H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (4 May 2019) – Reversion to the Mean Is Dead. Investors Beware.

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (4 May 2019) – Reversion to the Mean Is Dead. Investors Beware.

Companies

• E-commerce upstart Yunji shines in downsized Nasdaq IPO; Yunji’s aggressive expansion in its earlier years drew the attention of Chinese authorities, who slapped the company with the equivalent of a $1.4 million fine in 2017 for violating pyramid (Nikkei)
• Persistent Systems extends partnership with Trend Micro from endpoint security to virtual server security (CRN, NB)
• Daikin to spend $900m on polymer output for chip equipment (Nikkei)
• We’re very focused on the Australian market: ReadyTech (AFR)
• GBST provides update on Bravura Solutions takeover proposal (MF)
• ViTrox Sets Up German Subsidiary (iconnect)

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

• SoftBank Has a Bigger, Weirder Vision (Bloomberg)

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

• Facebook’s quest is to find new ways to make money; Mark Zuckerberg’s next act will be a mass experiment (FT)
• Old Facebook finally wants you to ‘Meet New Friends’ (TC)
• Machine Learning Challenges at Facebook Scale (EET)
• Amazon prepares to battle with Alibaba in Asia’s cloud (Nikkei)
• Amazon’s One-Day Shipping Is a Perk Few Retailers Can Match (Bloomberg)
• Warren Buffett Buys Into a Different Amazon; A less growth-charged, more profitable profile may have attracted Berkshire Hathaway stock pickers to the e-commerce giant. (Bloomberg)
• Huawei Overtakes Apple to Become Second Biggest Smartphone Maker (Bloomberg)
• SEC hits failed Apple sapphire glass manufacturer with fraud charges (TC)
• Google spends hundreds of millions of dollars on content review: letter (Reuters)
• Microsoft launches a fully managed blockchain service (TC)
• Microsoft brings Azure SQL Database to the edge (and Arm) (TC)

Asia Tech & Innovation Trends

• How Chinese Unicorn Mobvoi Regained Its Original AI Vision After Ticwatch Detour (Forbes)
• QR code scams strike China, from merchants to traffic tickets; Scammers rip off people trying to pay parking tickets (Nikkei)
• Shenzhen AI start-up Intellifusion helps city police identify jaywalkers and banned drivers (SCMP)
• We Should Worry About How China Uses Apps Like TikTok; Illiberal innovations created for China’s vast surveilled and censored domestic market are increasingly popular overseas. (NYT)
• 20x the market opportunity of ride-hailing: Ankur Mehrotra on Grab Financial’s strategy and products (KRA)

Global Tech & Innovation Trends

• Spotify’s leanback instant listening app Stations hits iOS (TC)
• DAZN vs. ESPN: Loaded With A-List Athletes-Canelo, Ronaldo, LeBron-The Billionaire-Backed Streaming Site Wants To Be The Worldwide Leader In Sports (Forbes)
• The flood of tech IPOs risks worsening inequality; When the bull run ends, it will drag down valuations of everything considered ‘growth’ (FT)
• The low-key smart tech that works for cities; Eye-catching data services do not always improve citizens’ lives. The most innovative are the least obvious (FT)
• Nasdaq chief doubles down on data as NYSE fight intensifies; Adena Friedman tries to position New York exchange group as hub for technology (FT)
• The trade war rumbles on – but US chip makers are cautiously optimistic despite lingering soft demand (SCMP)
• Zoom Video Surges Past Lyft and Pinterest as Value Tops $20 Billion (Bloomberg)
• Elon Musk Makes $500 Billion Autonomy Pitch to Investors (Bloomberg); Tesla’s $2 bln capital raise repeats sins of past (Reuters)
• If This Is a Tech Bubble in Stocks, It’s the Expansionary Phase (Bloomberg)
• Uber’s First Wall Street Buy Rating Endorses Comparisons to Amazon (Bloomberg); Uber’s IPO Disclosures Leave One Big Unanswered Question (Bloomberg)
• Ocado’s Warehouse Robots Are Three Times Faster Than Amazon’s (Bloomberg)
• MercadoLibre Soars to Record as Payments Growth Impresses Street (Bloomberg)
• Expedia Shares Fall as Home-Rental Business Vrbo Goes Slow (Bloomberg)

Life

• How Warren Buffett’s longtime business partner enlightened the Oracle of Omaha (MW)
• Reversion to the Mean Is Dead. Investors Beware. (Barron’s)