Asia news roundup: Baidu raises $1.9b for finance arm, eyes $500m for AI fund

Baidu-built robot AI Xiaodu / Photo credit: Baidu

The top news from today and the weekend included some big investments for Baidu, funding for bKash, Pathao, and RailYatri, and several high-profile departures.

Fintech

US$1.9 billion raised for Baidu’s spinoff finance unit (China). The Chinese tech firm has secured the funding for its newly created financial services company, Du Xiaoman, which will spin off in July. Investors include TPG, the Carlyle Group, and the Taikang Group, among others. Du Xiaoman will use artificial intelligence to provide services relating to short-term loans and investment. (South China Morning Post)

Capital Float receives US$7 million debt investment from Triodos (India). The online lender says it will use the funds from the asset management firm to expand its SME borrower base. Capital Float raised US$22 million in funding from Amazon last week, closing out its US$45 million series C round. (Livemint)

Ant Financial to buy 20 percent stake in bKash (Bangladesh). The Alibaba affiliate will acquire a 10 percent stake from bKash shareholders Money in Motion, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and International Finance Corporation, with an option to acquire a further 10 percent in the future. The Bangladeshi startup will retain 51 percent of its shares. (DealStreetAsia)

Delivery and logistics

Didi denies alleged food-delivery drivers’ strike (China). Local media in Jiangsu province reported that a group of dissatisfied Didi Waimai drivers went on strike to protest changes in payment rules and rewards – moves apparently made by the company in response to a drop in order numbers. Didi, however, released a statement, saying this “was not a strike” and that “the gathering was over in 20 minutes.” The app handled 334,000 deliveries on its April 9 launch in Wuxi, but drivers are claiming that orders have dropped to 50 percent since then. (TechNode)

Transportation

Photo credit: Get My Parking

Get My Parking grabs Constapark (India). The smart-parking startup acquired the Bangalore-based parking space finder to strengthen its position in the domestic market. The move comes after Get My Parking secured US$3 million in a series A round last September from IAN Fund and Beenext, among others. (Get My Parking)

Pathao valuation soars past US$100 million after latest fundraise (Bangladesh). The motorbike-hailing app also includes courier, food delivery, and car ride-sharing services. Previous investors including Go-Jek, Openspace Ventures, Battery Road Digital Holdings, and the Osiris Group participated in the pre-series B fundraise. Indonesian ride-hailing giant Go-Jek led the Bangladeshi startup’s series A round in November 2017. (Pathao)

Pathao co-founder Hussain M Elius (L) and Go-Jek CEO Nadiem Makarim (R) / Photo credit: Pathao

Mobike co-founder and CEO Davis Wang steps down (China). In a letter to the company, Wang said he is departing to spend more time with his family. Co-founder Hu Weiwei will be the new CEO, while Wang will remain as advisor to the bike-sharing startup. His resignation comes after Chinese on-demand services giant Meituan-Dianping purchased Mobike for US$3.4 billion earlier this month. (TechNode)

RailYatri gets undisclosed series B injection from Omidyar Network (India). The Noida-based startup has developed an app which provides real-time travel information to railway passengers. Existing investors Blume Ventures, Helion Venture Partners, and Nandan Nilekani also participated in the series B round. RailYatri provides information on trains, passenger amenities, seating availability, tickets, and even the speed of the trains, and is moving into other areas including food delivery and hotel bookings. (Inc42)

Social media

Real names and phone numbers required for LinkedIn China users (China). The new rules are in compliance with local regulations, said the professional networking platform. LinkedIn users in the country now get a message requesting such data before they can use the service. In accordance with the Network Security Law, the Cyberspace Administration of China announced last August that content or comments from anonymous accounts in all online communities are prohibited. (TechNode)

Energy and greentech

EcoFlow raises US$4 million, plans future products and expansion (China). The company, which has developed a mobile power station, obtained the funding in a series A round from battery makers Guangzhou Penghui Energy and SCUD Group, as well as ESID, Delian Capital, and Chunjia Assets. EcoFlow plans to launch two new products later this year. (TechCrunch)

Big tech

Xiaomi co-founders step down (China). Exiting the Beijing-based unicorn are Zhou Guangping and Huang Jiangji, who both cited personal reasons for their departure. Zhou was director of Xiaomi’s MiPhone team, while Huang was responsible for the development of messaging app MiTalk. The announcement came from an internal letter penned by company CEO Lei Jun, which also indicated the appointment of former CFO Chew Shou Zi as senior vice president. (TechNode)

Taiwan government asks firms to get permit before doing business with ZTE (Taiwan). The government will ask suppliers to apply for an export permit prior to doing business with the Chinese tech giant. Earlier this month, the US government banned American companies from dealing with ZTE for seven years after it came to light that the Shenzhen-based firm shipped goods to Iran in breach of trade sanctions. According to David Hsu, deputy director general of Taiwan’s Bureau of Foreign Trade, the move is intended to ensure the legality of all business between Taiwanese entities and ZTE. (Reuters)

Investors, incubators, and accelerators

Baidu setting up US$500 million fund to invest in internet and AI companies (China). Named Changcheng Investment Partners, it will be the third tech-focused VC fund Baidu has established. Baidu Ventures was set up in 2016 and raised US$200 million for early stage AI-related projects. In the same year, Baidu Capital raised US$3 billion, focusing on mid- to late-stage deals involving internet firms. (China Money Network)

See: Previous Asia tech news roundups

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from Tech in Asia https://www.techinasia.com/apac-news-30-04-2018
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