SEA
Southeast Asia is poised to become one of the most important tech startup in the world. The region is currently home to over 600 million people, eight unicorns, and 66 exits. (KrASIA)
Unpleasant surprise for Tokopedia. More than a dozen employees are said to be involved in a scam during the company’s anniversary flash sales. (KrASIA)
B2B and deep tech-focused early-stage investor Wavemaker Partners is looking to raise $80-100 million for its third Southeast Asia Fund. The funding size and schedule have not been finalized and might be subjected to change. (Deal Street Asia)
UnaBiz secures US$10m in a Series A funding round. This IoT company has deployed two national networks, built an ecosystem of more than 200 partners, brought its IoT solutions to over 25 countries, all in the span of two years. (e27)
China
Meituan tests investor interest ahead of September HK IPO. The on-demand startup is looking to raise $4billion at a valuation of US$50-55 billion. (KrASIA)
Didi completely halts carpooling after 2nd murder in three months. This latest development came in the wake of Didi’s failure to meet internal targets amidst intensifying domestic competition. (KrASIA)
China’s crackdown on content will hit costs. There has been no new licenses issued for games in China since March 28. Nevertheless, Bilibili, a Chinese online entertainment platform, reported a 76% increase in total revenue for the quarter ended June 30. (SCMP)
Harbour BioMed secures $85m in Series B financing round. This GIC-led financing round saw participation from the likes of Legend Capital, Vertex Ventures, and China Life Private Equity Investment company amongst others. (Deal Street Asia)
Following Didi’s latest ride-hitching death, the rush to download police apps in China has intensified. This free smartphone app allows people to directly communicate with the police. (SCMP)
World
Uber partners Toyota to jointly work on developing self-driving cars. This deal will see Toyota invest $500m into Uber, breathing new life into Uber’s self-driving business. (SCMP)
The second-biggest outside investor of Facebook, Fidelity, has offered to back the world’s largest social media firm. This development comes amidst the public scrutiny over user data privacy and the content on Facebook’s platform. (Reuters)
Walmart’s recent acquisition of a major stake in Flipkart is one of the largest transactions in e-commerce and in the internet space globally. Nasper’s journey with Flipkart will help to further shape how they will partner with entrepreneurs to build tech companies in the future. (TechCrunch)
A federal judge in San Francisco dismissed a securities fraud lawsuit against Tesla Inc and Elon Musk. The decision was made public on Monday and the case is separate from the lawsuits that are accusing Tesla and Musk of scheming to hurt short-sellers via the Aug-7 tweet. (Reuters)
Twitter has suspended 770 accounts over the span of 2 weeks. Twitter has suspended 770 accounts over the span of 2 weeks. Â The firm has taken a harder stance on problematic accounts over the recent few months, following years of accusations of failing to enforce its policies on bullying, bot, and other abuses. (TechCrunch)
A new $1 trillion payments market attracts major players like Facebook and Google. Discounts and cashbacks are luring urban Indians to payment apps. The fight for India’s users is on. (Bloomberg)
