October, November & December
4th Quarter
Hong Kong’s tech, startup and VC funding news from across October, November and December of 2019, focusing on early stage startups.
For technology-specific news for the most recent month, visit the Other News section, covering blockchain, artificial intelligence, fintech and cryptocurrency news across the 17 jurisdictions that we cover.
October 2019
- Hong Kong: Mark your calendar – StartMeUpHK Festival 2020 set for February 10-15 next year
- Hong Kong: Betatron accelerator announces funding of up to US$150,000 in each of the 5th cohort’s 8 startups
- Hong Kong: An advance look at November’s Art+Tech: Mixed Reality event, looking at the impact of immersive technologies on everyday life
- An overview of Open University Hong Kong’s 3D and VR technologies for teaching nursing
- Hong Kong: A video look at how technology has changed the way both the police and protesters operate
- A quick look at Hong Kong’s Freekick, football teaming-up and match-making platform
- Hong Kong: Apple reverses HKmap app ban, accepting that what users do with information provided is outwith developer control
- Malaysian-Hong Kong foodtech startup, Phuture Foods, preps for launch of vegan pork meat alternative in Hong Kong, Singapore and beyond
- Hong Kong: OneOneDay advertising tech startup raises $1.3M pre-A following on from launch of India app
- Hong Kong’s Diginex, digital financial services startup, the first firm in Asia to join 19-country Blockchain Alliance led by Steptoe & Johnson law firm
- Hong Kong-based Insilico Medicine secures $37M with focus on AI tech targeting cancer, age-related disease and drug discovery
- How LoL Worlds 2019 gaming championships are shaping up as a new front in the Hong Kong protests battle
- Hong Kong FinTech Week 2019 set for November 4-8, and incorporating 1-day Shenzhen programme
- ICYMI: US lawmakers, both Republican and Democrat, pass Human Rights and Democracy Act in support of Hong Kong
- Hong Kong: Booqed platform for on-demand work spaces raises $1.7M with short-term rentals focus, following participation in Toronto-based Proptech Accelerator
- Google employees take to internal message boards and mailing lists in protest at company’s decision to ban a Hong Kong protest video game app
- Apple urged to restore Hong Kong protest app, HKMapp, or risk being ‘complicit in repression’, highlighting Apple’s censorship of at least 2200 apps in China
- Hong Kong: Katy Perry and Will Smith among $11M investors in HK’s Sandbox virtual reality startup
- Hong Kong: TripGuru backed by Catalyst Ventures early-stage VC firm to connect travelers with unique experiences
- Hong Kong: MIPIM PropTech Asia real estate technology event set for November 27th
- Australia: Immutable, gaming startup, hit by concerted cyber attack for supporting professional gamer banned by Blizzard for endorsing HK democracy protests
- Laos: BCEL state-owned bank partners Hong Kong mobile payments provider Wallyt to allow Lao merchants to accept payments via China’s WeChat Pay and Alipay
November 2019
- A look at Hong Kong’s aims in elderly care and technology, given that the number of people aged 65 or older will reach 2.58M by 2064, 1/3 of the population
- 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
- CargoSmart, COSCO, HSBC and PwC complete blockchain interoperability trial using Hong Kong Monetary Authority trade finance blockchain, eTradeConnect
- Hong Kong: Atom Group launches crypto trading platform based on London Stock Exchange technology, with more than 50 crypto-to-crypto trading pairs
- Hong Kong Monetary Authority recently announced a number of new initiatives aimed at fostering the development of the fintech ecosystem
- ICYMI: Hong Kong securities watchdog to treat cryptocurrency trading platforms like traditional brokers if they offer security tokens
- Liberate Hong Kong VR game preps to launch on Steam, letting you fight as a protester, inspired by Blizzard’s Blitzchung controversy
- Hong Kong: MIPIM PropTech Asia pitch night set for November 27th, with 5 real estate startups presenting
- Hong Kong: Carnot Innovations gains $800K with machine-learning cost-saving for commercial buildings, in part from 500 Startups
- Hong Kong: An intro to 10 challenger banks operating in HK
- Hong Kong: Volt14 Solutions energy-tech startup raises $955K, in part from from 500 Durians
- Hong Kong’s Boutir Limited social mobile commerce solutions provider and multi-channel commerce platform takes win at recent Asia Innovatif+ Awards in Malaysia
- Hong Kong stock exchange listing committee approves application by China’s Alibaba to sell up to US$15BN in new shares
- 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: SOSV Chinaccelerator unveils the 9 startups set to present their businesses on its 16th Demo Day
- UN Security Council report identifies North Korea as using Hong Kong-based blockchain company to launder money to dodge sanctions
- Singapore’s Portcast wins inaugural Captain’s Table global maritime startup pitch competition in Hong Kong, taking $25K with predictive data analytics platform
>December 2019
- Hong Kong: Lynk raises undisclosed funding with knowledge-as-a-service platform connecting customers with advisor expertise and insights
- What was learnt from Alibaba’s Hong Kong listing? It sounded the end of the principle of one share, one vote
- Hong Kong: Kr Space, Beijing-HQ co-working space and China competitor to WeWork, to shut down its Hong Kong Time Square location
- Hong Kong: Hang Seng Bank to unveil 600 cardless ATMs, powered by NFC and requiring only a mobile phone to withdraw money
- Hong Kong: Area28 secures $2.15M backing with cloud collaboration platform and game engine, aiming to mitigate legacy methods for game development
- A look at why Valve’s Steam gaming service appears to be censoring Hong Kong protest-themed games
- Hong Kong: WeLab fintech raises $156M to launch WeLab Bank in 2020
- MIT Review unveils Innovators Under 35 list for the Asia-Pacific region, featuring 20 innovators, inventors and pioneers
- Hong Kong: TravelFlan raises $7M with concierge chatbot serving as travel booking platform, offering recommendations and experiences for users
- An intro to 8 Asian food-tech startups working on the future of food, from meatless meat to sustainability
- Hong Kong: Apps and websites spring up to advise residents on which businesses support the protests, and which are pro-Beijing
- Hong Kong Monetary Authority publishes ‘Reshaping Banking with Artificial Intelligence’ report, to help the industry understand risks and potential of AI
- China: Clumsy propaganda game released based on HK protests against Chinese Communist Party, built around players attacking protesters
- China Blockchain Report now available from Hong Kong’s Forkast News
- One Country, One Censor: How China undermines media freedom in Hong Kong and Taiwan – from the Committee to Protect Journalists
- An intro to Headsup, motorbike helmet that connects to smartphones via Bluetooth, providing communication, navigation and music
- Monetary authorities of Thailand and Hong Kong to launch 2-tier digital token, in move towards prototype for cross-border fund transfers between the two
- Thailand: An intro to the 10 batch-2 startups backed by 500 TukTuks
Startup News: Hong Kong
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