Welcome to the Tech Weekly, NEO’s regular news monitoring of key developments in the food and mobility tech industries.
This week’s highlights:
- Southeast Asian e-commerce website Lazada has received a $378.5 million infusion of new shares from its parent company Alibaba Singapore, according to DealStreetAsia, which said it reviewed the firm’s regulatory filing. DealStreetAsia said the investment is the largest since Alibaba invested $1.3 billion in the firm in June 2020. (Forbes)
- Chinese cab app Didi told employees that it has suspended plans for major international expansions until at least 2025 and cut half of its British staff, amid pressure from Beijing on one of its most prominent tech companies. Last summer, China’s Cyberspace Administration banned the country’s dominant company from putting its app on mobile app stores in the country. (The Guardian)
- Uber will cut costs and focus on becoming a smaller business to cope with a “seismic shift” in investor sentiment, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi told employees in an email obtained by CNBC. “It’s clear that the market is experiencing a seismic shift, and we need to respond accordingly,” Khosrowshahi said in the email. (CNBC)
- About 93% of Americans have access to either prepared food or fresh food through at least one of the four major online food delivery platforms, according to a Brookings Institute analysis of data shared by companies. That includes 90% of people living in “food deserts” – low-income areas with limited access to conventional grocery stores. (Bloomberg)
- Shares of Amazon have given up nearly all of their gains from the pandemic, according to CNBC. The stock skyrocketed in 2020 and 2021 as consumers chose online retailers over physical stores for everything from face masks to office chairs. Amazon and other technology stocks have been dropping amid a broader market sell-off in the wake of the pandemic. (CNBC)