Tianci materials: at present, solid-state batteries are still in the research and development stage

Chinese Restaurant Brands Going Global: What Keeps Customers Coming Back After the Opening?

How long can the queues outside a brand’s first overseas store last? And how many customers drawn in by the novelty will become regulars? For Chinese restaurant brands expanding internationally, opening a store is only the beginning of the challenge of building a local business and retaining customers.

Ecosia Shifts AI Search Toward Open-Weight Models, Including Chinese LLMs

Ecosia, the Berlin-based search engine, is shifting more of its AI services toward open-weight models, including Alibaba’s Qwen, Z.ai’s GLM and Moonshot AI’s Kimi, through German AI platform Melious. Founder and CEO Christian Kroll told Politico that the change had roughly halved costs while improving quality and performance. The move shows how Chinese-developed models are entering Western products through European hosting and infrastructure.

Unpacking China | Key Chinese Firms to Watch This Week （4/10/2026-10/10/2026）

Amid fast-paced changes that fill the business community with excitement, angst and trepidation, EqualOcean will publish a series of roundup articles to document the major events related to Chinese companies going global every week.

Midea Completes Controlling Acquisition of Italian Medical Imaging Firm Esaote

Midea Group (美的集团) completed its acquisition of a controlling stake in Italian medical imaging company Esaote S.p.A. (百胜医疗) on October 9, the companies said. Esaote will join Midea Healthcare while continuing to operate as an independent business headquartered in Genoa, with research and manufacturing facilities in Italy and the Netherlands.

Manus Parent Butterfly Effect Raises More Than $500 Million After Meta Deal Unwind

Butterfly Effect, the China-founded company behind AI agent Manus, has completed a funding round of more than US$500 million, the company announced on October 8. Boyu Capital and IDG Capital led the round, with existing investors Tencent, HSG and ZhenFund also participating. The company did not disclose its valuation or how it plans to use the proceeds.