Chinese authorities investigate e-commerce giant, Google could tighten its grip on search and VCs evaluate the biggest surprises of the year. This is your Daily Crunch (shorter than usual) for December 24, 2020.
The big story: Alibaba faces an antitrust investigationChina's State Administration for Market Regulation said it is investigating the e-commerce giant about a policy that forces merchants to sell exclusively with Alibaba and skip rival platforms JD.com and Pinduoduo.
"Alibaba will actively cooperate with regulators on the investigation," the company said in a statement. "The company's business operations remain normal."
Meanwhile, Chinese authorities have already canceled the Alibaba subsidiary Ant Group's initial public offering, and the company has now received another "meeting notice" from regulators.
Vacation bagGoogle reportedly strengthens its hold on search on 'sensitive topics': Reuters, citing company researchers and internal documents, reports that Google has rolled out new controls over the past year, including an additional round of inspection for documents. on certain topics.
Five VCs Discuss What Surprised Them Most in 2020 - Equity's latest episode reflects on a year that no one could have predicted.
Gift Guide: Last Minute Subscriptions to Keep Gifts Going All Year - They're easy to order at the last minute, easy to gift from afar, and will spread the fun of gifts for weeks and months.
Extra Crunch tips and analysisThe built environment will be one of the next big technology platforms - an in-depth look at Sidewalk Labs' abandoned waterfront project in Toronto.
Seed investments in the United States flourished during the pandemic - According to a ProWellTech analysis of PitchBook data and a survey of venture capitalists, some trends have become clear.
Use Git data to optimize your developers' annual reviews - three metrics can help you understand true quality of performance.
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