Chinaccelerator Daily Digest 2/18/2019

Overseas:

1. VCs aren’t falling in love with dating startups

2. Steve Jurvetson tells all about his new $200 million fund Future Ventures, his new partner, his new shopping list, and more

3. Uber posts $50 billion in annual bookings as profit remains elusive ahead of IPO

4. Germany to extend electric company car tax incentives

5. Apple acquires talking Barbie voicetech startup PullString

6. Electric truck start-up Rivian announces $700 million investment round led by Amazon

7. Germany looks into tax move on foreign internet firms: report

8. Spotify says it paid $340M to buy Gimlet and Anchor

9. Apple reportedly bought an AI marketing start-up DataTiger as it looks for opportunities beyond the iPhone

10. GoTrendier raises $3.5 million to take on Spanish-language fashion marketplaces

11. ChargedUp picks up £1.2M seed to grow its mobile charging network across UK

China:

1. Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi to lay off 15% of its workforce

2. Tencent in talks with EA to bring hit battle royale game Apex Legends to China

3. JD Finance Says It Kept Screenshots of Other Apps for User Ease

4. Hong Kong-based digital currency exchange BitMEX ditches clients in US, Quebec amid regulatory pressure

5. Online delivery operation service provider Shiheng 食亨 raised 7-digit USD in Series B2.

6. Programming platform for kids Pipa Coding 核桃编程 raised 120Million RMB in Series A+.

7. Big Data platform for enterprises WakeData 惟客数据 raised 7-digit RMB in Series A, led by Sequoia Capital

8. IoT big data engine TOAS Data 涛思数据 closed Series Pre-A.

9. Healthcare AI company Shukun Technology 数坤科技 secured 200million RMB in Series B.

Cross-border:

1. China ride-hailing giant Didi plans Chile, Peru launches to take on Uber

2. Ofo operating license suspended in Singapore

Blockchain:

1. Blockchain-based information curation startup Band Protocol secures US$3M seed funding

2. Cryptocurrency in Indonesia just got regulated with industry leaders calling it “killing the market”

Emerging Market:

1. BRCK acquires ISPs EveryLayer and Surf to boost Africa’s public Wi-Fi

2. Personal finance startup DollarsAndSense buys insurtech fundMyLife

3. The Hong Kong-based financial service startup Oriente partners with Indonesia’s conglomerate Sinar Mas to launch lending platform

4. Go-Jek funding round aims for US$3 billion

Cover picture credited from SCMP