Google under fire in India for removing popular apps
Plus India's mega media merger, gig worker pollution hell and US chases China car tech
Welcome back,
Google is in the headlights this week after it pulled a dozen popular apps from the Google Play Store after years of conversations about complying with its payment rules. The trick seemed to work, with a number of the apps returning after finding compliance, but the move did irk the government which bemoaned the potential for app store guardians to kneecap companies.
Elsewhere in India, Reliance and Disney completed their merger to make a $8.5B media giant that will dominate both online and TV media. But that dominance around cricket might be its downfall if antitrust concerns are picked up by the government.
We also have a glimpse of the appalling pollution conditions that gig workers deal with in South Asia; the challenge of America’s newest China tech pursuit: banning car tech; there’s a major report on startups in India; and Twitch’s exit from Korea has left the country’s streamers stranded.
Finally, my former colleague Catherine Shu published a mic drop of a final story on why you shouldn’t ignore Asia tech—it’s a must-read that draws on her 12 years of writing at TechCrunch.
That’s all for this week’s recap email—have a great week,
Jon
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News in focus
Google bans apps for not complying on payments
Google has been in the headlines in India, its largest market based on users, after it removed more than a dozen popular apps from its Play Store. Google said the apps were taken down after three years of conversations with companies that it said were not compliant with its billing policies, despite making changes for other apps stores—aka Apple’s App Store.
The core issue appears to be that the apps were not paying transaction fees when users made transactions through Google’s system.
The impact of losing a spot in Google’s app store is huge and politicians dived in with the IT and Telecom Minister claiming that apps can’t simply be removed. Some in the startup and tech world branded Google “evil” for the move, even though it has always been clearly in its terms of use.
Still, Google’s big move seemed to work as a number of apps were reinstated after complying with Google’s demands. Google had also offered a compromise which enabled the companies to relist the apps with an option to handle payment their own way. Transactions made via Google’s payment system would include a fee for the US firm.
India’s newest media giant arrives
Reliance and Disney have completed their mega merger to create the country’s largest media entity, valued at $8.5B.
The combined entity will be India’s largest media business, with analysts claiming it will own 85% of India’s streaming audience and more than half of the Hindi-speaking TV audience in the country thanks to some 120 channels..
The merger, which is scheduled to complete by March of 2025, will have exclusive digital and broadcast rights to some of the key sporting events — including the next four years of popular cricket tournament IPL, flagship ICC events, domestic Indian cricket, FIFA World Cup, Premier League, and Wimbledon.
But, there is speculation around a potential antitrust probe which could centre around its dominance of cricket, India’s most popular sport which is a major hit with advertisers.
South Asia’s gig workers suffer with pollutions not just poor pay
Rest of World has grown into an outlet doing unique and insightful reporting across Asia and other parts of the world. Its latest reporting project equipped gig workers with pollution monitors. The readings were “off the charts” and gave an insight into the struggles of the job, which isn’t just about poor pay.
Rest of World spoke to 25 gig workers in Lahore, New Delhi, and Dhaka, all of whom reported symptoms that health experts believe are the consequence of routine exposure to carcinogenic pollutants, including eye and throat irritation, persistent coughs, dizziness, and nausea. “I can’t even stand because of how tired I get, and most days I just cough and cough the entire shift,” Sachin Gupta, a 29-year-old Swiggy and Zomato delivery worker in New Delhi, told Rest of World.
The US wants to block China’s car tech—that won’t be easy
The Biden administration is taking steps to investigate and potentially block China-made car tech, but that’s not going to be easy given just how broad that chain is now and the scope of its international presence already.
The a/symmetric newsletter assesses just how deep it runs:
The effects of these policies are already being reflected in data. According to Rhodium Group, China’s new EV overseas foreign direct investment last year hit $28.2 billion, and was overwhelmingly driven by greenfield investments. Or as a top Chinese government agency put it, “More and more Chinese car companies are not stopping at ‘products going overseas,’ but are moving towards ‘manufacturing going overseas.’”
In short, the Chinese government is putting its full weight behind not just exporting cars, but what the vice chairman of China’s top EV think tank calls “whole industrial chain output.”
China
China’s State TV has aired what it claims is the first AI-developed cartoon series—bringing a new angle to its ‘AI arms race with the US’ link
TikTok has shaken up its senior ranks, replacing several senior executives, including the person running its trust and safety unit link
Chinese chip maker Fujian Jinhua has been cleared of spying charges after a US judge ruled that prosecutors failed to prove misappropriated proprietary data from Micron link
Baidu reported modest revenue growth amid signs its pivot to AI may be beginning to pay off link
Applied Materials, which remains under investigation in the US, has received new subpoenas on China shipments to SMIC link
Alibaba’s cloud computing unit cuts prices on 100 core products in China to capture more users involved in AI development projects link
There was a big change at Alibaba as veteran executive Yu Yongfu will step down from leading its Local Services Group, which includes its delivery and mapping units link
China's food delivery market has more than doubled in the last 3 years to reach 1.5T CNY or $208B link
India
Blume Ventures released its Indus Valley Report for 2024 —a must-read on startups and tech in India link
Byju's is unable to pay salaries of its staff amid a nasty dispute with investors, says founder Raveendran who investors want out of the company link
Shadowfax, one of the largest logistics service providers to hyper-local and on-demand delivery businesses in India, raised $100M link
Payments provider Mswipe raised $20M in what is an ongoing funding round link
Media startup Dailyhunt is reportedly in talks to acquire social network startup Koo which has struggled to raise amind a funding crunch link
India gave the go-ahead to construction of three semiconductor plants worth 1.26T INR ($15.2B) by firms including Tata Group and CG Power link
The corporate affairs ministry is probing Chinese companies that are linked to loan apps with the investigations now at an advanced stages link
Southeast Asia
GoTo and TikTok say they will be compliant with Indonesia's trade regulation in the next two months, in response to concerns that their tie-in continues to violate laws on e-commerce on social media link
SpaceX's talks with Vietnam over Starlink on hold, sources say link
Singaporean equity management platform Qapita raises $17.2M from East Ventures, MassMutual Ventures Southeast Asia and Cercano Management link
Rest of Asia
Taiko raises $37M to build scaling solutions for crypto that are decentralised link
A Japan government-backed research group developing semiconductors will partner with US startup Tenstorrent on the design of its first advanced AI chip link
Coupang’s share price jumped after South Korea’s largest online retailer reported its fastest revenue growth since 2021 beating analyst expectations link
Hong Kong tis preparing to roll out a regulatory sandbox for stablecoin issuers, according to the financial secretary link
Alibaba-owned South Asian e-commerce unit Daraz will make a new round of lay-offs link
Twitch’s decision to exit South Korea, due to the cost of business due to local laws on data charges, has left the country’s streamers stuck without a direct replacement, particularly those with an international audience link
Taiwan’s TSMC promoted two veterans to share COO role as world’s largest contract chipmaker readies succession plan link
North Korean hackers exploited a previously unknown vulnerability in a Windows security feature, allowing them to gain the highest level of access to targeted systems. link