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Vizio tries to go public, five years after its messy first attempt
You know what they say: If at first you don’t succeed at getting listed on the New York Stock Exchange because you made plans to merge with a massive Chinese streaming media company that bailed on you and its plans to expand into the US, try, try again. And that’s exactly what Vizio, one of the biggest TV brands in the US, plans to do.
Founder of troubled LeEco refuses to return to China
The founder of LeEco has reportedly refused to return to China to answer questions about his company's perilous financial situation. Reuters believes that Jia Yueting, who was ordered to return to his homeland by China's Securities Regulatory Commission has opted to remain in the US. In a statement, the elusive figure said that he was focused on fundraising for the LeEco-affiliated Faraday Future and couldn't travel. Consequently, Jia sent his brother, Jia Yuemin, to report back to authorities.
LeEco founder ordered to return to China to answer debts
The Chinese tech giant LeEco might have once been dubbed the "Netflix of China," but that lofty acclaim has made its fall from grace all the more brutal. Now, the company's founder, Jia Yueting, has been ordered to return to China by the country's Securities Regulatory Commission by the end of the month in order to face the company's incredible debts.
A new company is trying to revive the Skully AR helmet
Last year, Skully, the startup that crowdfunded its AR motorcycle helmet, shut down following many delays, mounting financial woes and an attempted sale to LeEco that didn't go through. But TechCrunch got its hands on an email that was sent to those still registered to the Skully email list and it says the original company's technology might not be lost forever.
Crowdfunded scooter aims to make electric skateboards safer
A company called In Motion, at first thought to be backed by would-be Chinese tech empire LeEco, is launching an electric powered scooter it says is simpler to learn and safer to use. Provided you're willing to go the crowdfund route, a Kickstarter for it will go live on August 28th.
Faraday Future leases new California plant amidst financial uncertainty
After seemingly abandoning its plans to open a manufacturing plant in Las Vegas, electric car maker Faraday Future has found a new home. The company has signed a lease for a 1,000,000-square foot facility in Hanford, California, and more than 500 employees were already onsite last Saturday decorating the building.
Lucid Motors is struggling to produce its luxury EV
While EVs might be making headlines left and right, producing them is not as easy -- or as much of a slam dunk -- as it might seem. Take the case of Lucid Motors, a struggling electric car startup. It faces a stark choice for its future: Build an expensive assembly plant for its $60,000 EV, the Lucid Air, or sell to one of many interested buyers.
Inside LeEco's spectacular fall from grace
With additional reporting by Chris Ip and Richard Lai. Behind the doors of the five-star Bohao Radegast Hotel in Beijing's central business district on Monday, troubled Chinese tech conglomerate LeEco held an extraordinary shareholder's meeting to elect new directors. Outside, some two dozen protesters set up tables and held up signs asking to be paid what they were owed for services rendered. According to multiple reports, they had come from 20 cities all over China and were reportedly due about 33 million yuan (around $5 million) in all. Many of them demanded to see Jia Yueting, but the company's billionaire founder and public face was nowhere to be seen. LeEco's fall from grace has been spectacular. Once hailed as the "Netflix of China," the daring startup and its then-outspoken founder were bold enough to challenge Tesla and criticize Apple as "outdated." But in recent months, the company has faced a series of setbacks, and may be reaching its breaking point. Jia stepped down as chairman and CEO in May, while the company continues to fend off unhappy vendors who are protesting outside its Beijing headquarters. On the other side of the Pacific, LeEco has also massively scaled back its American operations, laying off hundreds of workers in the process, while facing two lawsuits from US TV maker Vizio. Faraday Future, a futuristic car company with close ties to LeEco, recently canceled its plans to build a $1 billion plant in Nevada as well. This is the tale of a company that grew too quickly. It shows how a ravenous appetite for growth without a solid financial foundation can cause a business to topple. Simply tracing LeEco's cash flow is a Herculean task, since its financial activity is obscured by a dizzying organizational structure comprising a publicly listed holdings company, privately owned organization and dozens of subsidiaries. It's incredible that LeEco was able to continue operations for as long as it did without getting into any real legal trouble. But since 2016, it has been slammed with several lawsuits. Manufacturing partners in Asia, including Zhejiang Haosheng Electronic Technology, Compal Electronics and Truly International Holdings have sued for outstanding debt. The most recent significant case was Vizio's $100 million claim for a failed $2 billion acquisition. From interviews Engadget conducted with unpaid vendors, former employees and investors, some of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity out of concern for their careers, it became apparent that LeEco's future may be in serious trouble.
Vizio sues LeEco in the wake of their failed $2 billion deal
This time last year we heard the surprising Hollywood announcement that Chinese company LeEco would acquire Vizio in a deal worth $2 billion. Unfortunately, like so many of LeEco's recent plans, that arrangement never went through, with the two companies formally calling things off in April. Now, the Orange County Business Journal reports that Vizio has filed two separate lawsuits against LeEco, accusing the company of making false claims while arranging the acquisition. One lawsuit, filed in US District Court in LA seeks $60 million in damages, while another filed with the Superior Court of the State of California-County of Orange in Santa Ana seeks $50 million, plus other relief.
Faraday abandons its proposed $1 billion Nevada factory
It's starting to seem like Faraday Future is capable of just about anything that isn't related to the business side of being an automaker. The company's plans for a $1-billion Las Vegas production facility had been delayed before, but now the plant has been scrapped wholesale. The Nevada Independent reports that Faraday will now attempt to build something smaller than the initial 13,000-job factory thanks to hundreds of billions in frozen funds from parent company LeEco.
LeEco's assets frozen by Chinese court as debts mount
Chinese firm LeEco's financial situation is deteriorating rapidly. A Shanghai court has frozen $180 million in assets owned by co-founder Jia Yueting, his wife Gan Wei and three subsidiaries, according to Chinese news site Tencent and the Financial Times. The order was carried out on behalf of the China Merchants Bank, reportedly because of missed interest payments by LeEco's mobile, watch and other divisions.
Chinese tech giant LeEco can’t stop losing money
Chinese tech company LeEco has been busy over the past decade, producing everything from TVs to electric cars (or at least, trying to). But now, the conglomerate is in trouble: They are in a cash crunch and haven't been able to raise enough money to ease the burden.
Aston Martin's all-electric supercar launches in 2019
Aston Martin is going it alone on its first all-electric vehicle, the all-wheel drive RapidE, following a false start that caused it to curtail its production plans, courtesy of the departure of its financial partner LeEco.
China's LeEco lays US ambitions to rest with massive layoffs (updated)
Several days ago, the CEO of Chinese corporation LeEco, Jia Yueting, resigned. While he remains chairman of the company, the move followed worrying announcements over the past six months: Growing so quickly it was running out of cash, selling the site intended for its Silicon Valley headquarters and backing out of a deal to buy Vizio. But today, the axe finally fell for its American operations as the company announced it's slashing 70 percent of its US workforce due to lack of funding.
LeEco CEO steps down but stays in charge
To put it mildly, LeEco has had its fair share of trouble lately. It ran low on cash due to aggressive growth, backed out of its Vizio takeover and threw its weight behind Faraday Future's electric cars despite some overly ambitious plans. Clearly, the company is stretching itself too thin -- and CEO Jia Yueting knows it. He's stepping down from the CEO role at his publicly listed company (Leshi Internet Information & Technology Corp) in the name of focus. He'll devote his attention to aspects like "core product innovation," "strategic planning" and his chairman role at Leshi. In other words, he won't split his attention like he did before.
LeEco is not buying Vizio after all
Troubled electronics and car maker LeEco made an ambitious promise to buy TV company Vizio for $2 billion last year, but as it turns out, that acquisition isn't happening after all. The company today confirmed that "the merger agreement will not proceed due to regulatory headwinds." This comes after persistent rumors of the deal falling through due to an inability to get Chinese government approval.
LeEco is reportedly selling the site for its Silicon Valley HQ
Chinese tech giant LeEco might not get the chance to build the massive Silicon Valley HQ it wanted. According to Reuters, it's selling the 49-acre property a year after it bought the site from Yahoo and in the midst of serious financial issues. LeEco had big plans to conquer the US market, including the development of a "Tesla killer" electric car. Unfortunately, it expanded too quickly and ended up hurting for cash. Co-founder Jia Yueting told employees through a letter that the company "blindly sped ahead, and [its] cash demand ballooned. [It] got over-extended in [its] global strategy."
LeEco's Android-powered smart road bike is for hardcore cyclists
LeEco, the eccentric maker of TVs, phones, cars and bikes, has a new pair of high-end smart bikes to show off here at CES 2017. The company hasn't even brought its original Super Bike to market yet, but it's already refined the concept to make its new offerings more practical for serious cyclists. Gone are the heavy dynamos and size limitation; this year's vehicles come in two flavors, and are more lightweight. The new, somewhat blandly named Smart Road Bike and Smart Mountain Bike pack a new version of LeEco's Android-based Bike OS software that now supports a small selection of third-party sensors. I hopped on a prototype road bike the company was showing off for the first time here in Las Vegas, and so far I find the idea of a smart bike slightly questionable.
LeEco brings Android-powered smart bikes to the US
LeEco is determined to add a dash of technology to just about everything, and that now includes old-school pedal power. The fast-rising tech company has unveiled two bicycles for the US, the Smart Road Bike (above) and Smart Mountain Bike (below), whose centerpiece is a 4-inch touchscreen box that runs a customized take on Android. The front end gives you turn-by-turn directions from Here, music playback (including streaming), ride data and even chats with nearby LeEco bike riders. They have their own GPS and sensors, and you can track your own fitness by pairing ANT+ heart rate and power monitors.
Pros and cons: Our quick verdict on the LeEco Le Pro3
The Le Pro3 is the first phone available in the US from LeEco -- a company already well-known in its native China for its mobile devices and TVs (among many other things). Similar to Motorola and OnePlus, LeEco is competing on price, with the Le Pro3 ringing in at just $400. And in many ways, the company succeeded in putting out a quality product: The device is well-constructed with fast performance and long battery life. Unfortunately, the phone falls short of greatness thanks to an unreliable camera and an unintuitive interface. The lack of both a headphone jack and microSD slot don't help either, though the Le Pro3 is hardly the only phone to suffer from those shortcomings. All things considered, then, it still offers good value for the money, but isn't the best device in its price class.
