Maya Cypris

Chinese Startups Smart Keyboard App: What is Kika? Kika is a next generation big-data keyboard application that allows users to better express themselves through a wide library of unique emojis, gifs, images and more. The app uses api integration to tailor to the world’s most popular social media platforms such as Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, Whatsapp, WeChat, Line, Slack, and Kik Messenger. Kika’s image library updates every day and is furthermore searchable to allow users to quickly find the sticker that best represents what they want to express. The app is currently available on both Google Play and the Apple Appstore. More than just emoji and gif sharing, Kika’s products provide users with fast auto-typing & swiping features, natural language prediction, theme & layout customization, and an open plugin platform capable of making many communication tasks more convenient. What are some of Kika’s features? In addition to its vast library, the Kika app…

China Innovation: Innovation is everywhere. It is behind every new idea, every solution to a problem, and any person who has dared to be different. But beyond the poetic nature of the term, innovation is also everywhere in the literal sense. The 21st century has seen the term surge in popularity, evolving into a buzzword that is heard daily in the worlds of business and economics. The direct implication of this overusage is the word’s eventual loss of meaning. When everything is innovation, then nothing is really innovation anymore. China’s relationship with the word ‘innovation’ is an interesting one. Only three short decades ago, the country was struggling to make ends meet, with high poverty rates, a tormented national psyche, and widespread famine ravaging the country. But following the country’s massive reconstruction under Deng Xiaoping’s economic reforms, China today is virtually unrecognizable from its 20th century past. A world leader in…

Chinese Startups Shopping Mall App: What is Yueguang? Yueguang (悦逛) is a mobile application intended to both personalize a shopper’s buying experience while allowing stores  and high-end shopping malls connect with their consumers. Currently available on both iOS and Android, the application caters to three main parties- shopping malls, their businesses/stores, and the consumers who shop at their stores. The Yueguang platform works with different malls to provide a kind of virtual representation of the malls, in which consumers can interact with and get live updates about their favorite brands and shopping locations via Wifi, Bluetooth and iBeacon. Users can then connect to the store pages and attain points, discounts, and rewards for shopping. Meanwhile, Yueguang provides businesses with more accurate and effective mobile marketing solutions, allowing them to better understand their audience and track traffic to their store. The application likewise delivers valuable information to malls about their stores’ various audiences,…

Chinese Startups Facial Recognition Lending: What is Shualian? Shualian (刷脸) is a big-data facial-recognition lending service. The P2P Shualian application allows friends to lend and borrow money (RMB) among their close circles, reducing the dependency on banks and the overall bureaucratic hassle involved with transferring monies. In order to ensure utmost security during the lending or borrowing process, users of Shualian are given a credit score that gradually adjusts based on their performance on the platform. The credit score is initially comprised from a highly intricate algorithm that parses through various criteria in order to give the most accurate reflection of the person’s reliability. Among these criteria is Shualian’s innovative facial recognition software, which among other functions is able to identify the user’s social media platforms to create and build a comprehensive understanding of the user’s persona. To what degree can users borrow/lend with others? The Shualian platform allows users…

China Economic Growth Model: “When the wind of change blows, some build walls while others build windmills.” This classic proverb perhaps best encapsulates China and its evolving philosophy towards dealing with changing times. China of the late imperial era was a classic “wall-builder”, characterized by stubborn nationalistic pride and an oblivious sense of superiority that inevitably brought upon the Opium Wars and a century of humiliation. But ever a nation of the resilient of spirit, China’s traumatic era birthed a new understanding and stark 180 degree change in attitude that taught it to “build windmills” rather than resist the natural flow of times.  Indeed, since the enactment of the Opening-Up Policy in 1978, China has consistently adapted and embraced the changing global patterns to great effect, often even revolutionizing and dictating the trends of the future. It is therefore no surprise that Li Keqiang, China’s State Council Premier, chose to…

Chinese Startups Social Network: What is Gogo? Gogo is a social network platform intended to connect between people, their interests, and the businesses behind their interests! Described as a combination between Facebook and Four Square, Gogo allows users to present snippets of their life while meeting people who share their passions. Simultaneously, an intricately designed badge system segments the users into numerous categories based on their personal hobbies, and allows them to further develop their passions by engaging in activities related to their interests. As the user continues to participate in their favorite pastime, they are able to ascend to higher rankings within their chosen category, and acquire higher-level badges that prove their dedication to the field. Furthermore, with every level ascension, the user enjoys added perks related to their interests- such as discounts, membership access, free merchandise and more. Living up to its name, Gogo allows its users to…

Chinese Startups Smart Vending Machine: What is Quzhi? Quzhi (趣智) is an intelligent vending machine designed to provide the user with a faster and more convenient purchasing experience. Taking the concept of standard vending machines to the IoT level, Quzhi machines are connected to the internet and allow for easy mobile payment, mapping of nearby stations, and live update coverage of available stock. Currently targeted at university campuses, the Quzhi vending machines are entirely student operated and encourage teamwork, managerial skills, and leadership amongst the university students. With a name in Chinese that translates to ‘Fun Tech’, Quzhi machines are truly a revolutionary new approach towards the ordinary dispensing appliances of the past. What does a Quzhi Vending Machine look like? The current Quzhi machines are still in development. The future machines will have a clean, sleek and modern design that will accentuate the machine’s sophisticated digital interface. The upper…

Israel/China International Business Relations: The past decade has seen both China and Israel doing exceptionally well in the business sector. Israel, the dubbed “Startup Nation”, has had its startup ecosystem bloom and flourish in recent years with an incredible 69% growth from 2014 to 2015 alone. Meanwhile, China has been busy living out the business world’s version of the “Cinderella” story, transitioning in under 30 years from an oppressed and bullied nation with high poverty rates to becoming one of the leading economic capitals of the world. Naturally, the shared success and prowess of both countries in their respective fields has caught the other’s eye, and has birthed a love story of sorts between Israeli entrepreneurs and Chinese investors who share a mutual interest for the other’s trade. Only last month, a two-day investment conference in Beijing recorded roughly 500-600 business meetings between Israeli companies and potential investors from all…

China/Israel International Business Relations: Only three short decades ago, China was a country that was largely perceived as being bizarrely foreign, isolated and far too different from our Western world to even try to understand. But as time has passed and reforms swiftly enacted, China has quickly changed before the world’s very eyes, becoming a global superpower and ironically, an impressive leader in capitalistic growth and economic supremacy. Appropriately, these changes in China’s branding and it’s increasingly “Western” appeal have led to an influx of eager businessmen arriving in China with the hopes of enjoying a piece of the “prosperity pie”. Call it the new “American Dream”, if you will. Even little Israel, aka ‘Startup Nation’, has seen its own growth of Israeli entrepreneurs and investors flocking to China in recent years. However, as many of these hopefuls have soon realized, despite its changes, there are still numerous challenges involved…

Israel China Internet: Israel is a country that, despite its small population and size, is among the most frequently mentioned and discussed countries in worldwide media and web. This coverage is more often than not from a critical perspective, particularly in Western news publications, and usually places heavy emphasis on political issues such as territorial disputes and religious conflict. In China as well, content relating to Israel can frequently be found. However, in stark contrast to their Western counterparts, Chinese mentions of Israel tend to be for the most part overwhelmingly positive and often cover a more diverse range of topics. This positive vibe towards Israel is perhaps most prominently evident on the Chinese web, where both online newspapers and user generated content on social media platforms speak of Israel with an air of indirect praise. There are several major news publications in China, of which People’s Daily and Xinhua…