• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Billionaires Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg used mortgages to buy multimillion-dollar mansions. Here’s why that’s a savvy financial decision

2

AI CEOs from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Microsoft set aside their rivalry to warn Congress AI is making it too easy to design and create bioweapons

3

Social Security faces a 24% cut in 2032—that's a $345 billion hit to retirees nationwide, watchdog says

1

Billionaires Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg used mortgages to buy multimillion-dollar mansions. Here’s why that’s a savvy financial decision

2

AI CEOs from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Microsoft set aside their rivalry to warn Congress AI is making it too easy to design and create bioweapons

3

Social Security faces a 24% cut in 2032—that's a $345 billion hit to retirees nationwide, watchdog says
TechData Sheet

Data Sheet—How China Leapfrogged the West in Tech

By
Aaron Pressman
Aaron Pressman
and
Adam Lashinsky
Adam Lashinsky
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Aaron Pressman
Aaron Pressman
and
Adam Lashinsky
Adam Lashinsky
Down Arrow Button Icon
September 27, 2017, 8:12 AM ET

On my way through security in San Francisco Sunday afternoon I ran into a Silicon Valley-based executive traveling on the same flight to Fortune’s CEO Initiative event in New York. I asked how important China was to his business, and he listed the number of Chinese cities in which his company has relatively new offices and told me he visits the country regularly. As for me, with our Fortune Global Forum and Brainstorm Tech International conferences in Guangzhou approaching and fresh off our “China innovation” dinner last week, I guesstimated that China accounts for 25% of my “mindshare” these days.

I’m not alone.

Apple, for instance, has named one executive to oversee operations for the entire country, plus Hong Kong and Taiwan, the only country to which Apple dedicates a single executive. Her name is Isabel Ge Mahe, and as Fortune’s Claire Zillman makes clear in her informative profile , the 43-year-old native mainlander is an interesting choice. A huge part of the China country head position is dealing with the Chinese government. Yet there is nothing in Mahe’s background that suggests any experience dealing with the formidable task of conducting government relations in Beijing.

Instead, Mahe is an accomplished wireless engineer and manager, having risen the ranks at Apple and worked on key products. When filling a role like this companies can go with someone who knows the ins and outs of the local government and hope they can learn the company. Or as Apple has, it can choose someone who knows the company and ask them to learn the ropes in the halls of power.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

Mahe has her work cut out for her.

***

On the subject of China innovation, it was as if The Economist was eavesdropping on our dinner last Thursday night, which, given its deadlines, I know wasn’t the case. We devoted a panel to explaining how the Chinese have leapfrogged the West in certain areas, including wireless payments. This article gives great details on the same subject. And Berkeley economist Laura Tyson eloquently cautioned about allowing China to pursue innovation with an unfair advantage. This “leader” intelligently makes the same case.

***

Sorry for the late notice, but at 9:15 a.m. Eastern today I will be interviewing Google’s Sridhar Ramaswamy, the company’s senior vice-president of ads and commerce, and Marc Lore, president and CEO of Walmart eCommerce U.S. I plan to ask them about their recent formation of the anti-Amazon alliance. The event, part of Advertising Week in New York, will be livestreamed here.

Adam Lashinsky
@adamlashinsky
adam_lashinsky@fortune.com

NEWSWORTHY

Filling a void. Been lacking for Uber news of late? Lack no more. The controversial ride arranging company enhanced its app to allow drivers to give more detailed feedback about riders. Drivers also get a new additional payment for picking up passengers in UberPool. But that won't matter much in Montreal–Uber is pulling out of the entire province of Quebec after new rules require police background checks and 35 hours of mandatory driver training. Meanwhile, the company moved forward trying to both negotiate with and file a lawsuit against London authorities who effectively outlawed the service there.

Still messy. Rumors abound that Amazon will start selling the Apple TV set-top box again after the two tech giants seem to have reached a detente in their media wars (an Amazon video app is finally coming to Apple TV, as well). But now Google is pulling its YouTube app from Amazon's new Echo Show device.

Big bet. A former darling of the hedge fund world who blew up in 2015 is back and he's chasing the bitcoin bubble. Mike Novogratz tells Bloomberg he is raising $500 million to hit the cryptocurrency craze on the way up. “This is going to be the largest bubble of our lifetimes,” Novogratz said. “You can make a whole lot of money on the way up, and we plan on it.”

Orwellian. The Trump administration is moving to collect more online information about recent immigrants, green card holders, and even naturalized Americans. Under proposed rules, which could take effect October 18, the government would track items like social media posts and Google search results.

Less constrained. Feeling like you want to be chattier on social media after that news? Twitter is testing an expanded tweet length limit of 280 characters, double the current maximum.

Beyond step tracking. The Food and Drug Administration picked nine companies, including Apple, Fitbit and Samsung, to participate in a pilot program making it easier to bring health-related wearable devices and apps to market. "We need to modernize our regulatory framework so that it matches the kind of innovation we’re being asked to evaluate," FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said.

Urge to merge. On a party-line 3-2 vote, the Federal Communications Commission declared that the wireless market has reached a state of "effective competition." The controversial finding, part of a required annual assessment, could make it somewhat easier for T-Mobile and Sprint to merge. But Trump-appointed chairman Ajit Pai said the conclusion "does not include rumors of mergers that may or may not happen."

Gee whiz. Does every single tech company have a car strategy? James Dyson, founder of the high-end vacuum maker that bears his name, said Tuesday he will spend 1 billion British pounds, almost $1.4 billion, developing an electric car and another 1 billion pounds on battery development.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

How many African-American women run a Fortune 500 company in 2017? With last year's departure of Ursula Burns from Xerox, the stunning answer is zero. Fortune's Ellen McGirt dug into the issue, interviewing Burns and many others for an article headlined "The Black Ceiling." Research shows continuing hostility in the workplace as a major cause of the deficit, as McGirt writes:

Black women often grow demoralized in the workplace. They report environments that they feel continually overlook their credentials, diminish their accomplishments, and pile on cultural slights—about their hair, appearance, even their parenting skills. And they often have fraught relationships with white women, who tend to take the lead on issues of women and diversity. “This is what we call an ‘emotional tax,’” says Dnika J. Travis, an executive and researcher at the Catalyst Research Center for Corporate Practice. “The burden of being on guard all the time affects our lives in really negative ways.”

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Ford and Lyft Partner to Bring Self-Driving Cars to Public Roads by Kirsten Korosec

Apple iPhone X Has Smaller Battery Than iPhone 7 Plus by Robert Hackett

Walmart ‘Likes’ Facebook’s Workplace Software by Jonathan Vanian

New ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Series Boldly Goes Up Most Pirated List by Aaron Pressman

Google Goes Tit for Tat With Amazon On Cloud Pricing by Barb Darrow

Vimeo Acquires Livestream and Launches Vimeo Live by Tom Huddleston, Jr.

Tax Havens Eye a New Sideline: Initial Coin Offerings by Jeff John Roberts

BEFORE YOU GO

With the new movie Battle of the Sexes coming out soon depicting the legendary 1973 tennis match between Bobby Riggs and Billie Jean King, you might be wondering about the real story behind the flick. The Smithsonian Institute has you covered. "The true story is much more fascinating and (King's) heroism is much more real, based on the circumstances in which she stepped up," Smithsonian sports curator Eric Jentsch says.
This edition of Data Sheet was curated by Aaron Pressman. Find past issues, and sign up for other Fortune newsletters.
About the Authors
By Aaron Pressman
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
By Adam Lashinsky
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

SpaceX and other mega IPOs may wait years to join the S&P 500
InvestingS&P 500
SpaceX and other mega IPOs may wait years to join the S&P 500
By Bailey Lipschultz, Vildana Hajric and BloombergJune 6, 2026
12 hours ago
Former AI czar calls Sanders’ proposal for government equity a ‘stupidity tax’ and warns against nationalization as Trump mulls public stakes
AIregulation
Former AI czar calls Sanders’ proposal for government equity a ‘stupidity tax’ and warns against nationalization as Trump mulls public stakes
By Jason MaJune 6, 2026
12 hours ago
Marvell Technology, Flex to join S&P 500 later this month
InvestingS&P 500
Marvell Technology, Flex to join S&P 500 later this month
By Isabelle Lee and BloombergJune 6, 2026
17 hours ago
bernie
AIWhite House
Bernie Sanders and Sam Altman’s private one-hour meeting about the public ownership of AI
By Joey Cappelletti, Seung Min Kim and The Associated PressJune 6, 2026
18 hours ago
Chinese humanoid robots dominate the market with thousands shipped a year. But most are still performative rather than functional
InnovationRobots
Chinese humanoid robots dominate the market with thousands shipped a year. But most are still performative rather than functional
By Chan Ho-Him and The Associated PressJune 6, 2026
18 hours ago
sa
CommentaryIPOs
When good money goes bad: the question SpaceX and OpenAI investors aren’t asking
By Rory McDonaldJune 6, 2026
22 hours ago

Most Popular

Billionaires Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg used mortgages to buy multimillion-dollar mansions. Here’s why that’s a savvy financial decision
Real Estate
Billionaires Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg used mortgages to buy multimillion-dollar mansions. Here’s why that’s a savvy financial decision
By Sydney LakeJune 6, 2026
21 hours ago
AI CEOs from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Microsoft set aside their rivalry to warn Congress AI is making it too easy to design and create bioweapons
AI
AI CEOs from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Microsoft set aside their rivalry to warn Congress AI is making it too easy to design and create bioweapons
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJune 5, 2026
2 days ago
Social Security faces a 24% cut in 2032—that's a $345 billion hit to retirees nationwide, watchdog says
Economy
Social Security faces a 24% cut in 2032—that's a $345 billion hit to retirees nationwide, watchdog says
By Nick LichtenbergJune 5, 2026
2 days ago
The Strait of Hormuz is more open than previously thought as the U.S. shoots down Iranian drones threatening ships and provides 'naval overwatch'
Energy
The Strait of Hormuz is more open than previously thought as the U.S. shoots down Iranian drones threatening ships and provides 'naval overwatch'
By Jason MaJune 6, 2026
6 hours ago
Here's where U.S. debt may become unsustainable with interest payments triggering a default crisis that even steep tax hikes can't fix
Economy
Here's where U.S. debt may become unsustainable with interest payments triggering a default crisis that even steep tax hikes can't fix
By Jason MaJune 6, 2026
9 hours ago
Trump says 'situation with Iran seems to be going quite well' while U.S. shoots down more missiles and drones near Strait of Hormuz
Politics
Trump says 'situation with Iran seems to be going quite well' while U.S. shoots down more missiles and drones near Strait of Hormuz
By Michelle L. Price, Samy Magdy and The Associated PressJune 6, 2026
18 hours ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.