Grab is talking to Ant Financial and PayPal about spinning out its financial services business

Grab, the $16 billion-valued ride-hailing firm that acquired Uber’s Southeast Asia business last year, is in talks with Alibaba’s Ant Financial and PayPal as it considers spinning out of its financial services unit to double down on its non-transportation business, TechCrunch has learned. The seven-year-old company’s coming-of-age moment was a deal to buy Uber’s regional […]

View More Grab is talking to Ant Financial and PayPal about spinning out its financial services business

The FT is buying another media startup: Deal Street Asia

Fresh from picking up a majority stake in Europe-based The Next Web, the Financial Times is buying another tech blog. The newspaper, which was founded in 1888, is adding Singapore-based Deal Street Asia to its roster with a deal expected to close in April, according to three sources with knowledge of discussions. Founded in 2014 […]

View More The FT is buying another media startup: Deal Street Asia

Kazuo Hirai, the former CEO who led Sony’s turnaround, is retiring

Here’s a well-earned retirement. Kazuo Hirai, the former CEO who spearheaded Sony’s turnaround in recent years, is leaving the company following 35 years of service, according to an announcement made today. Hirai became Sony CEO in 2012, replacing Sir Howard Stringer with a mission of bringing the good times back to the then-bloated electronics giant through […]

View More Kazuo Hirai, the former CEO who led Sony’s turnaround, is retiring

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 of what it describes as “serious and systematic defects” in its software engineering and cyber security competence. Although the report falls short of calling for […]

View More UK report blasts Huawei for network security incompetence

Xiaomi teases another look at its foldable phone

Xiaomi is back with another teaser of the foldable concept device it first showed off in January. This time around, in a video posted to its Weibo account, the Chinese company showed off the device working in tablet mode and, after folding, regular phone mode to illustrate how seamlessly it can be tucked up and […]

View More Xiaomi teases another look at its foldable phone

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. Previous investors Andreessen Horowitz and Charles River Ventures (CRV), as well as new investors GGV Capital and World Innovation Lab also participated. With this round, […]

View More Kong raises $43M Series C for its API platform

Report: Grindr’s Chinese owner Kunlun is selling the dating app after CFIUS raised personal data concerns

Grindr, the popular dating app for gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people, looks like it might be changing hands again, a year after it was acquired at a valuation of $245 million. According to a report in Reuters, Grindr’s owner Kunlun is looking for a buyer of the company after the Committee on Foreign Investment […]

View More Report: Grindr’s Chinese owner Kunlun is selling the dating app after CFIUS raised personal data concerns

Alibaba, Tencent and other major names form $1.45B ride-hailing venture

For the last two years, Didi has been the dominant car-hailing force in China and its success has spawned a handful of competitors initiated by both internet firms and old-school carmakers. Just last week, another notable challenger has stepped up. T3, which is short for “top 3”, officially launched after a dozen entities, including three […]

View More Alibaba, Tencent and other major names form $1.45B ride-hailing venture

Flipkart ranked highly for ‘fairness’ of working conditions in India gig platform study

The Oxford Internet Institute has published what it bills as the world’s first rating system for working conditions on gig economy platforms. The Fairwork academic research project is a collaboration with the International Institute of Information Technology Bangalore, the University of Cape Town, the University of Manchester, and the University of the Western Cape. As […]

View More Flipkart ranked highly for ‘fairness’ of working conditions in India gig platform study

Google will open a new office complex and add hundreds of jobs in Taiwan

Google announced today it will expand its office space in Taiwan with a new complex in Banqiao District, New Taipei City. The space will be in Taipei Far Eastern Telecom Park, about a 20-minute drive away from its offices in Taipei 101. Google currently has 2,000 employees in the country and plans to hire several […]

View More Google will open a new office complex and add hundreds of jobs in Taiwan

Cross-border fintech startup Airwallex raises $100M at a valuation of over $1B

Australia-based Airwallex is the 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 business above $1 billion. Started in Melbourne in 2015 by four Chinese founders, Airwallex provides a service that lets companies manage cross-border revenue and financing in […]

View More Cross-border fintech startup Airwallex raises $100M at a valuation of over $1B

Yunji, a startup that enables social commerce via WeChat, files for $200M US IPO

China’s Pinduoduo was all the rage in 2018 as the ecommerce upstart quickly rose to challenge Alibaba and raised $1.63 billion through a Nasdaq listing. Much of its success was attributable to its link to WeChat, China’s messaging leader. Now, another emerging ecommerce player that has leveraged WeChat is gearing up for a listing in […]

View More Yunji, a startup that enables social commerce via WeChat, files for $200M US IPO