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BEIJING - In an apparent move to rebuild its presence in the country, tech giant Google is set to invest $550 million in cash into Chinese e-commerce player JD.com. "As part of a strategic partnership, Google will put $550 million in cash into JD.com. In return, the tech giant will receive more than 27 million newly issued JD.com Class A ordinary shares at an issue price of $20.29 per share," CNBC reported citing Google as saying on Monday.
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Both the companies aim to work in partnership to develop retail infrastructure that can better personalise the shopping experience and reduce friction in a number of markets, including Southeast Asia. The goal here is to merge JD.com's experience and technology in supply chain and logistics -- in China, it has opened warehouses that use robots rather than workers -- with Google's customer reach, data and marketing to produce new kinds of online retail, according to TechCrunch.
JD.com is China's second largest e-commerce player and is valued at around $60 billion, based on its NASDAQ share price and the firm has partnerships with the likes of Walmart. It has invested heavily in automated warehouse technology, drones and other "next-generation" retail and logistics.
Google has opened a research lab focused on artificial intelligence (AI) in China even as its search engine and many of its services -- including YouTube -- remain blocked in mainland China. The search engine giant shut down its Chinese search engine seven years ago after a direct confrontation over Beijing's censorship policies.
JD.com is China's second largest e-commerce player and is valued at around $60 billion, based on its NASDAQ share price and the firm has partnerships with the likes of Walmart. It has invested heavily in automated warehouse technology, drones and other "next-generation" retail and logistics.
Google has opened a research lab focused on artificial intelligence (AI) in China even as its search engine and many of its services -- including YouTube -- remain blocked in mainland China. The search engine giant shut down its Chinese search engine seven years ago after a direct confrontation over Beijing's censorship policies.