As per iResearch Global, Alibaba’s Tmall marketplace and JD.com controlled 82 per cent of the Chinese e-commerce market last year
Amazon, facing entrenched rivals, says to shut China online store [Reuters]
Amazon.com said it will shut its China online store by July 18, as the US e-commerce giant focuses on the lucrative businesses of selling overseas goods and cloud services in the world’s most populous nation.
The move underscores how entrenched, home-grown e-commerce rivals have made it difficult for Amazon’s marketplace to gain traction in China. Consumer research firm iResearch Global said Alibaba Group’s Tmall marketplace and JD.com controlled 82 per cent of the Chinese e-commerce market last year.
An Amazon spokeswoman told Reuters on Thursday that it is notifying sellers that it will no longer operate a marketplace, nor provide seller services on Amazon.cn.
OYO China fires 25 employees for unethical practices and misconduct [The Economic Times]
OYO Jiudian, the Chinese subsidiary of SoftBank-backed hospitality chain OYO Hotels & Homes, has fired 25 employees, and issued warnings to over 100 more, as the Gurgaon-headquartered company sought to crack down on what it has described as “unethical practices”.
In a statement sent out on Wednesday, the hospitality company, which commanded a valuation of US$5 billion in its Series E funding round, said it had also formed an integrity committee to weed out instances of misconduct and unethical practices, while continuing to double down on corporate governance and ensuring compliance across levels.
Australian VC Square Peg Capital leads US$27M in healthcare startup Aidoc [DealStreetAsia]
Israeli artificial intellegence healthcare startup Aidoc has closed a US$27 million Series B led by Australian venture capital firm Square Peg Capital, it said in an announcement on Wednesday.
The latest Series B round brings Aidoc’s total funding to US$40 million.
The fresh capital raised will be used to grow Aidoc’s technology and go-to-market team to support the demand for its products.
Founded in 2016, Aidoc provides imaging solutions for radiologists to enhance their diagnosis by flagging acute anomalies in real-time. Its solutions are currently deployed at over 100 medical centers and has reviewed a total of 1 million patients – the largest number of images analysed by an AI tool, the startup claims.
Videoconferencing company Zoom prices IPO at US$36 per share [CNBC]
Videoconferencing company Zoom priced its IPO at US$36 per share, above of its already-increased range. That values the business at US$9.2 billion.
Zoom, which is slated to start trading on Thursday on the Nasdaq, had originally given a pricing range of US$28 to US$32, but investor demand was so high for the profitable, fast-growing company, that the offering ended up well above that mark. CNBC had reported earlier on Wednesday that the company would price at the top end of the increased range — US$33 to US$35 — and possibly above it.
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