H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (4 April 2019) – Pinduoduo burns through cash in attempt to buy future growth; E-commerce group’s sales and marketing expenses to woo customers wipe out revenues

April 4, 2019 Leave a comment

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (4 April 2019) – Pinduoduo burns through cash in attempt to buy future growth; E-commerce group’s sales and marketing expenses to woo customers wipe out revenues

Companies

  • Pinduoduo burns through cash in attempt to buy future growth; E-commerce group’s sales and marketing expenses to woo customers wipe out revenues (FT)
  • The Apple-designed chip list consists of one built with Universal Scientific Industrial for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth (AI)
  • Bilibili raises $824 million on strong demand for bond, share offering (Technode)
  • Xiaomi forms chipmaking company to advance AIoT strategy (Technode)
  • Trend Micro’s Industrial IoT Joint Venture, TxOne Networks, Offers Sneak Peek of Solution to Securing Industrial Machinery (BW)
  • Toei Animation: ‘Dragon Ball Super’ Panel Reportedly Reveals Anime’s Comeback (CB)
  • SiliconExpert and Zuken Team to Deliver Critical Component Data Intelligence to Engineers (Menafn)
  • Foxconn shrinks Android arm and relocates staff as orders dry up; Tech giant shifts resources to newly launched automotive electronics (Nikkei)
  • IRESS sees 50% surge in Q1 income protection sales (FR, MI)
  • Pentamaster conserving cash to grow smart control business (Edge)

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

  • Taobao introduces new ‘value for money’ promotion area to take on Pinduoduo (KRA)
  • Yahoo spin-out Altaba is selling its entire Alibaba stake and closing down (TC); The Alibaba-Yahoo Saga Is Ending. A Major Holder of Chinese Web Giant Will Liquidate. (Barron’s)
  • Tencent invests in e-commerce platform Youzan to boost enterprise business (Technode)

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

  • Big brands zoom in for their Instagram close-ups; Paid advertising has become big business since the platform launched in 2017 (FT)
  • Forget putting a ding in the universe: The incredible shrinking Apple (Age)
  • Media Companies Take a Big Gamble on Apple. Executives have been burned by their previous dealings with big tech companies. But Apple’s promise of a billion devices worldwide was too good to pass up. Even for Rupert Murdoch. (NYT)
  • What Chinese consumers think of Apple’s pivot to software (Technode)
  • YouTube a gold mine, so why all the rubbish? (AFR)
  • Amazon (sub)prime – Part II (FT)
  • Amazon Schooled on AI Facial Technology By Turing Award Winner (Bloomberg)

Asia Tech & Innovation Trends

  • Ruhnn, a loss-making Chinese startup that makes influencers, raises $125M in U.S. IPO (TC)
  • Asia tech companies fuel $23bn convertible bonds boom; Flood of offerings in first quarter illustrates shift among fast-growing groups (FT)
  • China scrambles to tap EV battery recycling opportunity; Wave of used lithium-ion cells a potential gold mine for battery makers and recyclers alike (Nikkei)
  • Internet banks struggling to stay afloat; K bank, Kakao Bank suffer net losses for 2 straight years (KT)
  • Verizon kicks off world’s first 5G, beating South Korea to the punch (Nikkei)

Global Tech & Innovation Trends

  • Adobe brings content-aware fill for videos to After Effects (TC)
  • Wayve claims ‘world first’ in driving a car autonomously with only its AI and a SatNav (TC)
  • Onfido, which verifies IDs using AI, nabs $50M from SoftBank, Salesforce, Microsoft and more (TC)
  • Dating Startups Aim For Disruption, But Good Ideas Can’t Buy Them Love (CB)
  • Updater’s unicorn valuation on hold after prospective investor walks (AFR)
  • Andreessen Horowitz Is Blowing Up The Venture Capital Model (Again) (Forbes)
  • What tech hasn’t learnt from science fiction; Never mind the future: where are the books tackling Silicon Valley’s current challenges? (FT)
  • Buy Intel Stock Because It Dominates AI and Autonomous Driving, Analyst Says (Barron’s)
  • Fastest Electric Car Chargers Are Waiting for Batteries to Catch Up (Bloomberg)
  • Shorts line up for a Lyft ride despite surge pricing (Reuters)
  • A Hundred Days Later, Tech Stocks Poised to Erase Their Whole Rout (Bloomberg)
  • Kamen Aims to Deliver AI to FedEx (EET)

Life

  • How we think about the innovation hype cycle (II)
  • Job and the Mystery of Suffering: Spiritual Reflections Paperback – March 1, 1998 (Amazon)

Filed under Innovation

%d bloggers like this: