times)

US Startup Applies to Re - register the "Twitter" Trademark, Says Musk Has Abandoned It

Operation Bluebird, a US startup social media platform, recently filed an application with the US Patent and Trademark Office to cancel the trademark of "Twitter" and re - apply for its registration. The company claims that X Corp., owned by Musk, has "eradicated" the Twitter brand from its products, services, and marketing. (Shanghai Securities News)

Xiaomi China Launches Personnel Adjustments Involving Core Operational Positions in Mobile Phones, Automobiles, and Major Home Appliances

Xiaomi China has recently launched a series of personnel adjustments involving core operational positions in mobile phones, automobiles, and major home appliances. This adjustment is related to the recent "pressure" on Xiaomi's performance in the Chinese market. (Jiemian News)

Stellantis to Launch All - Electric Microcar in the US with a Top Speed of 45 km/h

Stellantis, the parent company of Chrysler, announced on December 8 that it will launch an all - electric small "car" named Fiat Topolino in the United States. The company did not announce the launch time of this vehicle, but Olivier Francois, the CEO of Fiat, confirmed the plan to introduce this car to the US market. "More details will be announced next year." (Sina Finance)

Oliver Zipse will no longer serve as Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW, and Milan Nedeljković will take over next May

The Supervisory Board of BMW announced on December 9 that Milan Nedeljković will officially assume the position of Chairman of the Board of Management of the BMW Group on May 14, 2026, succeeding Oliver Zipse. Nedeljković has been a member of the BMW Board of Management since 2019 and currently heads the Production Division. (Sina Finance)

Investment and Financing

“DeepCloud AI” Completes Over 500 Million Yuan Series C Financing

36Kr learned that on December 9th, “DeepCloud AI” announced the completion of a Series C financing round exceeding 500 million yuan. In this financing round of DeepCloud AI, CMBC International and Huaxia Fund jointly led the investment. Funds under China Telecom and China Unicom participated in strategic investment. Multiple institutions, including Yunhui Capital, SMIC Juyuan, Zhejiang University Foundation, and Shoucheng Holdings, followed the investment. Old shareholders such as Fortune Capital, Qianhai Ark, CCTV Media Convergence Fund, Beijing Robot Industry Development Investment Fund, and Huaying Capital continued to increase their stakes in this round.

"Zhi Yu Xin Xing" Completes Nearly 100 Million Yuan Angel + Round of Financing

Recently, "Zhi Yu Xin Xing" announced the completion of a nearly 100 million yuan angel + round of financing. This round of financing was led by Boyuan Capital, with Dongfang Jiafu and Yiwei Capital participating as follow - on investors. The existing shareholder, BlueRun Ventures, continued to increase its investment in this round. Yiwei Capital served as the exclusive financial advisor. In this round of financing, the company introduced the industrial investor Boyuan Capital and will conduct in - depth cooperation in fields such as industrial AI communication in the future. Through this financing, the company will further expand the future demand for the integration of communication, perception, and computing. By researching and developing AI network products and AI communication chip products, it will provide enabling intelligent infrastructure for the future intelligent world.

The Forefront of AI

Zhipu AI Open-Sources the "Phone-Using" Model AutoGLM

36Kr learned that Zhipu AI open-sourced its core AI Agent model, AutoGLM, late at night. This model is regarded by the industry as the world's first AI Agent with the "Phone Use" (mobile phone operation) ability, capable of stably completing complex operation processes of dozens of steps, such as ordering takeout and booking air tickets.

OpenAI Report: Surge in Corporate AI Adoption

OpenAI released its first report on the current state of corporate artificial intelligence, showing that AI tools are being rapidly adopted, and the weekly user volume of ChatGPT has exceeded 800 million. The report points out that enterprises are shifting from the experimental phase to large-scale application, which echoes the adoption cycle of major general-purpose technologies in the past. (Sina Finance)

Google and XREAL Jointly Announce Project Aura

36Kr learned that at The Android Show held on December 9th, Google unveiled the key details of the Project Aura product and the Android XR system for the first time. As the system - level reference hardware officially recognized by Google, Project Aura marks the first time that Gemini AI truly has the ability to "see the world". According to the official information, Project Aura will be officially launched in the market in 2026.

Qunhe Technology Launches Aholo Spatial Intelligence Open Platform

36Kr learned that on December 9th, at Qunhe Technology's 2025 Cool+ Conference, Qunhe Technology announced that it would systematically and continuously open up its underlying capabilities related to spatial intelligence and launched the Aholo Spatial Intelligence Open Platform to help accelerate the implementation of the technology in various industries.

Meta May Launch New Large AI Model Avocado in Q1 Next Year

It is reported that Meta is developing a new large AI model codenamed Avocado. People familiar with the matter said that many within the company expected the model to be released by the end of this year, but the current plan is to launch it in the first quarter of 2026. (Jiemian News)

OpenAI Launches First-Ever OpenAI Certification Courses

OpenAI announced on December 9 (local time) the launch of its first-ever OpenAI certification courses, aiming to provide practical artificial intelligence skills. The "Fundamentals of Artificial Intelligence Course" will be launched on the ChatGPT platform through pilot projects with a group of corporate and public service partners. The "Fundamentals of ChatGPT for Teachers Course" has already been launched on the Coursera platform. (Jiemian News)

Qatar Establishes National Artificial Intelligence Company Qai

Qatar announced the establishment of the national artificial intelligence company Qai, aiming to develop an advanced digital ecosystem to support innovation and promote sustainable development. (Cailian Press)

Cool Products

Samsung Galaxy Z TriFold Makes Its Debut in China

36Kr learned that on December 9th, Samsung's first triple-fold flagship, the Galaxy Z TriFold, officially made its debut in China. In terms of pricing, the recommended retail price for the 16GB + 512GB version is 19,999 yuan, and for the 16GB + 1TB version, it is 21,999 yuan.

Compiled | Chenxi