Find out what moves China tech with us. We round up what you need to know about the local venture scene every Thursday morning at 8:00 a.m. (GMT +8), covering major investment stories, MNC partnerships, noteworthy startups, industries with the most investments for the week, and more.
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MNCs in China
BASF, Givaudan, and TMall
Leading multinational chemistry and fragrance companies BASF and Givaudan announced the establishment of T-LAB at the TMIC (TMall Innovation Center) annual conference. Through this collaboration with TMall, the companies aim to empower brands to develop new products.
Alibaba founded TMIC (TMall Innovation Center) in 2017 to provide digital solutions in product development, marketing, and sales for brands. To date, TMIC has cooperated with over 1,500 brands, including P&G, L’Oréal, Unilever, and Estée Lauder, to work on C2B product development.
One well-known example is the success of L’Oréal’s facial cream, Revitalift Filler. Launched in 2020, the facial cream has pulled in more than RMB 500 million in sales revenue.
Going Public: IPOs
NetEase CloudMusic
On May 26, NetEase CloudMusic submitted its prospectus to the HKEX with a plan to raise HKD 7.036 billion (USD 906.5 million). Founded in 2013, NetEase CloudMusic is a music creation and sharing platform that hosts tracks by professional musicians, creating communities through personalized music recommendations.
NetEase CloudMusic’s business model encompasses online music and social entertainment services. Through features like public playlists, music reviews, and blogs, NetEase CloudMusic encourages a deeper connection between music, users, and their communities. Ultimately, the company enhances user stickiness to build revenue.
KrASIA News Picks
Meet Liang Rubo, the ‘executor’ and former roommate of Zhang Yiming who’s ready to take over at ByteDance
Until now, Liang Rubo has somehow stayed under the radar. As a co-founder of ByteDance, he led the development of a couple of the company’s key products, including blockbuster short-video app Douyin, news aggregator Jinri Toutiao, and office collaboration platform Lark. He didn’t enter the core of ByteDance’s management architecture until 2019, when he was promoted as global head of HR.
Little can be found online about low-key ByteDance co-founder Liang Rubo, but we’ve got you covered.
From Colin Huang to Zhang Yiming, here’s why Chinese tech CEOs are leaving their own companies
A CEO of a multi-billion-dollar technology company suddenly announces his retirement to explore long-term projects to help humankind solve bigger problems. His replacement is not his trusted second-in-command, but rather an old friend and long-term comrade with an engineering background.
In a plot usually found in fiction, this scenario happened in China twice over the past year.