Overseas:
2. Amazon’s Alexa Fund invests in edtech startups Zoobean and Unruly Studios
3. Generation closes $1B growth fund targeting sustainable startups
4. Investors just gave NFX $275 million more to fund seed-stage startups focused on ‘network effects’
5. Payment card startup Marqeta confirms $260M round at close to $2B valuation
7. Streem Acquires Computer Vision Startup Selerio, Closes Additional Funding
8. People.ai, the predictive sales startup, raises $60M at around $500M valuation
9. Biofourmis raises $35M to develop smarter treatments for chronic diseases
10. As meal-kit melee stretches on, Sun Basket whips up $30M Series E
11. Ravin.ai raises $4M to use computer vision for vehicle damage inspections
12. HolodeckVR raises €3M from Germany’s ProSiebenSat1 to put VR onto dodgems
13. Bringing tech efficiencies to the agribusiness market, Silo harvests $3 million
14. Aaptiv, the workout app, launches a new AI-based personal trainer called Coach
15. AI Watches Television News: A Tweet’s Worth Of Onscreen Text Every Second
16. AI Training Software Might Be The Future Of eSports [Infographic]
17. A Futuristic Reality: Harnessing The Power Of The Three Layers Of Machine Learning
China:
2. WeChat Pay and Alipay banned in Nepal by central bank
3. ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, plans to launch a free music streaming app
4. Tencent Video’s Growth Slows as It Hits 89-Million User Mark, VP Says
5. Baidu reportedly spinning off autonomous driving unit, part of its AI strategy
Cross-border:
1. Carrefour considers sale of a minority stake in its loss-making business in China
2. Tencent, Pearson funding in UK AI startup Prowler.io puts valuation at $100m
3. Singapore-based healthtech startup Biofourmis banks $35m, to move base to the US
Blockchain:
– Thiel-Backed Crypto Startup Block.one Pays Out 6,567% Return
Emerging Market:
1. IDC: Asia-Pacific spending on AI systems will reach $5.5 billion this year, up 80% from 2018
2. Singapore-based home services app raises $435k seed funding
3. dahmakan raises US$5M to roll out its chef-cooked food delivery in Thailand, Malaysia
Image credit: TechCrunch