DeepSeek launches V4-Pro and raises API prices by as much as 1,100%
Chinese AI startup DeepSeek on Thursday released the official version of its flagship DeepSeek-V4-Pro model and sharply raised prices for its application programming interface, with some rates increasing by as much as 1,100%. DeepSeek introduced peak and off-peak pricing. During peak hours — 9 a.m. to noon and 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Beijing time — API prices for DeepSeek-V4-Pro rose to 0.3 yuan ($0.04) per million tokens for cached input, 9 yuan for uncached input and 27 yuan for output. Previously, the model was priced at flat rates of 0.025 yuan, 3 yuan and 6 yuan, respectively. Off-peak prices are set at half the peak rates. On performance, the official release of DeepSeek-V4-Pro emphasizes stronger agent capabilities. DeepSeek says the model outperforms X.AI Co. Ltd.’s GLM-5.2 in several agent benchmarks and beats Anthropic’s Claude Opus 4.8 in selected tests, though it trails Kimi K3 and Claude Fable 5 in most evaluations. On third-party evaluation platform Artificial Analysis, DeepSeek-V4-Pro scored 53, tying GLM-5.2 and ranking behind models including Opus 5, Fable 5, GPT-5.6 Sol, Grok 4.6, Kimi K3, Qwen3.8-Max, Meta’s Muse Spark 1.2 and GPT-5.6 Terra.
WeRide targets break-even by 2029
Autonomous driving technology company WeRide Inc. said it is targeting full-year break-even in 2029, betting that rapid growth in driver-assistance system sales and an asset-light overseas expansion strategy will accelerate revenue. During the company’s second-quarter earnings call on Wednesday, chief financial officer Li Xuan said WeRide expects to generate positive cash flow for at least one quarter in 2028 before reaching full-year break-even the following year. To scale more efficiently overseas, WeRide is adopting an asset-light approach, working with operators such as Uber and Grab to deploy robotaxis in the Middle East, Europe and Southeast Asia. Rather than owning and operating vehicles itself — an asset-heavy model used by Chinese rivals including Pony AI and Baidu’s Apollo Go — WeRide sells vehicles to local ride-hailing and taxi operators, then generates recurring revenue from its “virtual driver” software services and a share of passenger fares.
Honor’s new smartphone doubles as a robotic camera operator
Chinese smartphone-maker Honor Device Co. Ltd. has launched an AI-powered smartphone equipped with a robotics system that can serve as the user’s personal camera operator. CEO Li Jian said that the company will develop additional new forms of AI-powered devices based on the Robot Phone. Physically, what most sets the Robot Phone apart from typical smartphones is its built-in robotic gimbal system, which can pivot and maneuver the device along multiple axes. Honor said its built-in smart assistant, YOYO, now features a robotics mode that turns the gimbal system into an actuator for its AI agent. With the system, the phone’s users can command the gimbal to automatically track subjects while filming. The gimbal can move in such a way as to mimic the nod or shake of a head after receiving likes or dislikes from the user.
YMTC overtakes Kioxia by shipments to rank No. 3 in global NAND market
Chinese memory chipmaker Yangtze Memory Technologies Co. Ltd. (YMTC) narrowly surpassed Japan’s Kioxia Holdings Corp. in the second quarter to become the world’s third-largest supplier of NAND flash by shipment volume. YMTC accounted for 14% of global NAND shipments in the quarter, according to Counterpoint Research data released on Wednesday. Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. remained the market leader with a 25% share, followed by SK Hynix Inc. at 22%. Kioxia slipped to fourth place and Micron Technology Inc. ranked fifth. YMTC’s shipments rose 22% from a year earlier and 5% from the prior quarter, supported by greater supply to domestic original equipment manufacturers as overseas rivals faced capacity constraints.
