The tech leader sees a 42% increase in valuation in 2020, to more than US$450M
NEW YORK, Oct. 26, 2020 —Rokt, the global leader in e-commerce technology, today announced an investment of US$80M. The capital will help accelerate research & development and support the expansion of its client base into new verticals and geographies as Rokt continues to make e-commerce smarter, faster, and better.
The funding round was led by Rokt’s largest institutional shareholder TDM Growth Partners, and supported by other existing investors including Square Peg. In just this year alone, Rokt’s valuation has increased 42% to more than US$450M.
While the COVID-19 pandemic has shaken the foundations of corporations and startups alike, it has also created a strong market demand for e-commerce and in turn, for Rokt. Limited in-person shopping and rapidly changing consumer spending habits have led companies in all categories to accelerate their digital transformation, and e-commerce has deepened its foothold in daily lives.
"With the industry facing COVID-related challenges, brands need alternative revenue sources and acquisition channels," said CEO, Bruce Buchanan. "Rokt continues to be laser-focused on bringing value to the hundreds of e-commerce companies that rely on our technology to deliver top- and bottom line results, and will continue to drive innovation and deliver results that the market desperately needs," Bruce continued, "We are delighted for the investment and strategic guidance from our shareholders and look forward to continuing to deliver on our mission."
"Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting uncertainty, we still have high conviction in market leading technology companies. Rokt is certainly one of these businesses. We are thrilled to increase our investment in Rokt and continue our partnership with Bruce and the business," said TDM partner, Tom Cowan.
The additional funding sets up a strong foundation for continued rapid growth of Rokt. Rokt closed their US$48M Series C investment round less than a year ago. Recently, they have invested in strengthening their leadership team, hiring an SVP of Marketing, a new Chief Technology Officer, and 3 additional executive appointments in the last 4 months. Their world-class technology was also recognized by the MarTech Breakthrough awards as the Best Use of AI in MarTech.
Rokt is the global leader in e-commerce technology, powering the Transaction Moment™ of best-in-class companies including Expedia, Live Nation, Groupon, Staples, Lands’ End, Fanatics, GoDaddy, Vistaprint, and HelloFresh. Rokt’s mission: To make e-commerce smarter, faster, and better.
Through its proprietary technology, Rokt enables its e-commerce clients to increase brand engagement and unlock new revenues in the Transaction Moment™, allowing them to stay ahead of their competition while delivering a superior and individualized experience for each customer.
Founded in Sydney, the company now operates in the US, Canada, the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Spain, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, and Japan. Learn more at rokt.com.
ABOUT TDM. GROWTH PARTNERS
TDM Growth Partners is a global investment firm with offices currently in Sydney and New York.
TDM invests in fast growing companies run by passionate management teams. Our unique and flexible mandate allows us to invest in public and private companies globally.
TDM operates on long-term time horizons, and a commitment to help build businesses we’re proud of. We have a highly focused approach to investing, with a portfolio of no more than 15 investments globally. TDM has the ability to deploy capital up to $150 million per investment. https://www.tdmgrowthpartners.com/
ABOUT SQUARE PEG
Square Peg is a venture capital firm on a mission to empower exceptional founders. It invests in technology companies across Australia, Israel and Southeast Asia with a focus on Series A and B. Square Peg is investing out of its US$235 million 2018 fund and manages US$1 billion in capital commitments. www.spc.vc
Rokt team virtually celebrates closing their Series D investment round amid the COVID-19 pandemic
The next-generation pipetting technology enhances reproducibility and simplifies complex and time-consuming manual workflows
SANTA CLARA, Calif., Oct. 26, 2020 — Based on its recent analysis of the North American pipetting robot market for life sciences, Frost & Sullivan recognizes Andrew Alliance, a Waters Company, with the 2020 North American Product Leadership Award. Andrew Alliance’s liquid handling robot, Andrew+, integrates robotic mechanisms with conventional laboratory pipettes to improve the repeatability of liquid handling. These easy-to-use robots and connected devices allow scientists and laboratory technicians to achieve repeatability, performance, and efficiency in their experiments. Andrew Alliance is one of the few companies worldwide to manufacture its products in an eco-friendly environment and use carbon-neutral electrical power.
Andrew Alliance
The different components of the Andrew+ pipetting robot, such as single- and multi-channel pipettes, a stand, and the cloud-based proprietary software OneLab, can communicate and share data with each other. Although competing products can communicate with their components as well, the communication must be performed using a wired framework, and the software is restricted to a private server. The Andrew+, on the other hand, can communicate with its electronic stand wirelessly using Bluetooth, and the stand is connected to the cloud using Wi-Fi or Ethernet, thereby helping the user remotely access the data related to the analysis performed by Andrew+ to ensure both traceability and repeatability.
"Andrew+ pipetting robot not only automates the liquid handling process but also gives users complete control over the workflow through the OneLab software platform. While its competitors offer pipettes with built-in software that can share only a set of pre-established protocols, the OneLab software lets Andrew+’s users design and share their own protocols," said Rohit Karthikeyan Industry Analyst at Frost & Sullivan. "OneLab is freely available and hosted on the cloud, which gives users the flexibility to handle the robot from any personal computer or tablet."
Andrew Alliance ensures that users of its Andrew+ pipetting robot and OneLab software are always connected to its technical support experts, underscoring its focus on product reliability. In addition, the company guarantees top data quality and security of the OneLab software by making the protocols accessible only through secure user identification and access control. Andrew Alliance’s simplicity helps lab technicians with no knowledge of programming benefit from lab automation in the comfort of their homes, which is a vital advantage in the current era of remote working.
"Andrew Alliance, with its integrated portfolio of hardware and intuitive software, enables pharmaceutical companies to accelerate their R&D processes. It has designed its Andrew+ pipetting robot as a lightweight and affordable solution capable of integrating a wide range of products, such as Shaker+, Peltier+, and Magnet+, using the cloud-based OneLab platform," noted Karthikeyan. "A pioneer in the development of an open, connected lab ecosystem of the future, Andrew Alliance is a valuable pipetting automation partner to labs, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic."
Each year, Frost & Sullivan presents this award to the company that has developed a product with innovative features and functionality that is gaining rapid market acceptance. The award recognizes the quality of the solution and the customer value enhancements it enables.
Frost & Sullivan Best Practices Awards recognize companies in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analyses, and extensive secondary research to identify best practices in the industry.
About Frost & Sullivan
For over five decades, Frost & Sullivan has become world-renowned for its role in helping investors, corporate leaders, and governments navigate economic changes and identify disruptive technologies, Mega Trends, new business models, and companies to action, resulting in a continuous flow of growth opportunities to drive future success. Contact us: Start the discussion.
Andrew Alliance, a Waters Company, is dedicated to advancing science by working with researchers to create a new class of easy-to-use robots and connected devices that take repeatability, performance and efficiency of laboratory experiments to the level required by 21st century biology. Its new class of high-performance, easy-to-use robots, dramatically improve the repeatability, performance and speed of liquid handling, using sustainable technology.
Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT), the world’s leading specialty measurement company, has pioneered chromatography, mass spectrometry, and thermal analysis innovations serving the life, materials, and food sciences for more than 60 years. With more than 7,000 employees worldwide, Waters operates directly in 35 countries, including 15 manufacturing facilities, and with products available in more than 100 countries.
The television is usually the centre of the living room and the main source of entertainment in a household. As the centre it holds a unique position of being the only item that not only has to look good, it needs to be able to seamless fit into any design. However, this centre piece is slowly finding its way into bedrooms and boardrooms.
This shift is prompted by the additional use cases it has acquired over the years thanks to the internet and the advent of Wi-Fi and streaming. Nowadays, we use the television a complementary screen in addition to our media centre. It connects to laptops, desktops and smartphones seamlessly but, more importantly, it’s become a tool that everyone for work and play.
It has, therefore, become more important that we make an informed choice when it comes to purchasing a television. This is increasingly true with the myriad of choices that we are seeing in the market. There is now a television for every price point. The subject of this review, the HAIER LE550K6600GU, comes in a slither under MYR2,500. Is the MYR2,399 you pay for it worth it? Does it stand up to the competition? Should you go a tier higher for better performance? Those are the questions we’re looking to answer in this review.
Design
The HAIER LE50K6600UG is one of the sleekest television sets we’ve seen in a while. That especially rings true when it come to the sub MYR2,500 price point. HAIER didn’t hold back much when it comes to the design of the TV. It has one of the slimmest bezels for a television of its price-point and its minimalistic design allows it to blend seamlessly into any room setup.
Keep in mind, the HAIER Smart TV isn’t a small one either. It’s 50-inches; while it’s on the smaller end of the spectrum nowadays, it’s still pretty substantial when you put it in the middle of a room. The slim, near bezel-less design allows its to standout while blending in. It may sound a little oxymoronic, but the television is able to blend into any setup thanks to the large, black screen but it also has a panel which is bright enough to make it stand out. It’s built-in Chromecast feature also gives it beautiful pictures to cycle through when not in use. Even when the screen is blank, the surface of the black screen is mattified to minimise its reflectivity. You don’t get much distractions even with the screen off.
The overall footprint of the HAIER LE50K6600UG is also smaller and sleeker than its competition. At its thickest it measures just about 3cm; at its thinnest it’s about 0.5cm. This means that mounting it or even standing it shouldn’t be too much of a space issue. However, the legs provided to stand the TV on a console is about 15cm in width. While the design of the stand is sleek, it’s basically two slim throngs which are in an inversed V.
The one blemish on the sleek design of the HAIER LE50K6600UG is the infrared receiver for the remote control. I mean, it’s a literal blemish on the lower left corner of the TV. The odd bump also glows an ominous red when the television is off. Perhaps the main reason I call it a blemish is the odd brown colouring of the rather large casing for the receiver. It’s about a centimetre thick. However, HAIER placed it in a position that doesn’t take much away from the overall façade of the TV itself.
Features
Android TV
The HAIER LE50K6600UG is one of HAIER’s new Android TV touting smart TVs. It runs Android 9.0 Pie out of the box. However, HAIER couldn’t confirm if there would be upgrades to Android 10 later on. They mentioned that it heavily depended on the hardware requirements of Android 10 for TVs. If the hardware requirements are still met in the LE50K6600UG, it is likely that it will get the update.
However, being an Android powered TV, the HAIER LE50K6600UG is able to access a wide variety of TV optimised apps from the Google Play Store. Apps like TubiTV, Amazon Prime TV and more can be downloaded from the Play Store to optimise your viewing experience. Netflix and YouTube come pre-loaded with a dedicated button on the remote. The wide variety of apps also extends the multipurpose nature of the TV. During our time we had remote streaming apps and even apps for productivity installed.
Android TV’s interface has also been optimised with introduction of Android 9 Pie. The new interface streamlines your frequently accessed apps and has quick access to your most frequently used apps. For example, recommended programs on Netflix are placed front and centre in a widgetised version of the app called channels. This quick access ribbons can be customised and personalised in the settings of the TV.
That said, there is a big flaw when it comes to HAIER’s implementation of Android TV on the LE50K6600UG: pressing the power button on the remote control as you usually would doesn’t turn off the TV. Instead, it sends it into sleep mode. This keeps the processor and graphics processor of the TV running even when the screen is off. However, the most detrimental effect of this is that the TV can get sluggish after a day or two. That said, sending the TV into sleep mode speeds up the boot time of the TV significantly.
AI, Chromecast, & Bluetooth remote control
The remote control of the HAIER LE50K6600UG is not just a standard infrared remote. It comes equipped with Bluetooth connectivity as well. The Bluetooth connectivity of the remote control is setup with a simple button combination during setup. After setting up the Bluetooth, you’ll be able to control the TV without pointing the remote at the tv itself. This also means that if you’re trying to mute the volume or turn the TV off in a hurry, you won’t be stumbling to point the remote control at the TV. That said, this functionality doesn’t work when you shut down the TV properly. It will only kick in after the TV has booted the next time.
Aside from that, the LE50K6600UG comes with AI built in. The AI automatically adjusts and optimises the display settings depending on the surroundings of the TV. It works most of the time. However, I found the optimisations to be a tad bit too minute and too focused on the brightness of the display. It rarely adjusted the saturation, gamma or contrast of the display. I’m also pretty certain that the AI could be contributing to the slowdown of the TV’s performance when its not shutdown. However, it’s a simple fix for HAIER with a software update.
The HAIER LE50K6600UG is a 4K UHD TV. It has a resolution 3840 x 2160 pixels. That said, the picture quality of the HAIER LE50K6600UG is passable. It’s not overly saturated like some of its competition. However, when it comes to the colour reproduction, the colours seem a little washed out and heavy on blues. This could be due to HAIER’s configuration of the individual pixels of the panel. There may be more white pixels to compensate for brightness.
That said, it doesn’t affect the overall experience much unless you’re looking for cinema grade screens – which, to be very honest will never be in the price range of this TV. The viewing angles of the screen affects the crispness of the details on the screen which is a little weird. In our review period, anything above about 60° makes the characters and alphabets look a little fuzzy. However, like many of the flaws on the HAIER, you won’t notice it unless you are trying really hard to.
Another big plus for the TV is the built-in Chromecast functionality. This allows the TV to work as a second, complementary screen to your phone, tablet or laptop. You can easily use YouTube and other streaming apps which are able to take advantage of the Chromecast API. It also allows you to be able to project from your PC with ease, allowing you to use it to project presentations seamlessly. The Chromecast functionality is one of the biggest advantages the TV has over its competition.
Google Assistant & Connectivity
Of course, being an Android TV, the LE50K6600UG comes with Google Assistant. This allows you to give the TV commands with your voice. Keep in mind that you need to be signed in and have an active internet connection for it to work. The voice recognition is pretty accurate but only if you enunciate your words properly. That said, I found myself using the Google Assistant very sparingly. I found it more tedious than helpful especially when searching in apps. However, it did come in useful when I wanted to launch apps quickly. It allowed me to launch the apps without clicking into the app drawer and searching for the apps manually.
The HAIER Smart TV comes with a whole array of connectivity from Bluetooth to Wi-Fi. It has 1 ARC HDMI input, 3 HDMI inputs, 2 USB inputs, 1 LAN input, a microSD card slot, L/R out, 3.5mm out and a few more for your over the air television signals. That is a whole lot of inputs and output. That said, the TV is able to intelligently name and label the channels according to the device that is plugged in. However, when it came to the USB inputs, we noticed that it could only read USB 2.0 drives. When we tried USB 3.0 and higher, the TV was unable to detect the drive and its contents. We’re unsure if it is a software issue but it’s likely that it may be a fault with the software of the unit that we had for review.
Picture & Sound Quality
The HAIER LE50K6600UG is a 4K UHD TV. It has a resolution 3840 x 2160 pixels. That said, the picture quality of the HAIER LE50K6600UG is passable. It’s not overly saturated like some of its competition. However, when it comes to the colour reproduction, the colours seem a little washed out and heavy on blues. This could be due to HAIER’s configuration of the individual pixels of the panel. There may be more white pixels to compensate for brightness.
That said, it doesn’t affect the overall experience much unless you’re looking for cinema grade screens – which, to be very honest will never be in the price range of this TV. The viewing angles of the screen affects the crispness of the details on the screen which is a little weird. In our review period, anything above about 60° makes the characters and alphabets look a little fuzzy. However, like many of the flaws on the HAIER, you won’t notice it unless you are trying really hard to.
When it comes to sound, the quality is pretty good. In fact, I would go so far as to say that HAIER is a class above most of its similarly priced competition. While the sound isn’t full and rounded, it doesn’t take away from the experience of the TV unless, like a reviewer, you are looking for flaws. The sound coming out of the built-in speakers was rather hollow and tinny. This also made the sound feel a little too bassy. However, this is easily remedied with an inexpensive sound bar, if the sound quality is an essential for your TV.
An Option for Those Looking for a Well-rounded experience without breaking the bank
The HAIER Smart TV is one of the most well-rounded options in its price range. It provides a good picture quality, enough connectivity options and good sound quality. Overall, it has a complete package and provides a pretty commendable experience especially if you’re looking for a good overall experience without going broke.
At MYR2,399, it’s one of the most affordable 4K UHD TVs in the market. In fact, it’s one of the most affordable Android TVs in the market which is a big plus. Android TVs run a premium just because of the licensing that companies have to pay Google. However, HAIER has found a way to keep the TV affordable while equipping it with most of the sought-after features; making it a serious option for people who are looking for an easy, plug and play Smart TV to complete their rooms or home.
TOKYO, Oct. 26, 2020 — The Singles’ shopping festival is here, and Ruten Japan will launch the "Singles’ Day Flash Sale" event! In addition, during the event, limited members not only get free shipping over $50, but also $5 off by using promotion code at checkout. Event will begin from October 26th to November 11th for all 13 countries and regions* around the world. A new set of promotionial codes will be announced everyday at 11:00 GMT+9.
Ruten Japan Launches Single Day flash Sale everyday as low as 60% off with promotion code
Ruten Japan’s CEO Yun Su said that the Single’s day shopping festival is considered a large-scale e-commerce festival in Asia. Many e-commerce platforms will hold various large-scale promotional activities on double eleven day to attract consumers’ attention and stimulate purchases on their platform. This year, Ruten Japan "Singles’ Day Flash Sale" will announce the promotional code of the day. Lucky contestants can immediately redeem the promotional code at checkout.
Other than the promotion code, the bestseller items on Ruten website and in Japan will be cheaper than the lowest market price during the Double 11 Day sales. Within the consecutive 17 days, the items of day will be presented in flash sale mode in order to get the best deal for Ruten’s customers. Ruten Japan’s customers get to enjoy the full and borderless shopping experience during this annual Double 11 Day sales.
The "Singles’ Day Flash Sale" includes items such as 3C appliances, Japanese Omiyage, toys & games, health products, cosmetics, fashion, household appliances, snacks, and etc. Minimum 60% off pop-up flash sale everyday starting today. Many best-selling products have also joined the ranks of the "Singles’ Day Flash Sale" shopping event. Specially recommended products for this selection includes: Japan’s hot-selling Tokyo Campanella gift box at $37.67, Perfect Grade Unleash RX-7-8-2 Gundam Collectibles item at $3,751, Wakamoto health care product at $23.07, and etc.
*Remarks: Ruten Japan ships to these destinations: Singapore, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Taiwan, Canada, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Indonesia, Macao, Malaysia, Philippine, Thailand and Korea.
TORONTO and HAGUE, Netherlands, Oct. 26, 2020 — Canada’s growth lends itself to an increasing population of immigrants boosting the economy. Fuelling its aim to attract migrants to the nation in the next few years calls for a seamless and secure framework to facilitate the money transfer requirements of all participants in the payments ecosystem.
As per the World Bank data estimated in 2018*, the outward remittance value of US$ 27B from Canada, with a growing share of digital remittances, reflect a global move towards cashless economies.
With an aim to further strengthen this drive to cater efficiently to the dynamic money transfer needs of the industry, TerraPay, a leading global payments infrastructure company, has recently announced its MSB registration with the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC).
This license will facilitate the Company’s unparalleled and robust cross-border payments infrastructure to mobilize international remittances from the region in real-time, at low costs, and help offer diverse value added financial payment services to TerraPay’s partners and their customers.
The FINTRAC license adds to TerraPay’s 45+ regulatory approvals and local licences, now connecting Canadian immigrants to our global partner networks – 2B Bank Accounts, 500+M mobile wallets- across 100 countries, and 58+ settlement currencies.
Ambar Sur, Founder and CEO, TerraPay speaks on this proud moment, "The FINTRAC licence is a strategic boost to our commitment in driving digital interoperability across countries. We are well equipped to service the payment requirements of our partners and their customers in Canada. We work towards ensuring global access to all participants and innovation in the payments ecosystem."
*World Bank 2018 data
About TerraPay
TerraPay is a licenced digital payments infrastructure and solutions provider, paving the global payments highway. The company’s robust foundation and new-age platform technology serves as the digital interoperability engine enabling customers and businesses globally to send and receive payments in a secure, transparent, efficient and real-time basis. The agile network supports diverse payment instruments and types of payments, while adhering to complex regulations and compliance standards in different markets.
SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 25, 2020 — In the past couple of months, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused multiple disruptions and safety concerns for organizations across every industry. As businesses struggle to create a safe, comfortable return for employees, customers, and vendors, touchless and thermal management has become an integral part of requirements in providing immediate, visual scanning solutions.
FaceDeep 5 is Anviz’s newest smart face recognition terminal with a temperature screening function
Anviz, a demonstrated biometric and AIOT technology provider since 2001, pioneered touchless registration and face-based check-in & access management of its latest innovation. It is excited to announce the release of a strategic addition to its product line, FaceDeep 5 and FaceDeep 5 IRT, a fully integrated Contactless and Thermal Management Solution for the people to access control ofentrances or record attendance time and simultaneously check temperature and mask-wearing without having to touch a terminal or gate, requirements which are quickly finding their way into commercial offices, hospitality and retail chains, hopeful crowded sports arenas, medical facilities, and more.
Equipped with Infrared Thermal Temperature Detection Camera, FaceDeep 5 IRT is specially designed to rapidly scan users with elevated body temperature in less than 0.3 seconds within 3.2 feet and customizes alerts and a variety of reporting for high-temperature notifications and no-mask wearing.
Specifically, the temperature screening with thermographic technology (32×32 pixels), is more accurate and faster to catch up than others with thermopile technology (single point) in the market. And the dual facial recognition cameras (IR & VIS) incorporate a BioNano, state-of-the-art facial recognition algorithm plus RFID(both 125Khz and 13.56Mhz) reading technology.
Completely configurable, the platform can be managed on the device or in the CrossChex Software application and provided with SDK for 3rd party integration if need. Apart from its many competitive advantages, FaceDeep5 is IP65 compliant and applicable to outdoors.
In addition, as a long-time technology innovator, Anviz is also developing cloud-based fully integrated people engagement platforms including true mobile device management. Plus, Anviz is also providing a variety of mounts and stands for the terminals. Just as David, Anviz BD Director in North America explained, "The demand for our surface wall and desktop model was clear from the start, but as we started to see significantly increased interest from commercial buildings, sports arenas, international hotel chains, and expansive casinos, we needed a variety of highly durable stands to increase adaptability and use in high-traffic areas."
About Anviz
As a leading provider of converged intelligent security solutions, Anviz Global Inc. is committed to providing comprehensive Biometrics access control, time & attendance as well as IP video surveillance solutions to millions of SMB and enterprises clients globally. Anviz is energetic and open to the latest trends and markets always. By combining world renowned biometric algorithms with cloud, IoT and AI technologies, Anviz has introduced innovations to the security industry worldwide and developed 6 subsidiaries to serve partners over 140 countries in the last decades.
BEIJING, Oct. 24, 2020 — Momo Inc. (Nasdaq: MOMO) ("Momo" or the "Company"), a leading mobile social networking platform in China, today announced that its board of directors (the "Board") has approved Mr. Yan Tang to step down from the position of Chief Executive Officer, and promoted Mr. Li Wang to this position, effective on November 1, 2020. Mr. Wang is a director of the Company, currently serving as the President and Chief Operating Officer of Momo. Starting from November 1, 2020, Mr. Yan Tang will become the executive chairman of the board of directors of Momo, in which role he will continue to be integrally involved in setting the strategic priorities and directing new business initiatives for Momo.
"I can think of no one better to lead Momo than Li Wang. Li’s experience as our President and Chief Operating Officer, combined with a career spanning nearly a decade with the Company, make Li the perfect choice as the new Chief Executive Officer. Li has the proven leadership track record and breadth of business experience we believe are critical to lead Momo, including the ability to execute our strategic vision, the commitment to our people and core values, and the focus on delivering return to shareholders. I am delighted to be handing over the reins to such an outstanding leader and look forward to working together with Li to set the course for Momo into an even brighter future," said Mr. Tang.
"I know that I speak for everyone at Momo in thanking Mr. Yan Tang for his leadership and tireless dedication to the company," said Mr. Li Wang. "We have an exceptionally talented team at Momo that is focused on taking decisive actions to transform the business, continuing to innovate our products in new and diverse ways, and unlocking future growth opportunities."
Mr. Li Wang has been our Chief Operating Officer since June 2014 and our President since April 2018. Mr. Wang joined the Company as a core member of the founding team in 2011.
About Momo Inc.
We are a leading player in China’s online social and entertainment space. Through Momo, Tantan and other properties within our product portfolio, we enable users to discover new relationships, expand their social connections and build meaningful interactions. Momo is a mobile application that connects people and facilitates interactions based on location, interests and a variety of recreational activities including live talent shows, short videos, social games as well as other video- and audio-based interactive experiences, such as live chats and mobile karaoke experience. Tantan, which was added into our family of applications through acquisition in May 2018, is a leading social and dating application for the younger generation. Tantan is designed to help its users find and establish romantic connections as well as meet interesting people.
This news release contains "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Our forward-looking statements are not historical facts but instead represent only our belief regarding expected results and events, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and outside of our control. Our actual results and other circumstances may differ, possibly materially, from the anticipated results and events indicated in these forward-looking statements. In addition, there are other risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ from what we currently anticipate. For additional information on these and other important factors that could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects, please see our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
All information provided in this press release and in the attachments is as of the date of the press release. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date of this release, except as required by law. Such information speaks only as of the date of this release.
BEIJING, Oct. 24, 2020 — Future FinTech Group Inc. (NASDAQ: FTFT) (hereinafter referred to as "Future Fintech", "FTFT" or "Company" ") a leading blockchain e-commerce company and a service provider for financial technology, today announced the parties have mutually agreed to terminate the negotiation of the potential acquisition of Spondula, previously announced by the Company on September 22, 2020. The parties have not been able to agree on the final business terms for the potential acquisition and have mutually agreed to terminate the potential transaction contemplated in the non-binding letter of intent entered by the Company, Spondula and its shareholder on September 19, 2020.
The Company strategy remains to focus on development of business of global challenger banking and payment system through acquisitions.
About Future FinTech Group Inc.
Future FinTech Group Inc. ("Future FinTech", "FTFT" or the "Company") is a leading blockchain e-commerce company and a service provider for financial technology incorporated in Florida. The Company’s operations include a blockchain-based online shopping mall platform, Chain Cloud Mall ("CCM"), a cross-border e-commerce platform (NONOGIRL), an incubator for blockchain based application projects. The Company is also engaged in the development of blockchain based e-Commerce technology as well as financial technology. For more information, please visit http://www.ftftex.com/.
Safe Harbor Statement
Certain of the statements made in this press release are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning and protections of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act. Forward-looking statements include statements with respect to our beliefs, plans, objectives, goals, expectations, anticipations, assumptions, estimates, intentions, and future performance, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may be beyond our control, and which may cause the actual results, performance, capital, ownership or achievements of the Company to be materially different from future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be forward-looking statements. You can identify these forward-looking statements through our use of words such as "may," "will," "anticipate," "assume," "should," "indicate," "would," "believe," "contemplate," "expect," "estimate," "continue," "plan," "point to," "project," "could," "intend," "target" and other similar words and expressions of the future.
All written or oral forward-looking statements attributable to us are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary notice, including, without limitation, those risks and uncertainties described in our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 and our other reports and filings with SEC. Such reports are available upon request from the Company, or from the Securities and Exchange Commission, including through the SEC’s Internet website at http://www.sec.gov. We have no obligation and do not undertake to update, revise or correct any of the forward-looking statements after the date hereof, or after the respective dates on which any such statements otherwise are made.
5G mobile broadband launches passed 100 during 3Q20.
Western Europe has the largest number of 5G launches, followed by Asia-Pacific.
With Apple’s iPhone 12 launch, 5G coverage and network quality is even more of a critical area of differentiation and competition for service providers.
The number of commercial 5G mobile broadband networks launched globally hit 109 in Q3 2020, according to Omdia’s latest 5G Service Provider Tracker. When taking into account networks that use 5G to deliver home broadband services (Fixed Wireless Access, ‘FWA’), the total number of Communication Service Provider (CSP) launches reached 140 at end-3Q20.
Western Europe has the largest number of commercial 5G mobile broadband networks, at 33, followed by Asia-Pacific with 31, and the Middle East, with 17. The Middle East has the highest number of live 5G FWA networks, at 11, followed by Western Europe, with 8, and Asia-Pacific, with 6.
5G is already the second-fastest-growing new cellular network technology ever launched by the telecoms industry, behind only the first mass-market mobile service, 2G (GSM). The number of mobile broadband networks is 38% higher than it was for 4G two full years after the first launches, while in its first full year of commercial services 5G exceeded the total number of subscriptions 4G had after three years.
Even with a strong start there still remains huge scope for growth for 5G as 85 % of CSPs have yet to launch 5G. This is partly due to local governments not making the 5G spectrum available yet. By 2025 Omdia expects there will be over three billion 5G mobile subscriptions, representing nearly one third of all total mobile subscriptions.
Paul Lambert, Principal Analyst at Omdia, commented: "The telecoms industry has been more successful than ever in agreeing extremely complex 5G technology standards, and then manufacturing network equipment and devices that enable service providers that want to get a head-start on 5G to launch.
"As activity shifts increasingly online, 5G, like previous technology generations, will both expand on and enhance the way people experience their connected digital lives. For specialist users, such as gamers, industries, and businesses, 5G also brings quicker response times, so that data-heavy experiences, services, and applications feel more vivid and immediate"
Consumer Interest:
5G smartphones from leading manufacturers such as Samsung and Huawei have been in the market for over a year, however consumer interest in 5G is set to grow following October’s iPhone 12 launch, Apple’s first 5G device.
Apple’s launch will have a significant effect on the global telecoms industry as it will encourage service providers across the globe that have yet to build their 5G networks to begin their planning in earnest. It will also enable CSPs to justify the new investments required to expand and enhance coverage beyond initial areas because more people will be ready to access 5G.
Meanwhile, even faster 5G speeds made possible by mmWave spectrum, which the iPhone 12 currently supports in the US, will enable service providers and their partners to create rich new site-specific services, for example in stadiums and shopping centres.
NEW YORK, Oct. 23, 2020 — HR Tech firm, Cappfinity, is working with Lindsey Pollak to bring the company’s new Virtual Experience and Engagement platform to the early careers marketplace and help talent leaders find the best-matched, career-ready, diverse talent for their businesses at an earlier stage.
The innovative solution combines 1) Virtual Experience for students and recent graduates, where they can gain self-insight, strengthen skills and practice work simulations with 2) Virtual Engagement for employers, enabling them to widen their talent pool and evaluate candidates in a way that removes unconscious bias.
Cappfinity launched VEE following research with 30+ global talent leaders in the US, UK and APAC that highlighted the need for a bold shift to virtual with campus recruiting strategies to reach and attract more diverse talent.
Based on Cappfinity’s extensive experience working with clients across the globe to remove bias from hiring processes, VEE takes the job seeker on a guided learning journey involving strengths self-assessments, strengths development exercises and work simulations. On completion, an accreditation is awarded that learners can include on their resume and share with future employers to show they are ‘Certified Career Ready’.
Cappfinity CEO, Dr Alex Linley, spoke about the appointment:
"As a leading expert and thought leader in the early careers market, we’re delighted Lindsey is working with us on the launch of VEE in the US and globally. Lindsey brings a wealth of knowledge and experience working with businesses and institutions to support diversity and inclusion efforts, and helping students and graduates succeed in a competitive and changing job market."
Speaking about her new role as VEE Ambassador, Lindsey Pollak commented:
"I’m thrilled to be working with Cappfinity on this initiative. VEE is arriving at a pivotal point for the early careers market; now more than ever students and graduates need support and guidance as they prepare to start their careers. By opening up access to free tools and resources that can help them to become career ready, Cappfinity VEE is helping to level the playing field and build confidence in candidates and connect them with real job opportunities."
