Overseas:
2. Businesses can now accept PayPal through Google Pay in 24 countries
3. Slack’s stock closes on NYSE debut up 48.5% at $38.50 per share, valuation now $20+ billion
4. Shopify Is Setting Up Fulfillment Network in U.S., Just Like Amazon
7. Bitwise Raises $27M Series A To Bring Tech Hubs To ‘Underdog Cities’
9. Digital prescription marketplace Xealth closes $14M round as healthcare providers bet on startup
10. Navigator, a new AI chatbot chief of staff aimed at reimagining meetings, launches with $12M
11. NZ’s Termius raises $2.7m in seed round, gets backing of Silicon Valley VCs
China:
1. Shanghai Pools USD434.4-Million for China’s First Exhibition-Focused Investment Fund
2. Tencent set for a rebound in 2019 as hit game Peacekeeper Elite expected to rake in US$1 billion
3. Ant Financial Releases First AI Financial Advisor Product
6. Healthcare platform Weimai 微脉 latest round of financing totals $100 million
Cross-border:
2. Singapore’s Qualgro expands investments to Europe with a US$11.2M Series A in foodtech startup Pazzi
Emerging Market:
1. Ethiopia hosts first Startup Ethiopia event, bid to become African startup hub
2. GDP Venturez commits to Series A round for Indonesian NLP startup Prosa.ai
3. Philippines’ Globe Telecoms launches 5G service backed by Huawei equipment
4. Yamaha backs Nigerian motorcycle transit app MAX.ng in $7M round
5. Vietnamese e-commerce firm Tiki set to raise over $100m in upsized funding round
6. 10-year-old CEO of Thai blockchain startup KIDLetCoin educating kids about cryptocurrencies
Image credits: United Press International