H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (19 April 2019) – Refused U.S. Visa Eight Times, Zoom CEO Eric Yuan Is Now a Billionaire + To Do Your Best Work You Must Fall in Love With Hard Work

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (19 April 2019) – Refused U.S. Visa Eight Times, Zoom CEO Eric Yuan Is Now a Billionaire + To Do Your Best Work You Must Fall in Love With Hard Work

Companies

• Refused U.S. Visa Eight Times, Zoom CEO Is Now a Billionaire (Bloomberg); Zoom Video CEO: I Don’t Know Why Our Shares Soared 72% After IPO (Fortune); ‘What a Crazy Valuation,’ Zoom CEO Says After Stock Soars on IPO (Barron’s); After just one day of trading, Zoom Video is the most highly valued tech stock by this metric (MW)
• AI firm iFlytek net profit up 24.71 pct in 2018 (Xinhua)
• Meituan scales down fresh produce business Ella Supermarket (KRA)
• Sony bulks up anime business in China (Nikkei)
• Industrial robotics giant Fanuc is using AI to make automation even more automated (TC)
• Taiwan presidential run by Terry Gou creates ‘uncertain’ future for Foxconn, analysts say (SCMP)
• Getac eyeing sharp growth in ruggedized PC market (Digitimes)
• HUB24 share price climbs higher on record March quarterly inflows (MF)
• Fast growth tracking app Life360 details ASX IPO plans (AFR)
• Kogan jumps 20pc on growth, subscription plans (AFR)

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

• Tencent wins key approval to sell Nintendo’s Switch in China (Nikkei)
• Tencent leads video conferencing service Little Fish’s Series C financing round (KRA)
• TSMC signals bottom of chip cycle as quarterly profits tumble (Nikkei)
• ‘Shooting for big game’: Softbank’s push for transport dominance (JT)

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

• Google & Amazon reach an agreement to bring their streaming video apps to each others’ platforms (TC)
• YouTube Music is now free with ads on Google Home devices (TC)
• Amazon launches ad-supported music service to Echo owners (TC)
• Amazon’s one-two punch: How traditional retailers can fight back (TC)
• Amazon, facing entrenched rivals, says to shut China online store (Reuters, Nikkei)
• Apple vs. Facebook Enters a New Era (Medium)
• Microsoft delves deeper into IoT with Express Logic acquisition (TC)
• Nvidia launches its Isaac SDK to help democratize AI-powered robot development (TC)
• How 5G drove moves by Apple, Qualcomm and Intel (Reuters)

Asia Tech & Innovation Trends

• Chinese internet giants test virtual banking in Hong Kong (Nikkei)
• Online platform connects the dots for aspiring landlords; Dot Residential offers casual investors to build a property portfolio (FT)
• Ruling LDP calls for law to prevent tech giants strong-arming vendors in Japan (JT)
• Japan puts self-driving transit buses to the test next year (Nikkei)
• Abyo Korea hopes to redesign delivery industry (Investor)
• Singapore Tourism Board partners Alibaba Group and Traveloka to shore up visitor numbers (KRA)
• Bionic Yantra: The robot giving patients a leg up; Bionic Yantra’s exoskeleton provides a fall-safe method of rehabilitation for those unable to walk (Forbes)
• ‘Simply appalling’: Live event ticket reseller Viagogo misled ticket buyers on price, availability (Age)
• Start-ups vie to lead India’s logistics revolution; Well-funded apps such as Rivigo aim to overhaul a logistics market that has hobbled the economy (FT)

Global Tech & Innovation Trends

• Tech IPOs show the money is in business services; Companies such as Zoom have reinvented enterprise tech for the cloud era (FT)
• NuvoAir raises $3M to help patients monitor respiratory diseases with AI (TC)
• CloudBees acquires Electric Cloud to build out its software delivery management platform (TC)
• Astroscreen raises $1M to detect social media manipulation with machine learning (TC)
• Phantom Auto raises $13.5M to expand remote driving business to delivery bots and forklifts (TC)
• Spotinst, the startup enabling companies to purchase and manage excess cloud capacity, acquires StratCloud (TC)
• Sift’s ‘news therapy’ app aims to promote understanding, not anxiety (TC)
• Zagat is perfectly positioned to fix the yelp review model (qz)
• Airbnb Leads $160 Million Investment in Startup Designing Apartments for Travelers (Fortune)
• With Self-Driving Cars Still Years Away, Phantom Auto Finds New Niche Teleoperating Robots (Forbes)
• This Startup Just Raised $21 Million To Bring Quantum Computing To Enterprise Applications (Forbes)
• Automakers invest heavily in electric vehicles despite still-low demand (Reuters)
• Qualcomm’s deal with Apple transforms 5G outlook; End to legal marathon boosts US supplier of next-generation technology (FT)
• Micron Stock Can Keep Surging Because AI Will Require More Chips, Analyst Says (Barron’s)
• For Wirehouses, a New World of Digital Tools (Barron’s)
• Aidoc, the AI solution for medical imaging analysis, raises $27M Series B (TC)
• Pinterest Stock Is Hot After Its IPO. Why You Should Keep Your Cool. (Barron’s)
• Lyft Investors Sue Over Slump, Claiming IPO Was Overhyped (Bloomberg)

Life

• To Do Your Best Work You Must Fall in Love With Hard Work (Medium)
• ‘Goodwill’ Write-Offs Are an Earnings Killer. How to Spot Trouble Coming. (Barron’s)
• The Golden Goose: How Dani Reiss Became A Billionaire Turning Canada Goose Into A Luxury Brand Powerhouse (Forbes)