The Latest from Rita Liao
Tencent invests in Easy Transfer to amp up cross-border payments ambition
Tencent has invested in Easy Transfer, a startup that aims to make tuition payments less stressful for hundreds of thousands of overseas Chinese students. Tencent declined to comment for the story, bu
Australia’s Fertilis raised $2M to automate IVF embryo culturing
Adelaide-based startup Fertilis is the latest to join a wave of companies worldwide that are trying to make in vitro fertilization (IVF) less stressful and more successful for patients and clinicians.
Roblox pauses service in China as it takes ‘important transitory actions’
On December 8, Roblox’s Chinese version LuoBuLeSi, published and operated by Tencent, abruptly closed down its server five months after it launched on iOS and Android. Many users, taken by surpr
Tencent offloads stakes in allies as it continues investment spree
Chinese internet titan Tencent is divesting its vast portfolio. On Tuesday, the company announced plans to offload more than $3 billion worth of shares in Sea, a Singaporean internet conglomerate, tri
Kindle’s China future in doubt after disappearing from online shelves
Since Kindle began shipping in China nearly nine years ago, the e-book giant has garnered a loyal following in the country. The journey has never been easy, thanks to regulatory hurdles around digital
How Meituan is redefining food delivery in China with drones
On a congested sidewalk next to a busy mall in Shenzhen, a 20-something woman uses a smartphone app to order a milk tea on Meituan, a major food delivery company. In less than 10 minutes, the pearl-wh
The long haul of Microsoft’s China localization
In 2019, when LinkedIn began asking for Chinese users’ phone numbers, it was clear that the professional social network would have to follow a different set of rules in the country. But it reali
AI chip maker Kneron raises $25M for autonomous driving push
AI chips, which are semiconductors designed to accelerate machine learning, have many applications. One of the promising use cases, according to Albert Liu, is using AI chips in autonomous driving veh
Alibaba’s Southeast Asia arm Lazada hits 130M annual consumers
Alibaba has always aspired to bring its e-commerce service to customers outside China. Its strategy is multi-thronged. The giant’s house-developed AliExpress has found success in Russia in recen
Reddit files confidentially to go public
In August, Reddit raked in a hefty $410 million financing led by Fidelity, valuing it at $10 billion. It had plans to close out the round, a Series F, at $700 million at the time. The company’s
Beijing court rules bitcoin mining contract ‘void’
As crypto investors widely know, China has declared all cryptocurrency transactions illegal and outlawed crypto mining activities. Lately, a court decision further reasserted the government’s at
Oppo’s first self-developed chip is all about imaging performance
Chinese smartphone giant Oppo revealed its first in-house chipset at its annual innovation event hosted in Shenzhen on Tuesday. The MariSilicon X chip announced — named after the Mariana Trench
California suspends Pony.ai driverless test permit after crash
Pony.ai, a Chinese autonomous driving startup with an office in the U.S., has paused its driverless pilot fleet in California six months after it was approved by local regulators to test autonomous ve
Warehouse robotics startup ForwardX raises $31M in first Series C close
ForwardX Robotics, a Beijing-headquartered company that makes autonomous mobile robots (AMR), said Tuesday it has closed the initial tranche of its Series C funding round as it looks to expand globall
China’s AI giant SenseTime postpones IPO after US blacklisting
SenseTime, one of China’s most valuable AI solution providers, is putting its $767 million public listing on hold, the company said Monday. The announcement came three weeks after the Hong Kong
Autonomous driving startup DeepRoute.ai prices L4 solution at $10,000
DeepRoute.ai, an autonomous vehicle startup with offices in Shenzhen and Fremont, California, unveiled an ambitious self-driving solution on Wednesday. The package, named DeepRoute-Driver 2.0, is a pr
Chinese Amazon aggregator Nebula Brands raises $50M led by L Catterton
2021 has been a rosy year for China-based Amazon vendors looking for exits. Roll-ups, or brand aggregators, have been flooding China’s export-oriented e-commerce market with capital to scoop up
Hong Kong fintech unicorn WeLab raises $240M to buy Indonesian bank
A virtual bank is soon coming to Indonesia. WeLab, a Hong Kong-based fintech unicorn, announced Tuesday its acquisition of Bank Jasa Jakarta (BJJ), an Indonesian commercial bank. With the deal, WeLab
Alibaba undergoes major management reshuffle
Alibaba is reassigning roles to four of its executives in one of the biggest reshuffles in its recent history, the company announced on Monday morning. Maggie Wu, the e-commerce titan’s former c
Why Pinduoduo is putting all its profit into agriculture
For the past few years, Pinduoduo has been widely regarded as Alibaba’s strongest challenger. While Alibaba reported 863 million annual active consumers across its retail platforms in the 12 mon