Fresh from announcing a deal to buy out Uber in Southeast Asia, Grab looks set to gain further firepower with Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba preparing to invest in the ride-hailing firm. Alibaba is in the early stages of making an investment in Grab, two sources with knowledge of discussions told TechCrunch. Isn’t yet clear what […]
View More Alibaba is preparing to invest in GrabCategory: alibaba
Our digital future will be shaped by increasingly mobile technologies coming from China
Since the dawn of the internet, the titans of this industry have fought to win the “starting point” – the place that users start their online experiences. In other words, the place where they begin “browsing”. The advent of the dial up era had America Online mailing a CD to every home in America, which […]
View More Our digital future will be shaped by increasingly mobile technologies coming from ChinaSoftBank leads $450M investment in Paytm’s e-commerce business
SoftBank is at it again giving money companies that rival startups it has already invested in. The Japanese firm and its long-time ally (and existing Paytm backer) Alibaba have come together to invest $450 million more into Paytm’s e-commerce business, Paytm Mall, as first reported by Mint. The deal is said to value the business at $1.6-$2 […]
View More SoftBank leads $450M investment in Paytm’s e-commerce businessWTF are CDRs? (other than a potential trillion-dollar market)
Over the past few days, the Chinese government announced the potential creation of a new trillion-dollar investment market, and it isn’t an April Fools’ joke. China’s tech giants like Alibaba and Tencent are some of the most valuable in the world, and upcoming potential IPOs by the next generation of startups like Xiaomi are causes […]
View More WTF are CDRs? (other than a potential trillion-dollar market)Walmart brings its partnership with JD.com into the food business
Walmart is bringing its partnership with JD.com into its grocery business. The Chinese physical store will stock products that customers can also buy through its Walmart’s virtual storefront on the Chinese electronic marketplace, JD.com, according to a report in Reuters. Walmart first partnered with JD.com two years ago as both companies struggled to overcome the […]
View More Walmart brings its partnership with JD.com into the food businessBaidu’s streaming video service iQiyi falls 13.6% in Nasdaq debut
The streaming video service iQiyi, a business owned by China’s online search giant Baidu, dropped 13.6% in its first day of trading on the Nasdaq — closing at $15.55, or down $2.45 from its opening price of $18. The company still managed to pull off one of the largest public offerings by a Chinese tech […]
View More Baidu’s streaming video service iQiyi falls 13.6% in Nasdaq debutFord and Alibaba unveil car vending machine
Car shoppers in Guangzhou, China now have the ability to buy or try a car using a smartphone app and a car vending machine. The facility came out of a partnership signed two years ago between Ford and Alibaba . Called the Super Test-Drive Center the center houses dozens of Ford vehicles in the multi-story building. Users […]
View More Ford and Alibaba unveil car vending machineAlibaba doubles down on Lazada with fresh $2B investment and new CEO
Alibaba is increasing its control of Lazada, its e-commerce marketplace in Southeast Asia it acquired control of in 2016, after it injected another $2 billion into the business and replaced its CEO with a long-standing Alibaba executive. Alibaba’s first investment came in April 2016 when it bought 51 percent of Lazada for $1 billion, and […]
View More Alibaba doubles down on Lazada with fresh $2B investment and new CEOAlibaba’s Jack Ma and Joe Tsai invest $20 million in Rent the Runway
Rent the Runway has snagged a $20 million investment from Alibaba CEO Jack Ma and Joe Tsai via Blue Pool Capital, Recode first reported. Blue Pool Capital is a multibillion-dollar fund that invests in public and private equity on behalf people like Ma and Tsai. The round reportedly values Rent the Runway at about $800 million. Rent the Runway’s previous investment came in back in 2016,… Read More
Alibaba signs deal with Disney to stream its animated shows in China
Alibaba Group’s entertainment unit has signed a major licensing deal to show many of Disney’s animated series and movies on Youku, its streaming video service, and other platforms it selects. The agreement covers more than 1,000 episodes from Disney series, as well as many of its films, and means Alibaba is now the largest distributor of Disney animations in China. Read More
Alibaba invests another $1.3 billion into its offline retail strategy
Alibaba has furthered its physical retail footprint after it invested another billion dollars into projects to develop its so-called “new retail” strategy which combines online and offline. The Chinese firm, the dominant e-commerce player in its country, gobbled up a 15 percent stake in Beijing Easyhome Furnishing for RMB 5.45 billion, or around $867 million, and pumped $486… Read More
Alibaba is picking up 33% of Ant Financial, its fintech affiliate that’s valued at over $60B
Alibaba has added an additional angle to the announcement of its latest financial report today with news that it is taking a 33 percent stake in Ant Financial, its fintech affiliate that operates Alipay and other financial services. The deal, which both parties said stems from an agreement made in 2014, will see Alibaba pick up newly issued shares in Ant, seemingly paving the way for a… Read More