H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (21 September 2018) – Daifuku introduces advanced airport facility + Podcast: Rocky Marciano’s Fight for Perfection in a Crooked World

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (21 September 2018) – Daifuku introduces advanced airport facility + Podcast: Rocky Marciano’s Fight for Perfection in a Crooked World

Companies

• Daifuku introduces advanced airport facility (Yahoo)
• Japan clothing magnate Maezawa chases spot in business firmament (Reuters)
• Low-end e-commerce platform Pinduoduo enters high-end grocery delivery (Technode)
• Wang Xing, founder of Meituan Dianping, has seen his net worth surge to $5.3 billion after the initial public offering of the food delivery giant (Bloomberg); Meituan IPO shows how to tempt investor appetites (Reuters); Wang Xing: the graduate school dropout behind China’s Meituan Dianping meal-delivery empire (SCMP)
• Getac announces the K120 fully rugged tablet for public safety agencies (Digitimes)
• PCB firm Zhen Ding subsidiary starts trading on SZSE (Digitimes)
• Diode firm Eris puts increased focus on protection components (Digitimes)

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

• Alibaba’s AI Unit To Launch Hospitality Robots In October (CMN)

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

• Amazon’s New Promise Is ‘Alexa Everywhere’ (Barron’s); Amazon’s New Microwave: ‘Alexa, Please Defrost My Chicken’; New offerings include Alexa-enabled chip that manufacturers can install to control basic appliances (WSJ); Amazon Unveils New Devices to Power Smart Home With Your Voice (Bloomberg); Amazon adds Echo devices for home and car in bid to dominate voice gadgets (Reuters)
• Apple and Amazon at a Trillion $: Looking Back and Looking Forward! (Damodaran)
• Amazon Prime Video’s India mantra: “Variety is what sticks with viewers” (qz)
• How Amazon plans to battle Walmart in India (CNN)
• The Prime Effect: How Amazon’s Two-Day Shipping Is Disrupting Retail; The quest to offer fast, free delivery has triggered an arms race among the largest retailers (WSJ)
• Amazon Investment in India Ties Into Retail Chain; Deal could give the online retailer a claim to the more than 500 stores of Aditya Birla Retail (WSJ)
• Amazon’s Delivery Drones May Not Hurt UPS and FedEx After All (Barron’s)
• Amazon Could Spend $3 Billion on ‘Go’ Stores, Analyst Says (Bloomberg)
• Instagram is the most harmful social network for your mental health; Only YouTube had a net-positive effect among the respondents (qz)
• Apple Watch Should Pave Way for More Medical Gadgets, FDA Says (Bloomberg)
• Alphabet Backs GitLab’s Quest to Surpass Microsoft’s GitHub (Bloomberg)

Asia Tech & Innovation Trends

• China’s Cross-Border E-Commerce Payment Platform PingPong Raises $102M Series C Round (CMN)
• President and CTO of internet data analysis company iResearch “disappear” for investigation about fabricating market data, especially in TV ratings. (Technode)
• A peek into China’s fast-changing mobile marketing scene (Technode)
• Twitch confirms it’s been blocked in China (TNW)
• Is Chinese E-Commerce Moving Down Market? (Forbes)
• China’s rising memory chip leader won’t try to ‘crash the market’; State-backed Yangtze Memory at vanguard of Made in China 2025 says ‘We are no copycat’ (Nikkei)
• Japanese e-payment startup Origami adds UnionPay as investor (Nikkei)
• Market Kurly operator secures W67b investment (Investor)
• Buffett’s Indian pick Paytm aims to build financial-services empire; Digital payments startup looks to profit by bringing small shopkeepers online (Nikkei)

Global Tech & Innovation Trends

• Today’s Hot Eventbrite IPO Is a Bet on the ‘Experience Economy’ (Barron’s); Eventbrite Surges in Market Debut; Gain gives ticketing and event-services company a valuation near $3.4 billion on fully diluted basis (WSJ)
• Square is considering offering investment and savings products through its Cash App (Recode)
• Smart Showers, Brainy Tubs: The Rise of the High-Tech Bathroom (WSJ)
• Online Luxury Goods Hub Farfetch’s IPO Raises $885 Million (Bloomberg)
• Medtronic Agrees to Buy Mazor Robotics in $1.6 Billion Deal (Bloomberg)
• At This High-Tech Farm, the Boss Is an AI-Powered Algorithm; Bowery Farming says its proprietary software can top the intuition of a seasoned farmer. (Bloomberg)
• Chip Stock Anxieties Revived After Micron Sales View Falls Short (Bloomberg)
• This Is the Weirdest Driverless Vehicle You’ve Ever Seen (Bloomberg)
• Yelp Soars to Three-Year High as Wall Street Warms Up to Brand (Bloomberg)
• Uber in talks to buy food delivery firm Deliveroo: Bloomberg (Reuters)
• Robocall infestation demands robot solution (Reuters)
• Adobe to buy marketing software firm Marketo for $4.75 billion (Reuters)
• Silicon Valley Waits as China’s Unicorns Race to Public Markets (Bloomberg)

Life

• Podcast #442: Rocky Marciano’s Fight for Perfection in a Crooked World (AOM)
• The decline and fall of Chinese Buddhism: how modern politics and fast money corrupted an ancient religion (SCMP)