Chinaccelerator Daily Digest 12/20

Overseas:

1. The Most-Funded Fitness Startups Helping You Break A Sweat

2. Facebook defends allowing third parties access to user messages

3. WhatsApp makes group calls easier, but calls still limited to four people

4. Pinterest may go public as soon as April

5. Snapchat takes on TikTok with launch of Lens Challenges

6. With today’s IPO sinking, a year of highs and lows for SoftBank

7. Microsoft launches a new app to make using Office easier

8. Kahoot, a ‘Netflix for education’, launches an accelerator to tap gaming and education startups

9. SoftBank’s Vision Fund Bets $500M On Driving Analytics Company CMT

10. Square Roots is bringing more transparency to its produce （urban farming incubator )

11. Crew, a Workplace and Slack messaging rival for shift workers, raises $35M, adds enterprise version (Chat App)

12. Devcon raises $4.5M to beef up adtech security

13. PetaGene scores $2.1M in funding for its genomics data compression technology

14. Teeth aligner startup Candid opens physical location in SF

15. Sprout Social nabs $40.5M on an $800M valuation, doubles down on social tools for businesses

16. Uber loses another appeal against drivers’ rights in UK

17. Dataiku raises $101 million for its collaborative data science platform

18. Elementary Robotics raises cash to expand in Los Angeles’ growing robotics hub

19. Price f(x) picks up €25M Series B for its pricing optimization SaaS

20. Flux raises $7.5M Series A to bring its digital receipts platform to more banks and merchants

21. Zwift, which turns indoor cycling workouts into multiplayer games, raises $120M

22. PixelMe raises $1.3 million for its retargeting URL shortener

China:

1. Baidu pumps $87m in Chinese smart lock startup

2. Huawei to spend $2.7b in cyber-security push

3. Meituan Dianping Reports ‘Normal’ Job Cuts

4. SAIC Motor Corp, China’s Biggest Car Maker Rolls Into Ride-Sharing Market

5. JD respond to shelf closures and layoffs

6. Apple launched a new trade-in event for sales

7. Huawei responded to 5G report: Global operations are generally stable and have obtained 25 commercial contracts.

8. Iqiyi Education Festival held technology empowerment “knowledge” products to achieve full upgrade of paid value

9. Bike-sharing start-up Ofo ‘considering bankruptcy’ as Chinese users seek deposit refund

10. NetEase’s E-Commerce Unit Tests Waters With First Physical Store

11. “4Paradigm” completed over $1 billion in Series C financing with a valuation of approximately $1.2 billion

12. “Haoliners Animation League” won over RMB 100 million B+ financing, and joined forces with B Station to release a number of new works

Blockchain:

Coinbase’s Earn.com becomes a crypto webinar with crypto rewards

Mobile:

Instagram question stickers can now be used to share music

Emerging Market:

1. Clifford Chance launches Singapore legal tech incubator

2. Malaysian food media group gets $52k to venture into new markets

Cover picture credits from TechCrunch