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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)

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (18 April 2019) – How Setbacks Help Us Discover What We Truly Love: “The truth is, we just don’t know whether we actually are in love with the process until we experience the setbacks.”

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (18 April 2019) – How Setbacks Help Us Discover What We Truly Love: “The truth is, we just don’t know whether we actually are in love with the process until we experience the setbacks.”

Companies

• Meituan downsizes fresh grocery business a year after launch (Technode)
• Japanese semiconductor company Ferrotec Holdings has decided to shut down its business in Korea (KT)
• Terry Gou will resign as Foxconn’s chairman to run for president of Taiwan (TC); Gou’s Taiwan presidential bid raises Foxconn succession question; Founder’s key lieutenants face strategic challenge as iPhone shipments fall (Nikkei)
• CCL firm Ventec listed on TWSE, poised to grab 5G opportunities (Digitimes)
• Atlassian shares hit on Q3 guidance (AFR)
• ReadyTech up 18 per cent on debut; flagship product is a cloud-based student management system, which has a strong presence in TAFEs and mid-tier universities (AFR)

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

• Can Foldables Revive Flagging Smartphone Sales? Samsung And Huawei Bet They Can (Forbes); How Samsung engineered its folding phone; South Korean company’s innovations included batteries, hinge design and even glue (FT)

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

• How Instagram Is Turbocharging Facebook’s Earnings (Barron’s)
• Facebook and Snapchat turn to Chinese giants for growth tips; US social media experiment games and payment, straight from Tencent’s playbook (Nikkei)
• Amazon reportedly withdrawing from China (Technode)
• Apple in talks with potential suppliers of sensors for self-driving cars – sources (Reuters)
• Netflix casts India as its new star; US streaming giant launches aggressive plan as home growth slows (Nikkei)

Asia Tech & Innovation Trends

• Investors cool on Chinese education start-up; Tighter regulation and evidence of market fatigue hit stocks (FT); Investors turn cold on Chinese education start-up VIPKID; Fast-growing group connects teachers in US with vast pool of Chinese students (FT)
• Shanghai tech board to push semiconductor independence (Technode)
• China’s electric car makers face ‘critical’ maturity period over the next two years, KPMG says; Consolidation likely as electric car makers face tighter capital markets, end of government subsidies next year (SCMP)
• The man who ushered in China’s battery vehicle boom wants to do the same for fuel cells (qz)
• Douyin folds in e-commerce with mini-programs (KRA)
• Robo-Rigs: The Scientist, The Unicorn And The $700 Billion Race To Create Self-Driving Semi-Trucks (Forbes)
• Airbnb begins to recover in Japan, a year after crackdown (Nikkei)
• Big Tech to face antitrust law on user data in Japan; Tokyo looks to protect consumers from unfair privacy policies (Nikkei)
• Korea launches robo investing apps for 1st time. They not only provide financial advice, but also manage customer’s investments without human intervention. (Investor)
• AIA Singapore partners with WhiteCoat for telemedicine service (e27)
• Acquisitions are a way to grow: Carousell co-founder and CEO Quek Siu Rui with an outlook post-Naspers deal; The presence of Facebook Marketplace might accelerate further consolidation among classified marketplaces in Southeast Asia (KRA)
• Malaysian logistics startup TheLorry secures strategic investment from Unilever (KRA)
• InMobi wants to glue your attention to your lock screen; With its new ‘screen zero platform’ called Glance, the ad-tech company will push bite-sized videos, news items and games to consume without unlocking your phone, curated from its m (Forbes)
• Duterte, the economy and the elusive Philippines unicorn (Nikkei)
• Thai Baht’s Slide Fuels One of Emerging Asia’s Top Sector Rallies; Thai electronics parts makers jumped about 10% in April (Bloomberg)

Global Tech & Innovation Trends

• Aidoc, the AI solution for medical imaging analysis, raises $27M Series B (TC)
• Emotionally intelligent AI will respond to how you feel (TNW)
• PathAI raises $60 million for its computer vision-based pathogen detection technology (TC)
• Strong investor demand boosts Pinterest and Zoom IPOs (FT)
• Unpacking Pinterest’s IPO expectations (TC); Meet Pinterest’s Little-Known Third Cofounder, Who Has A $675 Million Stake (Forbes); Pinterest prices shares at $19 in ‘down round’ IPO (FT); Pinterest’s IPO Could Be Make or Break for Uber and Other ‘Unicorns’ (Barron’s)
• Zoom Video IPO: 5 things to know about the videoconferencing company (MW); Video conferencing start-up Zoom prices shares at $36; IPO sets market capitalisation at $10.5bn, ten times higher than last funding valuation (FT)
• Salesforce is buying MapAnything, a startup that raised over $84 million (TC)
• Aptiv takes its self-driving car ambitions (and tech) to China (TC)
• NXP eyes China’s auto radar market with investment in Hawkeye Technology (KRA)
• Back on trend? H&M makes AI, loyalty drive to ride fashion cycle (Reuters)
• Hey, Siri: from virtual assistant to BFF? If we end up befriending AIs, will we still want to set them mundane tasks? (FT)
• Roku Stock Rises After Analyst Says Disney+ Will Add $1 Billion in Value (Barron’s)
• Square Stock’s Rally Is Running Out of Steam, Analyst Says (Barron’s)

Life

• Chinese used car online seller Uxin’s share price plummeted 36% on Tuesday after a short-seller issued an report saying the company was notorious in China “as a cheat.” (Technode, JCR)
• How Setbacks Help Us Discover What We Truly Love: “The truth is, we just don’t know whether we actually are in love with the process until we experience the setbacks.” (Heleo)
• A Stoic’s Key to Living with Presence: Seneca on How to Manage Your Time (BP)
• How To Adapt The “Serenity Prayer” For Business Decision-Making (LinkedIn)

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (17 April 2019) – Linkbal Inc., an operator of an e-commerce portal website for matchmaking events, has offered the CoupLink online dating app since July 2016 that enables users to “get to know 1.5 million event attendees online”

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (17 April 2019) – Linkbal Inc., an operator of an e-commerce portal website for matchmaking events, has offered the CoupLink online dating app since July 2016 that enables users to “get to know 1.5 million event attendees online”

Companies

• Linkbal Inc., an operator of an e-commerce portal website for matchmaking events, has offered the CoupLink online dating app since July 2016. As the app enables users to “get to know 1.5 million event attendees online,” many of its users became members after attending actual events (Kyodo)
• Nidec to add 600 engineers with Omron unit purchase; Japanese motor producer expands footprint in EV industry (Nikkei)
• Sony becomes Uber’s newest rival in Japan (EG); Sony’s Next PlayStation Won’t Mean the Death of Physical Videogames (Barron’s)
• DB HiTek mass produces FHD image sensor for China’s CCTV makers (PN)
• Info Edge India, the Indian job board, has invested in Etechaces, an India-based financial technologies marketing company. (SI)

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

• Alibaba will let you find restaurants and order food with voice in a car (TC)
• Tencent’s auto intelligence arm teams up with weather data site (Technode, KRA)

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

• Amazon’s Twitch Clones Tencent Music’s Karaoke Platform; But what works in China probably won’t work in its core market of U.S. gamers. (MF)
• Microsoft’s new Xbox ditches discs, will offer only downloaded games (MW)
• Google to Block TikTok in India, Hurting Chinese Startup (Bloomberg)
• How the Disney-Netflix streaming war will create collateral damage (MW); Netflix promises more information on what people are watching (MW); Netflix is burning money and lacks a good business model, this tech investor says (MW)

Asia Tech & Innovation Trends

• The uphill road: battery limitations to test China’s electric vehicle ambitions (Reuters)
• A beta version of “CACICA” is released, which allows AI to visualize improvements to sites simply by installing tags. (TC)

Global Tech & Innovation Trends

• Zoom Video IPO: 5 things to know about the videoconferencing company (MW)
• US and China tech giants look increasingly similar; Apple is moving into payments, films and gaming to diversify from phones, much like Xiaomi branched out into entertainment and finance (FT)
• Zalando’s Return to Fashion Could Just Be a Fad (Bloomberg)
• Match Group restructures exec team with focus on Asia (TC)
• Dropbox challenger pCloud just became profitable (TC)
• Ro, a direct-to-consumer online pharmacy, reaches $500M valuation (TC)
• Leapwork raises $10M for its easy process automation platform, plans US expansion (TC)
• Walmart partners with subscription-based children’s clothing startup, Kidbox (TC)
• Get ready for a new era of personalized entertainment (TC)
• Nearly two dozen of SiriusXM’s talk shows come to Pandora as podcasts (TC)
• Logitech’s new remote ditches the touchscreen for Alexa (TC)
• Jack Dorsey says it’s time to rethink the fundamental dynamics of Twitter (TC)
• Expedia Stock Rallies as Media Moguls Barry Diller and John Malone Reach a Deal (Barron’s
• Disney and the Future of TV (Stratechery)
• Lex in depth: can Snap survive? As pressure from Facebook intensifies, the group has three years to make a profit before it will need to raise fresh funds (FT)
• Who Goes Public When? Tech Companies Maneuver to Stand Out in the Horde (NYT)

Life

• Let’s say you could choose between a life that is full of meaning but also includes suffering, or a life that is devoid of suffering but lacks meaning. Most people would choose the life of meaning. (Medium)

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (16 April 2019) – TransInfo: How China’s new highway for self-driving cars will boost its AV ambitions ; You Cannot Talk About Self-Improvement Without Talking About Values

TransInfo: How China’s new highway for self-driving cars will boost its AV ambitions ; You Cannot Talk About Self-Improvement Without Talking About Values

Companies

• TransInfo – How China’s new highway for self-driving cars will boost its AV ambitions (TNW)
• China challenges Samsung’s lead in foldable phone screens; BOE and other aspiring national champions drive rapid capacity expansion (Nikkei)
• Vast elderly, rural population power China’s dialect-related industries; iFLYTEK’s popular input mobile application is able to recognize 23 dialects in China, with more than 3 million users in the country. In the car system installed in many Toyota car models, for example, iFlytek provides a voice recognition system that understands Cantonese. (Xinhua)
• Meitu launches AI platform for developers as it drops phone business (Technode)
• Trend Micro Advances DevSecOps via Kubernetes Integration (CJ)
• Japan’s leading provider of conference rooms TKP is paying approximately 50 billion yen ($446 million) to jump into the shared office market, (Nikkei)
• Mercari’s cashless payment “Melpay” enables QR code settlement of taxi fares (TC)
• Apple supplier Foxconn to shift iPhone production to India (KRA)
• Minwise new business growth … Value of subsidiaries (ED)
• Cochlear shares rally on MRI-compatible hearing implant (AFR)
• Afterpay has steadily been taking over shopping centres over the past few years and the concept of splitting shopping payments into bite-sized chunks is becoming more accepted. (Age); US millennials’ debt fears help Afterpay beat expectations (Age)
• Info Edge India Ltd updates on investment in Etechaces (EB)
• Cyient Launches Solutions for 5G Deployment (EB)

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

• Tencent may launch a phone for its game lovers (KRA)

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

• Amazon Finds It’s Hard to Run a Real Sweepstakes in the Robocall Era (Bloomberg)
• Facebook and Amazon’s AI-selected ads show how businesses can tailor products to consumers in future (SCMP)

Asia Tech & Innovation Trends

• Cutthroat competition in China’s co-working office sector will see a survival of the largest (SCMP)
• AI can work to improve Hongkongers’ health, but only with a human touch (SCMP)
• China requiring anti-addiction parental controls for all short video apps (Technode)
• Chinese property-management SaaS vendor Qinlin Technology closes Series B round with funds from JD.com and Xiaomi; It’s a technology that unlocks doors for residents of large apartment complexes and serves them ads and group-buy opportune (KRA)
• China’s SenseTime sells out of Xinjiang security joint venture; Facial recognition group’s move follows scrutiny of treatment of Uighur people (FT)
• China’s Beidou navigation system to go global and create $300 billion market by 2020 (KRA)
• China’s Propaganda Quiz App Is Hiring Hundreds (Bloomberg)
• Toyota leads Japanese charge into tie-ups with Chinese startups (Nikkei)
• Fujitsu technicians finish designing Post-K supercomputer (JT)
• EventHub, an event-specific business SNS company, raises funds from Salesforce Ventures (TC)
• Toyota sells electric vehicle technology to Chinese startup Singulato (Reuters)
• This 25-Year-Old College Dropout Has SoftBank And Grab Backing His Plan For Oyo To Dominate Budget Hotels (Forbes)
• Grab faces local challengers in fast-growing Vietnam market; Ride-hailing groups vie to become ‘super app’ for consumers amid regulatory pushback (FT)
• ReadyTech gets a yellow light from investors for ASX listing (AFR)

Global Tech & Innovation Trends

• This Software Can Uncover the Questions CEOs Don’t Want to Answer; Amenity Analytics’ founders say their platform can even pick up on potential deceptions on earnings calls. (Bloomberg)
• Smart speakers’ installed base to top 200 million by year end (TC)
• Airbnb officially owns HotelTonight (TC)
• Autumn is coming: Expert says hype cycle will give way to ‘rich harvest’ of useful AI (TNW)
• Conversations with customers are an untapped data goldmine for businesses (TNW)
• The Robots That Manage the Managers; More companies are turning to AI-driven apps that aim to help newer bosses with reminders and tips on how to maintain a well-run office (WSJ)
• com buys Salesforce.org, and that’s the only straightforward part (MW); Salesforce to Buy Public Service Affiliate for New Markets (Bloomberg)
• Africa’s startup ecosystems are at a major turning point (qz)
• Stitch Fix Stock Slumps as Investors Worry About New Amazon Service (Barron’s)
• Spotify Stock Falls On News That Amazon Might Have Bigger Plans for Music (Barron’s); Spotify shares fall on report Amazon in talks to launch ad-supported music offering (Reuters)
• Hulu spends $1.43 billion to buy back AT&T stake, values streaming service at $15 billion (Reuters)
• Pinning a Narrow Moat on the Pinterest Board (Morningstar)
• Vimeo Snaps Up Video Creation Company Magisto For $200M (CB)
• As IBM Faces Falling Revenue, Red Hat Deal May Change Narrative (Bloomberg)
• Israeli Researchers Print 3D Heart Using Patient’s Own Cells (Bloomberg)
• Autonomous machines: industry grapples with Boeing lessons; Although computers may be more reliable than humans, new mistakes can be introduced into systems (FT)

Life

• Viking Saga: The Tale of Tor Hagen And His Voyage From Ousted CEO To Cancer Survivor To Cruise Ship Billionaire (Forbes)
• You Cannot Talk About Self-Improvement Without Talking About Values (Medium)
• The Cash Conversion Cycle Spread. Abstract: The cash conversion cycle (CCC) refers to the time span between the outlay of cash for purchases to the receipt of cash from sales. It is a widely used metric to gauge the effectiveness of a firm’s management and intrinsic need for external financing. This paper shows that a zero-investment portfolio that buys stocks in the lowest CCC decile and shorts stocks in the highest CCC decile earns 5 to 7% alphas per year. The CCC effect is prevalent across industries and remains even for large capitalization stocks. The CCC effect is distinct from the known return predictors. The returns of high-CCC stocks are more sensitive to the health of the financial intermediaries than low-CCC stocks. This suggests that the CCC-based strategy cannot be explained by the financial intermediary leverage risk. (SSRN)

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (15 April 2019) – Fully integrating AI and healthcare is closer than you think + These are Amazon’s 38 rules for success

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (15 April 2019) – Fully integrating AI and healthcare is closer than you think + These are Amazon’s 38 rules for success

Companies

• Applied Materials halts work for red-flagged Chinese chip maker; US chip tool leader pulls staff from San’an Optoelectronics following government listing (Nikkei)
• Koh Young America Opens new Office in Guadalajara, Mexico (iconnect)
• Life360 is one of the fastest-growing apps in the US, tapping into the concerns of parents and family members about what dangers could befall their loved ones when they are out and about, by recording their locations on a real time online map and up (AFR)

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

• Tencent launches new blockchain game merging concepts behind Pokémon Go and CryptoKitties (SCMP)

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

• Facebook’s reckoning? The global battle to regulate social media (FT)
• The End of iTunes: What It Means for You (TG); From Macintosh to Granny Smith: The rise and fall of Apple (VB)
• Why Google+ Failed; Google Plus didn’t fail because Facebook is invulnerable. It failed because of deep flaws embedded in it from the very start. (Medium)
• Tracking Phones, Google Is a Dragnet for the Police; The tech giant records people’s locations worldwide. Now, investigators are using it to find suspects and witnesses near crimes, running the risk of snaring the innocent. (NYT); Google’s Sensorvault Is a Boon for Law Enforcement. This Is How It Works. (NYT)
• Netflix Now Accounts for 10% of TV Viewing (Medium)

Asia Tech & Innovation Trends

• The $18 Billion Electric-Car Bubble at Risk of Bursting in China (Bloomberg); China’s Secret Weapon in the Electric Car Race; Local automakers are hoarding the country’s “new-energy vehicle” credits, giving them leverage when renegotiating joint ventures with western rivals. (Bloomberg)
• Asia’s tech champions zero in on main street banking (Reuters)
• Is 5G the ‘next big thing’ for investors? Gauge of China-listed 5G stocks shows 75 per cent jump in past 6 months. Red flags include US-China friction, policy changes in Beijing, costs for companies (SCMP)
• Apple supplier’s rescue leaves Japan red-faced (Reuters)
• Korea’s TOP100 winner eyes a fraud free future for the e-commerce industry; Lizuna’s ambition is to prevent account takeover fraud and provide safer online transactions (e27)
• Internet-only banks face murky future amid regulatory hurdles (Investor)
• Start-up to be ‘Facebook of online shopping’ (AFR)
• Philippines chases neighbors in Southeast Asian unicorn race; Tale of two ride-hailers — Micab and Grab — shows wide gap in funding and risk taking (Nikkei)
• Emerging Asia’s startups open own doors to success; 3D flashcards and voice-driven accounting find ways into low-income countries (Nikkei)

Global Tech & Innovation Trends

• Fully integrating AI and healthcare is closer than you think; Five examples of AI in healthcare and how this collaboration will grow more important in the coming years (e27)
• Pinterest’s frumpy midwestern charm could make it an international juggernaut (qz)
• Smart cities are an AI-powered dystopia that’s already happening (TNW)
• The problem with the tech IPO economy (qz)
• Uber IPO has 4 big red flags that should alarm you (MW); Uber Makes IPO Case That It’s About the Platform, Not the Losses (Bloomberg); Uber Has a New Growth Story, Just Not a Profitable One (Bloomberg)
• Here’s how Disney+ will take over the world (Wired)
• Back to the Old School With Zoho; the infinite store shelf, pioneered by Amazon, has turned the software world upside down (CRMB)
• Breaking the internet: New regulations imperil global network (JT)
• Online dating app Match expands in Asia hiring spree; Match taps growing market as it tackles competition from Facebook (FT)
• Western governments enter uncharted territory as they grapple with problem of harmful content on social media; Governments around the world, including the UK and Singapore, have moved to take a more active role in deciding what constitutes acceptable content (SCMP)

Life

• These are Amazon’s 38 rules for success (FastCo)

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (13 April 2019) – Salesforce and Other Business-Software Companies Are in a Sweet Spot

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (13 April 2019) – Salesforce and Other Business-Software Companies Are in a Sweet Spot

Companies

• China’s Ctrip to sell Japan rail tickets via app (Nikkei)
• Hikvision’s New Business Team To Develop Intelligent Solutions For Fentanyl-Related Substances Regulation (SI)
• EU clears Nidec purchase of Whirlpool unit subject to conditions (Reuters)
• Netwealth Group reports the largest quarterly increase in FUA since listing (KKM)

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

• Alibaba’s AutoNavi commercializes HD map by charging automakers license fee (KRA)

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

• Google Cloud takes aim at verticals starting with new set of tools for retailers (TC)
• Alexa, Siri, and Google Assistant are changing how we interact with the world by doing it for us (TNW)
• Google’s AI is growing up (qz)
• Google sees rays of Sun in new cloud dreams; Tech group takes page out of Java creator as it takes on Amazon and Microsoft (FT)
• Netflix Just Dropped $8 Billion in Market Value on Disney+ News (Bloomberg)

Asia Tech & Innovation Trends

• China to include businesses in credit score database plan; Record of SMEs’ misdemeanours to be included in databank and shared with commercial bank (FT)
• SenseNets: the facial recognition company that supplies China’s Skynet surveillance system (SCMP)
• China’s Ant Financial amasses 50 million users, mostly low-income, in new health plan (Reuters)
• TikTok owner Bytedance said to be planning Spotify-like music streaming app for overseas market; The Chinese company is currently the world’s most valuable unicorn with a valuation of US$76 billion (SCMP)
• Mobile game developer Kunlun to pay $50M for 3% shares in China’s Waymo rival (Technode)
• Didi steps up financial drive as it courts car leasing companies (TC)
• Japan’s quest for display king ends as Taiwan-led group buys JDI; State-directed effort to merge Hitachi, Toshiba and Sony units lacked vision (Nikkei)
• Kudo’s untold story: how it enabled Indonesia’s unbanked and got acquired by Grab (TIA)
• Grab faces $2bn payout to Uber if no IPO by 2023 (Nikkei)

Global Tech & Innovation Trends

• Salesforce and Other Business-Software Companies Are in a Sweet Spot, Analyst Says (Barron’s)
• Marvel, monsters and ‘Mandalorian’ coming to Disney+ app (Reuters); Disney already has a booming streaming service. It’s called Hotstar (CNN); Disney Stock Is Soaring Because Its New Streaming Service Might Be a Better Deal Than Netflix (Barron’s)
• Password manager Dashlane closes on $30M, adds former Spotify CMO to board (TC)
• Naspers-owned PayU doubles down on India with $70M deal to buy Wibmo (TC)
• Fintech Insurer Lemonade Valued At More Than $2 Billion After $300 Million Funding Deal (Forbes)
• Profits Can Wait As Freshworks Targets A Cloud Market Dominated By SAP And Salesforce (Forbes)
• Uber’s IPO is a lesson in the true cost of toxic culture (qz); Uber admits its culture is IPO risk (FT); Uber’s conflicting self-driving fleet vision (FT); Uber Freight Is a Surprisingly Big Business. Truckers Take Note. (Barron’s); Uber aims to maintain heavy spending to keep rivals at bay; Ride-hailing app’s ‘winner-takes-all’ strategy will continue to cost billions (FT)
• How Spotify Saved the Music Industry (But Not Necessarily Musicians) (Ep. 374) (Freakonomics)
• Why ‘Loot Boxes’ May Unlock Trouble for the Videogame Industry (Barron’s)
• Italian payments group Nexi to sell €1.3bn shares in IPO; Company to start public trading in Milan next week with initial market cap of €5.4bn (FT)
• Jumia becomes first African start-up to list in New York; E-commerce company dubbed ‘Africa’s Amazon’ valued at more than $1bn (FT)
• Pinterest’s myth-busting chief leads his ‘silent unicorn’ to IPO; Publicity-shy founder Ben Silbermann has long defied Silicon Valley stereotypes (FT)
• The Cash Party Is Almost Over for Unicorns Like Uber; Winners and losers have been determined by who can raise the most money, not necessarily those with the best product or service. (Bloomberg)

Life

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (12 April 2019) – Lessons in Persistence From Climber Tommy Caldwell + From Broke To Billionaire: How Fred Luddy Built The World’s Most Innovative Company ServiceNow

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (12 April 2019) – Lessons in Persistence From Climber Tommy Caldwell + From Broke To Billionaire: How Fred Luddy Built The World’s Most Innovative Company ServiceNow

Companies

• After a 600% Rally, ‘King of Deals’ Prepares for Post-Smartphone Future; Minebea, a key Apple supplier, says phones losing innovation. CEO plans to spend billions on connected auto, home deals (Bloomberg)
• Trend Micro provides flexible security for Microsoft Azure environments (IC); Trend Micro Releases Innovations that Increase Security for Google Cloud Platform, Kubernetes and G Suite Gmail (AO)
• @Cosme flagship store opens on Tmall (IRA)
• Bravura makes non-binding $172m bid proposal for GBST (AFR)
• Naukri parent company Info Edge invests Rs 6 cr in ShoeKonnect, another Rs 14 cr in Gramophone (YS)

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

• Alipay’s mutual aid platform Xiang Hu Bao aims to cover 1/5 of China’s population in two years (KRA)
• Taobao app adds foodie channel to tap on China’s food e-commerce growth (KRA)
• Cloud gaming to strengthen Tencent’s hand; Capturing a larger slice of China’s gaming market is a valuable goal as it is the largest (and still growing) gaming market in the world, estimated at over US$34 billion in 2018. (AFR)
• Factbox: SoftBank’s transportation bets (Reuters)
• Inside SoftBank’s push to rule the road (Reuters)
• Uber IPO filing reveals Softbank as largest shareholder (Nikkei)

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

• P&G Puts Ad Platforms Like Facebook, Google on Notice (Bloomberg)
• Google Cloud makes some strong moves to differentiate itself from AWS and Microsoft (TC)
• Inside Google Cloud Next, the conference for the search giant’s next big business (qz)
• The golden age of YouTube is over; The platform was built on the backs of independent creators, but now YouTube is abandoning them for more traditional content (Verge)
• Google sees rays of Sun in new cloud dreams; Tech group takes page out of Java creator as it takes on Amazon and Microsoft (FT)
• Famously unprofitable Amazon has nothing on Uber (qz)
• Jeff Bezos upended the smart-home industry by not listening to customers (qz)
• Amazon’s empire rests on its low-key approach to AI; Unflashy but high-powered machine learning powers everything from its fulfilment centres to the cloud (Economist)
• Amazon Japan Raises Prime Membership Price for First Time in 11 Years (Bloomberg)

Asia Tech & Innovation Trends

• Alibaba-backed used goods platform Idle Fish investing in content (Technode)
• Trade war gives China’s chip equipment makers room to grow; Beijing plays down its ongoing semiconductor ambitions amid U.S. push back (Nikkei)
• Tesla, Panasonic to seek productivity gains before new battery investments (Reuters)
• Indonesia’s Stock Exchange says Traveloka is most likely candidate for an IPO (KRA)
• Tech giant Zoho’s launch in Australia hit by red tape delays (Age)

Global Tech & Innovation Trends

• Why Slack’s IPO will have more in common with Spotify than Uber or Lyft (MW)
• Uber unveils IPO with warning it may never make a profit (Reuters); Uber Is Huge, Sprawling and Still Entirely Unproven; Investors are going to have a tough time figuring out how to value the company. (Bloomberg)
• Square Stock Rises as Cash App Downloads Keep Growing (Barron’s)
• Revealed: the cash cost of WeWork’s global expansion (FT)
• Disney CEO Iger gives three reasons why the company’s streaming service will be a success (CNBC)

Life

• Podcast #498: Lessons in Persistence From Climber Tommy Caldwell (AOM)
• From Broke To Billionaire: How Fred Luddy Built The World’s Most Innovative Company ServiceNow (Forbes)
• Bezos on why failure is not failure (FT); Jeff Bezos wants Amazon to fail more (CNN)
• Rupert Murdoch, the NFL, and the Negotiation That Remade TV (HBR)

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (11 April 2019) – The first research book written by an AI could lead to on-demand papers

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (11 April 2019) – The first research book written by an AI could lead to on-demand papers

Companies

• Pinduoduo’s reputation as fake seller endures as Apple seeks to halt sales (Technode)
• Chinese satellite operator shoots for June IPO; Move comes as Beijing urges state-owned enterprises to go public (Nikkei)
• China Travel Site Ctrip Plans Convertible Bond Sale, Sources Say (Bloomberg)
• Rakuten’s Mikitani Bets $5.5 Billion To Shake Up Telecom Industry (Forbes)
• Japan’s booking-site clampdown exposes industry’s arm-twisting; Powerful online players Rakuten, Expedia and Booking.com hold enormous clout over hotels (Nikkei)
• Trend Micro Releases Innovations that Increase Security for Google Cloud Platform, Kubernetes and G Suite Gmail (BI); VIVOTEK Enhances Protection In Its Cybersecurity Management Solution By Collaborating With Trend Micro (SI)
• Delta Electronics reports strong March revenues (Digitimes)
• Infosys has strengthened its ability to provide technology services in the area of mortgage processing by acquiring 75 percent of Stater NV, a wholly owned subsidiary of ABN Amro Bank NV (Forbes); TCS, Infosys likely to post strong quarterly revenue on surging outsourcing deals (Nikkei)
• Nearmap boasts expansion into Canada is “well underway” (MF)

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

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

• Why Google Is Expanding In Taiwan Again And Again (Forbes)
• Google’s Next Big Money Maker Could Be the Maps on Your Phone; Service was mostly ad-free for years. That’s changing now (Bloomberg)
• Google Cloud announces Traffic Director, a networking management tool for service mesh (TC)
• Google launches an end-to-end AI platform (TC)
• Google raises price of YouTube TV to $49.99, adds Discovery, Animal Planet (Reuters)
• Salesforce and Google want to build a smarter customer service experience (TC)
• The Fight for Smart Speaker Market Share (VC)
• Amazon Alexa now offers long-form news coverage in addition to Flash Briefings (TC)
• Amazon Workers Are Listening to What You Tell Alexa; A global team reviews audio clips in an effort to help the voice-activated assistant respond to commands. (Bloomberg)
• Amazon buys warehouse robotics startup Canvas Technology (Reuters)
• Microsoft worked with Chinese military university on artificial intelligence; Concerns raised on research that could be used for surveillance and censorship (FT)

Asia Tech & Innovation Trends

• Chinese plastic surgery app eyes $150m Nasdaq IPO; So-Young finds its niche with looks-conscious women (Nikkei)
• Didi will struggle to get back its groove; Safety fears dog China’s car-hailing leader as new challengers threaten its dominance (FT)
• 700 Japan banks rush to debut smartphone payment app in October; Launch moved ahead 6 months as government readies consumer incentives (Nikkei)
• Cloud pharmaceutical management service “9lione” beta version operation start, already over 130 stores are using (TC)
• A look at what’s behind Smilegate RPG’s IPO push (Investor)
• Customers benefit as Ola and Uber slug it out in India; Result of battle for dominance will show whether local knowledge or deep pockets matter more (FT)
• New York’s Via enters ride-hailing market in Indonesia; App takes on Go-Jek and Grab with focus on minivan taxis (Nikkei)
• Singapore’s Carousell raises USD 56 million from OLX parent company Naspers (TC, KRA)
• CleverTap lands $26M for its mobile-focused customer marketing service (TC)

Global Tech & Innovation Trends

• The first research book written by an AI could lead to on-demand papers (TC)
• PagerDuty IPO: 5 things to know about the DevOps company (MW)
• Sending money across borders is becoming cheaper and easier; Fintech start-ups are disrupting the international money transfer market (Economist)
• Jumia’s anticipated billion-dollar IPO has been delayed (qz); Here’s how Jumia’s IPO will go-according to investors who’ve backed global e-commerce giants (qz)
• Startup Front Shakes Up Pricing To Take Its Email Collaboration Mainstream (Forbes)
• Congress Is About to Ban the Government From Offering Free Online Tax Filing. Thank TurboTax. (PP)
• Waiting for WeWork profits no longer a labour of love (AFR)
• Zillow and its recent shift towards Opendoor’s model (KC)
• The big tech companies are smothering small start-ups; Minor changes to a platform’s algorithms can harm a business’s traffic overnight (FT)
• Uber and Pinterest try to lock down investors ahead of IPOs; Tech giants seek to avoid a fate like Lyft, which has traded below its offer price (FT)
• Taser stun gun maker files facial recognition patents; Axon has filed patents for technology that can guess a person’s race and age (FT)
• How ABB FIA Formula E championship built a fan base from scratch; The all-electric motorsport tapped into e-gaming and social media to attract young supporters (FT)
• IBM’s AI Knows When People Will Quit Their Job With 95% Accuracy (ZH)
• Qualcomm Targets AI Inferencing in the Cloud (EET)
• Wayfair Heads Into 36-Hour Sale as Piper Sees ‘Mind-Share Gain’ (Bloomberg)
• Zoom’s IPO Highlights Rapid Growth In The Videoconferencing Space (CB)
• Mailchimp Bootstraps To $600 Million Revenue (LinkedIn)
• Dote raises $12M and introduces live-streamed Shopping Parties (TC)
• Expanse, which lets its customers know when their digital assets aren’t safe, has raised $70 million in new funding (TC)
• Restaurant website builder BentoBox raises $16.4M (TC)
• GoDaddy acquires Sellbrite to launch cross-marketplace tools (TC)
• Online used car startup Shift adds another $40M, snags COO in road to IPO (TC)
• Snap Is Projected to Lose Users in the U.S. for the First Time (Bloomberg)

Life

• The Passion Paradox: A Conversation with Brad Stulberg (BS)

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (10 April 2019) – Why $1.5 Billion Startup Asana Ditched Email To Prove Its Own Work Management Strategy + Eric Schmidt – Lessons from a Trillion-Dollar Coach

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (10 April 2019) – Why $1.5 Billion Startup Asana Ditched Email To Prove Its Own Work Management Strategy + Eric Schmidt – Lessons from a Trillion-Dollar Coach

Companies

• China game-streaming firm Huya launches $343 million follow-on offering (Reuters)
• Trend Micro’s IoT Joint Venture Offers a New Approach to Tackling Weaknesses in Cybersecurity (DI)
• Netwealth share price on watch as it becomes ANZ Private’s preferred supplier (MF)
• Info Edge invests Rs 6 crore in Bizcrum Infotech; ShoeKonnect is a B2B marketplace that enables footwear brands, manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers to connect and transact with each other (BS)

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

• Alibaba’s Cainiao to raise delivery fleet wages 20% within 3 years (Technode)
• SoftBank bets on Asia’s travel market with investment in Klook (Nikkei)

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

• Selling with the enemy: Why rival retailers embrace Amazon.com (Reuters)
• Google Cloud’s new CEO on gaining customers, startups, supporting open source and more (TC)
• YouTube Is Developing Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Programs (Bloomberg)
• Netflix Could Actually Benefit From Increased Competition. Here’s Why. (Barron’s)

Asia Tech & Innovation Trends

• Tencent-backed plastic surgery app So-Young files for $150 million US IPO (Technode)
• Jia Yueting’s LeTV is RMB 12 billion in debt, may face delisting (Technode)
• How GitHub became a bulletin board for Chinese tech worker complaints (qz)
• No smoking, no tattoos, no bikinis: inside China’s war to ‘clean up’ the internet; While AI is used to remove banned content, many decisions are taken by humans, especially if they involve context (SCMP)
• Big data enters the fray in the war against cancer as pharmaceutical laboratories combine drugs like cocktails to kill cancerous cells (SCMP)
• Korean health care startup Sky Labs aims to launch its Cardio Tracker, or CART, a ring-type wearable device that detects a patient’s heart rhythm 24/7 using internet of things technologies. (Investor)
• Grab vs Go-Jek: Duel of digital ‘decacorns’ escalates in Indonesia; $10bn ride-hailers’ battle for food orders and e-payments threatens to leave both bruised (Nikkei)
• Cashfree, an India-based startup that specializes in making corporate banking services more accessible and easier to use, has closed a $5.5 million Series A round. (TC)
• An Asian rewards app that works with Alibaba and major online brands has snagged $45 million from Japan’s Rakuten Capital and other investors. (Bloomberg)
• Why Ola’s founder turned down a $11 billion deal with SoftBank (HBL)

Global Tech & Innovation Trends

• Why $1.5 Billion Startup Asana Ditched Email To Prove Its Own Work Management Strategy (Forbes)
• Pinterest’s ‘down round’ IPO reflects history of caution (FT); Pinterest Co-Founders to Glean Wildly Different Fortunes on IPO (Bloomberg)
• How Venmo works and what to know before you use it (MW)
• Unicorns Like Lyft Have a Ton of ‘Restricted’ Stock. Here’s Why That Matters. (Barron’s)
• Slack Is Fetching High Prices in Private Stock Deals Ahead of Public Offering (Bloomberg); Slack integration with Office 365 one more step toward total enterprise integration (TC)
• PubNub nabs $23M as its IaaS network hits 1.3T messages sent each month (TC)
• Machine Learning Will Dominate Investments, Greylock’s Sarah Guo Says. But It Won’t Be An Easy Sell. (Forbes)
• (Subscription) video killed the piracy stats (AFR)
• The Tech Disaster That Didn’t Happen; The world didn’t end when its GPS system reset. So why were so many people so prepared to believe that it would? (Bloomberg)
• Even Netflix Stock Seems Cheap Next to Roku (Bloomberg)

Life

• Eric Schmidt – Lessons from a Trillion-Dollar Coach (#367) (Tim Ferris)
• The Mastermind Behind BTS Has Built a $780 Million K-Pop Fortune (Bloomberg)

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (9 April 2019) – Subscription Is Blowing Up Aussie Traditional Models ; 76% is how much Microsoft ‘s cloud-computing business grew sales last year

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (9 April 2019) – Subscription Is Blowing Up Aussie Traditional Models ; 76% is how much Microsoft ‘s cloud-computing business grew sales last year

Companies

• Transsion, NetEase-backed music-streaming service Boomplay raises $20 million (Technode)
• Daifuku Pockets Indian Material Handling Equipment Maker Vega (CE)
• Shopee starts charging commissions in Vietnam as part of monetization plan (KRA)
• Zomato’s revenue soars on robust food delivery business; Zomato spent US$500 million in expenses over the year, dwarfing the US$80 million worth of expenses it recorded in FY 2018. (TIA)

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

• Youku still needs two more years to compete with Tencent Video and iQiyi, says company president (KRA)
• Tencent doubles down on healthcare, tests medical services on WeChat (Technode)
• Tencent is adding medical services to WeChat in its industrial internet push (KRA)
• WeChat opens up tagging function for ads on social Moments section (Technode)
• Tencent’s WeGame X service soft launches worldwide (Technode)
• SoftBank buys stake in hyper-accurate US weather service; Potential demand for real-time forecasts seen in airline and insurance sectors (Nikkei)

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

• FAANG’s $800 Billion Rally Has Mom and Pop Investors Cashing Out (Bloomberg)
• Amazon goes into luxury beauty (AFR)
• Apple’s Health Opportunity Could be Triple Smartphone Market (Bloomberg)
• Cybercrime groups continue to flourish on Facebook (TC)
• 76% is how much Microsoft ‘s cloud-computing business grew sales last year (Barron’s)

Asia Tech & Innovation Trends

• Panda TV’s demise makes way for gaming giant Tencent to dominate live streaming too (SCMP)
• Aeon to use facial recognition at 80 China self-serve stores; Smart supermarkets anticipate customer purchases upon store entry (Nikkei)
• Azoop, a second-hand truck trading service operator, raises 450 million yen to transform 15 trillion yen of transportation industry with IT (TC)
• Who was first to launch 5G? Depends who you ask (Reuters)
• Ola to Oyo: An emerging breed of internet-age Indian companies have global ambitions (Forbes)
• Why One Startup Founder Turned Down a $1.1 Billion SoftBank Deal (Bloomberg)
• Australian regulators cautiously embrace AI to boost compliance; Markets watchdog begins trials designed to tackle misconduct and improve regulation (FT)
• Power grid not ready for spike in electric vehicles (Age)
• In Southeast Asia, a land without Uber has an Uber for everything (SCMP)

Global Tech & Innovation Trends

• Pinterest seeks $11.3bn valuation in New York IPO; Online scrapbooking site plans to sell 75m shares at a price range of $15 to $17 each (FT)
• Subscription Is Blowing Up Aussie Traditional Models (CDOT)
• Roblox hits milestone of 90M monthly active users (TC)
• Spotify’s new ad metrics show what listeners do after they click (TC)
• The Argument For Schwab’s Subscription Model (Barron’s)
• How we get to the next big battery breakthrough (qz)
• Uber, ahead of IPO, sees some time before self-driving cars dominate the road (Reuters)
• The Future Of Enterprise Voice AI Is Genderless, In Your Car And (Hopefully) More Secure (Forbes)
• Investors should beware the behemoths rushing to market Lyft, Uber and Airbnb impress in almost every respect – but they do not make money (FT)
• Afterpay inspires US rival Sezzle to list on ASX (AFR)
• Call centres are set to go the way of the typing pool, according to the founder of pioneering UK job automation software company Blue Prism, but fears of a pending human jobs apocalypse are over blown. (AFR)
• Deliveroo’s subscription service shakes up $2.6b market (AFR, Age)
• The dawn of the deep tech ecosystem (BCG)
• Lyft Is Angry About Lockups (Bloomberg)
• This free software automates bankruptcy to help people clear their debts (FastCo)
• Avaya to Plan Auction After Getting Unsolicited Interest (Bloomberg)

Life

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (8 April 2019) – The technical landscape for processors and sensors for embedded computer vision applications has changed tremendously over the past five years and will continue to change dramatically over the next five years.

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (8 April 2019) – The technical landscape for processors and sensors for embedded computer vision applications has changed tremendously over the past five years and will continue to change dramatically over the next five years.

Companies

• Why Tencent Music Is Poised for Growth; The Chinese company is more than a music-streaming service. It’s a massive social network with strong tailwinds. (MF)
• Alibaba-backed parenting platform Babytree to branch out globally, grow international revenue over three years; Hong Kong-listed company wants revenue from international business to exceed a third of its China sales (SCMP)
• Trend Micro, Luxoft team up to protect networked cars from hackers (Star)
• Baring Private Equity Asia to acquire 30% in NIIT Tech for Rs 2,627 cr (BS)

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

• The team behind Baidu’s first smart speaker is now using AI to make films (TC)
• Tencent teams up with Hyundai for infotainment, not autonomous driving software (KRA)

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

• Why Facebook will have a hard time becoming the next WeChat (TNW)
• How Apple convinced us that AirPods aren’t ridiculous (anymore) (MW)
• Amazon’s Whole Foods price cuts aim to build a ‘Costco-like’ relationship with Prime members (MW)
• Amazon Go Faces Unlikely Challenge From Checkout-Free Startup (Bloomberg)
• Infographic: Microsoft’s Biggest Acquisitions (CBI)

Asia Tech & Innovation Trends

• TikTok’s next ambitious goal is to discover future music stars (TC)
• China’s virtual reality arcades aim for real-world success amid massive growth in market (JT)
• China’s US$10 budget phone maker seeks fortune in Belt and Road countries; Transsion plans to invest 3 billion yuan after its IPO on more factories, research and development, and new product lines (SCMP)
• The Asian brake behind Lyft’s juddering start (Nikkei)

Global Tech & Innovation Trends

• Big Tech must pay for access to America’s ‘digital oil’; In an era of data harvesting big web platforms are the new Saudi Aramco or ExxonMobil (FT)
• How rating everything from your Uber driver to your Airbnb host has become a nightmare (MW)
• Companies Take a Piecemeal Approach to Automation Tech (WSJ)
• Software, marketplaces and institutionalizing the wine market (AR)
• Could AI restore trust in banks? (AFR)
• The frightening future of robocalls: Numbers and voices you know (CNN)
• Businesses show no appetite for anti-terror AI tool (FT)
• Roblox games platform plans European expansion; US start-up has spawns community of developers, some of whom have become millionaires (FT)
• Roku Tumbles as Analysts See Competition From Apple and Amazon (Bloomberg)
• The technical landscape for processors and sensors for embedded computer vision applications has changed tremendously over the past five years and will continue to change dramatically over the next five years. (EET)

Life

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (6 April 2019) – Adobe’s growth to be fuelled by AI + 20 Ideas That Changed My Life

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (6 April 2019) – Adobe’s growth to be fuelled by AI + 20 Ideas That Changed My Life

Companies

• Online travel booking agency Webjet believes there will be plenty of growth in the B2B WebBeds business in 10 years time (Australian)

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

• Samsung warns its profits will drop 60% as smartphone demand slumps (CNN); Samsung profit plunge exposes smartphone king’s deeper problems; Excessive ambition, high costs and leadership void make it harder to fend off rivals (Nikkei)

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

• Amazon’s Whole Foods price cuts aim to build a ‘Costco-like’ relationship with Prime members (MW)
• Amazon Go Faces Unlikely Challenge From Checkout-Free Startup (Bloomberg)
• Apple Plus – brand versus subscription (BE)
• Apple Music’s U.S. subscriber count overtakes Spotify: source (Reuters)
• Microsoft ‘s partnership with Adobe to better integrate its sales and marketing software will enable the technology giant to compete with Salesforce (Barron’s)
• 3 Reasons Apple and Disney Won’t Dethrone Netflix in Streaming, According to an Analyst (Barron’s)
• Google Could Learn a Lot About You From Its New Gaming Platform (Medium)

Asia Tech & Innovation Trends

• KDDI set to launch smartphone payment service, joining rivals SoftBank and Docomo (JT)
• Panasonic makes first foray toward Indian EV charger network (Nikkei)
• Korean companies ready to exploit early adoption of 5G network; Retailer Shinsegae, amusement park Seoul Land go ahead for AR, VR services (Nikkei)
• Fast but patchy: Trying South Korea’s new 5G service; Reliability problems cloud benefit of quicker download speeds (Nikkei)
• Taiwanese travel startup KKday gives local tours a global reach; Millennials drawn to last-minute bookings and on the ground tips (Nikkei)
• Oyo to launch hotel business in Japan; Indian unicorn announces joint venture with SoftBank (Nikkei)

Global Tech & Innovation Trends

• Adobe’s growth to be fuelled by AI (Star)
• Boomplay, a Spotify-style music and video streaming service for African music and Africa, raises $20M (TC)
• Austria’s AI Brain Has a Plan to Take Down Waymo and Tesla (Bloomberg)
• Lego’s hopes new programmable robotics kit will see use in classrooms (JT)
• Fashion Resale Marketplace Poshmark Reportedly Eyeing IPO (CB)
• Firewall Leader Set to Expand; Palo Alto became a leading cybersecurity provider with its next-generation firewall appliance, forever altering the requirements of this essential piece of networking security (Morningstar)
• Payment `Disruptors’ Are Beating FAANG, Morgan Stanley Says (Bloomberg)

Life

• Trauma and How to Overcome It (TSOL)
• 20 Ideas That Changed My Life (SN)

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (5 April 2019) – How billionaire debutant Sanjeev Bikhchandani built himself a fortune; The new-age tycoon and founder of Info Edge has earned himself a a reputation to match

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (5 April 2019) – How billionaire debutant Sanjeev Bikhchandani built himself a fortune; The new-age tycoon and founder of Info Edge has earned himself a a reputation to match

Companies

• Alibaba-backed influencer platform Ruhnn takes a dive after Nasdaq debut (KRA)
• Cash-hungry news app Qutoutiao raises another USD 33m via public offering; The firm just had raised USD 171m from Alibaba (KRA)
• After booking huge loss, Tencent-backed Huya plans a share sale to raise USD 550m (KRA)
• Toei Animation: Dragon Ball Celebrates 30th Anniversary with Massive Wave of Merchandise (MW)
• Trend Micro’s Industrial IoT Joint Venture, TxOne Networks, Offers Sneak Peek of Solution to Securing Industrial Machinery (AO)
• How billionaire debutant Sanjeev Bikhchandani built himself a fortune; The new-age tycoon and founder of Info Edge has earned himself a a reputation to match (Forbes)
• MakeMyTrip unveils in-app live travel gameshow ‘Knock Knock’ (Forbes)
• VGI in Bt4.6 bn deal with Plan B to boost clout in outdoor advertising (Nation)

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

• Tencent partners with two banks in cloud business push (Technode)
• Tencent raises $6 billion in bond sale; proceeds for general purposes (Reuters)
• Samsung’s profit drops 60% on slump in panels and chips (Nikkei)
• Masayoshi Son Finds an Easy Way to Make $1 Billion a Year; The SoftBank tycoon’s move into alternative investing is smart, but the sheer size of his Vision Fund might make it harder to deliver U.S. exits. (Bloomberg)

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

• How start-ups have used Instagram to build $1bn businesses; Mattress company Casper and beauty brand Glossier leverage social media marketing (FT)
• Amazon says Alexa can now handle private patient information (MW)
• Amazon reportedly readying its Alexa-powered answer to AirPods (TC)
• Amazon puts a dent in Google’s ad dominance (MW)
• How Apple Arcade and other subscriptions could save-or sink-indie games; For better or worse, Netflix-like gaming services are a new wrinkle for independent creators. (FastCo)
• Microsoft Joins Tech Race to Clean Up Shipping With Big Data (Bloomberg)
• Netflix, Amazon and Disney fight for India’s online audience; The streaming giants are having trouble getting Indians to pay for content (Economist)

Asia Tech & Innovation Trends

• Freshcode hits home run in Korean food delivery scene (Investor)

Global Tech & Innovation Trends

• A Thriving Software Company You’ve Probably Never Heard of Has Beaten the Dow for a Decade (Barron’s)
• Tradeweb Jumps in Debut After 2019’s Second-Biggest U.S. IPO (Bloomberg)
• Snapchat launches Mario Party-style multiplayer games platform (TC); Snapchat eyes mobile gaming in an effort to woo users; New features aim to stem churn as group fails to turn a profit (FT)
• Wattpad, an online reading room, wants to print books; The Canadian startup thinks it can foretell which ones will sell (Economist)
• AI’s Nemesis is Cloud Storage Economics (EET)
• Walmart Unveils Voice-Activated, Google-Powered Grocery Shopping (Bloomberg)
• SeatGeek Fills New Enterprise Role as Overseas Opportunity Grows (Bloomberg)

Life

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

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)

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (3 April 2019) – Kudan is developing programs that enable computers to perceive real-world objects in three dimensions. They have uses in everything from driverless cars to drones and even vacuum cleaners + The Model Thinker: What You Need to Know to Make Data Work for You

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (3 April 2019) – Kudan is developing programs that enable computers to perceive real-world objects in three dimensions. They have uses in everything from driverless cars to drones and even vacuum cleaners + The Model Thinker: What You Need to Know to Make Data Work for You

Companies

• Bilibili launches $621 million offering, as China techs tap markets after IPOs (Reuters)
• Goldman-Backed Chinese Online Pet Store Boqii Plans IPO (Bloomberg)
• Kudan is developing programs that enable computers to perceive real-world objects in three dimensions. They have uses in everything from driverless cars to drones and even vacuum cleaners. It works with other technologies such as artificial intelligence to enhance the autonomous and interactive experience (Bloomberg)
• Cyber Agent Launches Online Polling Service for Bicycle Racers, and Opens a Bicycle Channel on “AbemaTV” (TC)
• Trend Micro sees big opportunity in India’s hybrid cloud security needs (FE); Trend Micro and Luxoft Partner to Secure Vehicles and Mobility Services Against Cyber-attacks (BW)
• Toei Animation: ‘Dragon Ball’ 30th Anniversary Powers Up Major Licensing Surge (AM)
• Dynabook plans Taiwan branch to tap Foxconn supply chain (Nikkei); Apple’s Major Supplier Foxconn Takes One for the Team; The company’s inventories kept piling up, even as iPhone sales fell. That’s the price of loyalty. (Bloomberg)
• Machvision listed on TWSE; Machvision has joined Korea’s Koh Young and Malaysia’s Vitrox as the top-3 AOI suppliers in Asia, with the company now leading in both profitability and yield rates, according to Chairman Wang. (DT)
• How SEA’s Shopee is using data science to take their platform to the next level (e27)

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

• Taobao’s ‘e-commerce via live broadcast’ empire aims higher as annual turnover exceeds USD 15b (KRA)
• Tencent follows Google into cloud gaming with ‘Start’ pilot; Chinese tech giant is testing new service in Shanghai and Guangdong (FT)

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

• Does Apple even care about computers anymore? (qz)
• What Apple Needs for TV+ to Succeed (Medium)
• Netflix’s Dizzying Valuation Faces Biggest Test Yet; Disney, AT&T and Apple are coming, and this time they are really bringing the heat. (Bloomberg); Netflix looms large as theater owners assess industry future (Reuters); How Netflix decides what you want to watch (Age)

Asia Tech & Innovation Trends

• Shanghai tech board shows fresh approach to listings by admitting loss-making chipmaker (Technode); China’s IPOs Will Be a Gamble for the First Time in Years (Bloomberg)
• This Temasek-backed company has a strategy to help China’s state hospitals compete in the data economy; Haici is helping China’s state hospitals transition to online platform service providers (SCMP)
• Toyota’s Cue 3 robot can’t slam dunk or even dribble, but it shoots a mean 3-pointer (JT)
• Japan Carmakers Muddle Toward AV, MaaS (EET)
• Video chatting app operator Hyperconnect’s Azar sales jumped 68 percent in 2018 to reach a record high, while its net profit jumped 134 percent to 17 billion won (Investor)
• Singapore’s Biggest Online Mall Fights Alibaba With Blockchain (Bloomberg)
• India’s Mswipe raises $30M to grow its smart point-of-sale terminal business (TC)

Global Tech & Innovation Trends

• Okta brings identity management to server level (TC)
• Streaming accounted for nearly half of music revenues worldwide in 2018 (TC)
• Softbank-Backed Brain Corp. Expands Its Robot “Brain” Beyond Floor Cleaning To Autonomous Delivery (Forbes)
• Andreessen Horowitz rides the wave of Silicon Valley IPOs (FT)
• Care.com slumps after Best Buy suspends relationship (Reuters)
• Startup Segment Is Worth $1.5 Billion, Thanks to Companies’ Troves of Customer Data (Bloomberg)
• Walmart Unveils Voice-Activated, Google-Powered Grocery Shopping (Bloomberg)
• Autonomous cars to quadruple vehicle software revenues to $1.2 trillion by 2030: Continental (Reuters)
• Why some green investors are passing on Uber and Lyft (Reuters); Analyst slaps $42 target on Lyft – 42% below its IPO price – says buying it is a ‘leap of faith’ (CNBC)
• Startup Taps AI to Monitor Chips; ProteanTecs’s approach spans yield and test to fault detection (EET)
• Online catering marketplace ezCater gets another $150M at a $1.25B valuation (TC)

Life

• The Model Thinker: What You Need to Know to Make Data Work for You Hardcover – November 27, 2018 (Amazon); Becoming a Model Thinker: My Interview with Professor and Mental Model Expert Scott Page [The Knowledge Project Ep. #55] (FS)
• Founder Exposed: Opening Up About Startup Failures and Vulnerability (FR)

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (2 April 2019) – No escape? Chinese VIP jail puts AI monitors in every cell ‘to make prison breaks impossible’; Minority Report-style crime prevention with artificial intelligence is fast becoming reality; The Outlandish Story Of Ollie’s: A $5 Billion Retail Empire That Sells Nothing Online (But Is Beating Amazon)

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (2 April 2019) – No escape? Chinese VIP jail puts AI monitors in every cell ‘to make prison breaks impossible’; Minority Report-style crime prevention with artificial intelligence is fast becoming reality; The Outlandish Story Of Ollie’s: A $5 Billion Retail Empire That Sells Nothing Online (But Is Beating Amazon)

Companies

• Thunisoft – No escape? Chinese VIP jail puts AI monitors in every cell ‘to make prison breaks impossible’ (SCMP)
• Saudi Telecom Company Solutions to utilize Trend Micro products under its cloud offerings (SG)
• Nexon/Tencent/Bain: no stroll in the park; The price of acquiring NXC’s video gaming business could reach as high as $14bn (FT)
• Delta acquires Amerlux, enhances its IoT-based solutions for smart cities (EENE)

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

• Tencent Holdings to buy back 10 per cent of shares to shore up stock price (SCMP)
• As Facebook looks to WeChat, China’s digital world is wowing the West, and globalisation is no longer a one-way street (SCMP)

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

• Artificial Intelligence Should Boost Amazon Stock, Analyst Says (Barron’s)
• Alphabet and Apple take divergent paths in health; Drug companies bet technology can revolutionise the $65bn market for clinical trials (FT)
• When it comes to disclosing sponsors, your Google Assistant may be mute (Reuters)
• Unfazed by trade war, Google collaborates with Huawei on health care AI initiative; Huawei’s new Track AI product for diagnosing eye conditions was built with Google’s TensorFlow software (SCMP)

Asia Tech & Innovation Trends

• Startups power Shenzhen’s rise as high-tech hub; City produces more than half of China’s international patent filings (Nikkei)
• Digital Manufacturing Has A China Dilemma (Forbes)
• China drone maker EHang delays IPO plan, eyes private funding: sources (Reuters)
• How Japan’s Aging Society Paves The Way For The Era Of Digital Health Care (Forbes)
• EV battery sector emerges as S. Korea’s new growth engine (Investor)
• Jio Health combines online and offline healthcare in Southeast Asia, starting in Vietnam (TC)
• Now Zomato users can order from Bulandshahr, Rewari, Gurdaspur, others as food delivery expands to 213 cities (FE)
• Brisbane startup Explorate wants to become the shipping industry’s answer to Webjet (CM)
• S. family tracking app Life360 seeks investors for Australia IPO (Reuters)

Global Tech & Innovation Trends

• Minority Report-style crime prevention with artificial intelligence is fast becoming reality (SCMP)
• On-Demand Startups Are Hemorrhaging Tens of Billions a Year (Bloomberg)
• SambaNova Systems, A Startup In The Hot AI Hardware Space, Scores $150 Million Investment From Intel And Alphabet (Forbes)
• Schwab Subscription Move Could Change the Game (MW)
• Why New Technologies Take Decades to Change the Economy (Barron’s)
• Financial Times reaches a million paying readers (Reuters)
• Profit questions throw Lyft shares into reverse; Car-booking group’s stock falls nearly 12% to drop below Friday’s listing (FT)
• How Disney grew its $3 billion Mickey Mouse business-by selling to adults (FastCo)
• Airbnb to invest $100-200 million in India’s OYO – source (Reuters)

Life

• The Shadow Side of Greatness (JC)
• The Outlandish Story Of Ollie’s: A $5 Billion Retail Empire That Sells Nothing Online (But Is Beating Amazon) (Forbes)
• A Convenient Fortune: Soaring Stock Of Circle K’s Parent Company Creates New Billionaire (Forbes)

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (1 April 2019) – How AI Is Reshaping Healthcare Data; IKEA is getting into the FaaS (Furniture as a Service) game to become the “Netflix of Furniture”

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (1 April 2019) – How AI Is Reshaping Healthcare Data; IKEA is getting into the FaaS (Furniture as a Service) game to become the “Netflix of Furniture”

Companies

• China’s grocery delivery battle heats up with Meituan’s entry (TC)
• How a Dying Factory Became a Symbol of China’s Tech Might; BOE builds OLED display capacity for foldable smartphones (Bloomberg)
• Rakuten to book $990m profit from Lyft IPO (Nikkei)

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

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

• Google’s Revived Robotics Department Prioritizes Powerful AI; Fewer humanoid robots, more sophisticated software. (Futurism)
• How Netflix plans on owning your kids’ screen time; Inside the streaming giant’s modest-looking but no less ambitious animation studio. (FastCo)

Asia Tech & Innovation Trends

• Chinese tech faces an innovation reality check as the economy cools and start-ups stumble; Even after a banner year for venture capital funding, some investors predict that as many as 90 per cent of Chinese tech start-ups are doomed to fail (SCMP)
• Missing Unicorns Cast Doubt on Shanghai’s Tech Dream (Bloomberg)
• South Korea’s burned out millennials choose YouTube over Samsung (Reuters)
• Why Yatra doesn’t intend to go back to TV; The online travel aggregator was the first in its category to sign on Bollywood celebrities for big-bang advertisements, but says the medium turned into a double-edged sword (Forbes); Yatra’s eventful trip from buyer to buyout target (Forbes)
• Nykaa on its way to become the next billion-dollar Indian company (BS)
• Chasing the dream of seamless public-private transportation, Grab launches ‘trip planner’ in Jakarta; Rival Go-Jek pioneered a link up with Jakarta’s public bus network in 2015 but dropped the feature again (KRA)

Global Tech & Innovation Trends

• How AI Is Reshaping Healthcare Data (CBI)
• IKEA is getting into the FaaS (Furniture as a Service) game; IKEA Is Betting Millennials Would Rather Rent Furniture Than Own It (Barron’s)
• Artificial intelligence group DeepMind readies first commercial product; Device can diagnose a range of eye diseases in real time as accurately as the best specialists (FT)
• WeWork’s $1.9 Billion Loss Is A Typical Tech Bubble 2.0 Story (ZH); On-demand companies rewired our lives. Now they must survive Wall Street (CNN)
• If Only Blockbuster had Listened to Enron …How Blockbuster Blew a Chance to Dominate Video-On-Demand. (Medium)
• Robot ‘natural selection’ recombines into something totally new (Wired)
• When a rose is not a rose: Defining the theme of robotics, automation & AI (RG)
• 5G: Transforming Tomorrow with the Power of Data (RG)
• End of arm tooling: The secret sauce of collaborative applications (TRR)
• How Big Tech Is Finally Tackling Cybersecurity (CBI)
• 50 Future Unicorns (CBI)
• How the post Google, Facebook era could be ‘golden age’ for media (Age)

Life

• 4 practical facts about the human brain that can help you cultivate emotional resilience (FastCo)

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (30 March 2019) – Japan aims to produce 250,000 AI experts a year + How to Dare to Begin

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (30 March 2019) – Japan aims to produce 250,000 AI experts a year + How to Dare to Begin

Companies

• Chinese AI iFLYTEK courts New Zealand (NR)
• People.cn, the online unit of China’s influential People’s Daily, is boosting its numbers of human internet censors backed by artificial intelligence to help firms vet content on apps and adverts, capitalising on its unmatched Communist Party line (Reuters)
• Profits for Midea-backed robot maker Kuka fall 80% in 2018 (Technode)
• Robot maker Fanuc’s CEO steps back after 16 years at controls; Son of founder presided over doubling of market capitalization (Nikkei)
• Zuken Partners with Delta Sigma (TL)
• Koh Young Technology: Go to the market of brain surgery robot. Production base in Yeoju (HK)
• Foxconn earnings beat market estimates on booming 5G demand; Network and computing equipment offsets slowing iPhone sales (Nikkei)
• Getac launches a ruggedized K120-Ex Windows 10 tablet for explosive environments; New Getac rugged tablet solution drives safety and productivity in hazardous industries (ZDnet)
• GaAs foundry Win Semi expects pick-up in capacity utilization (DT)

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

• Alipay now counts more than 160,000 mini-apps, as the race between platforms intensifies (KRA)
• Alibaba has acquired Teambition, a China-based Trello and Asana rival, in its enterprise push (TC)
• Investors to Naspers: Show Us the Tencent Money (Barron’s)
• Taiwan to block Tencent and Baidu streaming sites on security risk (Nikkei)

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

• Jail time and billions in fines under fast-tracked crackdown on social media giants (Age)
• Apple, in rare reversal, pulls plug on wireless charging mat (Reuters); For the first time in years, Apple is canceling a product before its release (qz)
• Apple Has $130 Billion in the Bank, So Why Is It Being So Frugal With Streaming TV? (Barron’s)

Asia Tech & Innovation Trends

• Big investors begin to shun China’s unlisted startups; Quarterly fundraising drops by half under trade war pressures (Nikkei)
• China’s top market regulator calls for crackdown on online ad content (Reuters)
• SF Express shutters grocery stores amid slowing e-commerce growth (Technode)
• Bytedance acquires cloud-based productivity tool Mubu (Technode)
• Japan aims to produce 250,000 AI experts a year (Nikkei)
• KAKEHASHI adds high-risk drug description display and automatic posting function to electronic drug history system (TC)
• “OYO LIFE” where you can live in Tokyo without security deposit, key money, brokerage fee, from property search to contract with smartphone (TC)
• State of pay: The race to become Indonesia’s leading mobile wallet (KRA)

Global Tech & Innovation Trends

• The rise of the ubiquitous voice assistant (TNW)
• AI Will Permeate Our Lives Soon (EET)
• 5 European companies that are (really) advancing AI (TNW)
• ServiceNow teams with Workplace by Facebook on service chatbot (TC)
• Toast, the restaurant management platform, has raised $250M at a $2.7B valuation (TC)
• In market debut, Lyft counters Uber with ‘nice guy’ image (Reuters); Unicorns high valuations with equally big losses; Lyft is the latest star to hit the market but losses have risen to $2.3bn since 2016 (FT); I Asked Lyft’s Founders How They Plan to Turn a Profit (Bloomberg)
• Newly issued bonds in high-disruption industries have higher yields; the increase in credit risk can be largely attributed to an increase in the rate at which new and fast-growing firms displace incumbents, a phenomenon defined as ‘disruption’ (Voxeu)
• Nine Reasons Why Disney+ Will Succeed (And Why Four Criticisms are Overhyped) (Redef)
• Will Subscription Coffee Carry The Breakfast Wars? (Pymnts)
• Cashless Backlash in U.S. Fails to Dent a $95 Trillion Industry (Bloomberg)
• Elliott hikes stake in German 3D printer SLM Solutions to 29 percent (Reuters)
• Volkswagen, Siemens to collaborate on industrial cloud technology (Reuters)
• Daimler buys Torc Robotics stake for self-driving trucks (Reuters)

Life

• How to Dare to Begin (TSOL)

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (29 March 2019) – AI Powers a New Innovation Machine; How Collaborative Platforms and Ecosystems Are Changing Innovation + Ask yourself these five questions to find your best self; Finding an “alter ego” for yourself is a self-development strategy that can help you navigate the struggles that life presents with more grace and more grit.

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (29 March 2019) – AI Powers a New Innovation Machine; How Collaborative Platforms and Ecosystems Are Changing Innovation + Ask yourself these five questions to find your best self; Finding an “alter ego” for yourself is a self-development strategy that can help you navigate the struggles that life presents with more grace and more grit.

Companies

• China Regulator to Set Time Limits on Hot Short-Video Apps (Bloomberg)
• The World’s Greatest Delivery Empire; In China, Meituan has reshaped city life—and heightened a rivalry with a certain competitor. (Bloomberg)
• China’s Qutoutiao Gets Alibaba Backing Amid Spending Spree (Bloomberg)
• Line plots transition from messaging into payments; Social media platform names founder Shin Jungho as co-chief executive to drive shift (FT); Line Founder Named Co-Chief Executive as Japan Goes Cashless (Bloomberg)
• Rakuten’s $24bn Lyft windfall reveals hidden ambitions; Japan’s e-commerce pioneer quietly builds portfolio of tech investments as online mall share falters (Nikkei)
• An AI translation function of 74 languages in the world is added to the tablet terminal of JapanTaxi in business tie-up with Sourcenext (TC)
• Sony Pictures Sells Stake in Crackle TV Unit to Chicken Soup for the Soul (Bloomberg)
• Google Maps apologizes for going rogue in Japan; The navigation tool has placed a school in the sea, among other things. (BT)
• Machvision approved for listing on TWSE mainboard (DT)
• Garmin Stock Is Trading at an 11-Year High and a Big Shareholder Just Made a Huge Sale (Barron’s)
• KL-based Cuscapi acquires tech firm Amplify Me for US$1.6M; Malaysian company Cuscapi Bhd’s moves will migrate its existing customers from an aging client or server platform to cloud-based technology platform (e27)
• Sova brokerage chooses Iress as provider of order management, post-trade processing software (EM)
• For Appen and Figure Eight, some of the most important assets of their business models are the enormous, disparate labor pools they tap into in order to power their services; the work often serves a dual purpose: completing the project at hand while also training algorithms to do the work in the future (TB)

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

• Baidu launches a specialized video search app (KRA)
• Alibaba accuses Meituan CEO of libel for questioning founder’s integrity; Meituan CEO Wang Xing still thinks Ma “has an integrity problem,” referring to the spinoff of Alibaba financial payment subsidiary Alipay without board approval in 2011. (TN)
• Consumer group accuses Alibaba’s Fliggy, Ctrip of price optimization; Some 88% of the Chinese consumers believe that online shopping platforms, including those for travel bookings and ride-hailing, leverage user data they collect for personalized pricing to make users pay as much as possible (TN)
• Alibaba acquires Chinese productivity app Teambition (TN)
• Taobao doubles down on used car sales with Guazi and Souche (TN)
• WeChat’s new mini-program logistics linkup raises e-commerce stakes (TN)
• Tencent leads $296 million Series D round in Chinese big data solutions provider (TN)
• Could The Worst Be Over For China’s Tencent? (Forbes)

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

• Facebook is not our friend, no matter what their adverts say; Failure to act quickly on anti-vaccine and violent content shows how little they care (FT); How Facebook grew too big to handle; The tech giant’s ‘growth team’ brought it over a billion users – but did it also sow the seeds for the company’s current troubles? (FT)
• Why Instagram’s Move Into Shopping Is Good News for Facebook Stock (Barron’s)
• Why it’s hard to escape Amazon’s long reach (Wired); Amazon TV Director: Networks Should Scare You More Than Amazon; Amazon is spending billions to find its Game of Thrones moment (Medium)
• Tech Investor Is Afraid Apple May Be Losing Its Innovation DNA (Barron’s); Beneath the glitz of Apple’s latest event, an air of quiet desperation (Age); How Apple Card works (TC); Millions Are Being Lost To Apple Pay Fraud-Will Apple Card Come To The Rescue? (Forbes); Apple promises customers a safer digital world – for a price (CNN)
• Is Apple Saying Goodbye to Fashion? When Apple introduced the Apple Watch five years ago, the whole tech industry began to flirt with style. But interest in wearables has cooled. (NYT)
• The Big Problem for All the New Gaming Platforms; Google and Apple were the first to unveil a “Netflix for video games,” but Microsoft has the big-name games. (Bloomberg)
• Buy Microsoft Stock Because of Its Big Cloud Deals, Says JPMorgan (MW)
• The battle to control artificial intelligence; One man holds the future of artificial intelligence in his hands. But is Google the right company to usher in the future of humanity? (AFR)

Asia Tech & Innovation Trends

• This state-backed AI unicorn has helped Chinese police arrest 10,000 criminals; Initially focused on finance, Cloudwalk grew into the biggest AI supplier to Chinese banks, which use its facial recognition technology in ATMs (SCMP)
• Alibaba-backed fintech startup gets funding to take small biz loans to China (TIA)
• Online streaming service Leshi struggles to turn itself around; Once-hot Chinese company logs nearly $300m net loss as diversification backfires (Nikkei)
• How an Esports Queen Trounced Billionaire Heirs: One woman navigated this cutthroat, male-dominated world to build China’s biggest club, beating out rivals who came from riches. (Bloomberg)
• Developers’ lives matter’ – Chinese software engineers use Github to protest against the country’s 996 work schedule (Bloomberg)
• This Hong Kong Startup Uses Technology To Change Everyday Grocery Shopping (Forbes)
• Coming soon to a Geely car near you – Danish bank Saxo’s retail finance platform; Company wants Chinese investors to access 40,000 financial instruments trading on its platforms through dashboard app (SCMP)
• Japan is far ahead of the rest of the world in evocative machines, even though it’s not yet a formal discipline. There is a unique Japanese technology emerging from the nexus of AI, robotics, and healthcare, and it’s something that could utterly transform our world. (TIA)
• Cash-obsessed Japan slowly buying into digital payment systems (JT)
• Viva Republica faces hurdles in launching Korea’s 3rd internet-only bank (Investor)
• SendBird looks to break up messenger monopoly (Investor)
• Indian hotel unicorn Oyo says surpassing Marriott only the start; Tech startup kicks off global expansion of room rentals in Tokyo (Nikkei); OYO acquires midscale Chinese hotel brand Qianyu (ET)
• Shopmatic acquires 50.1% stake in Octopus (LM)
• BigBasket joins unicorn club with new $150 million funding round (ET)
• Singaporean startup DocDoc offers smart matches in medical care; It’s more than matchmaking for medical treatment. (KRA)
• Carro launches car subscription service in Singapore (TIA)

Global Tech & Innovation Trends

• Softbank-backed firm wants to put 100,000 cloud-based robots in the market by 2021, to seek US$300 million in private funding (SCMP)
• Palantir wins $800 million contract to build the US Army’s next battlefield software system (TC)
• WeWork Lenders Are Getting Cold Feet; Rapid growth has left many bankers in Europe reluctant to provide more money to its landlords, threatening future growth. (Bloomberg)
• French start-up turns up the heat with ceramic storage (AFR)
• The robots coming to choose your groceries (AFR)
• SoftBank-backed Improbable makes a big bet on video games; Virtual simulation start-up’s losses increased tenfold last year as it ramped up spending (FT)
• Time Out audience engagement hit by Facebook changes; Media group gains momentum from digital advertising campaigns and food markets (FT)
• Lyft’s insurance problem (FT)
• Tech IPOs Aren’t the Milestones They Once Were; Changes in capital markets and startups have made going public less momentous. (Bloomberg)
• Schwab Switching to Subscription-Based Fee in Netflix-Like Move (Bloomberg)
• How 5G Will Transform the Way We Live and Work (Bloomberg)
• Financial Management Startup Carta Is Raising New Funding at a $1.8 Billion Valuation (Bloomberg)
• Tech Stocks Morph Into a Three-Headed Monster (Bloomberg)

Life

• Different Kinds of Information (MH)
• AI Powers a New Innovation Machine (BCG); How Collaborative Platforms and Ecosystems Are Changing Innovation (BCG)
• Ask yourself these five questions to find your best self; Finding an “alter ego” for yourself is a self-development strategy that can help you navigate the struggles that life presents with more grace and more grit. (FastCo)
• Equity Financial Assets: A Tool for Earnings Management?A Case Study of a Chinese Corporation (Abacus)

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (28 March 2019) – Would you like fries with that? McDonald’s drive-throughs will start making personalised suggestions based on artificial intelligence

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (28 March 2019) – Would you like fries with that? McDonald’s drive-throughs will start making personalised suggestions based on artificial intelligence

Companies

• US ban bruises earnings at 4 Chinese tech companies; ZTE posts net loss for 2018 after sanctions damaged operations and image; Sales growth in 2018 fell for the other companies banned by the U.S., excluding Huawei. Hikvision shrunk to 19% from 31% (Nikkei)
• Japan Internet Giants Join Forces as Payments Race Heats Up; Line and Mercari become allies to take on SoftBank, Rakuten; The race is on for dominance in Japanese cashless transactions (Bloomberg); Japan’s Line and Mercari form mobile payment partnership; Chat app operator, e-retailer aim for scale to survive intense competition (Nikkei); Japan’s Line and Mercari form mobile payment partnership; Chat app operator, e-retailer aim for scale to survive intense competition (Nikkei)
• Missteps mar Japanese e-tailer Zozo’s fashion house look; Aggressive expansion creates bargain-basement image; “Zozotown is being used as a place to get rid of inventory” (Nikkei)
• Sony to conduct tests on remotely driven cars with NTT Docomo (JT)
• BizLink looks to electric vehicles to drive growth (TT)
• Mechanical motion control component and industrial robot maker Hiwin Technologies has reported net profit of NT$5.392 billion (US$175 million), hiking 96.96% on year to hit a company record. (DT)
• Hong Leong goes live with Iress ViewPoint (FE)

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

• Alibaba-owned Lazada to bolster financial services offerings (Technode); A Payments App Backed by Jack Ma That’s Mimicking Ant Financial (Bloomberg)
• Tencent rolls out logistics interface for vendors on WeChat; Not only does this move allow Tencent to step further into e-commerce, it also encourages additional usage of its e-wallet. (KRA)
• Tencent leads in Series B round for Chinese patient-centric business Shuidi (KRA)
• Naspers CEO Bets on Dutch Listing to Fix Tencent Discount (Bloomberg)

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

• How Facebook could target ads in age of encryption; Zuckerberg promises privacy, but experts warn metadata can be mined to build behavioural profiles (FT)
• The Enormous Numbers Behind Amazon’s Market Reach (Bloomberg)
• Gmail will now let you interact with messages just like web pages right in your inbox (TNW)
• How Apple’s Event Reveals The Strategic Flaw In Its Thinking (Forbes)
• Apple vs. Netflix: Turf wars flaring in big tech reflect limits to growth (JT); Apple Services May Be Worth More Than the iPhone Business, Analyst Says (Barron’s); Apple Is Betting Big on Digital Subscriptions. Here’s Why. (Barron’s); Apple Still Doesn’t Get the News-Subscription Business; To appeal to users, the latest service needs to give access to major publications such as the New York Times and the Washington Post. (Bloomberg); Apple’s Current Products Could Be the Key to Success for Its New Services (Barron’s); The New Apple Services That Will Generate the Most Revenue, According to an Analyst (Barron’s)
• Netflix’s Challenge in India: The Competition Is Cheaper (Barron’s)

Asia Tech & Innovation Trends

• From Big Macs to Nikes: Hong Kong AI start-up Miro uses computer vision to track your sneakers in races (SCMP)
• Appetite for food-delivery apps wanes among small restaurant owners (Technode)
• Bytedance to launch K-12 online education platform (TC)
• When did Huawei get so very good at making phones? It seems the answer to the question of how phone cameras got to be so good is straightforward: artificial intelligence. (AFR)
• Eight more companies given go-ahead to list on Shanghai’s new tech board (SCMP)
• Can China’s tech industry up its game and take the lead when it comes to innovation and research? China recently signalled its ambition to become a global tech superpower (SCMP)
• China property giants face call of tech sirens (Reuters)
• China’s green-vehicle makers feel the blues as subsidies ebb; BYD’s profit drops as automakers bleed cash to keep prices low amid rising sales (Nikkei)
• Google-Backed AI Startup Seeks $1 Billion Valuation Before Its IPO (Bloomberg)
• China’s Closing the $6 Trillion Electric-Car Gap; Beijing is redirecting subsidies to charging infrastructure. This is commendable, but implementation will be key. (Bloomberg)
• China can excel in consumer robotics, says Credit Suisse Asset Management specialist (SCMP)
• Bukalapak launches capital funding solutions Modal Mitra for kiosk owners (e27)

Global Tech & Innovation Trends

• McDonald’s Stock Is Up Because the Company Is Betting on Artificial Intelligence (Barron’s); Would you like fries with that? McDonald’s drive-throughs will start making personalised suggestions (SCMP)
• The Slack AI assistant automating creative tasks and driving data-driven decision making (TNW)
• Before breaking up with Shopify, Mailchimp quietly acqui-hired LemonStand, a Shopify competitor (TC)
• The Irrational Exuberance Of Lyft’s IPO: Will The Bubble Burst? (Forbes)
• Adobe to Unveil Software Platform, Taking on Salesforce (Bloomberg)
• Unilever to pick ‘trusted publishers’ for digital advertising (Reuters)
• Auto1 Challenges EBay, Scout24 With German Car Classifieds Push (Bloomberg)

Life

• Lincoln on How to Handle Criticism (BP)

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (27 March 2019) – Coding will be mandatory in Japan’s primary schools from 2020

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (27 March 2019) – Coding will be mandatory in Japan’s primary schools from 2020

Companies

• Meituan adds grocery delivery to its ‘everything’ app (Technode)
• Livestream app Inke’s 2018 profits fall on lack of innovation as segment weakens (Technode)
• China video-streaming firm iQIYI targets raising $1.1 billion in convertible bonds (Reuters)
• Google charts its own course to the future in Japanese maps; Users gripe about quality as internet powerhouse pulls back from local partner Zenrin (Nikkei)
• Global firm Hosokawa Micron launches state-of-the-art lab facility at Sci-Tech Daresbury (BMS)
• Viva Republica finalizes consortium for internet-only Toss Bank which includes Korea Electronic Certification Authority (KH)
• Sea’s e-commerce platform could turn profit ‘in couple of years’; Shopee has focused on building scale to face competition (FT)

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

• Technology and big data analysis drive 80-time average growth in fund size at world’s most-used money market fund platform; Since its move to include funds from outside managers, Yu’e Bao has expanded into a cash management platform with 20 funds (SCMP)
• Alibaba’s Tmall online supermarket aims to cover almost all Chinese households (KRA)
• com and Alibaba export AI and robot logistics expertise; E-commerce giants expand delivery and warehouse solutions beyond China (Nikkei)
• Huawei bets on high-end handsets to dethrone Samsung in Europe (Nikkei)
• Move Over Warren Buffett–For This $200 Billion Man From Japan (Forbes)

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

• Apple Stock Will Plunge Because There’s Not Much Profit in New Services, Goldman Sachs Says (Barron’s); All the Businesses Apple Wants to Disrupt — and Whether It Can (Barron’s); With iPhone sales slowing, Apple bets on video, gaming, news and a credit card (Economist); Apple’s new services could either be Netflix ‘poison’ or barely meaningful (MW); Apple Is Reinventing Itself as the Ultimate Middleman; The company just launched three new ways to take a cut of your paycheck-and one card to pay for it all. (Slate); Apple’s Services Event (Stratechery); Apple spotlights services with TV, gaming and credit card offerings (Reuters); Apple News+, at $10 a month, could deliver more content than multiple subscriptions (Reuters); Apple Card puts customer first, Goldman second (Reuters); Goldman’s Apple pairing furthers bank’s mass-market ambitions (Reuters); The real choice you make when you subscribe to Apple services (Wired)
• As Amazon Leads Cashless Charge, States and Cities Push Back (Bloomberg)
• Netflix pilots $4 mobile plan in India to woo users (Reuters)
• Nvidia-Mellanox deal underestimates China anti-monopoly risk (Technode); Nvidia CEO says no plans for more acquisitions after Mellanox deal (Reuters)

Asia Tech & Innovation Trends

• Beijing gave its biggest electric-vehicle maker $1 billion in help toward a single year of sales (qz); China Scales Back Electric-Car Subsidies to Spur Innovation (Bloomberg)
• Bytedance reportedly launches reading app (Technode); Douyin tests long videos to win new users (KRA)
• Can China’s tech industry up its game and take the lead when it comes to innovation and research? (SCMP)
• This 31-Year-Old Built A Billion-Dollar Business By Developing AI-Powered Facial Recognition Tech (Forbes)
• Japan’s mom-and-pop shops gain global e-commerce platform (Nikkei)
• Coding will be mandatory in Japan’s primary schools from 2020 (Nikkei)
• D-WAVE’s “Leap”, which will lease approximately 1.7 billion yen of quantum computers for free, will finally be officially released in Japan (TC)
• Indonesia to fix motorbike ride-hailing rates; may hurt Grab, Go-Jek (Reuters)
• Indian Railways has earned $3 million in just parking charges from taxi aggregators (qz)
• Coles turns to robots in grocery home-delivery overhaul (Age); Welcome to supermarkets 3.0: Robots, AI and dark stores (Age)

Global Tech & Innovation Trends

• Spotify acquires true crime studio Parcast to expand its original podcast content (TC); Spotify to buy podcasting business Parcast for more than $100m; Music streaming group makes third podcasting acquisition in two months (FT)
• Adobe and Salesforce announce Customer Data Platforms to pull data into single view (TC); Adobe announces two new analytics tools to help marketers fill in the customer picture (TC); Adobe launches its Commerce Cloud, based on its Magento acquisition (TC); Adobe announces deeper data sharing partnership with Microsoft around accounts (TC); Adobe, Microsoft to take on Salesforce’s marketing software, with LinkedIn as a weapon (Reuters)
• Unicorns aren’t profitable, and Wall Street doesn’t care (TC)
• Hello Alfred launches new platform to reach more buildings and improve accessibility (TC)
• Lola.com raises $37M to take on SAP and others in the world of business travel (TC)
• How the Internet of Things is making the world a safer haven (e27)
• Vlocity nabs $60M Series C investment on $1B valuation (TC)
• Travis Kalanick’s new venture buys UK ‘dark kitchens’ business; Ex-Uber chief looks to expand outside US through acquisitions; Travis Kalanick’s CloudKitchens would enable restaurants to share facilities and cut overheads (FT)
• The PDF is dead: e-invoicing surge to speed up payment times (Age)
• McDonald’s $300 Million Deal Is Another Feat for a Tech Dynasty (Bloomberg)
• Oracle Trims Staff During Difficult Transition to Cloud Services (Bloomberg)
• Online furniture retailer Wayfair Inc. will open a physical store in its home state this year, the latest e-commerce company looking to impress customers with showrooms and displays rather than just websites and Facebook posts. (Bloomberg)
• Online mattress retailer Casper to hire IPO underwriters – sources (Reuters)
• 3 New SaaS Venture Rounds And Their Supporting Growth Metrics (CB)
• Depressed and Anxious? These Video Games Want to Help (NYT)

Life

• How to pursue your dream when everyone says it won’t work (FastCo)

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (26 March 2019) – Deep Science AI joins Defendry to automatically detect crimes on camera

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (26 March 2019) – Deep Science AI joins Defendry to automatically detect crimes on camera

Companies

• China Literature Ltd., which operates one of the country’s leading online literature platforms, had signed 7.7 million writers and offered 112 million online literature works by the end of 2018 (Xinhua)
• Investors take legal action against Nio for ‘misleading statements’ (Technode)
• USI Collaborates with Microsoft to Launch the World’s First Azure Sphere Combo Module Designed to Meet Data Security and Connectivity Needs (ITN)
• New Applications with Operational Updates in WiseChip Transparent OLED Displays Series (ITN)
• Altium Launches “Altium Academic Programs” to Empower Next Generation of Technology Innovators (PRNW)

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

• Alibaba acquires Israeli startup Infinity Augmented Reality (TC)
• Samsung Issues Rare Profit Warning on Slump in Memory-Chip Price (Bloomberg)
• Only ‘No. 1’ companies will survive in AI era, says SoftBank CEO; Rivalry heats up as ride-hailing companies head to public markets (Nikkei)

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

• Facebook crumbles around its lonely king (MW); Social media executives will be threatened with the introduction of jail sentences unless the industry co-operates with stopping their platforms being used to spread terrorist and extremist material. (AFR)
• Apple leaves a lot of questions about its subscription services unanswered (MW); Apple wants investors to focus on its services business. Regulators may, too (CNN); Tim Cook says Apple Card is a game changer. Experts are not so sure (CNN); What Apple’s Credit Card Means For Fintech (Forbes); Apple Card will make credit card fraud a lot more difficult (TC); Apple TV+ makes Facebook Watch look like a joke (TC); Apple TV+ joins crowded market for streaming options (Reuters); Apple’s not building a Netflix-killer. It’s got something bigger in mind (Age); Apple Launches $10 a Month Magazine, News Subscription Service (Bloomberg); Apple Shows Off Apple TV+ Video Service, Taking on Netflix (Bloomberg); Apple Debuts Apple Arcade Gaming Subscription Service (Bloomberg); Even Oprah Can’t Paper Over Apple’s Services Flaws; The iPhone maker’s big event highlights some half-baked ideas. (Bloomberg); Apple’s next big things are not things – hardware giant shifts to services with TV streaming, news, credit card and games; The strategic transformation of the tech giant into a content provider puts it in competition with Netflix and other streaming services (SCMP); Apple working on games subscription service for gadgets: Bloomberg (Reuters); Apple stretches to take on Netflix, Amex, Disney (Reuters)
• Apple’s new ‘Sesame Street’-themed TV show will teach kids coding basics (TC)
• Why Netflix Won’t Be Disrupted by New Competition From Apple (Barron’s); Why Netflix Won’t Be Part of Apple TV (NYT)

Asia Tech & Innovation Trends

• China no match for US unicorns in AI, big data and robotics as it continues to play catch-up in R&D, says Credit Suisse (SCMP)
• Yunji, a startup that enables social commerce via WeChat, files for $200M US IPO (TC)
• This small team is building a social credit system app for China’s youth to determine who’s naughty or nice; A state-linked company partnering with the Communist Youth League Central Committee has launched a big-data credit app aimed at incentivizing positive action (SCMP); Life as one of China’s 13 million ‘deadbeats’ means slow trains, special ring tones; Individuals on a national list of ‘discredited individuals’ are barred from taking airplanes and high-speed trains (SCMP)
• Xenodata, which develops the financial information AI analysis service “xenoBrain”, to raise 780 million yen (TC)
• Aussie ‘influencer’ platform shoots for US stars after big capital raise (AFR)
• Airwallex becomes the fastest Aussie unicorn after $US100m raise (AFR); Airwallex enables customers to create international bank accounts instantly, access interbank exchange rates and send money through local and international clearing networks to more than 130 countries. (Age)
• Delhivery leading e-commerce logistics market is not a winner-takes-all game, says expert (FE)

Global Tech & Innovation Trends

• Deep Science AI joins Defendry to automatically detect crimes on camera (TC)
• Can AI be a fair judge in court? Estonia thinks so (Wired)
• McDonald’s to buy AI company Dynamic Yield; Acquisition will help burger group customise its menu displays based on differing variables (FT); McDonald’s is acquiring Dynamic Yield to create a more customized drive-thru (TC); McDonald’s $300 Million Tech Deal Will Revolutionize Menus (Bloomberg)
• Warnings of a Dark Side to A.I. in Health Care (NYT)
• The Unicorn Stampede Is Coming (Bloomberg)
• Tradeweb Markets plans to raise up to $709 million in IPO (Reuters)
• Naspers Brings SoftBank-Style Mega-Tech to Europe; A $100 billion technology investor is about to land in the continent. (Bloomberg)
• Pinterest’s future relies on pegging global sales (Reuters)
• Lyft: Last Mile or Last Straw? (Morningstar)

Life

• In the face of adversity, are you a Guernsey or a Brahman? (FS)
• Mind your emotions: why emotional agility is the key to personal growth (Medium)

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (25 March 2019) – HEROZ AI automatically proposes stock portfolio based on financial theory in new service for SMBC Nikko Securities; AI can be trusted to take our 911 calls

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (25 March 2019) – HEROZ AI automatically proposes stock portfolio based on financial theory in new service for SMBC Nikko Securities; AI can be trusted to take our 911 calls

Companies

• HEROZ AI automatically proposes stock portfolio based on financial theory in new service for SMBC Nikko Securities (TC)
• Vision Travel and Direct Travel enhance booking capabilities through Serko’s Zeno (TW)
• Are Info Edge investors betting too much on Zomato valuations? (LM)

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

• Samsung scouts AI startups in Paris (Investor)

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

• Amazon gets an edge with its secret squad of PhD economists (CNN)
• Amazon makes own play for the beauty sector as online brands pick up steam (MW)

Asia Tech & Innovation Trends

• The Complex Fortune Growing Inside World’s Most Valuable Startup (Bloomberg)
• China’s Ping An Insurance finds success with focus on tech; Aggressive R&D begins to pay off and complement main business (Nikkei)
• Disaster survivor brings AI solutions to Asian insurance (Nikkei)
• The growth of global accommodation marketplace Airbnb in Australia has proven a boon for local property management start-up Hometime, which credits the platform for quadrupling its revenue in 13 months. (AFR)
• $500m ‘Black Mirror’ app chases ASX IPO (AFR)
• PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is the world’s most popular smartphone game. Indian cities have banned it, fearing it turns children into ‘psychopaths’ (SCMP)
• Delhi drives push for electric vehicles in India; $1.5bn in government subsidies will support electric scooters, three-wheelers and buses Bangalore electric scooter maker (FT)

Global Tech & Innovation Trends

• AI can be trusted to take our 911 calls (TNW)
• Banks use AI to catch rogue traders before the act; Technology presents an opportunity to spot errant bankers before misconduct takes place (FT)
• Google Search Moves Hurt Pinterest’s Growth, IPO Filing Shows (Bloomberg)
• Could Walmart be the next big company to launch a game streaming service? (TC)
• Smart grids are essential to prevent old power infrastructure from holding back the US economy (TNW)

Life

• Dirty Work For Robots: How Two Young Immigrant Entrepreneurs Created Oven-Sized Roombas To Chase A $5B Opportunity (Forbes)

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

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)

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (22 March 2019) – It’s Not Enough to Be Right-You Also Have to Be Kind

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (22 March 2019) – It’s Not Enough to Be Right-You Also Have to Be Kind; Takedowns and clever quips are easy, but empathy and persuasion are better

Companies

• Kakao acquires 28.9% stake in Tidesquare (Investor)
• GIS to ramp up in-display fingerprint sensor shipments to Samsung starting 2Q19 (Digitimes)
• VGI and AnyMind Group sign tech partnership (NM)
• Nearmap Aerial Imagery Helps Elite Grounds Achieve Ground-Breaking Increases in Accuracy and Productivity (BW)

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

• Alibaba to run its entire business on the cloud (Technode); Alibaba to step up cloud computing expansion amid growing global demand (SCMP)
• Fliggy, the online travel platform owned by Alibaba, launches its own shopping portal (KRA)
• Tencent to begin closed beta for cloud gaming service Start (Technode, KRA)
• Tencent to cut reliance on China gaming after profit hit (Reuters); Tencent loses steam as new growth engines struggle to take off; Asia’s once-most-valuable tech company suffers steepest profit drop in 14 years (Nikkei); Relax, Things Really Aren’t So Bad at Tencent; Management trimmed its marketing budget, and games monetization is back. That’s good news, really. (Bloomberg); Why Tencent Missed the Mark on Profit by Most in a Decade (Bloomberg)
• Clouded vision: Masayoshi Son prepares to unleash his second $100bn tech fund; Volatility in tech stocks, the Khashoggi scandal and frictions over governance have changed the mood around the Vision Fund (Economist)

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

• Apple TV App To Get A Second Life With Video Subscription Service (Forbes)
• Amazon to Launch Mobile Ads, in a Threat to Google and Facebook (Bloomberg)
• Google’s new gaming service will let game makers use rival clouds, executive says (Reuters)

Asia Tech & Innovation Trends

• Wave of layoffs washes over China’s tech giants; Mass demotion at Tencent follows job cuts at JD.com and NetEase (Nikkei)
• The China Tech Bubble Is Dead. Long Live the China Tech Bubble; Offshore private equity funds struggled to compete with a wave of onshore money. Now it’s retreating, and the water looks more inviting. (Bloomberg)
• World’s Biggest AI Startup Exploring Cars, Global Expansion (Bloomberg)
• Chinese smartphone firms jazz up products, seize turf in home market from Apple (Reuters)
• China’s auto, internet giants set up 9.76 billion yuan fund to invest in ride-sharing industry (Reuters)
• Meet TikTok, the social media your kids are watching (AFR)
• Chinese e-commerce platform Little Red Book upgrades its brand partner platform (KRA)
• Race is on for tech companies like Grab, Ant Financial to gain an edge in SE Asia’s financial services market (SCMP)

Global Tech & Innovation Trends

• Robotics process automation startup UiPath raising $400M at more than $7B valuation (TC)
• Rent the Runway hits a $1 billion valuation (TC)
• Big banks are using AI to keep out of trouble (CNN)
• Doctor App Babylon Health Offers Quick Appointments, But Grapples With Follow-Up Care For Mental Health (Forbes)
• Square Stock Is a Buy Because Its Cash App Will Grow, Analyst Says (Barron’s)
• Spotify enters high-stakes licensing talks with music industry; Universal, Sony and Warner control two-thirds of streaming service’s catalogue (FT)
• Someone Else Is Making Money on Your Online Returns (Bloomberg)
• Scientists reveal ancient social networks using AI-and x-rays (Wired)

Life

• Why book value has lost its meaning: The trouble with intangibles (Economist)
• It’s Not Enough to Be Right-You Also Have to Be Kind; Takedowns and clever quips are easy, but empathy and persuasion are better (Ryan Holiday)

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (21 March 2019) – Asian gaming companies face disruption from likes of Google; Next-generation cloud-based gaming will change the face of the industry; Asian gaming market accounted for 45%, or close to $44 billion, worth of the global industry in 2017

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (21 March 2019) – Asian gaming companies face disruption from likes of Google; Next-generation cloud-based gaming will change the face of the industry; Asian gaming market accounted for 45%, or close to $44 billion, worth of the global industry in 2017

Companies

• Spotify rival Tencent Music posts maiden quarter loss of $130M on one-off costs (TC); Tencent Music hits low pitch after first earnings report exposes costs (Reuters)
• ‘Everything app’ Meituan Dianping tumbles as end of lock-up nears; Tencent-backed group has posted widening losses on higher costs (FT)
• Investors fret about Xiaomi’s game plan, sending shares tumbling; Investors worry about Xiaomi’s ability to transition into higher-profit segments (SCMP)
• Struggling Meitu lays off 30% of its employees (KRA)
• Toei Animation Denies ‘Dragon Ball Super’ Return, Insider Stand Firm On Its Comeback (BTC)
• Citadel Group: signs contracts with RAH and University of Melbourne; CHARM platform goes live (KKM, AN)
• Fundies take a look at ASX-hopeful ReadyTech’s backers (AFR)

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

• Tencent seeks new growth in year of transition as consumer businesses mature (SCMP)
• What is WeChat’s dream? WeChat founder Allen Zhang explains (WC)
• Samsung expects tough 2019 as memory segment stalls (Nikkei)

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

• What Facebook needs to learn from WeChat’s group-chat pains (Technode)
• Instagram Is Asking for PayPal’s Help to Improve Its Shopping Experience (Barron’s)
• What Facebook’s Privacy Pivot Could Mean for Its Stock (Barron’s)
• Google’s new gaming service will let game makers use rival clouds, executive says (Reuters); What latency feels like on Google’s Stadia cloud gaming platform (TC); Google throws down clear challenge to gaming world; New video game streaming service has potential to upend $135bn industry (FT); Google Just Showed Us the Future of Gaming; Data centers could make individual game consoles obsolete (Medium)
• How to book train tickets in India straight from the Google Pay app (TNW)
• Teams, Microsoft’s Slack competitor, says it’s signed up over 500k organizations, adds whiteboard and live events support (TC)
• Amazon (sub)Prime? How commingling has contaminated Amazon inventory and paved the way for a huge lemon problem. (FT)
• Netflix Stock Could Keep Surging Because It Truly Is a Global Company (Barron’s)

Asia Tech & Innovation Trends

• The China Tech Bubble Is Dead. Long Live the China Tech Bubble; Offshore private equity funds struggled to compete with a wave of onshore money. Now it’s retreating, and the water looks more inviting. (Bloomberg)
• What makes China a tough yet exciting market for SaaS (TIA)
• PicsArt hits 130 million MAUs as Chinese flock to its photo editing app (TC)
• Smart speakers in China are learning dialects (KRA)
• ByteDance shifts attention to live broadcasting business with its new centralised platform; ByteDance is making moves to amp up revenues from its live broadcasting businesses (KRA)
• Tencent-backed Kwai launches new app to go after Douyin’s core users (KRA)
• Ping An acquires Lenovo Smart Medical to help digitalize hospitals (KRA)
• Asian gaming companies face disruption from likes of Google; Next-generation cloud-based gaming will change the face of the industry (Nikkei)
• Japanese-led AnyMind raises $8m for AI ads in Bangkok stations (Nikkei)
• Race is on for tech companies like Grab, Ant Financial to gain an edge in SE Asia’s financial services market (SCMP); Grab vs. Go-Jek: Inside Asia’s Battle of the ‘Super Apps’; The rival ride-hailing services are now dueling to deliver everything from groceries to mortgages to Southeast Asia’s middle class. (Fortune)
• Indonesian mobile wallet Ovo adds mutual funds investment feature; The move extends Ovo services beyond payment (KRA)
• Thailand’s mobile-only bank challenges millennials to save (Nikkei)

Global Tech & Innovation Trends

• The Venture-Capital Bubble Is Going to Burst (Barron’s)
• Postmates’ newest feature is like Uber POOL for food delivery (TC)
• How Podcasts Learned to Speak; The once useless-seeming medium that became essential. With 660,000 shows and 62 million listeners, the century’s first new art form enters its corporate stage. (Vulture)
• Disney Moves From Behemoth to Colossus With Closing of Fox Deal (NYT)
• The world is coming after Silicon Valley. Tech companies must evolve to survive (CNN)
• Next Billion-Dollar Startups News: 3-D Printing Startup Markforged Raises $82 Million (Forbes)
• Walmart’s Chief Technology Officer leaves company as e-commerce wars flare (Reuters)
• Can Magic Leap’s ‘mixed reality’ find the human touch? The idea that we could be captured for posterity, or teleported for a holographic call, is tantalisingly close (FT)
• ESPN’s Ex-President Wants to Build the Netflix of Sports (Bloomberg)
• How an App for Gamers Went Mainstream; Discord has become an indispensable tool for internet creators to connect with their fans. (Atlantic)
• Franchise Value: videogame IP vs. movie IP (Medium)

Life

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (20 March 2019) – Tibber, a Norwegian AI to smartly manage energy + His Bosses Rejected His Idea. Then Hans Langer Became A Billionaire From His Plan For Giant 3-D Printers

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (20 March 2019) – Tibber, a Norwegian AI to smartly manage energy + His Bosses Rejected His Idea. Then Hans Langer Became A Billionaire From His Plan For Giant 3-D Printers

Companies

• With 23% annual revenue growth, Tencent-backed China Literature wants to be the next Marvel (KRA)
• Xiaomi has lost almost 30 percent since its highly anticipated trading debut in Hong Kong last July, hampered by plateauing smartphone demand globally and especially in its home market, where it still generated more than half its revenue (Bloomberg); Xiaomi calls on home AI devices for post-smartphone growth (Nikkei); In India, Xiaomi joins the mobile wallet war (TIA)
• Sony and Nintendo shares drop on Google gaming plans; Internet giant announced launch of cloud-based gaming service (FT)
• Trend Micro CFO Mahendra Negi expects jump in revenue from India (TO)
• Rakuten Billionaire Has a New Goal for His 17,000 Workers: Learn to Code (Bloomberg)
• Atlassian’s Trello aims for the enterprise (TC); Atlassian customer problems behind $US166m AgileCraft acquisition (AFR); Atlassian founders worth $10 billion each after record stock rise (Age)
• Mindtree founders ‘condemn’ L&T’s hostile bid, call it a ‘grave threat’ (Forbes)

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

• TikTok operator Bytedance buys gaming start-up in move likely to sharpen rivalry with Tencent (SCMP)
• Tencent clawing its way back from cliffhanger year, winning rave analyst reviews ahead of earnings (SCMP); Tencent to demote 10% of middle managers as game sector falters (Nikkei); Tencent Music meets profit estimates in first earnings report, shares fall (Reuters)

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

• Can Google Create the Netflix of Gaming? (Bloomberg); Google’s new Stadia gaming platform is all about streamers (TC); Google’s Stadia game-streaming platform kills downloads and lets you play anywhere (TC); Google skips the console and launches Stadia video game streaming service (CNN, FT)
• Facebook Live Has Got to Go; The social-media giant may be doing more harm than good with live video (WSJ)
• Instagram launches shopping checkout, charging sellers a fee (TC); You can now buy products directly on Instagram (CNN); Instagram launches in-app online shopping feature; Facebook-owned platform partners with 20 vendors including Adidas, Burberry and Zara (FT)
• Teams, Microsoft’s Slack competitor, says it’s signed up over 500k organizations, adds whiteboard and live events support (TC)
• Apple’s Big Spending Plan to Challenge Netflix Takes Shape (NYT)
• Why Netflix is diving deeper into interactive storytelling; Netflix announces that Bear Grylls will front its next choose-your-adventure experiment-and there’s more to come in horror, adventure, and romance. (FastCo)
• Nvidia Stock Will Rise Because of Its Expanding Ecosystem, Analyst Says (Barron’s); Toyota taps Nvidia simulator to develop self-driving cars (Nikkei)

Asia Tech & Innovation Trends

• Chinese AI start-up Megvii said to plan IPO in either Hong Kong or New York to raise up to US$800 million (SCMP)
• How AI, facial recognition technologies are revolutionising physical security in Asia (SCMP)
• Beauty is the new buzzword in China’s tech world; From virtual makeovers to 3D nail polish printers, companies take makeup to the future (Nikkei)
• China’s tech giants leap over ‘Great Firewall’ to spread message; Huawei uses Facebook and Twitter to counter Trump’s narrative on security risk (Nikkei)
• Forget Tesla, It’s China’s E-Buses That Are Denting Oil Demand (Bloomberg)
• Bytedance forms internal platform to support live-streaming business (Technode)
• In bid to up its monetization game, Q&A site Zhihu expands membership program (Technode)
• Singapore’s Pine Labs acquires gift card tech company Qwikcilver in $110 million deal (Forbes)
• Bunnings to launch full e-commerce service (AFR)

Global Tech & Innovation Trends

• Founders Fund invests in Tibber, a Norwegian AI to smartly manage energy (TC)
• AI has become table stakes in sales, customer service and marketing software (TC)
• Camera maker Insta360 raises $30M as it eyes 2020 IPO (TC)
• Glossier started as a beauty blog and is now valued at $1 billion (CNN)
• Digital health start-up Doctolib raises €150m at a €1bn+ valuation; French online medical appointment management service cements its ‘unicorn’ status (FT)
• A Chat About The PagerDuty S-1 (CB)

Life

• Basecamp CEO and co-founder Jason Fried gives us a peek behind the scenes of his company and discusses his philosophy on doing great work, making a positive difference, and learning to breathe in the fast paced culture of today’s workplace (FS)
• His Bosses Rejected His Idea. Then Hans Langer Became A Billionaire From His Plan For Giant 3-D Printers. (Forbes)
• Podcast #491: Everything You Know About Passion is Wrong (AOM)

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (19 March 2019) – AI algorithms are now shockingly good at doing science; Whether probing the evolution of galaxies or discovering new chemical compounds, algorithms are detecting patterns no humans could have spotted.

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (19 March 2019) – AI algorithms are now shockingly good at doing science; Whether probing the evolution of galaxies or discovering new chemical compounds, algorithms are detecting patterns no humans could have spotted.

Companies

• China Literature readies free app as paid user numbers fall (Nikkei)
• Meituan latest Chinese unicorn to suffer post-listing slump; Delivery platform joins Xiaomi and Ping An Healthcare in getting sidetracked (Nikkei)
• China’s Largest Streaming Site iQiyi Is Coming After TikTok (Bloomberg)
• Here’s what you need to know about Wuhan Guide Infrared – China’s biggest thermal imager; China’s public security authorities have also bought Guide’s equipment to help track down criminals, for traffic surveillance, and for use in big infrastructure projects (SCMP)
• Chinese ethnic music gets global platform; Tencent Music is seeking to introduce the country’s ethnic music to a global audience at a major music festival in the United States (CD)
• Bandai Namco looks to be continuing development on their own Game Engine (GN)
• South Korea’s Kakao supplies voice assist for Hyundai cars; AI provides info on weather and stock prices in upcoming Sonata (Nikkei)
• Innodisk Showcasing Integrated AIoT Solutions with Strategic Partners at Embedded World 2019 (PRNW)
• Atlassian continues to focus on its base after Slack deal, with another acquisition (MW)
• WiseTech buying spree boosted by $250m capital raise (AFR)
• Australia’s Tech Stocks Trump U.S., Asia With 200% Rise (Bloomberg)

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

• Alibaba AI Labs to introduce AI cold call terminator (KRA)
• Alibaba launches free streaming of US basketball games (Nikkei)
• Shenzhen’s public transit now has a blockchain e-invoicing system built by Tencent (KRA)

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

• These are the robots that help you get your Amazon packages on time (TC)
• Most Amazon Brands Are Duds, Not Disrupters, Study Finds (Bloomberg)
• What is Amazon? (ZK)
• Apple Business Chat drives in-seat drink ordering at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland (TC)
• Apple ready to unveil big bet on television; Will media companies sign up to Apple’s TV platform? (FT)
• Can Google Create the Netflix of Gaming? (Bloomberg)
• Nvidia AI turns sketches into photorealistic landscapes in seconds (TC); Toyota doubles down on Nvidia tech for self-driving cars (TC); Nvidia bags Amazon Web Services in its latest data-center chip push (MW); Nvidia partners with Softbank to deploy cloud gaming servers in Japan (Reuters)
• Streaming wars heat up as rivals prepare to challenge Netflix (JT); Netflix says it will not join Apple TV service (Reuters)

Asia Tech & Innovation Trends

• Xiaohongshu testing WeChat mini-program in e-commerce expansion (Technode)
• Chinese social commerce app Peanut Diary fined for alleged pyramid scheme (KRA)
• Meituan and Tencent-backed Chinese consumer goods platform Yijiupi raises $100m series D+ (KRA)
• Chinese TechCrunch Rival 36Kr Is Said to Plan Overseas IPO (Bloomberg)
• China’s crowded co-working industry turns to services amid funding crunch (Reuters)
• Shenzhen Transsion applies to raise capital on Shanghai’s technology board after taking Africa’s phone market by storm (SCMP)
• South Korea radar and thermal camera system warns ‘smartphone zombies’ of traffic (Reuters)
• Corporate training online marketplace GO1 has become the first Australian start-up to be backed by Microsoft’s global venture capital arm M12, (AFR)
• Singtel signs deal to expand mobile wallet alliance to Japan (Reuters)
• Southeast Asia hastens 5G shift to close development gap; Vietnam and Thailand aim to parlay technology into advances in self-driving and AI (Nikkei)

Global Tech & Innovation Trends

• AI algorithms are now shockingly good at doing science; Whether probing the evolution of galaxies or discovering new chemical compounds, algorithms are detecting patterns no humans could have spotted. (Wired)
• KashFlow founder Duane Jackson has launched Staffology, a payroll SaaS and API (TC)
• WorkClout brings SaaS to factory floor to increase operational efficiency (TC)
• S. firm FIS buys Worldpay for $35 billion in payments deal bonanza (Reuters)
• “A Modified Ponzi Scheme”: 78% Of Tesla Operating Cash Flow Has Come From Customer Deposits (ZH)
• The Unicorn’s ‘Van Wilder’ moment (FT)

Life

• Astrophysicist and Author Janna Levin Reads “Berryman” by W.S. Merwin: Some of the Finest and Most Soul-Salving Advice on How to Stay Sane as an Artist (BP)
• Yes, It’s All Your Fault: Active vs. Passive Mindsets (FS)
• Kingdee dropped 14 percent after David Webb published a critical report calling it a “bubble stock.” (Bloomberg)

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (18 March 2019) – Japan’s fish farmers deploy AI and drones to feed hungry world; NEC, KDDI and Sharp bring high-tech solutions to traditional industry

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (18 March 2019) – Japan’s fish farmers deploy AI and drones to feed hungry world; NEC, KDDI and Sharp bring high-tech solutions to traditional industry

Companies

• TechnologyOne founder Adrian Di Marco’s 10-year start-up horizon (AFR)

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

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

• Digital wallet payments surge on Apple Pay: CBA (Age)
• The Endgame for LinkedIn Is Coming; After two years, Microsoft still hasn’t delivered on its grand vision for LinkedIn. And it may never do so. (Medium)
• Microsoft-Foxconn Royalty Fight is a Blast From the Past; Microsoft has largely moved away from these kinds of intellectual property deals but is still collecting money from older ones (Bloomberg)

Asia Tech & Innovation Trends

• Chinese university uses AI to check class attendance rates and find the reasons behind absenteeism (SCMP)
• China plans multibillion-dollar investment to knock US from top spot in fastest supercomputer ranking; China and the US dominate when it comes to the world’s fastest supercomputers, owning 45.4 per cent and 21.8 per cent of the top systems globally (SCMP)
• Ping An says artificial intelligence can address car insurance issues arising from three policies on Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge; The gap in mandatory motor insurance requirement is so huge that it is impossible for the governments of Hong Kong, Zhuhai and Macau to find a solution to unify their requirements in the near term. Drivers need three different insurance policies when using the bridge (SCMP)
• Japan’s fish farmers deploy AI and drones to feed hungry world; NEC, KDDI and Sharp bring high-tech solutions to traditional industry (Nikkei)
• Aussie entrepreneur’s airline lounge app bought by American Express (AFR)

Global Tech & Innovation Trends

• Self-Driving Tractors Yet to Convince Farmers to Hand Over Keys (Bloomberg)

Life

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (16 March 2019) – China’s US$59 billion internet and technology bubble will trap many private-equity investors when it bursts, Bain says

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (16 March 2019) – China’s US$59 billion internet and technology bubble will trap many private-equity investors when it bursts, Bain says

Companies

• To beef up the application of AI, iFlytek has leveraged its years of expertise in voice recognition and machine translation in its latest product: a smart recorder. (ECNS)

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

• Jack Ma to sell Alibaba shares for wealth planning and philanthropic commitments (KRA)

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

• Facebook departure is a wake-up call for investors (Reuters)

Asia Tech & Innovation Trends

• China’s US$59 billion internet and technology bubble will trap many private-equity investors when it bursts, Bain says (SCMP)
• Chinese startup sows seeds of farm revolution with drones and AI; XAG aims to ease grueling work of country’s aging rural population (Nikkei)
• For Chinese startup Seengene, the future is grounded in mixed reality (Technode)
• E-commerce complaints surged 126% in 2018: regulator (Technode)
• How short video app TikTok became the first Chinese-made app to take the world by storm (SCMP)
• How China’s Two Sessions offer glimpse into tech policy priorities (Technode)
• China’s Ant Financial, thwarted in the US, is expanding rapidly in Europe (qz)
• China’s Flexible Screen Pioneer Is Seeking $1 Billion in Funding (Bloomberg)
• Japan’s Startups Are Innovating Inbound Tourism And Business With High Tech (Forbes)
• Pay to join, mingle with purpose: community-based startups (Investor)
• Acko, a digital insurance provider in India, raises another $65M at a $300M valuation (TC)
• AI and linguistics offers clues to bank risk culture (AFR)
• Companies prepare for an AI-powered future; Qantas, WorleyParsons and ASX are at the forefront of applying AI (AFR)

Global Tech & Innovation Trends

• The High Price Of Next-Gen Mobility Apps (CB)
• Software Maker PagerDuty Files for IPO, Cites 10,800 Clients (Bloomberg)
• What Is the Future of Ecommerce? 10 Insights on the Evolution of an Industry (Shopify)
• How Digital Fulfillment Is Changing Manufacturing (HBR)

Life