Bits & Bytes | Condé Nast's Pivot to Video, Alibaba Invests in Facial-Recognition Tech

What the 'Pivot to Video' Looks like at Condé Nast (The New York Times)
"Rightly or not, Condé Nast is finally looking to digital. In recent years, it has launched additional online verticals; introduced a platform for gay, lesbian and transgender issues called 'them;' and embraced digitally focused leaders like Samantha Barry and Phillip Picardi."

Alibaba Is Becoming a Major Investor in Facial-Recognition Technology (Quartz)
"The e-commerce giant announced today it recently led a $600 million funding round in SenseTime, a Hong Kong-based company that provides facial recognition software to businesses and governments across China. It has become a major player in the country's artificial intelligence industry."

Sharing Apps for Clothing Take Off Among Chinese Millennials (South China Morning Post)
"Apps such as home-grown YCloset and MSParis, and US-based Le Tote, tap demand from young professionals for affordable luxury rentals and from college-age fast-fashion fans without the income to constantly update looks."

2.1 Billion Consumers Will Use Mobile Payments by 2019 (Retail Dive)
"Almost 2.1 billion consumers worldwide are expected to use mobile wallets for payments or money transfers by next year, representing growth of almost 30 percent over the 1.6 billion consumers who used mobile wallets last year, according to a new study from Juniper Research."

Southeast Asia Fashion Start-Up Zilingo Continues Its Meteoric Rise with $54 Million Series C (TechCrunch)
"E-commerce is a hot space in the region, but few companies have made the jump to Series B and beyond with success; in order to make the leap, Singapore-headquartered Zilingo has gone about things in a different way from others in its immediate space."

Nike Acquires Invertex (MarketWatch)
"Nike Inc. acquired its second company in less than a month as part of its 'Consumer Direct Offense' strategy to better serve its customers. Invertex, which makes software to scan a customer's body for product fittings, has received $2 million in seed funding."