Investigations are underway concerning a major Chinese e-commerce company, Google is reportedly increasing oversight of its research efforts, and venture capitalists are sharing their perspectives on the year’s most unexpected developments. This is your Daily Crunch for December 24, 2020, presented in a condensed format.

Key development: Antitrust investigation launched against Alibaba

The State Administration for Market Regulation in China has announced it is investigating the prominent e-commerce business regarding a practice that requires vendors to exclusively list their products on Alibaba’s platforms, preventing them from selling on competing sites like JD.com and Pinduoduo.

In a public statement, Alibaba affirmed its commitment to fully cooperate with the regulatory investigation, while also noting that its standard business activities are continuing without disruption.

In related news, Chinese regulators previously halted the planned initial public offering of Ant Group, an affiliate of Alibaba, and the company has now been issued another official request for a meeting with regulators.

A collection of news items

Reports indicate Google is strengthening its control over research related to potentially ‘sensitive subjects’ — Reuters, referencing conversations with company researchers and internal documentation, states that Google has introduced additional review procedures over the past year for research papers covering specific areas.

A panel of five venture capitalists discuss the most surprising events of 2020 — The newest installment of Equity provides reflections on a year that defied all expectations.

Gift suggestions: Consider last-minute subscription services for gifts that continue throughout the year — These are readily available for immediate purchase, easily delivered remotely, and offer extended enjoyment over weeks and months.

Insights and commentary from Extra Crunch

The physical world around us is poised to become a significant new technological platform — A detailed examination of the abandoned Sidewalk Labs project on the Toronto waterfront.

Early-stage investment in U.S. companies thrived throughout the pandemic — An analysis of data from PitchBook and a survey of venture capital firms conducted by TechCrunch revealed several key trends.

Leverage Git data to enhance the effectiveness of your developers’ performance evaluations — Three specific metrics can provide valuable insights into genuine performance quality.

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