But the O2O revolution showcased an even deeper—and in the age of AI implementation, more impactful—divide between Silicon Valley and China—what I call “going light” versus “going heavy.” The terms refer to how involved an internet company becomes in providing goods or services. They represent the extent of vertical integration as a company links u

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Vertical markets are particularly good candidates for a SaaS+fintech business model. While customers in horizontal markets often try different software vendors, resulting in multiple winners in a market segment, customers in vertical markets prefer purpose-built software for their specific industry and use cases.

This superior customer experience is why vertically integrated models will win over the long-term. Vertical integration generally has higher fixed costs and lower per unit costs at scale. In JOKR’s case, these cost savings can fall to the bottom line, be reinvested, passed to consumers in the form of lower prices and fees, or a combination of the a... See more

Legacy Industrials , or Incumbents, have vertically integrated supply chains designed around older technologies and processes. Deep Tech companies have unproven technologies that, if they work, could be a very powerful building block for many businesses. Vertical Integrators integrate a number of cutting-edge-but-proven technologies; what they need... See more