Brief: Cyberdyne launches $82m AI, healthcare fund; Snowball Finance raises $120m

Photo credit: Cyberdyne

Robotics firm Cyberdyne launches US$82 million AI, healthcare fund (Japan). The fund will invest in healthcare and “cybernics”, an emerging area of research at the intersection of neuroscience, robotics, and systems engineering. Partners of the fund include Daiwa House Industry, Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Insurance, Daido Life Insurance, Mizuho Bank, and Mizuho Capital. (DealStreetAsia)

Snowball Finance nets US$120 million for its series D financing round (China). The social investment and financial information platform – also known as Xueqiu – has secured Alibaba’s Ant Financial as a new strategic investor as a result of the funding. This is the largest financing round for the firm to date – it raised US$53.1 million for its previous three rounds combined. (KrAsia)

Other news

WeChat signs three-year deal with Changi Airport (Singapore). The partnership will see the Chinese messaging app’s e-wallet WeChat Pay rolled out to most of the airport’s merchants and brands by the end of this year. Competitor Alipay inked a five-year deal with the airport in September 2017. (KrAsia)

Iflix claims subscribers up 250 percent in the first half of 2018 (Malaysia). The video-on-demand service said it has more than 15 million subscribers, boosted by increased sign-ups in the first half of this year. Iflix changed its video content mix earlier this year, moving away from Western titles to introduce more local shows. (Iflix)

Online grocery portal Grofers ditches fresh produce (India). The Gurugram-based company will cut back on fresh products to focus on private-label offerings, explaining that it’s been working on improving its business model to boost margins. (Inc42)

See: Previous Asian tech news