East Asia
🇨🇳 Mainland China
- Tencent’s gaming business rose by 31% in Q1 2020 thanks to a surge of users during the lockdown →
- The US Bureau of Industry and security announces plans to restrict Huawei’s ability to use US technology and software to design and manufacture its semiconductors →
- Zoom suspends individual users in China from hosting meetings as the country’s annual congress draws close (a major political event always met with strict internet controls) →
- Mining giant BHP Group to complete its first blockchain iron ore transaction with Chinese steel producer Baosteel →
- TikTok parent company ByteDance leads $6 million investment found in financial AI startup Lingxi →
- Statistics show 93% of children in China are now online →
- Online helmet sales boom and prices rise following an announced crackdown on those not wearing helmets by the police bureau →
🇯🇵 Japan
- Jack Ma, Founder of Alibaba, resigns from SoftBank’s board of directors. Ma did not give a reason but has been pulling back from his business roles to focus on philanthropy →
- “Amazon of Japan” Rakuten acquires engineering company Innoeye in a push to communications services →
- A new television advertisement for bitFlyer, a Japanese cryptocurrency exchange, is the first to air in over two years following revised crypto laws →
- A research team with participants from Osaka University develop 3D-printed food that helps reduce calorie intake due to its shape →
- Study reveals 31.7% of students rely solely on mobile or tablet devices to search for jobs, with many not having access to a computer at home →
🇰🇷 South Korea
- AI startup Aizen raises $4.2 million in series B funding to expand into Southeast Asia →
- South Korea’s largest cinema chain tests completely contactless cinema experience →
Southeast Asia
🇮🇩 Indonesia
- Indonesia to impose a 10% digital services tax on non-resident companies →
- Tech-enabled coffee chain Kopi Kenangan raises $109 million in series B funding led by Sequoia Capital →
🇸🇬 Singapore
- Healthtech startup Holmusk raises $21.5 million in series A funding →
- Foreign exchange platform Spark Systems raises $16.5 million in series B funding from HSBC and Citi →
- Data protection startup Dathena raises $12 million in series A funding →
- Sales platform LeadIQ receives $10 million in series A funding round →
- E-retailer Iuiga raises $7 million in series A funding round led by Indonesian conglomerate to expand into Southeast Asia →
- Uber to shut down regional headquarters in Singapore amid 3,000 global layoffs →
- Ride-hailing platform Gojek partners with Deliveroo and other startups for delivery jobs →
🇵🇭 Philippines
- Home services e-commerce platform GoodWork raises $1.6 million in seed funding led by California-based VC →
South Asia
🇮🇳 India
- General Atlantic to invest $870 million in Jio Platforms →
- India’s contract-tracing app reaches 100 million users in 41 days →
- Logistics aggregator that works with D2C consumer sellers including social media influences raises $13 million to expand overseas →
- Agritech startup Intello Labs raises $5.9 million in Series A funding →
- Amazon Prime Video to premiere 7 Indian films as theatres remain closed →
- Spotify signs deal with Saregama to add more than 100,000 tracks to their India catalogue →
- Significant layoffs from food delivery startups Zomato → and Swiggy →, as well as interior design marketplace Livspace →
🇧🇩 Bangladesh
- UAE bank opens Bangladesh remittance corridor using Ripple’s blockchain technology →
