Image credit: Automobile.
Elon Musk wants to mess with your brain, and there’s been a ton of funding news in the last week of the first quarter of 2017.
Welcome to Last Week in Tech, where we look back at what happened in the tech and startup ecosystem in the last seven days. We’ve also collated a list of regional events to look forward to in the week ahead for your convenience.
Here’s what we’ve got for you today.
Quick Bites
A snapshot of last weeks’ news in sentences.
Elon Musk messes with brains while Tencent buys a stake in Tesla
- The man who’s landed rockets in the sea successfully and thinks we’re living in a Matrix-style simulation wants to merge your brain with digital intelligence using implants. This new mission is called Neuralink. Which will we get to be first: Mars-colonizers, or walking Orwellian nightmares? (The Verge / Nick Statt)
- Musk has tons on his plate; Tencent just bought a 5 percent stake in Tesla. This is after the carmaker tripled its China sales to more than US$1 billion in 2016. (Recode / Johana Bhuiyan)
China is unstoppable
- It’s official: Baidu is the laggard of the BAT (Baidu-Alibaba-Tencent) trinity at US$58 billion. But they’re still talking in billions. Tech in Asia / Terence Lee
- WeChat strikes Western B2B markets with expansion plans in Europe and the US. (Bloomberg Technology / Giles Turner and Lulu Yilun Chen)
- Xiaomi is making big bucks from all over the world. They crossed the US$1 billion revenue mark in India last year. And they plan to double that. (Tech in Asia / Malavika Velayanikal)
- Chinese startup Hypereal gives Oculus Rift a run for their money with a whole suite of virtual reality offerings: hardware at a discounted price, software, and content. (Tech in Asia / Eva Xiao)
Founder Huang Chaiming at Hypereal’s press conference in Beijing. Photo credit: Hypereal.
Adventures in Asia
- In the Middle East, Amazon acquires Souq, a Dubai-based e-commerce marketplace. (TechCrunch / Ingrid Lunden)
- Amazon’s expansion plans in Southeast Asia are unclear, especially after their delayed foray. (Tech in Asia / Sheji Ho)
- WeWork is coming to co-working space-saturated Singapore and Tokyo. But they’re unfazed by competition thanks to their prior successes and deep network of tech talent. (Tech in Asia/ Judith Balea)
- Apple is planning to set up an R&D center in Indonesia and has launched an app accelerator in Bangalore. (Tech in Asia / Nadine Freischlad) and (Tech in Asia / Sumit Chakraberty)
These are not April Fool’s Day pranks
- Japan plans to accept bitcoins as a payments method – with a catch. Exchange entities need to register with the Prime Minister. (Bitcoin / Kevin Helms)
- Samsung’s latest Galaxy S8 aims to win back customers after their Note 7 nightmare. One puzzling feature is that their fingerprint scanner is on the back on the phone. Could it work? (The Verge / Vlad Savov)
Yea, right there. Image credit: Mashable.
Last week in funding
- Snapcart, a consumer analytics startup based in Indonesia, has raised US$3 million in pre-Series A funding to improve its tech. (Tech In Asia / Michael Tegos)
- LeEco, a Chinese tech firm, has run into a speed bump as their US$2 billion acquisition of American TV maker Vizio was held up by regulators. (TechCrunch / Jon Russell)
- Freightos, a Hong-Kong-based Expedia for shippers, raised US$25 million led by GE Ventures as an extension of its series B round. (Tech In Asia / Terence Lee)
- Weeloy, a platform solution for restaurants, just closed its series A, raising US$3.6 million. (Tech In Asia / Michael Tegos)
- SoCash is laughing their way to the bank with a new round of angel funding worth US$600,000. They are also the first fintech startup in Singapore to obtain the MAS Financial Sector Technology & Innovation Scheme (FSTI) grant for proof of concepts. (Tech In Asia / Michael Tegos)
- Morningside Ventures has set up a fund worth a robust US$145 million. (Tech In Asia / Steven Millward)
- Thailand’s payments startup Omise plans to raise up to US$16 million with digital coins. (Tech In Asia / Terence Lee).
Image credit: EJ Hassenfratz.
Must Reads
A collection of meaningful long-form reads.
- Lawsuits, complaints, and threats. Even the “Uber” of private jets is getting bad press. (The Verge / Ben Popper and Colin Lecher)
- Foursquare’s steady rise to profitability wasn’t by chance. It took two years of hard work. (Entrerpreneur / Nancy Miller}
- Here’s the story behind Amazon’s dedication to drone deliveries. (Backchannel / Steven Levy)
Upcoming Events
Black Hat Asia 2017
March 28-31, 2017
Marina Bay Sands, Singapore
Professionals and researchers descend on Singapore for four days of hands-on trainings and briefings on latest research and vulnerability disclosures.
INFINITI LAB, Smart Mobility Launch
Thu 6 April 2017
6:00 PM – 8:00 PM SGT
INFINITI Singapore
45 Leng Kee Road
Singapore, Singapore 159103
INFINITI LAB Smart Mobility is an eight-week program to drive the future of mobility and connected car technology with startups. At the program’s launch on 6th April, you’ll hear from a panel of experts on the “Future of Smart Mobility in Singapore” and meet fellow enthusiasts.
Tech in Asia will be live streaming the panel discussion on Facebook.
Introducing Direct Connect Workshop
Wed, 5 April 2017
3:00 PM – 5:00 PM SGT
AWS Office Singapore
23 Church St
Understand Amazon Web Services Direct Connect, why it’s essential for your business, how to leverage its benefits, and more.
Product Management: Testing and validating your idea
Tuesday, 9 May
7 – 9 pm SGT
Level 3, 8 Claymore Hill, Spacemob
Learn to test and validate ideas with the least amount of work using the Minimum Viable Product philosophy. Reach product-market fit quickly and efficiently.
This post Last Week in Tech: Elon’s new mission isn’t in space, and more funding action. appeared first on Tech in Asia.
from Tech in Asia https://www.techinasia.com/lwit-elon-new-funding
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