H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (8 January 2019) – Amazon is getting more serious about Alexa in the car with Telenav deal

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (8 January 2019) – Amazon is getting more serious about Alexa in the car with Telenav deal

Companies

• iFlytek: The Biggest Voice Assistant and AI Company from China You’ve Never Heard Of (VB); iFLYTEK, Asia’s AI Leader, Unveils iFLYTEK Translator 2.0, iFLYREC Series Voice-to-Text Products, AI Note and iFLYOS at CES 2019 (BW)
• Lenovo: Western Tech Is Ready to Name the Next Red Menace; Huawei isn’t the only Chinese company that’s likely to be labeled a global security threat. (Bloomberg)
• Meituan breaks own record with 2m hotel room nights booked on one day (KRA)
• Trend Micro’s Venture Fund Doubles Award Money of Pitch-off Competition for the Most Innovative Startups at CES 2019 (BW)

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

• China’s Baidu says its answer to Alexa is now on 200M devices (Techcrunch)
• Samsung Shows Off Robots for Health Care and Retail Stores (Bloomberg); Samsung Electronics flags first profit drop in two years on weak chip demand (Reuters); Samsung Feels Apple’s Pain as Technology Slowdown Hits Sales (Bloomberg)
• SoftBank Plans Reduced $2 Billion Investment in WeWork (Bloomberg)

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

• Amazon is getting more serious about Alexa in the car with Telenav deal (Techcrunch)
• Amazon Becomes Most Valuable Company, Inching Past Microsoft (Bloomberg)
• Apple’s trillion dollar market cap was always a false idol (Techcrunch); Apple’s Errors (Stratechery)
• Apple’s Latest TV Team-Ups Highlight a Shifting Growth Strategy (Barron’s)
• Intel working with Facebook on AI chip coming later this year (Reuters)
• Microsoft’s new groove; Once dismissed as a hidebound has-been, Microsoft is flying high. CEO Satya Nadella’s secret: A cultural reset that has lowered the gates to the software maker’s fortress-and cloud, cloud, cloud (Forbes)
• Nvidia dives into a new business segment with Drive AutoPilot (Techcrunch); Nvidia says new self-driving platform to hit streets next year (Reuters)
• The app-store war between Netflix and Apple is heating up (WaPo)

Asia Tech & Innovation Trends

• CES 2019: Chinese tech companies keep low profile amid trade tensions (MW)
• Chinese voice recognition startup AISpeech releases its first custom chip1 min read (Technode)
• Will fintechs sink or swim when floats are regulated? (FT)
• Toyota’s safety technology guardian to be available in the 2020s (Reuters)
• LG says its AI can detect home appliance problems before they happen (Techcrunch)
• E-mart partners with ThorDrive for self-driving delivery services (Investor)

Global Tech & Innovation Trends

• Robot delivery dogs deployed by self-driving cars are coming (Techcrunch)
• Qualcomm’s Cockpit Platform promises to make cars smarter (Techcrunch); Qualcomm expands car computer chip lineup, adds music from Amazon (Reuters)
• Twitter Influences Markets More than Traditional Media (Barron’s)
• A Maker of Smart Light Switches Just Got a Boost From Apple (Barron’s)
• Tile to embed trackers in range of consumer electronics; Users will be able to trace headphones and other devices through Bluetooth (FT)
• Machine learning is helping auto lenders make better decisions, which is likely more accurate than using humans who are unpredictable and prone to bias. (Bloomberg)
• zGlue pitches ‘chiplets’ to make custom chips for startups (Reuters)
• German supplier unveils new self-driving car computer, adds Xilinx chips (Reuters)
• Apple supplier AMS develops behind-screen optical sensor for phones (Reuters)
• Ride-Pooling Gets a Social Makeover With New App From HERE (Bloomberg)
• Roku Jumps Most in 14 Months, Buoyed by 40% Gain in Active Users (Bloomberg)

Life

• Why great leaders seek out uncomfortable truths (MT)