Rishi Taparia - Issue #63
This week we look at food delivery in China, a veggie sales startup worth $7bn, Allbirds big fundraise, Goldman pumping the brakes on Marcus loans, Walmart going deeper into content, reflections on fatherhood and more. Enjoy!
Commerce
Alibaba merges food delivery units Ele.me and Koubei amid price war with Meituan in China’s on-demand market
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group will merge its food delivery service Ele.me with food and lifestyle unit Koubei amid intensifying competition with rival Meituan-Dianping. This creates a behemoth that combines 3.5mm merchants in 676 cities with $3bn for “subsidies and other incentives to users”. Talk about price war. Food delivery in China is HUGE big business.
Rocket Scientist's Veggie Startup Is Said Valued at $7 Billion
Meicai, a Chinese startup that helps farmers sell vegetables to restaurants, raised at least $600 million in a funding round led by Tiger Global Management and Hillhouse Capital. I’m in the wrong business. Or working in the wrong country.
Trendy Sneaker Startup Allbirds Laces Up $1.4 Billion Valuation
Allbirds are increasingly as much a part of the Valley wardrobe as Patagonia vests. Or at least investors seem to think so. The company the NYT once thought could go the way of Google Glass is now valued at $1.4 billion after raising new cash from investors including T. Rowe Price Investment Management, Fidelity Management and Tiger Global. I wonder if the investment also came with a lifetime supply of shoes…
FinTech
China's Tencent invests $180 million in Brazil fintech Nubank
Tencent is bringing the party to Brazil! The Chinese giant has invested $180 million in Brazil’s Nubank, an online only bank making serious waves in the land of Carnaval (and an insane presidential election but that’s a different story) – taking the challenger’s valuation to a healthy $4bn, 6 months after the company raised $150 million in April.
Nubank has issued 5 million credit cards and has signed up 2.5 million customers to digital payment accounts - which allow users to make transfers, pay bills and earn interest on deposits - since its foundation in 2013.
Tremendous progress in a country where the banking sector maintains a vice like grip on the market thanks in part to close relationships with regulators, and who don’t like seeing new banks of any kind.
Goldman Looks to Reduce Marcus Lending Goal on Credit Caution
Goldman Sachs appears to be getting nervous about a potential economic downturn going into next year. After giving out almost $4bn in loans through it’s Marcus business unit, the bank has said they are revising down their targeted amounts for 2019.
Credit Card Giant Chase Jumps Into Tours and Activities
As tours and activities become more in demand around the world, some credit cards are looking to be more than just the payment method you use to book stuff with. The underlying bet here is around data. Being able to create richer user profiles that can later be used to drive additional spending on the ‘right card’, thereby reducing churn and driving up LTV is the name of the game.
Technology
In Battle With Amazon, Walmart Pushes Deeper Into Entertainment
Walmart’s dealing with some of its Amazon FOMO by taking a trip to Hollywood. The world’s largest retailer announced that it was teaming up with two entertainment companies, one old school and the other on the industry’s cutting edge, to beef up it’s Vudu video arm. MGM is going to create a short-form series, while startup Eko is pushing a ‘create your own adventure’ style approach to content.
Uber's economics team is its secret weapon
Economists love Uber, since it’s essentially a supply-demand experiment operating in the real world at MASSIVE scale. A profile of Ubernomics and the economists writing research papers on the company.
Random Tidbits
Late Night Ramblings of a Month Old Dad
A month into fatherhood, a small piece I wrote on are a few ‘new realities’ I wish I had known before he arrived. I hope you enjoy it!
A Blind Man’s Trip Will Change the Way You Think About Safaris
An amazing read that is sure to transport Zimbabwe on safari you’ve never thought of before.
Quote I’m thinking about: …the intuition and creativity which we humans bring to tasks and jobs is largely a matter of pattern recognition, and machines are getting better at this at an exponential rate. - Calum Chase