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Alibaba sales growth soars into the cloud
by Staff Writers
Beijing (AFP) Nov 2, 2016


Uber hits road with overhauled smartphone app
San Francisco (AFP) Nov 2, 2016 - Uber on Wednesday began rolling out an overhauled smartphone application that uses artificial intelligence in a bid to speed up and improve the ride-sharing experience.

The update is the first major overhaul for the popular application since 2012 and aims to simplify usage for a service that has added new travel options such as uberPool to share rides among several travelers.

"We rebuilt a faster, smarter rider app completely from the ground up," Uber product manager Yuhki Yamashita said in a blog post.

After telling the app their destination, users can choose between uberX, UberBlack, and uberPool with estimated travel times provided as well as cost comparisons.

The overhauled app also synchronizes with other services, such as Pandora for streaming music, Yelp for business reviews, and transit schedules to catch trains or buses.

Uber says it sought to save users time by weaving in technology to coordinate appointments and anticipate trips.

The app kicks off by asking where users wants to go, with Uber planning to eventually let people answer with names businesses or of a friend, as well as with specific street addresses.

"We'll soon be introducing a new feature we refer to as 'people are the new places' that enables you to set your destination to a person instead of a place," Yamashita said.

"Just sync your contacts with the app, type their name into the search bar and once they've shared their location, you'll be on your way."

The app is designed to learn people's travel patterns, such as taking children to school, or synchronize with agendas to make it quicker to get rides to appointments.

It will also suggest the best spots for passengers to be picked up by drivers.

Versions of the redesigned Uber app for smartphones powered by Apple or Android software will be rolled out globally during the next several weeks, according to Uber.

Since its debut in 2010, Uber has grown into a worldwide phenomenon despite regulatory hurdles and resistance from traditional taxi operators

In its latest funding round, Uber was valued at more than $60 billion, but has racked up losses at it expands and takes on competitors such as Lyft

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba's sales soared 55 percent in the last quarter, thanks in part to a more than doubling of revenue from cloud computing, the company said Wednesday.

Alibaba's quarter earnings report also showed a rise in use despite a slowing economy in China.

The year-on-year growth in group sales, to 34.29 billion yuan ($5.14 billion), was not matched by net profit, which slid 66 percent to 7.62 billion yuan ($1.14 billion).

The drop was mostly due to an unfavourable comparison, as last year the firm booked an exceptional gain linked to the re-evaluation of its participation in one unit.

"Alibaba Group had a great quarter," chief executive Daniel Zhang said in a statement on the firm's second quarter, which ended in September.

"Our results reflect our increasing ability to monetise our 450 million mobile users through new and innovative social commerce experiences."

The number of mobile users increased by 23 million since the end of the previous quarter in June.

Sales in the core commerce unit rose 41 percent year-on-year to $4.27 billion.

Alibaba Holding Group shares were down about three percent to $98.17 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange that followed release of the earnings figures.

Alibaba is China's dominant player in online commerce, with its Taobao platform estimated to hold more than 90 percent of the consumer-to-consumer market, while its Tmall platform is believed to have over half of business-to-consumer transactions.

Consumer behaviour is "evolving dramatically," according to Alibaba executives, with young people actively upgrading lifestyles.

Simultaneously, merchants are embracing Internet Age methods of connecting with customers, setting up the potential for a "significant disruption" of the retail landscape, according to the company.

The company, often compared to eBay or Amazon of the United States, has expanded outside its core e-commerce business, in sectors ranging from sports to entertainment.

Zhang praised the rapid growth of Alibaba's cloud computing business, which saw sales soar 130 percent to the equivalent of $224 million.

"Our cloud computing continues to shine," Zhang said during an earnings call.

More than 40,000 developers from 58 countries attended an annual Alibaba conference for cloud computing and artificial intelligence in Hangzhou, according to the company.

Revenue from digital media and entertainment jumped 302 percent to the equivalent of $541 million.

"We also see huge potential in our newly integrated digital media and entertainment unit," said Zhang.

Alibaba Pictures last month took a minority shareholding in Spielberg's Amblin Partners, a film creation company that includes DreamWorks studios.

Alibaba executives said that growth remained a higher priority that profit for now, and that it continues to eye the potential to expand beyond China.

gc-jra-rl/har

ALIBABA GROUP HOLDING


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