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 JapanCategory: Japan
Why Japan’s giving out free homes, and how you can get one
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Ever dreamed about moving to Japan? The prospect is more enticing than ever because Japan is giving out homes for free, or at a very low price. It may sound too good to be true, but it’s not. There’s just one thing you’re going to need first, and there may be a catch. Read more…
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Salesforce doubles down on Japan with dedicated $100M fund
It’s been a good week for Japanese startups. Fresh from Google making a rare investment in the country when it backed AI startup Abeja, so Salesforce — another U.S. tech titan — has announced a $100 million fund for enterprise startups in Japan. The Japan Trailblazer Fund is Salesforce Venture’s first local fund in Asia. […]
View More Salesforce doubles down on Japan with dedicated $100M fundGoogle invests in Japanese AI and machine learning startup ABEJA
Google has made a rare investment in Japan after the company led a follow-on round for AI and machine learning startup ABEJA. The deal amount is undisclosed but a little digging suggests that it is likely a single-digit million US dollar figure. That’s because six-year-old ABEJA did confirm that it has now raised JPY 6 billion ($53 […]
View More Google invests in Japanese AI and machine learning startup ABEJASoftBank sets indicative share price of 1,500 yen for next month’s IPO
In a regulatory filing today, SoftBank Group said it has set an indicative price of 1,500 yen ($13.22) per share for the initial public offering of its domestic telecoms unit next month. This means the offering is potentially worth 2.4 trillion yen (about $21.16 billion), making it one of the largest IPOs ever. The price […]
View More SoftBank sets indicative share price of 1,500 yen for next month’s IPOWeChat e-wallet teams up with Line to target Japan’s 7M Chinese tourists
China’s biggest chat app WeChat is set to make its payments service more ubiquitous in Japan, a popular outbound desitnation for Chinese tourists. On Tuesday, the Tencent-run messenger unveils a partnership with Japan’s Line chat app on mobile payments. The tie-up allows Japanese brick-and-mortar merchants with a Line Pay terminal to process WeChat Pay transactions […]
View More WeChat e-wallet teams up with Line to target Japan’s 7M Chinese touristsSoftBank’s Deepcore and accelerator Zeroth team up to hunt early stage AI opportunities
Two early stage AI programs are joining forces because, even in the world of artificial intelligence, two heads are better than one. Hong Kong-based accelerator Zeroth — which recently grabbed a majority investment from Animoca Brands — and Deepcore, a Japanese incubator and fund that is part of the SoftBank group, are pairing up to use […]
View More SoftBank’s Deepcore and accelerator Zeroth team up to hunt early stage AI opportunitiesQuantum computing, not AI, will define our future
William (“Whurley”) Hurley Contributor Share on Twitter William Hurley, commonly known as whurley, is an American entrepreneur and the founder of Chaotic Moon Studios, Honest Dollar, and Equals: The Global Partnership for Gender Equality in the Digital Age. He is currently chairing the Quantum Computing Working Group for the IEEE Standards Association (IEEE-SA), and is […]
View More Quantum computing, not AI, will define our futureThese robots have nailed bottle-flipping, proving not even internet challenges are safe from automation
In this year’s RoboCon in Japan, teams of high school students built a bunch of bottle-flipping robots that can nail the internet challenge better than most of us. Read more…More about Robots, Mashable Video, Japan, Contest, and Competition
View More These robots have nailed bottle-flipping, proving not even internet challenges are safe from automationChinese WeWork rival Ucommune raises $200M to go after international growth
China’s Ucommune, the country’s largest rival to WeWork, has been on a busy acquisition spree to build out its domestic business and now it is looking at overseas opportunities after it closed a $200 million Series D funding round. The new round was led by Hong Kong-based All-Stars Investment with participation from Chinese investment bank […]
View More Chinese WeWork rival Ucommune raises $200M to go after international growthJapan is cracking down on SoftBank’s revenue
First, a couple of quick follow-ups to our coverage of Form Ds yesterday, and then a deeper dive into the challenges SoftBank is facing with regards to its revenue in Japan. Finally, some notes on recent articles we have read. We are experimenting with new content forms at TechCrunch. This is a rough draft of […]
View More Japan is cracking down on SoftBank’s revenueTravel activities startup KKday lands investment from Alibaba and Line
Taiwan’s KKday, a startup in the increasingly competitive travel activities space, has pulled in an undisclosed funding round that adds two strategic investors to its business: Chinese e-commerce firm Alibaba and Japanese chat app company Line. KKday was founded in 2015 to help people who travel overseas to find and book activities, ranging from tours […]
View More Travel activities startup KKday lands investment from Alibaba and Line