Overseas:
1. VCs aren’t falling in love with dating startups
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
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
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+.
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
4. Go-Jek funding round aims for US$3 billion
Cover picture credited from SCMP