Luke Gebb, senior vice president, American Express (L); Mezi co-founders Snehal Shinde (LM) and Swapnil Shinde (RM); and Phil Norman, vice president, American Express (R) / Photo credit: Mezi
Today’s funding and M&A news from around the region.
Travel
Mezi acquired by American Express (India/US). The personal travel assistant app – which helps users to plan and pay for their vacation trips – has been acquired by US credit card provider American Express. “Together, we will continue to innovate mobile travel and concierge experiences for our customers,” said Phil Norman, vice president of Amex Digital Labs at American Express. The US company’s VC arm, American Express Ventures, invested in Mezi in 2016. (Mezi)
Software
BrowserStack gets US$50 million series A boost (India). Accel Partners led the round, which is the startup’s first external financing exercise since it was founded in 2011. BrowserStack – a profitable business that provides a testing platform for mobile and web apps – will use the funding for global marketing and to grow its team. (DealStreetAsia)
BiT secures six-figure investment (Myanmar). The startup, which develops digital keyboards for mobile devices and ebook software, raised the funds from Goldman Sachs veteran Takashi Hatanaka. BiT will use the capital for data mining and to convert long-form books into shorter, ebook-friendly content. (DealStreetAsia)
Media and entertainment
Leshi Internet flags US$1.8 billion net loss (China). The video streaming company blamed its first annual loss since becoming a publicly listed firm in 2010 on a cash crunch at parent LeEco. The stricken conglomerate has racked up massive debts, and founder Jia Yueting appears to have defied regulators’ orders to return to China from the US in order to deal with LeEco’s problems. (Reuters)
Transportation
Bus ticketing site Vexere raises funding (Vietnam). Singapore-based Spiral Ventures has invested in Vexere, a startup that offers a bus ticketing and car booking portal. Launched in July 2013, Vexere works with over 2,000 bus operators and has about 2 million monthly visitors. (DealStreetAsia)
Photo credit: oBike
OBike rides into Indo (Indonesia/Singapore). The Singapore-based firm has launched its first services in Indonesia, in the city of Bandung and parts of Bali province. It plans expansion to other Indonesian cities later this year. (oBike)
Social media
Line launches cryptocurrency service (Asia-Pacific). The messaging app has established Line Financial, a subsidiary that will provide users with financial services including insurance, loans, and cryptocurrency trading. Line has applied for regulatory approval to operate as a cryptocurrency exchange in Japan. (e27)
Meanwhile, it has agreed to sell a controlling stake to SoftBank. The Japanese tech giant will obtain a 51 percent majority stake in Line’s mobile unit after the issuance of new shares. (Reuters)
Big tech
Fujifilm and Fuji Xerox headquarters in Akasaka, Tokyo / Photo credit: Rs1421 / Wikimedia Commons
Xerox agrees to Fujifilm takeover (Japan/US). The US printing and imaging company will merge with Fuji Xerox, its joint venture with Japan’s Fujifilm, in a deal which will see its shareholders receive cash dividends worth US$2.5 billion along with a 49.9 percent stake in the new company. Fujifilm also announced it will cut 10,000 jobs at Fuji Xerox as part of a broder reorganization. (Bloomberg)
Investors, incubators, and accelerators
Spiral Ventures raises over US$64 million for new Japan-focused fund (Singapore/Japan). The Japanese branch of the Singapore-based VC firm attracted backing from footwear brand ASICS and real estate developer Mori Trust, among others. It will target startups working in internet-related and industrial fields. (Spiral Ventures)
See: Previous Asia news roundups
This post Asia news roundup: Amex acquires Mezi, $50m for BrowserStack, and Line enters the crypto-fray appeared first on Tech in Asia.
from Tech in Asia https://www.techinasia.com/apac-news-31-01-2018
via IFTTT
No comments:
Post a Comment