SEA
Indonesia-based O2O player Go-Jek is doubling down on its digital content strategy by backing Indonesian online hybrid site Kumparan via its investment arm Go-Ventures. Content is a big sector for Go-Jek, which had its roots in ride-hailing but has since explored other verticals from food delivery to payments. (KrASIA)
Although Go-Jek might be bullish on content, it does not appear as enthusiastic about buying produce. The Indonesia firm has seemingly discontinued its groceries shopping service Go-Mart, instead promoting its personal shopper service Go-Shop. (Tech in Asia)
Singapore-based developer of enterprise software FriarTuck has raised US$3.63 million in a Series A round from Dutch MNC Philips and government investment arm Seeds Capital. It develops artificial intelligence-driven tech solutions to make operations more efficient. (Tech in Asia)
China
Jack Ma: To lead Alibaba, I need a team, not a perfect individual. His reason: Most people can either think differently or execute effectively, so a team is the better option than a perfect individual. (KrASIA)
ZhouPu Data creates ERP system with a sharing economy in warehousing to increase supply chain efficiency in retail. The three main services are Zhou Pu Cloud Warehouse, Zhou Pu Cloud Housekeeper, and Zhou Pu Cloud Marketplace. (KrASIA)
Alibaba Group appoints Daniel Zhang to succeed Jack Ma as chairman. This latest development coincides with Jack Ma’s 54th birthday, the 19th anniversary of Alibaba and is also China’s Teacher’s Day. This marks the end of one era and is the result of a 10-year succession planning efforts by Ma. (KrASIA)
Cheng Wei, the 35-year-old founder of Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi, has expressed deep remorse over the recent killings of two riders using the company’s carpooling service, saying that he does blame himself for the safety-related problems that have occurred. Read the full memo here. (KrASIA)
In 2001, the stock market was in a downward spiral and dot-com has become dot-bomb. Even Jack Ma was thinking of quitting Alibaba at that point in time. There were mounting pressures on whether Alibaba could make money and offering third-party services like credit, transport, and insurance services were some of the lucrative alternatives. (Tech In Asia)
OneDegree, a Hong Kong-based insurtech startup, secures HK$100 million (US$12.7 million) in Series A funding from undisclosed investors. The startup builds an end-to-end digital insurance platform for customers to buy and manage their own insurance policies and is currently in the process of obtaining authorisation to operate as a digital insurer in Hong Kong. (e27)
Elsewhere
Chinese travel search platform Ctrip is reportedly planning to contribute around US$100 million to the ongoing US$400 million fundraising round of Indian food discovery platform Zomato. It’s not the first time Zomato is taking Chinese money. (KrASIA)
Apple is in talks with big newspapers about joining its subscription program, including some of the broadsheets like the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Wall Street Journal, as part of the company’s plan to ramp up its digital content business. (ReCode)
Japanese travel metasearch Travel.jp, operated by Venture Republic Inc., and LINE Travel, operated by LINE Corporation that runs Japan’s dominant messaging app, have joined forces to combine their brands and services rebranding as LINE TRAVEL jp. LINE Corporation has a 34% stake in Venture Republic, as of July 2018. (Web in Travel)
Tesla shares dropped further after Elon Musk smoked pots on a live web show with US comedian Joe Rogan. Musk attended the program and spent 2.5 hours talking about topics ranging from A.I. and its impact on our society among other things. (Guardian)
