China’s startup news
April, May & June 2019
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- China: “To be able to work 996 is a huge bliss” says Alibaba founder of workers 9am-to-9pm, 6-days-a-week work schedule
- China: Mininglamp big data startup backed by Tencent internet giant for $297M with enterprise-level AI product and service platform
- China’s Lenovo to use IBM blockchain and AI-powered tools to improve customer service
- China: DeepBlue Technology’s DeepVogue AI ‘designer’ takes runner-up in fashion design competition before a panel of 50 judges
- China: Huawei believed by CIA to be funded by National Security Commission, People’s Liberation Army and additional branch of state intelligence
- Free healthcare programs commence in rural China – but focus on AI training and data collection as much as on health
- China: Amazon to shut in-country online store allowing shoppers to buy from local sellers as it downsizes operations
- China: Pony AI autonomous driving startup gains $50M backing from Kunlun, major startup VC firm
- China: “As related systems and policies also develop in line with the technology…we are approaching closer to a society in which self-driving vehicles are everywhere”
- China: Dianrong P2P lending platform reportedly raising $100M, in effort to reach regulated minimum capital requirements
- China: Beijing Internet Court now using AI and blockchain to render judgements
- China: Shuidichou healthcare crowdfunding platform raises $74M on back of rapid growth in tier 3, 4 and 5 cities
- China: Country’s first blockchain-enabled notarization firm opens Beijing office
- China: Tencent internet giant quietly launches WeGame X store internationally in early access shape
- China: Blue Mobile vending machine platform gains funding led by Ant Financial
- NYC’s WeWork partners Peking University Guanghua School of Management to boost business education and entrepreneurship
- WeWork Labs’ China unit partners Alibaba Cloud for 8 co-branded spaces to aid 20 startups enter China and 30 Chinese startups to go international
- China: Gate IO raises $64M to launch new proprietary Gate Points exchange cryptocurrency
- China: World’s biggest cryptocurrency mining farms may be forced to leave country by possible government crypto ban
- China: Ucommune coworking space giant raises $29.8M focused on construction of spaces
- China: Tencent internet giant launches AR-based blockchain game merging concepts behind Pokémon Go and CryptoKitties
- China: Regulator issues new rules on video games – no blood, no dead bodies, no mahjong, gaming firms to establish in-house censor teams
- China: Tencent testing real-time health clinic services in WeChat wallet and mini-program ecosystem
- China: bAce Capital VC firm raises $100M with $150M target to focus on early-stage Indonesian and Indian startups
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology to end funding ties with China’s Huawei and ZTE, citing investigations regarding violations of sanctions
- Israel’s Tiidan AI solution launches to help importers, banks and insurers assess possible default risk of Chinese suppliers
- China: Taobao, Alibaba’s online shopping platform, preps to harness farmers for livestreaming, given 150K agriculture-themed streams in 2018
- An overview of how video livestreaming is transforming e-commerce in China
- China: Huya e-sports live streaming platform backed by Tencent internet giant planning to raise $500M
- China: Shanghai hospital now provides AI-powered service that diagnoses some 30 diseases
- China: TikTok short-form video app launches Spotlight initiative to uncover future music stars
- China’s Tencent backs Argentina’s Uala mobile banking startup
- China: Alibaba and competitor Pinduoduo again on US blacklist over counterfeits sold on e-commerce marketplaces
- China: WeChat launches logistics interface to connect in-app e-tailers with customers and delivery
- China: Should Tencent launch a gaming smartphone?
- China: “Traditional retail and e-commerce hold little interest for consumers who are wedded to smartphones and take their cues from influencers”
- China: Beike real estate and financing startup preps for integration to WeChat via mini-app ecosystem, opening doors to 1.1BN monthly users
- China’s Huawei to build Konza Data Centre and Smart Cities Project in Kenya
- China: Zhejiang province considers social credit penalties for workers who change employment ‘too often’
- A look at how TikTok short video app is growing in influence outside China
- China: Ruhnn raises $125M in US IPO with influencer platform for e-commerce sales
- China: Boqii, Goldman-backed online pet store, reportedly planning IPO in $100M range
- China: Tencent Trusted Doctors raises $250M with offering spanning services from online consulting to physical checks
- China: Shenzhen takes pole position as the country’s tech hub, producing more than half of China’s international patent filings
- China: Candao startup raises $14.9M with full-spectrum software-as-a-service approach to food delivery management
- China: A brief intro to AIsland artificial intelligence hub in Shanghai, 66000 square meters hosting Microsoft, Alibaba and others
- China: Zhejiang Province primary school reportedly making students wear brainwave-reading headbands to detect attention level in class
- China: “In just the last two years, the state has invested an estimated $7.2BN in techno-security in Xinjiang”
- China: Gov’t watchdog shuts down 33K apps, over 2.3M websites and 24.7M pieces of information deemed ‘lowbrow’ since December 2018
- China: Total investments in 5G networks projected to hit US$411BN in the period from 2020 to 2030
- China: One month, 500K facial recognition scans – the first known example of a government intentionally using AI for racial profiling
- China: An overview of BYD, the world’s biggest electric vehicle company
- Tesla, Apple and GE among firms launching lawsuits against Chinese companies around theft of self-driving technology
- GitHub becomes new haven for China’s beleaguered ‘996’ tech workers and censored internet users
- China: Online retail sales value of goods and services hit US$333.45BN in Q1 2019
- China: Sina Corp suspends flagship news and blog apps following regulator reprimand
- China: A look at how social media firms employ thousands to censor internet content to show no smoking, no tattoos, no bikinis and more
- China: A look at Nanchang, capital of Jiangxi province and city with VR hub aspirations
- China: Virtual reality arcades projected for growth to $782M value by 2021
- China: Nanjing pulls smart watches for city cleaners following protests
- Is China’s $18BN electric-car market a bubble near bursting point?
- China: A look at the $35BN food delivery market dominated by competition between Alibaba and Meituan
- China: 4YFN Shanghai Awards 2019 startup applications open to May 17
- China: Apple Music’s China arm removes Jacky Cheung song which references the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre
- China: Tangdou app secures backing from Tencent internet giant to cater to dance community of mainly elderly women, taking funding to $100M
- China: Tencent revamps education business, and launches learning-focused AI lab to compete in the tricky online education market
- China TransInfo public transport software provider gains near $520M investment from Alibaba with cloud-based smart vehicle solutions
- China: Neolix self-driving delivery vehicles startup launches mass production with JD and Huawei lined up as customers
- China: AIWAYS electric vehicle startup reportedly gains $144M from government-backed fund
- China: Mobility Asia, Volkswagen Group China, JAC Motors and Hefei Provincial Government partner for wide-ranging smart city and mobility program
- Since 2014, People’s Bank of China has worked towards blockchain-based digital renminbi; 71 patents to date and a trial for interbank digital check and billing
- People’s Bank of China posts job openings seeking blockchain talent to develop digital currency research
- China’s Alipay partners Turkey’s ininal fintech to provide payment options in Turkey’s bricks-and-mortar stores
- China: ZWC Ventures VC firm closes first fund for SE Asia and China at US$150M, focusing on e-commerce, social commerce, fintech and AI
- China: Beijing and Shanghai ranked in top 10 in Startup Genome and Global Entrepreneurship Network’s 2019 Global Startup Ecosystem Ranking
- China: Brinc venture accelerator raises US$1.5M to develop accelerator-of-accelerators for new and existing incubators, accelerators and investment firms
- China: Deep Glint revenues grew by a factor of 7 through 2018 as facial biometrics adoption grows
- China: Poison sneaker-trading platform gains new funding, valuing the company in billions range, with global market estimated at $6BN
- China CITIC Bank Corp and Baidu aiming for up to $1BN fundraise for aiBank online lending operation
- China’s Alipay recently partnered Sweden’s Klarna online checkout solutions and Dutch payments tech firm Adyen for ‘Pay later’ option on AliExpress marketplace
- China: TikTok short video app has spawned parallel economy of training classes, meetups and workshops to teach users how to become influencers
- China: PUBG blockbuster battle-royale shooter game pulled, replaced with Government propaganda-driven carbon copy
- China’s Huawei loses access to Google and Android – all future devices will not come with any Google products, including the Android OS
- Japan’s Panasonic, UK’s BT Group and Vodafone UK halt business with Huawei; Britain’s ARM to halt licensing silicon chip technology
- China’s Huawei launches ICT competition in Nigeria with 15 universities
- China’s Alibaba to integrate blockchain tech into intellectual property protection systems
- China’s Sogou, 2nd largest search engine, to develop Arabic-speaking AI news presenter for UAE
- China: Alibaba’s Taobao to incubate 1000 farmers as key opinion leaders in using live streaming to boost rural development
- China Mobile denied US Dep’t of Commerce license due to wide range of security concerns
- China: Beidian social selling startup raises $126M
- China: TikTok parent company Bytedance reportedly working on its own smartphone
- China: Sanjieke online vocational training platform raises $19M with Alibaba, Baidu and ByteDance among its clients
- China: Tencent-backed Waterdrop Inc insuretech startup aims for $1BN valuation in challenge to Ant Financial in health care
- 11 Israeli hi-tech enterprises sign up for StartupEast China in Hangzhou following 2019 Sino-Israel Innovation Summit
- The downside of the sharing economy – Beijing streets are now clogged with near 2M share bikes
- China: Innov8rs Shanghai corporate innovation conference set for 26-27 June
- China: Police app lists 36 ‘suspicious personality types’ inc. those who stop using smartphones, those who don’t socialize with neighbors, and those using an abnormal amount of electricity
- ‘Every morning, children at more than 2000 preschools in China start their days by facing off with a robot named Walklake.’
- China: Megvii secures $750M with Face++ AI-powered facial recognition systems, in advance of HK IPO
- Security officials from 30 countries agree on common approach to wireless network safety, prompted by concerns around Huawei
- China: DHL Express partners EHang autonomous aerial vehicle firm for fully automated smart drone last-mile deliveries in urban areas
- China: Game For Peace, Tencent’s censored PUBG copy, takes in US$14M in 72 hours
- US considers adding 5 more of China’s video surveillance firms to components-and-software blacklist alongside Huawei
- China: In March Baidu DuerOS voice assistant installations reached 275M devices and 2.37BN monthly voice queries
- China: ByteDance, TikTok video app parent firm, developing paid music service to challenge Spotify and Apple Music in emerging markets specifically
- China: Didi Chuxing ridesharing giant partners Senmiao Technology and Feiniu Transportation for long-distance ridesharing in Chengdu
- China: TikTok parent firm ByteDance launches Feiliao (English: Flipchat) in new social messaging move aimed at overtaking Tencent
- A look at how China’s TikTok is disrupting the music industry
- China: An overview of the companies and technologies likely to be targeted next by US tech block
- ITB China Innovation Startup Awards won by Israel’s SeeVoov travel-tech startup with B2B video-based travel planner focusing on ancillary bookings and more
- China: Bits x Bites food tech VC launches China Food Tech Hub with inaugural members including Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Danone
- China’s VCs invested $5.6BN into India’s startup ecosystem in 2018, a figure likely to increase in 2019 in response to trade war with US
- China: ‘But when independent citizens attempt to fight against the spread of disinformation, they can face legal threats’
- China: Waterdrop insurtech startup secures $145M in new funding aiming for team build and AI applications in health insurance
- China: A broad round-up of the past month’s tech and startup news
- China: Changsha, capital of Hunan province, issues 49 licenses to 5 self-driving companies to allow road tests for autonomous vehicles
- China: WeRide preps for street launch of 20 5G-connected self-driving Nissan Leafs in Guangzhou
- China: BYTON EV startup unveils first images of interior of the all-electric vehicle it hopes to launch later this year
- China’s Tencent leads $35M funding for UK’s TrueLayer open banking platform and payments aggregation system
- China’s UnionPay, 3rd largest card and payments provider globally, partners UK’s Tribe Payments fintech as part of expansion into European markets
- China: Pingpong cross-border e-commerce fintech to invest over $113M in Luxembourg as part of Belt and Road Initiative
- China: WISECO fintech raises $94M Series A with big data integration services
- China: Bitmain cryptocurrency mining giant sues Poolin co-founders, former employees, over non-compete agreement
- China Wanxiang auto manufacturing giant partners PlatOn blockchain firm for data infrastructure build for $29BN smart city project, set to be China’s largest
- China: Fuzhou City offers rent subsidies, development rebates and cash rewards for blockchain businesses in bid to develop hub status
- China’s AutoX and Pony AI self-driving vehicle startups prep to offer autonomous rides on California roads
- China: The Bytedance Report, June 2019 – pdf download
- China: JD online retail giant acquires $500M stake in Aihuishou platform for recycling used smartphones, aiming to consolidate with flea-market app
- China: Search engine company revenues estimated to hit US$22.98BN by year-end 2019, and US$26.63BN next year
- MIT Sloan’s look at China’s growing presence in the electric vehicles field, and other next-generation mobility products
- A look at how Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency may impact on China’s moves towards state-owned sovereign digital currency
- China: An overview of Alibaba’s moves to enable SMEs to act like MNCs in terms of cross-border transactions
- China: UnionPay state-affiliated card network to partner Italy’s Nexi to boost in-country acceptance from 65% to 95%
- Walmart China launches blockchain-based platform to address food safety concerns, in partnership with VeChain, PwC and others
- China likely to lose pole position as the world’s biggest gaming market due to 9-month ban on new games approvals last year
- Cybersecurity report alleges Huawei equipment is far more vulnerable to security hacks than rival equipment
- China accused of rigging 5G mobile equipment test in hacker-backed campaign to discredit Western Huawei rivals
- Google investors’ call for China-specific human rights review fails – founders Page and Brin could have wielded effective vetoes
- China: ‘Cybersecurity research firm survey of Huawei equipment discovers 55% of Huawei hardware devices tested contained at least one backdoor access point.’
- China: The many ways the CCP suppresses online discourse about the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre
- China: Hupu sports community platform gains $180M investment from Bytedance for 30% stake
- China: Internet advertising market projected to exceed US$90BN by year-end 2019, over 80% from mobile advertising
- China: Didi Chuxing ride-hailing giant opens platform to rivals, allowing users to hail from 3rd-party providers as battle for super mobility app crown mounts
- China: AngelHack and Shanghai Makers Hackathon 2019 set for June 15-16 in Shanghai
- China: STAR Market tech and innovation board launches, aiming to draw high-potential tech companies to list
- China: Yiwu city, world’s largest wholesale market, becomes second hub in Alibaba-led Electronic World Trade Platform, to aid SMEs go global via e-commerce
- China: Xiaomi mobile phone manufacturing giant reportedly to set up its own VC firm
- An overview of China’s growing challenges with protecting the elderly online
- Mapping China’s Tech Giants – 12 companies, over 1700 points of overseas presence, and more than 17000 data points
- China’s WeChat – a social interaction super-app, and an ever more powerful weapon of social control
- Huawei reportedly looking to Russian Avrora OS as a replacement for Android
- A look at the growth in AI-driven facial recognition and surveillance systems in China’s schools
- Apple weighs 15%-30% capacity shift out of China amid concerns around trade war impact
- China goes all-in on electric vehicles with at least 20 electric-centric versions of Detroit under construction
- China: People’s Daily state-run media outlet, launches online academy for blockchain technology
- China: WeChat boosts offering to B2B mini-program providers, aiming for service providers to upgrade from technical supporters to full solution providers, in-app
- Google appoints former Taiwan manager to MD of Greater China sales in bid to smooth relationship
- China: Bytedance hires former Facebook exec as first head of strategic partnerships for TikTok to further boost global reach
- HSBC launches US$880M debt financing fund, GBA+, for high-growth, early stage firms primarily in China’s Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area
- China’s Nreal founder accused by Magic Leap of stealing AR glasses technology during 13-month employment
- China: Huang Bao Che Trip tour guide service firm raises $50M with coverage across 1800 cities in 90 countries
- Australia: China’s JD e-commerce giant closes Melbourne office after just 15 months
- HK Monetary Authority grants virtual bank licences to Ant Financial, Xiaomi and AMTD Group, PING AN’s OneConnect and Tencent
- India: China’s Bytedance, parent firm of recently-banned TikTok short-video app, reportedly still aiming to invest $1BN in India over 3 years
- India: China’s Alibaba reviewing its India investment strategy in face of Flipkart and Amazon market domination
- TikTok overtook Facebook as most-downloaded social networking app globally in Q1 2019, with India a key battleground
- Japan: China’s Alipay expands mobile payments to 300K retailers in Japan with goal of taking advantage of 2020 Olympics tourist traffic
- South Korea: Huawei runs low-key launch of 5G testing lab, aiming for ecosystem development with local tech and telecom firms
- Malaysia: China’s SenseTime partners G3 Global Berhad for collaboration to establish Malaysia’s first ‘AI park’ with China Harbour Engineering Company
- Malaysian Malacca Strait reportedly to see construction of a ‘blockchain city’ backed by the Chinese government
- Malaysia: MyEG Capital invests $1.5M in China’s Jingle Magic, edtech startup working with AR, VR and AI
- Tourism New Zealand inks MOU with Tencent to boost Chinese tourism growth in 2019 China-New Zealand Year of Tourism
- Pakistan’s Punjab Safe City Authority has Huawei wi-fi modules pulled from CCTV system
- Singapore: China’s ofo bike-share startup reportedly banned from Singapore operations
- Saudi Arabia launches 5th edition of Seeds for the Future Program in collaboration with China’s Huawei
- Warburg Pincus announces new $4.25BN fund focused on China and Southeast Asia
- Vietnam joins Huawei 5G ban, aiming for state-owned Viettel to work towards core chip technology
