H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (6 March 2019) – It’s time SGX and sponsors get tougher with firms looking to list; The lack of scrutiny has let through companies with questionable business models. Companies with poor business models are more likely to turn to fraud to generate results

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (6 March 2019) – It’s time SGX and sponsors get tougher with firms looking to list; The lack of scrutiny has let through companies with questionable business models. Companies with poor business models are more likely to turn to fraud to generate results

Companies

• Nio’s right place, right time may be short-lived (Reuters)
• Loss-making Livestreaming platform Huya’s ‘rich content’ powers user, revenue growth in 2018 (Technode)
• Qutoutiao stock drops 10% after earnings show larger losses (MW)
• Kakao to launch e-bike sharing service on March 6 (Investor)
• Tencent-Backed Sea Raises $1.35 Billion in Share Sale (Bloomberg)
• Iress to launch mortgage client portal (FTA)

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

• Alibaba’s AI-powered smart mirror grants beauty wishes on command (Technode)

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

• IDC: Apple led wearables market in 2018, with 46.2M of the total 172.2M devices shipped (TC)
• Microsoft Unveils Azure Sentinel Cloud Security Program; Company also discloses large state-sponsored hack on financial services firms (Bloomberg)
• Microsoft/cloud computing: the Jedi order; Pentagon deal would transform PC group but expanding its cloud business doesn’t depend on it (FT)
• Alphabet’s Investment in Care.com Stock Is Doing Better Than Its Own Stock (Barron’s)
• How Amazon’s algorithms curated a dystopian bookstore (Wired)
• Amazon Gives AI to Harvard Hospital in Tech’s Latest Health Push (Bloomberg)

Asia Tech & Innovation Trends

• TikTok’s rise is a test for social media regulation; China’s first foreign hit shares Silicon Valley’s lax attitude to privacy (FT)
• Propaganda 2.0: Chinese Communist Party’s message gets tech upgrade (Reuters)
• From ‘third arms’ to talking walkers, Panasonic ramps up ties with Japan academia on human-help robots (JT)
• Japan’s Itochu invests in Singapore operator of doctor-focused social networking service (JT)
• Fallen tech darling Appster trading while insolvent since 2017, report finds (Age)

Global Tech & Innovation Trends

• Angry Birds Developer Seeks Backers for Its ‘Netflix of Games’ Service (Bloomberg)
• Tesla’s ‘Un-IPhone Moment’ Shows It Can’t Be the Apple of Autos (Bloomberg); How much does Tesla have in the bank? (FT)
• AI Efforts at Large Companies May Be Hindered by Poor Quality Data; Executives surveyed by PwC said cleaning up their data would lead to big cost savings and revenue gains (WSJ)
• Shift Technology raises $60 million to detect insurance fraud (TC)
• Salesforce releases myTrailhead, a customizable training platform (TC); Salesforce.com Co-CEO Says Company Has ‘a Lot of Runway’; 85% of its enterprise customers are just starting to make a digital transformation in the cloud era. (Barron’s); US tech giant Salesforce creates a $50m Australian VC fund to back start-ups (AFR)
• SurveyMonkey acquires web survey company Usabilla for $80M (TC)
• FT acquires majority stake in The Next Web; Deal for events and media company allows UK group to raise its game in Europe tech sector (FT)
• Abu Dhabi startup is using AI to transform how kids learn (CNN)
• Video gamers v couch potatoes; Business has a lot to learn from trigger-happy teens in their bedrooms (Economist)
• Tuning Into This Year’s Podcast Investment (CB)
• Online boom delivers big returns for central European warehouses (Reuters)

 

Life

• TED Podcast ‘WorkLife With Adam Grant’ Returns With Second Season in first episode The Creative Power Of Misfits (Forbes)
• It’s time SGX and sponsors get tougher with firms looking to list; The lack of scrutiny has let through companies with questionable business models. Companies with poor business models are more likely to turn to fraud to generate results (BT)