Jon Russell
Writer
The Latest from Jon Russell
Startups can now apply to take part in Google’s first Demo Day event in Asia
Google is bringing its Demo Day event to Asia for the first time this September and now the search giant has opened applications for startups wanting to take part. Google’s Demo Day are akin to
Baidu spins out its global ad business to sharpen its focus on artificial intelligence
Baidu, the Chinese search giant, is spinning out its business unit responsible for utility apps and its mobile ad business to sharpen its focus on artificial intelligence. As part of the spin-out, Bai
Tencent leads $50M investment in NewsDog, an app vying to be India’s Toutiao
The growth of China’s Bytedance, an ambitious $30 billion tech firm, and its highly addictive Toutiao news aggregator app has set off a search for services with similar growth potential across t
Alibaba’s newest initiative aims to make Hong Kong a global AI hub
Alibaba is teaming up with SenseTime, the world’s highest-valued AI startup, to launch a not-for-profit artificial intelligence lab in Hong Kong in a bid to make the city a global hub for artifi
Chinese bike-sharing giant Mobike is making big plans for India
You’d be forgiven for thinking that Chinese bike-sharing startup Mobike, which was recently acquired in a $3 billion deal, was already present in India. The company went on an aggressive global
Ucare.ai is using AI to make healthcare more efficient in Southeast Asia
AI is being applied across the board in many industries worldwide, and its scope of influence is only likely to continue to expand as Kaifu Lee, a noted AI expert who was formerly head of Google China
Jirnexu pulls in $11M for its financial comparison service in Southeast Asia
It’s been a busy week for startup funding in Southeast Asia. Following big deals for Carro and Carousell, financial comparison startup Jirnexu is the latest to announce new capital after it clos
YouTube revamps its Red subscription service to offer standalone music streaming
Like Google’s messaging focus, YouTube’s efforts to spin out successful streaming and music products has felt confusing and haphazard. Now the company is simplifying and consolidating that
Tencent profit jumps 61% to $3.7B as its mobile gaming business surges
Warnings that Tencent, Asia’s highest-valued tech company, might suffer a rare poor quarter of business proved unwarranted after the company smashed analyst expectations for its latest earnings
China’s Didi pares back ‘hitchhiking’ car service following passenger murder
Didi Chuxing is making big changes to Hitch, its inter-city carpooling service, following the murder of a passenger at the hands of a driver earlier this month. Last week, Didi — China’s
The new AI-powered Google News app is now available for iOS
Google teased a new version of its News app with AI smarts at its I/O event last week, and today that revamped app landed for iOS and Android devices in 127 countries. The redesigned app replaces the
Roku suffers major outage affecting Netflix, YouTube and other channels
Streaming service Roku got hit with its worst outage to date after a number customers suffered issues watching Netflix, YouTube and other channels for more than five hours. The issue — which Rok
Mercari, Japan’s first unicorn, files for $1.1B Tokyo IPO
Mercari, the eBay-like service that is Japanese first tech startup unicorn, has filed to go public in an IPO that could raise as much as $1.1 billion. The company is scheduled to list on the Toyko Sto
Coinbase goes after Wall Street with new services for institutional investors
Coinbase is courting Wall Street after it announced plans to launch a range of new services aimed at institutional investors, who are finally beginning to embrace crypto. The main new arrival is Coi
Facebook adds option to report conversations in Messenger following widespread criticism
In reaction to criticism around the use of Messenger in some countries worldwide, particularly Myanmar, Facebook has introduced new tools that it allow users of the app to report conversations that vi
Ripple is going after startups to build an ecosystem around the XRP cryptocurrency
It’s finally happening. Ripple is making a push to expand the use of the XRP cryptocurrency into new verticals and segments beyond the payment and banking space where the company is focused. XR
Nintendo’s NES Classic will return to U.S. retail stores on June 29
Rejoice Nintendo fans: the Japanese gaming giant is bringing the NES Classic back to retail stores this summer. Nintendo said the console will go on sale again across the U.S. on June 29, with the SN
Lenovo teases a slick, all-screen smartphone that doesn’t have a notch
Lenovo has teased a new arrival that might top Apple’s iPhone X in a bid to deliver a true all-screen smartphone. Apple’s iPhone X goes very close but for a tiny bezel and its distinctive
Researchers warn of critical flaw affecting PGP and S/MIME
Those who use PGP and S/MIME to send secure emails are being advised to cease using and disable the tools with immediate effect following a major security scare. Researcher Sebastian Schinzel, a pro
Southeast Asia’s Carro raises $60M for its automotive marketplace and car financing service
Carro, an automotive marketplace and car financing startup based in Singapore, has closed a $60 million Series B round to scale its business in Southeast Asia. The deal was co-led by SoftBank Ventures