Asian tech news roundup – Nov 2

Photo credit: Razer.

Razer releases its first phone, Didi gets into vehicle charging, and a new Visa-approved cryptocurrency card arrives in Singapore. Here are some of the top tech news headlines from around Asia today.

Gaming

Razer launches first phone (US/Singapore). The much-anticipated release follows the US-Singaporean outfit’s acquisition of device maker Nextbit earlier this year. The Razer Phone features a 5.72-inch QHD LCD screen, 8GB RAM, and two 12-megapixel cameras. It will initally be available to buy in select European and North American countries, with a retail price of US$699. (Tech in Asia)

Transportation

Didi’s Beijing headquarters. Photo credit: Didi Chuxing.

Didi Chuxing plans electric car charging network (China). The ride-hailing unicorn, which manages a fleet of around 260,000 electric cars, wants to roll out its own network of charging stations open to the public. (Tech in Asia)

Lifestyle

The reception area at Paktor’s headquaPhoto credit: Sim Yanting.

New top execs at Paktor (Singapore). The dating app has promoted co-founder and CTO Ng Jing Shen to CEO. He replaces Joseph Chua, who will remain as group CEO of Paktor’s parent company M17 Entertainment. The company also announced the promotion of head of operations Shn Juay to COO. (Marketing Interactive)

Fintech

Monaco cryptocurrency card gets Visa approval (Singapore). Residents of Singapore will soon be able to spend their cryptocurrency in the city-state using a Visa prepaid card backed by Monaco, the digital token issued by the Hong Kong-based fintech startup of the same name. Monaco tokens have gained almost 695 percent in value since May, when the company first mentioned a potential deal with Visa. (Bloomberg)

Artificial intelligence

Gobasco gets Matrix funding (India). The agri-tech startup – which uses AI to improve efficiency in the agricultural supply chain – raised an undislocsed sum from Matrix Partners. Gobasco said it would use the capital to expand its team and scale its technology platform for farmers and agri-related small businesses. (The Economic Times)

Big tech

Photo credit: olegganko / 123RF.

Lenovo to acquire Fujitsu’s PC business (China/Japan). The Chinese tech giant will pay up to US$269 million for a 51% stake in the Japanese company’s PC-making unit. Lenovo sees the purchase as a way of enhancing its global reach, at a time when the global PC market continues to shrink in the face of wider mobile device adoption. (Reuters)

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from Tech in Asia https://www.techinasia.com/apac-news-roundup-02-11-2017
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