Alibaba opens Qwen platform to outside developers
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. on Monday launched an open platform for its AI model Qwen, allowing third-party developers to build custom AI agents across mobile phones, personal computers and smart glasses. The first group of partners on the Qianwen Open Platform spans more than 10 sectors, including logistics, real estate and wealth management. Participants include SF Express, home-rental platform Ziroom and Midea Group. Alibaba’s own services, including logistics arm Cainiao and the Quark search app, are also integrated, adding functions such as smart mailing and file management. The platform allows third-party companies to build AI agents that users can access directly within the Qwen app. Unlike conventional apps, these agents are designed to use reasoning and memory to process more complex requests.
Retail investors face slim odds at slice of Unitree IPO
Unitree Robotics opened subscriptions for its highly anticipated Shanghai listing on Monday, with retail investors facing exceptionally slim odds of securing an allocation. Brokerages estimate the chance of winning shares in the offering at just 0.02% to 0.05%, underscoring both intense investor interest in humanoid robotics and the relatively small portion of shares reserved for online retail subscriptions. Only about 6.47 million shares are initially being offered online, accounting for roughly 20% of the shares available after strategic placements. With subscriptions allotted in lots of 500 shares, fewer than 13,000 winning lots are available to retail investors. The low entry threshold could further intensify demand. Investors need only 60,000 yuan in eligible Shanghai-listed holdings to make the maximum subscription, far below the threshold required for some other recent large offerings.
SK Hynix responds to plans to sell Chongqing plant
South Korean memory-chip giant SK Hynix Inc. is evaluating options to enhance the competitiveness of its packaging business, the company said in a Monday filing to the Korea Exchange. The statement follows an Aug. 7 Bloomberg report citing sources saying SK Hynix is exploring disposal options, including bringing in investors, for its Chongqing facility valued at about $3 billion. The company noted in the filing that no specific details have been determined and that it may disclose further information within a month. Established in 2014, the Chongqing plant primarily handles the packaging and testing of NAND flash memory products.
TSMC July revenue hits record high
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (TSMC) reported a record-high monthly revenue of NT$467.6 billion ($14.5 billion) in July, representing a 44.7% year-on-year increase, according to a Monday statement on the company’s website. From January to July, the global chipmaking giant’s cumulative revenue reached a record for the period at NT$2.9 trillion, up 37% from the previous year.
Chipmaker CXMT added to MSCI China All Shares Index
Chinese memory-chip maker CXMT Corp. was officially included in the MSCI China All Shares Index on Monday. The company’s stock closed at 51.3 yuan ($7.6) per share that day, giving it a market capitalization of 3.4 trillion yuan. Based on this valuation, CXMT has become the second-largest constituent in the index by market capitalization, trailing only Tencent Holdings Ltd.
