Tech China Post #70

Didi and Volkswagen are teaming up to build new fleets of cars with autonomous driving capabilities. VW would own about 40% of the joint venture and provide 100,000 cars and technology to distribute via Didi’s network in China. (link)

China Integrated Circuit Investment Fund is starting a $47B investment fund to invest in local chipmaking capabilities. This is another push to produce mission-critical embedded technology in China to support long-term initiatives in robotics and artificial intelligence. (link)

Baidu will sell about 60% of its traditional financial services business to TPG and Carlyle for approximately $1.9B. The funds will allow Baidu to reinvest in fintech to compete with Alibaba and Tencent. (link)

Alibaba’s profit slips with additional expansion into cloud, adjacent retail businesses, and activities in the emerging markets. The core e-commerce business grew more than 60% year over year, offset by investments in other areas. Alibaba is now one of the largest technology companies in the world. (link)