https://www.scmp.com/rss/318004/feed The Next Big Thing can start with a small but smart idea. The SCMP technology team writes about start-ups, innovation and how technology affects our daily life. We focus on companies and people like Apple, Xiaomi and Jack Ma. Join the conversations on Twitter: #scmpNBT. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Wang Xiaogang’s first encounter with a thinking machine two decades ago set him on a career path that would turn him into one of China’s foremost experts on artificial intelligence (AI). A masters student in electronic engineering in 2001, Wang was visiting a laboratory at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) when his engineering dean Tang Xiao’ou showed how deep neural networks in computing could teach algorithms to mimic artistic techniques, transforming his photograph into a portrait... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3145739/sensetime-parlays-academic-bona-fides-worlds-largest-platform?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3145739/sensetime-parlays-academic-bona-fides-worlds-largest-platform?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 21 Aug 2021 02:00:21 +0000 On Christmas Eve last year, four executives from Indonesian unicorns Gojek and Tokopedia dialled into a Zoom conference to hash out a US$18 billion merger, the largest in the country’s history. On the call were Gojek’s co-chief executives (CEOs) Andre Soelistyo and Kevin Aluwi. Representing Tokopedia were co-founder William Tanuwijaya and president Patrick Cao, according to a person briefed on their conversation about creating a digital juggernaut spanning e-commerce, ride-hailing and financial... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3134556/gojek-and-tokopedias-holding-group-goto-plans-fundraising?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3134556/gojek-and-tokopedias-holding-group-goto-plans-fundraising?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 24 May 2021 00:30:06 +0000 Karen Kong has not got a restful night’s sleep in the past half a year, after learning that her mother invested all of the family’s savings – more than 1 million yuan (US$153,000) – in a little known peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platform. Worries soon turned into anger and despair as the Beijing-based Jieyue United made its way onto the Chinese government’s liquidation list, and the chance of getting their money back appears to be dwindling. “No one can give us a clear timetable for the... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3115580/chinas-p2p-purge-leaves-millions-victims-out-cold-losses?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3115580/chinas-p2p-purge-leaves-millions-victims-out-cold-losses?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 28 Dec 2020 22:30:16 +0000 One of the benefits of spending a lot of time at home during the pandemic is the chance to catch up on viewing. Most people are binge-watching Netflix but thanks to the generosity of my local cable provider, all the premium movie channels have been made available for free during the current period. I’ve been able to catch up on a couple of cult sci-fi movies from the 1990s that depicted a dystopian 21st century. It has been fun watching how Hollywood perceives future technology. In Escape from... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3081420/coronavirus-pandemic-may-seed-next-big-thing-tech-and-youll-never?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3081420/coronavirus-pandemic-may-seed-next-big-thing-tech-and-youll-never?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Apr 2020 22:00:09 +0000 There will be many lessons for Hong Kong in the way we all responded to the coronavirus pandemic, and there are demonstrations of best practice around the world that we can build on. As raised in your editorial of April 13 on why telemedicine is worth embracing, a very urgent question for Hong Kong will be how we can create a system that makes greater use of enabling technology to help people who want access to health care. We have seen frontline health care workers here and around the world... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3080724/coronavirus-crisis-has-unleashed-potential-digital-health-care?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3080724/coronavirus-crisis-has-unleashed-potential-digital-health-care?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Apr 2020 09:20:12 +0000 You are in a black sedan parked in a dimly-lit alley at night. In the passenger seat a female, dressed in white top and jeans, asks if you want to share some meth. She lights up and smoke fills the interior. Seemingly out of nowhere, a second meth inhaling device appears. The scenario may sound real enough but it is an immersive virtual reality (VR) experience designed to determine how prone the participant is to drug use by tracking their pulse, brainwaves and the electrical conductance of the... https://www.scmp.com/tech/start-ups/article/3027657/how-ai-backed-virtual-reality-experience-helping-drug-addicts-stay?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/start-ups/article/3027657/how-ai-backed-virtual-reality-experience-helping-drug-addicts-stay?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Sep 2019 22:00:05 +0000 You can tell a lot of things from the way someone walks. Chinese artificial intelligence start-up Watrix says its software can identify a person from 50 metres away – even if they have covered their face or have their back to a camera – making it more than a match for Sherlock Holmes. Known as gait recognition, the technology works by analysing thousands of metrics about a person’s walk, from body contour to the angle of arm movement to whether a person has a toe-in or toe-out gait, to then... https://www.scmp.com/tech/start-ups/article/2187600/chinese-police-surveillance-gets-boost-ai-start-watrix-technology-can?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/start-ups/article/2187600/chinese-police-surveillance-gets-boost-ai-start-watrix-technology-can?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 26 Feb 2019 04:04:47 +0000 A Chinese government-linked fund led investment into a local chip maker amid efforts by the country to tap an artificial intelligence boom. A national guidance fund under the State Development & Investment Corp (SDIC) – which has the Ministry of Finance as a major stake holder – led the 150 million yuan (US$22.3 million) B round for Nationalchip, according to Sinovation Ventures, a venture capital firm founded by former Google China head Lee Kai-fu, who has written several books about... https://www.scmp.com/tech/venture-capital/article/2187546/hangzhou-nationalchip-snares-new-funding-china-ramps-its-home?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/venture-capital/article/2187546/hangzhou-nationalchip-snares-new-funding-china-ramps-its-home?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 25 Feb 2019 04:39:15 +0000 Silicon Valley start-up founder Zhe Zhang is part of a rising wave of innovators and entrepreneurs migrating their tech and operations to China in order to fulfil their global ambitions. Just two years after Zhang, a Chinese national, set up home robotics outfit Trifo he decided to expand his business to Beijing and manufacturing hub Shenzhen. Like others, Zhang believed Shenzhen, with its comprehensive supply chain and logistics support, would help translate his tech dream into a tangible... https://www.scmp.com/tech/start-ups/article/2177798/home-robotics-maker-trifo-joins-wave-chinese-silicon-valley-start-ups?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/start-ups/article/2177798/home-robotics-maker-trifo-joins-wave-chinese-silicon-valley-start-ups?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 13 Dec 2018 21:01:23 +0000 Indonesian e-commerce company Tokopedia said on Wednesday that it had secured US$1.1 billion in its latest funding round led by Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding and Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp. This follows a similar investment in 2017, also led by Alibaba, which has been expanding rapidly into Southeast Asia amid slowing growth in China’s e-commerce market. Alibaba is the owner of the South China Morning Post. Tokopedia said it planned to use the funds to invest in technology and... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/2177612/indonesias-e-commerce-scene-heats-tokopedia-secures-us11-billion?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/2177612/indonesias-e-commerce-scene-heats-tokopedia-secures-us11-billion?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 12 Dec 2018 07:17:47 +0000 By now, we’ve all seen the images of Australia’s giant cow that’s actually neither a cow nor a giant. Seven-year-old steer Knickers might be tall, but he’s not the stand out when it comes to Australia’s obsession with “bigger things.” Across the country, state governments and towns have a long tradition of installing giant monuments officially known as “bigger things” that are deeply rooted in regional identity. Supersized plastic bananas may point to a town’s reliance on the local banana... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/2175705/everythings-bigger-australia-though-some-its-falling-apart?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/2175705/everythings-bigger-australia-though-some-its-falling-apart?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 29 Nov 2018 15:21:18 +0000 Hong Kong’s smart city blueprint has just been released, and I am glad the government has recognised the importance of open data, and plans to open up more public and private sector digital data to facilitate research and innovation. But its pace could be faster. The world is experiencing a data-driven revolution. There were over 3.8 billion internet users in the world as of June 30, and global data storage is expected to grow to 40 trillion gigabytes by 2020. The internet of things means data... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2126132/hong-kongs-smart-city-dreams-can-move-faster-big-data?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2126132/hong-kongs-smart-city-dreams-can-move-faster-big-data?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 31 Dec 2017 01:33:04 +0000 An asteroid did not kill the dinosaurs, because the dinosaurs murdered themselves first. Their journey to extinction begun with the violent volcanic eruptions off the coast of India, triggering the massive storms and temperature changes that enveloped the planet. These magnificent beasts started dying out in the aftermath of climate change, with their final coup de grace capped by the asteroid’s impact off modern day Mexico. The nail in the coffin for these magnificent beasts was their inability... https://www.scmp.com/tech/innovation/article/1888950/adapt-or-die-tech-titans-must-build-ecosystems-software-and-hardware?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/innovation/article/1888950/adapt-or-die-tech-titans-must-build-ecosystems-software-and-hardware?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 09 Dec 2015 06:45:00 +0000 Hong Kong-based online-to-offline start-up Delivery Republic has received US$2 million in funding from investors as it looks to expand its on-demand delivery services across Asia. O2O services are rapidly picking up speed in Asia as younger consumers rely more on the internet for various services and new technology gives traditional delivery and logistics businesses a big boost. As a result, O2O companies have become popular among venture capital investors betting on future billion-dollar... https://www.scmp.com/tech/start-ups/article/1882920/hong-kong-based-o2o-start-delivery-republic-bags-us2-million-expand?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/start-ups/article/1882920/hong-kong-based-o2o-start-delivery-republic-bags-us2-million-expand?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Nov 2015 12:00:45 +0000 Israel can boast an astonishing success rate when it comes to local start-ups, and the so-called “godfather” of the country’s hi-tech industry says “tiger moms” play a large role. Yossi Vardi said many business founders in his motherland are indebted to their mothers for pushing them to excel from childhood. “The true answer to why many entrepreneurs in Israel can be so successful today is they have their Jewish mother,” said Vardi, dubbed the “father of ICQ”, once the most popular online... https://www.scmp.com/tech/start-ups/article/1878223/godfather-israels-hi-tech-industry-credits-tiger-moms-its-new?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/start-ups/article/1878223/godfather-israels-hi-tech-industry-credits-tiger-moms-its-new?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Nov 2015 11:15:00 +0000 Chinese start-ups have quickly assumed some leading roles on the world stage by positioning themselves on the cutting-edge of technological innovation, but US firms still dominate global business, Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves said on Wednesday. “Among the world’s 20 largest start-ups nowadays, 14 are American and the rest are Chinese,” said Ilves, a former journalist who ascended to the presidency in 2006. He made the comments in neighbouring Finland at SLUSH, Europe’s largest... https://www.scmp.com/tech/start-ups/article/1877883/easier-ship-wine-buy-mp3-across-borders-europe-estonian-leader-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/start-ups/article/1877883/easier-ship-wine-buy-mp3-across-borders-europe-estonian-leader-says?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Nov 2015 12:00:45 +0000 How can a medium-sized Nordic nation with a population smaller than Hong Kong grow more start-ups than any other country in the world? Ilkka Paananen, founder of the world’s No.1 mobile game company Supercell, believes Finland’s unique business culture makes all the difference. “I think the Finnish culture is to get things done, although we don’t talk too much,” Paananen said this week during a group interview at the company's headquarters in Helsinki. READ MORE: Silicon dreams: Can Hong Kong... https://www.scmp.com/tech/start-ups/article/1877779/six-reasons-finlands-record-start-success-clash-clans-maker-supercell?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/start-ups/article/1877779/six-reasons-finlands-record-start-success-clash-clans-maker-supercell?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Nov 2015 07:00:15 +0000 Is Visa a financial services company or technology firm? Ditto for transport firm Uber and sportswear maker Xtep. Industry boundaries are getting blurred, and almost every business now needs some kind of technology support to move forward. A friend recently joined Visa. When congratulated on his new job at the world's largest credit card company, his reply was: "Visa is actually now a technology company." Initially, I was not so sure about the changing business nature of Visa but later realised... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1876835/industries-step-technology-era?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1876835/industries-step-technology-era?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 08 Nov 2015 15:30:15 +0000 A Hong Kong-based start-up is bringing new technology to music teaching. It has created a do-it-yourself platform that allows teachers to upload videos and music scores so students can follow them at home or elsewhere - a bit like karaoke with the emphasis on instrument-playing. TapTab.io was founded in June by former IBM employees Patrick Fan and Jessica Yeung. They drew on their shared passion for music and the belief that music teaching has not kept pace with technological advances. The... https://www.scmp.com/tech/start-ups/article/1875669/karaoke-kids-who-play-instruments-hong-kongs-taptabio-helps-music?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/start-ups/article/1875669/karaoke-kids-who-play-instruments-hong-kongs-taptabio-helps-music?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Nov 2015 00:00:30 +0000 Sequoia Capital, the world’s largest venture capital firm, has increased its investment in “smart marketing” company Appier, the first start-up it has funded to date in Taiwan. Taipei-headquartered Appier said Tuesday it had successfully closed US$23 million in its Series B funding from five global investors including Sequoia, known for its backing of leading technology companies like Apple and Google. Other Appier investors include JAFCO Asia, TransLink Capital, MediaTek Ventures and an... https://www.scmp.com/tech/start-ups/article/1875117/staying-ahead-cross-screen-era-sequoia-joins-u23m-investment-round?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/start-ups/article/1875117/staying-ahead-cross-screen-era-sequoia-joins-u23m-investment-round?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Nov 2015 03:30:15 +0000 How can you enjoy a 360-degree view from the rooftop of an historic temple in Tibet or the grand ballroom of one of the legendary hotels in Hong Kong without going there in person? This is where cutting-edge virtual reality (VR) technology comes into play, and a major multinational corporation is now putting it into practice. READ MORE: ‘The dawn of the virtual reality era’: Oculus Rift headset heralds brave new world of entertainment Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts is making one of its biggest... https://www.scmp.com/tech/innovation/article/1873432/short-cut-shangri-la-virtual-reality-headsets-offer-360-degree-tours?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/innovation/article/1873432/short-cut-shangri-la-virtual-reality-headsets-offer-360-degree-tours?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 28 Oct 2015 09:45:00 +0000 Low capital requirements, advanced technology and the widespread use of mobile devices make launching a new business far easier than ever before, according to a senior executive at Google. The Greater China region including Hong Kong and Taiwan shows great potential due to the high penetration rate of smartphones, which mean that many transactions can be done within just a few clicks, said Kevin O’Kane, Google’s managing director for small and medium business in the Asia-Pacific region. “The... https://www.scmp.com/tech/start-ups/article/1872688/heading-cloud-google-says-now-best-time-launch-start-asia-due-low-it?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/start-ups/article/1872688/heading-cloud-google-says-now-best-time-launch-start-asia-due-low-it?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 27 Oct 2015 03:30:45 +0000 From smart milk bottles for infants to smart watches customers can assemble themselves using tiny Lego-like blocks, last week’s Global Sources mobile electronics show in Hong Kong treated visitors to a kaleidoscopic array of new gadgets among the hundreds of innovative products on display. Here are five of the top picks from the latest edition of the world’s biggest mobile electronic sourcing show.   Dual-screen smartphone that doubles as an e-reader Jezetek Mobile has produced this nifty... https://www.scmp.com/tech/innovation/article/1871456/smart-helmets-glasses-free-3d-screens-top-5-picks-global-sources?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/innovation/article/1871456/smart-helmets-glasses-free-3d-screens-top-5-picks-global-sources?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 26 Oct 2015 01:00:15 +0000 Pixels, Hong Kong’s largest digital advertising sales company, announced a new set of tools on Monday dedicated to mobile advertising that it claims will help its clients reach a wider audience and tap media-savvy youngsters. These include three HTML5 ad formats built into apps: ActiVoice, Vrical and Real Time Weather. ActiVoice enables voice-activated searches, similar to Apple’s Siri; Vrical lets advertisers showcase their products using 360-degree photos; and Real Time Weather automatically... https://www.scmp.com/tech/enterprises/article/1871442/hong-kong-ad-firm-pixels-launches-new-tools-multi-platform-content?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/enterprises/article/1871442/hong-kong-ad-firm-pixels-launches-new-tools-multi-platform-content?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 25 Oct 2015 23:00:30 +0000 What can a start-up really sell? A product, service, or just a concept? This must be the first question every start-up founder should ask. I was in Taipei for a Google event about start-ups and innovations last week. Google sent 10 best-performing Hong Kong start-up "students" in its EYE Program, an initiative to support small businesses to grow, to Taipei to meet their peers. The difference in a start-up business model between Hong Kong and Taipei is obvious from the first slide in their... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1869227/hong-kong-and-taiwan-take-different-start-routes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1869227/hong-kong-and-taiwan-take-different-start-routes?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 18 Oct 2015 14:30:15 +0000 Earlier this month, I was fortunate to attend the Khazanah Megatrends Forum in Kuala Lumpur on creative disruption. It brought together many amazing speakers at the cutting edge of innovation. The most impressive was Dr Hugh Herr, who lost both legs to frostbite when mountain climbing. His doctors told him that he should be resigned to limited mobility. After an initial period of despondence, he decided conventional medicine was broken, not his body or mind. So he invented robotic legs, and... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1868309/time-unleash-young-and-creative-global-economy-spur-growth?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1868309/time-unleash-young-and-creative-global-economy-spur-growth?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 16 Oct 2015 03:30:15 +0000 Can Shenzhen, the former boomtown in southern China’s Guangdong province known for its pioneering economic reforms, remain the “world’s factory” for global technology start-up firms? The head of a start-up accelerator in Taiwan that is backed by the nation’s government believes her team can change the playing field by leveraging the island’s unique advantages in terms of design and quality of hardware. Anita Huang, a former regional executive for US technology giants Google and Yahoo, was... https://www.scmp.com/tech/start-ups/article/1867525/watch-out-shenzhen-taiwan-upgrading-grab-manufacturing-orders-chinas?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/start-ups/article/1867525/watch-out-shenzhen-taiwan-upgrading-grab-manufacturing-orders-chinas?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 14 Oct 2015 11:00:30 +0000 Founders of start-ups in Hong Kong should be more ambitious and think of broader horizons when launching companies if they want to scale up their businesses in the years to come, a senior executive at Google said this week. Entrepreneurs in the so-called Asia's World City should adopt a “multi-city strategy” when forming their business plans or risk getting stuck in one small market, said Lee-feng Chien, the internet search giant’s managing director of its operations in Taiwan. A typical... https://www.scmp.com/tech/enterprises/article/1866946/think-outside-city-start-ups-hong-kong-should-look-taiwan-become?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/enterprises/article/1866946/think-outside-city-start-ups-hong-kong-should-look-taiwan-become?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 13 Oct 2015 05:30:45 +0000 My co-founder, Anita Chan, recently wrote a great piece on rational reasons of why we are choosing to work on Sam the Local in Hong Kong instead of San Francisco, but I want to share a more emotional and human element of this. When I tell people that I moved from California to Hong Kong, I generally receive a puzzled look and the question, “Why?” The one and only answer? Because I love it here. During my first visit to Hong Kong in 2009, I fell in love with this amazing city and knew that I... https://www.scmp.com/tech/start-ups/article/1866783/why-i-launched-my-start-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/start-ups/article/1866783/why-i-launched-my-start-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 12 Oct 2015 16:30:00 +0000 Meituan.com and Dianping Holdings, two of China’s biggest tech start-ups, are close to merging and the two former rivals will announce a deal in the next few days, according to media reports. If Meituan, dubbed “China’s Groupon” and restaurant-review site Dianping are set to team up - as The Wall Street Journal and China's largest news portal Sina.com claim – they would create the country’s biggest online-to-offline (O2O) services provider with a combined value of over US$15 billion.  READ... https://www.scmp.com/tech/start-ups/article/1864946/chinas-groupon-meituan-and-yelp-dianping-likely-merge-create-countrys?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/start-ups/article/1864946/chinas-groupon-meituan-and-yelp-dianping-likely-merge-create-countrys?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Oct 2015 10:15:00 +0000 From Shanghai to New York, many business accounts are already using Instagram to promote their products and services, though more for marketing and branding purposes, as well as to attract “fans”. But three years after Facebook acquired the popular photo-sharing app for US$1 billion, it has finally shown its huge potential to add to the various profit streams of the world’s largest social media network. Starting from this month, Instagram will allow any advertiser to run ads on its platform in... https://www.scmp.com/tech/enterprises/article/1856579/instagram-launches-global-ad-service-and-facebook-lays-another?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/enterprises/article/1856579/instagram-launches-global-ad-service-and-facebook-lays-another?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 09 Sep 2015 04:00:00 +0000 Ten Chinese companies, mostly new internet and technology industry leaders, have been crowned "Global Growth Companies" by the World Economic Forum (WEF) despite increasing international concerns about China's economic slowdown and its impact on other emerging markets. The WEF announced a total of 132 such companies ahead of an annual summit in Dalian, China on Tuesday. The award is widely recognised globally as a vote of confidence in the further development of those businesses. The growing... https://www.scmp.com/tech/start-ups/article/1856228/didi-kuaidi-dji-among-10-chinese-start-ups-picked-wef-global-growth?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/start-ups/article/1856228/didi-kuaidi-dji-among-10-chinese-start-ups-picked-wef-global-growth?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 08 Sep 2015 04:30:30 +0000 The son of China's richest man is setting up an e-sports streaming service that will go head-to-head with Amazon's Twitch.tv, it was revealed this week. Wang Sicong, whose father is Dalian Wanda Group chairman Wang Jianlin, said on microblogging service Weibo that he will be chief executive of Panda TV, an online entertainment company focused on broadcasting live e-sports events. According to QQ Tech, a number of core members of popular professional e-sports teams, both overseas and Chinese,... https://www.scmp.com/tech/apps-gaming/article/1855986/son-chinas-richest-man-launch-panda-tv-e-sports-streaming-service?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/apps-gaming/article/1855986/son-chinas-richest-man-launch-panda-tv-e-sports-streaming-service?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 07 Sep 2015 23:01:11 +0000 A China-based food delivery platform has been valued at a staggering US$3 billion following a US$630 million financing round. Citic Private Equity Funds Management and Beijing Hualian Group Investment led the Series F funding in Shanghai start-up Ele.me. The deal also includes further investment from existing shareholders Tencent, JD.com and Sequoia Capital. Founded in 2009 by students from Shanghai Jiatong University, Ele.me – "are you hungry?" in Chinese – is one of China's largest food... https://www.scmp.com/tech/start-ups/article/1854023/chinese-food-delivery-start-eleme-valued-us3-billion-after-gobbling?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/start-ups/article/1854023/chinese-food-delivery-start-eleme-valued-us3-billion-after-gobbling?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 31 Aug 2015 03:30:30 +0000 Are billion-dollar companies like car-hailing service Didi Kuaidi overvalued? Will Chinese online-to-offline (O2O) start-ups continue to reach sky-high valuations? These were some of the issues tackled during the Credit Suisse 3rd Asia Internet C-Level Conference in Hong Kong last week.  Here are the top three takeaways about the current state of the internet industry in China.  First, so-called O2O companies in will continue to rack up billion-dollar valuations. Didi Kuaidi is valued at US$15... https://www.scmp.com/tech/enterprises/article/1853765/billion-dollar-valuations-b2b-e-commerce-and-social-media-apps-top?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/enterprises/article/1853765/billion-dollar-valuations-b2b-e-commerce-and-social-media-apps-top?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 30 Aug 2015 23:00:15 +0000 Digital Domain Holdings, which runs the world’s biggest independent visual-effects company, has named former HTC chief executive Peter Chou Yung-ming as an executive director of the company, according to its regulatory filing on Friday, in an apparent effort to boost investors' confidence following the firm's unexpected trouble in the stock market earlier this year.  Chou’s appointment, with effect from August 31, marks the first high-profile, senior executive recruitment undertaken by Digital... https://www.scmp.com/tech/enterprises/article/1853539/taiwan-smartphone-giant-htcs-former-ceo-joins-hong-kong-tech-firm?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/enterprises/article/1853539/taiwan-smartphone-giant-htcs-former-ceo-joins-hong-kong-tech-firm?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 28 Aug 2015 14:29:08 +0000 This week, Apple began sending out invitations to a special event in San Francisco on September 9, during which it is expected to unveil the new iPhone model. From software updates to hardware tweaks, here's what is expected to be unveiled next month, according to various leaks and industry experts. READ MORE: With new iPhone expected to be released in September, Foxconn to hire 100,000 factory workers   Better iPhone camera and 4K video The new iPhone, either called the 6S or the 7, will... https://www.scmp.com/tech/enterprises/article/1853334/top-5-upgrades-expected-be-unveiled-apples-september-9-iphone-event?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/enterprises/article/1853334/top-5-upgrades-expected-be-unveiled-apples-september-9-iphone-event?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 28 Aug 2015 02:25:49 +0000 Intel has a road map to “revolutionise” the commercial drone industry after it became the latest multinational to take a measured gamble on a Chinese drone maker this week. The venture capital arm of the US personal computer and chipmaker has invested US$60 million in Yuneec, which has operations in Hong Kong and Shanghai, it said.  "We've got drones on our road map that are going to truly change the world and revolutionise the drone industry,” Intel CEO Brian Krzanich said in a video posted on... https://www.scmp.com/tech/china-tech/article/1853179/intel-vows-revolutionise-drone-industry-after-us60-million-gambit?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/china-tech/article/1853179/intel-vows-revolutionise-drone-industry-after-us60-million-gambit?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 27 Aug 2015 12:15:30 +0000 One of China’s biggest box office surprises in recent years was Tiny Times, a 2013 film which took in US$11.9 million in the box office on its first day alone and spawned a series of sequels. Yet this movie was as much a result of market research and data analysis as it was artistry. The filmmakers tapped into Chinese social media networks to help determine the stars, director and marketing campaign that would most appeal to China’s younger generation. And the payout for this research was... https://www.scmp.com/tech/innovation/article/1852141/how-baidu-tencent-and-alibaba-are-leading-way-chinas-big-data?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/innovation/article/1852141/how-baidu-tencent-and-alibaba-are-leading-way-chinas-big-data?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 24 Aug 2015 23:01:02 +0000 As China wrestles with the finer points of the “sharing” or peer-to-peer economy, exemplified by the bumpy regulatory ride now facing car-hailing apps like Uber, start-up founders and venture capitalists are busy exploring other markets with fewer hurdles.  Hamburg, a transport hub city in Germany, appears to be welcoming both, although not with completely open arms. Like a number of Chinese cities, as well as Germany’s own Berlin and Frankfurt, it has imposed bans on Uber-like services but... https://www.scmp.com/tech/start-ups/article/1851440/sharing-economy-apps-uber-carpooling-services-best-suited-emerging?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/start-ups/article/1851440/sharing-economy-apps-uber-carpooling-services-best-suited-emerging?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 23 Aug 2015 23:00:16 +0000 Seven years ago, two graduate students at Shanghai Jiao Tong University were so busy playing computer games in their dormitory one day that they ordered lunch from a nearby restaurant. That night, inspired by their laziness, Kang Jia and Zhang Xuhao chatted until the early hours about setting up their own food delivery business. I believe that in five years you will see fewer and fewer people opening restaurants, but more offering more diversified door-to-door services Zhang Xuhao, co founder of... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/money-wealth/article/1850861/students-lazy-lunch-provides-food-thought-and-fires-chinas?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/money-wealth/article/1850861/students-lazy-lunch-provides-food-thought-and-fires-chinas?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 20 Aug 2015 01:30:15 +0000 Following the news that scientists have landed US$2 million to pursue a genetic engineering solution to HIV/AIDS, Shenzhen authorities said the city's bio-tech industry has grown by double-figures in recent years to over 160 billion yuan (US$25 billion) in 2014. According to the government's mouthpiece Shenzhen Special Zone Daily, the sector contributed over 105 billion yuan to the city's economy in 2013, 160 billion last year, and is expected to grow to more than 200 billion yuan this... https://www.scmp.com/tech/innovation/article/1850169/once-world-factory-shenzhen-targets-new-role-chinas-innovative-bio?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/innovation/article/1850169/once-world-factory-shenzhen-targets-new-role-chinas-innovative-bio?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 17 Aug 2015 23:01:46 +0000 Uber is keen to work with the Hong Kong government to develop "smart regulations" to fit with people's needs in the digital era as the embattled taxi-hailing app rallied public support in the wake of a raid by police on its offices in the city. Speaking to the South China Morning Post, Uber north Asia general manager Sam Gellman said the firm – one of the fastest growing start-ups in the world, valued at over US$50 billion – was ready to sit down with the government anytime to talk and work... https://www.scmp.com/tech/start-ups/article/1850129/uber-exec-hopes-smart-regulation-hong-kong-sharing-economy-following?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/start-ups/article/1850129/uber-exec-hopes-smart-regulation-hong-kong-sharing-economy-following?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 17 Aug 2015 04:30:30 +0000 Top Chinese digital animation studio Original Force has set up a film unit in Los Angeles, and is now working on its first original feature to feed demand in the world’s second-biggest movie market and globally.  Backed by Chinese internet giant Tencent, the company aims to churn out one high-quality CGI movie every year and a half. It already produces animations for Disney, DreamWorks Television, Sony and Electronic Arts and has specialized in animation for video games like Grand Theft Auto... https://www.scmp.com/tech/enterprises/article/1849596/chinas-original-force-hires-dreamworks-veterans-heads-hollywood?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/enterprises/article/1849596/chinas-original-force-hires-dreamworks-veterans-heads-hollywood?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 17 Aug 2015 00:00:00 +0000 Two events in a single day last week made Hong Kong a very ironic city for business development. First, Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying talked about innovation. Second, the government stifled that innovation to help the old economy survive. Last Thursday a number of industry groups released a survey showing nearly one in three people in Hong Kong who use the internet dip into services such as car-hailing app Uber, flat-rental site Airbnb, crowdfunding operations or other peer-to-peer platforms.... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1849976/hong-kong-seeks-innovation-chokes-firms-can-power-development?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1849976/hong-kong-seeks-innovation-chokes-firms-can-power-development?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 16 Aug 2015 15:15:30 +0000 Steve Blank, entrepreneur and founder of the Lean Startup movement, on how Beijing taught him the world no longer revolves around Silicon Valley.  Few people have had more influence on startup strategy than Steve Blank, founder of the Lean Startup movement. A serial entrepreneur in Silicon Valley and a consulting associate professor of entrepreneurship at Stanford University, Blank has written several books, most recently The Startup Owner’s Manual. In a wide-ranging telephone interview, Blank,... https://www.scmp.com/tech/start-ups/article/1849227/what-took-silicon-valley-30-years-china-will-do-10-lean-start-founder?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/start-ups/article/1849227/what-took-silicon-valley-30-years-china-will-do-10-lean-start-founder?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 13 Aug 2015 23:01:27 +0000 In a bid to boost the number of start-ups on the island and bolster economic growth, Taiwan’s National Development Council announced the HeadStart Taiwan programme last year to reduce red tape and attract international investment. Alongside the initiative, Taiwan’s Labour Ministry has relaxed visa requirements for foreign professionals working in start-ups that qualify under the HeadStart programme. Overseas candidates with a bachelor’s degree or higher will no longer need two years of work... https://www.scmp.com/lists/article/1848222/top-5-most-promising-taiwan-start-ups?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lists/article/1848222/top-5-most-promising-taiwan-start-ups?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 10 Aug 2015 23:00:40 +0000 Speak to any hardware start-up business in Shenzhen and the chances are they will have heard of Cyril Ebersweiler.  The Frenchman, 36, founded HAX there in 2011. The “hardware accelerator” speeds up business ideas, such as 3D printers or consumer product devices, for about 30 start-up companies a year. HAX provides guidance and expertise from start to finish – when a product goes on sale –  and funding of up to US$300,000 in return for equity in the business. Ebersweiler is seen as a pioneer in... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1847908/french-revolution-shenzhen-cyril-ebersweilers-hax-helps-start-ups?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1847908/french-revolution-shenzhen-cyril-ebersweilers-hax-helps-start-ups?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 08 Aug 2015 22:00:45 +0000 Mobile e-commerce sales will account for more than half of all online retail shopping in China by 2016, according to new data. New York-based research firm eMarketer predicted that mobile e-commerce sales will make up 10.9 per cent of total retail sales in the country next year, and 55.5 per cent of total online retail shopping, as the sector grows 51.42 per cent to reach a record high of US$505.74 billion, up from an estimated US$333.99 billion this year. That milestone would further widen the... https://www.scmp.com/tech/e-commerce/article/1846108/chinas-mobile-e-commerce-market-miles-ahead-us-grow-us505-billion?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/e-commerce/article/1846108/chinas-mobile-e-commerce-market-miles-ahead-us-grow-us505-billion?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 03 Aug 2015 23:00:38 +0000 Tujia.com has raised US$300 million at a valuation of more than US$1 billion, as the Chinese vacation rentals site often compared with Airbnb pursues financing to bankroll a global expansion. All-Stars Investment led the latest round of financing, the start-up said in a statement on Monday. The Chinese investment firm also backs smartphone maker Xiaomi. Tujia, which means “home on a journey,” is focusing on expanding its services into Asian destinations popular with Chinese travellers, said... https://www.scmp.com/tech/start-ups/article/1846046/chinas-airbnb-tujiacom-valued-us1-billion-latest-funding-round?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/start-ups/article/1846046/chinas-airbnb-tujiacom-valued-us1-billion-latest-funding-round?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 03 Aug 2015 01:15:15 +0000