Asia news roundup: Amex acquires Mezi, $50m for BrowserStack, and Line enters the crypto-fray

Luke Gebb, senior vice president, American Express (L); Mezi co-founders Snehal Shinde (LM) and Swapnil Shinde (RM); and Phil Norman, vice president, American Express (R) / Photo credit: Mezi

Today’s funding and M&A news from around the region.

Travel

Mezi acquired by American Express (India/US). The personal travel assistant app – which helps users to plan and pay for their vacation trips – has been acquired by US credit card provider American Express. “Together, we will continue to innovate mobile travel and concierge experiences for our customers,” said Phil Norman, vice president of Amex Digital Labs at American Express. The US company’s VC arm, American Express Ventures, invested in Mezi in 2016. (Mezi)

Software

BrowserStack gets US$50 million series A boost (India). Accel Partners led the round, which is the startup’s first external financing exercise since it was founded in 2011. BrowserStack – a profitable business that provides a testing platform for mobile and web apps – will use the funding for global marketing and to grow its team. (DealStreetAsia)

BiT secures six-figure investment (Myanmar). The startup, which develops digital keyboards for mobile devices and ebook software, raised the funds from Goldman Sachs veteran Takashi Hatanaka. BiT will use the capital for data mining and to convert long-form books into shorter, ebook-friendly content. (DealStreetAsia)

Media and entertainment

Leshi Internet flags US$1.8 billion net loss (China). The video streaming company blamed its first annual loss since becoming a publicly listed firm in 2010 on a cash crunch at parent LeEco. The stricken conglomerate has racked up massive debts, and founder Jia Yueting appears to have defied regulators’ orders to return to China from the US in order to deal with LeEco’s problems. (Reuters)

Transportation

Bus ticketing site Vexere raises funding (Vietnam). Singapore-based Spiral Ventures has invested in Vexere, a startup that offers a bus ticketing and car booking portal. Launched in July 2013, Vexere works with over 2,000 bus operators and has about 2 million monthly visitors. (DealStreetAsia)

Photo credit: oBike

OBike rides into Indo (Indonesia/Singapore). The Singapore-based firm has launched its first services in Indonesia, in the city of Bandung and parts of Bali province. It plans expansion to other Indonesian cities later this year. (oBike)

Social media

Line launches cryptocurrency service (Asia-Pacific). The messaging app has established Line Financial, a subsidiary that will provide users with financial services including insurance, loans, and cryptocurrency trading. Line has applied for regulatory approval to operate as a cryptocurrency exchange in Japan. (e27)

Meanwhile, it has agreed to sell a controlling stake to SoftBank. The Japanese tech giant will obtain a 51 percent majority stake in Line’s mobile unit after the issuance of new shares. (Reuters)

Big tech

Fujifilm and Fuji Xerox headquarters in Akasaka, Tokyo / Photo credit: Rs1421 / Wikimedia Commons

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