H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (31 December 2018) – Artificial Intelligence Is Coming to Disrupt Customer Service – and Sooner Than You Think + Paulo Coelho 30 SEC READ: Success

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (31 December 2018) – Artificial Intelligence Is Coming to Disrupt Customer Service – and Sooner Than You Think + Paulo Coelho 30 SEC READ: Success

Companies

• KGI’s top picks among suppliers of automotive semiconductors, parts for electric vehicle and advanced driver-assistance systems include Cub Elecparts Inc (為升), which makes electric switches and sensors for automobiles (Taipei Times)

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

• Tencent left out as China approves the release of 80 new video games (Techcrunch)

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

• Amazon, to Win in Booming Rural India, Reinvents Itself; The retailer is targeting hundreds of millions of new online shoppers in India’s countryside by adding Hindi and videos to its order screen and opening stores to help people shop; local deliverymen take cash (WSJ)
• Popular apps share data with Facebook without user consent; Developers say social network’s default option puts them in breach of EU regulations (FT)

Asia Tech & Innovation Trends

• Digital tech tops list of Asian hits in 2018; Video streaming, e-sports and other lifestyle among Asian in-things (Nikkei)
• 2019 China tech look ahead: trade war likely to cast a shadow as AI, e-commerce, smartphone progress continues (SCMP)
• China’s Rival to GPS Technology Is Looking to Go Global (Bloomberg)
• NTT DoCoMo secures 40% stake in Japanese restaurant reservation platform Toreta (Bridge)
• Live streaming shopping trending up in Malaysia (Star)
• Indonesia is playing catch-up with its regional rivals when it comes to cashless payments; But there are rich rewards on offer for companies that unlock its potential (SCMP)

Global Tech & Innovation Trends

• Artificial Intelligence Is Coming to Disrupt Customer Service – and Sooner Than You Think (Barron’s)
• AI Innovators: A Researcher Finds A Lifetime Of Lessons Discovering Radiology (Forbes)
• Bypass Long Lines At The Supermarket With This Self-Checkout App (Forbes)
• French start-up offers ‘dark Web’ compass, but it is not for everyone; Not wanting the tool to fall into wrong hands, Aleph has refused 30-40 per cent of licensing requests (BT)
• Working More Magic at Disney (Barron’s)
• “Delivery Hell” Goes Mainstream As Auto Dealers Embrace Online Car Ordering And Home Delivery (ZH)

Life

• Paulo Coelho 30 SEC READ: Success (Paulo Coelho)
• The Best of Farnam Street 2018 (FS)

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (29 December 2018) – AI Competition Is the New Space Race + Stoicism: Finding the courage to live a better life

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (29 December 2018) – AI Competition Is the New Space Race + Stoicism: Finding the courage to live a better life

Companies

• Bandai Namco is Looking Into Launching Their Own Esports System (BC)
• Alibaba’s Ele.me teams up with Bilibili to target China’s indoorsy crowd (Technode)
• Conservative attitude weakens MediaTek presence in high-end mobile chip market (Digitimes)

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

• Chinese payment platform Alipay will launch facial recognition payment services at 300 bakeries in Beijing, showing traditional retailers’ resolve in adopting new technologies. (Technode)

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

• Smart speakers hit critical mass in 2018, with around 41 percent of U.S. consumers now owning a voice-activated speaker, up from 21.5 percent in 2017. Amazon has a 66% share to Google’s 29%. HomePod had 5% (Techcrunch)

Asia Tech & Innovation Trends

• ByteDance will take over B in China’s BAT (Reuters)
• E-scooter sharing start-ups ‘not sustainable’, says scooter maker; Tony Ho of Segway-Ninebot says takeovers by bigger rivals are necessary (FT)
• Chinese children are driving wearable tech in China (Technode)
• Beijing is speeding up the adoption of facial recognition-enabled smart locks in its public housing programmes as part of efforts to clamp down on tenancy abuse, such as illegal subletting (SCMP)
• China e-commerce tax cut to boost imports of diapers and cameras (Nikkei)
• ‘No market can keep us away’: Huawei defiant amid ‘malicious’ backlash (Age)
• FamilyMart joins chase for Japan’s cashless purses; Japan’s convenience chains gear up to battle internet giants Alibaba and Apple (Nikkei)
• Hyundai introduces smart self-parking tech (Investor)
• Video technology company Atomos that makes video camera add-ons for the increasing number of social media influencers has begun trading on the ASX. (AFR)
• New India Tech Rules Could Face Pushback from U.S. Firms; Data-storage changes and proposals affecting foreign players raise issues for Google, Facebook and others (WSJ)
• A look at India’s newly minted unicorns (ET)

Global Tech & Innovation Trends

• AI Competition Is the New Space Race (Bloomberg)
• The year social networks were no longer social; In praise of private communities (Techcrunch)
• US dating apps woo Indian market; New entrants Bumble, Tinder and Happn have yet to prove their model can work locally (FT)
• Researchers Explore Emerging Memories for AI (EE Times)
• Brain-computer interface: neurozone (FT)
• Dell returns to market with NYSE listing (Reuters)

Life

• Stoicism: Finding the courage to live a better life (Medium)
• Nietzsche and Redemption (Medium)
• Legacy in the Making: Building a Long-Term Brand to Stand Out in a Short-Term World Hardcover – March 30, 2018 (Amazon); Podcast (TFR)
• Patrick Collison – CEO of Stripe (Tim Ferris Podcast #353)
• What Is the Meaning of Life? (TSOL)
• Create Dangerously: Albert Camus on the Artist as a Voice of Resistance and a Liberator of Society (BP)

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (28 December 2018) – Sony Corp., the biggest maker of camera chips used in smartphones, is boosting production of next-generation 3D sensors after getting interest from customers including Apple + 44 Paulo Coelho Quotes On Love, Life, And Friendship

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (28 December 2018) – Sony Corp., the biggest maker of camera chips used in smartphones, is boosting production of next-generation 3D sensors after getting interest from customers including Apple + 44 Paulo Coelho Quotes On Love, Life, And Friendship

Companies

• Shareholder Retreats From Chinese Companies Signal More Gloom; Large shareholders have sold more than $28 billion worth of stock in Chinese companies this year; Margin calls were likely behind stock sales by some shareholders of Hangzhou Hikvision (WSJ)
• Sony Corp., the biggest maker of camera chips used in smartphones, is boosting production of next-generation 3D sensors after getting interest from customers including Apple Inc. (Japan Times)
• Connector and cable assembly maker Sinbon Electronics invested NT$800-900 million (US$25.9-29.2 million) to increase its production capacity in 2018 to meet increased orders, and the capacity expansion will continue in 2019 and 2020 (Digitimes)
• Taiwan-based ASIC vendors expect staggering growth in orders in the next few years, driven by demand from the high performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence (AI) sectors that are set to grow exponentially; dedicated third-party ASIC makers including Global Unichip, Alchip and Faraday Semiconductor have all been busy fulfilling orders from clients in 2018 (Digitimes)
• Tech can help break free of market clutter: Info Edge/Naukri founder (HBL)

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

• Alibaba just gave Chinese youth another reason to never leave their desk; Alibaba and Bilibili call their joint membership “Zhai E Kuai,” a wordplay on “be otaku together.” (Techcrunch)
• Alibaba opens futuristic hotel FlyZoo in Hangzhou (KRA)
• Tencent will become world e-sports champion (Reuters)

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

• Apple Lost $11 Billion Buying Back Its Own Stock In 2018 (ZH)
• Has Google killed the trivia star? Even as search engines find answers in a flash, there is a role for nurturing knowledge (FT)
• How Google Plans To Use AI To Reinvent The $3 Trillion US Healthcare Industry (CBI)
• Nvidia, AMD Gaming-Card Prices Are Tanking, Says Analyst (Barron’s)

Asia Tech & Innovation Trends

• Asia’s tech titans face Nissan-style key-man risk (Reuters)
• China’s alternative to GPS starts global service ahead of schedule; Beijing pushes ahead on ‘Made in China 2025’ with crucial technology (Nikkei)
• A Chill From Beijing Buffets China’s Tech Sector; In recent months, pressure to fall in line with government mandates has intensified (WSJ)
• The Airbnb of China is using facial recognition to check in guests (qz)
• Smartphone manufacturer Oppo develops 10x zoom for smartphone cameras1 min read (Technode)
• Rise of foreign stars in Chinese social media marks the beginning of a new trend (TNW)
• NEC buys Danish IT leader to bolster e-government business; Japanese company taps KMD’s experience in servicing European public sector (Nikkei)
• Moka launches payment aggregator Moka Pay in Indonesia; Indonesian fintech player launches an aggregator app to streamline offline payments. (KRA)
• The journey of Indonesia’s unicorns in 2018 (KRA)

Global Tech & Innovation Trends

• “Everything Is Fake”: Ex-Reddit CEO Confirms Internet Traffic Metrics Are Bullshit; How Much of the Internet Is Fake? Turns Out, a Lot of It, Actually. (ZH)
• Welcome the new AI investment overlords (Reuters)
• The AI Industry Series: Top Healthcare AI Trends To Watch (CBI)
• The deepest problem with deep learning; Some reflections on an accidental Twitterstorm, the future of AI and deep learning, and what happens when you confuse a schoolbus with a snow plow. (Medium)
• 32 new unicorns are romping in Silicon Valley this year (qz)
• The 25 most valuable American startups that died in 2018 (BI)
• Silicon Valley’s venture boom continues despite massive volatility; Familiar warning signs have not stopped money from being ploughed into tech stocks (FT)
• Tech firm Sigfox develops tiny tracker to help fight rhino poaching; Sigfox, known for building networks that link objects to the internet, has developed sensors able to give the exact location of rhinos using the firm’s network over a longer period of time (Reuters)

Life

• 44 Paulo Coelho Quotes On Love, Life, And Friendship (Paulo Coelho)
• “The mistake I think we make in the startup/tech/VC sector is that we look at things like Google/Amazon/Facebook/Twitter, or more recently Uber/Airbnb/Slack, and we think that every business can execute the same playbook.” (AVC)
• Warren Buffett says there are only 2 things you need to do when shares fall: “During such scary periods, you should never forget two things: First, widespread fear is your friend as an investor, because it serves up bargain purchases. Second, personal fear is your enemy. It will also be unwarranted. (AFR)
• Indispensable Growth Frameworks from My Years at Facebook, Twitter and Wealthfront (First Round)

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (27 December 2018) – Toyota Wants to Put a Robot Friend in Every Home + Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (27 December 2018) – Toyota Wants to Put a Robot Friend in Every Home + Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life

Companies

• Xiaomi to expand India stores 10-fold as online sales stagnate; Expansion of physical stores risks hurting price competitiveness (Nikkei)

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

• Tencent-backed homework app jumps to $3B valuation after raising $300M (Techcrunch, KRA)
• Philippine e-payment apps bank on Alibaba and Tencent for growth (Nikkei)

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

• India tightens e-commerce rules, likely to hit Amazon, Flipkart (SCMP); Amazon, Walmart Face Tougher Rules as India Helps Small Traders (Bloomberg)

Asia Tech & Innovation Trends

• Ping An Technology vies for China’s cloud market leadership, taking on Alibaba and Tencent (SCMP)
• Chinese home sharing site Xiaozhu to roll out facial recognition-enabled smart locks in Chengdu pilot scheme (SCMP)
• Toyota Wants to Put a Robot Friend in Every Home (Bloomberg)
• India’s start-ups fear extinction from ‘angel tax’; Government sends notices demanding payments for funds pumped in by individual investors (FT)

Global Tech & Innovation Trends

• AI 100: The Artificial Intelligence Startups Redefining Industries (CBI); 7 Predictions for AI in 2019 (EE Times)
• Salesforce keeps rolling with another banner year in 2018 (Techcrunch)
• Retailers’ Gift-Return Problem Has a High-Tech Solution; Store owners can use big-data tactics to tackle the challenge of managing costly merchandise returns. (Bloomberg)

Life

• Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life Hardcover – April 19, 2011 (Amazon)
• Why Creatives Should Quit Hustling (Ascent)

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (26 December 2018) – 2018 proved that computer vision is the most powerful manifestation of AI

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (26 December 2018) – 2018 proved that computer vision is the most powerful manifestation of AI

Companies

• Pinduoduo imposes stricter rules on merchants to crack down on fake goods (Technode)
• Two million job ads missing? China’s 51job criticizes ‘improper’ research (Reuters)
• How Chip Designer MediaTek Earned A 54% Profit Despite The Global Slump In Smartphones (Forbes)
• East Asia’s reigning chat apps zero in on home turf; Line, Kakao and WeChat look to finance and mobility as US giants dominate abroad (Nikkei)

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

• Tencent Cloud doubles presence in India to consolidate South Asia expansion (Technode)

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

• What We Can Learn From Netflix’s Failed Community Strategy; Netflix’s failed attempt to make friend recommendations a “thing” holds valuable lessons for product leaders (Medium)

Asia Tech & Innovation Trends

• Chinese girl idol group SNH48 creates digital clones built by AI; The four-minute music video, co-produced by Tencent-backed artificial intelligence (AI) start-up ObEN, claims to be the world’s first commercially released song co-starring human singers and their AI 3D avatars (SCMP)
• Bike-sharing firm Ofo’s dramatic fall a warning to China’s tech investors (Reuters)
• It was once on the verge of global success, but this Chinese smartphone maker just went bust (TIA)
• China to speed up creation of new board for technology start-ups at Shanghai Stock Exchange (SCMP)
• Silicon Valley faces four challengers, all in China (Nikkei)
• Chinese short video app Kuaishou launches AR avatar feature (Technode)
• Hong Kong startup Pickupp raises funding from Alibaba, Spark Ventures, Axis Capital (e27)
• Crowdsourced manga translation app wins entertainment firm’s incubator Demo Day (Bridge)
• LetsTransport raises $13.5M to digitize and improve last-mile logistics in India (Techcrunch)

Global Tech & Innovation Trends

• 2018 proved that computer vision is the most powerful manifestation of AI (TNW)
• An Early Player in Artificial Intelligence for Stocks Gets Funding (Barron’s)
• Tracking Stock for VMware Slides Ahead of Dell’s Return to Public Market (WSJ)
• Mindbody which develops software platforms for fitness, yoga and spa businesses, is going private after spending about three years in the public markets. (WSJ)
• Robinhood’s Regulatory Saga (Barron’s)
• A game changer for gaming: 5G will transform industry by giving streaming services a chance to become big competitors (Nikkei)
• What happens when algorithms design a concert hall? The stunning Elbphilharmonie (Wired)
• Evaluating Early Stage Startups — The Three Metrics that Matter (UJ)

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (24 December 2018) – 3 ways AI will improve healthcare in 2019 + How to Free Your Mind from Toxic Behaviors

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (24 December 2018) – 3 ways AI will improve healthcare in 2019 + How to Free Your Mind from Toxic Behaviors

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

• China game licensing to gradually resume from next month; But companies fear tighter censorship and huge approval backlog (FT)

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

• Jeff Bezos starts to resemble Sam Walton (Reuters)

Asia Tech & Innovation Trends

• 2018 China tech review: look back at a year when gaming was whacked, AI moved ahead and technology took centre stage in trade war (SCMP)
• Behind the Myth of China’s Great Technology Grab; The issue of forced transfers is overstated. Carmakers know how to safeguard their most advanced know-how. (Bloomberg)
• China’s state-owned venture capital funds battle to make an impact; Obstacles to raising and deploying cash might indicate $1.8tn hoard is overstated (FT)

Global Tech & Innovation Trends

• Evan Spiegel’s Imperious Style Made Snapchat a Success-Until Users Fled; Snap, once seen as a viable competitor to Facebook, is struggling after the CEO ignored warnings about a redesign that proved unpopular (WSJ)
• On-Demand Warehouse Space Gains Traction in Tight Real-Estate Market; Retailers are turning to ‘pop-up’ warehouses and short-term leases to get more nimble in volatile, uncertain markets (WSJ)
• 3 ways AI will improve healthcare in 2019 (TNW)

Life

• Duolingo CEO’s founder advice: Don’t try to do everything and trust the ranks (Japan Times)
• How to Free Your Mind from Toxic Behaviors (Medium)

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (22 December 2018) – ‘Canada’s Warren Buffett’ Drives His Own Pickup Truck: On the road with billionaire Jim Pattison

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (22 December 2018) – ‘Canada’s Warren Buffett’ Drives His Own Pickup Truck: On the road with billionaire Jim Pattison

Companies

• Line Man, the assistant service under Line Thailand, expects online ordering and delivery to become mainstream by 2023, thanks to urbanisation and the digital lifestyle. (BP)
• Sony’s turnaround will be an activist casting call (Reuters)
• Foxconn plans $9bn China chip project amid trade war (Nikkei)
• Info Edge invests more in ed-tech startup NoPaperForms (VCC)

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

• Baidu Maps tests traffic alarm for emergency services (Technode)

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

• ‘Kill your foster parents’: Amazon’s Alexa talks murder, sex in AI experiment (Reuters); Here’s How Amazon’s Alexa Hooks You (SUP)
• Nvidia’s 54 percent plunge this quarter makes it the biggest loser in S&P 500 (CNBC)

Asia Tech & Innovation Trends

• Chinese bike-sharing startup Ofo went global. Now it may go bust (CNN)
• Short video app Kuaishou doubles down on domestic e-commerce (Technode)
• HNA Group is in discussions to sell Ingram Micro, one of America’s largest distributors of personal computers and other technology products, for $7.5 billion (Nikkei)
• What Will Happen to Chinese Solar Stocks as Beijing’s Support Dims? (Barron’s)
• AI head hunting service “scouty” raised 300 million yen (Techcrunch)
• Japan’s Farmnote, developer of wearables and SaaS for dairy cows, raises $3.5M (Bridge)
• SoftBank’s Vision Fund nearing $1.5 billion investment in SE Asia’s Grab: source (Reuters)
• Woowa Brothers becomes ‘unicorn’ after raising US$320m (Investor)
• Indonesian e-wallet OVO sees 75 times transactions growth in 2018 amidst local mobile payment momentum (KRA)
• Singapore’s RedDoorz Is Building A Standard For Business And Domestic Travel Across Southeast Asia (Forbes)
• India’s Biometric Feat: Big Boon or Big Brother? (WSJ)

Global Tech & Innovation Trends

• How apps like Fitbit, Waze, and Duolingo use gamification in their design (TNW)
• Existential education error: Failing to train students on software (Techcrunch)
• California lets self-driving startup Zoox offer autonomous rides (Reuters)
• The Competitive Landscape of AI Startups (HBR)
• Zynga buys Empires & Puzzles gamemaker in largest deal to date (Reuters)
• As FAANG stocks falter, fund managers make bets on survivors (Reuters)
• Twilio Is Up 400% Since Its IPO and That Provides Hope for the Unicorns (Barron’s)
• What’s Next for Silicon Valley? Our VC Roundtable Points the Way (Barron’s)
• Why Investors Should be Wary as the Unicorns Finally Seek IPOs (Barron’s)
• Chat Startup Discord Tops $2 Billion Valuation; The company plans to spend $150 million to move into new areas, including selling videogames online (WSJ)
• Online clothing retailers hunt for better fit to cut costly returns (Reuters)
• Payment Stocks Are Poised for a Sunny 2019 (Bloomberg)
• Delivery Businesses Had A Good 2018. What’s Next? (Bloomberg); Delivery Hero Divests German Business To Dutch Rival As Food Delivery Matures (Crunchbase)
• com Pushes the Limits of SoftBank’s Approach (Bloomberg)
• The Sinclair POCO: Build your own and start gaming (Reuters)
• How Fortnite Triggered an Unwinnable War Between Parents and Their Boys; The last-man-standing videogame has grabbed onto American boyhood, pushing aside other pastimes and hobbies and transforming family dynamics (WSJ)
• SEC Goes After Robo Advisers for the First Time; Wealthfront Advisers and Hedgeable misled customers, agency says; they will pay $250,000 and $80,000, respectively, to settle claims (WSJ)

Life

• ‘Canada’s Warren Buffett’ Drives His Own Pickup Truck: On the road with billionaire Jim Pattison. (Bloomberg)
• The Laws of Human Nature with Robert Greene (Kaufman)
• How to Motivate Yourself to Do Things You Don’t Want to Do (HBR)
• The Value of Everything: Making and Taking in the Global Economy Hardcover – September 11, 2018 (Amazon); Mariana Mazzucato on who creates value (FT)
• New PCAOB rules direct auditors to pay more attention to addressing potential management bias in accounting estimates such as fair-value measurements and goodwill which involve subjective assumptions by managers (WSJ)
• Goodwill Impairments Continue to Climb Despite Strong Economy; U.S. companies slashed $35.1 billion in goodwill from their balance sheets last year, with 2018 on track to exceed those totals (WSJ)

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (21 December 2018) – Koh Young Technology Highlights AI Inspection at IPC APEX EXPO 2019

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (21 December 2018) – Koh Young Technology Highlights AI Inspection at IPC APEX EXPO 2019

Companies

• Mercari subsidiary Sojo ends “mertrip” service in January (Techcrunch)
• Japan’s LINE acquires Thai e-commerce platform Sellsuki and partners with KBank (KRA)
• Bilibili and Taobao partner on e-commerce (Technode)
• Dawn of Tri-Camera Phones May Reverse $15 Billion Sunny Optical Wipeout (Bloomberg)
• Koh Young Technology Highlights AI Inspection at IPC APEX EXPO 2019 (iconnect)

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

• Tencent keeps trying to build hardware, but nobody’s buying (TIA)
• Tencent shares jump after reports of gaming approvals (Reuters)
• SoftBank Leads $385 Million Bet on Fair, a Subscription-Car Startup; The car-subscription service buys used vehicles from dealerships and rents them via an app for a monthly fee (WSJ)
• Recharge: LG and Samsung take heart as China flags more open car battery market (Reuters)
• Taiwanese chip maker TSMC to build the world’s first 3nm chip factory (Technode)

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

• Is It Really Five Stars? How to Spot Fake Amazon Reviews (WSJ); The Amazon ($AMZN) Marketplace is like the lord of the flies for small businesses. (Verge)
• Alexa gets access to Wolfram Alpha’s knowledge engine (Techcrunch); People still aren’t into buying things through their smart speakers (qz); Amazon introduced transfer learning to Alexa; The benefits of the machine learning improvements manifest themselves across all aspects of Alexa and the system has seen a 25 percent reduction in its error rate over the last year (Wired); Amazon error allowed Alexa user to eavesdrop on another home (Reuters)
• Amazon Flexes Its Well-Defined Muscle on Its Own Labels; Its approach is both potentially great for shoppers and an opportunity to grab even more power for itself. (Bloomberg)
• Hey, Apple-Here’s a Pitch for More Data About Your ‘Ecosystem’ (Barron’s)
• Instagram is reshaping the $10B business of interior design (FastCo)
• How NVIDIA Built A Record-Breaking AI Supercomputer In Under 3 Weeks (Forbes)

Asia Tech & Innovation Trends

• How China’s Bike-Sharing Startup Ofo Went From Tech Darling To Near Bankruptcy (Forbes)
• China looks to private capital, open source technology for global tech game advantage (Technode)
• Hujiang: Leading tech innovation in China’s edtech sector (Technode)
• Home-grown digital insurer Bowtie receives Hong Kong’s first virtual insurance licence (SCMP)
• Panasonic and LG give a jolt to China’s EV battery market; Beijing’s loosening rules prompt fresh investment from foreign players (Nikkei)
• Real-time video analytics startup Gorilla raises $15m (TIA)
• Global Investors Scramble for Slices of Food-Delivery Startups in India, Korea (WSJ); Swiggy raises $1 billion as Naspers, Tencent pour more money; Indian online food delivery company is valued at more than $3 billion (Nikkei); Indian food delivery startup Swiggy raises US$1B investment led by Naspers; Swiggy’s latest fundraising round is the single largest in India’s food technology sector to date (e27)
• Mukesh Ambani Warns of ‘Data Colonization’ in Amazon’s Hottest Market (Bloomberg)
• Grab is messing up the world’s largest mapping community’s data in Southeast Asia; Remote teams incorrectly overwrote data developed by volunteer mappers in Thailand (Techcrunch)

Global Tech & Innovation Trends

• Researchers developed an AI robot that can assist with childbirth (TNW)
• The AI boom is happening all over the world, and it’s accelerating quickly (Verge); AI leads list of tech trends to watch in 2019: FleishmanHillard (Edge)
• Neil Young Launches Subscription Streaming Service: The rocker behind hits such as ‘Heart of Gold’ is offering a subscription service for his music at a higher sound quality (WSJ)
• BlackBerry’s bet on connected cars pays off (CNN)
• Why Autodesk Just Spent $1.15 Billion On Two Construction Tech Startups (Forbes)
• Twitter Inc: Falls on short-seller Citron Research’s report (Reuters)
• In the age of Amazon and Alibaba, logistics automation is the key to competing with giants (RG)
• Why billboards and outdoor ads are booming in a smartphone age; Bigger, smarter outdoor ads mean more relevant advertising that makes us look up from our phones (Curbed)
• Zynga Strikes $560 Million Deal for Mobile Gamemaker Small Giant (Bloomberg)

Life

• How To Find Your Calling, According to Psychology (BPS)
• Short-Seller Targets China Stocks ‘Where There Is Nothing Worth Saving’ (Bloomberg)

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (20 December 2018) – Alibaba-backed Ofo’s blowout offers lesson to investors; Ofo has exemplified the Chinese start-up model of growing quickly by raising money and burning through cash

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (20 December 2018) – Alibaba-backed Ofo’s blowout offers lesson to investors; Ofo has exemplified the Chinese start-up model of growing quickly by raising money and burning through cash

Companies

• Dual-listed travel software group Serko buys InterplX in first US acquisition (AFR)
• Retailers face Afterpay hangover, says UBS (AFR)

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

• WeChat Pay launches auto scan-and-pay for parking in China’s shopping malls (SCMP)
• SoftBank Tech Fund Invests $500 Million in Drive Safety Startup (Bloomberg)

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

• Microsoft Partners With Fintech Startup ZestFinance To Bring Transparency To AI-Powered Financial Models (Forbes)

Asia Tech & Innovation Trends

• Ofo’s blowout offers lesson to investors; Bike-sharing start-up expanded rapidly despite not knowing if idea was commercially viable (FT); Chinese bike-sharing start-up Ofo on verge of bankruptcy; Founder says Alibaba-backed Mobike rival is facing ‘immense cash flow pressure’; Ofo has exemplified the Chinese start-up model of growing quickly by raising money and burning through cash (FT); Ofo boss writes to the team: ‘I’m persevering despite the pain and seeming hopelessness’ (TIA); When Technology Dreams Run Into Finance, Ofo Ensues (Bloomberg); Nearly 12 million users are waiting for deposit refunds at China’s Ofo according to bike-sharer’s app (SCMP)
• After the $1.4 Trillion Rout, Asia’s Tech Bulls Get Picky (Bloomberg)
• TikTok parent ByteDance sues Chinese news site that exposed fake news problem; The $75B-valued media company says it is victim of “malicious slander.” (Techcrunch)
• How Taiwan Will Vie With China And Asia To Develop Startups (Forbes)
• An online battle for 900 million hearts and minds: India braces for election (Reuters)
• Grab Is Looking Heavier by the Day. Thanks, Toyota; That huge investment from a carmaker appears to be influencing the company’s business model, which may not suit all shareholders. (Bloomberg)

Global Tech & Innovation Trends

• Year in a Word: Techlash; The reputation of big tech faltered as scandals emerged over the past months with regularity; The growing public animosity towards large Silicon Valley platform technology companies and their Chinese equivalents (FT)
• Pinterest Readies Itself for Early 2019 IPO; Online image-search company could choose bankers for the offering as early as January (WSJ)
• WeWork Keeps Pushing. Now Landlords, Rivals Are Pushing Back (Bloomberg)
• Uber Asks for Chinese Tariff Exclusion as It Cranks Out E-Bikes (Bloomberg)
• The 2018 Stratechery Year in Review (Stratechery)
• Dataiku raises $101 million for its collaborative data science platform (Techcrunch)
• Should We Be Worried About Computerized Facial Recognition? The technology could revolutionize policing, medicine, even agriculture—but its applications can easily be weaponized. (New Yorker)
• Tinder and Bumble Are Hungry for Your Love; The big online dating rebrand means the apps want you to fall in love with them now. (NYT)
• The Coming Commodification of Life at Home: As internet-connected devices and appliances accumulate, one academic foresees “the monetization of every move you make.” (Atlantic)
• Technology IPOs May Face Delays, Lower Values After Stock Rout (Bloomberg)

Life

• The Eternal Return: Nietzsche’s Brilliant Thought Experiment Illustrating the Key to Existential Contentment; “Owning up: to recollect, to regret, to be responsible, ultimately to forgive and love.” (BP)
• Investing Ideas That Changed My Life (Morgan Housel)

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (19 December 2018) – Altium Launches Altium Designer 19 Enabling Easy, Powerful Design for Complex Projects + Unscaled: How AI and a New Generation of Upstarts Are Creating the Economy of the Future

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (19 December 2018) – Altium Launches Altium Designer 19 Enabling Easy, Powerful Design for Complex Projects + Unscaled: How AI and a New Generation of Upstarts Are Creating the Economy of the Future

Companies

• China’s Ctrip grilled over fake Japan bookings (Nikkei)
• Chinese Apple supplier O-film Tech confirms interest in Japan Display; Negotiations on tie-up with O-film are in ‘early stages’ (Nikkei)
• Mercari calls it quits in Europe as losses mount (Nikkei)
• KakaoPage acquires Indonesian webtoon operator (Investor)
• Lippo internet subsidiaries in legal battle with Indonesian ministry; Unpaid spectrum bills add to problems for cash-strapped conglomerate (Nikkeii)
• Altium Launches Altium Designer 19 Enabling Easy, Powerful Design for Complex Projects (PRweb)

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

• Baidu leads US$87 million investment in Chinese smart lock start-up YunDing (SCMP)
• Baidu restructures to focus on AI and cloud computing (Technode
• Alibaba uses AI to speed up detection of pregnant pigs seven times, boosting efficiency of China’s hog farms (SCMP)
• Masayoshi Son floats part of SoftBank to help pay for his huge tech bets (Economist); SoftBank writedown will cloud Son’s way forward (Reuters); Softbank’s Arm Holdings unveils chip aimed at self-driving car sensors (Reuters)

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

• Google is wading into India’s huge online shopping market (CNN )
• Alexa will be able to tell when your relationship is ending, experts predict (NYP)
• ‘It’s Been a Rout’: Apple’s iPhones Fall Flat in World’s Largest Untapped Market; With global smartphone sales flattening, Apple has looked to India for new growth, with little success so far (WSJ)
• Buy Netflix Stock Because It Can’t Be Stopped, Says Analyst (Barron’s)

Asia Tech & Innovation Trends

• AI start-up Fourth Paradigm, formed by Huawei veterans, becomes China’s latest unicorn (SCMP)
• Why China still needs Silicon Valley (CNN)
• Didi will seize the wheel of a Chinese carmaker (Reuters)
• Honda uses “Game AI to train automatic driving AI” Learning Simulator (Techcrunch)
• How this startup makes health and beauty bookings thrive in Thailand (e27)
• India’s Oyo Hotels Expands Across China And Indonesia While Facing Backlash At Home (Forbes)
• Moglix raises $23M to digitize India’s manufacturing supply chain (Techcrunch)
• India’s Byju’s looks to launch its online learning app in US and UK; Education technology start-up targets users abroad after raising $540m in fresh investment (FT)
• How Nuren Group, Fave, and DahMakan are shaking up the Malaysian digital marketplace ecosystem (e27)
• Indian unicorns will feast on richer pastures (Reuters)

Global Tech & Innovation Trends

• A New Way to Spot the Next Financial Crisis: The tech revolution means better models of the financial system. This will help identify risks, but is no panacea (WSJ)
• This AI Startup Constantly Monitors Kids To Stop The Next School Shooting-And It Just Scored $16 Million Funding (Forbes)
• Laser Vision Upstart Luminar Reveals Self-Driving Tech Alliance With Audi’s AID Unit (Forbes)
• AI For Mobile: New Solutions To Speed Up Performance (Forbes)
• Lift-and-Shift Cloud Strategies Can Be Costly (WSJ)
• Blue Apron Is Now a Penny Stock and It’s a Cautionary Tale for Next Year’s IPO Market (Barron’s); Blue Apron’s 90% Drop Makes It Third Worst U.S. IPO This Decade (Bloomberg)

Life

• Companies Must Disclose Executive Hedging Strategies; SEC approves rule aimed at shedding light on hedges against a company’s poor performance (WSJ)
• Unscaled: How AI and a New Generation of Upstarts Are Creating the Economy of the Future Hardcover – March 27, 2018 (Amazon)
• Will brands without social purpose thrive? (FastCo)
• The Myth of Closure (Krista Tippett)
• 9 Habits of World Class Startups (NFX)

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (18 December 2018) – The Art of Waiting: Reclaiming the Pleasures of Durational Being in an Instant Culture of Ceaseless Doing

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (18 December 2018) – The Art of Waiting: Reclaiming the Pleasures of Durational Being in an Instant Culture of Ceaseless Doing

Companies

• China’s Ctrip says US trade war discouraging tourism; Chief of online travel portal hopes to stem share price fall with domestic market boost (FT)
• Seven-Eleven tries out a store in Tokyo with unmanned payment system (Japan Times)
• Traveloka has bought Indonesian rival Pegipegi, two others for US$66.8m; Recruit Holdings, which recently acquired the jobs and recruitment platform Glassdoor, cited Southeast Asia’s competitive OTA market as the reason behind the sale. (KRA, TIA)

Asia Tech & Innovation Trends

• China’s Billionaire Factory Faces New Risks in Trump Era (Bloomberg)
• Angry customers of Chinese bike-sharing pioneer Ofo queue up at Beijing office for deposit refund (SCMP)
• No Uber or Airbnb in South Korea: Red tape, risk-aversion hobble start-ups (Reuters)
• Byju’s targets global expansion for its digital education service after raising $540M (Techcrunch); Naspers leads $540 million investment in Indian tech startup (Reuters)
• Cashback app ShopBack taps offline opportunities in Singapore; It’s following a large number of online retailers who have already started growing an offline presence. (KRA)
• Aeon teams with Go-Jek in new Southeast Asian drive; Japanese retailer looks to Indonesian ride-hail startup to go beyond physical stores (Nikkei)
• How the music played in bars and shops is listening to you; QSIC provides the technology to read patrons faces and select music; uses artificial intelligence to “listen” to environments and autonomously adjusts the volume of individual s (Age)

Global Tech & Innovation Trends

• Hate Shopping? New Texting Services Will Simplify Your Life; A new trend-shopping via text-takes off as frequent shoppers bemoan the complexity of ‘traditional’ e-commerce (WSJ)
• UK augmented reality start-up Blippar collapses into administration (FT)

Life

• The greater your own internal fire is, the more people will want it. They will ignite their own fires. They will try to light up their own dark caves. The universe will bend to you.”
• The Art of Waiting: Reclaiming the Pleasures of Durational Being in an Instant Culture of Ceaseless Doing (BP)
• Is corporate governance in Singapore on a downward trajectory? (BT)

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (17 December 2018) – Tencent’s IPO parade creates looser ties for growth and funding + Meet ‘Millie’ the Avatar. She’d Like to Sell You a Pair of Sunglasses

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (17 December 2018) – Tencent’s IPO parade creates looser ties for growth and funding + Meet ‘Millie’ the Avatar. She’d Like to Sell You a Pair of Sunglasses

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

• Tencent’s IPO parade creates looser ties for growth and funding (Nikkei)
• SoftBank’s credibility problem: The group’s shares trade at a discount but an IPO of its mobile unit could change attitudes (FT)
• No Respite Seen for Korean Chip Giants as Analysts Slash Targets (Bloomberg)

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

• Amazon Targets Unprofitable Items, With a Sharper Focus on the Bottom Line; Online giant pushes for changes in product packaging, quantities to improve earnings (WSJ)

Asia Tech & Innovation Trends

• China’s $856 Billion Startup Juggernaut Is Getting Stuck; Government-backed venture capital funds don’t know what to do with all their cash. (Bloomberg)
• Japanese electronics firms look to re-engineer their design mojo (Reuters)
• Traveloka reportedly has acquired rival OTAs PegiPegi, Mytour, TravelBook (e27)
• Indian Food-Tech Zomato Makes A Bid to Transform Itself Into a Farm-to-Fork Company (Forbes)

Global Tech & Innovation Trends

• Just Eat comes under attack from activist investor; Cat Rock says ‘unambitious targets and flawed incentive schemes’ have hurt delivery business (FT)
• Tech startups can save healthcare billions by getting patients to their medical appointments (NYT)
• Asian investors hungry for Europe tech startups, equity expert says; Chinese tech giants and SoftBank look to continent as valuations soar elsewhere (Nikkei)
• How sales innovation helped tech unicorn Darktrace crack Asia (MT)
• Germany Tightens Foreign Acquisition Rules Amid China’s Push for Technology Deals (WSJ)
• Meet ‘Millie’ the Avatar. She’d Like to Sell You a Pair of Sunglasses; Canadian startup Twenty Billion Neurons developed the AI-powered sales assistant and is discussing trials with retailers. (Bloomberg)
• Uber Aims to Shed Troubled Past in Pre-IPO Peace-Making Bonanza (Bloomberg)
• Intel, TPG in early talks to sell McAfee to Thoma Bravo – source (Reuters)

Life

• Inner Peace Is a Booming Business; Voices calling you to ‘find your escape’ are likely seeking a buck like everyone else. (WSJ)
• Government agrees to pay HK$300 million for Hong Kong’s biggest audit reform in a decade; The cash will enable the Financial Reporting Council to triple its staff, who will keep an eye on the auditors of 2,000 listed companies in HK (SCMP)

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (15 December 2018) – Hermann Hesse on Hope, the Difficult Art of Taking Responsibility, and the Wisdom of the Inner Voice; 16 Ways to Measure Network Effects

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (15 December 2018) – Hermann Hesse on Hope, the Difficult Art of Taking Responsibility, and the Wisdom of the Inner Voice; 16 Ways to Measure Network Effects

Companies

• Line adds ‘white-hat’ hackers with South Korean acquisition (Nikkei)
• Amazon Japan and Mercari join Japan’s top business lobby Keidanren; Rakuten Inc. had become a member of Keidanren in 2004 but it withdrew in 2011, citing a difference in direction and philosophy. (Japan Times)
• Meitu piggybacks on Zepeto’s success with AI-powered cartoon feature (Technode)
• NetEase to invest RMB 100 million in remote learning (Technode)
• Dorigo Systems Utilizes Koh Young’s Data-Driven, Full 3D Inspection System; 3D AOI system uses data-driven analytics to overcome production challenges, and enables smart manufacturing for Dorigo Systems’ high-speed lines, vastly improving board inspection. (iconnect)
• Asustek shakeup: Q&A with company chairman Jonney Shih and president Jerry Shen (Digitimes)
• Poor iPhone sales deal harsh blow to Apple suppliers in Korea (PN)

BATTS – Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent, TSMC, Samsung

• Baidu to invest RMB 1 billion in mini-program development (Technode)
• WeChat creator Allan Zhang quoted Jeff Bezos to warn product managers to choose be kind than clever (KRA)
• SoftBank: A disruptive force on the defensive; New headwinds swirl around mobile unit ahead of $23bn initial public offering (Nikkei)

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

• Facebook could face billion dollar fine for data breaches (CNN)
• Google’s New AI Is a Master of Games, but How Does It Compare to the Human Mind? (SSM)
• Nvidia’s limited China connections (Techcrunch)

Asia Tech & Innovation Trends

• Huawei ban casts shadow over $100bn economic sphere; Chinese giant’s vast supply chain spans US, Japan and South Korea (Nikkei)
• China’s social credit poses rising risk to CEOs (Reuters)
• Go-Jek drives into Thailand with beta app GET, aiming at ride-hailing and delivery market; After Vietnam, Singapore and Thailand, the Philippines is expected to the next target market for Go-Jek. (KRA)
• Vietnam’s Vingroup targets global markets with smartphones in tech shift (Reuters)

Global Tech & Innovation Trends

• Shopify Plunges as Another Equity Raise Confuses Wall Street (Bloomberg)
• “Netflix for Nonfiction” streams 2,000+ documentaries for $2 per month (TNW)
• How 3D printers are transforming flying (CNN)
• Next Billion-Dollar Startups: How A Serial Social Shopping Entrepreneur Built Poshmark From Used Clothes Into A $625M Retail Empire (Forbes)
• WeWork’s Newest Challenger: A Billion-Dollar High-Rise For Tech Startups-And Facebook (Forbes)
• Niantic Inc., the company behind the popular game Pokémon Go, is looking to catch a $3.9 billion valuation (Bloomberg)
• Trading’s Future Arrives With a Pair of Goofy Virtual Reality Goggles (Barron’s)
• Adobe’s Price of Growth; Cloud software maker’s acquisitions weigh on projected earnings, but effect should be short lived (WSJ)
• Startups Promise the Future But It Doesn’t Always Arrive (Bloomberg)
• Postmates’ quest to build the delivery robot of the future (Wired)
• The attack of the killer fridges has begun (Reuters)

Life

• Hermann Hesse on Hope, the Difficult Art of Taking Responsibility, and the Wisdom of the Inner Voice (BP)
• 16 Ways to Measure Network Effects (a16z)
• XPO Stock Hit by Short Seller’s Report; the Amazon.com rival uses aggressive accounting to hide the poor returns on XPO’s growth-by-acquisition strategy (Barron’s, FW)
• Digital Growth Depends More on Business Models than Technology (HBR)

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (14 December 2018) – Tencent CEO Pony Ma tells staff that ‘responsibility’ was the main lesson learned from a tough year

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (14 December 2018) – Tencent CEO Pony Ma tells staff that ‘responsibility’ was the main lesson learned from a tough year

Companies

• How Line is giving its online communities offline experiences (TIA)
• Japan Display Inc., a struggling supplier of screens for Apple Inc.’s iPhone, needs another cash cow amid sputtering smartphone demand. The company thinks it’s found the answer in sensors. (Bloomberg)
• Chinese gaming giant NetEase sells comics business to rival Bilibili, retains rights to Marvel series (SCMP)
• Meet the coder-turned entrepreneur who introduced Angry Birds and Fruit Ninja to China (SCMP)
• Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi restructures to put more focus on its home market (SCMP)
• Tencent Music Is Better Than Spotify At Making Money, But Growth Uncertainties Still Loom (Forbes)
• Pinduoduo launches program to support Chinese OEMs (Technode)

BATTS – Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent, TSMC, Samsung

• Tencent’s Roster of IPOs Doesn’t Live Up to the Hype (WSJ)
• Tencent CEO Pony Ma tells staff that ‘responsibility’ was the main lesson learned from a tough year (SCMP)
• Alibaba brings face-scan payments to tablet for shopkeepers; New checkout technology lets customers keep phones in pockets (Nikkei)

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

• How PayPal, Facebook Could Create a ‘Match Made in Heaven’ (Barron’s)
• YouTube, under pressure for problem content, takes down 58 million videos in quarter (Reuters)
• Google launches AI health service in Thailand to screen for diabetic eye disease that causes blindness (SCMP)
• Google’s Cloud Unit Won’t Sell a Type of Facial Recognition Tech (Bloomberg)
• On stock prices and Nvidia (Techcrunch)

Asia Tech & Innovation Trends

• Leadership crisis is latest woe for Bullet Messenger operator Smartisan (Technode)
• As the home front cools, Chinese tech looks to Asia (Technode)
• LemonBox, which brings US vitamins to Chinese consumers, raises $2M (Techcrunch)
• Home robotics maker Trifo joins wave of Chinese Silicon Valley start-ups returning home to fulfil AI dreams (SCMP)
• Huawei Is Planning a $2 Billion Cybersecurity Reboot (Bloomberg)
• Grab lands $150M for Yamaha Motor to double down on motorbike on-demand services (Techcrunch)
• The motley YouTube stars; India’s new YouTube celebrities are going well beyond urban audiences, with varied languages and content (Forbes)
• ‘We’re less than 1% done’: $1b startup Canva has designs on China (Age)
• James Packer-backed shopping app Booodl goes into liquidation (Age)

Global Tech & Innovation Trends

• Adobe’s quarterly revenue surges 23 percent (Reuters)
• Paypal is thriving by defying conventional wisdom; The company’s “refounder” boss saved it from conflict and possible irrelevance (Economist)
• German online listings company Scout24 explores €5bn sale; US buyout group Silver Lake expected to be among bidders (FT)
• Postmates Introduces a Robot to Roam Sidewalks Delivering Food; Little rover named Serve aims to lower costs, speed service (Bloomberg)
• Investors Are Obsessed With Handmade Crafts Right Now (Bloomberg)
• The cofounder of Casper wants to make home renovations less hellish (FastCo)
• GE Forms New Software Company in Overhaul of Digital Strategy (Bloomberg)
• Instacart Will Stop Delivering Groceries From Amazon’s Whole Foods (Bloomberg)
• The Making of a Computer-Generated Influencer; ‘Lil Miquela’ tests power of fabricated social-media celebrity, and investor interest in fake characters (WSJ)

Life

• Hong Kong Firm Fined $3M for Accounting Fraud; The SEC says Agria Corp. hid from investors a $17.5 million loss from the sale of its primary operating entity in China. Agria overstated the value of the shares it received from Xue by $17 million and assigned a value of nearly $60 million to the “effectively worthless” land rights (CFO)

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (13 December 2018) – How the world’s most successful founders approach failure; Examine Life Outside the Boundaries of Your Suffering

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (13 December 2018) – How the world’s most successful founders approach failure; Examine Life Outside the Boundaries of Your Suffering

Companies

• Tencent Music aims to get Chinese users to pay; Group makes debut on public market and chief executive eyes the ‘Spotify model’ (FT); The Music’s Stopping for Chinese IPOs Overseas: Tencent’s streaming service may have gained on its U.S. debut, but the signs of impending trouble are unmistakable. (Bloomberg)
• Huawei Freezes Orders From Japan Industrial Robot Supplier Yaskawa After CFO Arrest (Bloomberg)
• ASPEED announces Cupola360 at CES 2019; The Cupola360 is a System-on-Chip (SoC) solution designed from the ground up for 360-degree image processing (Hexus)

BATTS – Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent, TSMC, Samsung

• Huawei Troubles Spell Opportunity for Samsung as 5G Nears (Bloomberg)

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

• Apple Suppliers Are Considering Moving iPhone Output if Tariffs Hit 25% (Bloomberg)
• Apple Tightens Its Belt as Analyst Cites a Decline in Services Growth (Bloomberg)
• Apple’s ‘Netflix for Magazines’ Getting a Chilly Reception (Bloomberg)
• After losing half its value, Nvidia faces reckoning (Techcrunch)

Asia Tech & Innovation Trends

• Quora-like Zhihu rumored to lay off hundreds of employees (Technode)
• Inside Huawei’s Secret HQ, China Is Shaping the Future (Bloomberg); Don’t Worry About a U.S. Component Ban on Huawei; History suggests a deal will be made, with Trump already indicating his willingness to use the case as a bargaining chip in trade talks. (Bloomberg)
• China Considers Delaying High-Tech ‘Made in China 2025’ Plans (Bloomberg)
• Why Southeast Asia’s biggest ride-hailing company is on a mapping spree (qz)
• NinjaCart, a marketing and delivery platform for agricultural produce raised US$35m; New investors, including founder of ZiGeXn Jo Hirao (Livemint)

Global Tech & Innovation Trends

• Salesforce Churns Out $50 Billion Rally as Challenges Mount (Bloomberg)
• Unicorns Leave the Enchanted Forest (Bloomberg)
• The State of Technology at the End of 2018 (Stratechery)
• Mobility tech firm Optibus raises $40 million, Alibaba takes stake (Reuters)
• Intel plans ‘stacked’ circuits in bid to regain its chipmaking lead (Reuters)
• Almost Everyone Involved in Facial Recognition Sees Problems; There are multiple calls for limits on this form of AI, but it will be hard for big tech to turn away business (Bloomberg)
• Silicon Valley VCs Go South to Show They’re Not Out of Touch (Bloomberg)
• Transistors Keep Moore’s Law Alive; An Intel fellow explores the outlook for Moore’s Law in this first in a series of articles, focusing here on changes in logic processes that led us to the present. (EE Times)
• An Intel breakthrough rethinks how chips are made (Wired)
• For Palantir, a partnership with the government is a chance to innovate (BINYC)
• Pinterest’s Push in Visual Search (Wired)
• When venture capital becomes vanity capital (Techcrunch)
• Morgan Stanley Wants Alexa, Siri to Coo Advisors’ Names (Barron’s)

Life

• Examine Life Outside the Boundaries of Your Suffering (TTD)
• How the world’s most successful founders approach failure (Medium)
• Rational vs. Reasonable (Morgan Housel)
• Urgency Could Kill Your Startup (Medium)
• A Small Dark Light: Ursula K. Le Guin on the Legacy of the Tao Te Ching and What It Continues to Teach Us About Personal and Political Power 2,500 Years Later (BP)

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (12 December 2018) – Podcast #465: The Powerful Questions That Will Help You Decide, Create, Connect, and Lead

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (12 December 2018) – Podcast #465: The Powerful Questions That Will Help You Decide, Create, Connect, and Lead

Companies

• China’s Tencent Music raises nearly $1.1 billion in U.S. IPO (Reuters)
• Trend Micro Predicts More Sophisticated Attacks Will Dominate 2019 (BW)
• Line acquires Korean cybersecurity firm GrayHash (TIA)
• Delta Electronics November revenues hit record (Digitimes)
• Trade Me backs Apax Partners’ $2.4b offer (AFR)

BATTS – Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent, TSMC, Samsung

• Kids are pretending to be their grandads to outsmart Tencent’s facial recognition system (TIA); As China’s Regulatory Freeze Drags On, Its Gaming Industry Searches For An Answer (Forbes)
• Alibaba joins funding round for Optibus which is developing technology to help public transport systems in some of the world’s biggest cities (FT)

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

• FAANG Glory Days May Be Over as Headwinds Persist Into Next Year (Bloomberg)
• Facebook, Google, Booking.com are Mark Mahaney’s top picks in 2019 (AFR)
• In Big-Company Standings, $800 Billion Apple Faces New Indignity (Bloomberg)
• Apple HomePod Heads to China, Beating Amazon and Google (Bloomberg)
• How Apple Gamed App Pricing; A Supreme Court antitrust case will decide if Apple is responsible for increased pass-through of costs to customers locked into the App Store (Bloomberg)
• Google has ‘no plans’ to launch censored Chinese search engine, CEO Sundar Pichai says (SCMP)

Asia Tech & Innovation Trends

• Why Huawei smartphones are so popular all over the world – except in the US, where stores don’t sell them (BI)
• China’s Big AI Plan: Do Toys Count, Too? (EE Times)
• Companies unite on autonomous car OS to challenge Google; Toyota, LG and other concerns form foundation to develop open-source system (Nikkei)
• Shoplifting prevention AI contributed to the arrest of suspects, Japan’s startup VAAK developed (Techcrunch)
• Indonesia e-commerce leader Tokopedia raises $1.1B from Alibaba and SoftBank’s Vision Fund; The nine-year-old C2C marketplace is now valued at $7 billion (Techcrunch)
• Grab ties up with Idooh, introduces in-vehicle screens in its cars (FAN)

Global Tech & Innovation Trends

• A closer look on how Dell is coming back to public markets (FT)
• Investors Park $146M In Vroom, An Online Delivery Platform For Used Cars (Crunchbase)
• Stitch Fix tumbles as user growth in holiday quarter underwhelms (FT); Stitch Fix Stock Moves Into Negative Territory for the Year (Barron’s)
• A Post-Earnings Chat With Okta On SaaS And Enterprise Adoption (Crunchbase)
• Airtasker chief executive and founder Tim Fung has refuted suggestions the company is in financial peril after investing heavily on overseas expansion and facing the loss of millions on R&D incentive claims that have been rejected by the tax office (Age)

Life

• Hengan International shares plunge in Hong Kong after short seller brands it ‘worthless’ (SCMP)
• The Differential Impact of TMT Structure on the Performance of Founder and Non-Founder Led Firms (SSRN)
• Do Institutional Investors Play Hide-and-Sell in the IPO Aftermarket? (SSRN)
• Are Investors Aware of Ownership Connections? (SSRN)
• Podcast #465: The Powerful Questions That Will Help You Decide, Create, Connect, and Lead (AOM)

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (11 December 2018) – Exclusive CEO Interview: Satya Nadella Reveals How Microsoft Got Its Groove Back + How to Overcome Your Fear of Failure

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (11 December 2018) – Exclusive CEO Interview: Satya Nadella Reveals How Microsoft Got Its Groove Back + How to Overcome Your Fear of Failure

Companies

• Walmart partners with Rakuten to open its first e-commerce store in Japan (Techcrunch)
• Unsavoury disclosure spoils Meituan Dianping, operator of the country’s biggest food delivery app (Reuters)
• Meet the man who wants to upend China’s fashion industry with an app called Mogujie (SCMP)
• Ctrip accused of faking hotel reservations by Japanese hotel (Technode)
• Pentamaster and Elsoft expect record turnover (Star)

BATTS – Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent, TSMC, Samsung

• A surprising number of countries now accept WeChat Pay or Alipay (TIA)
• Tencent-Backed Auto-Trading Startup Looks to Raise Capital; Chinese platform Chehaoduo eyes sale of shares and $300 million in convertible bonds (WSJ)
• Baidu-backed Haokan Video blocked from WeChat Moments (Technode)

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

• Apple’s Selloff Could Push Berkshire Profits Into the Red (Barron’s)
• Slack/Microsoft: chatterstocks: Slack will have to spend heavily to maintain momentum in the battle of the chat apps; The Slack app is cooler but Microsoft’s chat offering has virtue of being free to Office 365 subscribers (FT)

Asia Tech & Innovation Trends

• Succession is the biggest hurdle for China’s tech giants: Many first-generation companies that once seemed invincible are beset by problems (FT)
• China’s Tech Bonds Are Top Losers in 2018 Amid Trade War (Bloomberg)
• Beyond Huawei, Scientist’s Death Hurts China’s Technology Quest; The loss of renowned physicist Zhang Shoucheng highlights tensions over Chinese venture capital investments in U.S. technology startups. (Bloomberg)
• The Hong Kong online grocery startup that wants to be a super app (TIA)
• Two companies of Plaid and Groove Notes are Japan’s first certification in the Google Cloud SaaS Initiative that supports SaaS companies (Techcrunch)
• Real name gourmet service “Retty” surpassed 40 million monthly users (Techcrunch)
• Pre-IPO deals for all, but beware (Star)
• This App Is Pushing Cambodian Users Into E-Commerce (Forbes)
• Singapore AI-powered SaaS startup nabs $2m from Target Global, others (TIA)
• Ride-Sharing Giant Grab Hopes for Boost After Thailand’s Election (Bloomberg)

Global Tech & Innovation Trends

• Exclusive CEO Interview: Satya Nadella Reveals How Microsoft Got Its Groove Back (Forbes)
• Deep losses leave Big Tech with small earnings multiples (Reuters)
• The IPO Race for Uber and Lyft Isn’t Against Each Other; The urgency is about deteriorating economic and market conditions, not competition. (Bloomberg)
• Dell: the tricky maths of a reverse merger: Five years after quitting Nasdaq the technology group is to return to the public markets after a fierce fight over valuation (FT)
• We’re No Longer in Smartphone Plateau. We’re in the Smartphone Decline. (NYMag)
• Outgrowing Advertising: Multimodal Business Models as a Product Strategy (a16z)
• How VR is helping flyers and dental patients calm down (CNN)
• Parking start-up ParkJockey becomes a $US1 billion unicorn after funding (AFR)
• A Micron Stock Skeptic Cuts Price Target Again (Barron’s)
• Fresh look at forgotten data reveals hidden value: New technologies can unlock the benefits of old information (FT)

Life

• How to Overcome Your Fear of Failure (HBR)
• Happiness and Joy comes from serving others (TTD)
• The weight of a cross (Paulo Coelho)
• Why Small Habits Make a Big Difference (Farnam Street)

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (10 December 2018) – The Mind Traps That Entrepreneurs Must Avoid: How you perceive advice and business models could determine your success or failure.

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (10 December 2018) – The Mind Traps That Entrepreneurs Must Avoid: How you perceive advice and business models could determine your success or failure.

Companies

• Music Giant Backed by Pony Ma Is Poised to Spin New Billionaires (Bloomberg)
• ACE Market-listed Revenue Group Bhd, which has launched Malaysia’s first all-in-one digital payment terminal — also known as smart EDC (electronic data capture) or android terminal — with Public Bank Bhd in November, expects the new terminals to flood the local market in the next three to four years, as the payment market here transitions to the new innovation (Edge)

BATTS – Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent, TSMC, Samsung

• Alibaba takes control of film group in $160 million share purchase (Reuters)
• Alibaba Weighs Joining Megvii’s $500 Million Round, Sources Say (Bloomberg)
• China says rejecting physical cash is illegal amid e-payments popularity (Reuters)
• Tencent-backed fleet manager G7 racks up $320M in funding (Techcrunch)

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

• Amazon’s Cloud Hasn’t Obscured Microsoft; Analysts say new AWS offerings target Microsoft, which has been closing the gap in cloud sales (WSJ)
• Amazon and Microsoft claim AI can read human emotions. Experts say the science is shaky (qz)

Asia Tech & Innovation Trends

• How Huawei used the UK to become a global giant; Chinese company’s focus on 5G development is worrying politicians and intelligence services (FT)
• Online Property Sales Are Booming in China (Bloomberg)
• Payment service Toss becomes Korea’s newest unicorn after raising $80M; Founded by a dentist, the startup wants to change how Koreans bank (Techcrunch)

Global Tech & Innovation Trends

• Investor Frenzy for Scooter Startups Cools; Shared electric-scooter companies Bird and Lime temper their valuation goals as they deal with vandalism and other growing pains (WSJ)
• Can Slack revolutionize Japanese in-house communication: Interview with CEO Stuart Butterfield (Techcrunch)
• How Keith Block rose to join Marc Benioff co-CEO of Salesforce (AFR)
• Applied Materials Stock Is a Cheap Bet on Big Data (Barron’s)
• Netflix and Palo Alto Networks Offer Growth at a Discount (Barron’s)
• How A Growing U.S.-China Rivalry Is Reshaping The Global Tech Landscape (Forbes)
• E-Commerce Companies Get Creative in Quest for ‘Last Mile’ Space; Garages, unused lots come into play as firms seek warehousing closer to customers (WSJ)
• Peak Tech Is a Tale of Evolution and Extinction; If the past is any indication, the long (and permanent) goodbye for fossil fuels has already begun. (Bloomberg)
• Digital Wallet Launched by Dentist Is Valued at $1.2 Billion (Bloomberg)

Life

• The Mind Traps That Entrepreneurs Must Avoid: How you perceive advice and business models could determine your success or failure. (Medium)

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (8 December 2018) – Bandai Namco Establishes Research Institute for Entertainment via AI + How Subscriptions Are Remaking Corporate America

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (8 December 2018) – Bandai Namco Establishes Research Institute for Entertainment via AI + How Subscriptions Are Remaking Corporate America

Companies

• Bandai Namco Establishes Research Institute for Entertainment via AI, Other New Tech (ANN)
• Tencent Music Executive Is Accused of Defrauding Early Investor (Bloomberg)
• Huawei Effect Threatens China’s Spy-Tech Champion Hikvision (WaPo, Nikkei)
• Kakao Bank’s co-CEOs reappointed for another term (Investor)
• HCL Drops Most in Seven Weeks on $1.8 Billion IBM-Asset Buy (Bloomberg)

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

• Amazon is crowdsourcing Alexa’s answers to tough questions (Techcrunch)
• Arms Merchant for Anti-Amazon Sellers; Nearly 80% of the top 500 internet retailers use PayPal Checkout, seven times Amazon Pay, its closest competitor, at 11% (Barron’s)
• The Promising Business That Could Pull Apple Out of its Tailspin (Barron’s)

Asia Tech & Innovation Trends

• The People’s Republic of Desire: Inside China’s lucrative livestreaming craze (Technode)
• ‘Huawei freeze’ chills global supply chain; Tight web of partnerships makes Chinese equipment tough to replace (Nikkei)
• TikTok parent ByteDance said to raise $1.45 billion for AI and content (Techcrunch)
• Grab invests $100M into India’s OYO to expand its budget hotel service in Southeast Asia (Techcrunch)
• Snapshot of Tokopedia’s company structure and major shareholders; SoftBank affiliated funds and Alibaba’s Taobao are the biggest backers behind Tokopedia. (KRA)

Global Tech & Innovation Trends

• How Subscriptions Are Remaking Corporate America (Barron’s)
• Slack is a runaway success in the US. But can the ’email killer’ translate worldwide? (CNN); Slack hires Goldman Sachs as it eyes IPO next year; Workplace messaging app looks to go public after raising nearly $1.3bn privately; Slack was valued at $7.1bn in its latest fundraising in August (FT)
• I. as Talent Scout: Unorthodox Hires, and Maybe Lower Pay (NYT)
• Online cosmetics retailer Birchbox eyes ‘casual beauty customers’ with Walgreens launch (Reuters)
• DocuSign Stock Surged After It Named a New Female Board Chair (Barron’s)
• Here’s the Innovation Videogame Companies Can’t Afford to Get Wrong (Barron’s)
• Ad Tech’s Impossible Mission; Why ad tech won’t be the internet’s savior in its battle for television dollars. (Medium)

Life

• The Eisenhower Code: Happy to Serve, Reluctant to Lead: Sometimes, the best leaders are those who don’t covet the top job (WSJ)
• Why do so many people fall for financial scams? Fraudsters play on different emotions, from greed to kindness (Economist); Lessons From the Bernie Madoff Fraud, 10 Years Later (Barron’s)
• ‘I was vindicated a long time ago,’ says Iceberg’s Arnaud on Noble probe; Noble disputes regulators’ allegations of improper accounting (BT)
• Attention is not a resource but a way of being alive to the world (Aeon)
• Want to find fulfillment? Stop trying so hard to find it: You won’t find a magic bullet when it comes to being happy. (FastCo)
• When Self-Help Just Makes Your Life Worse: The pitfalls of organizing your days around productivity hacks, scheduled mindfulness, and constant self-improvement (Medium)
• Why Do (So Many) Startups Fail? (Medium)

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (7 December 2018) – Salesforce doubles down on Japan with dedicated $100M fund

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (7 December 2018) – Salesforce doubles down on Japan with dedicated $100M fund

Companies

• Mogu’s long journey: From rejecting Alibaba’s advances to US IPO (Techcrunch)
• Chinese gaming firm iDreamSky stumbles in its Hong Kong debut (Technode)
• Australian cloud service provider eyes China potential with expanded presence in Hong Kong (SCMP)
• IRESS shows 2018 will be ‘record-breaking year’ for protection (CM)
• Info Edge India gains 2% on acquisition of 15.5% stake in Shopkirana (MC)

BATTS – Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent, TSMC, Samsung

• Online used vehicle marketplace Uxin to list cars on Taobao (Technode)
• Alibaba’s Hema criticized by central bank officials for rejecting cash payment (Technode)

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

• Amazon Alexa is beta testing crowdsourced answers; Customers in the invitation-only program can start contributing answers to Alexa today (Verge)
• Alexa just got better at picking music for you; Amazon Music is leaning on Alexa to remember your listening habits and nail down the right playlist. But don’t expect perfection just yet. (FastCo)
• Fed up with Facebook, U.S. fund managers look for alternatives (Reuters)
• Facebook’s top AI scientist says it’s ‘dust’ without artificial intelligence (CNN)
• Google’s self-driving spinoff launches ride-hailing service, with human aboard for now (Japan Times)
• Microsoft Calls for Laws to Prevent Bias in Facial Recognition AI; The company, which sells this software itself, wants human review, greater openness (Bloomberg, WSJ)

Asia Tech & Innovation Trends

• Contacts management firm Sansan nets US$26.43M to drive expansion in Southeast Asia, Japan (e27)
• Salesforce doubles down on Japan with dedicated $100M fund (Techcrunch)
• Asian streaming startup M17, still recovering from a failed IPO, raises another $25M (Techcrunch)
• Japanese Investors Look Towards India As The Land Of Rising Startups (Inc42)

Global Tech & Innovation Trends

• DeepMind in AI breakthrough with smarter version of AlphaGo; AlphaZero plays Go and chess at levels that defeat humans and the best existing programs (FT)
• Business-app automation kingpin Zapier has its eye on consumers; With 3 million users and $50 million in annual revenues, the company is doing well at work. Now it wants to take automation mainstream. (FastCo)
• Retailers Are Testing Facebook-Style Shopper Profiles to Battle Amazon; New software tracks every purchase you’ve made, product you’ve returned, ad you’ve clicked on and item you’ve tossed from your cart. (Bloomberg)
• Qualcomm Redoubles Effort to Enter PC Market With New Chip (Bloomberg, Reuters)
• Ride-hail firm Lyft races to leave Uber behind in IPO chase (Reuters)
• Uber Is Headed for a Crash (NYmag)
• Michael Dell plots his return to the public market; The largest private tech firm has an updated vision for computing’s future (Economist)
• There Is Reason to Like Videogame Stocks, but Competition Is a Major Risk (Barron’s)

Life

• Ultimate Innovation Strategy: The Intersection Between 2 Industry Pain Points (EH)
• Want To Be Happier? How to Take Charge of Your Thoughts (BHCM)
• Noble relisting is off; assets found to be potentially inflated; Investors won’t be trading in New Noble’s shares on an informed basis, say MAS, SGX Regco (BT)

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (6 December 2018) – Salesforce and Google invest in Japan SaaS; US tech companies give market a fresh look as cloud demand grows + Charles Munger: Why Did Ben Graham’s Net Nets Disappear + Anne Lamott on Forgiveness, Self-Forgiveness, and the Relationship Between Brokenness and Joy

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (6 December 2018) – Salesforce and Google invest in Japan SaaS; US tech companies give market a fresh look as cloud demand grows + Charles Munger: Why Did Ben Graham’s Net Nets Disappear + Anne Lamott on Forgiveness, Self-Forgiveness, and the Relationship Between Brokenness and Joy

Companies

• China’s Xiaomi tops Apple and Fitbit in smart tech wearables in Q3, analysts say (SCMP)
• Revenue at Japan’s Rakuten expected to top 1 trillion yen; Online retailer expects to be 1st company founded after 1990 to reach milestone (Nikkei)
• Bandai Namco to establish new ‘cutting-edge’ Central European HQ in France (MCVUK)
• Cookpad and Panasonic aim to create a “new cooking experience” by tagging in the area of food (Techcrunch)
• The development by Hosokawa Micron of its digital twin processing plant was a significant milestone on its digital journey. Find out how it has enabled the company to offer new services to its customers. (CEE)
• Top IoT messaging protocols are laughably insecure, Trend Micro research shows (TNW)
• Japan Display unveils smart bus stop that runs on solar power and can display schedules (Japan Times)
• Toyota launches sensor-based device designed to prevent accidents caused by the misapplication of pedals (Japan Times)
• DeNA launches free cab-hailing service in Tokyo, for those who can stomach noodle ads (Japan Times); DeNA launches free cab-hailing service; Internet company looks to tap shift away from car-ownership (Nikkei)
• Samsung Will Get In-display Fingerprint Scanner For The Galaxy S10 From Two Suppliers; China’s O-film Tech and Taiwan’s General Interface Solutions will be supplying ultrasonic in-display fingerprint scanners for the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S10. (MSP)
• IRESS launches client portal through XPLAN software; IRESS has launched a customisable client portal via its XPLAN software. (Livemint)

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

• Facebook Emails Show Its Real Mission: Making Money and Crushing Competition (NYT)
• Google invests in Japanese AI and machine learning startup ABEJA (Techcrunch)

BATTS – Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent, TSMC, Samsung

• China hangs corruption sword over tech giants (Reuters)
• TSMC tells execs to park the Mercedes and take a Toyota instead; Apple supplier clamps down on costs, anticipating a tougher 2019 (Nikkei)

Asia Tech & Innovation Trends

• Huawei suppliers’ stocks hammered after China smartphone maker’s CFO Sabrina Meng Wanzhou arrested in Canada (SCMP)
• Warren Buffett-Backed Electric Vehicle Maker Plans Battery Unit IPO (Bloomberg)
• Almost Every Electric Scooter in the World Comes From This Chinese Company; Ninebot makes powered unicycles, Segways and other odd-looking artifacts of the transportation future. It didn’t see the scooter boom coming. (Bloomberg)
• Salesforce and Google invest in Japan startups; US tech companies give market a fresh look as cloud demand grows (Nikkei)
• Korean 3D avatar app Zepeto surges to most downloaded in China as millennials seek out new ways to interact (SCMP)
• How Tokopedia uses localisation strategy to reach out to Indonesia’s uniquely diverse society (e27)

Global Tech & Innovation Trends

• Voice Security Company Pindrop Raises $90M To Scale Into Protecting Devices (Crunchbase)
• Russian tech giant Yandex unveils first smartphone to defend position against Google (Japan Times)
• For European chip stocks, business cycle returns with a vengeance (Reuters)

Life

• Charles Munger: Why Did Ben Graham’s Net Nets Disappear (AM)
• Aristotle’s Philosophy of Friendship Still Matters Today; Aristotle argued for the cultivation of virtuous friendships built with intention and based on a mutual appreciation of character and goodness (Medium)
• Against Self-Righteousness: Anne Lamott on Forgiveness, Self-Forgiveness, and the Relationship Between Brokenness and Joy (BP)

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (5 December 2018) – Does cloud computing mean game over for Xbox and PlayStation? Hardware makers must adapt to a world where superfast broadband can stream blockbuster games without the need for a box + The Urgency of Slowing Down

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (5 December 2018) – Does cloud computing mean game over for Xbox and PlayStation? Hardware makers must adapt to a world where superfast broadband can stream blockbuster games without the need for a box + The Urgency of Slowing Down

Companies

• Google Play removes Cheetah Mobile-backed apps for ad fraud (Technode)
• NetEase to cease live-streaming operation (Technode)
• Xero hits 1 million ANZ subscribers as its accounting platform play takes shape (AFR)
• Citadel Group expands government SaaS offerings with Gruden acquisition (CRN)
• IRESS expands the number of integrations available to clients (IC)
• Techbond makes sterling IPO debut, shares up 27% (Star)

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

• Apple Has Been Reduced to (Gasp!) Salesmanship; Those iPhones aren’t going to move themselves off the shelf anymore. (Bloomberg)
• Nvidia AI Project Uses Video for 3D (EE Times)

BATTS – Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent, TSMC, Samsung

• China’s Alibaba Takes On Amazon in European Cloud; Competition shows how Chinese internet firms and Silicon Valley now view Europe as a battleground (WSJ)

Asia Tech & Innovation Trends

• How tightly should China regulate tech innovation without strangling engine for economic growth? (SCMP)
• Now locked in head-on rivalry, the US once helped China kick-start its science and technology ambitions (SCMP)
• Japanese AR sports platform provider Meleap raises $6.6M to cultivate viewership (Bridge)
• Japanese deep learning startup Abeja raises series C extension round from Google (Bridge)
• Aibo put to work at Tokyo hospital to improve the mental health of children (Japan Times)
• JioSaavn becomes India’s answer to Spotify and Apple Music (Techcrunch)
• Helicopter ride app Blade sets sights on India expansion; Routes from Mumbai to Pune and Shirdi included in US app’s first foreign venture (FT)
• Some hope at last for India’s homegrown tech sector; Foreign companies all too often thwart ambitions of younger domestic groups (FT)
• Quantum leap: Sydney startup launches world-first software product (Age)

Global Tech & Innovation Trends

• Big Tech’s Deal Risk Isn’t Over; Large-scale M&A transactions face growing scrutiny; worries shadowed IBM’s talks with Red Hat (WSJ)
• Artificial Intelligence Is Giving Rise to Fake Fingerprints. Here’s Why You Should Be Worried (Fortune)
• Rolls-Royce partners with AI software maker to predict engine performance (Reuters)
• New UPS navigation tool aims to save time and money with each turn (Reuters)
• A $500 Device Helps a Mom and Pop Toy Store Find Shoppers on Google (Bloomberg)
• Catching Up With Zuora On The State Of The Subscription Economy (Crunchbase)
• The robot revolution down on the farm; Investment is booming in autonomous machines to spray, weed and harvest (FT)
• Podcast marketplace Acast raises $35m to fuel expansion; Swedish start-up is home to 3,000 podcasts (FT)
• Does cloud computing mean game over for Xbox and PlayStation? Hardware makers must adapt to a world where superfast broadband can stream blockbuster games without the need for a box (FT)

Life

• The Urgency of Slowing Down (Krista Tippett)

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (4 December 2018) – Here’s Why Hong Kong’s Stock Market Makes Some Investors Nervous: Sudden stock plunges, Nefarious networks, Director diligence, Post-IPO flips, Low liquidity, Repeat rights issues

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (4 December 2018) – Here’s Why Hong Kong’s Stock Market Makes Some Investors Nervous: Sudden stock plunges, Nefarious networks, Director diligence, Post-IPO flips, Low liquidity, Repeat rights issues

Companies

• Tencent Music presses play on $1.2 billion U.S. IPO (Reuters)
• Twitter of China Weibo eyes expansion to overseas ‘Chinese-speaking world’ (SCMP)
• Pinduoduo, the Chinese platform known for fake products now has a clone Pinshaoshao (TIA)
• Personal data from 30 million users of China’s top dating app Momo is reportedly being sold for as little as RMB 200 (around $30). (Technode)
• Qutoutiao: Earn after reading: China news app lures with clickbait and cash (Reuters)
• Cashless service provide Revenue Group Bhd is expected to make inroads into Myanmar early next year. (Star)
• ‘Love-hate relationship’: Retailers hit by the Afterpay effect (Age)

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

• WhatsApp is now betting on Indian primetime television to fight fake news (Qz)
• Apple, Samsung Feel the Sting of Chinese Phone Vendors (Barron’s)
• Apple Will Wait Until at Least 2020 to Release a 5G iPhone (Bloomberg)
• An Amazon revolt could be brewing as the tech giant exerts more control over brands; Some companies are choosing to end their relationship with Amazon rather than cave to the online retailer’s demands. (Recode)
• Alphabet’s DeepMind AI Algorithm Wins Protein-Folding Contest (Bloomberg)

Asia Tech & Innovation Trends

• The impact on investors when Chinese internet companies venture abroad (AFR)
• Focus remains on US, China race for AI supremacy at Fortune tech event as investors eye future winners (SCMP)
• Hong Kong travel site Klook to enter Japan market in 2019 (Nikkei)
• TikTok gives Chinese advertisers a trick to target Gen Z; Seconds-long video app provides a rabid audience of users in teens, 20s (Nikkei)
• The IT rollercoaster in India (Forbes)
• Aussie app store for AI Unleash Live raises $4.75m (AFR)

Global Tech & Innovation Trends

• Paywall for HuffPost? Verizon Hunt for Web Revenue Goes Beyond Ads; Oath media unit at the wireless carrier to focus on e-commerce and paid subscriptions to content (WSJ)
• Sensata Stock Could Pick Up as Auto Exposure Falls (Barron’s)
• Elastic Software Founder Doubles Wealth in 60 Days to Become Billionaire (Bloomberg)
• Would-Be Unicorn Seeks to Undercut Banks With Secure Cloud (Bloomberg)
• The Same Tech Companies Killing Print Ads Are Buying Print Ads (Bloomberg)
• Netflix, Prime, Blue Apron: How subscription businesses are taking over; Everything you purchase-from transportation to entertainment to groceries-will soon come with a monthly plan, says Zuora CEO Tien Tzuo. (FastCo)

Life

• Here’s Why Hong Kong’s Stock Market Makes Some Investors Nervous: Sudden stock plunges, Nefarious networks, Director diligence, Post-IPO flips, Low liquidity, Repeat rights issues (Bloomberg)
• Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba, said that few companies grow bigger and better because many of them only believe in gambling on popular tech and business ideas (Technode)
• Farnam Street: Love, Happiness, and Time (FS)

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (3 December 2018) – ‘Natural language understanding’ poised to transform how we work + Charlie Munger: Character Traits You Should Cultivate

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (3 December 2018) – ‘Natural language understanding’ poised to transform how we work + Charlie Munger: Character Traits You Should Cultivate

Companies

• China’s Weibo eyes global expansion, foreign-language products (AFP)
• How Afterpay and Zip dodged an ASIC bullet (AFR)

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

• Tencent’s WeChat to deploy AI tools in education in push into industrial internet; Move is part of tech giant’s plans to tap on potential of industrial internet (SCMP)

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

• Flipkart, Amazon bleed: E-commerce burns cash, but investments keep pouring in (FE)
• How Facebook Uses ‘WhatsApp Phones’ to Tap Next Emerging Market (Bloomberg)
• Amazon tests cashierless tech for stores with bigger spaces – WSJ (Reuters)

Asia Tech & Innovation Trends

• How China Is Planning to Rank 1.3 Billion People (Bloomberg)
• China ‘Is the Only One in the Race’ to Make Electric Buses, Taxis and Trucks; Chinese makers produced 99% of electric buses deployed globally from 2014 to 2017 (WSJ)
• Aussie app store for AI Unleash Live raises $4.75m (AFR)
• Singapore startup helps offline stores face e-commerce onslaught; Honestbee opens tech-driven outlet, eyes 3 markets in Asia (Nikkei)

Global Tech & Innovation Trends

• ‘Natural language understanding’ poised to transform how we work; Written communication will become a less exclusively human task if machines can extract meaning from text (FT)
• Tech companies tinker under the hood of the automobile industry; As the car becomes a smart device, there will be a shift in what consumers want (FT)
• Targeted online video to be advertising industry’s star performer – Zenith (Reuters)

Life

• Charlie Munger: Character Traits You Should Cultivate; Become a better investor by improving these 13 ways of thinking and behaving (GF)
• Paulo Coelho: 18 Phrases (Paulo Coelho)

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (1 December 2018) – Delta Recognized as a Taiwan Top 20 Global Brand for the 8th Straight Year + Nietzsche’s three steps to a meaningful life: The story of the camel, the lion, and the child

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (1 December 2018) – Delta Recognized as a Taiwan Top 20 Global Brand for the 8th Straight Year + Nietzsche’s three steps to a meaningful life: The story of the camel, the lion, and the child

Companies

• Weibo Continues to Show Twitter the Way; The Chinese social media company has managed both to grow fast and be profitable. China’s slowing economy and its stricter government are becoming bigger problems, however (WSJ)
• Delta Recognized as a Taiwan Top 20 Global Brand for the 8th Straight Year and Primed for the 2018 UN Climate Change Conference (COP24) (OG); EV Motors India launched its first EV charging station – ‘PlugNgo’ in association with DLF, Delta Electronics India and ABB India, getting in line with the Government’s vision for electric mobility nation. (AP, AC)
• Iress and Nasdaq expand access to Canadian securities data (FE)
• Gentrack delivers on guidance; Gentrack shares sink on its Brexit caution (Scoop1, Scoop2)

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

• Chinese titan Tencent plays an aggressive new game: luxury (Technode)
• Alipay and WeChat May Have Grown Too Big to Fail (Caixin)
• Samsung faces $5.8bn loss in sales after tech leak (Nikkei)

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

• Apple Investigated Possible Business Misconduct in Its Supply Chain; Company says it found no evidence of bribery or kickbacks (WSJ)
• Amazon to allow Apple Music on its Echo speakers (Reuters)

Asia Tech & Innovation Trends

• China’s Infervision is helping 280 hospitals worldwide detect cancers from images (Techcrunch)
• China’s mobile apps collect too much data, says consumer body (SCMP)
• Taiwan’s Tech Giants Chase Apple Orders To Survive World Smartphone Slowdown (Forbes)
• UrbanClap, India’s largest home services startup, raises $50M (Techcrunch)
• Tokopedia is becoming a super app in its own right; Following Taobao’s footsteps and growing beyond. (KRA)
• Singapore tests on-demand buses to ease congestion, as Asian cities watch (SCMP)

Global Tech & Innovation Trends

• Silicon Valley’s Backers of New Stock Exchange Seek Approval; LTSE aims to be the only exchange focused around ‘long-term voting,’ which could shield companies that go public on its venue from pressure to hit short-term targets (WSJ)
• Rocket Internet swings into profit thanks to rising revenues at start-ups (FT)
• Your Personal Data Is Being Used by Investors. Here’s the Potential – and the Risks. (Barron’s)

Life

• Nietzsche’s three steps to a meaningful life: The story of the camel, the lion, and the child (Medium)