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Alibaba increases stake in Cainiao by $3.3 billion

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Alibaba, the world’s largest e-commerce company, has increased its equity stake in Cainiao, a provider of automated logistics systems. The two companies have been partners for some time and last year opened what was reported to be the largest robot-operated warehouse in China. 

The additional investment in Cainiao Smart Logistics Network totals RMB23.3 billion (US$3.3 billion) and increases Alibaba’s equity from approximately 51 per cent to approximately 63 per cent.

The investment method used involved subscribing for newly issued Cainiao ordinary shares in its latest financing round and purchasing certain equity interest from an existing Cainiao shareholder. [Read more…] about Alibaba increases stake in Cainiao by $3.3 billion

Alibaba and Cainiao open China’s ‘largest’ robot-operated warehouse

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Supply chain robotics company Cainiao has installed 700 robots at China’s largest robot-run warehouse to process orders on Singles Day, according to a report on CNBC. 

The warehouse, located in Wuxi, near Shanghai, is owned by e-commerce giant Alibaba, which is also majority-owner of Cainiao, and Singles Day is said to generate more than $25 billion in sales.

CNBC reports that last year, on Singles Day – November 11, Cainiao processed over 800 million packages, and this year, Alibaba expects that figure to surpass 1 billion.  [Read more…] about Alibaba and Cainiao open China’s ‘largest’ robot-operated warehouse

Alibaba unveils unmanned logistics vehicle featuring lidar

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Alibaba, the world’s largest e-commerce company, has unveiled a new unmanned logistics vehicle.

The “G Plus” was built in co-operation with Alibaba’s logistics business unit, Cainiao, and RoboSense, a developer of robotic technology.

The G Plus is said to be the world’s first autonomous logistics vehicle to use solid-state light detection and ranging (lidar) technology.  [Read more…] about Alibaba unveils unmanned logistics vehicle featuring lidar

Alibaba business unit Cainiao shows off autonomous delivery vehicle

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Alibaba’s logistics business unit Cainiao has been demonstrating a small, autonomous vehicle designed for goods deliveries. 

Alibaba bought a controlling stake in Cainiao last year and said it would invest $15 billion into developing its logistics network and technologies.

This new vehicle may indicate the direction in which the companies are looking to go.

Cainiao is said to deliver more than 80 per cent of goods ordered through Alibaba websites, according to TechNode.com.

Alibaba is said to be the largest e-commerce company in the world.

 

Geek Plus says it has sold more than 3,000 warehouse robots

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Geek Plus Robotics says it has sold “more than 3,000” units of its warehouse robots so far.

The Chinese company, which last year raised an additional $60 million in funding, says it is ready to go global.

Beijing-based Geek+ say they have entered the global market by setting up a branch office in Hong Kong in 2018.  [Read more…] about Geek Plus says it has sold more than 3,000 warehouse robots

Alibaba to invest $15 billion into robotic logistics infrastructure

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Alibaba is planning to invest $15 billion into developing a robotic logistics infrastructure, according to the Wall Street Journal. 

Alibaba is said to be the world’s largest e-commerce company, mainly concentrating on the business-to-business sector rather than retail, but until now, it has relied on outside companies to provide its logistics.

Now, the company has invested an additional $801 million to buy a controlling stake in Cainiao Smart Logistics.  [Read more…] about Alibaba to invest $15 billion into robotic logistics infrastructure

How China’s ‘copycat’ tech companies are now the ones to beat

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made in china label

By Edward Tse, CEO of Gao Feng 

For a long time, Chinese companies have been known for copying market-proven products, brands and business models from the West and adapting them for the local market with only minor modifications. Such a phenomenon is known as shanzhai, a Chinese term that was originally used to describe a bandit stronghold outside government control. In today’s slang, it refers to businesses based on fake or pirated products.

Shanzhai has been prevalent in China in recent decades and this has earned China the reputation of being a “copycat nation”. Western media report that China’s preferential policies and regulations to restrict market access, such as the the “Great Firewall” in the internet industry, and the lack of intellectual property protection, give Chinese companies an unfair home advantage to create copies.

While shanzhai is common across a range of products and services, it is particularly prevalent in the internet sector. Chinese internet companies are often compared to their Western counterparts based on the similarity of their business models. For example, Baidu is known as the “Google of China”, Alibaba as the “eBay of China”, and Xiaomi as the “Apple of China”, just to name a few.  [Read more…] about How China’s ‘copycat’ tech companies are now the ones to beat