Overseas:
1. Spotify runs test in Australia, allowing users to skip ads at any time, potentially boosting targeting and revenues
2. Cowboy Ventures which is best-known for its early investment in Dollar Shave Club just closed a $95 million seed-stage fund, its third
3. NewTV, a subscription streaming service for premium short-form content, has raised $1 billion
4. Otto co-founder Don Burnette has raised $40 million for a new self-driving truck venture called Kodiak
5. Ample, a start-up working on electric vehicle charging technology, raised a $31 million series A round led by Shell Ventures
6. The analysis behind the return of the SaaS
7. Wonderschool raises $20M to help people start in-home preschools
8. OfferUp, which is an online service and mobile application that aims to help individuals buy and sell their belongings locally, has raised $39 million of its round targeted at $150 million
China:
1. Ant Financial Debuts China’s First Target-date Retirement Fund
2. Meituan-Dianping’s Short-term Accommodation Brand Hazelnut B&B has reached nearly 60,000 property operators with more than 240,000 property resources in over 200 cities
3. Qingting FM 蜻蜓 FM , Zongheng Literature 纵横文学 Ally on Content Cross-licensing, Co-production
4. Himalaya FM 喜马拉雅 FM raised 4billion RMB
4. Children’s Reading App ‘Koala Reading’ 考拉阅读 Obtains USD 20 Mln Series B
5. Online Marketing Service for K-12 Education Institutions 91Xiangke 91 享课 Seeks Angel Funding
Mobile:
1. AT&T’s recent acquisition spree is part of a plan to dominate advertising on connected TVs and devices
2. China Unicom Confirms Beijing as Key 5G Testing City
Emerging Market:
1. Indonesian photography startup SweetEscape bags US$1M to support Philippine expansion
Cover Picture Credit From United Media Solution