Editor’s note:
Rumor has it that Uber is about to retreat from some of its overseas markets as its biggest shareholder SoftBank tells the ride-hailing company to concentrate on recovering market share in the US and key European markets.
It would be natural to ask the questions: is the deal between Didi and Uber happen again between the US company and its local competitors? Will Grab or Go-Jek become a dominant player in SE Asia?
Based on our understanding that the sector is prone to fast changes, we probably won’t wait too long to have an answer.
KrASIA Weekly Roundup highlights tech & startup news of the past week, with a focus on Southeast Asia and China. We also pick up the best features from Kr-Asia and the web that are worth your time. Also, there is always something cool for the weekend.
News of the week:
Grab has been in talks with Uber to acquire the latter’s Southeast Asian operations as the company moves to tighten its grip on the rapidly growing shared transportation sector in the region, according to people familiar with the matter. (KrASIA)
oBike has entered into a partnership with Grab. The partnership will see oBike integrate GrabPay into its mobile app, offering bike-riders an additional cashless payment option. (KrASIA)
Kroger, U.S.’s 2nd largest food retailer, is reportedly in talks with Chinese e-commerce behemoth Alibaba with potential initiatives in the pipeline to help the American company counter Amazon Go, according to a New York Post coverage. (KrASIA)
China’s leading bike-sharing company Mobike has reportedly just closed a new financing round worth as much as US$1 billion, according to Caixin. (KrASIA)
Didi just launched its self-owned bike-sharing brand Qing Ju in Chengdu. (KrASIA)
Short video app Kuaishou is soon to close a new financing round worth USD 1 billion. Existing investors Tencent and Sequoia also participated the round. Kuaishou is reportedly eyeing an IPO in Hong Kong in the second haft of 2017. (KrASIA)
Alibaba-backed HelloBike is about to complete its new financing round of over US$ 1 billion as the bike-sharing firm is working relentlessly to strengthen its competitive position in a nascent yet fiercely rivaled industry, according to a source familiar with the matter. (KrASIA)
SoftBank, Uber’s largest shareholder, has called for the ride-hailing group to concentrate on recovering market share in the US and key European markets. (ft)
Best of Kr-Asia Features:
My career at 50, aka midlife crisis.
Facebook PM: you need to think like a PM to work in a Facebook R&D team (Part 2)
Blog posts that worth your time:
An engineer who has worked for Google for 13 years: Why I left Google to join Grab.
Inside Amazon Go, a Store of the Future.
The Thrill of Uncertainty: Variable interval rewards are the reasons why we are addicted to social media, bitcoin exchanges, and everything else.
Cool thing of the week:
KFO came up with a limited edition of its smoky grilled wings which is delivered in a box that can be made into a DIY drone.