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PDD Holdings Faces Revenue Miss Amid China Competition and Global Uncertainty

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PDD Holdings, the parent company of Pinduoduo and Temu, reported lower-than-expected quarterly revenue on Thursday, reflecting weak consumer demand in China despite deep discounts and government efforts to boost spending. The company generated 110.61 billion yuan ($15.3 billion) in revenue for the quarter ending December 31, missing analysts’ estimates of 115.38 billion yuan. However, it exceeded profit expectations with an adjusted earnings per share of 20.15 yuan, aided by higher investment income and favorable currency exchange rates.

Despite aggressive pricing, PDD faces intense domestic competition from Alibaba and JD.com, both of which recently posted better-than-expected earnings. Analysts suggest that Alibaba’s focus on merchant retention and JD.com’s strength in electronics—bolstered by government subsidies—have given them an edge over PDD.

Internationally, PDD’s Temu platform continues to gain traction, attracting budget-conscious shoppers in markets like the U.S. and Europe. However, it faces uncertainty due to potential changes in the U.S. de minimis policy, which currently exempts imported items under $800 from tariffs. A policy shift could impact Temu’s low-cost advantage.

Co-CEO Chen Lei acknowledged the growing challenges posed by competition and regulatory shifts, stating that PDD is exploring new business models and localized supply chain innovations to adapt. Despite these concerns, U.S.-listed shares of PDD rose 2% in early trading.

OpenAI Unveils New Developer Tools Amid Growing Competition from Chinese AI Startups

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OpenAI launched a suite of new tools for developers on Tuesday, designed to help build advanced AI agents using a few key application programming interfaces (APIs). These tools come at a time of increasing competition from emerging Chinese AI startups, which are gaining ground with innovative solutions and low-cost alternatives to industry leaders in the United States.

The new Responses API is a core feature of the update, available to all developers at no additional cost. It replaces the previous Assistants API, which OpenAI plans to phase out by mid-2026. The Responses API offers enhanced capabilities for creating AI agents, which are designed to perform complex, real-world tasks independently of direct human intervention.

This release comes as Chinese AI startups like Monica have gained significant attention. Monica’s autonomous AI agent, Manus, which was launched recently, has been touted as being on par with or even superior to OpenAI’s DeepResearch agent in terms of performance. The company’s Manus AI has attracted praise for its ability to carry out tasks with minimal human involvement, which has generated significant buzz in the AI space.

Additionally, Monica has announced a strategic partnership with the team behind Alibaba’s Qwen AI models, marking another significant move in the growing competition between Chinese startups and established players like OpenAI. This partnership could further accelerate the development and capabilities of AI agents, pushing the industry forward.

As AI technology evolves rapidly, OpenAI’s release of the Responses API underscores its ongoing effort to stay ahead in the competitive landscape, offering developers more powerful tools to create innovative AI solutions. However, as Chinese startups continue to make strides, the battle for dominance in the AI space is heating up.

China’s Manus AI Forms Strategic Partnership with Alibaba’s Qwen Team

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On Tuesday, Manus AI announced a strategic partnership with the team behind Alibaba’s Qwen AI models, a move aimed at strengthening the artificial intelligence start-up’s goal of deploying the world’s first general AI agent. Unlike traditional chatbots, which respond to user inputs, an AI agent can operate autonomously, executing tasks with minimal human intervention.

Manus AI, which officially launched last week, claimed that its performance surpasses that of OpenAI’s DeepResearch, a popular AI agent. The launch garnered significant attention on Chinese social media, with many comparing Manus AI to DeepSeek, a product by the Hangzhou-based creators of DeepSeek, which surprised Silicon Valley with a cost-effective AI chatbot that rivaled OpenAI’s best.

The partnership with Qwen could create further disruption in the AI industry, which is still reeling from DeepSeek’s emergence. Manus AI, which is part of Beijing Butterfly Effect Technology Ltd Co with offices in Beijing and Wuhan, has been promoting its product by completing various tasks for users for free on the social media platform X. However, the AI agent remains available by invitation only, and the company has admitted that its website is facing technical difficulties due to increased traffic.

The collaboration with Alibaba’s Qwen team is expected to help Manus AI handle the traffic surge and expand its user base. Meanwhile, Alibaba aims to enhance its competitiveness against rivals such as DeepSeek. The two companies plan to integrate Manus AI’s functions with Qwen’s open-source models and AI platforms in China, as announced on Weibo.

A spokesperson for Alibaba confirmed the partnership and expressed enthusiasm about collaborating with more global AI innovators. The Qwen team had previously responded to DeepSeek’s global success by releasing a model they claimed surpassed DeepSeek-V3, further intensifying the competition in the AI space.