Porsche’s global sales are not doing well, with a 29% decrease in sales in China; Influential blogger Da Lan with millions of followers has been banned; TikTok responds to layoffs in Malaysia; “Kimi Exploration Edition” launched on the dark side of the moon.
ăTikTok responds to layoffs in Malaysia: Advancing Content Moderation Automation, Expected to Affect Hundreds Globallyă According to multiple media reports on October 11th, a TikTok spokesperson confirmed that the company is conducting global layoffs, including in Malaysia. The spokesperson stated, "Due to the different employment regulations in various countries, we are currently unable to provide the exact number of layoffs, but it is expected that hundreds of people worldwide will be affected." The spokesperson mentioned that the layoffs align with TikTok's strategic efforts to enhance content moderation capabilities. The company plans to invest $2 billion in trust and safety this year and continue to strengthen content management by improving moderation efficiency. Currently, about 80% of the violation content has been removed through automated technology. Earlier reports indicated that ByteDance has laid off hundreds of people in Malaysia, with a majority coming from the content moderation department. (NetEase)
ăPorsche cannot sell globally while its parent company is still laying off staffă Porsche announced that global sales declined by 7% from January to September this year to 226,026 units. Among them, sales in China dropped by 29%. By vehicle type, the largest reductions in sales were Panamera with big engines and Taycan electric cars, which decreased by 20% and 50% respectively. Porsche board member Detlev von Platen stated in a declaration: "2024 is a particularly challenging year for us, with limited product supply in certain situations."
Meanwhile, Volkswagen China is still undergoing layoffs, mainly involving its imported car business, with nearly a hundred people affected. The subsidiary involved in the imported car business is Volkswagen Import Automotive Sales (China) Co., Ltd. (VGIC). During this round of laying off Chinese employees, Volkswagen China offered them two options: one is to be transferred from Beijing to work in Hefei; the other is to be laid off directly, with compensation - up to N+6. Volkswagen China has not officially responded to this issue yet. (Finance News)
ăSummary of Tesla Robotaxi Press Conferenceă1. Robotaxi: Tesla unveiled an autonomous taxi called Cybercab, a two-door, two-seater car without a steering wheel or pedals. It features inductive charging without a charging port and is expected to cost less than $30,000. Production is set to start in 2026; 2. Autonomous Box Truck: Tesla introduced the Robovan, capable of carrying up to 20 people and used for cargo transportation. The cost of travel can be significantly reduced to about 10-15 cents per mile; 3. Autopilot: Tesla plans to launch the Full Self-Driving (FSD) feature next year in Texas and California for Model 3 and Model Y with unsupervised autonomous driving; 4. Optimus Robot: Tesla made significant progress in the Optimus project, with costs expected to be between $20,000 to $30,000 in large-scale production. Optimus Robot showcased its flexibility through a collective dance at the conference and provided beverage service to attendees during the post-event tour.
ăA popular online account "Da Lan" has been banned, who previously recommended stocks multiple timesăOn October 11th, Douyin Security Center issued a penalty announcement on cracking down on "illegal stock recommendations" and other illegal securities activities. It mentioned that the account "Da Lan" recommended specific stocks, and during the late September to early October of this year, the account repeatedly posted predictions on the rise and fall of specific stocks, such as "Which stock should beginners buy to make money," "If you followed me to buy on the 30th, you would have made a killing from the opening today," "Buy directly into a certain stock at the opening, I will never induce you to enter before I sell," and other content inciting netizens to go all in on a specific stock. This behavior seriously violates laws and regulations, so the platform decided to permanently ban the account. (Phoenix News)
ăNews: Hikvision reportedly undergoing large-scale workforce reductionăOn the afternoon of October 11th, it was revealed by an employee of Hikvision that the company is currently undergoing a large-scale organizational adjustment, reducing 32 research and development regions to 12, "only retaining a few core areas and optimizing the rest, which is expected to involve over 1,000 people." Regarding this adjustment, when Sina Technology sought confirmation from Hikvision, as of the deadline, the company has not responded. However, some employees who have been laid off from Hikvision have confirmed this information to the media. One of the employees stated, "This time it's a nationwide regional reduction, and there will be N+2 compensation for layoffs." According to several individuals identified as "Hikvision employees," it was also revealed that "they have received notices of being laid off, with the R&D department being hit hard. Regions like Hunan have already been affected, but headquarters areas like Hangzhou have not been affected yet." (IT Home)
ă"Scalpers" forge documents claiming Xiaomi SU can be picked up in two weeks; Xiaomi: Risk involved in transferring orders through third partiesăRecently, there were reports by the media that "scalpers" were posting information on Xianyu about transferring Xiaomi SU7 orders, claiming that by forging documents to prove family relationships, the car could be picked up in as fast as two weeks. Many consumers were thus deceived, resulting in losing both money and car. On the morning of October 11th, a journalist called the Xiaomi Car Customer Service hotline. The staff responded by saying that they do not recommend the original car owner to sell orders on third-party platforms, as "this behavior carries transaction risks, and the company only supports direct relatives of the original car owner changing the name on the registration." (Tencent)
ăPing An Bank responds to "missing" former president of credit card centerăRecently, there have been reports that Liu Xianfeng, the former president of the credit card center of Ping An Bank, is "missing" and suspected of being assisted in an investigation. Journalists learned from informed sources that this matter is unrelated to Ping An Bank. Ping An Bank responded that Liu Xianfeng, the former head of the credit card center, is currently under investigation by an external unit for personal reasons. At the same time, Ping An Bank emphasized that the operations and management of the credit card center are proceeding normally, and all business is not affected. (Securities Times)
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Former Alibaba DAMO Academy Chief Scientist Si Luo officially joins automotive technology unicorn Pony.ai
Recently, Si Luo, former Executive Vice President of the world's largest SaaS company Salesforce, former Vice President of Alibaba Group, Chief Scientist of DAMO Academy, and tenured professor at Purdue University, formally joined Pony.ai, a unicorn enterprise in the automotive technology sector under Alibaba Group, as the Chief Technology Officer (CTO). According to internal sources at Pony.ai, Si Luo will lead the technology team at Pony.ai, including developing an in-house full-stack vehicle OS, AI based on the Tongyi large model, and accelerating the research and development of cutting-edge AI large models to achieve strategic upgrades for AIOS. (Jiemian)
ăLittle Ape Mental Arithmetic Responds to the Surge of College Students Entering the PlatformăOn October 11th, Little Ape Mental Arithmetic released an announcement regarding functional upgrades. The announcement stated, "Recently, many college students have actively participated in PK competitions. We are deeply grateful for everyone's love. However, Little Ape has also noticed that some adult participants' behaviors may have caused distress to certain elementary and middle school students." In response to this, Little Ape Mental Arithmetic has swiftly implemented measures to optimize the matching mechanism for PK competitions, introduced a "Peak Showdown" competition module, and strengthened user identity verification and management. (China Economic Net)
[Apple's most expensive tablet is not selling well: LG in the Apple supply chain adjusts its plan to produce iPhone screens] Research firm DSCC stated in its latest report that the expected shipment volume of the iPad Pro has significantly decreased from the original 10 million units to 6.7 million units. The downward adjustment in the shipment volume of the iPad Pro has impacted this end of the industry chain. Reports suggest that LG Display is planning to restructure its iPad Pro screen production line, with the new production line focused on producing OLED panels needed for iPhones. LG has already submitted this plan to Apple and is awaiting Apple's response. (from Sina Finance)
ăStep by Step Group's Parent Company Faces Bankruptcy InspectionăOn October 11th, Step by Step (002251) listed company, Step by Step Investment Group Co., Ltd., added a new bankruptcy inspection case, with the applicant being Shaoshan Dongxing Construction Co., Ltd. The handling court is the Intermediate People's Court of Xiangtan City, Hunan Province. Step by Step Investment Group Co., Ltd. was established in February 2003, with Wang Tian as the legal representative, registered capital of approximately 1.22 billion RMB. Its business scope includes enterprise management consulting services, real estate information consulting services, business information consulting services, business agency services, property management, warehousing and storage, etc. It is jointly owned by Wang Tian, Zhang Haixia, and Lianzhi Investment Co., Ltd. Risk information shows that the company currently has 4 records of enforcement actions, with a total amount exceeding 3 billion RMB. (21st Century Business Herald)
[Report: BYD's first electric car launched in Germany may be priced at no less than 25,000 euros] BYD's Executive Vice President Li Ke mentioned that the price of the first electric car launched in Germany might be between 25,000 euros (approximately $27,340) and 30,000 euros. "We are still developing the plan," Li Ke stated. She estimated that convincing potential German buyers would take "less than six months." "We need to give them some time to build trust in BYD," Li Ke said. (Frankfurter Allgemeine)
ăBoeing to cut overall workforce by about 10%, around 17,000 jobsăBoeing is planning to cut about 10% of its overall workforce, around 17,000 people, which will affect executives, managers, and employees. The first delivery of the 777X aircraft project will be postponed to 2026. The 767 fighter jet project will be terminated by the end of 2027. It is estimated that the GAAP loss per share for the third quarter will be about $9.97, with revenue of $17.8 billion (analysts had expected $18.58 billion). The estimated operating cash flow for the third quarter is expected to be -$1.3 billion. It is expected that restructuring will result in approximately $5 billion in costs for the third quarter. Commercial airplanes will incur $3 billion in pre-tax charges, while defense, space, and security businesses will incur $2 billion in pre-tax charges. Boeing's after-hours stock decline expanded from 0.7% to 2.9%. (Overseas Net)
Chinese designer Luo Weiji has been appointed as the Global VP of Design and Chief Design Officer of BAIC Group. Chinese designer Luo Weiji officially joined the BAIC design team in October 2024 as the Global VP of Design and Chief Design Officer of BAIC Group. (IT Home)
[Volkswagen Group's delivery volume in China decreased by 15% year-on-year in the third quarter] On October 11th, Volkswagen Group released delivery data on its official website: In the third quarter of 2024, Volkswagen Group delivered a total of 2,176,300 vehicles globally, a decrease of 7.1% year-on-year; among which, the delivery volume in the Chinese market was 711,500 vehicles, a decrease of 15% year-on-year. From January to September 2024, Volkswagen Group delivered a total of 6,524,300 vehicles globally, a decrease of 2.8% year-on-year; among which, the delivery volume in the Chinese market was 2,056,600 vehicles, a decrease of 10.2% year-on-year. (Sohu)
ăGoogleâs Head of Europe, Middle East, and Africa, Matt Brittin, to ResignăOn October 10th, local time, Matt Brittin, the Head of Google's Europe, Middle East, and Africa operations, announced his resignation on LinkedIn. Brittin stated that he will continue to oversee Google's business in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa until a successor is appointed by the company. Brittin joined Google in 2007 as the head of the UK and Ireland businesses, later promoted to Vice President overseeing Northern and Central European operations, and became the President of Europe, Middle East, and Africa in 2014. (Source: Jiemian)
ăJapanese payment company Infcurion plans to IPO in Tokyo next year and has received investment from Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Groupă. Chief Financial Officer Kenichi Nogami of Japanese payment company Infcurion mentioned in an interview that the company plans to IPO in Tokyo next year and hopes to accelerate its development through mergers and acquisitions. Last month, Infcurion announced that it received an investment of nearly 8 billion yen (approximately 53.8 million USD) from Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, enabling the company's valuation to exceed 30 billion yen. Infcurion expects to achieve profitability by the end of this fiscal year ending March next year, due to the rapid growth in transaction volume of its credit card issuance platform business.
ăYizhu Technology Completes Billion Yuan FinancingăRecently, Yizhu Technology announced the completion of a billion yuan financing. The financing was led by a well-known overseas fund, with Shengshi Technology, Xingzhi Capital, and co-founders of a well-known overseas GPU company following suit. This will inject strong momentum into the continuous development and technological innovation of Yizhu Technology.
ăShiraTronics announces the completion of a $66 million Series B financingăRecently, ShiraTronics announced the completion of a $66 million Series B financing to support its innovative migraine treatment system. ShiraTronics is a clinical-stage medical device company focused on developing neurostimulation therapies for chronic migraine sufferers. The company is currently conducting crucial RELIEV-CM2 clinical research.
[Huaqiu Electronics announces the completion of a new round of financing of 3.1 billion yuan] Recently, Shenzhen Huaqiu Electronics Co., Ltd. (referred to as: Huaqiu Electronics) announced the completion of Series C++ equity financing, amounting to 3.1 billion yuan. The leading investors for this round of financing are Pengrui Venture and Qiufu Capital, with follow-up investments from Yunmu Capital and several other new and existing shareholders. Yunmu Capital will serve as the long-term exclusive financial advisor.
ăQuark Medicine Completes Tens of Millions of Yuan in Series A Financingă On October 11th, Quark Medicine announced the completion of its Series A financing, securing tens of millions of RMB in funding led by Taikun Fund, with Mint Angel Fund and Guoshun Jianheng Fund as co-investors.
ăThe dark side of the moon officially launched Kimi exploration versionă The dark side of the moon officially launched the Kimi exploration version with AI autonomous search capabilities. The search volume is ten times that of the regular version, and it can thoroughly read 500 pages with one search. According to the introduction, the new feature will simulate the human reasoning process, break down complex problems at multiple levels, perform deep searches, and obtain more accurate and comprehensive answers through autonomous strategic planning, automated large-scale information retrieval, reflection and supplementation of search results, and other steps. Currently, this function has been gradually opened and will be available to all users by next Monday. (First Finance)
ăAMD unveils new AI chip, competes with NVIDIA's BlackwellăAMD has released a new AI chip that will compete with NVIDIA's Blackwell. The chip, named Instinct MI325X, is set to begin production by the end of 2024. NVIDIA had previously stated that the Blackwell chip would begin mass shipments early next year. AMD CEO Lisa Su stated at an event, "The demand for artificial intelligence is actually growing and exceeding expectations. Obviously, the investment rate is continuously growing in various areas." The company did not disclose the pricing of the Instinct MI325X, and the product is typically sold as part of a complete server. (Whiplash)
[1.5K Non-Hole-Punch Full Screen Exposed in Actual Test: Mass-Produced Models to Debut Next Month, Nubia to be the Pioneer] Blogger @Digital Chat Station shared a video of the actual test of a 1.5K non-hole-punch full screen on Weibo on October 11th: "There is a noticeable improvement in screen quality visible to the naked eye, with no distinguishable difference between the under-screen area and the main screen, making it the industry's first 100% full-area high-resolution screen under the screen." The blogger revealed that the mass-produced models using this technology will be available to see next month. In addition, he also disclosed in the comments section that Nubia will be the first to use this screen, and that the top 5 manufacturers are also following suit, with the main focus being on whether the bosses will give the green light, and the screen is sourced from BOE. (via IT Home)
ăJapanese three major car manufacturers' new car sales in China continued to decline year-on-year in SeptemberăThe new car sales figures for the three major Japanese car manufacturers in China in September were released on October 10th. All three companies were below the same period last year, with Honda declining by 42.9%. Honda sold 62,586 vehicles, marking a decrease for eight consecutive months. The company's spokesperson stated, "In the shrinking overall market, the demand for new energy vehicles continues to grow, but we have not been able to adequately supply such products." Toyota's car sales decreased by 9.2% to 160,500 vehicles, declining for eight consecutive months. Nissan's car sales decreased by 3.8% to 61,395 vehicles. (Tencent)
[China Automobile Dealers Association: It is expected that the number of used cars traded in September will reach 1.65 million, an increase of 5.3% compared to the previous month] The China Automobile Dealers Association released a weekly report on used cars. The report predicts that the number of used cars traded in September will reach 1.65 million, representing a 5.3% increase compared to August, and a 3.8% increase year-on-year. With the traditional peak season in September and October, the turnover rate of used cars will increase, the supply of vehicles will be relatively sufficient, and both market demand and customer traffic are expected to improve. (Gelonghui)
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