Pandaily's Digest #20211103
ByteDance makes key changes to its organizational structure, autonomous delivery startup Nuro bags $600 million in financing, Ganfeng Lithium secures three-year battery deal with Tesla, and more.
ByteDance’s Toutiao, Watermelon Video to Be Merged Into Douyin, Zhou Shouzi Steps Down as CFO to Focus on TikTok
Bytedance CEO Liang Rubo released an internal letter this morning, saying that the firm will make organizational changes and set up six business units. Among the key changes are plans for Toutiao, Watermelon Video, search, encyclopedia and domestic vertical services to all be merged into TikTok’s Chinese mainland counterpart, Douyin.
Self-Driving Car Company Nuro Bags $600 Million in D Round Financing, Led By Tiger Global Management
Autonomous delivery unicorn Nuro announced on Tuesday the completion of its D-round of financing worth $600 million, led by Tiger Global Management, with Baillie Gifford, Fidelity Management & Research Company, LLC, Gaorong Capital, Google, Kroger, Softbank Vision Fund, T. Rowe Price Associates, and other previous shareholders participating in the investment.
China’s Ganfeng Lithium Inks 3-Year Battery-Grade Lithium Products Supply Contract with Tesla
Chinese firm Ganfeng Lithium Co., Ltd. and its subsidiary unit GFL International Co., Ltd. have signed a contract to supply battery-grade lithium products to U.S. electric vehicle maker Tesla, Ganfeng said on Monday in a filing. The new contract will allow the company and its unit to provide products to Tesla for three years starting from 2022.
Chinese Publisher Wins $1.87 Million of Damages in Copyright Lawsuit Against Apple
Chinese digital publisher Chinese Online (Tianjin) Cultural Development Co., Ltd. won 12 million yuan ($1.87 million) in damages in a copyright lawsuit against U.S. tech group Apple Inc. Plaintiff Chinese Online accused Apple of violating its right to disseminate information via the internet.
Regulators Require 39 Companies Including Tencent and Alibaba to Establish Lists of Collected and Shared Personal Information
On Monday, China’s Personal Information Protection Law, which has attracted wide attention from internet companies, has been officially implemented. On the same day, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) issued a notice proposing that relevant internet enterprises should establish “two lists” to protect personal information, including a “list of collected personal information” and a “list of personal information shared with third parties,” which should be displayed in apps for users to inquire.
Xpeng, Li Auto and NIO Announce October Sales – Xpeng Tops Charts
Three Chinese EV makers, Xpeng, Li Auto and NIO, all announced their sales results for October on Monday, with Xpeng ranking first. In October, Xpeng delivered 10,138 vehicles, up 233% year-on-year. Li Auto delivered 7,649 Li ONEs in October, up 107.2% year-on-year. NIO delivered 3,667 vehicles in October, down 27.5% year-on-year, due to the reorganization and upgrading of production lines and preparations for the launch of new products.
China VC Weekly: Ride-Hailing, Snacks and More
In last week’s VC news, Didi rival T3 bagged over a billion dollars in financing for market expansion, Alibaba injected funds in a young content creation company DGene, snack brand Xijie Zha Chuan raised $46 million from a cohort of prominent investors, IoT unicorn Aqara completed a one-billion-yuan investment round, cross-border supply chain firm Surpath closed its Pre-A round of financing and solid-state battery manufacturer ProLogium raked in $326 million from investors.
Chi Xu – Mapping a New Reality
At the Jiemian News REAL tech conference, Pandaily contributor Yuke Xie had the opportunity to talk with Chi Xu, founder and CEO of Nreal, a Chinese augmented reality (AR) glasses startup. Witty, confident and articulate, Chi Xu shared with us his insights on the AR market, why he thought 2017 was the best time to start an AR company, the differences between AR and VR, AR’s role in shaping the metaverse and what an AR-powered reality would look like in the future.
Yahoo to Stop Providing Products and Services for Chinese Mainland from November 1
Yahoo, an American internet portal, announced on its official website that from November 1, 2021, users from the Chinese Mainland will not be able to use Yahoo’s products and services. Yahoo’s products and services in other parts of the world would not be affected.
Baidu and Geely’s Joint Venture Jidu Automobile Tests SIMU Cars
On November 2, Jidu Automobile, a joint venture of Baidu and Geely, announced progress in their automobile endeavor. Wang Weibao, the head of Jidu’s intelligent driving since August, said that their SIMU Car (simulated prototype car) is now under dynamic testing.