The advancements coming out of China’s tech industry every moment have the potential to reshape our world as we speak. Every day, the ACT team brings you our hand-picked selection of breaking news, financial transactions rocking the industry, big people making big waves, and the coolest new gadgets. Don’t miss these headlines:
Apple cut iPhone 6s global production by 10%, China demand drops
Apple has cut iPhone 6s production by 10%, according to Credit Suisse. The Swiss bank said the iPhone maker has reduced its component orders due to the weak demand for the iPhone 6s. “The overall builds are now estimated to be below 80 million units for the December quarter and between 55 million-60million units for the March quarter,” the bank said. In early November, due to the lower demand for the iPhone 6s, a factory in Pudong, Shanghai laid off staff and shut down one of its iPhone 6s assembly lines.
Crowdfunding platform Kaistart receives USD 5M investment
Crowdfunding platform Kaistart on Monday received RMB 33 million (USD 5 million) in its A-round financing from six investors including Meridian Capital Group, Jiusui Capital, Yingbaodian Capital and Zhengjiang Wenchuang Group. Prior to this round of financing, it has already received angel investment from three companies, according to 36kr.
Xu Jianjun, the CEO and founder of Kaistart, said the website will support creative projects and ideas. According to the company, the daily PV of the website has exceeded 1.5 million with 400,000 unique visitors, two million registered users and 30,000 paying users.
China’s ride-hailing market leader Didi Chuxing’s rival eDaijia to lay off 20% of staff
China’s largest ride-hailing app Didi Chuxing’s competitor eDaijia confirmed on Sunday that it will lay off 20% of its staff. The company has witnessed a four-fold increase in its number of employees since the beginning of 2015. It currently suffers from overstaffing and work inefficiency due to errors in its recruitment and management strategy.
eDaijia, one of the the market pioneers in designated driver services in China, covers over 200 cities with 150,000 designated drivers. It used to own around 70-90% of the personal driver market, according to NetEase Tech. But since Didi Chuxing launched its designated driver service in August, eDaijia’s market shares have been in decline.
Chinese authorities further crack down on top box businesses, affecting Tmall
China’s leading e-commerce platform Tmall released an official announcement that it will upgrade the current system of its top box for video subscription services as a response to new rules launched by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT), China’s top media and television watchdog.
About 81 third-party video content providers will be banned and removed after the upgrade.
Top-box makers said all third-party video content is required to be authorized by the the state watchdog. Providers who have already passed the authorization process include iQiyi.com and Youku Tudou, and more are expected to be authenticated within a week.
The state crackdown has sparked controversy online. Weibo users complain that their top boxes have stopped working.
Campus part-time job platform receives USD 10 million A-series financing
Part-time job platform Tanlu mainly targeting college students has received USD 10 million in its A-series financing round, with China Growth Capital as the lead investor and its angel investor Bluerun Ventures following. Tanlu is a job platform mainly focused on providing part-time work for university students. Since the platform came online six months ago, it has accumulated half a million users, 1 million transactions, and RMB 20 million in transactions per month.
According to 36kr, 90% of its workers are college students, and 10% are blue collar workers living in cities. Most of the work provided by the platform is selling fast-moving consumer goods, passing out pamphlets, and delivery. Tanlu plans to expand its blue collar worker base in the future and become an employment platform for the main workforce, according to 36kr.
Mochou Lee has contribution.