Editor’s note:
We think the upcoming 2018 will be a good year for startups in Southeast Asia, as both capital and established companies have observed huge potentiality in the region.
At the same time, we recognize 2018 will also be a toughyear,because being an entrepreneur is never going to be easy.
KrASIA, a newborn digitalmedia, is poised to serve the entrepreneurs in the region to innovate and to create with constantly updated, insightful and analytical news service.
Kr-ASIA 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 worth your time. Also, there is always something cool for the weekend.
News of the week:
Alibaba-backed bike-sharing startup Hellobike announced it has closed a Series D2 funding round worth $152.5 million (¥1 billion) from Fosun and GGV Capital. (Kr-Asia)
WeChat rolled out an instant game. Users can access the game in Mini Programs, without installing apps. (36Kr)
Meituan expands its ride-hailing services in 7 major cities in China after ten months operation in Nanjing, intensifying the competition with Didi. (36Kr)
oBike is to launch its own cryptocurrency oCoins with Chinese blockchain company TRON in the first quarter of 2018. Users can earn oCoins while use Obikes and use oCoins for future rides. (e27)
Apple apologized for throttling phones by a software update and lower the price of battery exchange to $29. (IT Home)
The proposed merger between Uber subsidiary Lion City and transport company ComfortDelGro is being reviewed by The Competition Commission of Singapore, given the highly competitive nature of the car rental industry in the city-state. (Deal Street Asia)
Faraday future reported having secured $1 billion investment while the funding can only support the company to break the ice, not to say there are still uncertainties in the deal. (Yicai)
Best of Kr-Asia Features:
Founded 10 years after the introduction of AliPay, WeChat Pay surpassed the powerful incumbent by introducing Lucky Money and secured its position as the mobile payment leader.
No one is really “willing” to work for others; we are all working for ourselves only. That is why managers need to help employees find meaning in the work they do.
This Report Counts 120 Greater China Unicorns in 2017, with 21 Backed by Tencent and 11 by Alibaba.
Emerging technologies, powered by big data, algorithms, and AI, are increasingly taking over human editors and reshaping the media industry in a way unseen before. In this article, we tell stories happened in the new era of media we all live in.
Blog posts that worth your time:
Netflix former VP Product explains how branding helps to build a great product.
8 storytelling techniques to keep audiences engaged.
Cool thing of the week:
Harry Potter’s invisibility cloak perhaps is nowhere to be found in the Muggle world. But optical camouflage, or at least a game version of it, is possibly easier to be developed.