Alibaba founder Jack Ma / Photo credit: Alibaba

Here’s a wrap of the day’s news.

Delivery and logistics

Alibaba buys food-delivery startup valued at US$9.5 billion (China). The Chinese ecommerce giant announced today that it has acquired the remaining shares of food-delivery company Ele.me. About 4.5 million orders run through the food-delivery service daily, from around 1.3 million participating stores. Alibaba did not disclose the buyout figure, but claims that Ele.me is now valued at US$9.5 billion, up from US$5.5 billion last year. (Tech in Asia)

Fintech

Nomura buys stake in fintech startup 8 Securities (Hong Kong). The Tokyo-based financial company announced its US$25.4 million investment in Hong Kong’s 8 Securities, a robo-advisor for exchange-traded funds. The fintech firm launched its service called Chloe around two years ago, followed by stock trading app Tradeflix last October. Nomura plans to introduce robo-advisor products to its clients and other financial firms, according to its statement. (Finews)

Lending startup raises US$1 million in pre-series A round (India). Delhi-based Cash Suvidha, which provides loans to businesses and individuals, raised US$1 million in its pre-series A round. The funds came from Initia Holdings and Vipin Agarwal, partner at India Industrial Growth Fund, among others. The firm said it will use the funds to beef up its technological infrastructure. (Inc42)

Blockchain and cryptocurrencies

Luxury car dealer lets customers use bitcoin (Japan). Car dealer L’Operaio has teamed up with the country’s biggest digital currency marketplace, bitFlyer, to allow customers to purchase luxury cars with cryptocurrency. The crypto-exchange will provide the necessary tech for L’Operaio to accept bitcoin payments. (Cryptona)

Seoul proposes own digital currency to fund welfare programs (South Korea). Mayor Park Won-soon said the city has plans to form its own cryptocurrency called S-Coin. The digital coin will be used for city-funded welfare programs, he added. Regulatory guidelines will be released by the end of this month, and the city will start a public fund to support blockchain-related startups. (The Korea Times)

Transportation

Silicon Valley fund joins Japanese e-scooter maker’s US$10 million series B funding (Japan). Fenox Venture Capital has joined the series B financing round of Terra Motors. Chiba Bank Capital, Minato Capital and Yamaguchi Capital, along with other existing shareholders, also participated in the round. The Japanese startup, which produces electric scooters and three-wheelers for developing markets in Asia, said the funds will be used for product development and expansion into new markets. (e27)

Media and entertainment

Iflix launches short-form video content business (Malaysia). The video-on-demand service has launched Studio2:15, a creative production business focused on short-form content. It will produce succinct content for the Iflix platform and will collaborate with international and regional teams and talents. Kuala Lumpur-based Iflix raised US$133 million in its most recent funding round, which was led by US media titan Hearst. (e27)

Investors, incubators, and accelerators

Beijing-based seed fund targets US$190 million within a year (China). ZhenFund, a seed fund backed by Sequoia Capital China, plans to raise US$190 million for a fifth venture fund, according to a US Securities and Exchange Commission filing. The company, which promotes innovation among China’s youth, did not disclose names of possible investors, or how the funds will be used. (DealStreetAsia)

See: Previous Asia tech news roundups