Alibaba Plans HK$80 Billion New Share Placement, All In on AI Buildout
On August 23rd, according to the STAR Market Daily, Alibaba announced its intention to place new shares to non-U.S. persons outside the United States, with the total placement amount reaching HK$80 billion. This marks the first time Alibaba has initiated a new share placement since its Hong Kong listing in 2019. The net proceeds from this placement will be 100% invested in full-stack AI capabilities, strengthening AI infrastructure construction, and further consolidating Alibaba’s global leadership in the AI sector.
Tiangong Team Secures First Gold at the 2nd Humanoid Robot Games
On August 23rd, as reported by CCTV News, at the “Ice Ribbon” venue of the 2nd World Humanoid Robot Games, the 400-meter large-class final kicked off. After fierce competition, the Tiangong Team clinched the first gold medal of this year’s games with a time of 38.15 seconds. The Zhuifeng Zaizai Team and Jinghong Dongli Team took home the silver and bronze medals with times of 39.45 seconds and 39.66 seconds, respectively.
Honor Robot “Lightning” Shatters Human World Record in 1500m with 2:30.22
On August 23rd, at the 1500-meter final of the 2nd World Robot Games, the Honor Robot “Lightning” recorded a net time of 2 minutes 30 seconds and 22 milliseconds. It has been noted that during this competition, the Honor Robot “Lightning” broke human world records in the 100m, 400m, and 1500m events.
Nvidia Informs Some Major Clients of AI Product Price Hikes Exceeding 15%
It has been reported that some of Nvidia’s largest customers have been informed that servers powered by Nvidia’s AI chips will see price increases of more than 15% due to soaring memory chip costs.
Insiders reveal that this round of price increases applies to systems scheduled for delivery early next year, impacting systems equipped with the flagship Vera Rubin and Grace Blackwell chips. The exact increase will depend on the generation of Nvidia chips and the memory configuration.
Manufacturers that assemble servers for major data center operators like Microsoft, Google, and Oracle have reportedly notified clients of these price adjustments in recent days.
TikTok Pays $400 Million to Settle Children’s Online Privacy Lawsuit
According to Yicai, on August 21st local time, the U.S. Department of Justice announced a settlement agreement with TikTok, ByteDance, and their affiliated entities (collectively “TikTok”) totaling $400 million to resolve litigation concerning compliance with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and its implementing rules. Under the settlement, TikTok will pay $300 million immediately and an additional $100 million after a court dissolves the prior consent decree against TikTok’s predecessor, Musical.ly. This settlement is among the largest amounts ever obtained in a COPPA case. The lawsuit originated in August 2024, when the DOJ and the Federal Trade Commission jointly sued TikTok Inc., ByteDance Ltd., and affiliates, alleging they allowed children to create standard TikTok accounts despite knowing users were under 13, and collected and retained personal information without notifying parents or obtaining their consent.
Swancor’s “Qiyuan Robot” Opens Pre-Orders, First Shipments Expected September 2026
On August 23rd, it was learned that Qiyuan Robot, under Swancor New Materials, has officially opened pre-orders for the Qiyuan Q1 and Qiyuan T1. For this pre-order round, the expected first shipment date is September 2026.
The Qiyuan Q1, as the first small-sized full-body force-controlled humanoid robot, stands about 88cm tall and weighs around 15kg, focusing on embodied development, tech toys, and home companionship scenarios. The Qiyuan T1 is the first transformable personal robot, standing about 100cm tall when upright and weighing around 16kg. It can autonomously switch between wheeled-humanoid and quadruped forms, targeting scenarios like home companionship, outdoor escort, and video creation.
East Buy FY2026 Results: Self-Branded Products Account for Over Half of GMV
News from August 22nd: East Buy (1797.HK) released its FY2026 earnings report, showing total annual revenue grew 36.3% year-over-year. During the fiscal year, East Buy’s gross profit reached RMB 2 billion, up 45.2% year-over-year, with operating profit hitting RMB 660 million.
As of May 31, 2026, East Buy’s total GMV reached RMB 10.2 billion, with self-branded products contributing RMB 5.4 billion, approximately 52.6% of total GMV.
During the reporting period, East Buy launched a cumulative total of 1,009 self-branded products. Sun Jin, Executive President of East Buy, stated that in the new fiscal year, R&D and new product launches for self-branded items will continue to accelerate. This year, East Buy opened new livestreaming rooms in Hangzhou, including dedicated channels for self-branded apparel, self-branded food, and self-branded personal care & beauty products. The Hangzhou base completed lease and renovation two months ago.
Apple Reportedly Cutting Over 200 Jobs Across Siri and Vision Pro Teams
It has been reported that Apple will reduce staff in its Siri and Vision Pro teams, affecting more than 200 positions. In a statement, Apple said the adjustments are aimed at “streamlining operations to drive business growth and deliver the best experiences for users,” while also noting that new roles will be created.
Zhongqing Robot Unveils Brain-Inspired Embodied Intelligence Engine “EngineAI Awaken”
On August 22nd, during the World Robot Conference (WRC), Zhongqing Robot’s CTO Li Liyun systematically elaborated on the company’s full-stack embodied intelligence technical roadmap and new AI model architecture, while unveiling the brain-inspired embodied intelligence engine, EngineAI Awaken. According to the introduction, by integrating WAM and VLA models, this engine enables robots to achieve a long-horizon action success rate exceeding 98% with just 2 hours of real-machine deployment and fine-tuning training, enabling efficient generalization with low sample requirements. Currently, this architecture has been integrated with Zhongqing’s self-developed force-controlled joints, dexterous hands, and robot bodies.
