With the two-horse game as the center, the business collision between the Giants is becoming more direct and frequent

If you bought a new phone today, which apps would you first want to download? Micro-letter, Alipay, Baidu Map ...

From this tiny guess, you may find that your mobile Internet life has been in unprecedented contact with the B-T three giants, do you open the micro-letter and friends more frequently, you are accustomed to daily check the balance of the proceeds of treasure, do you find the route when the first time to open the Baidu map?

From an entrepreneur's point of view, this scenario means that the entrance to traffic has been tightly controlled by the big B-T. The expansion of the Giants, crowding out the opportunities that originally belonged to the start-up companies, is the market becoming more open or more monopolistic?

And in this mobile Internet full force of the first year, but also the internet giant enclosure movement of the most violent one. With the double horse against as the center, the business collision between the Giants increasingly direct and frequent, "line" is becoming an inescapable topic.

Miniature of the taxi software

Into the March, tick-tock taxi, quick taxi for the "pawn" of the two-horse game, still did not mean to go down.

From the beginning of this year, the taxi software between the fighting continues. First, tick-tock taxi and micro-letter payment launched a passenger taxi set minus 10 yuan, driver subsidy of 10 yuan activities, followed by Quick Taxi and Alipay follow-up, joined the smoke of the taxi war.

Alibaba and Tencent's huge investment and flow support, make these two taxi software companies to increase the subsidy to users, prompting the tick-tock taxi and quick taxi presents a high-speed development posture, other no giant backing of the peer gradually squeezed out of the market, the residual taxi software can only show that the helpless.

This is precisely the 2013 since the Internet "" in a microcosm.

Today, the taxi software market has been tick-tock taxi and quick taxi these two world. Easy to view the release of the data show that in the fourth quarter of 2013, a quick taxi, tick-tock taxi respectively to 46.7%, 43.6% of the proportion of the Chinese taxi a PP market cumulative user share of the first two positions, two occupy more than 90% of the market share, taxi software market duopoly situation more clear-cut.

It is not difficult to see, Tencent and Ali's access to the rapid development of the taxi application process.

The co-founder of the Taxi, vice president of product technology Zhang to the south are reporters recalled that in March 2013, Tencent CEO Ma to Beijing to participate in the "two sessions," personally found the founder of the Tick-tock Cheng Wei, to negotiate investment. In May, Tencent invested in a tick-tock B-round of 15 million dollars.

Hangzhou's quick taxi by the Amoeba Fund and Alibaba provided Angel investment, but also in the same time, in April, Jingwei Venture and Alibaba jointly completed a fast 10 million dollar investment.

At that time, the taxi software to its own profit model and operating mode of understanding is still in a vague state. It is noteworthy, however, that taxi applications have been recognized as one of the most achievable o 2O scenarios in the mobile Internet arena.

Zhang said: "For online payment, the taxi application is a good application scenario, is a very large crowd high-frequency use of the payment scene." "He thinks, this kind of payment scene actually is not many, for example charge frequency is usually one months, buy home appliance may be several months." "But a taxi may be several times a week, or once a day, so taxi software is of great strategic importance to online payments." ”

Nevertheless, at this stage even earlier, the two horses played a basic role as a "capital". "Money must be important at that stage, and the word circulating in the business circle is to change the money when you least need it." So that time is certainly the most important thing for us. Li Min, a fast vice-president, told reporters in the south that the benefit of money is that they have the money to find good people. "In the promotion of technology, operations, product development, money is the most important, at least to open a service station, to the national distribution point, are all for money, including our promotional team, from various industries, these people must have a particularly competitive treatment." And these eventually contributed to the growth of user orders, leading to the entry of the industry's higher threshold, so that the entire taxi software industry in less than a year to walk through other industries need to go four or five years road. ”

The accelerator keys are placed

As one investor described to the south, the taxi software was like a button that was eventually put into the dashboard of the two-horse camp and became an "acceleration" selection key.

In 2013 years, after Alibaba investment quick taxi, the business expands to more than 20 cities quickly, September officially entered Beijing, began the first wave of 20 million yuan subsidy activities, such as new users to take a taxi to send 30 yuan, And the driver in the binding Alipay can get 50 yuan of cash and 50 yuan Alipay balance reward. December 2013, a quick taxi to buy another one started in Shanghai's Taxi software bumblebee.

During the same period, as of January 10, the first wave of payments started with micro-letter payment in 2014 before the war, tick-tock taxi business has opened to 33 cities.

Before this point in time, after the initial development of the rapid and tick-tock, has completed the driver and passengers of the universal education, officially become a "national class" application. In the peak once there are as many as 14 taxi software to participate in the market, fast and tick-tock even defeated the earliest famous rocking recruit car, became the last left "two strong."

However, the real driving them into high-speed development, it is by Tencent and Ali supported the burning money subsidy war.

January 5, micro-letter officially added in the product "tick-tock Taxi", in the "My bank card" interface can see "tick a taxi" entrance. January 10, tick-tock taxi and micro-letter payment for the first time launched a subsidy, the introduction of a taxi to reduce the 10 yuan, driver subsidy of 10 yuan activities.

January 21, quick taxi follow-up, joint payment PO launched passenger return single 10 yuan, the driver subsidy of 15 yuan reward. January 26, Alipay Wallet 8.0 quietly embedded a quick taxi function.

For both passengers and drivers, the waiver is based on the use of micro-letter payment and payment of Alipay purse. Since then, this PK upgrade for micro-letter payment and pay treasure purse for mobile payment entrance PK, taxi software Two strong dispute officially become Tencent and Alibaba empire part of the battle.

Although two of taxi software refused to tell the south, they and Tencent and Ali to bear the specific proportion of subsidies, but the two giants in the end how much care about the war, from a number of details can be found.

According to Zhang's description, each subsidy policy changes, by Tencent's highest level that is the level of Ma Teng, and tick-tick-taxi c E o Cheng Wei Joint consultation.

During this period, tick-tock taxis were once on February 10, at one point, the subsidy to passengers and drivers was reduced to 5 yuan, but soon on February 17, the resumption of 10 yuan per single subsidy, and the introduction of all city drivers using micro-letter to pay the first redeployed award of 50 Yuan policy, the total subsidy will be increased by 1 billion yuan. And the quick response in the afternoon, gave a "forever than peers more than one yuan" strategy.

For Tencent and Alibaba, tick-tock taxis and quick taxis are the advance troops in this war.

Before the introduction of micro-letter payment, Alipay in the Third-party payment market has been an absolute advantage, Tencent's Tenpay is completely difficult to combat. To the era of mobile internet, Tenpay borrowed by micro-letter, extended the "micro-letter Payment" This brand, by micro-letter red envelopes, financial management, etc., shaken the absolute advantage of Alipay. January 29, 2014, Ma Yun in his personal account on the message, this step is dramatically likened to "Pearl Harbor attack."

In Tencent, the south has learned that taxi software is seen as a "milestone" type of project. "By clicking a taxi like this, users will be able to appreciate the convenience of micro-credit payments," he said. We never expected the tick to give a cash return immediately, with the emphasis on using a taxi service to extend the micro-credit payment to a wider range of O 2O scenarios. "One person involved in the project said.

The giant's strategy of burning money

You come to me, the taxi software itself is also growing rapidly.

The data from tick-tock taxi shows that, before January 10, tick-tock taxi covers less than 30 million registered users, opened 33 cities, day order about 350,000 orders. Two months later, tick-tock taxi users grew twice times, expanded the services of hundreds of cities, daily orders achieved about 50 times times the growth of the use of micro-letter payment of daily orders accounted for about 86%, and from the micro-letter entry and directly from the tick a PP entrance into the proportion of 1:2.

Fast aspects, as of February 28, the daily order volume of 12 million, more than 20 times before the event, covering 153 cities nationwide, registered users 67.5 million.

The giant's support has led to the possibility of a hefty subsidy, which eventually became an important catalyst for popular taxi software. "At the end of 2013, our goal was to grow at least 10 times times in 2014, and the target was completed in 1.5 months," he said. "said Li Min.

In Zhang's view, Tencent's accession to the development of tick-Tock has brought two strategic significance, one is that micro-letter as the Internet field of a huge flow of the entrance has the role can not be ignored, the order has brought far more than all other partners such as Baidu Map, Ctrip brought orders. Second, the micro-letter payment let a taxi form a closed loop, before the driver received a single after we lack of intervention, now from the passenger to call the car, to the driver orders, and then pay, evaluation, the process of our full participation.

But high subsidies are not a long-term solution to the industry's growth. By the elderly taxi difficult by the first, Ma Yun in the contacts left a: "Taxi software friends, how long do you want to play?" I suggest you sit down to have a cup of tea and discuss how to do it smarter next. ”

March 2014, quick taxi joint pay treasure wallet issued a "letter to the user", announced the reduction of subsidy standards, followed by tick follow-up, subsidy war plummeted.

5G founder Bo In an interview with reporters in south, said that for Tencent and Ali, the promotion of mobile payment has been basically achieved, and will inevitably gradually reduce subsidies. However, the pace of expansion by Tencent and Ali's two giants is not going to stop, and in other mobile payments outside of taxi software, they need more cardiopulmonary bypass to expand the O 2O biosphere. It also means that the place will still happen.

The little giant has to be in the same.

It is widely believed that the Internet World War II, led by Ali and Tencent, will erupt in 2014, with more conflicts, clashes, and territorial battles to be staged. Among them, the taxi software is only a tiny miniature.

The rise of the mobile internet has made the pace of industry change increasingly rapid, and companies and founders must run faster to survive. As a quick angel investor, Li Zhi, a partner in the Amoeba Fund, recalls: "The fast founding team, who had not slept well for a year, kept fighting and financing, only hundreds of thousands of orders a year ago, and the order became 10 million a year." O 2O has grown so fast that today's startups are no longer as likely to accumulate energy as the public reviews 10 years ago. ”

In this process, a momentum becomes more and more obvious. Zhang Peng, editor of business value, said that it would be increasingly difficult for startups in China's internet industry to "stand up" and remain independent, and that by injecting their own resources, not just money, the Giants would quickly influence the competitive environment and prospects of startups in one area.

This trend, and even spread to the public comments network, such as the small giants of the company.

has been insisting on a celibate public comment network, in February this year into the Tencent map. Public comments C E O Zhang announced that Tencent investment in the public comments, accounted for 20%, the public comment on the Life service information and offline merchant resources will be and q Q, micro-letter and so on in-depth integration.

"If you want to compete with a traditional Internet boss, you have to be a big guy who doesn't want to or is not good at doing dirty work dirty. "This is the public comment network CEO Zhang in the interview often hung in the mouth of a word." For a long time, this is the public comment on the way to prove their worth: BA T (Baidu, Ali, Tencent) can not do.

In fact, even in the era of mobile internet, the mass Comment Network has successfully promoted the Class A p p sequence of the billion users. But after the emergence of the mega-P micro-letter, in the 5.0 version of "Sweeping all" momentum, almost everyone is worried about the micro-letter subversion. In the end, the public comment is not an exception.

At the critical juncture of the B a T Guild Wars o 2O, the public comments finally chose Tencent. For Zhang, Tencent's social chain can help the "weak social" public comment to build China's largest o 2O biosphere. News of the day, and tick-tock taxi, micro-letter in the "my bank card" to the public comment on a place.

However, no matter what the investment of BA T, in some form, it is equivalent to "in the same place", it is likely to lose two other resources. Tencent President Lau revealed that Tencent had been interested in investing in public comments as early as 2008. In view of this, Zhang choose "In a", also after careful consideration.

Previous and micro-letter cooperation, is undoubtedly a catalyst for cooperation between the two sides, but from the periphery, the public comments, although done well, but also need more powerful external forces to seek breakthroughs. In the O 2O of the battleground "group buying" field, the public comments on the encounter with a strong competitor---the United States Regiment. According to the Regiment 800 of data, from January 2013 to November, the United States Group net purchase deal 130.9.2 billion yuan, the public comments group purchase turnover of 71 7.7 billion yuan, the United States Group of merchants reached 27 330,000, the number of merchants to comment on 10 30,000.

In the group purchase, the public comment Network has made the biggest mistake, is missed the three or four-line city opportunity, after the public comment on the network can only be chased by the way into the market. Regiment 800 analyst Kangkang to south all reporters that the public comments on the three or four line in the city, the introduction of micro-letter and mobile phone Q Q Resources will help to complement this lesson.

Tencent, which may become an important tool for the public to break through the enemy's defenses, may eventually become an important element in speeding up the pace of listing.

The layout of the two horses

From 2013 to 2014, whether it is for the taxi software this start-up company, or for the public comments, such as the small giants, are inevitably entered the battlefield of the two horses.

In this game of enclosure, some people take the initiative to send embrace, think to find the backer is more steadfast, someone is because the war has killed home door, passively accept "row", or wait until the giants of the chariot crush their homes, then to negotiate may be too late.

"From the enterprise's point of view, BA t each has its user base, can easily and three cooperation, natural benefits are maximized." Choose to be in the same place, the site reduced to 1/3, may not be the best choice, but if not elected, there is no possibility of the last site can not get? "Amoeba Fund partner Li Zhi said.

In foreign countries, strategic cooperation does not necessarily involve equity. But in China, an equity relationship means a closer relationship, a basis for trust and, in some ways, a Chinese-style financing feature. An investor who has been involved in the negotiation of a B-T investment project said to reporters in the south.

The first year of full force in this mobile internet will also be the most violent one for the internet giant enclosure movement. From the "Double horse" giant's big moves, from "small giant" to "entrepreneur" how to deal with, they want to take what and "double horse" dances?

From the current situation, Tencent to micro-letter, mobile phone Q Q for the representative, has established a new mobile empire. "Tencent's investment strategy is to invest in the business on the underlying platform of micro-trust, in addition to the basic services such as mobile payment, other vertical business to the outside team to achieve." Bo said Tencent's investment is characterized by a choice of 20%-30% stakes rather than outright control.

"Tencent has a feature, that is, pure Internet business are doing well, but once involved in the traditional industry, such as warehousing, logistics, ground promotion, it is not good." To buy as an example, since the construction of high friends, then the investment of the group of F, have not made a breakthrough, since the control instead of doing well, as a meaningful ' intervention '. ”

2013, the strategy of purchasing Sogou for Tencent investment to establish a new model, that is, part of the business to marry out, and a former competitor together, integrated. From the beginning of the various kinds of news, the future Tencent's E-commerce, video and other strategic sectors are likely to open to the outside.

And for Alibaba, its strategy is to pay treasure and Taobao as the skeleton, improve its electrical business ecological expansion and wireless layout. 2013, Alibaba launched a series of investment action, including the injection of Sina Weibo, the gold map, U C, Tintin nets, quick taxi and so on.

From the start of 2014, the future pay treasure wallet, contacts, mobile phone Taobao will become Ali three mobile portals, acquisition will also be around this layout. "Ali is characterized by first investment test water, and then a wholly-owned acquisition, is one of the typical gold." "The investors said.

As you can see, B A T has ended the era of mobile internet preemption, and future acquisitions will be more focused on business. In the process, the balance is slowly broken, and the act becomes an undercurrent. To be sociable, to pay, to be a dealer, to socialize, to search, to penetrate into each other's business areas, and to collide more directly and frequently.

Whether active or passive, "line" has become a new topic in the Internet industry.

At this point, serial entrepreneur, 58 of the same city CEO Yiu Jingbo's opinion is, "choose to be in a lineup is your right, but this right to use only once a lifetime, I think can not use it." He told reporters in the south that it would be bad not to accept the benefits. "You may lose something else when you get something." An independent company can work with anyone to keep an isometric distance from anyone, which in my opinion is an advantage. ”

More monopolistic or more open?

Indeed, "in the same" is not a permanent outcome.

Take the most typical taxi software as an example, after the big crowd of subsidy war ended, still want to return to the issue of profitability. Bo says that by getting rid of the giant's external transfusions, taxi software will eventually return to the essential competition for products and services.

Quick Vice President Li Min believes that the taxi software is ultimately to develop into a comprehensive travel platform. In this battle, he believes that the big import of the flow is not good, low also bad. "Too high may be reduced to a taxi tool, there is no autonomous one thing, assuming that if the user does not have to install tick a p p, directly install a micro-letter on it, then you are not high value of the existence." ”

This is also the confusion of many entrepreneurs.

Rei Chenghui, the capital partner of origin, said in an interview with the South reporters that B A T with its own development strategy to acquire quality companies, will inevitably become a major mainstream. "Unless new technological revolutions occur, such as the rise of wearable equipment or the creation of a new flow portal by companies like Millet, it is hard for new entrepreneurs to break through the BA T traffic ceiling." "And when the mobile Internet is growing faster, the time left for the entrepreneur to develop will be shorter and smaller, generally not more than 2 years."

However, even if you are really in the big territory and you no longer need to worry about funding, you may still face another kind of traffic scramble. An entrepreneur who has received a B-T investment says to reporters in the south: "There is a flow contention mechanism within each enterprise, and sometimes new players are not able to grab traffic, even more difficult than when you are outside, because of the change in the strategy of the Giants, you are likely to escape the fate of marginalization. ”

The hottest Tencent affair with Jingdong may be just one example.

2012, Tencent completed the acquisition of Xun, Tencent has been spending heavily to support Xun, let it and Beijing East with Taiwan. But now, Tencent will "Xun" as a dowry, in exchange for the capital of Jingdong. The intention of the year through the acceptance of Tencent investment to escape by the Beijing-East "marginalization" of the fate of the Xun network ce o Bu Guangzi, and ultimately did not change the fate.

But from another point of view, the ultimate in competition is also pushing another form of "openness." "While it's a trend for Giants to woo industry partners, you'll find that the ' must-be-holding ' phenomenon is decreasing," he said. Li Zhi that the Giants are gradually dismantling two parts of financial investment and strategic investment. "For example, previously invested companies would be required not to accept the investment and cooperation of rivals, a competitor with a list of more than 20, which is now likely to be reduced to only 3, and allows annual updates of the list, which is an open change." ”

Some investors to the south have said that Tencent has tried to invest in the east before and after 2010, but because the "demand for holding" style eventually failed to go, now take a turn, and finally to "strategic investment" to renew the front.