FinAccel, a Southeast Asia-based startup that offers a digital credit card service in Indonesia, has closed a $30 million Series B round as it begins to consider overseas expansion. The company launched its ‘Kredivo’ service two years ago to help consumers pay online in Southeast Asia, where credit card penetration is typically low, and it is essentially […]
View More Kredivo raises $30M to build a digital credit card for Southeast AsiaCategory: online marketplaces
SoftBank’s move into new services continues with plan for a payment service in Japan
SoftBank is best known in Japan as a mobile operator but the company, which is behind the near-$100 billion Vision Fund, is increasingly getting into other types of consumer services in its homeland. The Japanese firm last month launched a parking app, it is in the midst of rolling out a taxi-hailing service in conjunction […]
View More SoftBank’s move into new services continues with plan for a payment service in JapanEBay paid $573M to buy Japanese e-commerce platform Qoo10, filing reveals
EBay is a very distant second behind Amazon when it comes to e-commerce sales in the U.S., but abroad — and in particular in Asia — it is willing to invest to grow its footprint in a targeted way. In February, eBay paid a total of $573 million to acquire Qoo10, a Japanese sales platform, […]
View More EBay paid $573M to buy Japanese e-commerce platform Qoo10, filing revealsAlibaba boosts its offline reach with $2B+ investment in outdoor digital marketing firm
Alibaba is investing big bucks into offline distribution. The Chinese e-commerce giant has forked out $2.23 billion in exchange for a sizeable piece of Focus Media, a Shanghai-based company that operates outdoor digital advertising screens across China, Singapore and Hong Kong, according to a U.S. filing. The deal itself is broken up into a few pieces. Alibaba itself […]
View More Alibaba boosts its offline reach with $2B+ investment in outdoor digital marketing firmApp marketing platform AppLovinlaunches mobile application publishing studio, Lion Studios
Selling much more than breadsticks and calamari, app marketing platform AppLovin has launched a new application publishing studio to allow developers (of primarily mobile games) to concentrate on building great apps while AppLovin takes care of everything else. The company declined to comment on how much it charges, or what kind of equity it may […]
View More App marketing platform AppLovinlaunches mobile application publishing studio, Lion StudiosIndia’s budget hotel network unicorn OYO expands into China
The tech world sees plenty of Chinese companies move into India — including the likes of Alibaba and Xiaomi — but few expand the other way. OYO Rooms, the billion-dollar Indian startup that pioneered budget hotel networks, is looking to buck the trend, however, after it launched operations in China. Today the company officially announced its […]
View More India’s budget hotel network unicorn OYO expands into ChinaNaspers is in talks to invest in Southeast Asia’s Carousell
Naspers, the South Africa-based firm that famously backed Chinese giant Tencent in its infancy, is in talks to invest in Singapore-based startup Carousell, according to two sources with knowledge of discussions. Carousell offers a mobile app that combines listings with peer-to-peer selling across Southeast Asia, Taiwan and Hong Kong. That makes it well-aligned with Naspers’ portfolio, […]
View More Naspers is in talks to invest in Southeast Asia’s CarousellChina’s SenseTime, the world’s highest-valued AI startup, closes $620M follow-on round
SenseTime, the world’s highest-valued AI company with a valuation of over $4.5 billion, is back in the money again. The company raised $600 million in an Alibaba-led financing round announced last month, and now it has added a further $620 million to that with a “Series C+” round announced today. Alibaba led the previous deal, […]
View More China’s SenseTime, the world’s highest-valued AI startup, closes $620M follow-on roundMobile gaming is having a moment, and Apple has the reins
It’s moved beyond tradition and into the realm of meme that Apple manages to dominate the news cycle around major industry events all while not actually participating in said events. CES rolls around and every story is about HomeKit or its competitors, another tech giant has a conference and the news is that Apple updated […]
View More Mobile gaming is having a moment, and Apple has the reinsFrance takes legal action against Apple and Google for their app stores
France’s Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire criticized Apple and Google for the way they run the App Store and Play Store. According to him, Google and Apple have too much power against app developers. Le Maire will ask a court to look at it and fine tech giants if necessary. “When developers want to develop […]
View More France takes legal action against Apple and Google for their app storesGM said to pilot peer-to-peer car sharing through its Maven brand
Automaker General Motors is said to be planning a new peer-to-peer car rental service, similar to existing offerings by Daimler-backed Turo and startup Getaround, to debut as early as this summer according to Bloomberg. The service will debut in a test pilot set to begin this summer, under GM’s Maven mobility sub-brand, per the report, and will allow GM car owners to list their vehicles… Read More