Indonesia-based e-commerce firm Tokopedia is the latest startup to enter the Vision Fund after it raised $1.1 billion Series G round led by the SoftBank megafund and Alibaba. SoftBank and Alibaba are existing investors in the business — the Chinese e-commerce giant led a $1.1 billion round last year, while SoftBank recently transitioned its shareholding […]
View More Indonesia e-commerce leader Tokopedia raises $1.1B from Alibaba and SoftBank’s Vision FundCategory: financial services
Walmart partners with Rakuten to open its first e-commerce store in Japan
Walmart is continuing its strategy of revamping its businesses in Asia after the U.S. retail giant opened its first e-commerce store in Japan, where it is working with local retail giant Rakuten. The companies first announced a collaboration in January when they agreed to team up on the launch of an online grocery service in Japan […]
View More Walmart partners with Rakuten to open its first e-commerce store in JapanPayment service Toss becomes Korea’s newest unicorn after raising $80M
South Korea has got its third unicorn startup after Viva Republica, the company beyond popular payment app Toss, announced it has raised an $80 million round at a valuation of $1.2 billion. This new round is led by U.S. firms Kleiner Perkins and Ribbit Capital, both of which cut their first checks for Korea with this […]
View More Payment service Toss becomes Korea’s newest unicorn after raising $80MAfrica’s agtech wave gets $10 million richer as Twiga Foods raises more capital
Jake Bright Contributor Jake Bright is a writer and author in New York City. He is co-author of The Next Africa. More posts by this contributor Nigerian data analytics company Terragon acquires Asian mobile ad firm Bizense Africa Roundup: Local VC funds surge, Naspers ramps up and fintech diversifies Kenya’s Twiga Foods has raised $10 million from […]
View More Africa’s agtech wave gets $10 million richer as Twiga Foods raises more capitalVenture capital and the blockchain will be the talk at Startup Battlefield Africa
TechCrunch Startup Battlefield returns to Africa next month, and we have an agenda chock-full of interesting panels and our premier startup competition. Joining us in Lagos, Nigeria on December 11 for a couple of those aforementioned panels will be Chris Folayan, the founder and CEO of Mall for Africa; Nichole Yembra, chief financial, risk and […]
View More Venture capital and the blockchain will be the talk at Startup Battlefield AfricaHong Kong’s Neat raises $3M to offer easy banking for startups and SMEs
Neat, a Hong Kong-based startup that gives startups and SMEs access to credit cards and banking services has pulled in $3 million in fresh funding. The new round is led by China-based VC Linear Capital with participation from Hong Kong’s Sagamore investments and existing backers Dymon Asia Ventures and Portag3 Ventures . Neat previously landed a $2 million […]
View More Hong Kong’s Neat raises $3M to offer easy banking for startups and SMEsNubank is now worth $4 billion after Tencent’s $180 million investment
Nubank, the Brazilian financial services company, has raised $180 million from the Chinese internet giant, Tencent. Tencent has long been interested in financial services startups, and with its $90 million direct investment and another $90 million investment in the secondary market the company now has access to what is arguably the largest digital banking company […]
View More Nubank is now worth $4 billion after Tencent’s $180 million investmentHow a Ugandan prince and a crypto startup are planning an African revolution
Crypto and blockchain enthusiasts have been railing for years against the centralized world of banks, but many have been doing so from the privileged vantage point of developed countries. But what if blockchain technology turned out to be most revolutionary in emerging economies?
View More How a Ugandan prince and a crypto startup are planning an African revolutionLunewave is pitching a new sensor offering better vision for autonomous vehicles
The investment arms of BMW and the Chinese search technology giant, Baidu, along with a large original equipment manufacturer for the auto industry and a slew of technology investors have all come together to back Lunewave, a startup developing new sensor technologies for autonomous vehicles. The $5 million seed round which the company just closed […]
View More Lunewave is pitching a new sensor offering better vision for autonomous vehiclesCircle wants more women to invest in cryptocurrency
The earliest adopters of Bitcoin — the libertarian anarchist “cypherpunk” crowd — were mostly men. Today, roughly a decade after Satoshi Nakamoto’s famed white paper was released, the majority of cryptocurrency holders are still men. This poses a problem for the companies betting on the mainstream adoption of cryptocurrency. At this point, they’ve already tapped into […]
View More Circle wants more women to invest in cryptocurrencySouth Africa’s Yoco raises $16 million to boost digital services to small businesses
Jake Bright Contributor Jake Bright is a writer and author in New York City. He is co-author of The Next Africa. More posts by this contributor African tech leaders Fope Adelowo, Ken Njoroge, Tayo Oviosu to speak at Disrupt SF Offering a white-labeled lending service in emerging markets, Mines raises $13 million South African startup Yoco has […]
View More South Africa’s Yoco raises $16 million to boost digital services to small businessesChat app Line to raise $1.33BN via convertible bonds to double down on financial services
Move over stickers and games: Japanese messaging app firm Line has announced it’s raising around 148.1 billion yen ($1.33BN) through convertible bonds to fund aggressive expansion into the financial services business, Reuters reports. Line said it plans to spend most of the money on promoting its Line Pay service and for other new financial services by the […]
View More Chat app Line to raise $1.33BN via convertible bonds to double down on financial services