H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (4 January 2019) – Chinese movie ticketing platform Maoyan Entertainment to go public + The Great Rewilding

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (4 January 2019) – Chinese movie ticketing platform Maoyan Entertainment to go public + The Great Rewilding

Companies

• Chinese movie ticketing platform Maoyan Entertainment to go public as early as January (KRA)
• Baidu, Sohu Get Caught in Latest Chinese Internet Clampdown (Bloomberg)
• Lifull Home’s bolsters inactive listing detection (AIM)
• Sony promises better face identification through depth-sensing lasers (Verge)
• Kakao M acquires 4 firms for competitive edge in video contents (Investor)
• Taiwan based Delta Electronics chooses automotive campus Helmond for expansion of European operations (IO)

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

• Apple’s Troubles Extend Beyond China; Confluence of events raises doubts about iPhone maker’s business strategy (WSJ); Apple Supplier Stocks Take Another Hit as iPhone Sales Weaken in China (Barron’s); Tim Cook Needs Better Ideas Than This for Apple; Encouraging iPhone trade-ins isn’t going to counter the growth trends working against the company. (Bloomberg); Apple Had Five Ways to Fuel Earnings. Only One Still Works; A changing smartphone market calls for new strategies to boost profit. Most of what Apple tried has run out of steam. (Bloomberg); Apple Comes Clean, Leaves Investors Stuck in the Mud; It sure took a long time for a corporate icon to embrace transparency. (Bloomberg); Apple Priced Itself Out of Shrinking Chinese Smartphone Market (Bloomberg); Apple plunge deepens Warren Buffett’s book value woes (Reuters)

Asia Tech & Innovation Trends

• Beijing to accelerate autonomous vehicle production (Technode)
• China Weighs Law to Curb Forced Tech Transfers: People’s Daily (Bloomberg)
• Zomato seeking new funding round with Ant Financial (KRA)
• Indian Auto marketplace CarDekho grabs $110M to double down on insurance and financial services (Techcrunch)
• ‘Extreme affordability’ puts JioPhone atop Nikkei’s superior products list; Souped-up feature phone from India opens up internet to low-income users (Nikkei)
• Carmen Automotive’s predictive tech prevents unexpected vehicle breakdowns; raises US$730K; Its product reads data such as battery life, coolant temperature and fault codes from the vehicle’s engine control unit to prompt owners on its current health (e27)

Global Tech & Innovation Trends

• Stitch Fix’s Success Story Is Underappreciated; The online personalized shopping service has proved its staying power under the leadership of CEO Katrina Lake. (Bloomberg)
• AI Helps Auto-Loan Company Handle Industry’s Trickiest Turn; Prestige Financial Services wanted to boost growth without lowering lending standard (WSJ)
• Who Will Lead In The Age Of Artificial Intelligence? (Forbes)
• Masayoshi Son wants Arm’s blueprints to power all tech; The British company’s pre-eminent position in chip design helps him predict tech’s future (Economist)
• Artificial Intelligence Vs. the Hackers: Machine-learning algorithms watch hackers’ behavior and adapt to their evolving tactics. (Bloomberg)
• Chipmakers keen to roll out NPU-based AI mobile SoCs (Digitimes)
• The biggest tech trends of 2019, according to top experts; Next year’s AI, AR, and 5G tech may set the stage for some massive tectonic shifts in tech and culture. (FastCo)

Life

• The Great Rewilding (Reboot)
• Final Decision Checklist (VIW)
• Why We’re Drawn to Leaders Who Emphasize the Negative (HBR)