A broad collection of China’s startup, tech and venture capital funding news, as reported in the English-language online press in November 2019.
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- The story of WeChat is the story of the emergence of China’s internet in the mobile and social era
- Blockchain: “If you hold crypto in a Chinese exchange, for example, your data will probably be examined by Chinese state authorities”
- China: State-owned wireless carriers China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom launch public 5G services
- China: “…some 1,000 convenience stores have already installed a facial payment system, and more than 100 million Chinese have registered to use the technology”
- China’s Xunlei Limited, operator of ThunderChain platform, to establish $100M fund to invest in blockchain tech
- China: The Fabric Full of Lies – a report on forced and prison labor in Xinjiang, and the nexus to global supply chains
- China: EHang to launch piloted low-altitude air transport service by 2021 in Guangzhou, for people and deliveries
- China: An overview of what you need to know about HarmonyOS, Huawei’s bid to replace Google’s Android operating system
- China: Smartisan smartphone maker founder barred from flights and high-speed trains over court rulings from a contractual dispute
- China: Tencent gains tax regulator approval for blockchain-based invoicing tech and standards
- China: Central bank introduces new system to certify 11 different types of fintech hardware and software relating to digital payments
- China: Huawei partnered by Digital Currency Research Institute of People’s Bank of China to focused on financial technology research
- China: Alipay launches new prepaid card service for international visitors, supported by Bank of Shanghai
- China’s Tencent quietly launches Maohu social video chat app, currently focused on dating, in late attempt to catch the social video wave
- China: Regulator scraps plan to eliminate bitcoin and crypto mining industry
- China: Tiangu Information Technology secures $92.4M with Tsign electronic signature service, signaling industry growth as contracts go digital
- US announces Blue Dot Network as counter to China’s Belt and Road program, aiming to fund financially sustainable infrastructure without debt trap implications
- China: A brief intro to Clobotics, startup automating turbine inspections using drones and AI-driven computer vision platform
- China: Bytedance launches Manfen consumer lending app for Android users, along with Bank-backed co-branded credit cards
- France’s Accor Group partners China’s Alibaba around digital applications and loyalty programs to expand Chinese-focused overseas traveller experience
- China: Foreigners without a Chinese bank account can now pay with Tencent and Alibaba apps in China using international credit cards
- China: government makes it illegal for minors to play video games after 10pm, with a 90-minute limit on weekday game-playing – enforced via national registration database
- China’s electric car startup Nio Inc to partner Mobileye, Intel Corp’s self-driving car tech firm, to develop autonomous vehicles for China’s consumer market
- UK’s Reality Gaming Group inks MOU with Chengdu New Economy Development Commission for China entry, aiming for AR and blockchain gaming development
- China’s Nervos Network blockchain startup to launch Lina mainnet, following $72M fundraise via token sale
- If we have blockchain with these Chinese characteristics, we eschew the central ethos of cryptocurrency and blockchain and the technology that underlines it
- Echoing…Xinjiang, the Chinese government has tightened its grip around Tibet by securing an already nearly impassable border with drones, facial recognition and radar
- China: Alibaba claims Singles’ Day sales hit $13BN in the first hour, up 32% from the same period last year
- China: Across Q1-Q3 2019, the total number of mobile users with China Mobile, China Unicom, and China Telecom reached 1.6BN
- China: Skyroam Wi-Fi service startup raises $20M with SIM-free mobile coverage across more than 200 countries
- Beyond Meat meat-free food startup aiming to launch vegan products in China by end of 2020, with sights set on the world’s largest pork consumption market
- China: Alibaba logs over $38.3BN in purchases during Singles’ Day, exceeding last year’s record
- China: Lolli, affiliate retail startup giving online shoppers bitcoin instead of cash-back perks, partnered by Alibaba e-commerce giant, for US-only purchasing
- China: A look at the growth Tencent might enjoy if it spun off high-performing divisions as standalone companies
- China: An intro to Akkadu, aiming to bring live event interpreting into the smartphone era
- Hong Kong stock exchange listing committee approves application by China’s Alibaba to sell up to US$15BN in new shares
- China: Xinhua state-run media agency delivers first-time item bitcoin, the “first successful application of blockchain”, likely to promote national cryptocurrency
- China: Huawei’s HarmonyOS able to run on multiple IoT devices, so developers need to build only one version of an app to deploy via different platforms
- China: In the first 68 seconds of Alibaba’s Singles’ Day online shopping spree, Chinese consumers reportedly spent $1BN; in the first hour, $14.3BN
- China/HK: Mapxus, an Apple Indoor Mapping Data Format platform service provider, gains $3M backing led by Hong Kong-based Beyond Ventures VC fund
- China: A look at how video livestreaming has become a major part of Alibaba’s Singles’ Day
- China: In Q3 2019, Tencent’s WeChat monthly active users hit 1.15BN; QQ mobile MAU hit 653.4M; and WeChat Mini Programs daily active users exceeded 300M
- China’s TikTok starts trialling social commerce with limited launch of e-commerce features
- China: Ximalaya aims for fundraise of $350M to expand online podcast and radio services, claiming a user base of 600M
- China: Burberry partners Tencent to trial ‘social media-friendly stores’ using WeChat
- ICYMI: Huawei’s Mate X goes on sale online in China and sells out first batch – admittedly without numbers stated – in minutes
- TikToK and data privacy: “…privacy concerns often bleed into national security concerns; issues of free speech, data privacy and cybersecurity are inextricably intertwined…”
- China: VIPKID online education startup providing one-on-one video English teaching for children denies rumours of 15-20% staff layoffs, despite sharp growth decline
- China passes US in education-tech investing, now responsible for over 60% of world investment in the AI-driven field
- China: Tujia, Airbnb copy, aims to treble bookings on the back of current 60% share with sights set on global home-share lead inside 5 years
- ICYMI: Shenzhen Taxation Bureau states it has issued over 10 million blockchain-based invoices, used on-demand without the purchasing of physical tax invoices
- China: Police in Nanjing uncover ‘stalkerware’ app which allows users spy on partners, revealing victim’s location and chat conversations
- China: Shutterstock found to run censored search blacklist, disappearing in-country results for ‘sensitive’ terms, ‘Taiwan flag’ and ‘dictator’ among them
- China: Huawei unveils FreeBuds 3 noise-cancelling headphones as a competitor product to Apple’s AirPods Pro
- Singapore’s VeChain launches blockchain-based Yunnan Pu’er Tea Traceability Platform in China
- China: Huawei launches blockchain directory and data exchange platform for government in Beijing, linking more than 50 institutions
- China: Everything you need to know about the world’s biggest PC games industry
- China: Weibo bans official accounts for Binance and TRON cryptocurrency platforms, after Xi Jinping’s blockchain praise revives speculative activity
- China: Ruikang Pharmaceutical partners Zheshang Bank on Jixiangtian platform, blockchain-based solution focused on supply chain finance
- China: An intro to Dongtu, the country’s version of Giphy, and how it came to be
- Y Combinator abandons plans to establish China branch, with hired YC China lead departing to run his own MiraclePlus program
- China: VPhoto live-steaming video and photo sharing startup raises $14M, with platform offering over 5K contract photographers
- China: A looko at Huya, game-centric live-streaming platform with 146M monthly active users, and how its mobile focus gives it an edge on larger rival Douyu
- China: Global Digital Bank Consortium Blockchain Investment Fund launches, aimed at building a digital bank which can later be transformed into main blockchain node
- China: Tencent launches Nearby Ads for SME retailers on WeChat Moments, displaying SME advertising within a 3km radius of their outlet
- China: PBOC central bank cracks down on cryptocurrency trading in Shanghai, following on from similar move in Shenzhen
- China: Pinduoduo group buying e-commerce platform’s monthly active users hit 429.6M in Q3 2019, an increase of 85% from Q3 2018
- China: ‘Financial Island’ of 2.5 square kilometers to be built in Hebei Free Trade Zone of Xiong’an New Area, to provide sandbox for ‘creative financial trading’
- China: Amazon marketplace tries new market entry with store on Pinduoduo, social e-commerce platform and fast-growing competitor to Alibaba
- State-owned China Reform Holdings partners ministry of industry and info-tech to establish $7BN fund to facilitate development of China’s security industry
- China: Beijing to add second ‘Silicon Valley’ district with development of Chaoyang, alongside established Zhongguancun district
- A look at how China’s tech companies are focusing on the growing ‘silver generation’, seniors, knowing that a demographic shift is rapidly approaching
- China: Tens of thousands of blockchain companies may have tried to issue their own cryptocurrencies, says Beijing Blockchain Application Association
- China: Financial technology, regulatory technology and blockchain Blue Book released, estimating ‘black industry’ market scale has reached $15BN in value
- The China Defence Universities Tracker – a tool to help universities and researchers understand institutions in China and avoid harmful collaborations
- China: Taobao e-commerce platform customers can order messages written in the snow for around 70 cents for six words, for use on social media and beyond
- China: “As of September 30, 2019, JD had over 250,000 merchants on its online marketplace, and over 200,000 employees excluding part-time and interns…”
- ICYMI: US Federal Comm’s Commission finalizes ban on Huawei, ZTE equipment in funded projects; ISPs may have to remove existing Huawei and ZTE gear
- China: ‘Digital Yuan’ goals in, first, retail payments and, second, cross-border payments for international finance will require different technical designs for each
- China: How even TikTok provides a window into China’s oppressive police state activities in Xinjiang
- China: WeRide autonomous vehicle startup commences robotaxi service pilot in Guangzhou, backed by Japan’s Nissan
- China: SOSV Chinaccelerator unveils the 9 startups set to present their businesses on its 16th Demo Day
- Blocking Huawei from Australia’s 5G network may not mitigate risks around the company’s telecommunication gear being used elsewhere, says defence strategist
- Hong Kong Monetary Authority to partner People’s Bank of China on central bank digital currency, aiming to link HK with PBOC trade finance blockchain
- Liberate Hong Kong VR game preps to launch on Steam, letting you fight as a protester, inspired by Blizzard’s Blitzchung controversy
- India: BAce Capital, backed by China’s Ant Financial, preps to deploy circa $90M in-country, looking at ‘small-ticket’ investments from $1M- $15M
- TikTok developer, ByteDance, to launch music streaming service in India in December 2019, in competition with local players JioSaavn, Gaana and Hungama
- China’s Ant Financial to raise a $1BN startup fund for investments in India and wider SE Asia, with a focus on payments and risk control
- Tourism Malaysia partners China’s Mafengwo travel-focused social network to boost visitation for Visit Malaysia 2020 program
- Malaysia: Online scam syndicate run by Chinese nationals busted, near 700 arrested over cross-border cybercrime using 8000 mobile phones and 1000 computers
- A quick comparison of Instagram’s new Reels feature and TikTok video sharing app
- Taiwan: Facebook to crack down on China’s state-run fake news and disinformation operations ahead of Taiwan elections in January 2020
