Overseas:
1. London’s LocalGlobe just closed on two funds totaling $295 million
2. Facebook says its YouTube competitor, Facebook Watch, is growing but advertisers want more details
3. Hyundai takes minority stake in self-driving car startup Aurora
4. Bird confirms acquisition of electric scooter and moped startup Scoot
5. Fortnite maker Epic acquires social video app Houseparty
6. KKR leads $300M investment in phishing training company KnowBe4
7. Symphony, a messaging app that’s been a hit with Wall Street, raises $165M at a $1.4B valuation
8. BetterUp raises $103M to fast-track employee learning and development
9. Gary Cohn-Backed Blockchain Startup Raises $23 Million in Project Funds
11. Bux raises additional $12.5M as it gears up to launch ‘zero-commission’ investing app
12. Orca Security scores $6.5M seed round to solve cloud native security
13. RealityEngines.AI raises $5.25M seed round to make ML easier for enterprises
14. Funderbeam, the funding and trading platform for private companies, scores $4.5M Series A
15. Simpo raises $4.5M seed to help drive software adoption
16. Stride raises $2.5M from JetBlue, NFX for its guided trips marketplace
17. Using Open Source AI To Map Global Pollution Through Imagery
China:
3. China’s data localization laws hurt cloud security: ACCA report
4. QuestMobile report: Chinese spend nearly 5 hours on entertainment apps daily
5. Alibaba’s Ant Financial and Hellobike team up on $145M e-bike battery JV
6. Huawei is reportedly working on self-driving cars, can be shipped as early as 2021
7. Baidu accelerating automaker deals for car software deployment
8. Chinese insurtech startup Waterdrop 水滴 secures RMB 1 billion in new funding
9. HK’s cross-border e-commerce shipping startup Buyandship raises US$2.2M
Cross-border:
1. SoftBank funds back Brazilian gym operator Gympass
2. Huawei asks Verizon to pay over $1 billion for over 230 patents: source
3. Google Is Moving More Hardware Production Out of China
4. Go-Jek acquires Indian recruitment platform developer AirCTO
5. US-based collaboration platform Symphony bags $165m to expand into Asia
Emerging Market:
1. India’s Jumbotail raises $12.7 million to digitize convenience stores with its wholesale marketplace
2. Chatbot platform Yellow Messenger raises $4m series A for expansion
Image credit: TeleTrader