Alibaba

Baidu

ByteDance

Meituan

Pinduoduo

Tencent

Most Followed

KrASIA Connection

China's Auto Sector

Earnings Reports

Inside China's Startups

Venture Roundup

Our Events

View All

Collections

News

Features

Insights

Ecosystem

DeepSeek

Kuaishou

Li Auto

Xiaohongshu

Xiaomi

Xpeng

On the Radar

Lovable has raised USD 200 million in a Series A funding round led by Accel, reaching a USD 1.8 billion valuation. Existing investors 20VC, ByFounders…

Events

Latest

About

36Kr (EN)

Consumer

Robotics

Fintech

What guides machine-led insights? Uncover AI applications, language models, and decision-making systems transforming sectors worldwide.

Artificial Intelligence

What lies beyond familiar frontiers? Investigate emerging tech—like quantum computing and AI—transforming traditional sectors.

Deep Tech

Enterprise services is an over-arching term to describe an architecture combining engineering discipline and computer science to solve practical business problems. 

Enterprise Services

China

The 22-year-old founder isn’t looking to make marketers more efficient. She wants Head AI to make them obsolete.

With Head AI, this Gen Z dropout aims to replace marketing teams entirely

Decoding China&#039;s tech and business pulse

KrASIA

AI Now! is a global AI community of Chinese developers, professionals, and founders.

AI Now!

How is healthcare going digital? Investigate telemedicine, wearable sensors, and data-driven platforms improving patient experiences.

Health Tech

AI-powered therapy tools are emerging in the mental health space, but questions around empathy, safety, and readiness remain unresolved.

AI may offer a listening ear, but can it close mental healthcare gaps?

36Kr is China's most influential business and technology network, delivering high-quality content focused on China’s innovation and new economy trends since 2010. With its extensive traffic and network, 36Kr has built a comprehensive database and strong data analytics capabilities to provide insights into China’s technology landscape.

36Kr English

Photo of Augmentus’ co-founders. From left to right: Daryl Lim, Leong Yong Shin, and Chong Voon Foo.

How do markets shape wealth creation? Study portfolio diversification, asset classes, and strategies balancing growth and risk.

Investment

When do companies invite public investment? Understand listing criteria, underwriter roles, and regulatory steps defining initial offerings.

Why do firms join forces? Investigate synergy goals, valuation methods, and negotiations driving corporate consolidation.

Merger &amp; Acquisition

What happens after acquisitions close? Examine deal structures, operational improvements, and exit strategies molding corporate outcomes.

Private Equity

What fuels startup ecosystems? Review funding rounds, investor strategies, and market insights guiding entrepreneurial growth.

Venture Capital

Australia

Europe

India

Oceania

Singapore

Southeast Asia

Bringing you the latest updates on funding deals and activities in the Asia Pacific.

Deals in brief: Augmentus raises Series A+ funding, Coda to acquire Recharge, Origgin Capital debuts second fund, and more

An alias used when humans and machines team up in our newsroom. Articles under this byline may be shaped with the help of AI, but are always vetted by a human before publication.

Sudo Lim

KrASIA tracks China’s tech and business stories—alongside key developments across the broader Asia Pacific region.

Header Section | KrASIA

Home

Sections

Header Section

Lovable has raised USD 200 million in a Series A funding round led by Accel, reaching a USD 1.8 billion valuation. Existing investors 20VC, ByFounders, Creandum, Hummingbird, and Visionaries Club also participated. Founded in 2023, the company builds no-code tools for app and website creation, joining a wave of “vibe coding” platforms attracting investor attention.

<a href="/company/alibaba">Alibaba’s</a> Taobao Shangou and <a href="/company/meituan">Meituan</a> spent over RMB 20 billion in subsidies across recent weekends, fueling a fresh price war in China’s food delivery market. Taobao Shangou issued more than RMB 12 billion on <a href="https://kr-asia.com/meituan-scrambles-on-super-saturday-as-taobao-shangou-tops-80-million-daily-orders">July 12</a> alone, while Meituan spent up to RMB 4 billion. The surge lifted order volumes but raised concerns over sustainability and fulfillment.

Mercado Libre has launched an official China site to help local sellers expand into Latin America. The portal provides onboarding guides, training resources, policy briefings, and access to certified partners in ERP, logistics, tax, and IP, aiming to build a transparent and reliable service ecosystem.

China cut its US treasury holdings by USD 900 million in May, marking a third straight month of reductions while holding steady as the third largest foreign creditor. Japan and the UK increased their positions to USD 1.135 trillion and USD 809.4 billion, respectively, amid shifting global debt allocations.

Level 2 assisted driving features are now in over 50% of new vehicles sold in China, the highest penetration rate globally. At a recent industry forum, experts said consolidating this lead will require smarter <a href="/industry/ai">AI</a> systems, deeper industry collaboration, and a faster shift to higher levels of autonomy to maintain China’s edge in smart vehicle development.

<a href="/company/openai">OpenAI</a> has launched a ChatGPT agent that can reportedly perform tasks like web browsing, form filling, and generating presentations or spreadsheets. Aimed at business users, it marks a major step beyond Q&amp;A by integrating research and task automation.

Crypto-related thefts hit USD 2.17 billion in H1 2025, already eclipsing last year’s total despite surging stablecoin use. A USD 1.5 billion ByBit breach drove the spike, while personal wallet hacks and violent “wrench attacks” are climbing. With losses projected to reach USD 4 billion, analysts warn of escalating threats to crypto security.

China’s Belt and Road Initiative hit a new high in H1 2025, with USD 124 billion in contracts across 176 deals, surpassing the total for all of 2024. Major energy and infrastructure projects in Africa, Central Asia, and Nigeria fueled the surge. Analysts cite sluggish domestic growth and shifting trade dynamics as key drivers of China’s expanding global footprint.

Uber will invest USD 300 million in <a href="/industry/ev">EV</a> maker Lucid and deploy more than 20,000 Lucid Gravity SUVs equipped with Nuro’s autonomous technology starting in 2026. The rollout will begin in one major US city in late 2026 and continue through 2032, marking Uber’s return to the robotaxi race.

<a href="/company/meituan">Meituan</a> said it had <a href="https://kr-asia.com/meituan-scrambles-on-super-saturday-as-taobao-shangou-tops-80-million-daily-orders">no choice but to join the subsidy-fueled price war</a> it claims is being led by <a href="/company/jd">JD.com</a> and <a href="/company/alibaba">Alibaba</a> in China’s on-demand delivery market. Executive Wang Puzhong called the competition “irrational” and said Meituan acted to avoid appearing weak, but warned that surging order volumes don’t necessarily equate to sustainable business value.

Spacely AI has raised USD 1 million in seed funding to accelerate product development and launch a 2D-to-3D automation engine designed to reduce manual design work. The round was led by PropTech Farm Fund III, with participation from Wannaporn Phornprapha (P Landscape), Ted Poshakrishna Thirapatana (UTC Holdings), and Mek Srunyu Stittri (formerly from GitLab).

How does automation advance industry? Analyze robotic arms, drones, and AI-driven tools reshaping manufacturing and services.

Despite early traction in hardware, the startup is focused on building a full-stack robotics system that unites the “brain” and “body” of machines.

More than a hardware play: Robot Era’s founder sets the record straight on the company’s true ambitions

https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/a6b9ace74da9df391d5f7ba1892f4393?s=96&d=blank&r=g

What powers tomorrow’s roads? Explore EV adoption, charging infrastructure, and battery advances sparking the shift toward sustainable transport.

Electric Vehicles

How do goods cross borders seamlessly? Examine warehousing tech, route optimization, and data analytics building efficient supply chains.

Logistics

How is the way we move evolving? Explore developments in autonomous transportation, electric vehicles, and more efficient urban transit.

Mobility

How do goods and people flow worldwide? Examine transport networks, logistics innovations, and policies shaping global connectivity.

Transportation

Challenges remain, but the NEV maker sees significant upside in expanding its commercial vehicle business beyond China.

As China’s commercial vehicle market slows, Gecko Motors shifts gears abroad for growth

https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/6ff53490f679f358bf543998d228fb32?s=96&d=blank&r=g

Lovable hits USD 1.8 billion valuation

Latest Pulses

Most Recent

More than a hardware play: Robot Era’s founder sets the record straight on the company’s true ambitions

As China’s commercial vehicle market slows, Gecko Motors shifts gears abroad for growth

Deals in brief: Augmentus raises Series A+ funding, Coda to acquire Recharge, Origgin Capital debuts second fund, and more