Hong Kong. Looking north-westwards, towards Lantau Island. Photo credit: yuliufu / 123RF.

The big Asia-Pacific stories of the day were Razer’s much anticipated IPO, and confirmation that Uber has accepted SoftBank’s terms for a potential investment deal worth as much as US$10 billion.

Consumer tech

Razer raises US$528 million in impressive Hong kong debut (Singapore/Hong Kong). Shares in the US-Singaporean company, which makes gaming peripherals and unveiled its first smartphone last earlier this month, gained as much as 42% on their opening price after today’s oversubscribed listing. Razer CEO Tan Min-Liang is expected to join the billionaire club as a result of the IPO.  (Tech in Asia)

Razer Phone. Photo credit: Razer.

Transportation

Uber approves SoftBank buy-in (Japan). The US ride-hailing company confirmed that it has agreed to terms of an investment deal worth a possible US$10 billion with the Japanese company, which also backs Uber’s regional rivals Didi, Grab, and Ola. However, SoftBank could still walk away from the deal if its minimum stock target cannot be met. (Reuters)

Fintech

Crypto exchange Quoine raises US$105 million via ICO (Japan). The cryptocurrency exchange operator, which has bases in both Japan and Singapore, sold 350 million of its QASH coins – the equivalent of 350,000 ether or US$105 million, making it one of the largest token sales ever held. (DealStreetAsia)

Chief business development officer Chrystie Dao-Szabo and chief executive officer Ethan Dobson, iPaymy’s co-founders. Photo credit: iPaymy.

US$1 million seed funding for iPaymy (Singapore). The startup – which provides a platform that allows small businesses to pay operational expenses using their credit cards – raised the funds from Beenext and GC Incubation. It will use the money for product development, marketing and commercial strategy, and potential expansion to new markets. (Tech in Asia)

Ecommerce

Alibaba breaks Singles Day record (China). Consumers spent a record US$25.3 billion on the Chinese company’s online marketplaces on what has become the country’s biggest shopping day. Its rival JD saw another US$19.1 billion of spending. (Tech in Asia)

This post Asia tech news roundup – Nov 13 appeared first on Tech in Asia.

Illustration by Tech in Asia, from photo by Softbank.

Uber’s warring board members have finally agreed to terms for an investment by SoftBank that could be worth US$10 billion. But the Japanese giant could still walk away from the deal if its target for acquiring a minimum percentage of Uber stock is not met.

We are interested in Uber but the final deal will depend on the tender price and a minimum percentage shareholding for SoftBank.

“After a long and arduous process of several months, it looks like Uber and its shareholders have agreed to commence with a tender process and engage with SoftBank. By no means is our investment decided. We are interested in Uber but the final deal will depend on the tender price and a minimum percentage shareholding for SoftBank,” says Rajeev Misra, CEO of SoftBank Investment Advisors, in a statement released today.

The Japanese giant will lead an investment of US$1 billion in fresh stock at Uber’s current valuation of US$68 billion, reported The New York Times citing unnamed sources. SoftBank will then set a price to buy existing shares at a lower valuation through a tender process over the next month. It can still walk away from the deal if it does not reach a target of owning 14 percent of Uber shares, according to the NYT sources.

“We’ve entered into an agreement with a consortium led by SoftBank and Dragoneer on a potential investment,” an Uber spokesman confirmed.

Uber’s board had agreed to a change in governance structure to pave the way for the SoftBank deal over a month ago. But a tussle between co-founder Travis Kalanick and investor Benchmark had put the deal in limbo. Last week, SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son had floated a possible investment in rival Lyft instead.

This deal would make SoftBank a major investor in Uber as well as its Asian ride-hailing counterparts Didi, Ola, and Grab. The Japanese giant will thus be betting on ride-hailing tech being the winner, whichever company comes out on top in the end.

See: What SoftBank’s $10b investment in Uber means for its battle with Ola in India

If the deal goes through, it could end the boardroom battle between co-founder Travis Kalanick and early investor Benchmark that has bogged down Uber. But there can still be a slip between the cup and the lip.

Benchmark had initially wanted to retain certain shareholder rights from its Uber stock but agreed to waive them, according to NYT. It has also agreed not to prop up the share price during the tender process when SoftBank acquires Uber stock. And a lawsuit against Kalanick would be dropped after the tender process.

The completion of the deal will strengthen the position of new CEO Dara Khosrowshahi who had spoken out earlier, criticizing Kalanick’s moves behind his back to control the board.

• This article has been updated to include a statement from SoftBank.

This post Uber board finally agrees to terms of $10b deal with SoftBank, but conditions apply appeared first on Tech in Asia.

Photo credit: Daniel Chen / Unsplash.

In the midst of China’s US$1.2 trillion online spending spree this year, there’s a particular niche that’s growing quickly – cross-border shopping.

Nearly a quarter of China’s online shoppers will buy at least one thing this year from an overseas site or seller, says an Emarketer report out today.

“The factors fueling the trend toward greater cross-border shopping are nothing new, as the average Chinese consumer is now more tech savvy, more exposed to foreign brands through overseas travel and the internet and, crucially, more willing to spend,” says Shelleen Shum, Emarketer senior forecasting analyst.

They’re searching for items that they cannot find in the country – or seeking out sweeter prices, better quality items, or dodging the fakes that plague some sites.

That growing enthusiasm translates into a record US$100 billion in cross-border ecommerce purchases this year – rising to an anticipated US$144 billion by 2021. Average spend per shopper in 2017: US$882.

From Alaskan salmon to Korean makeup to freshly dropped limited-edition sneakers, China’s shoppers are using a mix of overseas ecommerce stores and local ones that are increasingly attracting merchants around the world.

Both Alibaba and JD, China’s top online shopping destinations, have been pushing in recent years to get overseas brands and sellers of all sizes to sign up and sell direct to Chinese consumers without the need to establish a business entity in the country. That has “made it easier for shoppers to access a wide variety of overseas products on a platform they are familiar with,” Emarketer adds.

During last weekend’s Singles Day, when Alibaba’s shoppers spent US$25 billion in pursuit of special discounts, the top five countries selling to China were – in descending order – Japan, the US, Australia, Germany, and South Korea.

Updated three hours after publishing: Added in sentence about Singles Day.

See: Chinese ecommerce giant shows off its first ‘robot warehouse’

This post China’s $100b online shopping niche appeared first on Tech in Asia.

This week’s roundup features the latest funding for a well-known biz card digitizing company and the newest in AR gaming. Big investors are also in the spotlight – Goldman, Draper Nexus, SMBC, and more.

Full details below:

Meleap

Meleap has developed HADO, an AR gaming program. Teams are composed of three players and use an AR headset as well as an armband sensor to transport them into the game. Hado, which has 25 stores in nine countries, will hold the Hado World Cup at Tokyo Tower on December 3.

Meleap secured approximately US$2.6 million in its series A round from SMBC VC, Incubate Fund, and DBJ Capital. With these funds, the company is looking to expand into Los Angeles and Kuala Lumpur. It’s also developing a new AR game that’s projected to be released next year.

Hideout Club

For US$13 a month, Hideout Club provides its members with one free drink a day from approximately 80 participating bars located in the heart of Tokyo. The site originally started out as a space for whiskey enthusiasts. An an ios app was added in October 2017 to provide its 13,000 members with their free drinks.

Hideout Club recently secured approximately US$265,000 in its pre-seed/seed round. Investors include DG Incubation, Future Venture Capital, and Dai-ichi Kangyo Credit Cooperative, among others.

Sansan

Sansan is a cloud-based business card digitization system that Sansan allows companies to store their contacts in a database that can be shared internally and accessed from anywhere. Sansan also has an app called Eight that is targeted towards individuals. Eight’s free service allows individuals to take photos of their business cards and create their own personal contact database.

Sansan received US$17.6 million from Goldman Sachs, bringing its total disclosed funding to US$98 million. Sansan is looking to use part of its new funding to expand into India.

Refcome

Previously called Combinator, Refcome is a cloud-based reference hiring system that enables employees to recommend and refer friends and others to positions within their company. Within a year, Refcome has increased the amount of registered employees tenfold and now has 30,000 registered users. The company also recently developed Refcome Enable, a product that allows companies to track employee engagement through surveys.

Refcome received about US$1.8 million in funding from some of the biggest SaaS investors in Japan: DraperNexus, Beenext, ANRI, and Itochu Technology Ventures.

D Free

Triple W – the maker of D Free, a wearable device that gives users warnings about their bowel movements – has just raised a pre-series B round of approximately US$5 million from Nissei Capital and Hon Hai Investors partner fund. While a poop-alerting device is not exactly the sexiest gadget, it has a target market: the ageing Japanese population.

Triple W previously raised their series A of US$4 million in 2016.

Grooves

Social recruiting platform Grooves recently launched SkillShift, a service that connects people looking for a side job or opportunities in non-urban areas. Grooves also offers Forkwell, an IT engineer recruiting platform, and Crowd Agent, a service that connects non-engineer job seekers to employers.

The company raised around US$500,000 from Gogin Capital and got an undisclosed amount of funding from Iwagin Jigyo Souzou Capital on November 8.

This post 6 rising startups in Japan appeared first on Tech in Asia.

The summer 2017 cohort of Microsoft’s India accelerator in Bengaluru. Photo credit: Microsoft Accelerator.

Active.ai has raised US$8.25 million in a series A round co-led by Vertex Ventures, CreditEase, and Dream Incubator, it announced today.

Existing investors IDG Ventures India and Kalaari Capital also participated in the funding.

Vani Kola, managing director at Kalaari Capital and a board member at Active.ai, said in a statement that the capital will fuel the startup’s continued R&D efforts, as well as its plans for expansion to other countries.

Active.ai co-founder and CEO Ravi Shankar added that the investment will also be used to grow the company’s technical team.

Headquartered in Singapore with an R&D base in Bengaluru, Active.ai is one of a large number of startups in the region that has developed a customer service chatbot.

In its case, the focus is on serving banks and financial institutions. Active.ai’s chatbots are powered by its artificial intelligence (AI) engine named Triniti, which is capable of natural language processing and generation.

The platform allows banks to respond to queries or complaints sent by customers through messaging apps such as Facebook Messenger and Line. A Triniti-powered chatbot can then engage in a conversation with those customers to try to solve their queries – saving the bank time, money, and manpower, and allowing it deploy its human employees to higher-level tasks.

Beyond chatbots, the startup is also aiming to apply its AI engine to channels such as voice calls, text messaging, and virtual reality, so that banks can automate more of their customer-facing operations.

Active.ai’s last funding round was a US$3 million investment from Kalaari and IDG about a year ago. The startup was selected to join Microsoft’s India accelerator program earlier this year.

This post Chatbot for banks developer Active.ai raises over $8m in series A round appeared first on Tech in Asia.

Photo credit: Tech in Asia.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) continues bringing finance and technology closer together, making sure that Singapore’s financial industry doesn’t miss the fintech train.

One in three digitally active people considering themselves regular fintech users.

Today’s announcements at the second annual Fintech Festival aim to show it’s still keeping up just fine: a US$20 million grant for artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics projects, a dedicated fintech hub in the middle of Singapore’s business district, new cyber security and cross-border payments initiatives are some of the ways MAS is making Singapore’s finance industry tech-ready.

MAS managing director Ravi Menon took the stage on Tuesday to reflect on the state of fintech. Financial technology services are on the cusp of mainstream adoption, he said, with one in three digitally active people considering themselves regular fintech users, according to Ernst & Young.

In Singapore, more than 400 fintech startups have set up shop. And finance execs can now “carry on an intelligent conversation about blockchains without looking at their notes – this is a big change from just two years ago,” Menon said.

Among the initiatives MAS is setting up to take advantage of this tailwind are:

• A new US$20 million grant for AI and data analytics projects. Part of the US$165 million Financial Sector Technology and Innovation Scheme, the grant is meant to support the adoption and integration of AI and data analytics systems in financial institutions as well as training personnel in these areas. The scheme has already funded fintech startups like SoCash.

• A cross-border platform for trade finance based on distributed ledger technology (otherwise known as the blockchain). MAS hopes to have the project, called Global Trade Connectivity Network, up and running by early 2019. It’s being jointly developed by MAS and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority to allow snappy transfer of digital documents and data between the two territories.

• Boosting cyber security initiatives. This includes the establishment of the Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center, which will do what it says on the tin: help financial institutions share cyber threat data and coordinate on defense and response. MAS is also partnering with the Association of Banks in Singapore to lay down risk management guidelines including for red-teaming – a sneak invasion test on a financial institution’s live online system.

• Making it easy to send money from Singapore to Thailand and vice versa through mobile payments. MAS and the Bank of Thailand have linked Singapore’s PayNow mobile payments system with Thai counterpart PromptPay. This allows for fast and safe cross-border payments between the two countries using just a mobile phone number.

• A fintech innovation hub at Singapore’s business district. The building at 80 Robinson Road is currently home to fintech hub Lattice80, which occupies two floors. MAS announced the entire building will be devoted to fintech startups, giving them 100,000 square feet of space. The building will be rebranded to 80RR to reflect its new hip fintech identity.

• For cross-border payments, MAS will also partner with the Bank of Canada to collaborate on Project Ubin, the central bank’s initiative to enable money transfers using blockchain tech. MAS announced a successful first trial of the project early this year. More recently, the authority successfully produced three software prototypes for decentralized payments, and plans to release the source code to developers. MAS produced a report on this second phase of the project, available here (PDF link).

• MAS is also streamlining the way it’s collecting data from financial institutions, aiming to make all its data requests machine readable; working with banks in Singapore and abroad to come up with a unified know-your-customer application; and partnering with the World Bank to create the ASEAN Financial Innovation Network, where fintech startups can focus on financial inclusion for unbanked people in Southeast Asia.

See: Here’s how Singapore’s central bank is bringing fintech to the real world

This post Singapore’s central bank to pour $20m into AI and data as it pushes fintech growth appeared first on Tech in Asia.

Hmlet’s co-founders – CEO Yoan Kamalski (L) and MD Zenos Schmickrath (R). Photo credit: Hmlet.

Co-working spaces have been one of the startup ecosystem boom stories of the past couple of years. Could co-living spaces be the next one?

Singapore-based Hmlet would certainly like that to be the case. The startup – which designs and manages shared, short-term accommodation aimed primarily at young tech professionals – has just raised US$1.5 million in seed funding.

Founded last year, Hmlet leases properties from landlords and real estate firms in the city centers of Singapore and Tokyo and refurbishes them to maximize living space. It then sub-lets apartments and rooms in those properties to tenants on a month-by-month basis.

It figures that such an arrangement suits many workers in the tech industry, who tend to lead a particularly mobile existence, often moving cities at the drop of a hat to chase the latest job opportunities.

A new type of real estate

Co-living – like co-working – is nothing new, admits Hmlet co-founder and CEO Yoan Kamalski. Besides the house-share experiences that many urbanites might have had in their university days, Kamalski tells Tech in Asia that in Japan – where Hmlet plans to expand beyond Tokyo – there is another precedent.

“Historically, Japan went through share-housing due to the economics of Tokyo and other big Japanese cities,” he explains. “With low salaries and costly accommodation, people had no choice but to live together in order to afford the right place to call home.”

Hmlet is targeting cities with similar characteristics. Six weeks ago, it opened its latest co-living space in Singapore – a multi-storey block in the Joo Chiat neighborhood which is already 95 percent occupied.

Hmlet’s new co-living space in Joo Chiat, Singapore. Photo credit: Hmlet.

Following its seed round, the startup wants to open spaces in Hong Kong and Osaka, in addition to expanding its presence in Singapore and the Japanese capital. It will also invest some of its funding into app development.

Kamalski says there is more to the “co-living space” concept than affordability, however. Living in shared accommodation not only reduces rent for would-be tenants, it also makes it easier for them to make friends and network while most of their waking hours are dedicated to working and career-building.

“People are lonely; we are not only looking for an affordable place to live, but somewhere that can empower us, somewhere with a community that is curated and brings our greater selves out,” he says. “We want a place that is flexible, yet makes us feel like we’re at home within the first night we move in.”

The co-living space approach “creates a new type of real estate that allows people to match their lifestyle, finances, and their desire to connect with people who may change their lives,” he adds.

Similar accommodation is being offered by WeLive in the US and The Collective in the UK.

Domestic harmony

Tech pros that are interested in joining a Hmlet-curated houseshare apply for membership through an online form. Along with providing personal details and completing a personality assessment, they can tell the startup what type of room they are looking for, the length of their stay, how much rent they are willing to pay, and how many people they want to share with.

Hmlet also generates revenue by offering a range of on-demand services.

Hmlet uses this information to find good matches between the applicant and its existing members, in order to set up as harmonious a house-share as possible. Current members and Hmlet community managers will show the applicant around the spaces that best suit their requirements and personality.

The shortest rental contracts offered by Hmlet in Singapore are for three months; in Tokyo, one-month tenancies are an option.

In addition to taking a cut of the rent, Hmlet also generates revenue by offering a range of on-demand services to tenants. These include things like managing utility billing and cleaning, as well as work and lifestyle-focused offerings such as curated events and communal activities.

The seed round was led by Aurum Investments, a VC unit of Singaporean construction and civil engineering company Woh Hup. Shared workspace operator Collision8 is another Woh Hup subsidiary.

Kamalski says that Hmlet is aiming to close its next funding round in the next 12 to 18 months.

This post Tech workers need lower rents and more friends. These guys help with both appeared first on Tech in Asia.

Downtown Singapore. Photo credit: ronniechua / 123RF.

Active.ai, EasyRewardz, and Hmlet were among the day’s funding recipients, while Singapore’s central bank announced a big investment in artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics technologies.

Artificial intelligence

Active.ai scores US$8.25 million in series A round (Singapore). Vertex Ventures, CreditEase, and Dream Incubator co-led the investment in the startup, which develops AI-driven chatbots for banks’ customer engagement operations. (Tech in Asia)

Fintech

Central bank commits US$20 million to AI and data analytics projects (Singapore). The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is offering the grant as part of its US$165 million Financial Sector Technology and Innovation Scheme, to support the adoption of the technologies in banks and financial institutions. Opening the international Fintech Festival in Singapore today, MAS officials also announced new initiatives aimed at enhancing cyber security, as well as partnerships with several foreign counterparts. (Tech in Asia)

Ecommerce

EasyRewardz closes US$2 million series A round (India). The platform allows users to keep track of their rewards from loyalty schemes run by airlines, hotels, and shops, all in one place. TransContinental Venture Fund led the round, with existing angel investors Jitendra Gupta and Vinay Chatlani returning. (The Economic Times)

Real estate

“Co-living space” operator Hmlet gets US$1.5 million seed funding (Singapore). The company provides short-term rentals in shared accommodation aimed primarily at tech startup workers. Woh Hup affiliate Aurum Investments led the round. (Tech in Asia)

Hmlet’s new co-living space in Joo Chiat, Singapore. Photo credit: Hmlet.

Big tech

Amazon sells its Chinese cloud services hardware to local player (China). The US company has sold physical assets in China relating to its Amazon Web Services (AWS) business to its local partner Sinnet for US$301.2 million. Chinese regulators have been tightening rules on foreign-owned data storage services in the country. Amazon said its move is an effort to comply with new regulations, though it stressed it has not exited the Chinese market and still owns the intellectual property relating to AWS on a worldwide basis. (Reuters)

Investors, incubators, and accelerators

Fenox Venture Capital reveals Sichuan plans (China). The US VC firm is setting up a startup incubator in Chengdu, Sichuan, after obtaining a license – and financial backing – from the Chinese government. Fenox CEO Anis Uzzaman said the incubator will largely mirror its Indonesia program, GnB Accelerator, under which participating  startups receive US$50,000 in funding in exchange for 10 percent equity. (e27)

MDI Ventures backs US space startup (Indonesia). MDI, the VC arm of Indonesian telco Telkom, joined the US$3.2 million seed investment in Loft Orbital, which buys satellites and rents out space onboard them to third-party companies to mount sensors. (CNBC)

A Terrafugia flying car prototype at the New York International Auto Show. Photo credit: IFCAR.

Geely buys US flying car startup (China). The Zhejiang-based auto giant has agreed to acquire Terrafugia, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology spin-out that is aiming to have its Transition flying car in production within two years. Financial details were not disclosed. Geely compatriot Tencent led a US$90 million series B round investment in German flying car startup Lilium two months ago. (China Money Network)

This post Asia tech news roundup – Nov 14 appeared first on Tech in Asia.

Working from home in the isolated Himalayan nation of Nepal, these young workers are doing tasks that help improve technology for major firms including Microsoft and General Motors.

This post Video: Meet the millennials who are the hidden web workers of Nepal appeared first on Tech in Asia.

Photo credit: Pixabay.

The news (extracted from Economic Times):

• Amazon has invested US$444 million in Amazon Seller Services – its ecommerce marketplace in India. With this fresh capital injection, the total investment in Amazon Seller Services stands at US$2.6 billion.
• “As India’s largest and fastest growing ecommerce player, and with a long-term commitment to make ecommerce a habit for Indian customers, we continue to invest in the necessary technology and infrastructure to grow the entire ecosystem,” Amazon India spokesperson said in a statement shared with Tech in Asia.
• Jeff Bezos committed US$5 billion to Amazon India last year.

Why it matters:

• Amazon has been building up rapidly in India with localized strategies, investing heavily in infrastructure, logistics, and customer experience. The latest investment will give it more teeth in its battle with Indian rival Flipkart.
• Flipkart has invested US$1.3 billion in its marketplace so far, half of what Amazon has invested.
• But Flipkart has had two mega funding rounds earlier this year from investors including SoftBank, Tencent, and Microsoft. It has over US$4 billion in its balance sheet, yet to be deployed.

This post Brief: Amazon invests more in its Indian marketplace, twice as much as Flipkart so far appeared first on Tech in Asia.

Image credit: Jo Sau

SMRT, Singapore’s rail operator, is in crisis mode. Things just got worse when a train collision left dozens of commuters injured.

Before this, it experienced a flooding, possible internal fraud, a fatal workplace accident, and not to mention a litany of breakdowns.

SMRT CEO Desmond Kuek, an army general who took the helm in 2012 after the company experienced massive disruptions the year before, attributes the problems to “deep-seated cultural issues.”

But you don’t need half a decade to fix a company’s culture, if you identify problems early enough. Consider Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella, who engineered a successful change in the software giant’s culture within three years.

Microsoft has about 10 times the number of employees of SMRT.

The SMRT debacle, coupled with Uber’s long line of public failures culminating in the ouster of founder and CEO Travis Kalanick, shows one thing: the best form of crisis management is prevention.

Cultural debt

In the technology industry, we talk of “technical debt” – where convenient but sub-optimal software fixes result in an unstable product that could cause all kinds of problems for users down the road.

But do not ignore cultural debt. After all, people maintain systems, as SMRT learned the hard way. A broken culture won’t just break a software. It puts the entire business at risk.

It’s the boiling frog syndrome. Broken processes and cultural problems – such as a tolerance for sloppy work or sexual harassment – will cause internal problems and resentment. They may not seem serious, and are therefore ignored.

But in the age of social media and virality, the butterfly effect looms large. As these problems fester, one incident could turn your cultural debt into a full-blown crisis. Private problems become public as people feel emboldened to speak out against you.

A public letter from an ex-Uber employee was all it took to snowball into the #metoo movement that’s affecting not just the tech industry, but now Hollywood. Dozens of powerful executives have been given the boot.

For managers and bosses everywhere, the lesson is clear. Prioritize your company’s culture in all your processes, from hiring to quality control. Update your cultural values if needed; it’s not an empty corporate exercise.

It is better to nip problems in the bud before they haunt you.

This post Opinion: Fix your company culture before it becomes a full-blown crisis appeared first on Tech in Asia.

If you’re thinking of switching up your career, you’ve come to the right place! Each week, Tech in Asia Jobs will be bringing you 10 of the most popular jobs around Asia, from a good mix of companies of all sizes.

So get your resumes and job profiles ready, and apply away (:

Singapore

1. DevOps Engineer, LeadIQ

Photo credit: LeadIQ.

LeadIQ is a lead capture tool that enables its users to find prospects, discover emails and contact info of potential customers online.

They are looking for a DevOps Engineer who can work cross-functional team, has ownership of a product, and be able to juggle multiple projects. The engineer will write scale-ready code, take ownership of a product feature and continue to innovate every step of the way.

2. Full Stack Software Developer, SmartClean Technologies

SmartClean Technologies is an end-to-end IoT and AI solution for Facility Managers to standardize cleaning operations and ensure clean public toilets at all times.

They are looking for a highly technical full stack developer with hands-on experience who is looking to revolutionize predictive cleaning.

3. Senior UI/UX Designer, PigeonLab

PigeonLab Team Photo credit: PigeonLab.

PigeonLab is the company behind Pigeonhole Live, an interactive audience engagement platform for live conferences, town halls and seminar events that enables crowdsourced Q&A, real-time polls and feedback surveys.

They are looking for senior UI/UX designer who has experience designing experiences for a wide range of audiences with the goal of engaging interactivity and driving conversation.

Indonesia

4. Android Developer, Prelo

Photo credit: Prelo.

Prelo is a peer-to-peer marketplace that assures secure transactions and quality products.

They are looking for an autonomous android developer who can create a Prelo app for the Android operating system, build a library of reusable code and perform bug fixes.

5. Account Executive, Socialbuzz.com

SociaBuzz is an Influencer Marketing Platform connecting advertisers (brands, agencies & businesses) with Social Media Influencers to create scalable word-of-mouth marketing campaigns in social media.

They are looking for an accounts executive who has good interpersonal, communication and presentation skills who has a keen interest in influencer marketing.

6. Event and Promotion Specialist, Jakmall

Photo credit: Jakmall.

Jakmall is an online marketplace that sells electronics, gadgets, home appliances, toys, etc.

They are looking for an organized event and promotion specialist who can develop buzzy events and promotions online.

Malaysia

7. iOS Engineer, Sportify

Photo credit: Sportify.

Sportify is a single platform for sport players to connect with each other, create/join a game, and make bookings in just a few taps.

They are looking for a engineer who can create seamless iOS applications.

8. Android Developer, SelfDrvn Enterprise

Photo credit: SelfDrvn Enterprise.

SelfDrvn makes B2B workplace engagement SaaS platform to help companies and co-workers better engage with each other, through gamification, big data, and analytics.

They are looking for an Android Developer who can design and build applications and ensure performance, quality and responsiveness.

9. Partnerships Manager, Snapask

PigeonLab Team Photo credit: Snapask.

Snapask provides instant on-demand academic support, made possible by team of experienced tutors.

They are looking for an ambitious, independent Partnerships Manager to source, develop and grow relationships with Malaysian education partners.

Hong Kong

10. Marketing Analyst, Easyship

Photo credit: Easyship.

Easyship is a one-stop solution for all ecommerce sellers fulfillment needs with their algorithm and smart in-house logistics solution on demand.

They are looking for a marketing analyst who can scale up and be a master of the digital domain.

This listicle is brought to you by the Tech in Asia Jobs team. Don’t see a job you’re interested in? Search for 4,000+ more jobs here. Hiring? Post a job for free here. Still trying to fill a challenging position? Let us help here.

This post 10 fresh tech and startup jobs in Asia this week: LeadIQ, Jakmall, Easyship appeared first on Tech in Asia.

On November 1 & 2, Tech in Asia Jakarta hosted 5,579 entrepreneurs, investors, developers, industry experts and other members of the tech community for two days of insightful sessions and networking.

The Main Stage was definitely one of the most intriguing, where panel discussions took place and we picked the brains of industry leaders. Lazada shared three Cs the company is focusing on to win the Southeast Asia market, and Bukalapak shared about their competitive edge over foreign ecommerce companies.

Social media was also abuzz with our attendees sharing their key takeaways from our stage sessions.

Missed out on the conference? Here’s a nifty overview to get you up-to-date on what took place, courtesy of our friends at Piktochart.

(Click to view enlarged image)

Up next: Tech in Asia Singapore 2018

Thank you once again to all our attendees, volunteers, speakers, sponsors and partners, who have made this conference a huge success! We’ll surely be back bigger and stronger next year.

Meanwhile, mark your calendars for 15 & 16 May 2018 and join us at Tech in Asia Singapore. We’ve got an early bird unbeatable deal: buy one ticket, and get another free! Simply fill in your details below, and your unique 1-for-1 code will be sent to your email when ticket sales start in mid-January.

This post Tech in Asia Jakarta 2017 by the numbers (INFOGRAPHIC) appeared first on Tech in Asia.

This robot army, created by Chinese online shopping titan Alibaba, has created a highly automated warehouse where few staff are needed to handle a million packages per day.

See: Alibaba smashes Singles Day record as shopping spree hits $25 billion

This post Video: In China, robots are speeding up online shopping appeared first on Tech in Asia.

Chaoyang, Beijing. Photo credit: sepavo / 123RF.

A new unicorn is born in China, while two of the country’s other billion-dollar startups got funding from a US tech giant.

Media

Yidian Zixun joins the unicorn club (China). The personalized news app has closed a US$112.1 million funding round led by Long De Cheng Zhang Culture Communication, with a post-money valuation of over US$1 billion. The company’s main competitor is Toutiao, which is valued at US$20 billion, making it China’s fifth-largest unicorn. (China Money Network)

Singaporean gaming company iCandy acquires 318 titles from Animoca Brands (Singapore/Hong Kong). The US$3.76 million cash and equity deal gives iCandy access to Animoca’s reported user base of 325 million gamers. Animoca has struggled with cash burn over the past year, as well as a drop in monthly active users and revenue. (iCandy)

Transportation

A Go-Jek scooter in action. Photo credit: Go-Jek.

Go-Jek strikes deal to acquire Kartuku (Indonesia). The ride-hailing company is reported to have paid up to US$50 million in cash and equity for a majority stake in the payments firm. Go-Jek has been busy on the M&A front in recent months, and is rumored to be eyeing a stake in Midtrans, another Indonesian payments provider. (DealStreetAsia)

Ecommerce

Amazon pumps US$444 million into India battle (India). The investment comes as the US ecommerce giant seeks to ramp up its game in India, where its strongest competition comes from local player Flipkart, which is backed by Microsoft, SoftBank, and Tencent. (The Economic Times)

Investors, incubators, and accelerators

Marvelstone and landlord fall out over Lattice80 rental (Singapore). Hong Leong Group has accused investment firm Marvelstone Group of failing to pay utility bills and other service and rental fees relating to its Lattice80 fintech hub, which used to be located in Hong Leong’s 80 Robinson Road building. Lattice80 tenants had previously expressed concern about Marvelstone’s plans to relocate the hub, with some saying that they had not been informed of the proposed move. (e27)

The now-vacated Lattice80 fintech hub at 80 Robinson Road in Singapore. Photo credit: Lattice80.

Qualcomm invests in nine startups through China fund (China). Among the Chinese startups being backed by the US chipmaker – itself the subject of a takeover bid from Broadcom – are unicorns SenseTime, which has developed face recognition tech, and bike-sharing app Mobike. The investments were made through Qualcomm’s US$150 million China Venture Fund. (TechCrunch)

This post Asia tech news roundup – Nov 15 appeared first on Tech in Asia.

Imagine the elevator doors sliding open and finding this thing inside. But the AnyMal does way more than just ride a lift.

This post Video: This robot can ride the elevator on its own appeared first on Tech in Asia.

Photo credit: Bluegogo.

One of China’s top bike-share startups is on the brink of collapse with wages unpaid, senior executives departing, its CEO missing in action, and its HQ suddenly devoid of staff.

Bluegogo, once valued at US$140 million after raising US$58 million and expanding to San Francisco and Sydney, holds tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars in deposits from its approximate 15 million users, which many now fear cannot be refunded.

The service took a US$99 deposit in the US to begin borrowing the dockless bikes, while China-based users had to cough up around US$15.

One user who talked to Tech in Asia said he applied for the refund weeks ago but has not received the cash.

A well-known and much-followed tech blogger visited Bluegogo’s stylish and sizeable Beijing office this week and found it largely empty.

Screenshot from Weibo.

The Bluegogo logo sits in darkness:

Screenshot from Weibo.

Bluegogo CEO Li Gang has been out of the country for some time, report numerous Chinese media outlets, with staff this week told salary payments will be delayed until February 10, 2018. One insider at the startup says the business has US$30 million in debts, reports Yicai today.

Photo credit: Bluegogo.

Meanwhile, Bluegogo vice president Hu Yufei told Technode this afternoon he departed the startup several months ago. The blog notes that many staff have already waited months to get their wages.

See: China drafts rules to wrangle bike-sharing craze

After starting in 2016, the firm expanded rapidly to the point that it has, at the last reliable count, around 350,000 bicycles on the streets.

By some measures, Bluegogo was the third largest of multiple copycat bike-share startups. Mobike and Ofo are fighting over first place as both expand to multiple countries.

Watch: The two drivers behind China’s ride-hailing giant

This post Shock as $140m bike-share startup on the verge of collapse – and its CEO has gone AWOL appeared first on Tech in Asia.

Boat Quay, Singapore. Photo credit: doe5999 / 123RF.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has published a paper offering “general guidance” on the regulation of digital token sales – otherwise known as initial coin offerings (ICOs).

Digital tokens that MAS determines to have characteristics of capital market products will fall under the purview of Singapore’s Securities and Futures Act (SFA). These products include securities such as equity shares, debt instruments, and units in a collective investment scheme (CIS) where different investors pool their money into a portfolio.

Published yesterday, the paper follows the central bank’s August statement clarifying its regulatory stance on ICOs.

The paper reiterates what MAS indicated in that earlier policy note, where it said that some digital tokens issued in ICOs possess the characteristics of security holdings in the businesses making the offering.

As such, organizations issuing tokens that MAS considers to be akin to capital markets products must publish a regulation-compliant investment prospectus and register it with the central bank.

However, in its paper MAS also says that some smaller ICOs may be exempt from these prospectus requirements if:

• The total value of the offering does not exceed S$5 million or the equivalent in foreign currency within any 12-month period
• It’s a private placement offer made to no more than 50 people within any 12-month period
• The offer is made to institutional investors only
• The offer is made to accredited investors

MAS stresses that all of the above cases are subject to certain conditions, including advertising restrictions.

Required licenses

In terms of digital token issuers and intermediaries, MAS has also updated its advice. The paper says that any organization offering tokens that constitute a capital markets product must hold a capital markets services license, unless they are otherwise exempted.

Platforms that facilitate the trading of digital tokens — such as cryptocurrency exchanges – must also be approved by MAS as a recognized market operator under the SFA. Likewise, firms offering financial advice on digital tokens require a financial adviser’s license.

All in all, the MAS paper does not radically change the lay of the land when it comes to ICOs in Singapore. Rather, it follows the path MAS appears to have taken so far, of gradually updating its guidance as trends and developments in the digital token space become clearer over time.

MAS said that the contents of its paper are “not exhaustive, have no legal effect, and do not modify or supersede any applicable laws, regulations or requirements.”

This post Singapore to regulate ICOs that resemble equity and debt offerings appeared first on Tech in Asia.

Marina Bay, Singapore. Photo credit: Pixabay.

There was plenty of talk around cryptocurrencies coming out of Singapore today, while one of China’s manifold bike-sharing platforms appears to have run into a spot of bother.

Cryptocurrencies

MAS issues more guidance on initial coin offering (ICO) regulation (Singapore). The city-state’s central bank said that any digital tokens distributed in ICOs that resemble securities such as shares and bonds will be reviewed under the country’s Securities and Futures Act. (Tech in Asia)

Senior DBS exec says bitcoin is “a bit of a Ponzi scheme” (Singapore). DBS chief information officer David Gledhill also predicted the cryptocurrency will tank in value “because that’s how it will scale.” Gledhill isn’t the first senior financial executive to deride bitcoin; JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon (in)famously described it as “a fraud” earlier this year. (CNBC)

Transportation

Photo credit: Bluegogo.

Bluegogo on the brink (China). The bike-sharing platform’s Beijing office sits empty, with many of its senior executives having quit and employees complaining of unpaid wages. The company is said to hold tens of hundreds of dollars in riders’ deposits, and there are now fears among users in China, Australia and the US that they won’t be getting their money back. Bluegogo’s CEO has apparently gone missing. (Tech in Asia)

Volkswagen and partners commit US$12 billion to electric vehicles (China). The German automaker plans to manufacture 40 new electric vehicle (EV) models alongside local partners in China over the next eight years. US rival Ford announced a US$753 million EV project with its partner Anhui Zotye Automobile last week. (Bloomberg)

Robotics

Stormtrooper builder UBTech raising US$400 million in Tencent-led series C (China). The startup builds robots with a consumer entertainment focus, including mechanical versions of Star Wars’ First Order stormtroopers that can recognize human faces and respond to voice commands. (South China Morning Post)

Real estate

RedDoorz guarantees clean linens and washrooms, satellite TV, wifi, mineral water, and toiletries in its rooms. Photo credit: Pixabay.

RedDoorz to spend US$10 million on Indonesia expansion (Singapore). The hotel booking portal said it will invest the capital to expand to nine new cities in the archipelago, as well as scaling up its existing presence there over the next year. RedDoorz, which has raised a total of about US$2 million in disclosed funding according to Tech in Asia data, did not indicate where it is getting the money from. (e27)

Investors, incubators, and accelerators

Sunway iLabs offers US$480,000 to startups (Malaysia). Kuala Lumpur-based Sunway University will invest the money in 10 startups in its iLabs accelerator program. Additional seed capital for the selected startups will come from Google and Nexea Angels. The program is open to Malaysian and foreign proposals. (Sunway University)

This post Asia tech news roundup – Nov 16 appeared first on Tech in Asia.

It takes nine minutes for a delivery drone to fly five kilometers – much quicker than the parcel going by boat.

This post Video: In China, drones carry shopping to remote islands appeared first on Tech in Asia.