TechNode

Despite TSMC having ramped up its 3nm monthly capacity to 160,000–175,000 wafers in the second quarter, it still cannot fully meet strong customer demand and order backlogs, according to supply chain sources. Industry insiders said TSMC is planning another price increase for 3nm foundry services in the second half of 2026, with hikes of up to 15%. The Fab 18 complex in the Southern Taiwan Science Park remains TSMC’s primary production base for 3nm process technology. AI-driven demand is growi

In the early hours of the morning, the opening ceremony of the 2026 FIFA World Cup was held at the iconic Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, captivating hundreds of millions of viewers around the globe. Yet in China, the most talked-about starter of the night was not a player from any national team—it was LABUBU, the original designer toy IP from China. Created by POP MART’s signed artist Kasing Lung, LABUBU appeared on stage in the form of two giant mascots. One wore Argentina’s nati

Beijing regulators have summoned five major Chinese e-commerce platforms — Taobao/Tmall, JD.com, Pinduoduo, Douyin and Xiaohongshu — over alleged misleading promotions during the annual 618 shopping festival. The Beijing Municipal Administration for Market Regulation said Taobao’s 618 Billion-Yuan Subsidy campaign lacked clear disclosure of actual subsidy amounts, while Pinduoduo was criticized for attempting to waive certain legal liabilities. JD.com allegedly failed to disclose promot

The government of Spain’s Galicia region recently announced that China’s SAIC Motor will build its first electric vehicle manufacturing plant in Europe in the region. Speaking to the media, Galicia President Alfonso Rueda said the project will involve an initial investment of €200 million and is expected to create more than 2,300 local jobs. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2027, with the plant targeted to become operational by the end of 2028. The facility will be located in

Insta360 on Wednesday unveiled its first handheld gimbal camera, the Luna Ultra, with a limited-time starting price of RMB 3,999 ($590) in China. Co-developed by Insta360 and Leica Camera, the Luna Ultra is an 8K imaging gimbal camera featuring a 1-inch main camera and a 1/1.3-inch telephoto camera, both equipped with Leica Summicron lenses. The device supports 6x lossless optical zoom and 12x hybrid zoom, and can record 8K/30fps Dolby Vision video. The Luna Ultra introduces a detachable tran

UWORLD, UBTECH’s consumer-focused brand, said its global first full-size ultra-bionic humanoid robot has received more than 3,000 orders within eight days of going on sale on Chinese e-commerce platform JD.com on June 2. Positioned as an emotional companion robot, the product supports encrypted memory storage and extensive appearance customization. It is available only to adult buyers. The male version stands 183 cm tall and weighs 42 kg, while the female version is 168 cm tall and weig

Apple said its redesigned AI-powered Siri will not be available in the EU or mainland China for now due to regulatory requirements. Unveiled on Tuesday, the upgraded Siri can answer questions using information from users’ screens, messages, emails, and photos. An English-language beta will launch later this year after an initial developer preview. Apple has previously criticized parts of the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), which requires support for alternative payment systems and

A pair of seemingly ordinary glasses can be turned into a covert recording device with nothing more than a low-cost light-blocking sticker. This is no longer a science fiction scenario, but a real-world challenge emerging as AI-powered smart glasses gain wider adoption in China in 2026. This week, the topic “Are smart glasses becoming a tool for covert filming? Rokid launches an urgent rectification plan” trended on Weibo. The controversy was triggered by a growing number of video

Moonshot AI, the developer of the AI assistant Kimi, has launched a new fundraising round at a pre-money valuation of $30 billion, representing a significant increase from the previous month. On May 6, reports suggested that the company was nearing completion of a $2 billion funding round that would value it at more than $20 billion post-money. Based on the latest fundraising terms, Kimi’s valuation has surged nearly sixfold in just six months, from $4.3 billion at the end of December 2025

ByteDance on Saturday denied recent speculation that it is developing its own vehicle or automotive brand, after some media reports linked the name Saidou to the company’s AI assistant Doubao. In a statement, ByteDance said claims that Saidou is a Doubao car brand or evidence of the company entering the automotive manufacturing sector are inaccurate. Saidou is neither a vehicle brand launched by ByteDance nor by Doubao, and ByteDance has no equity partnership with the company behind the br

JD.com and Tencent have reportedly teamed up to collaborate on AI agents, integrating JD.com’s e-commerce and fulfillment capabilities with Tencent’s vast user-facing platforms. According to the report, JD.com’s AI agent has been connected with devices from major manufacturers including Huawei, Oppo, and Honor. Through Agent-to-Agent (A2A) integration, users can make shopping requests and access product information directly through native AI assistants on their devices, whi

NetEase Games’ party game Eggy Party today launched on Windows, bringing the full experience to PC players with cross-platform account and data synchronization between mobile and PC. Players can seamlessly switch between devices while retaining their progress. The PC version preserves popular game modes, including Peak Party, Casual Party, and Eggy Farm. It also introduces a PC-exclusive map editor, which allows creators to take advantage of the precision of keyboard-and-mouse controls

Taiwan’s Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry, said on Thursday it would partner with US chipmaker Intel to develop and deploy next-generation AI infrastructure and intelligent computing platforms, seeking to tap surging global demand for AI computing systems. The companies said the partnership would combine Intel’s semiconductor technology with Foxconn’s manufacturing and system integration capabilities to deliver solutions for next-generation AI data centres

Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD is developing humanoid robots, according to a person familiar with the matter cited by Chinese media outlet Yicai on Wednesday. The report follows recent comments from BYD Executive Vice President Li Ke, who confirmed in an interview that the company is working on humanoid robotics. “BYD is working on humanoid robots as well,” Li said, adding that competition in the sector will depend on strengths in manufacturing, software and hardware. She said automotive

Alibaba-backed Qwen App announced on Wednesday that it is opening its platform to third-party Agents and Skills, allowing companies to operate branded AI agents within the app. According to the company, Luckin Coffee, KFC, Mixue, and China Eastern Airlines are among the first businesses to begin testing related services, with some features expected to roll out in the near future. The move marks a step in Qwen’s evolution from a general-purpose AI assistant toward a platform that int

Chinese AI startup DeepSeek is poised to raise around 50 billion yuan ($7 billion) in its first external funding round, with backing from major investors including Tencent Holdings and battery giant CATL, according to sources familiar with the matter cited by Reuters. The financing would value DeepSeek at between 350 billion yuan and 400 billion yuan ($49 billion–$56 billion) on a post-money basis, the sources said, underscoring growing investor confidence in China’s rapidly expanding AI s

WeRide and Uber jointly announced plans to launch Spain’s first commercial robotaxi pilot service in Madrid. The project marks the companies’ first collaboration in the European market and makes Madrid the 12th city in WeRide’s global robotaxi network. With support from the regional government of Madrid, the service is scheduled to launch in 2026. Users will be able to hail robotaxis directly through the Uber app. During the initial phase, vehicles will operate with trained safety operators o

Tencent is advancing plans to launch an embedded AI agent within WeChat, according to people familiar with the matter. The company is testing a prototype that can help users complete tasks within the app and plans to begin the regulatory approval process required before a public rollout as early as this month. Following that process, Tencent intends to conduct testing with a small group of external users before gradually expanding availability. However, the timing of a full public launch rem

xAI has posted a Chinese AI Tutor position on the recruitment platform Greenhouse as part of its efforts to improve the Chinese-language capabilities of its flagship large language model, Grok. The role focuses on training Grok to better understand Chinese. Candidates are expected to be proficient in standard Mandarin and capable of handling regional dialects as well as mixed Chinese-English expressions. Applicants must possess native-level Chinese proficiency, English skills at B2 level or abov

On Monday, Unitree Robotics has cleared the listing committee review for its initial public offering (IPO) on China’s STAR Market, marking one of the fastest approvals in the board’s history. The company completed the regulatory process in 73 days from acceptance on March 20 to approval and set a fast-track record for STAR Market listings, according to the exchange filing. Unitree plans to raise 4.202 billion yuan ($620 million). Based on a minimum 10% public float requirement, its initial ma