SEA
Singapore-based online concierge Honestbee eyes the regional markets. The firm that delivers items like groceries, parcels, flowers, and food has since expanded from Singapore into other countries like Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines. (KrASIA)
Oyo Rooms, an Indian budget hotel operator, confirms $1b fundraise that has propelled its current valuation to $5b. 60% of its funds will be spent to boost Oyo’s presence in China. The firm already claims of having close to 90,00o rooms in China to date. (KrASIA)
C88, Singapore-based fintech startup, secures an undisclosed amount from a Korea Investment Partners-backed Series C extension round. The firm operates and owns two licensed financial marketplaces. (Deal Street Asia)
Singapore-headquartered digital health and data analytics startup Holmusk raises US$ 9.75 million in pre-Series A financing. The firm uses technology and data science to accelerate research and improve outcomes to help those with behavioral health disorders and chronic diseases. (Tech In Asia)
Alchemy Foodtech secures a 7-figure funding in a pre-Series A financing round to fight diabetes. This Singapore-based company is looking to use the proceeds to acquire talents and to move into its next stage of product development. (e27)
China
Xiaomi-backed Viomi closes volatile Nasdaq debut by a marginal rise. The firm only managed to raise up to close to half of its initial target even as it goes head-on to fight for a larger slice of China’s booming IoT market. (KrASIA)
Tencent Music’s revenue is now rumoured to be surging as much as 91.5% year-on-year. Its net profit is also growing at a CAGR of 148%. All of these positive financial performances are coming at a time when the music streaming giant has reduced imminent IPO target. (KrASIA)
Hong Kong e-wallet TNG has amassed a fortune by helping foreign domestic helpers save. It is now looking to expand and become a virtual bank, offering a full range of traditional banking services online. (KrASIA)
Monkey investors are full of ideas. These extremely versatile investors are the ones behind China’s ride-hailing app Didi Chuxing and bike-sharing app ofo. Today, we will share the stories about them here. (KrASIA)
Jack Ma: With big money comes great responsibility. Entrepreneurs have to be clear on the role of money and that is to make our world a better place, says Jack Ma in an interview with NEW MEDIA magazine. (KrASIA)
Chinese tech IPOs have been making waves in New York and Hong Kong. However, there has been a growing number of signs over the last few weeks that are hinting that this window of opportunity might be nearing its end. One of the indicators is the wave of money-losers that have hopped onto the IPO bandwagon. (Caixin Global)
JD.com’s chief executive Richard Liu’s wife Zhang Zetian commented on social media for the first time after Liu’s recent arrest over the suspicion of rape. This 5-week long saga has created a cloud of uncertainty over JD.com and the company’s shares have declined 39% overall over the past year. (SCMP)
Elsewhere
GGV Capital invests into Yellow, a Latin American bike-sharing startup. The startup that provides dockless bike-sharing services fits with one of GGV’s longstanding investment themes and is also Brazil’s first dockless bike-sharing service provider. (KrASIA)
Google has come under fire for privacy issues. It has now provided a written testimony to acknowledge the ‘’mistakes’’ it has made on privacy issues. This move comes at a time when there have been growing concerns over data privacy. (Reuters)
Amazon forays into the smart home space by making its first investment in homebuilding startup Plant Prefab. The latter builds prefabricated and custom homes for singles and for families. This is a new market for Amazon, following its launch of more than a dozen Alexa-powered smart home devices. (CNBC)
Uber’s new Global Security Center is here to overhaul the old way of how Uber responds to disasters. With a main decision center, Uber is looking to create a more efficient, and consistent decision-making process during times of crisis. (The Verge)
Coinbase, a cryptocurrency trading platform, is now taking another step towards its aspiration of becoming the NYSE for the crypto world. The firm is looking to limit the trading of some of its tokens to specific locations in order to onboard these cryptocurrencies onto its platform more quickly amidst increasing regulatory concerns over cryptocurrency. (TechCrunch)