AI Is Reshaping China’s Micro-Drama Industry for U.S. Audiences
Chinese companies are using AI-generated micro-dramas to expand a fast-moving form of mobile entertainment into the United States market, according to Caixin Global.
DAILY BRIEF · 10 STORIES
The August 14, 2026 brief
Kiwimoore Targets a Hong Kong IPO for AI Network Infrastructure
Shanghai chip designer Kiwimoore has confidentially filed for a Hong Kong initial public offering at a targeted valuation of about US$2 billion, according to two people familiar with the matter cited by Reuters reporting.
Tencent Backs Lovable’s Global AI Software Bet
Tencent has joined a US$400 million funding round for Lovable, a Stockholm-based AI software-creation platform, giving one of China’s largest internet companies a new stake in the global market for tools that help non-specialists build applications.
Beijing’s AGI Bar Turns DeepSeek Access Into a Social Space
A new bar in Beijing’s Zhongguancun district is treating access to an AI model as part of its hospitality offering. The AGI Bar lets customers connect through its Wi-Fi and access or configure DeepSeek V4 Flash, which the venue runs on two Nvidia supercomputers, according to the South China Morning Post.
Microsoft Pulls Back in China While AI Keeps a Door Open
Microsoft’s China strategy is increasingly defined by two movements in opposite directions. The company has shut at least 15 branch offices and joint ventures in China over the past five years, according to corporate filings reviewed by Reuters reporting.
China’s New IP Plan Elevates Artificial Intelligence Protection
China has placed artificial intelligence inside its new national intellectual-property blueprint for the rest of the decade. The 15th Five-Year Plan for intellectual property protection and utilization, issued by the State Council, identifies a two-way empowerment project between IP and AI among its 12 special projects.
Tencent Details WeLM’s Hidden Decoding Route to Larger AI Models
Tencent’s WeChat AI team has published a detailed account of a model-scaling technique it calls Hidden Decoding, using it to build two large mixture-of-experts models: WeLM-HD4-80B and WeLM-HD4-617B. The work is not a consumer product launch.
Westlake Robotics Raises Series A for Humanoid AI Models
Westlake Robotics has raised a nearly 100 million yuan Series A to develop a unified, whole-body large model for humanoid robots, adding a new university-derived contender to China’s fast-growing embodied AI sector.
China Activates a 100,000-Card Domestic AI Super Cluster
China has put a domestically built 100,000-card artificial intelligence super-cluster into operation at the Zhengzhou node of its national supercomputing network. CGTN, citing the National Development and Reform Commission, described it as the country’s first homegrown cluster at that scale and said it combines scientific computing with intelligent computing.
SMIC’s AI Chip Demand Lifts Profit as Capacity Tightens
China’s largest contract chipmaker has delivered a second-quarter result that puts the commercial effects of AI demand in unusually clear view. Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp., better known as SMIC, reported attributable profit of US$479.2 million, more than triple its year-earlier result. Revenue rose 36 percent to more than US$3 billion.