Asia news roundup: Grab seeks pedal power, court rules in property portals’ copyright clash

The five bike- and scooter-sharing providers featured on Grab’s new aggregation platform / Photo credit: Grab

Grab rounded off the week by launching its latest service, while PropertyGuru and 99.co each claimed victory as Singapore’s Supreme Court handed down its judgment in their copyright infringement and breach of contract case.

Transportation

Grab officially enters the bike-sharing business (Singapore). Rumors about the ride-hailing firm’s foray into pedal-powered transport first emerged in January when eagle-eyed Tech in Asia readers reported seeing oBike bicycles with Grab branding on the streets of Singapore. Grab revealed more details of this partnership today when it launched GrabCycle Beta, an app-based platform aggregating third-party bike- and scooter-sharing services from oBike, GBikes, Anywheel, and Popscoot. The marketplace model resembles that adopted by Chinese ride-hailer – and Grab investor – Didi Chuxing in China, and is representative of Grab’s efforts to dominate on-demand transport solutions in the city-state. (Tech in Asia)

Property and real estate

PropertyGuru and 99.co chalk up a draw after court rules in dispute (Singapore). The rival property portals both claimed they were pleased by the outcome of the case, in which PropertyGuru had sued 99.co for breach of contract and copyright infringement in relation to the cross-posting of listings from its site. The Singapore Supreme Court found that 99.co had partially breached an existing settlement agreement between the two parties, but dismissed PropertyGuru’s claims that 99.co induced real estate agents to violate its terms and infringed its copyright by using photos from its site.
(Tech in Asia)

99.co co-founder and CEO Darius Cheung on stage at Tech in Asia Jakarta 2017.”We have won, the internet has won,” he said in response to today’s verdict. PropertyGuru executive director Jani Rautiainen also claimed victory / Photo credit: Tech in Asia

Media and entertainment

Tencent makes second big livestreaming investment in as many days (China). The tech giant led a US$462 million series B fundraiser for livestreaming platform Huya. The deal gives Tencent the option of obtaining a controlling stake in Huya in two years’ time. The investment comes just a day after Tencent pumped US$630 million into game livestreaming platform Douyu. (China Money Network)

Life sciences

JW Therapeutics gets US$90 million from Sequoia, Temasek, and others (China). The Shanghai-based biotech startup is developing cell-based treatments for various types of cancer. Other investors that participated in the series A round included AVICT Global Holdings, Juno Therapeutics, Oriza Seed Capital, WuXi AppTec, Yipu Capital, and YuanMing Capital. JW Therapeutics will use the capital to further clinical development of one of its treatments and build a new commercial manufacturing facility. (DealStreetAsia)

Enterprise software and services

Cloud Helios raises US$7.89 million in series B round (China). Anyone who makes regular expenses claims at work will know how cumbersome the process can be. Cloud Helios, a SaaS platform for workplace travel and expenses management, is designed to eliminate the hassle, and counts Didi Chuxing, Ctrip, JD, and food-delivery startup Ele.me among its clients. SoftBank’s China unit invested in the round, alongside Blue Lake Capital and Z Capital. (KrAsia)

Cryptocurrencies

Several exchanges inaccessible following Binance breach (China). The Chinese government is suspected of blocking internet access to a number of cryptocurrency exchanges following yesterday’s news of a large-scale hack at local exchange operator Binance. BitMex, Gate.io, and Bitfinex, as well as Binance, had all gone offline as of Friday afternoon. Beijing has taken a tough line on cryptocurrency trading since suggesting last September that it may ban exchanges altogether. (China Money Network)

Investors, incubators, and accelerators

Lattice80 to move global HQ to London (Singapore). The fintech incubator is relocating its worldwide nerve center to the UK capital, though Singapore will remain its Southeast Asia hub. Co-founder and CEO Joe Seunghyun Cho said Europe is “one of the most progressive regions to develop business models to deal with innovation in fintech and blockchain,” with “regulations and industry standards […] well developed and adaptive to changes.” In November, it emerged that Lattice80 and its landlord had fallen out over alleged unpaid rent and other costs at its site in Singapore’s CBD. (Lattice80)

See: Previous Asia tech news roundups