Three months after China’s largest search engine Baidu Inc. launched its smart speaker with screens called Xiaodu Zaijia, the company has introduced another, smaller version at a deeply discounted price.
Royole Starts Mass Producing Fully Flexible Displays In Shenzhen
Chinese rollable display company Royole Corporation announced today that its 1.1-million-square-foot Quasi-G6 mass production campus in Shenzhen, China is up and running for mass production of fully flexible displays.
Chinese AI Firm Mobvoi Beefs Up Smart Hardware Offerings And Releases AI Chip Product
Mobvoi, a Chinese artificial intelligence firm backed by Google and Volkswagen Group China, unveiled a number of smart hardware products and an AI chip as the company continues to build up its product portfolio centered around voice recognition technology.
China Supports Local Semiconductor Firms By Adding Them To Government Procurement List
In a move to promote self-reliance in semiconductors, China has included four homemade central processing unit (CPU) firms to its procurement list for central government’s IT projects, a notice on Central Government Procurement Center’s website shows.
Ant Financial Leads $200M Series D Round In Chinese Motion Sensing Firm Orbbec
Alibaba Group’s financial affiliate Ant Financial has led a D round of more than US$200 million in Shenzhen-based motion sensing firm Orbbec.
Xiaomi Promises To Limit Net Profit Margin To 5% Ahead Of IPO
Chinese electronics giant Xiaomi Inc. has made an unusual promise that it will limit its net profit margin to 5% for its hardware business, including smartphones, IoT and lifestyle products. The news is significant given Xiaomi is reportedly gearing up for an IPO that some say could value the company up to US$100 billion.
Following ZTE Ban, Huawei Said Under Investigation By US Justice Department
The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating whether Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. violated U.S. sanctions related to Iran, according to U.S. media citing insider.
Huawei Receives Approval To Sell 5G Products In Europe
After experiencing a series setbacks in the U.S., Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. has turned to Europe for overseas growth. The tech giant has announced that its 5G products have passed verification requirements to legally enter the European Union market.
Baidu Expands Smart Hardware Unit With $160M Skyworth TV Acquisition
Baidu Inc. has agreed to invest RMB1.01 billion (US$159.6 million) in Coocaa, a smart TV unit owned by consumer electronics producer Hong Kong Skyworth Digital Holdings, according to Skyworth’s security filing.
IPO Strips Huami Of Its Unicorn Status; More Unicorn Downgrades To Come?
Huami Corporation, a Chinese manufacturer of low-cost wearable devices backed by smartphone maker Xiaomi, raised a smaller-than-expected US$110 million in a public float on the New York Stock Exchange today. The offering, which was less than the hoped for US$150 million, gives Huami a market valuation of US$690 million, much lower than its previously rumored US$1 billion price tag.
JD.com Gains Approval From China’s Civil Aviation Administration For Large-Scale Drone Delivery Tests
China’s second largest e-commerce player JD.com Inc. has gained approval from China’s Civil Aviation Administration for the first national pilot program to test delivery drones on a large scale in China. The program will be rolled out in the northern province of Shaanxi.
Former Sinovation Partner Chris Lai Joins Shunwei Capital
Chris Lai, ex-venture partner at Sinovation Ventures, has moved to Shunwei Capital, a venture capital firm founded by Xiaomi’s founder Lei Jun.
Xiaomi’s Smartwatch Partner Huami Corp Files For US$150M IPO
Huami Corporation, the maker of Xiaomi’s Mi smart wrist ban is seeking a US$150 million initial pubic offering in the U.S., according a securities filing. The company is applying for the listing of its ADSs on Nasdaq Global Market under the ticker symbol “HMI”. Pricing terms were not disclosed.
Former Baidu M&A Director Peter Fang Returns To Sinovation Ventures As Partner
Baidu’s former corporate investment, mergers and acquisitions senior director Peter Fang has joined Sinovation Ventures as a partner, focusing on investment in artificial intelligence and relevant technologies, according to a Sinovation announcement. Fang previously worked for Sinovation from 2011 to 2014.
Chinese Drone Maker DJI Denies US Accusation Of Stealing Sensitive Data
The world’s largest consumer drone maker DJI has vehemently denied accusations from U.S. Immigration and Customers Enforcement (I.C.E) that the company’s drones have been collecting sensitive data on American infrastructure and sending it back to the Chinese government.
DealShot: Plum Ventures Leads $30M Pre-IPO Round In Chinese Drone Maker MicroMultiCopter
China Money Network’s DealShot provides detailed information on venture capital and private equity deals in China on a daily basis. Here you can find out where Chinese investors have been investing their money in at around 5pm each workday.
China’s Baidu, Xiaomi Announce Partnership In Artificial Intelligence And IoT
Chinese Internet giant Baidu Inc. and smartphone maker Xiaomi Inc. have entered into a partnership leveraging the two companies’ strengths in artificial intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT).
From Drone Hackers to Cyber Bodyguards, China Cyber Security a Growing Concern
China Money Network’s Special Situations Team brings you the latest installment in our “Industry Specialist” series, sitting down with Bill Sims, a Managing Director for Cybersecurity, Investigations & Business Intelligence Asia Pacific Stroz Friedberg to discuss the current cybersecurity challenges facing Chinese companies and foreign investors in the country. China is home to the world’s largest group of Internet users. However, the country is behind the curve in terms of cybersecurity. The number of cyber attacks on Chinese and Hong …
DealShot: Tendence Leads $9.4M Round In Chinese Agricultural Drone Developer Beehive Technology
China Money Network’s DealShot provides detailed information on venture capital and private equity deals in China on a daily basis. Here you can find out where Chinese investors have been investing their money in at around 5pm each workday.
China’s JD.Com Partners With Nvidia To Deploy One Million Logistics Drones In Five Years
Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com Inc. is partnering with U.S. technology firm Nvidia Corp. to deploy one million logistics drones in China over the next five years.
Google-Backed Mobvoi Dreams Of Powering Smart Hardware Revolution
Zhifei Li, founder of Chinese artificial intelligence firm Mobvoi, once joked in a Wechat post that the best business model for a Chinese AI company was to become an Internet celebrity via smart marketing and then pivot to become an e-commerce firm. But, he added self-deprecatingly, "because I’m not handsome enough and my Mandarin is terrible, I choose to sell premium hardware powered by our own proprietary AI technology."
BlueRun Ventures China Leads $32.5M Round In Drone Maker Airobotics
BlueRun Ventures China has led a US$32.5 million series C round in Airobotics, an Israeli manufacturer of fully automated industrial drones, with participation from Microsoft Ventures, crowdfunding platform OurCrowd.com and an unnamed strategic investor.
Xiaomi-Backed Smart POS Terminal Developer Sunmi Raises New Funding Round
Shanghai Sunmi Technology Co., Ltd., a smart point of sale (POS) terminal developer that is in the ecosystem of Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi Inc., has raised a series C round worth hundreds of millions of RMB from undisclosed investors.
IDG Leads Series A Round In Chinese Cashier-Free Convenience Store Operator Guoxiaomei
Chinese venture capital firm IDG Capital has led a series A round in Guoxiaomei, a cashier-free convenience store operator that places snack bars in corporate offices. Financing details were not disclosed, but IDG has likely invested tens of millions of RMB in the start-up, including in an earlier pre-A round completed last month.
Mangrove Capital Leads $45M Round In Cloud Communication Firm Ucpaas
Shenzhen-based Mangrove Capital, an investment firm co-founded by Wang Duo, an ex-partner at SAIF Partners, has led a RMB300 million (US$45 million) series B round in Ucpaas, a Chinese cloud communication service provider.
Alibaba Joins $9M Round In Hong Kong Bike Sharing Firm Gobee.bike
U.S.-based smart hardware focused venture capital firm Grishin Robotics has led a US$9 million series A round in Gobee.bike, a Hong Kong-based bike sharing start-up.
China’s Lenovo Aims To Become AI Powerhouse With $1.2B Tagged For Research
It seems that every technology company in China wants to be an artificial intelligence firm. The latest to join the club is Lenovo Group Ltd., until recently the world’s largest personal computer maker.
Aplus Capital Leads $18.5M Round In Chinese Cashier-Free Convenience Store Xiaomai
Warning: Venture investment in cashier-free convenience stores will explode. Another fully automated convenience store start-up in China just raised RMB125 million (US$18.5 million) from investors after US$20 million was poured into two similar companies during the past two weeks. Aplus Capital, an early stage investment fund, led the latest series A round in Xiaomai, a Beijing-based automated convenience store operator, with participation from Chenshan Capital. Xiaomai’s stores operate in similar ways to rival Bingobox, letting users scan their face or …
Will VC Craze For Cashier-Free Stores Spark Retail Revolution?
In case you haven’t heard, the next "big thing" after bike sharing has arrived. Welcome to the age of cashier-free convenience stores, the latest craze among venture capitalists in China. Since the launch of Amazon Go, the U.S. e-commerce giant’s retail store that requires no cashiers and no check-out, the concept has been quickly adopted in China and taken to a whole new level.
Alibaba Prepares For The Future With Debut Of "Five-New" Committee
China’s largest e-commerce firm Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. said it has established a new company-wide committee to implement its strategy for the future and upgrade the group’s various business units.
Baidu Acquires US Artificial Intelligence Start-Up KITT.AI
Chinese Internet giant Baidu Inc. has agreed to acquire KITT.AI, a Seattle-based natural language processing start-up founded by Chinese entrepreneurs Yao Xucheng and Chen Guoguo. The pair plan to jointly develop natural language understanding technology as part of Baidu’s intense push into AI.