H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (30 November 2018) – Why Japan Will Become A SaaS Nation + Ursula K. Le Guin on Suffering and Getting to the Other Side of Pain: “All you have is what you are, and what you give.”

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (30 November 2018) – Why Japan Will Become A SaaS Nation + Ursula K. Le Guin on Suffering and Getting to the Other Side of Pain: “All you have is what you are, and what you give.”

Companies

• Nintendo to ease its draconian rules for YouTubers and livestreamers (TNW)
• Trend Micro Demonstrates Strength of Relationship with Amazon Web Services Through Integrated Technology, Channel and Diversity Programs (Devops)
• Seven-Eleven taps facial recognition for future unstaffed stores; Cashierless shop to take center stage in labor-short Japan (Nikkei)
• Why Xiaomi’s fancy phones aren’t selling (TIA)
• China’s Ctrip to Use Discounts to Lure Travelers as Economy Slows; Company sees opportunity to gain market share with targeted advertising and lower prices (WSJ)
• Meitu accused of improper data collection, again (Technode)
• Samsung supplier indicted in leak of OLED tech to China; Recipient seen to be BOE, a key partner of smartphone rival Huawei (Nikkei); South Korea indicts group for leaking Samsung display tech to Chinese firm BOE Tech (Reuters)
• Taiwanese ASIC manufacturer Aspeed Technology now tackles 360º video processing with a proprietary 360-degree spherical image processor it will showcase at CES implemented in an affordable consumer 360-degree camera. (EE News)
• Start-up partners DLF, Delta Electronics India and ABB India for EV charging network (AC)
• Delta Electronics announces partnership with Codesys (Digitimes)
• Cash-Strapped Millennials Are Turning to Installment Plans to Pay for T-Shirts and Jeans; Finance apps Afterpay and Affirm approve applicants in seconds and say their algorithms minimize default risk. (Bloomberg)
• Gentrack delivers on guidance but warns about customer caution (Sharechat)

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

• South Korea Charges 11 With Selling Samsung Technology to China (Bloomberg)
• Samsung Elec says it will cancel $4.4 billion worth of shares (Reuters)

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

• Apple investors need new revenue metric: Shira Ovide (AFR)
• Apple tunes into terrestrial radio to amplify digital service; Tim Cook hopes industry ties will help iPhone maker catch up with Spotify (FT)
• Microsoft Could Beat Apple as the Most Valuable Company. But the ‘Winner’s Curse’ Looms. (Barron’s); Dinosaur reborn: Microsoft is now worth as much as Apple. How did that happen? (Age)
• New Parents Complain Amazon Baby-Registry Ads Are Deceptive; Unwanted gifts arrive after friends click on promotions tucked into wish lists (WSJ)
• Nvidia share price reflects ups and downs of artificial intelligence; Machine learning is useful but does not replace the human mind (FT)

Asia Tech & Innovation Trends

• Nobel laureate Thomas Sargent: China might have a tech bubble (KRA)
• Chinese tech companies are now keeping detailed records of users’ activity (CNN); In China, Your Tesla or BMW Could Be Talking to the Government (Bloomberg)
• Bytedance fined by Chinese regulator over illegal medical advertisements (SCMP)
• Chinese Takeover of European Tech Assets Set for Greater Scrutiny (Bloomberg)
• China is preparing to end its $176 billion experiment with peer-to-peer lending. (Bloomberg)
• Nanshan District spurs entrepreneurs on path to success (Technode)
• Founder of smartphone brand Gionee on social credit blacklist (Technode)
• Dorabot’s Spencer Deng Is Building A Silicon Valley Startup With Shenzhen Speed To Enable Smart Logistics (CMN)
• Why Japan Will Become A SaaS Nation (Forbes)
• Easyship, a Stripe for global e-commerce shipping, raises $4M (Techcrunch)
• “LegalForce”, in which AI reviews contracts in 1 second, raises 500 million yen; 70 companies introduce in beta version in about three months (Techcrunch)
• Japan’s parking reservation application “akippa” starts a paid membership plan (Techcrunch)
• The Harajuku Store That Won’t Let You Bring Your Clothes Home (Bloomberg)
• This Malaysian startup has 12m users worldwide. Here’s how it runs its 58-strong team (TIA)
• The biggest players in the Thai startup ecosystem (Infographic) (TIA)
• Agtech startup Imago AI is using computer vision to boost crop yields (Techcrunch)
• Rise of Online Shopping Makes Warehouses Hot Property in India (Bloomberg)
• Grab, Go-Jek wage street fight for South East Asia ‘super-app’ supremacy (Reuters, SCMP)

Global Tech & Innovation Trends

• Asana, a work management platform, nabs $50M growth round at a $1.5B valuation (Techcrunch); Consolidation ahead for business software start-ups; Cloud applications such as Asana face struggle to retain their independence (FT)
• DHL Turns to Robots to Equip U.S. Warehouses for E-Commerce (Bloomberg)
• Here’s How One Analyst Sees Two Options in the Digital Home-Services Business (Barron’s)
• UK unicorn Revolut on the way to Asia to challenge local payment apps (TIA)
• Ad buyers sceptical as Snap looks beyond teens for growth (Reuters); Turns out Snapchat wants to be in “poor” India after all (qz)
• Morgan Stanley Adds FAANGs, Cloud Stocks to Annual Growth List (Bloomberg)
• Pentagon looks to exoskeletons to build ‘super-soldiers’ (Reuters)
• The Race for a Better EV Battery (EE Times)
• OK, Computer: How Much Is My House Worth? Proposed regulations would allow the majority of homes to be bought and sold without being appraised by a human (WSJ)

Life

• Ursula K. Le Guin on Suffering and Getting to the Other Side of Pain: “All you have is what you are, and what you give.” (BP)
• 40 Lessons from 40 Years of Apple Ads (Medium)
• Does Hong Kong’s proposed suspension rule give regulators enough teeth to eject errant firms? (SCMP)
• Singapore Needs More Fraud-Busters (Bloomberg)
• Ex-Autonomy CEO Michael Lynch Indicted for Fraud Tied to 2011 HP Deal (Bloomberg)
• SEBI To Nail PMS Fund Managers For Duping Public With Bogus Buy Recommendations (RJ)