Why China's tech giants like Alibaba and Tencent are betting big on rural

AI for pig farmers, healthcare for villagers, delivery drones all make great growth stories for their investors

Jaclyn Teng | TechinAsia Last Updated at April 28, 2018 08:57 IST

Photo: Reuters

Just a week ago, Alibaba pumped $717 million into Huitongda Network, an e-commerce platform serving 15,000-plus rural towns in China. It’s also started investing in AI for rural pig farmers.

And they’re not the only ones moving from tier-1 cities like Beijing: Tencent-backed WeDoctor is making healthcare more accessible for folks in tier 3 and 4 cities, while Alibaba rival JD.com has also entered the space with their delivery drones.

As more and more players enter the space, what are the major implications?

What's exciting about the Asian tech scene in 2018

In the short term, this is a blue ocean. So far, a few companies such as Pinduoduo and Qutoutiao have managed to penetrate this market. With more attention from big guys as well as VCs, the competition will surely heat up. Maybe soon it will become a red ocean like any other industry in China.

This is an excerpt from the article published on TechInAsia. You can read the full article here.

First Published: Sat, April 28 2018. 08:21 IST