Photo credit: AFP/Daniel Leal-Olivas
Samsung bounces back from exploding smartphones, Uber isn’t the only company grappling with questionable leadership, and what exactly is Oath?
Welcome to Last Week in Tech, where we look back at what happened in the tech and startup ecosystem in the last seven days. We’ve also collated a list of regional events to look forward to in the week ahead for your convenience.
Love it? Hate it? Let us know in the comments below!
Quick Bites
A snapshot of last weeks’ news in sentences.
Adventures in Asia
- Despite exploding smartphones and the leader in jail, Samsung forecasts a 50 percent jump in profit. It may be possible, as long as the new Galaxy S8 doesn’t dabble in pyrotechnics. (Jon Russell / Techcrunch)
“At least the Galaxy S8 will save the company.” Photo credit: Reuters/Kim Hong-Ji
- Infinium Robotics CEO charged by the Singapore government for not paying its employees. (Terence Lee / Tech in Asia)
- Grab acquires Indonesian startup Kudo to up its payments game. The sum is undisclosed, though some say it’s a deal is worth over US$100 million. (Nadine Freischlad / Tech in Asia)
The Silicon Valley scoreboard
- Verizon’s acquisition of Yahoo isn’t even complete, but its merger with AOL already has a new name — Oath. (Avery Hartmans / Business Insider)
- Amazon considers allowing advertisers to target Amazon buyers, which could beat Google ads in conversion potential. (Terence Lee / Tech in Asia)
- Head of Google’s internet balloon project launches Apollo Fusion to put emission-free, waste-free nuclear power plants into our backyards. (Brian Heater / Techcrunch)
India intensifies
That over the shoulder smile when a founder’s startup achieves profitability. Naveen Tiwari, co-founder and CEO of InMobi. Photo credit: InMobi.
- Uber isn’t the only company grappling with its leadership — Infosys founders are publicly questioning its board about the salary hikes of its COO. The company’s CEO currently earns 935 times the median. (Malavika Velayanikal / Tech in Asia)
- Indian adtech giant Inmobi hits profitability, making it the second Indian unicorn to do so. It expects video ad consumption make up half of its revenue in 2017. (Malavika Velayanikal / Tech in Asia)
- The Tale of Two Unicorns: Flipkart acquisition of Snapdeal is imminent, if only they can decide on the latter’s valuation. (Sumit Chakraberty / Tech in Asia)
Last week in funding
- After celebrating its first birthday, adtech startup AdAsia Holdings raises a US$12 million series A round to up their AI game. (Kylee McIntyre / Tech in Asia)
- Chinese news app Toutiao lands US$1 billion Series D round, giving it the potential to succeed China’s BAT (Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent). (Pramugdha Mamgain / Deal Street Asia)
- Bigo competitor Belive raises 1.5 million seed round, plans to dominate live streaming without sexual content. (Nadine Freischlad / Tech in Asia)
- Property listing startup 99.co raises US$7.9 million. The “series-A-plus” round was co-led by Sequoia India and Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin. (Michael Tegos / Tech in Asia)
- Indonesian payments company Ayopop raises US$1 million seed funding, entering a fierce payments market. (Nadine Freischlad / Tech in Asia)
Must Reads
A collection of meaningful long-form reads.
- Despite Uber’s leadership screwups, this super vote system will keep Travis Kalanick in power. Thanks, Sean Parker.(Jessi Hempel / Backchannel)
- Behind Travis Kalanick’s viral argument with an Uber driver is a company that uses psychological and behavioral tactics to manipulate its network of drivers. (Noam Scheiber / The New York Times)
- A founder’s life may seem glamorous, but behind the glitz is a heavy, psychological price. (Jessica Bruder / Inc.com)
Upcoming events
BASH CHOPE! :: #Funding with Innoven Capital
Wednesday, April 12 2017
12:00 – 1:30pm SGT
BASH, 79 Ayer Rajah Crescent #03-01
How do you raise smart and effective capital from the start of your startup journeys? What are the benefits of venture debt and how can you harness it? Learn more about the startup landscape in Southeast Asia and understand how Innoven Capital’s experience in the region can translate into opportunities for your startup’s growth.
PayPal FinTech Learning Series – April 2017
Thursday, April 13 2017
3:00 – 5:00pm SGT
PayPal Pte Ltd, 5 Temasek Boulevard
#07-01 Suntec Tower 5
PayPal Singapore brings to you a series of workshops called FinTech Learning Series, to share some of the FinTech industry’s best practices and knowledge. This month’s event is in collaboration with Singapore FinTech Association (SFA) and will feature 2 key topics: ‘Do new growing startups really need HR functions within their companies?’ and ‘Financial Service API to deliver product’. Speakers include Sapna Saxena, director people operations at PayPal, and Varun Mittal, associate director at Asia Pacific Fintech, Ernst & Young.
GA Singapore Meet & Greet: Hiring Event for Web Developers
Thursday, April 12 2017
2:00– 6:00pm SGT
Level 3, 8 Claymore Hill, Spacemob
General Assembly welcomes companies to meet graduates of their Web Development Immersive Program. GA’s web developers will be on hand to show off their projects, and are available to chat about job opportunities (GA does not charge any placement fees).
DrinkEntrepreneurs x Hyper Island x The Working Capitol on Robinson
Thursday, April 13 2017
7:00 to 10:00pm SGT
The Assembly, 4th floor, The Working Capitol on Robinson
DrinkEntrepreneurs is a casual social mixer in 40+ cities globally and one of the most popular event series in Singapore and the startup ecosystem. This next event spices things up a bit by collaborating with Hyper Island and The Working Capitol on Robinson to expand the community and bring you even more interesting conversations.
This post Last Week in Tech: Samsung’s comeback, Yahoo’s new parent company, and more funding action. appeared first on Tech in Asia.