Alibaba Bets Big On Local Delivery in a $9.5 Billion DealAlibaba Group Holding (BABA, +2.51%) is buying full control of the startup Ele.me as it steps up efforts to expand in China’s fast-growing market for local delivery of food and other services. The deal implies an enterprise valuation of $9.5 billion for Ele.me, Alibaba said in a statement Monday, without saying how much it’s paying. Alibaba and affiliate Ant Small and Micro Financial Services Group already owned about 43% of the startup. Alibaba paid all cash in the deal and has acquired all the shares formerly held by Baidu (BIDU, +0.07%), according to a person familiar with the matter. [ Fortune ] Mark Zuckerberg on Facebook’s hardest year, and what comes nextIt’s been a tough year for Facebook. The social networking juggernaut found itself engulfed by controversies over fake news, electoral interference, privacy violations, and a broad backlash to smartphone addiction. Wall Street has noticed: the company has lost almost $100 billionin market value in recent weeks. [ Vox] H-1B visas by the numbers: Silicon Valley versus Indian outsourcing companiesGovernment data shows significant shifts in the pool of applicants for H-1B visas, with Indian outsourcing companies scaling back and Bay Area tech companies stepping up their use of the foreign-worker program. With the lottery for the 85,000 visas available to for-profit employers beginning Monday, The Chronicle analyzed data from 2015 to 2017 to see trends that experts believe may continue as companies adapt to tighter enforcement and increased scrutiny. [ SF Chronicle ] Rising Supergiant VC Funds Weigh On Smaller CounterpartsThere has been a remarkable flush of ginormous funds being announced or closed so far this year. A quick recap of some of this year’s highlights so far include the following firms:
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