The world of technology has undoubtedly left many rich and millionaires. From Steve Jobs, to Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos. All mainly American. However, there are all over the world really big fortunes based on e-commerce that also take advantage of this technology that revolutionized the original iPhone. Today we want to talk to Colin Huang, the founder of Temu, with a story behind associated with Google and always conditioned by the tensions between the two great world powers: the United States and China.
From Google Programmer to China’s Richest Man
Colin Huang is a name that resonates strongly in the Chinese business world and, in recent years, around the world. Born in 1980 in the city of Hangzhou, China, has always had a special gift for math. His father was a factory worker and his mother was a schoolteacher. Coming from a modest background, his talent in mathematics allowed him to attend top-tier schools until he ended up working in one of the most important companies in the world. In fact, we are talking about Google.
For a few years he worked in the United States and in 2006 the opportunity arose to Return to China under the leadership of the Google Asia team. However, it started in 2009 when Google had to withdraw many of its services in China due to government restrictions. So he decided to leave the company to start his own business adventure with all the experience he had gained.
During the decade of From 2010 to 2020, he created several online supermarket companiesvideo game platforms, discounted group purchases… This makes him one of the richest men in China. However, after the arrival of COVID saw his fortune drop by up to 90%. Despite this, he did not give up and decided to create Temu, the successful online shopping platform that competes with Aliexpress and Shein.
Temu has become a global success, although the United States views him with suspicion.
To begin your world landing, Temu has opened offices in Dublin and Boston. In addition, he partnered with businessmen backed by the Chinese government. In just over three years, he achieved over 75 million users In the European Union and the United States, it has even surpassed Shein. In fact, this was announced at one of the most important events, during the Super Bowl 2024, under the slogan “shop like a billionaire”.
Colin Huang is said to have a fortune estimated at 45 billion dollars
However, this summer a lawsuit was filed in the United States alleging that Temu is a dangerous malware which collects and monetizes a wide range of user data in an unauthorized manner. Moreover, being a Chinese company, they suspect that it shares all the data with the Asian government. The lawsuit also accuses the app of obtaining unlimited access to the operating systemincluding camera, location, contacts and messages, which has raised privacy and national security concerns in the United States.
This could happen on Android and with APK downloads, although nothing has been proven. On the other hand, Temu app meets all App Store standards and, in the privacy section, it doesn’t ask for microphone or camera access. This is something you can check for yourself by searching for Temu in the Apple App Store.
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