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… would function as “device agents.”
With a tap, users can access coupons, membership services, marketing campaigns, and other offerings coordinated by Xiaoyu, Alipay’s merchant-facing agent. The system extends Alipay’s AI interface into physical retail locations.
Ah Bao handles online interactions, while “Tap!” serves offline ones. Alipay’s approach therefore has two parts: a conversational interface for digital services and a network of physical touchpoints for merchants. Both operate on the same open AI foundation.
WeChat Pay’s advantage is the breadth of the WeChat ecosystem.
WeChat contains a vast number of accounts, mini programs, channels, and third-party agents. Consumer demand is spread across many settings rather than concentrated in a single service interface.
For WeChat Pay, the more practical approach is to make payment a standardized component, open it to external developers, and allow different agents to connect to it securely.
In June, <a href="/company/jd">JD.com</a> released its A2P2 autonomous-agent payment protocol. Drawing on its e-commerce and supply chain operations, the protocol provides different implementation levels for different situations.
Its payment functions cover consumer voice payments and automated business-to-business supply chain settlements, allowing JD.com to move relatively quickly in enterprise settings.
The routes chosen by Alipay, WeChat Pay, and JD.com reflect the resources each already possesses.
Companies with their own service ecosystems are more likely to build centralized interfaces. Those operating across dispersed services tend to emphasize connectivity. Companies with extensive supply chain operations are more inclined to begin with business applications.
Together, these approaches show how AI is beginning to alter the payments industry.
Whatever route a provider chooses, the same question remains: will users trust AI with their money?
The answer may depend less on technical capability than on whether users feel they remain in control.
The industry’s early systems share one principle. The user keeps final authority over the transaction.
WeChat Pay separates the AI card’s funds and requires confirmation for every payment. The card sits within the user’s WeChat Pay balance. Users transfer money into it themselves, keeping the funds separate from their main accounts. For each transaction, the AI selects a product, places the order, and initiates payment. Before money is deducted, the user must confirm the purchase and enter a password. Funds can be moved into or out of the card at any time.
“The prerequisite for users to feel comfortable handing money to AI is that they always know, and always control, how much the AI can spend and what it can spend the money on,” the WeChat Pay representative said.
Alipay has built its safeguards around identity verification, traceability, and spending controls.
The system includes a proprietary identity-verification method, end-to-end transaction records, and limits on authorized spending. Alipay says these measures are intended to contain unauthorized transactions and misuse when payments move across platforms. Every action taken by an agent, including each payment, can be traced.
For now, restraint appears to be the industry’s common position.
KrASIA features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This <a href="https://36kr.com/p/3896720584738435">article</a> was written by Wang Hanyu for 36Kr.

Alipay wants more than a supporting role in the AI era

Ant Group

East Asia

Alipay

China

Fintech

Artificial Intelligence

Payments

Deep Tech

… estimates as of July 21, 2026, unless otherwise stated. USD conversions are presented for ease of reference and may not fully match prevailing exchange rates.

China's automakers squeezed as materials suppliers rake in profits

GAC Group

Seres

Aito

Transportation

Electric Vehicles

Mobility

… coach.”
A camera-based training product can identify a player’s movement and offer suggestions without relying on specialized equipment. Its limitation is that it cannot alter the exercise as it happens.
Aura begins not with the analysis but with the feed.
Pongbot’s large model, trained for sports analysis, records where the ball lands and attempts to explain why. Was the backswing late? Was the contact point too far from the body? Did the player fail to transfer their weight in time?
The system communicates its assessment through voice prompts after each shot. It then adjusts the next sequence of balls.
For Zhang, coaching must begin with the feed. A machine should observe, assess, and adapt during practice rather than wait until the session has ended.
That process also generates data. Pongbot estimates that, once Aura reaches the market, its machines could collect more than five million hours of useful sports-interaction data each year. The estimate is the company’s own, and the value of the data will depend on its quality, consistency, and users’ consent to its collection.
Pongbot describes Aura as the world’s first “all-in-one” coaching robot for multiple sports. The idea nevertheless divided the company during development.
Zhang recalled that employees worried users might see Aura as a jack of all trades and master of none. Partners and investors raised the same concern.
He continued to support the product for two reasons:
<ol>
<li aria-level="1">Sports equipment is usually sold on the assumption that a person first chooses a sport, then buys the equipment required to play it.</li>
<li aria-level="1">For beginners, the order can feel reversed. They are expected to buy equipment before they know whether they will remain interested in the sport.</li>
</ol>
Reports from the Professional Pickleball Association, Monitor Deloitte, and other organizations have estimated that pickleball participation has grown by more than 30% a year in North America. The number of padel courts in Europe has nearly tripled in five years, while tennis still has the largest global participation base among racket sports. The figures require links to the original reports before publication.
The three sports have meaningful differences, but their courts, movements, and beginner populations overlap.
Aura supports all three kinds of balls and allows users to activate each sport separately.
“You don’t have to make a decision before buying the device,” Zhang said. “You can start with tennis. If you decide one day that you want to try pickleball, you can unlock it by paying the corresponding subscription fee in the app.
“For roughly the cost of a single introductory lesson, users can find out whether they are interested in another sport.”
According to Zhang, nearly every customer selected a version that included AI coaching, while more than half chose the multisport option. The company did not disclose the number of customers represented by those percentages.
The response may reflect a familiar tendency in consumer purchases. People do not necessarily use every feature in a multipurpose product, but the availability of those features can make the purchase seem more worthwhile.
“It sends a signal,” Zhang said. “An all-in-one function means gaining access to several sports for the cost of one device. The value-for-money advantage is self-evident.”
“Users want to have that option, even if they do not need it right now.”
whereRelatedArticle
<h3>A software business inside a machine</h3>
A multipurpose product may also offer Pongbot a less expensive way to enter several markets.
Aura uses a standardized mechanical platform. Most adaptations are made through adjustments to the wheels and changes to software settings. The same machine can therefore support tennis, pickleball, padel, and potentially other sports.
This allows Pongbot to reuse components, simplify production, and spread development costs across several groups of customers.
The hardware brings users into the product. Software determines how many sports and training functions they can access.
A customer can buy a version that supports one sport, then activate pickleball or padel through a monthly or annual payment in the app.
For Pongbot, the arrangement creates continuing revenue without requiring the customer to buy another machine. It also allows training records from several sports to remain within one system.
“A user might learn tennis with Aura today, and that data will accumulate in Pongbot’s system,” Zhang said. “Three months later, if the user wants to try pickleball, there is no need to buy another machine. They only need to pay to unlock it through the software.
“The device has not changed, the user has not left, and the data continues to grow.”
The commercial appeal is clear. Pongbot can sell one machine, charge for later software access, and build a proprietary record of how customers train.
Whether that record becomes a durable advantage will depend on more than volume. The system must produce feedback that users find accurate, timely, and useful. It must also handle personal data in a way that earns their trust.
Players are unlikely to value a machine merely because it contains many functions. They are more likely to value one that follows a practice session, recognizes a recurring problem, and changes the next exercise in a helpful way.
Pongbot is trying to combine hardware, software, and training records in a consumer product that improves as it gathers more information about the player.
Aura’s larger claim is therefore not that one machine can launch several kinds of balls. It is that one machine can follow a player from one sport to another and continue learning how that person moves.
The idea may not settle how AI should be used in sports equipment. But it raises a useful possibility: Beginners could move among several sports without buying a new machine each time, while the same system remembers every swing.
KrASIA features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This <a href="https://36kr.com/p/3896586337978244">article</a> was written by Huang Nan for 36Kr.

Pongbot’s Aura raises nearly USD 4 million for multisport coaching robot

Robotics

Consumer Economy

… lineup, scheduled to be unveiled in London on July 22.
ModelBest’s precise role within Samsung’s AI system has not yet been disclosed.
KrASIA features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This <a href="https://36kr.com/p/3896830362601351">article</a> was written by Deng Yongyi for 36Kr.
Note: RMB figures are converted to USD at rates of RMB 6.78 = USD 1 based on estimates as of July 21, 2026, unless otherwise stated. USD conversions are presented for ease of reference and may not fully match prevailing exchange rates.

ModelBest’s on-device AI model is coming to Samsung smartphones

Samsung

South Korea

… high-volume applications such as smart home devices. —<a href="https://36kr.com/p/3896295689569922">36Kr</a></li>
</ul>
whereRelatedArticle
<h3>PixVerse, SimpleAI, Ant Group, and others made recent headlines:</h3>
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">PixVerse, a video generation platform, completed an extension of its <a href="https://rwegrgdf5.eu.org/pixverse-hits-unicorn-valuation-with-new-series-c-funding">Series C round</a>, bringing the round’s total to USD 439 million. The extension size was not disclosed. New investors Alibaba, Lollapalooza Capital, Ivy Capital, Grand Mount Capital, Eastern Bell Capital, Mirae Asset, BlueFocus, and CloudAlpha joined returning backers iGlobe Partners and LionX Ventures, which is backed by OCBC.</li>
<li aria-level="1">SimpleAI, a developer of agentic AI, announced a USD 5 million seed round and secured a separate USD 10 million debt facility to fund acquisitions across the Asia Pacific. The Singapore-founded company said a lead investor committed to the seed round but did not identify the investor or the debt facility provider.</li>
<li aria-level="1">Ant Group completed a strategic investment in Boohee Health, acquiring a stake of more than 28% and becoming the Chinese health management company’s largest external shareholder. Financial terms were not disclosed. Boohee founder and CEO Ma Haihua remains the company’s largest shareholder overall.</li>
</ul>
If there are any news or updates you'd like us to feature, get in touch with us at: <a href="mailto:hello@rwegrgdf5.eu.org">hello@rwegrgdf5.eu.org</a>.
Note: RMB figures are converted to USD at rates of RMB 6.78 = USD 1 based on estimates as of July 21, 2026, unless otherwise stated. USD conversions are presented for ease of reference and may not fully match prevailing exchange rates.

Deals in brief: Ant International raises Series A funding, Granite-Integral backs Berlin-based Omio, 13 China investments, and more

Venture Capital

Private Equity

Investment

Merger &amp; Acquisition

Singapore

Southeast Asia

Europe

… end of June, in a crucial position. Volcano Engine’s Tan said it has already earned a seat at the table in coding and agents. “There are not many players in China that have truly earned a seat at the table yet,” he said. “Although Seedance sells a bit more now, I hope LLMs can become the main force later.”
KrASIA features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This <a href="https://www.36kr.com/p/3885177884078083">article</a> was written by Zhang Yuxin and Deng Yongyi for 36Kr.
Note: RMB figures are converted to USD at rates of RMB 6.78 = USD 1 based on estimates as of July 21, 2026, unless otherwise stated. USD conversions are presented for ease of reference and may not fully match prevailing exchange rates.

How Seedance put ByteDance back in the AI race

Foundation and Large Models

AI Infrastructure

… Delhi tightened restrictions on Chinese investments after an outbreak of fighting there, although these were eased in March this year.
Sameer Patil, director at the Centre for Security, Strategy and Technology at the Observer Research Foundation think tank, said India's ambitions with sovereign LLMs are restricted to domestic usage, unlike the US and China, which are eyeing global dominance.
"Deepening the dependence on the foreign tech, whether American or Chinese, is a concern because access can be shut down overnight and you will be left in the lurch," Patil said. "Therefore, we have to develop that kind of resilience."
This article first appeared on <a href="https://asia.nikkei.com/business/technology/artificial-intelligence/indian-companies-look-to-chinese-llms-as-ai-costs-bite">Nikkei Asia</a>. It has been republished here as part of 36Kr’s ongoing partnership with <a href="https://www.rwegrgdf5.eu.org/nikkei-teams-up-with-36kr-in-asia-tech-news-coverage/">Nikkei</a>.
Note: INR figures are converted to USD at rates of INR 95.72 = USD 1 based on estimates as of July 14, 2026, unless otherwise stated. USD conversions are presented for ease of reference and may not fully match prevailing exchange rates.

Indian companies look to Chinese LLMs as AI costs bite

India

… year to roughly 35% by 2028, although foreign suppliers are still expected to account for the majority of the market.
Hygon is not alone. Shanghai Zhaoxin Semiconductor, another domestic CPU developer focused on PCs and servers, is preparing for a listing on Shanghai's Star Market, China's equivalent of the Nasdaq.
Other homegrown CPU makers, including Loongson—once viewed as China's best hope of building a homegrown rival to Intel—are also expanding. But despite steady revenue growth in recent years, both Loongson and Zhaoxin remain loss-making.
Meanwhile, <a href="/company/huawei">Huawei</a> has continued to develop its Kunpeng server CPUs as part of its broader effort to build a self-sufficient computing ecosystem.
Because of their comparatively lower computing power, CPUs are subject to less restrictive US export controls than GPUs. As a result, the CPU market is one of the few segments where American chipmakers can still compete in China, even as they face growing competition from the country's local players.
Both Nvidia's Huang and AMD's Su have acknowledged the importance and competitiveness of the Chinese market. Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon told Nikkei Asia that his company plans to <a title="" href="https://asia.nikkei.com/business/technology/artificial-intelligence/qualcomm-to-design-china-specific-data-center-chip-in-line-with-us-export-curbs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">specially design chips for Chinese data center customers</a> that are in compliance with US export controls. Arm, meanwhile, announced that <a href="/company/bytedance">ByteDance</a> is an important first adopter of its AGI CPUs.
The PC market is another arena where the CPU race is heating up thanks to the rise of agentic AI, even though it is already crowded with existing players like Intel, AMD, and Qualcomm.
MediaTek, the world's top smartphone chip developer by shipments, has made inroads into designing CPUs for laptops for the first time, joining hands with Nvidia to co-develop the RTX Spark superchip for Windows PCs. The chip comes with a MediaTek customized CPU integrated with Nvidia's Blackwell GPU.
The two companies have high hopes for RTX Spark, with MediaTek CEO Rick Tsai saying the product has the "right" architecture for the agentic AI era and will give the PC "new life after 40 years."
An executive with a supplier to Nvidia, Apple, HP, and Google told Nikkei Asia that the market should not take Nvidia's standalone Vera CPU and RTX Spark chip lightly.
"Considering Nvidia's dominance in AI infrastructure, we think its CPUs would put a certain pressure on Intel and AMD," the industry veteran said. "However, we should also not underestimate Intel's strong tech capability, manufacturing, and its market position in the end devices like the PC industry. The race is just beginning."
This article first appeared on <a href="https://asia.nikkei.com/business/technology/tech-asia/why-cpus-are-now-at-the-center-of-the-ai-race">Nikkei Asia</a>. It has been republished here as part of 36Kr’s ongoing partnership with <a href="https://www.rwegrgdf5.eu.org/nikkei-teams-up-with-36kr-in-asia-tech-news-coverage/">Nikkei</a>.

Why CPUs are now at the center of the AI race

Semiconductors

China's widening gap between strong factory output and weak domestic demand is becoming increasingly pronounced in the automotive sector, where exports are offsetting slowing sales at home.
The country's domestic car sales fell 21% in the first half of the year, while exports jumped 65.3%, according to data published on July 9 by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).
HSBC lowered its forecast for China's full-year passenger car demand growth from flat growth to a 5% decline, citing the end of some <a href="/industry/ev">electric vehicle</a> subsidies and collapsing demand for gasoline-powered cars as high oil prices accelerate the shift to electric vehicles.
"With domestic demand still subdued, exports remain an important support for utilization, earnings resilience and mix improvement," HSBC analysts said.
All-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles accounted for a record 46% of China's car exports in the January-June period, up 12 percentage points from a year earlier.
China "precisely meets the global market's strong demand for energy-efficient vehicles amid fluctuating gasoline prices," said Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the China Passenger Car Association.
Brazil, Australia, the UK, Italy, and Thailand accounted for the biggest increases in China's EVs exports in the first five months, with Brazil leading the growth.
Chinese automakers are increasingly relying on overseas markets. Chery and Great Wall Motor have recently generated more than half of their sales from exports, while <a href="/company/byd">BYD</a>, <a href="/company/geely">Geely</a>, and <a href="/company/xpeng">Xpeng</a> have raised their overseas sales targets for 2026 by 15%, 17% and 11%, respectively.
Chery, China's largest automotive exporter, shipped 940,000 vehicles overseas in the first six months of the year, nearly 70% of its total sales, driven by demand in the Middle East, Latin America, and Europe. It aims to export more than 1.5 million vehicles in 2026.
DFSK, a minivan maker owned by Chongqing-based Seres Group, is shifting its focus to exporting higher-end SUVs to Southeast Asia and Latin America.
"We have made overseas markets a clear strategic priority," DFSK president Amy Gong told Nikkei Asia.
The company unveiled a six-seat hybrid SUV at the Hong Kong automotive show last month and plans to enter Indonesia and Argentina. Gong said tariffs mean its vehicles are priced at 1.5 to 2 times their domestic prices in overseas markets, targeting mid- to high-end consumers.
The export boom has coincided with rising trade barriers.
The European Commission announced <a title="" href="https://asia.nikkei.com/business/automobiles/the-unstoppable-rise-of-china-made-cars-in-europe-5-things-to-know" target="_blank" rel="noopener">additional import tariffs</a> on Chinese EVs on July 4, 2024, after their manufacturers were deemed to have unfairly benefited from China's state subsidies.
Turkey suspended import tax exemptions for BYD last month and warned the company it <a title="" href="https://asia.nikkei.com/business/automobiles/electric-vehicles/turkey-halts-byd-tax-break-warns-of-clawback-if-it-misses-1bn-plan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">could face repayments</a> if it fails to fulfil a USD 1 billion commitment to begin local operations.
Southeast Asian markets are also becoming more restrictive. After tariff exemptions expired in countries including Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia at the end of 2025, governments increasingly required local assembly instead of direct imports.
Mexico also slapped a 50% tariff on Chinese EVs at the beginning of this year and has indefinitely paused plans that would allow BYD to build a factory there.
The CAAM cautioned that a "conservatively optimistic" attitude should be taken toward the export outlook for the second half of the year.
"The external environment is complex and volatile," Chen Shihua, CAAM's deputy secretary general told reporters. "We need to closely monitor the international climate and steadily expand into global markets."
This article first appeared on <a href="https://asia.nikkei.com/spotlight/electric-cars-in-china/china-automakers-shift-gears-to-exports-as-domestic-demand-weakens">Nikkei Asia</a>. It has been republished here as part of 36Kr’s ongoing partnership with <a href="https://www.rwegrgdf5.eu.org/nikkei-teams-up-with-36kr-in-asia-tech-news-coverage/">Nikkei</a>.

China automakers shift gears to exports as domestic demand weakens