Asia tech news roundup – Nov 10

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Lujiazui, Shanghai. Photo credit: dibrova / 123RF.

Bytedance’s second big acquisition in as many days is revealed, Go-Jek adds yet another string to its bow, and Flipkart gives a sneak peek of its first phone. Here are some of Asia-Pacific’s top tech headlines this Friday.

Social media

Bytedance buys Musical.ly (China). The Chinese media company reportedly paid as much as US$1 billion for the Shanghai-based maker of the lip-syncing app, which is particularly popular with European and North American users. Yesterday, Bytedance’s Toutiao unit revealed it had acquired livestreaming app Live.me. (Tech in Asia)

Ecommerce

The Billion Capture+ starts at US$170. Photo credit: Flipkart.

Flipkart enters the smartphone fray (India). The ecommerce company is launching its first own-brand mobile device next week in an effort to diversify its consumer offerings. Named Billion Capture+, it features 13-megapixel dual cameras, seven hours’ worth of battery life, and up to 4GB of memory. (Tech in Asia)

Social enterprise

Qlue raises undisclosed amount from GDP Venture (Indonesia). The “smart city” platform allows citizens to file public service-related complaints online, as well as access real-time information on things like traffic and public transport. Qlue previously raised over US$1 million in its May 2016 series A round. (DailySocial)

Transportation

Go-Jek lends the taxman a hand (Indonesia). The Indonesian Directorate General of Taxation is planning to appoint the ride-hailing and payments company as an official tax agent. Members of the public will be able to apply for a tax identification number and file their returns via a Go-Jek-developed app. (e27)

Photo credit: Go-Jek.

Artificial intelligence

Computer vision startup Malong Technologies raises US$33 million (China). SB China Venture Capital led the series B round. Malong has developed image recognition technology for applications in the retail, textiles, furniture, and food and beverage industries. (China Money Network)

Healthcare

Alodokter confirms US$9 million Softbank-led round (Indonesia). Reports that the healthcare and well-being portal had closed its series B round first emerged last week. The startup confirmed today that SoftBank Ventures Korea led the US$9 million investment, with Golden Gate Ventures and Feng He also taking part. (Alodokter)

Investors, accelerators, and incubators

Alibaba wants a piece of BigBasket (China/India). The internet company reportedly has sought approval from the Competition Commission of India to acquire a stake in the parent company of ecommerce site BigBasket. An investment from the Chinese firm could help India’s top online grocer shore up its position and face down Amazon, which recently obtained regulatory approval to set up an online groceries business in the country. (VCCircle)