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Bitcoin  Chinese e-commerce company  JD.com , a member of the Fortune Global 500 headquartered in Beijing, is launching AI Catapult Accelerator (AICA), an accelerator program designed to unlock the transformative potential of startups demonstrating cutting-edge talent in the blockchain space. JD.com is one of the two largest business-to-consumer (B2C) online retailers in China by transaction volume and revenue, and a major competitor to Alibaba-run Tmall. As of September 2017, JD.com’s platform, often referred to as the “eBay of China,” had more than 266 million active users, with a revenue of close to $50 billion. JD considers blockchain technology and its integration into mainstream use as the key to a new age of cost effectiveness and customer satisfaction. "Whole-process traceability is not a new concept but blockchain makes it really possible,” Yongli Yu, president of JD's supply chain research unit, said in conversation with  Bitcoin Magazine ....

The Amazon Singapore website announcing deliveries in Singapore is seen in this illustration photo July 27, 2017. An employee works at Amazon's Prime Now fulfillment centre in Singapore July 27, 2017. Amazon.com Inc launched its two-hour delivery service in Singapore on Thursday, marking the e-commerce giant's biggest push into Southeast Asia and its first head-on battle with Chinese rival, Alibaba Group Holding. While Amazon already delivered to Singapore, higher-end services had not been available, including Prime subscriptions which provide access to the company's video-streaming service. The Prime Now Singapore app promises to deliver everything from Tiger Balm ointment to eggs, hammer drills and Pampers nappies within two hours. In Asia, Amazon has largely sidestepped China and focused on India, where it is the number-two player behind local rival Flipkart. But its arrival in Singapore, a tiny but wealthy city state of just over 5 million people, has been hotly a...

Amazon .com Inc forecast an unexpected dip in operating profit for the current quarter, sending shares down more than 4 percent due to concerns about the costs of investments including new warehouses and video content. The world's largest online retailer also reported lower-than-expected fourth-quarter revenue and missed Wall Street targets for its closely watched cloud computing unit. The Seattle-based company is spending heavily to take greater control of package delivery and to expand its video service around the world. Key to its plan is to entice sign-ups for Amazon Prime, its $99-per-year shopping club, which has led to users buying more goods, more often. "The story is an investment story," said Amazon Chief Financial Officer Brian Olsavsky on a conference call with reporters, noting "stepped-up" spending levels have continued into 2017. GlobalData Retail analyst Anthony Riva warned of profit erosion. "Low cost and fast delivery are a fundamenta...