H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (27 April 2019) – Amazon is reportedly building a high-fidelity music streaming service to rival Tidal

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (27 April 2019) – Amazon is reportedly building a high-fidelity music streaming service to rival Tidal

Companies

• China’s Ctrip now owns half of India’s MakeMyTrip following share swap with Naspers (TC)
• US slams Alibaba and its challenger Pinduoduo for selling fakes (TC)
• NetEase Kaola to open first factory store as it pushes further offline (Technode)
• Mario Kart Tour could be Nintendo’s biggest smartphone win (TNW); Nintendo’s Guidance Seen as a `Mockery,’ Sending Shares Lower (Bloomberg)
• Custom fit fashion retailer Zozo pulls out of overseas markets; CEO’s global ambitions shredded as German and US losses pile up (Nikkei)
• Nidec to add plant in China’s Dalian for electric-car motors; Japanese manufacturer plans $500m investment to build up new growth engine (Nikkei)
• Sony secures record profit as digital platforms thrive (Nikkei)
• Singapore Wealth Firm iFast’s Pre-Tax Profit Declines by 38% (Bloomberg)
• Wellington Airport goes live on Gentrack’s Veovo software (Reseller)

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

• Wirecard Still Raises Plenty of Questions; SoftBank offered financial backing this week to the German fintech darling. But does it really merit such a racy market valuation? (Bloomberg)

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

• Amazon is reportedly building a high-fidelity music streaming service to rival Tidal (TNW)
• Both Amazon, and the business models that assess the veracity of its reviews (which tend to sell advertising on their websites), rely heavily on algorithms. (FT)
• Save the Netflix Bears. The Market Needs Them. (Bloomberg)

Asia Tech & Innovation Trends

• Short video app Douyin campaign signals the arrival of vlogs in China (Technode)
• Kuaishou brings 3D cartoon characters to livestreaming with new AR feature (Technode)
• Chinese brands rule Indian smartphone market with 2/3rds of share: report (Reuters)
• Bill Gates is backing this Hong Kong biotech start-up that can screen for cancer through a sample of urine or blood. Here’s why (SCMP)
• Southeast Asia’s Grab cuts a familiar path with partnerships in logistics and travel; The new features will be rolled out across Grab’s Southeast Asian markets by the end of June (SCMP)

Global Tech & Innovation Trends

• Why Isn’t Hulu Better? (HBR)
• Slack’s complicated relationship with email, according to its IPO filing (qz); Slack Reveals Losses Amid Rapid Growth in Plan to Go Public (Bloomberg); Slack Pitches Would-Be Investors on a Few Big-Spending Customers (Bloomberg)
• How Uber changed Silicon Valley; Ride-hailing app inspired generation of tech companies to tackle real world challenges (FT); Uber Is a Growth Business That Has Trouble Growing (Bloomberg); Uber sets terms for IPO, posts $1 billion first-quarter loss (Reuters)
• Major Tech Firms Come Out Against Police Use of AI Algorithms (Bloomberg)
• Intel Tumbles, Setting Up Worst Day Since 2008 (Bloomberg)
• Tradeweb’s 50% Rally Sets Stage for Questions About Debt Market (Bloomberg)
• Yara, IBM to offer digital services to farmers (Reuters)

Life

• On Professional Failure (TSOL)