Smart cities. They were a popular term that has since lost a bit of its steam among the general public, and yet, with the dramatic reduction of Internet-of-Things (IoT) prices last decade, the smart city initiative is now a gleam in many government’s eyes. According to the International Data Corporation, global smart city spending is set to accelerate from US$81 billion in 2018 to US$158 billion by 2022. A smart city here refers to a city that utilises IT and Internet-of-Things (IoT) technology to enhance the quality and performance of urban cities, in areas like energy, transportation, utilities, to reduce…

Insurance companies have been slow to adapt to a digital-first approach. In an increasingly digital world, many insurers are put in a tough spot as they struggle to keep up with the demands of a new generation of consumers. Taking advantage of the incumbents’ inability to meet these needs, we are seeing a surge of insurtech startups stepping in to seize the market. Fighting off these agile startups have proved to be difficult with the shackles of bureaucracy and legacy systems. Ping An, however, is one of the few outliers in this scenario. A relatively young player with just over…