Good morning and welcome to a new day. Let's take a look at the key developments in the tech sector over the past 24 hours.
【Major Moves】 Liang Wenfeng Pledges $28 Billion! DeepSeek Aims for Record $70 Billion First Round Reports indicate that DeepSeek is seeking to raise up to 500 billion yuan. If successful, this would represent the largest single funding round ever for a Chinese artificial intelligence company. Liang Wenfeng is personally committing up to 200 billion yuan, accounting for 40% of the total planned capital raise.
SpaceX Ramps Up for IPO as Capital Expenditures Soar As Elon Musk's SpaceX prepares for a large-scale initial public offering, its capital expenditure is climbing by tens of billions of dollars. According to a project announcement from local Texas authorities, a chip manufacturing campus planned jointly by SpaceX and Tesla is estimated to require a capital investment of at least $550 billion. The company, which operates in rockets, satellites, and AI, continues to increase investments in space-related infrastructure, including launch sites in Florida and a new solar cell factory in Texas. The company also plans to invest more in the coming years to launch up to a million AI satellites into low Earth orbit.
Anthropic Considers Fundraising, Valuation Nears $14 Trillion Anthropic is considering raising hundreds of billions of dollars this summer to massively expand its computing capacity. This move could push its valuation close to $14 trillion, surpassing rival OpenAI. The new funding round is expected to have a pre-money valuation of approximately $12.6 trillion, with a potential raise of up to $500 billion. Anthropic has recently been handling investment interest from firms such as Dragoneer Investment Group, General Catalyst, and Lightspeed Venture Partners.
Qianjiang Motor Denies "Siege of Zhang Xue's Motorcycle" On May 8, Qianjiang Motor issued a statement denying recent online rumors that "major domestic motorcycle manufacturers are besieging Zhang Xue's motorcycle from the supply chain and dealer levels," which had sparked heated discussion in the industry and among the public. The company stated it has never engaged in any form of unfair competition, such as supply chain blockades or dealer sieges, against Zhang Xue's motorcycle or other industry peers.
Tesla Announces Major Price Cuts in Canada; Netizens: "Thank You, China" Recently, the U.S. electric vehicle maker Tesla announced price reductions in the Canadian market, drawing significant attention in Canadian public discourse. According to foreign media reports, the price cuts are substantial, with some models seeing prices "plunge" to nearly half their previous levels. Interestingly, many Canadian netizens have been expressing gratitude to China. Reports from multiple Canadian and North American automotive industry outlets, including Driving.ca and Electrek, indicate that Tesla's significant price reduction in Canada is directly related to China. These reports point out that a low-tariff import quota system for Chinese new energy vehicles, announced during Canadian Prime Minister Carney's visit to China in January, is the primary reason enabling Tesla's major price cuts.
NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang: Next-Gen AI Infrastructure Will Require Massive Optical Connectivity, Copper Cables No Longer Sufficient On May 6, Eastern Time, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang stated that the next generation of artificial intelligence infrastructure will require massive optical connectivity because computing demands are growing so rapidly that copper cables can no longer keep up. "We are going to scale optics to a level that has never been done before, and frankly, no optics company has ever operated at this scale," Huang said. Huang also noted that the benefits from the current wave of AI investment extend far beyond tech companies. He pointed out that rising demand for electricians, construction workers, chip manufacturing staff, and data center infrastructure experts is strong evidence that this building process is already impacting the entire economy.
SK Hynix Employees Become "Top Tier" in Matchmaking Market As SK Hynix's performance hits record highs and performance-based compensation rises accordingly, its employees have suddenly ascended to the top tier of South Korea's matchmaking market. Their social desirability as marriage partners now rivals that of traditional high-earning elite professionals like doctors and lawyers. Kang Eun-sun, senior team leader at matchmaking firm Gayeon, told media, "Since the semiconductor super cycle began, the popularity of employees at large companies like Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix has continued to rise. Compared to some lawyers whose incomes are not what they used to be, the market clearly prefers engineers whose actual incomes are much higher." The core driver of this phenomenon is the massive profit-sharing the company provides to its employees. In September last year, SK Hynix reached a historic labor agreement with its union, abolishing the previous cap where "Profit Sharing (PS) shall not exceed 10 times the base salary" and instead allocating 10% of the annual operating profit to the bonus pool.
Apple Raises 2026 MacBook Neo Production Target to 10 Million Units According to reports, Apple has asked suppliers to significantly increase the 2026 production target for the MacBook Neo laptop from an initial 5-6 million units to 10 million units to alleviate current tight market supply, even if the company has to pay a substantial premium to TSMC to secure A18 Pro chip supply.
China Mobile Launches AI-eSIM Multi-Ecosystem Intelligent Service System On May 8, during the 2026 Mobile Cloud Conference, China Mobile released several technology systems. Among them, the AI-eSIM system is a global first, creating "operator numbers as large model accounts." By embedding AI-eSIM, eSIM can be upgraded with one click to become an AI entry point, enabling devices to think autonomously and respond instantly. AI-eSIM can be applied across nine major scenarios: toys, home appliances, wearables, office equipment, finance, transportation, drones, robotics, and energy.
【Financial Snapshots】 TSMC: April Sales Reach NT$410.73 Billion, Up 17.5% Year-on-Year TSMC's April sales reached NT$410.73 billion, a year-on-year increase of 17.5%. Cumulative sales from January to April totaled NT$1,544.83 billion, a year-on-year increase of 29.9%.
【IPO & Capital Flows】 "StepStar" to Complete Nearly $25 Billion Funding Round Domestic large model company "StepStar" is set to complete a funding round of nearly $250 billion and has dismantled its red-chip structure to accelerate preparations for a Hong Kong IPO. It is understood that the latest funding round saw concentrated participation from industrial chain capital, including Huaqin, Longcheer, Omnivision, and ZTE. Additionally, the Hong Kong Investment Corporation (HKIC) has appeared on the shareholder list.
【New Launches】 OpenAI Introduces "Trusted Contacts" Safety Feature On May 7, local time, OpenAI announced the launch of its "Trusted Contacts" feature. Specifically, if OpenAI's automated systems and trained moderators detect that an adult user may have discussed self-harm behavior that could constitute a serious safety risk, the designated contact will be notified. The announcement stated that this feature does not replace professional care or crisis intervention services but provides an additional layer of safety for users in distress. ChatGPT will still encourage users to contact crisis hotlines or emergency services when appropriate.