H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (14 August 2018) – Firms create value through purpose — a moral or spiritual call to action

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (14 August 2018) – Firms create value through purpose — a moral or spiritual call to action.

Companies

• Lifull Home’s launches 3D property listings (AIM)
• China Literature Ltd., the e-books business spun off by Tencent Holdings Ltd., tumbled as much as 15% since its IPO after agreeing to buy New Classics Media from its controlling shareholder for as much as 15.5 billion yuan ($2.3 billion). Analysts are skeptical of the New Classics acquisition in part because one Tencent affiliate is buying another one at a price that may benefit the parent company. It’s also not clear the acquisition makes strategic sense for China Literature (Bloomberg)
• Tencent-Backed Chinese EV Maker Seeks $1.8 Billion U.S. IPO (Bloomberg)
• How Story of Yanxi Palace’s back-stabbing imperial concubines helped China’s iQiyi set a viewership record (SCMP)
• Sunny Optical faces cloudy outlook as shares head for biggest fall in 11 years on profit miss and yuan depreciation (SCMP)

• Trouble With COGS Hits Foxconn’s Profit Machine; Many component suppliers are hurting from higher prices. Some are winning. (Bloomberg)

• NCSoft’s Q2 operating profit up 325% to W159.5b (Investor); NCSoft to repurchase W237.5b stocks (Investor)

BATTSS – Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent, TSMC, Softbank, Samsung

• People’s Daily article calls for mobile payments companies to tighten consumer protection measures (SCMP)
• Alibaba: The BABA 20-F….Financial Comedy Gold!! (DT)
• How Tencent used ‘micro-innovation’ to make WeChat a success (TIA)
• Tencent Drops After China Shuts Down PC Game Following Debut (Bloomberg, Reuters, WSJ)

FAANNMG – Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Nvidia, Netflix, Microsoft, Google

• Amazon’s new cloud feature helps businesses avoid traffic crashes (CNN)
• YouTube: how vloggers became the new Oprah Winfreys; Some web stars make millions of dollars, but the stress of creating daily content can take its toll (FT); YouTube Offers Cash If Stars Stump for New Features (Bloomberg)
• Google’s DeepMind To Create Product to Spot Eye Disease; Clinical trial next for DeepMind project with U.K.’s Moorfields Eye Hospital (Bloomberg)
• Nvidia rolls out new chip technology for filmmakers (Reuters)

Asia Tech & Innovation Trends

• How China’s mobile leasing platforms have made renting a home cheaper (SCMP)
• Former Tokyo-based engineer emerges as big winner from China’s love affair with the QR code; Beijing Inspiry Technology Co. is among companies cashing in on the shift to smartphone-based mobile payments in China (SCMP)
• Hospitals in Japan turn to high-tech to treat language barriers; Multilingual AI service among new offerings to help staff deal with foreigners (Nikkei)
• Three Indonesian tech unicorns unite to back digital insurance startup (Techcrunch)
• India Looks to Curb U.S. Tech Giants’ Power; Draft rules call for companies to store local user data in India and make it accessible to government (WSJ)
• India tech companies turn to AI-powered recruitment (Nikkei)
• India’s budget hotel network OYO moves into wedding banquet services (Techcrunch)
• How This Google-Backed Startup Cracked The Code To Hyper Convenience In India (Forbes)
• Azendian Solutions applies data science with human touch to keep employees sane (Edge)

Global Tech & Innovation Trends

• Tech Giants Pledge to Ease Patient, Provider Access to Health Data; Promise seen as opportunity to bring on data-driven revolution in health care (WSJ)
• How Box Conquered the Enterprise and Became a $1.7 Billion Company in a Decade (PH)
• Understanding Truecaller’s Growth Model and how to Launch in New Markets (Medium)
• Roomi Wants to Help You Avoid Rooming With Sketchy Strangers (Bloomberg)
• Silicon Valley’s Unicorn Elite Are Sitting on $60 Billion in Untapped Wealth (Bloomberg)
• How a Billion-Dollar Autonomous Vehicle Startup Lost Its Way; Troubles at lidar company Quanergy point to difficulties in a highly-hyped industry. (Bloomberg)
• AI raises $8M to use artificial intelligence to improve call centers (Techcrunch)
• Jack Dorsey: Twitter Is ‘Thinking About Values’ to Adopt (Barron’s)
• Snapchat’s users slide in latest setback for social media (Australian)
• The Co-Founders of Wish Are Now Billionaires (Bloomberg)
• After Tesla Buyout Tweet, Some Investors Wonder: Where Was Nasdaq? Elon Musk’s ‘financing secured’ buyout tweet last week touched off 80 minutes of frenzied trading before Nasdaq called a halt (WSJ)
• Market’s Too Tough on Microchip (Morningstar)
• Banks and Retailers Are Tracking How You Type, Swipe and Tap (NYT)

Life

• 6 key lessons from Elad Gil’s High Growth Handbook (Reforge)
• 7 of Apple’s Top Execs Tell You How They Approach Feedback at Work (MA)
• What’s the Purpose of Companies in the Age of AI? Firms create value through purpose — a moral or spiritual call to action. (HBR)