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… coach.”
A camera-based training product can identify a player’s movement and offer suggestions without relying on specialized equipment. Its limitation is that it cannot alter the exercise as it happens.
Aura begins not with the analysis but with the feed.
Pongbot’s large model, trained for sports analysis, records where the ball lands and attempts to explain why. Was the backswing late? Was the contact point too far from the body? Did the player fail to transfer their weight in time?
The system communicates its assessment through voice prompts after each shot. It then adjusts the next sequence of balls.
For Zhang, coaching must begin with the feed. A machine should observe, assess, and adapt during practice rather than wait until the session has ended.
That process also generates data. Pongbot estimates that, once Aura reaches the market, its machines could collect more than five million hours of useful sports-interaction data each year. The estimate is the company’s own, and the value of the data will depend on its quality, consistency, and users’ consent to its collection.
Pongbot describes Aura as the world’s first “all-in-one” coaching robot for multiple sports. The idea nevertheless divided the company during development.
Zhang recalled that employees worried users might see Aura as a jack of all trades and master of none. Partners and investors raised the same concern.
He continued to support the product for two reasons:
<ol>
<li aria-level="1">Sports equipment is usually sold on the assumption that a person first chooses a sport, then buys the equipment required to play it.</li>
<li aria-level="1">For beginners, the order can feel reversed. They are expected to buy equipment before they know whether they will remain interested in the sport.</li>
</ol>
Reports from the Professional Pickleball Association, Monitor Deloitte, and other organizations have estimated that pickleball participation has grown by more than 30% a year in North America. The number of padel courts in Europe has nearly tripled in five years, while tennis still has the largest global participation base among racket sports. The figures require links to the original reports before publication.
The three sports have meaningful differences, but their courts, movements, and beginner populations overlap.
Aura supports all three kinds of balls and allows users to activate each sport separately.
“You don’t have to make a decision before buying the device,” Zhang said. “You can start with tennis. If you decide one day that you want to try pickleball, you can unlock it by paying the corresponding subscription fee in the app.
“For roughly the cost of a single introductory lesson, users can find out whether they are interested in another sport.”
According to Zhang, nearly every customer selected a version that included AI coaching, while more than half chose the multisport option. The company did not disclose the number of customers represented by those percentages.
The response may reflect a familiar tendency in consumer purchases. People do not necessarily use every feature in a multipurpose product, but the availability of those features can make the purchase seem more worthwhile.
“It sends a signal,” Zhang said. “An all-in-one function means gaining access to several sports for the cost of one device. The value-for-money advantage is self-evident.”
“Users want to have that option, even if they do not need it right now.”
whereRelatedArticle
<h3>A software business inside a machine</h3>
A multipurpose product may also offer Pongbot a less expensive way to enter several markets.
Aura uses a standardized mechanical platform. Most adaptations are made through adjustments to the wheels and changes to software settings. The same machine can therefore support tennis, pickleball, padel, and potentially other sports.
This allows Pongbot to reuse components, simplify production, and spread development costs across several groups of customers.
The hardware brings users into the product. Software determines how many sports and training functions they can access.
A customer can buy a version that supports one sport, then activate pickleball or padel through a monthly or annual payment in the app.
For Pongbot, the arrangement creates continuing revenue without requiring the customer to buy another machine. It also allows training records from several sports to remain within one system.
“A user might learn tennis with Aura today, and that data will accumulate in Pongbot’s system,” Zhang said. “Three months later, if the user wants to try pickleball, there is no need to buy another machine. They only need to pay to unlock it through the software.
“The device has not changed, the user has not left, and the data continues to grow.”
The commercial appeal is clear. Pongbot can sell one machine, charge for later software access, and build a proprietary record of how customers train.
Whether that record becomes a durable advantage will depend on more than volume. The system must produce feedback that users find accurate, timely, and useful. It must also handle personal data in a way that earns their trust.
Players are unlikely to value a machine merely because it contains many functions. They are more likely to value one that follows a practice session, recognizes a recurring problem, and changes the next exercise in a helpful way.
Pongbot is trying to combine hardware, software, and training records in a consumer product that improves as it gathers more information about the player.
Aura’s larger claim is therefore not that one machine can launch several kinds of balls. It is that one machine can follow a player from one sport to another and continue learning how that person moves.
The idea may not settle how AI should be used in sports equipment. But it raises a useful possibility: Beginners could move among several sports without buying a new machine each time, while the same system remembers every swing.
KrASIA features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This <a href="https://36kr.com/p/3896586337978244">article</a> was written by Huang Nan for 36Kr.

Pongbot’s Aura raises nearly USD 4 million for multisport coaching robot

Robotics

Deep Tech

Consumer Economy

China

… lineup, scheduled to be unveiled in London on July 22.
ModelBest’s precise role within Samsung’s AI system has not yet been disclosed.
KrASIA features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This <a href="https://36kr.com/p/3896830362601351">article</a> was written by Deng Yongyi for 36Kr.
Note: RMB figures are converted to USD at rates of RMB 6.78 = USD 1 based on estimates as of July 21, 2026, unless otherwise stated. USD conversions are presented for ease of reference and may not fully match prevailing exchange rates.

ModelBest’s on-device AI model is coming to Samsung smartphones

Samsung

East Asia

South Korea

Artificial Intelligence

… high-volume applications such as smart home devices. —<a href="https://36kr.com/p/3896295689569922">36Kr</a></li>
</ul>
whereRelatedArticle
<h3>PixVerse, SimpleAI, Ant Group, and others made recent headlines:</h3>
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">PixVerse, a video generation platform, completed an extension of its <a href="https://0722vps.aieehr01.top/pixverse-hits-unicorn-valuation-with-new-series-c-funding">Series C round</a>, bringing the round’s total to USD 439 million. The extension size was not disclosed. New investors Alibaba, Lollapalooza Capital, Ivy Capital, Grand Mount Capital, Eastern Bell Capital, Mirae Asset, BlueFocus, and CloudAlpha joined returning backers iGlobe Partners and LionX Ventures, which is backed by OCBC.</li>
<li aria-level="1">SimpleAI, a developer of agentic AI, announced a USD 5 million seed round and secured a separate USD 10 million debt facility to fund acquisitions across the Asia Pacific. The Singapore-founded company said a lead investor committed to the seed round but did not identify the investor or the debt facility provider.</li>
<li aria-level="1">Ant Group completed a strategic investment in Boohee Health, acquiring a stake of more than 28% and becoming the Chinese health management company’s largest external shareholder. Financial terms were not disclosed. Boohee founder and CEO Ma Haihua remains the company’s largest shareholder overall.</li>
</ul>
If there are any news or updates you'd like us to feature, get in touch with us at: <a href="mailto:hello@0722vps.aieehr01.top">hello@0722vps.aieehr01.top</a>.
Note: RMB figures are converted to USD at rates of RMB 6.78 = USD 1 based on estimates as of July 21, 2026, unless otherwise stated. USD conversions are presented for ease of reference and may not fully match prevailing exchange rates.

Deals in brief: Ant International raises Series A funding, Granite-Integral backs Berlin-based Omio, 13 China investments, and more

Ant Group

Alipay

Venture Capital

Private Equity

Investment

Merger &amp; Acquisition

Singapore

Southeast Asia

Europe

… end of June, in a crucial position. Volcano Engine’s Tan said it has already earned a seat at the table in coding and agents. “There are not many players in China that have truly earned a seat at the table yet,” he said. “Although Seedance sells a bit more now, I hope LLMs can become the main force later.”
KrASIA features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This <a href="https://www.36kr.com/p/3885177884078083">article</a> was written by Zhang Yuxin and Deng Yongyi for 36Kr.
Note: RMB figures are converted to USD at rates of RMB 6.78 = USD 1 based on estimates as of July 21, 2026, unless otherwise stated. USD conversions are presented for ease of reference and may not fully match prevailing exchange rates.

How Seedance put ByteDance back in the AI race

Foundation and Large Models

AI Infrastructure

… Delhi tightened restrictions on Chinese investments after an outbreak of fighting there, although these were eased in March this year.
Sameer Patil, director at the Centre for Security, Strategy and Technology at the Observer Research Foundation think tank, said India's ambitions with sovereign LLMs are restricted to domestic usage, unlike the US and China, which are eyeing global dominance.
"Deepening the dependence on the foreign tech, whether American or Chinese, is a concern because access can be shut down overnight and you will be left in the lurch," Patil said. "Therefore, we have to develop that kind of resilience."
This article first appeared on <a href="https://asia.nikkei.com/business/technology/artificial-intelligence/indian-companies-look-to-chinese-llms-as-ai-costs-bite">Nikkei Asia</a>. It has been republished here as part of 36Kr’s ongoing partnership with <a href="https://www.0722vps.aieehr01.top/nikkei-teams-up-with-36kr-in-asia-tech-news-coverage/">Nikkei</a>.
Note: INR figures are converted to USD at rates of INR 95.72 = USD 1 based on estimates as of July 14, 2026, unless otherwise stated. USD conversions are presented for ease of reference and may not fully match prevailing exchange rates.

Indian companies look to Chinese LLMs as AI costs bite

India

… year to roughly 35% by 2028, although foreign suppliers are still expected to account for the majority of the market.
Hygon is not alone. Shanghai Zhaoxin Semiconductor, another domestic CPU developer focused on PCs and servers, is preparing for a listing on Shanghai's Star Market, China's equivalent of the Nasdaq.
Other homegrown CPU makers, including Loongson—once viewed as China's best hope of building a homegrown rival to Intel—are also expanding. But despite steady revenue growth in recent years, both Loongson and Zhaoxin remain loss-making.
Meanwhile, <a href="/company/huawei">Huawei</a> has continued to develop its Kunpeng server CPUs as part of its broader effort to build a self-sufficient computing ecosystem.
Because of their comparatively lower computing power, CPUs are subject to less restrictive US export controls than GPUs. As a result, the CPU market is one of the few segments where American chipmakers can still compete in China, even as they face growing competition from the country's local players.
Both Nvidia's Huang and AMD's Su have acknowledged the importance and competitiveness of the Chinese market. Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon told Nikkei Asia that his company plans to <a title="" href="https://asia.nikkei.com/business/technology/artificial-intelligence/qualcomm-to-design-china-specific-data-center-chip-in-line-with-us-export-curbs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">specially design chips for Chinese data center customers</a> that are in compliance with US export controls. Arm, meanwhile, announced that <a href="/company/bytedance">ByteDance</a> is an important first adopter of its AGI CPUs.
The PC market is another arena where the CPU race is heating up thanks to the rise of agentic AI, even though it is already crowded with existing players like Intel, AMD, and Qualcomm.
MediaTek, the world's top smartphone chip developer by shipments, has made inroads into designing CPUs for laptops for the first time, joining hands with Nvidia to co-develop the RTX Spark superchip for Windows PCs. The chip comes with a MediaTek customized CPU integrated with Nvidia's Blackwell GPU.
The two companies have high hopes for RTX Spark, with MediaTek CEO Rick Tsai saying the product has the "right" architecture for the agentic AI era and will give the PC "new life after 40 years."
An executive with a supplier to Nvidia, Apple, HP, and Google told Nikkei Asia that the market should not take Nvidia's standalone Vera CPU and RTX Spark chip lightly.
"Considering Nvidia's dominance in AI infrastructure, we think its CPUs would put a certain pressure on Intel and AMD," the industry veteran said. "However, we should also not underestimate Intel's strong tech capability, manufacturing, and its market position in the end devices like the PC industry. The race is just beginning."
This article first appeared on <a href="https://asia.nikkei.com/business/technology/tech-asia/why-cpus-are-now-at-the-center-of-the-ai-race">Nikkei Asia</a>. It has been republished here as part of 36Kr’s ongoing partnership with <a href="https://www.0722vps.aieehr01.top/nikkei-teams-up-with-36kr-in-asia-tech-news-coverage/">Nikkei</a>.

Why CPUs are now at the center of the AI race

Semiconductors

China's widening gap between strong factory output and weak domestic demand is becoming increasingly pronounced in the automotive sector, where exports are offsetting slowing sales at home.
The country's domestic car sales fell 21% in the first half of the year, while exports jumped 65.3%, according to data published on July 9 by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).
HSBC lowered its forecast for China's full-year passenger car demand growth from flat growth to a 5% decline, citing the end of some <a href="/industry/ev">electric vehicle</a> subsidies and collapsing demand for gasoline-powered cars as high oil prices accelerate the shift to electric vehicles.
"With domestic demand still subdued, exports remain an important support for utilization, earnings resilience and mix improvement," HSBC analysts said.
All-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles accounted for a record 46% of China's car exports in the January-June period, up 12 percentage points from a year earlier.
China "precisely meets the global market's strong demand for energy-efficient vehicles amid fluctuating gasoline prices," said Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the China Passenger Car Association.
Brazil, Australia, the UK, Italy, and Thailand accounted for the biggest increases in China's EVs exports in the first five months, with Brazil leading the growth.
Chinese automakers are increasingly relying on overseas markets. Chery and Great Wall Motor have recently generated more than half of their sales from exports, while <a href="/company/byd">BYD</a>, <a href="/company/geely">Geely</a>, and <a href="/company/xpeng">Xpeng</a> have raised their overseas sales targets for 2026 by 15%, 17% and 11%, respectively.
Chery, China's largest automotive exporter, shipped 940,000 vehicles overseas in the first six months of the year, nearly 70% of its total sales, driven by demand in the Middle East, Latin America, and Europe. It aims to export more than 1.5 million vehicles in 2026.
DFSK, a minivan maker owned by Chongqing-based Seres Group, is shifting its focus to exporting higher-end SUVs to Southeast Asia and Latin America.
"We have made overseas markets a clear strategic priority," DFSK president Amy Gong told Nikkei Asia.
The company unveiled a six-seat hybrid SUV at the Hong Kong automotive show last month and plans to enter Indonesia and Argentina. Gong said tariffs mean its vehicles are priced at 1.5 to 2 times their domestic prices in overseas markets, targeting mid- to high-end consumers.
The export boom has coincided with rising trade barriers.
The European Commission announced <a title="" href="https://asia.nikkei.com/business/automobiles/the-unstoppable-rise-of-china-made-cars-in-europe-5-things-to-know" target="_blank" rel="noopener">additional import tariffs</a> on Chinese EVs on July 4, 2024, after their manufacturers were deemed to have unfairly benefited from China's state subsidies.
Turkey suspended import tax exemptions for BYD last month and warned the company it <a title="" href="https://asia.nikkei.com/business/automobiles/electric-vehicles/turkey-halts-byd-tax-break-warns-of-clawback-if-it-misses-1bn-plan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">could face repayments</a> if it fails to fulfil a USD 1 billion commitment to begin local operations.
Southeast Asian markets are also becoming more restrictive. After tariff exemptions expired in countries including Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia at the end of 2025, governments increasingly required local assembly instead of direct imports.
Mexico also slapped a 50% tariff on Chinese EVs at the beginning of this year and has indefinitely paused plans that would allow BYD to build a factory there.
The CAAM cautioned that a "conservatively optimistic" attitude should be taken toward the export outlook for the second half of the year.
"The external environment is complex and volatile," Chen Shihua, CAAM's deputy secretary general told reporters. "We need to closely monitor the international climate and steadily expand into global markets."
This article first appeared on <a href="https://asia.nikkei.com/spotlight/electric-cars-in-china/china-automakers-shift-gears-to-exports-as-domestic-demand-weakens">Nikkei Asia</a>. It has been republished here as part of 36Kr’s ongoing partnership with <a href="https://www.0722vps.aieehr01.top/nikkei-teams-up-with-36kr-in-asia-tech-news-coverage/">Nikkei</a>.

China automakers shift gears to exports as domestic demand weakens

Transportation

Electric Vehicles

Mobility

<a href="/company/dreame">Dreame Technology</a> ranked first worldwide in robot vacuum sales in the first quarter of 2026, according to IDC data, accounting for 23.7% of units sold and 28% of revenue, based on IPO Zaozhidao’s estimates.
The company, however, is increasingly expanding beyond robot vacuums into a broader range of appliances and <a href="/industry/robotics">robotics</a>-related technologies.
Around 2017, China’s home appliance sector was growing rapidly. A common approach was to buy off-the-shelf motors and sensor systems, assemble finished products, bring them to market quickly, and use traffic-driven marketing to gain market share.
Before Dreame was established, founder Yu Hao and his team chose to develop high-speed digital motors in-house, despite the time and capital required. The component is central to cleaning appliances, affecting suction, noise, and product life.
At the time, established overseas companies dominated the technology. Their products were expensive, and their most advanced solutions were generally unavailable to outside buyers. Most appliance makers therefore relied on procurement, which was faster and less risky than internal development.
Dreame took the opposite approach. It viewed control of core technology as essential to improving performance and reducing its dependence on suppliers. Drawing on fluid dynamics principles used in aerospace engineering, Yu and his team developed capabilities in aerodynamic design, electromagnetic architecture, drive control, and thermal management.
The resulting motor delivered higher aerodynamic efficiency, better noise control, and lower production costs than externally sourced alternatives available at the time, according to the company. It also became a technical foundation that Dreame could adapt across categories, allowing it to expand into products such as hair dryers without rebuilding its core capabilities. This improved R&amp;D efficiency and helped control costs.
whereRelatedArticle
Motors, however, are only one part of Dreame’s technology portfolio. The company has also invested in perception algorithms, robotic motion control, and spatial semantic understanding, capabilities with applications beyond robot vacuums.
A high-end robot vacuum is effectively a compact mobile robot. It combines 3D spatial perception, multisensor fusion, <a href="/industry/ai">artificial intelligence</a>-powered decision-making, and motion control. These same capabilities are relevant to home service robots, giving Dreame experience in operating autonomous machines in domestic environments.
That experience is becoming more relevant as AI moves from software into physical products. For years, much of the sector focused on large models and their performance in areas such as reasoning, accuracy, and content generation. The next stage is likely to involve systems that can perceive their surroundings, interpret tasks, and act autonomously.
Dreame’s products already draw on those three capabilities. Its systems detect changes in their environment, make decisions, and adjust their actions in real time. This could support the company’s expansion into a broader range of robotics products, although its ability to turn those capabilities into commercially viable businesses remains unproven.
The comparison with the smartphone industry is useful, but limited. The iPhone evolved from a consumer device into a platform for digital services. Dreame is attempting to use its appliance and robotics technologies as a foundation for products that connect AI with the physical world.
As AI systems become more capable of operating in real environments, new opportunities are likely to emerge in robotics and intelligent hardware.
Dreame’s position rests on two main advantages:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">A commercial base supported by its global market share, revenue from existing products, and expansion across multiple categories.</li>
<li aria-level="1">Its investment in technologies that support embodied intelligence, including perception, decision-making, and autonomous execution in real-world environments.</li>
</ul>
This <a href="https://xueqiu.com/2854806290/400581850">article</a> was adapted based on a feature originally written by Stone Jin and published on IPO Zaozhidao. KrASIA is authorized to translate, adapt, and publish its contents.

Dreame’s technology strategy could compound its advantage in physical AI

Dreame

… selected.
Coordination with Anta’s domestic supply chain, however, reportedly failed to keep pace. The production cycle was shortened from the usual eight months to four months. The US team held only two production coordination sessions before the product was brought to market, where its performance fell short of expectations.
Since Irving signed with Anta, the line has released two flagship products. Neither has generated significant sales or sustained consumer attention, according to people familiar with the business.
36Kr also learned that Xu led a proposed endorsement deal with Stephen Curry that had reached the product design stage. Anta offered as much as USD 70 million, but Ding Shizhong ultimately halted the deal.
whereRelatedArticle
The proposal was abandoned as Anta’s basketball business was weakening.
According to brokerage firms that track <a href="/industry/e-commerce">e-commerce</a> platform data, sales of Anta basketball shoes totaled about RMB 50 million (USD 7.4 million) in the third quarter of 2025. That was substantially below sales of its running shoes, casual footwear, and skate-style sneakers.
With annual revenue exceeding RMB 80 billion (USD 11.8 billion), Anta Group has built extensive capabilities in operating efficiency, supply chain management, and retail distribution. Its integration of Amer Sports, along with the growth of brands such as Descente and Kolon Sport, has also demonstrated its ability to manage a portfolio of brands across markets.
For the flagship Anta brand, however, the central challenge remains unresolved: how can it balance growth with brand equity, and its distributor network with retail innovation?
Xu’s departure may indicate that the brand is stepping back, at least temporarily, from aggressive retail expansion and refocusing on efficiency. That shift would draw on Anta Group’s established strengths in distribution and supply chain management to support its core namesake brand.
KrASIA features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This <a href="https://36kr.com/p/3889213745543687">article</a> was written by He Zhexin and Ren Cairu for 36Kr.
Note: RMB figures are converted to USD at rates of RMB 6.78 = USD 1 based on estimates as of July 17, 2026, unless otherwise stated. USD conversions are presented for ease of reference and may not fully match prevailing exchange rates.

Anta brand CEO Xu Yang steps down as retail expansion slows

Retail