H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (20 November 2018) – The New Quartz App: Uzabase’s Bet on the Future of News on Social Media + Bill Gates: If you want to understand the tech world, watch ‘Silicon Valley’

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (20 November 2018) – The New Quartz App: Uzabase’s Bet on the Future of News on Social Media + Bill Gates: If you want to understand the tech world, watch ‘Silicon Valley’

Companies

• The New Quartz App: Uzabase’s Bet on the Future of News on Social Media (TGNR)
• Meituan co-founder raises $30m for his community group buying platform SongShuPinPin (KRA)
• Xiaomi Embraces a Smartphone Future With Meitu Deal; A savvy licensing arrangement with a struggling competitor affirms the Chinese tech company’s true identity. (Bloomberg)
• Better Buy: Momo Inc. vs. Huya; Which Chinese live-streaming platform has more staying power? (MF)
• China’s JD.com feels pressure as sales of big ticket items slow (Reuters)
• Airtac to see profit decline as trade war weighs sales (Taipei Times)
• Serko CEO says business travel safe from digital disruption (AFR)
• TechnologyOne hits nine years of record profits (AFR)
• Nucleus Financial inks new platform system agreement with Bravura Solutions (SM)

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

• Tencent turns to Southeast Asia after Beijing clampdown; Chinese conglomerate signs 5-year sales deal with Singapore’s Garena (Nikkei)
• SoftBank’s Deepcore and accelerator Zeroth team up to hunt early-stage AI opportunities (Techcrunch); SoftBank unveils AI vacuum robot for offices; Whiz seen broadening robotics business beyond Pepper (Nikkei)
• FSC’s order puts brakes on Samsung heir’s succession (KH)
• TSMC to challenge Intel data center dominance with IBM win (Nikkei)

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

• Apple’s Tools Sneak Into Business; Sneaker companies GOAT and Flight Club are relying on Apple services to cope with a surge of employees and customers (WSJ)
• Apple said to cut orders from two China component suppliers by 30% on lukewarm iPhone XR demand (SCMP)

Asia Tech & Innovation Trends

• China alleges ‘massive’ evidence of chipmaker violations: Beijing says probe into Samsung, Micron and SK Hynix has made ‘important progress’ (FT)
• China investors dump once-acquisitive firms on write-down fears; Simei Media Co (002712.SZ), Wanda Film (002739.SZ) and Glodon Software (002410.SZ) – once acquisitive firms with large goodwill assets – were among the biggest losers (Reuters)
• IPO hopefuls forced to slash valuations as Asian listings slump (Nikkei)
• Apart from the low-cost economy rooms that OYO is famous for, it now has a variety of options such as Townhouse (premium-economy), Home (homestays), SilverKey (executive apartments), Oyo Living (long-term housing rental), Capital O (corporate living spaces), Palette Resorts (upper-end leisure resorts) and Weddingz.in (wedding banquets). (Forbes)

Global Tech & Innovation Trends

• com out to secure leadership position in Korea (Investor)
• How A Mysterious Tech Billionaire Created Two Fortunes-And A Global Software Sweatshop (Forbes)
• How Software Is Helping Big Companies Dominate (HBR)
• Tesla hints at seeking new battery suppliers in blow to Panasonic (NIkkei)
• Outlook for Traditional TV Goes From Bad to Worse; Cord-cutters continue to chip away at cable and satellite providers’ dominance of the living room (WSJ)

Life

• Bill Gates: If you want to understand the tech world, watch ‘Silicon Valley’ (MW)
• 5 principles for making better life decisions (Mark Manson)
• Why “Many-Model Thinkers” Make Better Decisions (HBR)
• China’s regulator gets tougher on firms for major law breaches and frauds, sending ‘special treatment’ stocks tumbling (SCMP)