Amazon has rolled out India’s first celebrity voice feature on Alexa with the nation’s biggest movie star Amitabh Bachchan as the company makes a push to lure more users in the world’s second-most populated nation. The company, which rolled out the voice of Samuel Jackson on Alexa in the U.S. in 2019, said users in […]
Amazon backs Indian wealth management service Smallcase in $40 million funding
Amazon has entered the financial services and insurance markets of India in recent years. Now it is paving the way to foray into the wealth management category. The American e-commerce giant has backed Bangalore-based startup Smallcase in a $40 million Series C financing round. The round was led by Faering Capital and Premji Invest as […]
Pakistan’s Airlift raises $85 million for its quick commerce startup, eyes international expansion
A one-year-old startup that is attempting to build the railroads for e-commerce in Pakistan has just secured a mega round of funding in a major boost to the South Asia nation’s nascent startup ecosystem. Airlift operates a quick commerce service in eight cities including Lahore, Karachi, and Islamabad in Pakistan. Users can order groceries, fresh […]
RaRa Delivery gets $3.25M for its ambitious on-demand delivery plans in Indonesia
RaRa Delivery’s ambitious goal is to offer same-day deliveries in Indonesia without burning cash like many on-demand logistics providers. The company announced today it has raised $3.25 million in seed funding led by Sequoia Capital India’s Surge program and East Ventures. Other participants included 500 Startups, Angel Central, GK Plug and Play and angel investors […]
South Korean online secondhand marketplace Danggeun Market raises $162M at a $2.7B valuation
Danggeun Market, the publisher of South Korea’s hyperlocal community app Karrot, announced it has raised $162 million in a Series D round of funding with a valuation of $2.7 billion. (By the way, Danggeun means carrot in Korean.) This round of funding was led by DST Global, with additional participation from Aspex Management, Reverent Partners […]
Indian bike taxi service Rapido raises $52 million
Rapido, a bike taxi aggregator in India, said on Monday it has raised $52 million in a new financing round as the six-year-old startup looks to find space in a category dominated by Ola and Uber in the South Asian market. The six-year-old startup’s new funding — Series C — was financed by Shell Ventures, […]
China roundup: Alibaba’s sexual assault scandal and more delayed IPOs
A sexual assault case at Alibaba has sparked a new round of #MeToo reckoning in China. Industry observers believe this is a watershed moment for the fight against China’s allegedly misogynist tech industry. Meanwhile, social media operators are still undecided on how to deal with the unprecedented public uproar against the powerful internet giant.
Building a growth community in India with Ayush Srivastava of Growth Folks
To hear more about the strategies that are boosting Indian startups, we interviewed Ayush Srivastava, co-founder of growth marketing group Growth Folks (and a growth marketer at Zynga by day).
Building a growth community in India with Ayush Srivastava of Growth Folks
To hear more about the strategies that are boosting Indian startups, we interviewed Ayush Srivastava, co-founder of growth marketing group Growth Folks (and a growth marketer at Zynga by day).
Disney+ beats expectations to reach 116 million subscribers in Q3
Disney’s streaming service is seeing improved growth, after initially seeing slower numbers of subscriber additions in Q2 as COVID lockdowns and mask mandates came to an end. Today, Disney+ beat analyst expectations for subscriber growth in Disney’s blowout third quarter, reaching 116 million paid subscribers — above the 114.5 million Wall Street had expected — […]