Saturday, 2024 April 20

Today’s Tech Headlines: Gobi Partners plans micro funds for Thailand & the Philippines;  Sensetime leads $75-million round in Helian Health

SEA

US’s Roambee, a shipment tracking company, has secured $2 million in a strategic investment from Indonesia’s MDI Ventures. The startup plans to enter the Indonesian and other SE Asian markets. (Deal Street Asia)                            

The Philippines’ Revolution Precrafted expands to Bahrain, signing a multi-million-dollar agreement with Bahrain’s Property 1 to supply residential villas in the country. (Deal Street Asia)

Gobi Partners plans to roll out the Philippine and Thai seed funds which will be both between $5 million to $10 million. It also appointed Shannon Kalayanamitr as venture partner for the Thailand fund. (Deal Street Asia)

Aquatech startup Umitron that based in Singapore and Japan has raised $8.2 million in a round from Innovation Network Corporation of Japan. (e27)

 

China

Tencent looks to generate more money from its advertising business. The Shenzhen-based tech giant plans to lift its revenue in advertising to account for 30%-40% of the company’s total revenue in a few years while keeping it under 50% to maintain a good user experience, a senior executive at Tencent’s advertising department told 36Kr, China’s biztech media and also KrASIA parent. (KrASIA)

China’s AI unicorn Sensetime has led a $75-million Series B round in Helian Health, a hospital Wi-Fi provider. (Deal Street Asia)

Matrix Partners China has raised $750 million for its 5th VC fund, as per its filing with SEC.  53 LPs participated in the fund. (Deal Street Asia)

Tencent- and Ctrip-backed online booking platform Tongcheng-eLong applied for an HK IPO on Thursday, planning to raise between US$1 billion and US$1.5 billion. (Caixin Global)

Tencent, Huobi and China Blockchain Research Center were among around 20 institutions to establish the China Blockchain Security Alliance which aims to ensure a healthy and sustainable development of the blockchain ecosystem in the country. (Technode)

China Unicom will stop charging roaming fees starting from July 1. (PingWest)

Tencent will only globalize its social networking platforms, music and gaming services if there is a gap in the market for the company to fill, a senior executive told Reuters. (Reuters)

 

Rest of Asia

Zomato is in talks to raise $400 million which may predominantly come from existing investors Ant Financial and Temasek at an up to $2 billion valuation. (Deal Street Asia)

India’s OYO, a hotel chain operator, officially announced on Wednesday its launch in the Chinese market. (KrASIA)

 

World

July 16 might be the date of Prime Day, Amazon’s summer sales event, according to a banner on its UK website. (SCMP)

Intel CEO Brian Krzanich resigned for having a relationship with an employee. (WSJ)

PayPal has agreed to acquire fraud prevention and risk management platform Simility for $120 million to deliver fraud prevention and risk management solutions to merchants globally. (PayPal)

 

Gadgets

Apple engineers hoped to launch by June AirPower, which could charge three devices simultaneously: an iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods. Apple plans to produce the charger with Pegatron Corp, a source told SCMP. (SCMP)

 

Good News Bad News

Thailand is the No.1 country in Southeast Asia for enterprises to explore and implement Internet of Things (IoT) solutions according to a survey. (Bangkok Post)

 

36Kr Global Writers
36Kr Global Writers
The tech ecosystem is roaring. Unicorns valued at billions of dollars have emerged worldwide, while venture capital and strategic investors are constantly on the lookout for the next big thing. 36Kr Global is committed to establishing ties between global stakeholders and providing the most vital information about China’s tech scene and capital markets.
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