Asia news roundup: CarouPay goes live on Carousell, Lalamove enters Malaysia, and more

Carousell officially launched its integrated payment system CarouPay. Photo Credit: Carousell

Here’s a look at today’s tech news from across Asia.

Fintech

CarouPay officially launches on Carousell app (Singapore). The classifieds marketplace platform wants users to have “safer, easier, and faster” transactions via CarouPay, its first integrated payment system. Customers can pay directly on the app using credit or debit cards. The company says it has more than 70,000 product listings on its portal. (Carousell)

Quantifeed gets US$10 million to bankroll expansion plans (Singapore). The series B round for the Hong Kong-based startup was led by Taiwan’s Cathay Financial Holdings, with US-based asset management firm Legg Mason joining in. The financial digital advisor plans to use the fresh funds to expand its business and set up an office in Singapore. (Tech in Asia)

UangTeman hires new CTO (Indonesia). Sukan Makmuri has joined the digital lending platform as its chief technology and operations officer. He will lead the team in technology and research and development, while driving the business towards automation and scalability. Makmuri’s appointment comes as the company embarks on its expansion throughout Southeast Asia and concludes its series B funding round. (UangTeman)

Delivery and logistics

Lalamove enters Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia). The “last-mile” company has added Malaysia to its growing network of Southeast Asian markets. The service in the country’s capital will initially be available to drivers with cars and cater to bulk packages and on-demand, time-sensitive deliveries. Lalamove, which matches drivers with customers to fulfill same-day orders, said it currently serves 15 million users and over 2 million drivers. (Lalamove)

Blockchain and cryptocurrencies

Bithumb robbed of US$32 million of its coins (South Korea). The South Korean cryptocurrency exchange is the second to be hacked in the past few weeks. Bithumb, the seventh-biggest crypto exchange in the world by trade value, said Ripple and other tokens were stolen. It has halted cryptocurrency deposits and withdrawals, adding that compensation will be given to victims while it moves the remaining coins to a storage space offline. (Bloomberg)

Zilliqa announces US$5 million developer grant program to build platform (Singapore). The blockchain company will use the funds to build its community and accelerate the development of tools and applications built on its open-source platform. The program will give developers non-dilutive funding, technical support, and an opportunity for recognition. Zilliqa has recently surpassed US$1 billion in market value. (Zilliqa)

Financial watchdog reportedly taking licensed crypto exchanges to task (Japan). The Financial Service Agency (FSA) is ordering at least five licensed crypto exchanges in the country to improve their systems and follow strict anti-money laundering compliance. The exchanges, which include bitFlyer, Quoine, and Bitbank, were flagged for not having sufficient measures in place to notice suspicious transactions. FSA also raised concerns related to staff, who have to cope with the growing volume of transactions on the platforms. (Nikkei Asian Review)

South Korean central bank has no plans to launch its own digital currency (South Korea). The economy could be destabilized if it issued digital currencies, which cannot perform the role of money, said the Bank of Korea. It called the issuance of central bank digital currencies (CBDG) a “moral hazard” due to its ability to affect monetary policy roles. The regulator, however, stressed that its stance is not entirely negative, but it needs more rigorous tests on CDBGs before they get the green light. (Coindesk)

Hospitality

Budget hotel-booking platform bets US$5 million on the Philippines (Singapore). With plans to grow its presence to 100 properties across the country over the next 12 months, RedDoorz plans to introduce a “premium” category to cater to business travelers. The new category of rooms will be located closer to business districts and have more amenities, it said. The Philippines is the company’s third market, after Singapore and Indonesia. The company raised its pre-series B funding of US$11 million in March. (RedDoorz)

RedDoorz guarantees clean linens and washrooms, satellite TV, wifi, mineral water, and toiletries in its rooms. / Photo credit: Pixabay

Semiconductors

Cambricon closes series B round at US$2.5 billion valuation (China). The company said it bagged hundreds of millions of dollars from investors such as SDIC Venture Capital, Alibaba VC, and Lenovo Capital. Last month, Cambricon showcased its third-generation AI chip for edge devices. The chip supports local machine learning training. (China Money Network)

Life sciences

Alpha Biopharma lands US$37 million funding from Chinese VC firm, others (China). The Shanghai-based company secured the funds – which is part of its series A – from investors, led by Qiming Venture Partners. AlphaBio said it will use the money to carry out the phase two of the clinical study of its main product, AZD3759, and grow its pipeline. The firm is looking to raise a total of US$65 million for its entire series A round. (DealStreetAsia)

Data-driven drug discovery startup raises US$1.7 million seed funding (India). Elucidata, which has been bootstrapping since it was founded in 2015, plans to use the funds to expand its business and ramp up on hiring. The round was led by Hyperplane Venture capital and saw participation from well-known angel investors. (DealStreetAsia)

Retail

Unmanned vending machine startup gets US$10 million funding (China). Bianli24 closed its pre-series A round, which was led by Sequoia China, and said it will use the money to push into more Chinese cities. The startup, which operates in 13 Chinese cities so far, runs its vending machines without a franchise model. According to the company, its machines contribute up to 20 percent of a store’s daily transactions. (KrAsia)

Robotics and drones

August Robotics closes seed round at US$3.7 million (Hong Kong). The fresh capital will go towards building a research and development center in Southern China dedicated to robot research. It will fund the company’s overseas expansion plans and improve its customer service. The company plans to showcase its first robot, which can assist exhibition companies at trade shows, later this year. (August Robotics)

Ecommerce

Beauty startup Memebox launches in US and signs Sephora deal (South Korea). A year after shelving its plans, Memebox has launched its ecommerce business in the US and said it will sell Korean and in-house brands on the platform. It also revealed a partnership with beauty retailer Sephora to roll out a new cosmetic line. The company was founded in 2012 as a subscription box service and follows a strong community-led model where members share information about beauty products with each other. The startup has raised US$160 million in funding so far. (TechCrunch)

Investors, incubators, and accelerators

Ooctane VC launches startup fund with initial US$5 million from backer (Cambodia). The firm announced its debut fund in Phnom Penh and called out the lack of mentorship and early-stage capital in the country. The Cambodia Startup Fund will be led by Oknha Rithy Sear, chairman of Cambodian logistics firm Worldbridge Group. Ooctane is looking to invest in startups in the logistics, mobility, e-commerce, fintech, agritech, healthtech, and tourism segments. (e27)

See: Previous Asia tech news roundups