CHINA:
3. Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, is launching an NFT marketplace
4. E-commerce giant JD.com used China’s digital currency to pay some employees
5. Baidu App Unveils New Strategy as it Hits 560 Million Monthly Active Users
6. Nio To Launch LFP Battery Packs
7. Social commerce unicorn Red eyes US public listing
9. Taiwan chipmaker UMC to spend $3.6 bln to expand capacity
10. Hillhouse Capital, China’s Tuya set up $400m fund to invest in global IoT sector
11. Huya Lands Exclusive Rights for Chinese League of Legends Events in $310 Million Deal
12. Matrix Partners China co-leads $77m Series A_ funding in Chinese semiconductor player Vastai Tech
13. China’s Qihoo 360 mulls leading EV brand Nezha’s Series D round
14. Chinese agricultural drone maker EAVision secures $30m in round led by Temasek, others
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MOBILE-ONLY MARKETS:
1. India: IFC proposes $15m investment in Prime Venture’s latest VC fund
2. India’s food delivery service Zomato Files For IPO
3. Indian gig marketplace Urban Company raises $190m in new round
4. India’s ElasticRun raises $75 million to grow its commerce platform for neighborhood stores
5. Super, an Indonesian hyperlocal social commerce startup, raises $28M led by SoftBank Ventures Asia
6. Indonesian payments firm Ovo and Prudential launch digital life insurance product
7. Indonesian micro-retail firm Warung Pintar partners with FMCG major Reckitt
8. Indonesian fitness startup Doogether banks pre-series A money after expanding into online classes
9. Armed with $160M in funding, LatAm’s Merama enters the e-commerce land grab
10. Kenya’s Ajua acquires WayaWaya to consolidate consumer experience play in African SMEs
11. Singapore fintech Fomo Pay partners with Atome to offer BNPL services
12. Gobi Partners, Warner Music invest in Philippine esports entertainment firm Tier One Entertainment
13. Vietnam’s Topebox raises US$1M to launch latest blockchain game My DeFi Pet
14. POC Pharma raises US$4.5M to digitise pharmacies in Vietnam
CROSS-BORDER:
1. Ivorian startup Afrikrea partners with DHL and Visa to launch SaaS e-commerce platform ANKA
2. TikTok to open a ‘Transparency’ Center in Europe to take content and security questions
3. Singapore’s renewable energy major Sunseap raises series E round for its expansion into Japan
4. Singapore smart home startup Habitap expands into Indonesia
5. Major Chinese investors in talks to acquire stake in Saudi Aramco
OVERSEAS:
1. UK’s BT Group in talks to divest stake in television unit -The Telegraph
2. Qualcomm revenue pops 52% on strong smartphone demand
3. Facebook revenue rises 48% driven by higher-priced ads
4. Alphabet reports big earnings beat as revenue grows 34%
5. 3D-printing marketplace Shapeways set for SPAC
6. MessageBird acquires SparkPost for $600M using $800M Series C extension
7. Stripe acquires TaxJar to add cloud-based, automated sales tax tools into its payments platform
8. Founders Circle Capital has raised a new $355 million fund to buy mostly secondary shares
9. Stockholm’s Kry picks up $317M for telehealth
10. Kids-focused fintech Greenlight raises $260M in a16z-led Series D, nearly doubles valuation to $2.3B
11. Mobile bank Current raises $220 million Series D, triples valuation to $2.2B
13. Automox Raises $110M To Help IT In Post-COVID World
14. Teen banking service Step raises $100M Series C, announces Steph Curry’s investment
15. Blockchain developer platform Alchemy raised $80 million in a Series B round
16. OpenClassrooms raises $80 million for its online education platform
17. Greece’s Viva Wallet raises $80M for its neo-bank targeting small business merchants
18. Caring For Backs, Lungs: Kaia Health Raises $75M Series C
19. EasyMile raises $66M for its autonomous people-and-goods shuttles
20. Brazil-based fintech company Warren announced a $55 million Series C round
21. Property management startup Guesty raises $50M and acquires competitor Your Porter
22. Family tracking app Life360 to acquire wearable location device Jiobit for $37M
23. Gamified connecting rowing machine maker Ergatta raises $30M
24. Yousician raises $28M to make music education more accessible
25. Honorlock Raises $25M For Online Exam Proctoring
Image Credits: Mint