Pinduoduo founder Huang Zheng has stepped down as chairman to pursue research in agriculture and life sciences.
Chinese tech billionaires have a huge public image problem in recent months and Huang was ruthlessly mocked for taking Pinduoduo into the fresh produce distribution business. There's a saying on the Chinese internet "American tech billionaires are busy sending rockets to Mars, Chinese tech billionaires are busy eating vegetable sellers' lunch".
I guess Huang finally see the light. Quotes from his final letter to investors
There's a lot of truth to Huang's letter. Improving efficiency of the supply chain is important, but ultimately what bring humanity forward are novel, groundbreaking products.
The commentator Ning Nanshan has written an article (in Chinese) calling for China's tech giants to do the "diffcult things" rather than always competing for the lowest hanging fruits.
I hope Huang can stay true to what he said in his letter and make contribution, in his own ways, to the advancement of life sciences and their applications.