Daily Tech Roundup: ‘Big Fund III’s’ Record Capital, SenseTime’s Free Cantonese AI Chatbot

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A visitor looks at a SenseTime AI product in front of the company’s booth on May 12, 2024 at the China Brand Day event in Shanghai. Photo: VCG

Welcome to the Daily Tech Roundup — a briefing of the top technology news making headlines in China and the rest of Asia.

In Depth: Mega blunder adds to Li Auto’s troubles as Huawei rivalry hots up

Li Auto Inc. (理想汽车) had reasons to be upbeat heading towards the official launch of its much-anticipated Mega electric vehicle (EV) on March 1.

Four days before the launch event, the Beijing-based company announced a remarkable milestone — it turned 11.8 billion yuan ($1.66 billion) in profit in 2023 on vehicle sales of 120.3 billion yuan. That made Li Auto the first of China’s major EV upstarts to report an annual profit. It also topped the deliveries chart among emerging EV-makers with 376,030 vehicles last year.

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Li Auto celebrated a strong financial year but faced order setbacks due to a design blunder, amid rising competition from Huawei.
SenseTime launched a Cantonese AI chatbot, addressing regional language needs and aiming for cultural integration.
Lenovo issued $2 billion in convertible bonds to Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, planning to enhance local R&D and production capacities.

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Who’s Who

Li Auto Inc.: Li Auto Inc. recently achieved an annual profit of 11.8 billion yuan ($1.66 billion) on vehicle sales of 120.3 billion yuan and delivered 376,030 vehicles in 2023. However, its new Mega EV faced a setback when an image comparing it to a hearse went viral, negatively affecting orders. The company is also facing increased competition, especially from Huawei Technologies.

Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd.: Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. is a key competitor to Li Auto Inc. in China's electric vehicle market. It is also significantly affected by Washington’s export controls, which Beijing aims to counter through investments in the semiconductor industry via the newly launched third phase of the National Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund, also known as "Big Fund III".

SenseTime Group Inc.: SenseTime Group Inc. has launched a Cantonese version of its AI chatbot SenseChat, which will be free to the public from July 1. This chatbot supports Cantonese slang as part of SenseTime’s new large AI model, Sense Nova. Xu Li, CEO of SenseTime, emphasized the importance of incorporating regional cultural differences into AI models to better serve local culture and fill existing gaps.

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.: Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. raised a significant portion of the $6.5 billion through convertible bonds, alongside JD.com. The proceeds are intended for share buybacks, which are expected to boost stock prices. This move is seen as a positive sign for the capital market and may encourage other Chinese tech companies to follow suit.

JD.com Inc.: JD.com Inc. recently completed a $2 billion offering of convertible senior notes. The proceeds will fund share buybacks, overseas business expansion, supply chain improvements, and working capital. UBS, serving as the joint book runner, noted that this move might lead other Chinese tech firms to consider convertible bonds.

Lenovo Group Ltd.: Lenovo Group Ltd. plans to sell $2 billion worth of zero-coupon convertible bonds to Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund. The bonds will be issued to Alat at a 12% discount to Lenovo's shares. Additionally, Lenovo will build an R&D center in Riyadh and expand production capacity in the region as part of a broader strategic pact with Saudi Arabia.

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What Happened When

Four days before March 1, 2024：: Li Auto announced a milestone of 11.8 billion yuan profit in 2023 on vehicle sales of 120.3 billion yuan.

March 1, 2024：: Li Auto officially launched its much-anticipated Mega electric vehicle (EV).

After the launch event on March 1, 2024：: Orders for the Mega EV fell short of expectations after an edited image went viral suggesting the vehicle looked like a hearse.

May 23, 2024：: JD.com announced the completion of its $2 billion offering of convertible senior notes.

Tuesday, May 28, 2024：: Selina Cheung of UBS commented on Alibaba and JD.com's raising of $6.5 billion through convertible bonds.

May 28, 2024：: Lenovo’s shares closed at a nine-year-high the previous day, before issuing zero-coupon convertible bonds to Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund.