Asia
China’s e-commerce titan Alibaba hit with antitrust probe
China’s top market watchdog has begun a probe into Alibaba over alleged anti-competition practices at the e-commerce firm, the latest of Beijing’s efforts to curb the country’s ever-
On-demand logistics company Lalamove gets $515 million Series E
Lalamove will extend its network to cover more small Chinese cities after raising $515 million in Series E funding, the on-demand logistics company announced on its site. The round was led by Sequoia
Chinese autonomous driving startup WeRide bags $200M in funding
WeRide, one of China’s most-funded startups developing autonomous driving capabilities, said on Wednesday that it has raised a $200 million strategic round from Chinese bus maker Yutong. Mega inves
Asia’s casino capital Macau to host a CES alternative in 2021
Macau, the former Portuguese colony that is now the world’s biggest gambling center, is planning to host a tech fair next year to match the famed CES in Las Vegas. The brains behind the “B
Google invests in Indian startups Glance and DailyHunt
Google said on Tuesday it is investing in two Indian startups, Glance and DailyHunt, as the Android-maker makes a further push into the world’s second-largest internet market. Two-year-old India
Indian court rejects retail giant Future Group’s plea against Amazon
An Indian court rejected Future Group’s plea that sought to prevent its partner Amazon from interfering in — and blocking — the Indian retail giant’s $3.4 billion asset sale de
Apple puts contract partner Wistron on probation after violence at India plant
Apple has placed its contract manufacturing partner Wistron on probation and won’t give the Taiwanese firm any new business until it takes “complete corrective actions” following lapses at i
Extra Crunch roundup: ‘Nightmare’ security breach, Poshmark’s IPO, crypto boom, more
The rest of the world may be slowing down as we prepare for Christmas and New Year's, but we are not taking our foot off the gas.
Indian food delivery giant Zomato secures $660 million
Zomato has raised $660 million in a financing round that it kicked off last year as the Indian food delivery startup prepares to go public next year. The Indian startup said Tiger Global, Kora, Luxor,
From India’s richest man to Amazon and 100s of startups: The great rush to win neighborhood stores
After spending more than a decade disrupting the neighborhood stores in the U.S. and several other markets, Amazon and Walmart are employing an unusual strategy in India to face off this competitor: F
CD Projekt Red, Sony, Microsoft offer refund to Cyberpunk 2077 customers after bug complaints
Sony has pulled “Cyberpunk 2077,” one of the most anticipated games in recent years, from its PlayStation Store after a flood of complaints and ridicule over compatibility issues and bugs
Tencent-led consortium will lift stake in Universal Music to 20%
Tencent is further strengthening its ties with music giant Universal Music Group as it continues to dominate the Chinese music streaming market. A consortium led by Tencent and comprising Tencent Musi
Alibaba ‘dismayed’ by its cloud unit’s ethnicity detection algorithm
Chinese tech giants have drawn international criticism after research showed they have technologies that enable the authorities to profile Muslim Uyghurs. The cloud computing unit of Alibaba, Alibaba
Google expands languages push to serve non-English speakers in India
There are more than 600 million internet users in India, but only a fraction of this population is fluent in English. Most online services and much of the content on the web currently, however, are av
China’s Luckin Coffee will pay $180 million to settle accounting fraud charges
China’s embattled coffee delivery startup Luckin has reached a settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, agreeing to pay a $180 million penalty to settle charges that it overs
Why Alibaba rival Pinduoduo is investing in agritech
Back in 2018, Pinduoduo sent shock waves through the investor community when it raised $1.6 billion from a Nasdaq listing as a three-year-old company. Online shoppers in China were excited to see its
Facebook relaunches Instagram Lite app, begins test in India
Facebook is working to bring back the Instagram Lite app, months after it shut down the light version offering worldwide. The social conglomerate said on Wednesday that it is testing the revamped Inst
Zenoti becomes a unicorn with $160 million funding round
Zenoti, a 10-year-old startup that develops services for the spa and salon industry, is the latest entrant to the coveted unicorn list. The Bellevue, Washington-headquartered SaaS startup has raised $
Tencent invests in DJI-backed agritech startup FJ Dynamics
Back in 2018, Tencent pledged to put more focus on enterprises as traditional industries in China increasingly tapped technology to boost productivity. The firm’s industrial projects range from
Arya raises $21M to provide farmers in India finance and post-harvest services
Only about a third of the yields Indian farmers produce reaches the big markets. Those whose produce makes it there today are able to leverage post-harvest services. Everyone else is missing out. A No