H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (23 March 2019) – Pinduoduo’s free cash flow conundrum + Loonshots: How to Nurture the Crazy Ideas That Win Wars, Cure Diseases, and Transform Industries
March 23, 2019 Leave a comment
H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (23 March 2019) – Pinduoduo’s free cash flow conundrum + Loonshots: How to Nurture the Crazy Ideas That Win Wars, Cure Diseases, and Transform Industries
Companies
- Pinduoduo’s free cash flow conundrum (Technode)
- Zenrin Falls on Speculation That Google Maps Partnership Is Over (Bloomberg)
BATTSS – Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent, TSMC, Samsung, Softbank
- Tencent doubles down on customized cloud computing services (Technode)
- Lazada bets on Chinese e-commerce models to win big in burgeoning Southeast Asian markets (SCMP)
FAANNMG – Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Nvidia, Netflix, Microsoft, Google
- Gaming Meets the Cloud and Investors Scramble to Catch Up (Barron’s); Can Google’s Stadia compete with consoles and high-end PCs? Richard Waters looks at the tough technical challenges behind cloud gaming (FT); Big Tech competes to be the Netflix of gaming; Google, Apple and Microsoft want to use the cloud to let people play any game at any time on any device (FT)
- Future shock: inside Google’s smart city; Plans to build a tech-fired Utopia in Toronto are gaining momentum — as privacy fears grow (FT)
- How Netflix Nearly Lost Its Footing During the Recession and What It Did to Recover (Medium)
Asia Tech & Innovation Trends
- Automaker Changan parters with Tencent, Alibaba on RMB 10 billion mobility business (Technode)
- Social commerce platform Yunji to go public on Nasdaq; The company was fined by Chinese authority in 2017 for running an online pyramid scheme. (KRA)
- In the race for 5G, Chinese carriers go slow and steady; Government’s push for cheaper rates discourages capital expenditure (Nikkei)
- Shanghai approves IPO applications by nine pioneers on Nasdaq-style tech board; No e-commerce or internet-related firms in the running to list on new board (SCMP)
Global Tech & Innovation Trends
- Pinterest files to go public. Its not-so-secret weapon: Moms (CNN); Pinterest has long shunned being labelled a social network. Because of that, it doesn’t push users to add friends or build connections. It also means it’s been able to avoid problems of its larger rivals like Facebook. (Age); Is Pinterest Good Enough for the Growth-Crazed IPO Market? A 60 percent revenue increase may pale next to turbocharged startups. (Bloomberg)
- Zoom, a video-conferencing company, is the rare tech IPO that’s profitable (qz)
- LAPD audit reveals dangers of high-tech policing (CNN)
- Velodyne’s Godfather Of Laser Sensors Hits $500 Million Milestone, Sets His Sights On Safer Self-Driving Cars (Forbes)
- ‘Nothing is off the cards’: Canva has designs on Nasdaq listing (Age)
- TV Streaming Is Too Fragmented and Too Complicated. This Needs to Change. (Barron’s)
- How Comic Con’s Owner Is Harnessing Tech to Power Its Stock (Barron’s)
Life
- Loonshots: How to Nurture the Crazy Ideas That Win Wars, Cure Diseases, and Transform Industries Hardcover – March 19, 2019 (Amazon); Safi Bahcall – On Thinking Big, Curing Cancer, and Transforming Industries (#364) (Tim Ferris)
Bamboo Innovator 