takeaways from techcrunch 2017 day 2 june 21 2017 weinswig , managing director ... (ico) for its...

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DeborahWeinswig,ManagingDirector,FungGlobalRetail&[email protected]:917.655.6790HK:852.6119.1779CN:86.186.1420.3016Copyright©2017TheFungGroup.Allrightsreserved.

Takeaways from TechCrunch 2017 Day 2

AtDay2oftheTechCrunch2017ConferencetakingplaceinShenzhen,entrepreneursfromChina’sleadingstartups,includingmanyunicorns,sharedtheirvisionfortheirindustries’growthpotentialandthelatestdevelopmentstakingplace.

1) WeiZhang,CTOofMeitu—aglobalinnovatorinmobilevideoandphotography,includingbeauty-themedphotoandvideoapps—sharedhisvisiontoexpandthecompany’sbeautyecosystemtoprovidingskincareconsultation.Whenuserstakeaselfie,theappwillcollectdataandprovideadiagnosisoftheirskin’shealthusingartificialintelligence(AI).

2) TheFungGlobalRetail&TechnologyteaminterviewedJoeXia,theCo-FounderandCTOofoneofChina’slargestbicycle-sharingstartupsMobike,whosharedthestartup’splanstoleveragedatatohelpgovernmentsmakemoreinformeddecisionsinurbanplanning.

3) TedLivingston,FounderandCEOofmessagingappKik,talkedaboutthecompany’splansforaninitialcoinoffering(ICO)—anewlypopularizedmethodoffundraising—andtheintroductionofitscryptocurrency,Kin,tofostercommerceinitscommunity.KikseekstobecometheWeChatoftheWest.

Day2oftheTechCrunch2017ShenzhenConferenceFungGlobalRetail&TechnologyattendedtheTechCrunch2017ConferenceinShenzhenonDay2,thetwodaysthatthekeynotepresentationstookplace.ThemajorthemesthatwegarneredfromDay2oftheconferenceincluded:

• Meitu:WeiZhang,CTOofMeitu—aglobalinnovatorinmobilevideoandphotography,includingbeauty-themedphotoandvideoapps—sharedhisvisiontoexpandthecompany’sbeautyecosystemtoprovidingskincareconsultation.Whenuserstakeaselfie,theappwillcollectdataandprovideadiagnosisoftheirskin’shealthusingartificialintelligence(AI).

• Mobike:TheFungGlobalRetail&TechnologyteaminterviewedJoeXia,theCo-FounderandCTOofoneofChina’slargestbicycle-sharingstartupsMobike,who

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sharedthestartup’splanstoleveragedatatohelpgovernmentsmakemoreinformeddecisionsinurbanplanning.

• Kik:TedLivingston,FounderandCEOofmessagingappKik,talkedaboutthecompany’splansforaninitialcoinoffering(ICO)—anewlypopularizedmethodoffundraising—andtheintroductionofitscryptocurrency,Kin,tofostercommerceinitscommunity.KikseekstobecometheWeChatoftheWest.

PleaseseeDeepDive:Shenzhen—AnInternationalHubOfHardwareInnovation

Meitu—AIandtheAppEcosystemZhangexplainedhowMeituhascreatedanecosystemaroundbeautythroughaportfolioofsoftwareandhardwareofferings,andsharedhisvisiontoprovideskindiagnosisforusersthroughAItechnology.MeituisaChinesecompanythatcreatedaphoto-editingappthatwasfirstintroducedasaselfieappin2008,atimewhenmostWesternsmartphonesweredesignedforvideocallsratherthantakingselfies.Thecompanystartedmanufacturingsmartphonesin2013.

WesummarizethekeytakeawaysfromZhang’spresentationbelow:

1) Meitutargetstoexpanditsecosystemtoincludeprovidingskinconsultation:Whenuserstakeaselfie,theappwillcollectdataandprovidediagnosisoftheirskin’shealththroughAI.

2) AIisthenextfrontierforprovidingsolutionstoeverydayproblems,accordingtoZhang.Meitu’sMakeupPlusappprovidesadviceonwhichmakeupstylebestsuitsauserwhenpairedwithdifferentoutfits.

3) Cateringtoculturalnuancesandlocalizingappfunctionsisvitalforoverseasexpansion:Meitufine-tuneditsproductsaccordingtouserpreferencesandtheculturalnuancesoftheendmarket,downtodecidingontheskincolor.Forexample,Chinese,JapaneseandKoreanwomenallpreferfairskin.However,whileJapanesepreferfairskinakintoageisha,Chineseprefertohavefairskinandrosycheeks.Incontrast,Westernwomendonotpreferfairskintone.ThemostpopularfeatureamongAmericanusersistheabilitytoturnselfiesintoanime-stylephotos,whichcatapultedtheapptothetop-10most-popularappsintheAppStore’sphotoandvideocategory.

4) Zhangseesmorenear-termbusinessapplicationsforARthanVRtechnology:Heismostpositiveaboutadvertisingwithaugmentedreality(AR)andexpectscommercialapplicationsofvirtualreality(VR)totakelongertomature.MeituhasestablishedajointlaboratorywithHiScene,aleadingChineseARtechnologyprovider.Inhisview,VRisanexampleofagoodtechnologynotnecessarilybeingagoodproduct.

5) HisvisionisforMeitutobeabletounderstandauser’spreferencesbyanalyzinganuploadedphoto:WiththesupportofAItechnology,heexpectstheapptobeabletoanalyzeusers’preferences—rangingfromculinaryandfashiontoaestheticsandhealth.

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Source:FungGlobalRetail&Technology

Mobike—Bicycle-SharingandtheIoTEconomyXiasharedhisvisiontoharnesstheInternetofThings(IoT)toimprovetrafficconditionsincities.Mobikeannouncedthatithasraised$600millioninaSeriesEfundingroundledbyTencenttofunditsoverseasexpansion.Thebicycle-rentalcompanycurrentlyoperatesover5millionbicyclesserving100millionusersinmorethan100citiesglobally.Itsmainpresenceisintier1andtier2citiesinChina.Elsewhere,MobikerecentlylauncheditsbusinessinSingaporeandManchesterintheUK.

Below,wesummarizethekeypointsfromXia’spresentation:1) Globalization:Mobiketargetstoexpand

itspresenceto200citiesgloballybytheendofthisyear.Xiaregardsthecompany’srelationshipwithlocalgovernmentsasthemostimportantintermsofexecutingitsoverseasexpansionstrategy.Toovercomelocalregulatoryrequirements,Mobikeprimarilycooperateswithlocalgovernmentstolaunchbicycle-rentalprograms.

2) Hebelievesthefutureofbicyclesharingisdata-drivenIoT,andMobikehasbeenexpandingitsIoTinitiative:ManyChinesecitiesfaceproblemssuchaspollutionandcongestionwhichcanbealleviatedbybicyclesharing.


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3) Heseestheuserexperienceasthemostimportantfactor,andMobikeisusingdemand-forecastingtechniquesandarewardsystemtobetterpairdemandandsupply:Forexample,Mobikerewardsuserswithredpacketsforreturningabiketoalocationwithhighdemand.

4) HebelievestechnologyisthebackboneofMobike,whichisconstantlyinnovatingtooptimizetheuserexperience:Mobikeisresearchinglonger-distancetransportationmethodsthattravelfurtherthanbicycles.ItisalsoconsideringinstallingUSBchargersonitsbicycles.Thecompanycurrentlyhasatechnicalteamofseveralhundredstaff.ItplanstohireprofessionalsfromSiliconValleyandsetupoverseasresearchcenters.

5) Mobikeseekstoleveragedatatohelpgovernmentsmakemoreinformeddecisionsinurbanplanning:ThecompanyiscooperatingwithChineseandinternationalresearchinstitutionstoanalyzethedataonitsplatform,whichreaches20terabytes(TB)everysevendays.

Kik—UsingCryptocurrenciesasanAlternativeFundraisingModelLivingstonsharedhisvisionforthemessagingapp.Kikhasbeengrowingrapidlysinceitslaunchin2010whenitaccumulated100millionregistereduserswithinthefirst15daysoflaunch.

KikhasbeenbackedbyTencent,whichprovidedUS$50millioninfundingin2015tohelpKikbecometheWeChatoftheWest.


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Below,wesummarizethekeypointsfromLivingston’spresentation:

1) TheWeChatoftheWest:Livingston’svisionisforKiktobecomeaninstant-messagingplatformthatisintegratedintousers’everydaylives.HeaimstodevelopKikintoacommerceplatformsimilartoWeChat,inwhichuserscanscanQRcodestobuyitems.In2014,Livingstonpublishedanarticle“TheRacetoBecometheWeChatoftheWest,”whichdetailedKik’svisiontopursuetheWeChatstrategybymovingnativeappsoutsidechattowebappsinsidechat.

2) Kikisplanninganinitialcoinoffering(ICO)foritsupcomingfundraising:KikisintroducingKin,acryptocurrency,intothecommunityforuserstoearnandspendnatively.

3) HeexpectscryptocurrencyICOstoresembledotcoms,withsomecompaniesmakingmoneyandotherslosing:Heexpectssomelargeorganizationstoemergeaheadofthepack,similartoGoogleandAmazon.

ConclusionWemaintainourpositiveviewonShenzhen’sstartupecosystem,whichispremisedonthestrengthofitsyoungdemographics,flexiblesupplychainsandsolidmanufacturingoperations.TheFungGlobalRetail&TechnologyteamlooksforwardtoreportingthehighlightsoftheShenzhenInnovationTour,whichconcludesthe3-dayeventorganizedbyTechCrunch.

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DeborahWeinswig,CPAManagingDirectorFungGlobalRetail&TechnologyNewYork:917.655.6790HongKong:852.6119.1779China:[email protected]

ZaneYangResearchAssistant

HongKong:8thFloor,LiFungTower888CheungShaWanRoad,KowloonHongKongTel:85223004406London:242–246MaryleboneRoadLondon,NW16JQUnitedKingdomTel:44(0)2076168988NewYork:1359Broadway,18thFloorNewYork,NY10018Tel:6468397017

FungGlobalRetailTech.com

takeaways from techcrunch 2017 day 2 june 21 2017 weinswig , managing director ... (ico) for its...

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