☕️ Good morning, friends,

we don’t want to romanticize this. But one thing has to be said: the work ethic of many Chinese workers is pretty unique worldwide.

A 25-year-old delivery driver has been working seven days a week for five years, often 13 hours a day. He runs instead of walking, barely takes breaks, and lives extremely frugally.

The result: around USD 160,000 saved and all debts paid off.

He has our respect. 🫡

And now wishing you a great weekend. Preferably with a lot more breaks than he ever had.

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AI sell-off in the U.S. rattles Asia: Private equity firm Blue Owl’s exit from Oracle’s $10 billion data center project has cast doubt on the sustainability of the AI investment boom, reigniting fears of a bubble.

Japan led the losses: SoftBank slid more than 7% intraday, dragging the Nikkei down ~1.2%. Korea also fell as investors increasingly questioned whether the billions poured into AI infrastructure will pay off anytime soon.

TOP BIT

🤝 TikTok Deal: 170 million Americans can breathe easier

After years of back-and-forth, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew has sealed the seemingly impossible. The company is placing its US business into a new joint venture, meeting Washington’s requirements.

Internally, Shou Zi Chew puts it this way: the new structure is meant to “protect Americans without destroying the product.”

Details

📱 The birth of TikTok USDS: A consortium of Oracle, Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund MGX takes a 50 percent stake, while ByteDance retains just 19.9 percent.

🔐 Oracle as gatekeeper: Oracle becomes the official “Trusted Security Partner.” US data will be stored exclusively in US data centers. Oracle audits software, data flows, and compliance with security requirements.

🧠 Algorithm under US oversight: TikTok’s “secret sauce” will be retrained on US data to rule out any foreign influence. This fulfills a core demand from the US Congress.

🗓️ Deadline with a date: The deal is set to close on January 22. By then, remaining commercial activities such as e-commerce and marketing will be integrated into the new structure.

Background

The deal is a diplomatic balancing act between Washington and Beijing. It preserves US technological sovereignty without forcing ByteDance to give up its intellectual property entirely.

While criticism remains over ByteDance’s roughly 20 percent residual stake, board control and oversight of the code are now firmly in US hands.

📊 All Details & Data: CNBC, SCMP, BBC

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NUMBER OF THE DAY

That’s how much money in crypto assets North Korean hackers are believed to have stolen this year.

🧨 60% of the global haul: A large share comes from the February hack of Bybit, where around USD 1.5 billion was siphoned off. Globally, more than USD 3.4 billion had been stolen by early December.

💸 Fuel for weapons programs: Crypto theft has become a lucrative funding model for Pyongyang. Hackers split the loot into small on-chain transactions that are less likely to be flagged as suspicious.

Watch: Many wallets are looking pretty empty after North Korea’s attacks. Crypto was meant to be independent of politics. Here, it’s helping finance them.

MARKET BIT

🧨 +55,000% without a factory: how a rebrand created India’s hottest AI stock

🎢 Rally without a business: RRP Semiconductor surged more than 55,000% in 20 months, becoming the world’s best-performing stock above $1B market cap, despite barely any operating activity.

👥 Two employees, negative revenue: The company recently reported negative sales, just two full-time employees, and no active semiconductor production.

🔒 Tiny free float, wild moves: Around 98% of shares are held by the founder and close associates. With almost no stock available, small trades triggered massive price jumps.

📢 Narrative beats fundamentals: Social-media hype, India’s chip ambitions, and retail FOMO turned RRP into a proxy for the global AI boom.

🚨 Regulators hit the brakes: India’s market watchdog SEBI is reviewing the rally, and trading has been restricted to once per week.

Background

The company originally operated in real estate and trading. Around two years ago, it changed its name and repositioned itself around semiconductors and AI.

That rebrand was a key trigger for the hype, as the stock was suddenly perceived as an “AI semiconductor play,” even though meaningful chip operations had yet to materialize.

It’s a reminder of how powerful labels and narratives can be in pulling in capital, even when operational substance is still missing.

👉🏻 Full Story: India Today, Yahoo Finance, The Straits Times

STARTUP OF THE WEEK

🍜 Yo-Kai Express

Semiconductor precision for the perfect noodle soup

Andy Lin uses reflow-oven technology from the semiconductor industry to solve the problem of soggy vending-machine food.

His startup Yo-Kai Express cooks ramen in 90 seconds and bubble tea in 45 seconds, using 300 °C hot steam.

• The tech factor: the machines use Qualcomm flagship chips and AI to cook ingredients precisely in layers.

Even Elon Musk tweeted enthusiastically.

SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son invested after just five minutes of taste-testing. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is also among the backers.

Status: more than 260 locations worldwide, NASDAQ IPO planned for late 2025.

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HIGHLIGHTS

🧠 China makes mind-control tech real: Chinese scientists have pushed mind-control tech out of Elon Musk pitch decks and straight into real life. In a breakthrough trial, a fully implanted wireless chip allowed a paralysed man to control multiple robots using only his thoughts. Developed by China’s Centre for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, it’s the first stable, real-world use of thought-driven robotics for someone with a high-level spinal injury.

📈 Foreign investors are going all-in on Japan: Overseas buyers have snapped up nearly ¥6 trillion ($38 billion) in Japanese stocks this year, the hottest inflow since the early days of Abenomics. Two big waves drove the rush, a U.S. tariff shock that had investors hunting diversification, and the election of growth‑minded PM Sanae Takaichi, who’s all about AI, defense, and corporate reform. With the Nikkei up 24 % in dollars, Tokyo is looking irresistible.

🌴 Hainan is leveling up to free trade superstar: The tropical island is taking big steps to rival Singapore and Hong Kong as a global trade hub. New policies are expanding tariff-free coverage for imports to 74 %, making it easier for foreign businesses to trade, invest, and tap into China’s market. The government is also streamlining customs procedures and boosting incentives for high-tech, finance, and tourism sectors.

COUNTRY READS

🇮🇳 India’s WhatsApp tutors are teaching everyday AI skills via chat apps, helping small businesses work smarter for just a few dollars. More on this.

🇰🇷 South Koreans are hunting old air conditioners after a viral discovery revealed some vintage LG logos were made of 24-carat gold. More on this.

🇧🇷 China’s BYD is building a massive factory in Brazil to ramp up electric bus and truck production. More on this.

BITS TO DO

✅ Boost your gut health and make Kimchi, Korean grandma style.
✅ Freeze to death by −20°C and visit Harbin’s Ice and Snow Festival.
✅ Follow a day in a life of a Japanese baker.
✅ Get ready for a movie marathon with 12 new holiday movies to watch.
✅ Turn your travels into mini-movies with CapCut.*

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MORE ASIABITS

• All the latest AI trends from Asia — every Wednesday, exclusively with us.

• Champagne & Chopsticks — your Sunday guide to Asia’s best insider spots.

CAREER BITS

🌏 Xiaomi: E-Commerce Sales Intern, Singapore
🌏 IBM: Business Analyst-2025 graduate, Beijing
🌏 Alibaba: Influencer-Marketing, Seoul
🌏 Ericsson: Future Star-Account Manager, Beijing
🌏 Gap Inc.: Junior Operations Specialist, Tokyo
🌏 Databricks: Business Development Representative, Seoul
🌏 OpenAI: Community Lead, Singapore
🌏 Uber: Account Executive, Taipei
🌏 Sea: Partner Strategy & Operations Associate, Singapore
🌏 Thales: Business Development Representative (Japan), Chiyoda