Southeast Asian ride-hailing firm Grab is aiming to start the new year with a bang and an awful load of bucks. The company, which acquired Uber’s local business earlier this year, is planning to raise as much as $5 billion from its ongoing Series H round, up from an original target of $3 billion, a source with […]
View More Grab raises fundraising target to $5B as Southeast Asia’s ride-hailing war heats upCategory: Meituan-Dianping
Alibaba just gave Chinese youth another reason to never leave their desk
People in China have a host of reasons not to go outdoors these days. They may be too busy to leave their office, wary of air pollution or have chosen to live isolated lives. Among them is an expanding young consumer base who prefers to dwell in the virtual world of video games, animes and […]
View More Alibaba just gave Chinese youth another reason to never leave their deskFood delivery startup Swiggy raises $1 billion more from Naspers, Tencent and others
Naspers, the South African investment giant, is back at it again in India! Days after backing educational startup Byju’s by leading a $540 million investment, it has led a $1 billion investment in food delivery company Swiggy. The new round sees Chinese internet and Naspers ally Tencent join the party, alongside fellow new investors Hillhouse Capital […]
View More Food delivery startup Swiggy raises $1 billion more from Naspers, Tencent and othersAlibaba replaces video streaming boss amid anti-corruption probe
A top-level reshuffle is sending shockwaves across one of China’s biggest online video businesses. Yang Weidong has stepped down as the president of Alibaba’s video streaming unit Youku, the ecommerce operator confirmed to TechCrunch on Tuesday. Yang is understood to be assisting the police with an investigation into “an alleged case of seeking economic benefits,” […]
View More Alibaba replaces video streaming boss amid anti-corruption probeChina’s Didi adds driver training program to counter sharp decline in rides
Didi Chuxing, China’s largest ride-hailing company by number of users, has been struggling to recover from a major setback following the deaths of two passengers earlier this year. On Wednesday, its founder and CEO Cheng Wei released a letter detailing the company’s moves to step up safety oversight and meet new government rules, including a training […]
View More China’s Didi adds driver training program to counter sharp decline in ridesMeituan, China’s ‘everything app’, walks away from bike sharing and ride hailing
A major player in the race to transport Chinese people around is losing steam. Meituan Dianping, the Tencent-backed all-encompassing platform for local services, continues to put the brakes on bike-sharing and ride-hailing, the company said on its earnings call on Thursday. The eight-year-old firm is best known for competing with Alibaba-owned Ele.me in food deliveries […]
View More Meituan, China’s ‘everything app’, walks away from bike sharing and ride hailingThe forgotten ‘Facebook of China’ is sold for $20M
Renren, which was once heralded as the ‘Facebook of China’ and later became China’s answer to MySpace after falling out of fashion among its core young users, is selling its social networking business. Renren’s parent company Beijing Qianxiang Wangjing has agreed to sell all tangible and intangible assets of renren.com to Beijing Infinities Interactive Media, […]
View More The forgotten ‘Facebook of China’ is sold for $20MChina’s Didi Chuxing adds more safety features following passenger murder
Didi Chuxing, China’s largest ride-hailing firm, is rolling out new security systems one month after a female customer was raped and murdered by a driver, the second such fatality on its Hitch service this year. Today the company said it introduced a number of new safety features which include random biometric ID testing for drivers […]
View More China’s Didi Chuxing adds more safety features following passenger murderMeituan-Dianping’s IPO off to a good start as shares climb 7% on debut
Meituan-Dianping (3690.HK) enjoyed a strong debut today in Hong Kong, a sign that investors are confident in the Tencent-backed company’s prospects despite its cash-burning growth strategy, heavy competition and a sluggish Hong Kong stock market. During morning trading, Meituan’s shares reached a high of HKD$73.85 (about $9.41), a 7% increase over its initial public offering […]
View More Meituan-Dianping’s IPO off to a good start as shares climb 7% on debutSoutheast Asia’s Fave raises $20M and adds mystery strategic investor from China
So you thought group-buying was dead?! Not in Southeast Asia where Fave, a company that aims to connect local merchants with customers using discount sales, has closed a $20 million Series B round as it explores expansion opportunities. The startup began as fitness subscription service KFit, but it pivoted group-buying and coupons after it acquired Groupon’s […]
View More Southeast Asia’s Fave raises $20M and adds mystery strategic investor from ChinaMeituan reportedly targets $55B valuation for Hong Kong IPO, leading to concerns that may be too high
Meituan-Dianping is reportedly aiming for a $55 billion valuation in its upcoming initial public offering in Hong Kong, but the company’s net losses and increasing competition from Alibaba are already raising questions about whether that is too ambitious, despite the company’s market leadership in China. Meituan-Dianping, which bills itself as a “one-stop super app” that […]
View More Meituan reportedly targets $55B valuation for Hong Kong IPO, leading to concerns that may be too highFall 2018 tech IPOs face myriad of headwinds
2018 has been an incredibly strong year for IPOs, particularly in the technology sector. Among the brand names this year that have made their public debuts are Dropbox, Xiaomi, Spotify (through a direct listing), DocuSign, Carbon Black, Zuora, among many, many others. Given the strength of these numbers through the first eight months of this […]
View More Fall 2018 tech IPOs face myriad of headwinds