Snap is channeling Asia’s messaging giants with its move into gaming
Snap is taking a leaf out of the Asian messaging app playbook as its social messaging service enters a new era. The company unveiled a series of new strategies that… Read more »
Category: China
Samsung’s upcoming Q1 earnings are going to be ugly
It’s that time again folks, Samsung has reported guidance for its upcoming Q1 quarter — and things don’t look good. Samsung is forecasting that revenue for the quarter will reach… Read more »
TikTok’s next ambitious goal is to discover future music stars
TikTok needs a lot of music. A lot. The short-form video service began life as a lip-synching app in China, where it’s called Douyin, and although other categories of content,… Read more »
Tesla first-quarter deliveries drop on challenges shipping Model 3 overseas
Tesla delivered 63,000 of its electric vehicles in the first quarter of the year, nearly a one-third drop from the previous quarter, the company reported late Wednesday. Tesla cautioned that… Read more »
Ruhnn, a Chinese startup that makes influencers, raises $125M in U.S. IPO
Ruhnn, a company that enables influencers to sell through e-commerce and is plotting to change the face of China’s fashion industry, has raised $125 million after it listed on the… Read more »
Yahoo spinout Altaba is selling its entire Alibaba stake and closing down
Bye bye, Altaba . The Yahoo spinout created to house Yahoo’s lucrative stake in Alibaba and Yahoo Japan, announced today that it will sell its lucrative stake in Alibaba and… Read more »
Google reshuffles its leadership in Asia Pacific
There’s a changing of the guard within Google’s Asia Pacific business. In recent weeks, personnel changes within two of its most important roles show the search giant is entering a… Read more »
China’s grocery delivery battle heats up with Meituan’s entry
Fast, affordable food delivery service has been life-changing for many working Chinese, but some still prefer to whip up their own meals. These people may not have the time to… Read more »
Crypto 2.0, accessibility, and Apple’s future strategy
From Extra Crunch Jon Evans has a comprehensive look at the most compelling futures for “Crypto 2.0.” With the trading frenzy out of the way (at least for the time… Read more »
UK report blasts Huawei for network security incompetence
The latest report by a UK oversight body set up to evaluation Chinese networking giant Huawei’s approach to security has dialled up pressure on the company, giving a damning assessment… Read more »
Kong raises $43M Series C for its API platform
Kong, the open core API management and lifecycle management company previously known as Mashape, today announced that it has raised a $43 million Series C round led by Index Ventures…. Read more »
Rela, a Chinese lesbian dating app, exposed 5 million user profiles
Rela (热拉), a popular dating app for gay and queer women, has exposed millions of user profiles and private data because a server wasn’t protected with a password. Rela disappeared… Read more »
Nuro CEO Dave Ferguson at TC Sessions: Mobility on July 10 in San Jose
Autonomous delivery startup Nuro, fresh with nearly $1 billion in capital from SoftBank, is bursting with ideas — as some recent patent filings (and our recent deep dive into the… Read more »
Cross-border fintech startup Airwallex raises $100M at a valuation of over $1B
Australia-based Airwallex is the latest tech startup to enter the billion-dollar ‘unicorn club.’ The company announced today that it has closed a $100 million Series C round that values its… Read more »
Alibaba acquires Israeli VR startup Infinity Augmented Reality
Infinity Augmented Reality, an Israeli virtual reality startup, has been acquired by Alibaba, the companies announced this weekend. The deal’s terms were not disclosed. Alibaba and InfinityAR have had a… Read more »
Planning for the uncertain future of work
In a recently published, roughly 75-page report, British non-profit organization The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts (RSA) outlined several scenarios for how the UK labor market will be… Read more »
Trump to lift ‘not necessary’ North Korea sanctions, White House confirms
US had blacklisted Chinese shipping companies on Thursday ‘Trump likes Kim and doesn’t think these are necessary’ Donald Trump has announced that he is ordering the withdrawal of recently announced… Read more »
PicsArt hits 130 million MAUs as Chinese flock to its photo editing app
If you’re like me, who isn’t big on social media, you’d think that the image filters that come inside most apps will do the job. But for many others, especially… Read more »
Spotify rival Tencent Music posts maiden quarter loss of $130M on one-off costs
Tencent Music Entertainment Group, the Chinese answer to Spotify that Tencent spun out and floated on the New York Stock Exchange in December, reported a net loss of 876 million… Read more »
Grab launches SME loans and micro-insurance in Southeast Asia
In its latest move beyond ride-hailing, Southeast Asia’s Grab has started to offer financing to SMEs and micro-insurance to its drivers. The launch comes just weeks after Grab raised $1.5… Read more »
TikTok parent Bytedance is getting serious about games
A turbulent 2018 for China’s gaming market hasn’t held back newcomers. Bytedance, the world’s most valuable startup behind a collection of rising new media apps including TikTok and Jinri Toutiao,… Read more »
This YC-backed startup preps Chinese students for US data jobs
In recent years, data analysts have gone from optional to a career that holds great promise, but demand for quantitative skills applied in business decisions has raced ahead of supply… Read more »
The “splinternet” is already here
Keith Wright Contributor Share on Twitter Keith Wright is a Villanova School of Business instructor of Accounting and Information Systems, founder of Simplicity On-Demand LLC and former Senior Vice President… Read more »
CXA, a health-focused digital insurance startup, raises $25M
CXA Group, a Singapore-based startup that helps make insurance more accessible and affordable, has raised $25 million for expansion in Asia and later into Europe and North America. The startup… Read more »
China’s Qutoutiao is burning millions of dollars to take on TikTok parent
Chinese startup Bytedance is finding itself surrounded by challengers as its empire of new media products, including global video app TikTok and Chinese news aggregator Jinri Toutiao, gather steam. Tencent… Read more »
U.S. rule changes could mean more startups would need government approval to hire immigrants
Jeff Farrah Contributor Share on Twitter Jeff Farrah is the general counsel of the National Venture Capital Association. Big changes in DC could mean that more startups will need the… Read more »
Ethiopian Airlines crash: Boeing faces safety questions over 737 Max 8 jets
Cockpit and flight recorder may hold clues to why flight ET302 crashed killing 157 people A visual guide to what we know so far The aircraft manufacturer Boeing faces further… Read more »
China’s authorities propose to keep minors out of live streaming
China is getting serious about the way live streaming videos affect tens of millions of youngsters, so much so a top authority has proposed to tighten restrictions on underage use…. Read more »
Ethiopian Airlines crash: carriers ground Boeing 737 Max 8 jets
Carrier joins China and Cayman Islands in suspending new jets after second tragedy in four months Ethiopian Airlines has joined carriers in China and the Cayman Islands in suspending the… Read more »
Transportation Weekly: Waymo unleashes laser bear, Bird spreads its wings, Lyft tightens its belt
Welcome back to Transportation Weekly; I’m your host Kirsten Korosec, senior transportation reporter at TechCrunch . This is the fifth edition of our newsletter and we love the reader feedback…. Read more »