Asia tech news roundup – Jan 5

Photo credit: Kārlis Dambrāns

We’re barely a week into the new year, but there’s been plenty of news from Asia Pacific’s tech and startup ecosystem.

Consumer tech

LeEco sells off Coolpad shares (China). LeView Mobile HK Limited, part of the stricken LeEco group, has sold almost two thirds of its shares in smartphone maker Coolpad to an entity named Power Sun Ventures for US$103 million. LeEco acquired a controlling stake in Coolpad in 2016, but has since fallen on hard times. It isn’t clear if Power Sun is also part of LeEco group or a third party. (Reuters)

Fintech

EarlySalary raises US$15.7 million (India). Eight Roads Ventures led the series B round, with previous backers IDG Ventures India and Dewan Housing Finance also joining in. The personal loans startup said it will use the funds to meet its target of disbursing 100,000 loans per month by the end of the year, compared to the current 14,000 per month. (Money Control)

Ecommerce

Dahmakan confirms US$2.6 million pre-series A fundraise (Malaysia). Y Combinator, Texas Atlantic Capital, Atami Capital, and an APAX Partners co-founder co-led the investment in dahmakan. The food-delivery firm raised US$1.3 million in a seed round in February last year, and became the first Malaysian startup to enter Y Combinator’s accelerator program in August. (Dahmakan)

JD beats Alibaba and Amazon in unmanned store race (China). JD officially opened its first unmanned convenience store to the public this week, in the east-coast Chinese city of Yantai. Ecommerce rivals Alibaba and Amazon have also been experimenting with cashier-less stores where customers pay with their mobile devices, but have so far only piloted them and not opened their doors to the general public. (Caixin)

Property and real estate

Photo credit: WeWork

WeWork unveils first Japan venue (Japan). The co-working provider will open the first of four new Japanese workspaces next month in Tokyo’s Roppongi neighborhood. The launch comes five months after Japanese tech giant SoftBank invested US$4.4 billion into WeWork. (Tech in Asia)

Social media

Renren shares jump on ICO news (China). The social network – once hugely popular, but subsequently lost much ground to microblog Weibo and messaging platform WeChat – has announced that it will conduct a token sale. The price of Renren’s New York-listed shares surged on the news. (Technode)

Life sciences

Genetron Health secures US$61 million in series C round (China). Zhongjin Kangrui Medical Industrial Fund led the round, with V Star Capital and Shenshang Xingye Fund also participating. Genetron uses genomic data to carry out cancer risk assessments and provide cancer patients with personalized treatments. (China Money Network)

Investors, incubators, and accelerators

Google joins Chushou’s latest US$120 million funding round in renewed China drive (China). The US company made an undisclosed investment in livestreaming and e-sports platform Chushou as it seeks to make inroads into the Chinese market, where its web search services are blocked. (Reuters)

Vickers Venture Partners planning new US$500 million-plus VC fund (Singapore). The VC firm aims to close fundraising later this year, and will primarily target investments in biotech, nanotechnology, and artificial intelligence. Vickers closed its US$230 million fifth fund in October last year. (Reuters)

See: Previous Asia tech news roundups