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CBI

ChinaBiz Briefing | China's Tech Giants Ramp Up Hardware, AI, and Urban Mobility Bets

Chinese technology firms are accelerating the commercialization of advanced hardware platforms, from flying cars to humanoid robots, while AI labs intensify the race toward autonomous coding capabilities. These developments reflect a coordinated push to monetize emerging infrastructure—low-altitude transport, embodied intelligence, and agentic AI—before regulatory frameworks fully solidify

BrainCo Files Confidential Hong Kong IPO After $280M Funding Round, Testing Non-Invasive Brain-Computer Interface Commercialization

BrainCo, the Hangzhou-based brain-computer interface (BCI) unicorn, has quietly filed for a Hong Kong IPO following a approximately RMB 2 billion ($280 million) financing round—the sector's second-largest raise globally after Neuralink. The confidential filing, managed by China International Capital Corp. and UBS Group AG,

Xpeng to List Flying Car Unit Aeroht in Hong Kong IPO, Report Says

Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer Xpeng Inc. is moving forward with plans to take its flying car subsidiary public through a Hong Kong initial public offering, according to sources familiar with the developments. According to a Bloomberg report published on January 12, 2026, the company has confidentially filed for the share

World's First Embodied Agentic OS Enables Humanoids to "Think While Working"

Shenzhen-based LimX Dynamics has unveiled COSA (Cognitive OS of Agents), marking a fundamental departure from the demo-driven approach dominating global humanoid robotics. The system enables full-size humanoid Oli to execute continuous, autonomous tasks in unscripted environments—without teleoperation or editing. Unlike competitors grafting large language models onto

Alibaba Cloud Targets ‘Android of AI’ Role With New Hardware Kit

Alibaba Cloud is positioning its Tongyi Qianwen large language model as the foundational operating system for the next generation of smart devices, aiming to replicate the open ecosystem success of Android in the artificial intelligence era. At a recent intelligent hardware exhibition in Shenzhen, the cloud computing unit of Alibaba

Chery Mornine Deploys Humanoid Traffic Robot in Wuhu as Smart Policing Moves to Public Roads

Chery Mornine Robotics, a robotics venture affiliated with Chery, has deployed its first humanoid traffic police robot on public roads, marking a significant step in the commercial application of autonomous systems in municipal services. The unit, designated "Wuyou" Smart Police R001, began operations on January 10 at the

Autonomous Variable Robotics Secures $140M as ByteDance Joins China's Embodied AI Arms Race

A Shenzhen-based robotics startup founded barely two years ago has closed what amounts to China's largest robotics funding round this year, underscoring how quickly embodied intelligence has shifted from research curiosity to strategic imperative for China's tech giants. Autonomous Variable Robotics announced $140 million in

Chinese AI Pet Toys Emerge as Consumer Hardware's Latest Battleground After $2.5 Billion Market Sprint

Over 30 Chinese companies showcased AI companion pets at CES 2026, marking a decisive shift from consumer electronics prototypes to commercially scaled products. The convergence of lightweight language models, sensor miniaturization, and emotional consumption trends has created what investors now view as AI's most viable consumer entry point

DeepSeek V4 and the Shift to ‘Vibe Coding’: Industrializing the AI Agent Economy

The anticipated mid-February launch of DeepSeek-V4 marks a critical pivot in the global AI arms race, moving beyond the "low-cost reasoning" proved by its predecessor to high-fidelity software engineering capabilities designed to rival Anthropic and OpenAI. By reportedly solving the industry-wide bottleneck of

Avatr Technology Upgrades Flagship EV with Tri-Motor Setup and Enhanced Lidar

Avatr Technology, an electric vehicle brand backed by Changan Automobile, Huawei Technologies, and Contemporary Amperex Technology, is set to launch an updated version of its Avatr 12 sedan. Regulatory filings with China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology reveal significant upgrades to the vehicle’s powertrain and autonomous driving