Pandaily's Digest #20211018
ByteDance's Douyin tests a lifestyle-sharing feature allowing photo and text posts, Kuaishou and NBA's partnership, Li Xiaoshuang named VP of Xiaomi Auto, WM Motor eyes overseas listing, and more.
TikTok’s Mainland Counterpart Douyin Tests Photo Feature, Aiming to Create In-App Version of Xiaohongshu?
Chinese media outlet Tech Planet reported on Saturday that Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, has recently tested a new function allowing photo posts. This feature aims to add a lifestyle sharing function with pictures and text, in addition to its live-streaming and short video sharing, so as to create a broader business ecosystem of live-streaming, short video sharing and photo posts.
Kuaishou and NBA Reach Multi-Year Strategic Cooperation Partnership, to Explore New Model for Monetizing Content Recreation
Kuaishou, a short video sharing platform and Douyin’s major competitor in China, held a strategic cooperation conference alongside NBA China on Monday in Beijing, announcing that the two sides have reached a multi-year strategic cooperation partnership.
Li Auto Initiates Production at Beijing Plant with Annual Capacity of 100,000 EVs
Chinese car manufacturer Li Auto announced the beginning of operations at its green and smart vehicle plant on October 16 in Shunyi District, Beijing. With over 6 billion yuan ($933 million) to be invested in total, the automaker projected a production-ready date by the end of 2023, producing brand new battery-electric products in the future.
Chinese Delivery Platform Meituan Waimai Ranks First for Food and Drink Category in Daily iOS and Google Play Downloads Worldwide
Mobile data analysis company App Annie released a report last Friday pointing out that the food delivery application Meituan Waimai released by Sankuai Technology Co., Ltd. has surpassed 100 million app downloads across iOS and Google Play stores worldwide, ranking first.
MagAssist Secures Nearly $78 Million in C Round Financing
Chinese medical technology firm magAssist has completed a C round of financing worth nearly 500 million yuan ($78 million), led by Sequoia China, followed by CDH Innovation and Growth Fund and Cenova Capital.
Chinese Social Media Platform Xiaohongshu Apologizes for Users’ Over-Modification of Scenic Spot Photos
In response to a large number of its users complaining about over-decorated scenic spot photos shared on the platform, lifestyle sharing platform Xiaohongshu issued a statement on Sunday apologizing to users, saying that it had launched a series of operational activities to encourage its creators to share useful rather than over-beautified ones.
Xiaomi Appoints Li Xiaoshuang as Vice President of Xiaomi Auto
Li Xiaoshuang, the General Manager of Xiaomi’s major home appliances department, has been named Vice President of Xiaomi’s electric vehicle unit, and is to be accountable for all business related to products, supply chain and marketing, the firm announced on October 15. After assuming the position, Li will report directly to Lei Jun, CEO of Xiaomi.
After D1 Financing Round, WM Motor Prefers Overseas Listing
Zhang Ran, partner and CFO of WM Motor, revealed in an interview on October 15 that the company has successfully completed a D1 round of financing this month and will look towards listing overseas in the future. However, the specific schedule and other details for such a move have not yet been disclosed.
Ministry of Industry and Information Technology Removes 96 Apps Infringing on User Rights and Interests
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) organized the provincial communications administrations to test apps related to holiday travel and people’s livelihood service on the eve of National Day. A notice was issued today saying that the 96 apps that had failed to complete the necessary platform fixes within the required time limit were removed from app stores.
Pony.ai to Start Driverless Tests on Public Roads in Beijing
Autonomous driving company Pony.ai, announced today that it has been authorized to conduct driverless tests on public roads in China’s capital city, Beijing.