Pandaily’s Digest #20220321
Beijing-based technology firm and TikTok owner ByteDance has raised its 2022 sales target for virtual reality (VR) products from 1 million units to about 1.8 million units.
ByteDance Raises VR Equipment Sales Target
Beijing-based technology firm and TikTok owner ByteDance has raised its 2022 sales target for virtual reality (VR) products from 1 million units to about 1.8 million units, according to local media outlet AR Circle. The revision comes following better-than-expected marketing effects of Pico Technology Co., Ltd., China’s leading VR headset maker which was acquired by ByteDance last year.
Real Estate Digitalization Firm Blue Wall Obtains 50M Yuan in Series A Financing
Blue Wall, a high-tech Chinese firm dedicated to developing underlying software for the real estate industry, recently announced it has raised 50 million yuan ($7.86 million) in a Series A financing round.
The lead investor was overseas institution Hearst Ventures and co-investors were existing shareholders GGV Capital and Shanghai Xiaomiao Langcheng Investment Management Co, .Ltd. Previously, Blue Wall received millions of dollars in pre-A financing from GGV Capital and ZhenFund.
TAL Education Shifts Focus to Smart Hardware and Life Science Research
TAL Education, a leading after-school tutoring services provider in China, is exploring smart hardware development and life science research. Recently, it has set up a number of subsidiaries with business scopes including software development, technical services and intelligent hardware.
Realme: Fastest-growing 5G Brand Worldwide, GT Neo3 Nears Release
Chinese smartphone brand realme became the world’s fastest-growing 5G brand for the first time in Q4 last year, with a year-on-year growth rate of 165%, realme’s vice president Chase Xu announced on Twitter-like Weibo on Friday.
According to Counterpoint Research, this performance was driven by Western European countries such as the UK, Italy, Spain, France and Switzerland. In each of these countries, realme is the fastest-growing brand thanks to the 8 5G and GT series.
Battery Maker CATL’s Founder Becomes Richest in Chinese Automobile Industry
The Hurun Research Institute released the firm’s “2022 Hurun Global Rich List” on Thursday. Among the top 500, 16 people (including two couples) involved in China’s automobile industry made the list.
CATL founder Zeng Yuqun’s wealth reached 335 billion yuan ($53 billion), ranking 24th in the world and first in China’s automobile industry. Huang Shilin, Vice Chairman of CATL, ranked 63rd in the world with wealth of 150 billion yuan and 2nd in China’s automobile industry. In addition, Li Ping, another Vice Chairman of CATL, ranked 213th in the world with a wealth of 70 billion yuan, up 186 places.
Huawei’s Auto Business Partner Sokon to Launch Pure Electric Model in 2022
On Thursday, the records of an investor survey disclosed by Chongqing Sokon Industry Group, a partner of Huawei’s car-manufacturing business, showed that the company will launch pure electric models this year, and is developing a brand-new large-size SUV, which is expected to be released later in 2023.
Drone Firm DJI to Launch Three New Products
At 9:00 pm on Monday, DJI, a commercial unmanned drone developer headquartered in Shenzhen, will hold a product launch conference with the theme of “To Guardians.” The new products unveiled at the event can be applied to public safety, energy inspection, environmental protection, surveying and mapping, animal protection and other fields including non-consumer applications.
China Evergrande Halts Hong Kong Trading
Embattled property giant China Evergrande Group and its subsidiary units suspended trading in Hong Kong on Monday morning, according to exchange filings, without offering any explanation.
Pinduoduo Responds to Allegations of False Promotional Activity
Agriculture-focused technology platform Pinduoduo has recently become embroiled in a false advertising dispute on Chinese social media, after a web user participated in a livestream event purportedly offering the chance to obtain a free mobile phone. After the individual, who is a gaming blogger on popular domestic site Weibo, shared a link with his fans as required, but to no avail, Pinduoduo came under fire from allegations of misleading marketing.
Atom Semiconductor Secures 100M Yuan in Pre-A Round Financing
Atom Semiconductor, a firm specializing in the development of high-performance analog chips, has recently received nearly 100 million yuan ($15.7 million) in pre-A round financing. The lead investor was Qiming Venture Partners, while co-investors were listed company Venus Medtech and existing shareholder Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund. Chinese media outlet 36Kr learned that the fresh funds are to be implemented for the R&D of consumer electronics analog chips, sales promotion and marketing team expansion.