Asia gets two more unicorns and Binance goes the regulation route
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Asia gets two more unicorns and Binance goes the regulation route
There's also a lot of Chinese espionage stories, a Grab co-founder is leaving and more
Welcome back,
For a so-called quiet period, there’s certainly a lot happening in Asia tech—especially over the last week. Crypto, hacking, dramatic withdraws, AI bots, even a couple of billion-dollar funding rounds… and that’s just the intro.
I’ll keep it short and sweet this week so you can get to the news.
See you again in your inbox next Monday.
Jon
News in focus
Asia’s newest unicorns show importance of local
The global tech funding scene is going through a downturn but that didn’t stop two startups in Southeast Asia reaching the billion-dollar valuation mark.
First of all, before anyone mistakes this as trumpeting funding, I want to acknowledge that becoming a unicorn in itself is a fairly meaningless milestone—it isn’t exactly ‘mo’ money, mo’ problems’ but it brings pressure and expectation. However, these deals are notable for a couple of reasons:
I wrote back in April when this round was rumoured that eFishery is a startup you can’t help but admire because it shows good ideas and companies aren’t limited to Silicon Valley or other traditional startup meccas. Its business helps fish farmers do their job and increase yield—it was born in Indonesia and has global relevance… it also started from very humble beginnings.
Go is an Uber rival that was only started in 2020 and, unlike its rivals—which include China’s Didi and even an effort from Sony—it works with licensed taxi operators and has a dominant 70% market share. It shows that a local approach to a global problem often wins out. Admittedly, it isn’t profitable but its CEO claims it could be if needed. Uber, for example, lost $9B last year despite cutbacks and other efforts to reduce burn.
Binance (finally) taking regulatory route
There’s yet more revelations about Binance after a Reuters report claimed the cryptocurrency exchange commingled customer funds with company revenue in 2020 and 2021. Doing so—which Binance has pushed back on (without seemingly making a full denial—would be in breach of US financial rules that require customer money to be kept separate.) And, obviously, draw parallels with FTX which commingled funds and went bust.
Against that backdrop, it was interesting to see two Binance developments which are very much focused on regulatory compliance:
In Thailand: Binance gained a license to operate its joint venture with Gulf Energy (a petroleum firm, no less) which is planned to launch before the end of the year
In Japan: Binance announced it would create a new service that’s fully compliant with local regulations—it plans to launch the new platform in the summer with more details soon
The firm is clearly trying to be more compliant now—it recently exited Canada where it claimed regulation was too stringent—but journalists keep digging up stories on the bodies it buried in the past.
Chinese hacking revelations
A big week for those interested in international espionage:
Reuters revealed that Chinese hackers targeted Kenya's government in a widespread, years-long series of digital intrusions against key ministries and state institutions link
The Record reported that a state-sponsored Chinese hacking group had compromised critical infrastructure in Guam and been been collecting military intelligence from US companies for at least two years, according to cybersecurity sleuths at Microsoft
The Guam situation “set off alarms because Guam would be a centerpiece of any US military response to a move against Taiwan,” as the New York Times explained
China
TikTok has restructured its ecommerce business in an effort to refocus on big markets like the UK and US after finding it tough to recreate the success of livestream shopping outside of China link
TikTok’s CEO says that Oracle has begun reviewing its source code link
Meanwhile, TikTok is testing an in-app AI chatbot called ‘Tako’—copying a move already made by Snap link
Fast-fashion firm Shein is said to be planning to open a Mexico-based factory using its recent $2B fundraising—the expansion is part of a plan to be ready for a US IPO link
Alibaba Cloud is reportedly downsizing by cutting 7% of staff (thousands of workers) ahead of its planned IPO link
The company, however, denied the report and claimed that the Alibaba Group overall will add 15,000 staff to its roster this year link
Food delivery giant Meituan is the latest to see a post-Covid bump after it reported 27% annual revenue growth link
Amazon is closing its (fairly irrelevant) app store in China link
More trouble for Xiaomi as Q1 revenue fell 18.9% on account of stalling demand for smartphones worldwide link
US commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said America “won’t tolerate” the recent decision by Chinese authorities to ban chips by Micron Technology in some critical sectors link
Meanwhile, Nvidia chief Jensen Huang has warned that the US tech industry is at risk of “enormous damage” from the escalating battle over chips between Washington and Beijing link
Hong Kong
Hong Kong will begin to allow retail customers to buy, sell and own cryptocurrency assets from June 1st—this is one to watch out for since most countries are tightening control in comparison link
ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming has set up an investment fund in Hong Kong link
Taiwan
TSMC is in talks for German subsidies that could cover half of its $10.7B fab to be built in the country link
India
Apple and its lead suppliers may be doubling down on India, but one Apple supplier, Wistron, is leaving the country after struggling to maintain culture after scaling its business. The firm is selling its assembly unit, focused on iPhones, to Indian conglomerate Tata—which is planning to become a supply partner for Apple’s next iPhone model. An exit will bring to an end more than 15 years of Wistron’s business in India, with its estimated 12,000 staff likely shifting over to Tata once a deal is completed link
The Wistron deal looks like a wedge to allow Tata to make a bigger play in electronics, including a semiconductor business with reports suggesting the firm is scouting for land for development link
Chalo raises $45M more to digitize bus commutes link
PhonePe has expanded its newest funding round to $850M link
Infinite Uptime, an industrial IoT startup that predicts maintenance solutions for machinery, raised $18.85M in an ongoing funding round led by Tiger Global link
JioMart, Reliance Retail’s online shopping platform, has laid off over 1,000 employees and plans to cut as many as 9,900 more roles over the coming weeks link
Matrix Partners expands its new India fund to $525M link
Amazon backed kids fashion brand Hopscotch in a $20M funding round link
Southeast Asia
Grab co-founder Hooi Ling Tan (below) is stepping down from her operational roles by the end of the year link
Chinese app factory Newborn Town has designs on Southeast Asia with many smaller platforms, flipping the TikTok model link
Singapore-based BandLab Technologies raised $25M at a $415M valuation with returning investor Cercano Management leading the round which included Prosus Ventures link
Skorlife, which provides transparency around credit scoring in Indonesia, raised $4M link
Vietnam is pressuring TikTok to censor more content or face a ban—this feels very much like the situation Facebook, YouTube and others have faced in the country link
Japan
China’s semiconductor industry fears that Japanese curbs on exports of crucial chip-making equipment will be so broad that they risk hitting its production of lower-grade silicon link
South Korea
Disgraced Terra/Luna co-founder Do Kwon’s bail has been revoked by a Montenegro court link
South Korea will avoid capitalizing on China’s ban on a US chipmaker, seeing the move by Beijing as an attempt to drive a wedge between Seoul and Washington link
Naver plans to target foreign governments with its latest ChatGPT-like AI model link
North Korea
US government has targeted North Korea’s illicit IT workforce with new sanctions link
Elsewhere in Asia
How Nepal’s bureaucracy is hurting its startup industry link
Asia's internet cable projects have been delayed by South China Sea tensions link
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