As Chinese tech companies come under regulatory scrutiny at home, concerns and pressures are escalating among investors and domestic tech companies including China’s four big cloud companies, BATH (Baidu AI, Alibaba Cloud, Tencent Cloud and Huawei Cloud), according to an analyst report. Despite a series of antitrust and internet-related regulation crackdowns, the four leading cloud […]
Indonesia-based Rey Assurance launches its holistic approach to insurance with $1M in funding
Health insurance is the kind of thing people usually only think about only when they need it. Otherwise, their policies are just paperwork in their files or cards in their wallet. Indonesian insurtech Rey Assurance is taking a new approach. Once someone becomes a member, they also get access to a platform of health services, […]
Is India’s BNPL 2.0 set to disrupt B2B?
A specific vertical of BNPL products is gaining traction: one targeted toward small and medium enterprises (SMEs), also known as “SME BNPL.”
Extra Crunch roundup: China’s new data privacy law, fractional farming, debt vs. equity
China’s first data privacy laws go into effect on November 1, 2021. Will your company be in compliance? Modeled after the EU’s GDPR, the new regulations “[introduce] perhaps the most stringent set of requirements and protections for data privacy in the world,” writes Scott W. Pink, special counsel in O’Melveny’s Data Security & Privacy practice. […]
What China’s new data privacy law means for US tech firms
Modeled after the EU’s GDPR, China’s PIPL imposes protections and restrictions on data collection and transfer that companies both inside and outside of China will need to address.
Google and Jio delay their India smartphone launch
The JioPhone Next, the much-awaited smartphone designed by Google and India’s Jio Platforms to tap hundreds of millions of users in the world’s second-largest internet market, won’t launch on Friday, the Indian technology giant said Thursday midnight. In a statement issued just now, Jio Platforms said it has been testing the smartphone with a “limited […]
Investors are doubling down on Southeast Asia’s digital economy
Southeast Asian tech companies are drawing the attention of investors around the world. In 2020, startups in the region raised over $8.2 billion, about four times more than they did in 2015.
Teatis, low-sugar superfood powders developer for diabetics, closes seed round
A serial entrepreneur Hiroshi Takatoh recognized the need for convenient and nutritious food for critically ill consumers after losing his late wife to cancer. Takatoh founded Teatis, a plant-based sugar blocking superfood powder for diabetic consumers, in 2017 in stealth mode and went fully operational in April 2021 by teaming up with a group of […]
Digital therapeutics startup Neuroglee raises $10M to help people with neurodegenerative conditions
Neuroglee Therapeutics, a startup developing digital therapeutics for people with neurodegenerative diseases, has raised a $10 million Series A led by Openspace Ventures and EDBI. The funding will be used to launch virtual neurology clinics and to support Neuroglee’s move to Boston. Other participants included Ramen Singh, the former chief executive officer of Mundipharma; Biofourmis […]
Microsoft confirms investment in India’s Oyo in a multi-year strategic deal to co-develop travel and hospitality products
Microsoft has entered a “multi-year strategic alliance” with Oyo to work with the Indian startup to co-develop “next-generation” travel and hospitality products and tech. Thursday’s announcement confirms a late July TechCrunch report. TechCrunch had reported that Microsoft was in talks to invest in Oyo and was exploring ways to provide its technologies to the Indian […]