Chinese smart electric vehicle startup Xpeng has announced a series of innovations that direct the company towards crafting the mobility ecosystem of the future. “Our exploration of more efficient, safer, carbon-neutral mobility solutions goes far beyond just smart EVs, and is the cornerstone of our long-term competitive advantages,” said He Xiaopeng, chairman and CEO of […]
The rapidly changing investor calculus on China’s tech giants
As wave after wave of regulatory crackdowns have dominated China tech news in 2021, one can be excused for losing track of what is being regulated, who is doing the regulating, and what exactly the regulations are. From fintech to data management to education, the rules of the game are being re-written by a range […]
Decoupling tech supply chains would do more harm than good
Phil Levy Contributor Share on Twitter Dr. Phil Levy is Chief Economist for Flexport. Earlier in his career, he held international economic policy positions at the White House and the Department of State. For a technology sector that would much prefer to focus on growth over geopolitics, the push for U.S.-China “decoupling” poses an inescapable […]
India’s OfBusiness in talks to raise new funds at over $4.5 billion valuation
OfBusiness, an e-commerce startup that sells industrial goods and provides small businesses with credit, is in talks to raise a new round of funding at a valuation of over $4.5 billion, three sources familiar with those talks told me. If the talks materialize, it would be the fourth financing round OfBusiness will secure this year. […]
Hong Kong-based fintech XanPool raises $27M for its decentralized payment network
XanPool, a payment infrastructure provider that facilitates faster crypto and fiat settlements, announced today it has raised a $27 million Series A led by Valar Ventures. The round included participation from CMT Digital, Wise founder and chairman Taavet Hinrikus and existing investors Gumi Gryptos and Antler. The funding brings XanPool’s total raised since it was […]
Google in talks to invest in Facebook-backed Indian social commerce Meesho
Google has held discussions to invest over $50 million in Indian social commerce startup Meesho, which recently secured $570 million in a financing round, according to a source familiar with the matter. The Android-maker, which has backed over half a dozen startups in India, has yet to make the investment in Meesho, according to another […]
Doyobi, a Singapore-based edtech startup focused on teachers, gets $2.8M seed
The edtech boom has focused primarily on students, but teachers are learners, too. Doyobi, a Singapore-based professional development platform, wants to give educators new, more engaging ways of teaching STEM subjects. The startup announced today it has raised $2.8 million in pre-Series A funding led by Monk’s Hill Ventures. The round included Tresmonos Capital, Novus […]
Apple removes a popular Quran app in China after request from local regulators
Apple has removed Quran Majeed, a popular app for reading the Islamic religious text and other prayer-related information, in China, in compliance with Chinese government requests, according to a report by BBC. The move comes as part of a bigger shift in the country to crack down on foreign content, or simply making it harder […]
What we can learn from China’s mobile gaming economy
Last year was a big one for China’s mobile scene as app publishers found new audiences and explored new advertising channels, many of which are here to stay.
Google and Temasek back Indian neobank Open in $100 million funding
Google has invested in Bangalore-based Open, becoming the latest high-profile investor to back a neobanking platform. Open said on Tuesday it has raised $100 million in a Series C financing round. Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund Temasek led the round, and Google and Japan’s SBI Investment (not to be confused with SoftBank or India’s SBI bank) […]