Intellect, a Singapore-based startup that wants to make mental health care more accessible in Asia, announced it has raised $2.2 million in pre-Series A funding. It is taking part in Y Combinator’s current batch, which will hold its Demo Day at the end of this month. The round was led by returning investor Insignia Venture […]
Europe’s quick-commerce startups are overhyped: Lessons from China
More than 10 companies currently compete across Europe with an instant grocery delivery business model. Half of them were established in 2020, the year of the pandemic.
Final vote delayed for Korea’s plan to ban Google and Apple in-app payment rules
As Apple and Google continue to face increasing scrutiny over the rules they set for how third-party apps in their app stores charge for services, a significant development in that story is going down in South Korea. South Korea’s parliamentary committee passed on Wednesday (25 August) a landmark bill to prevent Google and Apple from […]
Xiaomi reports record 64% revenue growth, acquires Deepmotion for $77.3 million
Xiaomi reported a second-quarter net income of $1.28 billion on revenue of $13.56 billion following the Chinese technology giant’s strong surge in smartphone market share globally. During the quarter that ended in June, Xiaomi said it saw a 64% year-on-year growth in revenue, and its net income surged over 80% from the same time a […]
Ai Palette raises $4.4M to help companies react faster to consumer trends
Developing new packaged foods and consumer goods can take a couple years as companies research, prototype and test products. In a society that runs on social media, however, people expect to see trends land on store shelves much more quickly. Founded in 2018, Ai Palette uses machine learning to help companies spot trends in real […]
Bankers chase Byju’s for IPO, valuation pegged up to $50 billion
Nearly every top investment bank is chasing Byju’s and nudging the most valuable Indian startup to seriously explore the public markets as soon as next year. Most banks have given Byju’s a proposed valuation in the range of $40 to $45 billion, but some including Morgan Stanley have pitched a $50 billion valuation if the […]
India’s Khatabook raises $100 million for its bookkeeping platform for merchants
Khatabook, a startup that is helping merchants in India digitize their bookkeeping and accept online payments, said on Tuesday it has raised $100 million in a new financing round as it prepares to launch financial services. The startup’s new financing round — a Series C — was led by Tribe Capital and Moore Strategic Ventures […]
Pakistan’s B2B marketplace and digital ledger platform Bazaar raises $30 million
A one-year-old startup that is building a business-to-business marketplace for merchants in Pakistan and also helping them digitize their bookkeeping is the latest to secure a mega round in the South Asian market. Bazaar said on Tuesday it has raised $30 million in a Series A round. The new financing round — the largest Series […]
SoBanHang gets $1.5M to help small Vietnamese stores sell online for the first time
A few months ago, brothers Hai Nam Bui and Hai Long Bui were developing a bookkeeping app for small retailers in Vietnam. Called SoBanHang (or “sales book”), it would help businesses that usually rely on paper ledgers digitize their operations, similar to Khatabook in India and BukuKas and BukuWarung in Indonesia. Then a new COVID-19 […]
Japan’s B2B ordering and supply platform CADDi raises $73 million Series B funding
With COVID-19 disrupting the entire manufacturing supply chain including semiconductor shortages, companies across multiple industries have been struggling to seek a procurement solution that can rebalance the gap between supply and demand. CADDi, a Tokyo-based B2B ordering and supply platform in the manufacturing and procurement industry, helps both procurement (demand side) and manufacturing facilities (supply […]