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)