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Comprehensive report by 21st Century Business Herald New Productivity Research Institute

Good morning, a new day has begun. What interesting things have happened in the technology industry in the past 24 hours? Let's take a look with 21tech.

【Giant weathervane】

1. Lei Jun said that Xiaomi is unlucky because it is always compared with Apple and Huawei.Lei Jun said in an interview recently: "My bad luck is that I always compare myself with Apple and Huawei, and want to be more amazing than these two big brothers. Some people asked me why I can't be better than Apple. I said that Xiaomi's market value is 40 billion, and theirs is 3 trillion. Even if you give me 1 trillion US dollars, I can be more amazing than them. Some people say things that are very unpleasant, such as "diaosi phones" and "assembled products". Why doesn't anyone around me use Xiaomi? Are you bragging again? But the strength of Apple and Huawei cannot block the brilliance of Xiaomi. The result of comparing with Apple and Huawei has promoted Xiaomi's progress."

2. Will WeChat and TikTok also be subject to Apple tax? The target is the ecosystem of small games and short dramas.According to reports, Apple is increasing its pressure on Tencent and ByteDance, requiring the two companies to cooperate in plugging payment loopholes in WeChat and Douyin. It is understood that developers can use similar loopholes to bypass the Apple ecosystem and divert users to external payment systems to evade the 30% commission fee that Apple usually charges. According to reports, Apple warned Tencent in early May that it would refuse to provide WeChat updates in the future if it did not cancel the ability of developers and users to bypass the Apple ecosystem, and warned Douyin again in June. The outside world interpreted this as Apple's compulsory collection of the "Apple tax". In this regard, the reporter confirmed with many industry insiders that the news is true. An industry insider revealed to the reporter that Apple's pressure on Tencent and ByteDance is largely aimed at the currently booming small game market. For Douyin, Apple's target is also the short drama business that has been popular in recent years, which is also the hardest hit area for evading the "Apple tax" before. (The Paper)

3. Mercedes-Benz and others recalled some vehicles.Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Tesla and others have filed recall plans with the State Administration for Market Regulation. Mercedes-Benz recalled some imported A-class cars produced between May 29, 2018 and December 19, 2019, totaling 1,691 vehicles; Porsche recalled some imported Cayenne series cars produced between May 9, 2024 and June 19, 2024, totaling 3,780 vehicles; Tesla recalled some imported Model S, Model X and domestically produced Model 3 and Model Y electric vehicles produced between October 15, 2020 and July 17, 2024, totaling 1,683,627 vehicles.

4. Musk's X sued the advertising alliance, claiming that it lost billions of dollars due to its "illegal boycott".Musk's social media company X filed a federal antitrust lawsuit against the World Federation of Advertisers in Texas, claiming that the companies in the alliance illegally boycotted the X platform. X accused companies such as CVS Health, Mars and Unilever of conspiring to withhold billions of dollars in advertising fees to force the X platform to maintain certain safety standards. The lawsuit said the boycott began after Musk acquired Twitter in November 2022 and has continued to this day. X said that the alliance's actions to get its members to agree to the boycott violated antitrust laws and were "coercive exercise of market power."

5. Dissatisfied with Musk's support for Trump, German retail chains said they would no longer buy Tesla.German retail chain Dirk Rossmann GmbH will no longer buy Tesla Inc. cars for its fleet, citing Elon Musk's support for Donald Trump. Rossmann, which has more than 62,000 employees and more than 4,700 branches in Europe, announced the decision in a statement on Tuesday. The closely held company said that while it will continue to use existing Teslas for sustainability purposes, future car orders will be directed to other manufacturers and models.

6. TikTok asked the US court to reject the Department of Justice’s request for confidentiality of TikTok-related evidence.TikTok and its parent company ByteDance filed an objection in the U.S. Court of Appeals, asking the court to dismiss the Department of Justice's application to secretly submit some litigation documents. The U.S. Department of Justice filed a court document on July 26, asking the court to dismiss TikTok's application for judicial review of the ban bill launched in May this year. In the document, the Department of Justice stated that it would provide the court with a confidential intelligence before the oral argument on September 16, but this confidential intelligence must not be obtained by TikTok. ByteDance and TikTok expressed opposition to this.

7. Samsung Display and LG Display compete for iPhone 16 OLED orders.Samsung Display and LG Display are actively competing for OLED orders for two high-end models of the iPhone 16 series. The industry estimates that LGD's OLED shipments for iPhones may increase by about 10 million pieces in 2024. Samsung Display will supply OLED panels for all four models of the iPhone 16 series.

8. New Oriental responded to the increase of its repurchase plan to US$700 million: in order to enhance investor confidence, it will consider using part of the equity for employee incentives.New Oriental announced that the company's board of directors has approved adjustments to the stock repurchase plan. According to the adjustment, the total value of the shares authorized to be repurchased under the repurchase plan has increased from US$400 million to US$700 million, and the expanded repurchase plan will be valid until May 31, 2025. A reporter called New Oriental as an investor, and the relevant person responded that the main reason for expanding the repurchase plan is that they are very confident in the company and hope that investors will have confidence. "The company will consider using part of the repurchased equity for employee incentives in the future." The person revealed that New Oriental basically issues some equity incentives every few years.

9. Nepal plans to use DJI drones to clean up mountain garbage: 234 kilograms per hour.Nepal will deploy heavy-duty drones produced by Chinese drone manufacturer DJI Innovations in high-altitude areas to undertake tasks traditionally handled by Sherpas. This is the first commercial operation of drones in the region. In preliminary tests, DJI drones can transport 234 kilograms of garbage per hour, which previously took about 14 porters six hours to complete.

10. Tencent participated in the $300 million financing of the large-scale model unicorn Dark Side of the Moon? Insider: It is true.Recently, there was news that Tencent participated in the $300 million financing of the domestic large-scale model unicorn, Kimi smart assistant developer Dark Side of the Moon, which increased the company's valuation to $3.3 billion. In this regard, a person familiar with the company said that the news of Tencent's participation in the investment was true. Dark Side of the Moon responded that it would not comment on the financing news. (Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily)

11. After rising for 11 consecutive days, Tenda Technology has emerged from the "earth-earth-space" market. The response: There is no direct commercial aerospace customer.The stock price of Tengda Technology, which had been on the rise for 11 consecutive days, experienced a huge shock. After the intraday "ground-to-ceiling board", it staged a "ceiling-to-floor board". As of the close, the company's stock price was 32.44 yuan per share, a drop of 9.99%. Regarding the huge stock price shock, the staff of Tengda Technology's securities department responded: "The company has been operating normally. The company has announced all the information within the scope of information disclosure." Regarding the sharp rise in stock prices, the above staff said that there were reports that it was related to commercial aerospace, but the company did not directly connect with commercial aerospace customers.

12. Canalys: Global tablet shipments in the second quarter of 2024 will increase by 18% year-on-year.Canalys released a report saying that in the second quarter of 2024, global tablet shipments increased by 18% year-on-year to 35.9 million units. At the same time, as the education market returned to its typical seasonal purchasing pattern, Chromebook shipments increased by 4% to 6 million units. In the second quarter of 2024, Apple continued to lead the global tablet market with shipments of 13.9 million units, accounting for 39% of the market share. Samsung achieved a year-on-year growth of 13%, with shipments of 6.8 million units. Huawei ranked third with shipments of 2.5 million units, a year-on-year increase of 51%.

【The most core news】

1. SK Hynix: Will receive up to US$450 million in direct subsidies and up to US$500 million in loans from the US Chip Act.SK Hynix announced that the company has signed a non-binding preliminary memorandum with the U.S. Department of Commerce. Based on the U.S. Chips and Science Act, SK Hynix will receive up to $450 million in direct subsidies and up to $500 million in loans for its investment in an advanced semiconductor packaging plant in Indiana, USA. In addition, the U.S. Treasury Department has decided to provide SK Hynix with a tax credit of up to 25% of its investment in the United States. SK Hynix is ​​currently mass-producing AI-oriented memory in Indiana, USA, and will proceed with factory construction as scheduled.

2. Samsung Electronics' 8-layer HBM3E product is said to have passed Nvidia's test and may be supplied in the fourth quarter.Samsung Electronics' fifth-generation 8-layer HBM3E product has reportedly passed Nvidia's test and can be used in the latter's artificial intelligence processor. It is understood that the two parties will soon sign a relevant product supply agreement, which is expected to start supplying in the fourth quarter of this year.

3. Industry insiders: TSMC’s 5/3nm process products will continue to increase in price in 2025, with an increase of about 3%-8%.According to IC design practitioners, TSMC will not only increase prices in 2024, but also announced to multiple customers in July that the price increase of 5/3 nanometer process in 2025 will be about 3%-8% due to soaring costs. The huge pressure of maintaining a gross profit margin of 53% for a long time will be successfully passed on to the customer base. Industry insiders said that TSMC not only continues to receive strong orders for HPC, including AI, but also has entered the peak season for consumer electronics shipments. With large orders from Apple, Qualcomm, MediaTek, Intel, AMD, Nvidia and Broadcom, 3/5 nanometer production capacity will continue to be fully loaded, and TSMC is expanding production capacity to respond to strong customer demand.

4. Institution: The price of battery cells fell slightly in July, and the price of lithium fell to around 80,000 yuan per ton.According to TrendForce data, the overall demand for power batteries was stable in July, but the cost of battery materials continued to decline due to the continued decline in the price of positive electrode materials, as well as the decline in the prices of battery metals such as cobalt, nickel, and copper, especially the sharp decline in copper prices, which led to a slight decline in the price of battery cells. The price of power cells fell slightly by 2% month-on-month in July, with the average monthly prices of square ternary, square iron-lithium, and soft-pack ternary power cells being RMB 0.48/Wh, RMB 0.41/Wh, and RMB 0.50/Wh, respectively. At the end of July, the price of lithium carbonate had fallen to around RMB 80,000 per ton, and the oversupply pattern remained unchanged. It is estimated that the price of lithium carbonate will continue to fluctuate and bottom out in the third quarter.

【Technology Financial Report View】

1. Uber: Second-quarter revenue and profit both exceeded expectations.Uber released its second quarter 2024 financial report, with both revenue and profit exceeding Wall Street analysts' expectations. In the second quarter, its revenue was $10.7 billion, a year-on-year increase of 16%, higher than analysts' expectations of $10.57 billion. Net profit attributable to Uber was $1 billion, including $333 million in gains (unrealized net gains related to the revaluation of Uber's equity investment), compared with $394 million in net profit in the same period last year.

2. Ninebot has "de-Xiaomi-ized" itself and achieved revenue of 6.666 billion yuan in the first half of the year.Ninebot announced that it achieved operating revenue of 6.666 billion yuan in the first half of 2024, a year-on-year increase of 52.2%; net profit of 596 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 167.82%. During the reporting period, the company achieved sales revenue of 5.86 billion yuan for its own brands, a year-on-year increase of 82%; and achieved a gross profit margin of 30.45%, an increase of 2.8 percentage points year-on-year. Although Ninebot did not disclose the proportion of Xiaomi channel revenue separately in its semi-annual report, according to the 2023 annual report, the proportion of Xiaomi's customized product distribution revenue in Ninebot's total revenue has dropped to 4.3%.

3. Tuniu's net income in the second quarter was 117 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 17%.Tuniu Travel Network announced its unaudited second quarter performance report as of June 30, 2024. In the second quarter of 2024, Tuniu's net income was RMB 117 million, a year-on-year increase of 17%; among them, the revenue from packaged travel products was nearly RMB 90 million, a year-on-year increase of 29%; the net profit was RMB 43 million, and the net profit in the same period of 2023 was RMB 220,000.

4. Reddit's second-quarter revenue increased 54% year-on-year to US$280 million.Reddit announced its second quarter results for 2024, with revenue increasing 54% year-on-year to $281.2 million; daily active users increased 51% year-on-year to 91.2 million; adjusted EBITDA was $39.5 million, while analysts expected $13.5 million. The company expects third quarter revenue to be between $290 million and $310 million, and adjusted EBITDA to be between $40 million and $60 million.

5. GlobalFoundries' net profit in the second quarter was US$155 million, a year-on-year decrease of 35%.GlobalFoundries released its preliminary financial report for the second quarter of 2024, with revenue of US$1.632 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 12%; operating profit of US$155 million, a year-on-year decrease of 44%; operating profit margin of 9.5%, compared with 14.9% in the same period last year; net profit of US$155 million, a year-on-year decrease of 35%.

6. Lucid's second-quarter revenue was higher than expected, with a net loss of $790 million.Electric car manufacturer Lucid announced its second-quarter 2024 financial results, with revenue of $200.6 million in the second quarter, while analysts expected $185.8 million; vehicle deliveries of 2,394 units, while analysts expected 1,999 units; net loss attributable to common shareholders in the second quarter was $790 million, compared with $764 million in the same period last year. The company announced on the same day that the Saudi Public Investment Fund has committed to invest $1.5 billion, including a $750 million convertible preferred stock investment and a $750 million deferred draw term loan.

7. American electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian's second-quarter revenue was lower than expected, but it maintained its full-year production guidance unchanged.Rivian, an American electric car manufacturer, had revenue of $1.16 billion in the second quarter, while analysts expected $1.17 billion; its adjusted loss per share in the second quarter was $1.13, while analysts expected a loss per share of $1.20; its cash and cash equivalents in the second quarter were $5.76 billion, while analysts expected $5.64 billion; it still expects full-year production to be 57,000 vehicles, while analysts expected 56,007 vehicles; it still expects a full-year adjusted loss before interest and taxes of $2.7 billion, while analysts expected a loss of $2.74 billion.

【Listing Capital Flow】

1. RF filter chip manufacturer Zuolan Microelectronics received B+ round of financing.Recently, Zuolan Microelectronics (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd. completed a new round of financing of 100 million yuan, jointly invested by Donghai Investment and Hongqi Fund. Zuolan Microelectronics focuses on the research and development, design, production and sales of RF filters. Its products include surface acoustic wave filters (SAW), temperature compensated surface acoustic wave filters (TC-SAW), high-performance surface acoustic wave filters (PESAW), high-performance bulk acoustic wave filters (PEBAW), etc. The traditional RF filter market has long been dominated by international giants, but with the development of technology and market opening, more and more Chinese companies are beginning to emerge. This round of B+ round financing funds will be used by Zuolan Micro to increase R&D investment, expand production capacity, expand global markets, and introduce talents.

2. Semiconductor overlay equipment provider "Eruiwei Semiconductor" completed its Pre-A round of financing.Ariva Semiconductor recently completed its Pre-A round of financing, jointly invested by Zhuoyuan Asia and Jinyu Maowu. This is the third round of financing the company has received in 7 months.

3. "Xinyue Intelligence" received a seed round of financing of one million yuan."Xinyue Intelligence" announced that it has completed a seed round of financing of one million yuan, with investors including professors of psychology from Sun Yat-sen University and Guangzhou University and heads of well-known investment institutions and other individual investors. This round of financing will mainly be used for product research and development.

【New Products】

1. Zhipu open source Qingying CogVideoX model.Zhipu AI announced that it will open source CogVideoX, a video generation model with the same origin as Qingying. It is understood that the CogVideoX open source model contains multiple models of different sizes. Zhipu currently open sources CogVideoX-2B, which only requires 18GB of video memory for inference at FP-16 precision and 40GB of video memory for fine-tuning.

2. Tencent Yuanbao has launched the ability to read long articles intensively.Tencent's AI native application "Tencent Yuanbao" has launched the ability to read long articles in depth. When users upload URL links or files of professional content such as papers, financial reports, and research reports, in addition to obtaining a text summary, they can also enter the in-depth reading mode to read the long article in depth.