I know that feeling, Bangladesh

Every day, 100k+ smart people read our newsletter. You can sign up here.

Hello readers,

Indonesia and Vietnam may be getting all the love as the next tech hotspots for startups and investors, but founders in Bangladesh are telling everyone, “Hold up, wait a minute,” because their country is catching up.

You can dive into the full article here or scroll down for a summary.

But first, today’s quick news bytes:

1️⃣ India’s Reliance x Bytedance’s TikTok?

Chinese tech giant ByteDance is reportedly in talks with Reliance Industries Limited for an investment in its short-video app TikTok in India. Just last month, Reliance’s digital services provider Jio Platforms raised a total of US$13.7 billion, with TikTok competitor Facebook as one of the investors.

2️⃣ Bytedance censors anti-China content in Indonesia

Besides TikTok, Bytedance also owns a news aggregator app in Indonesia called Baca Berita (BaBe). According to sources, moderators on BaBe have been told to remove negative articles about Chinese authorities dating from 2018 until mid-2020.

3️⃣ Paytm launches stock-broking services

Indian digital payment firm Paytm has launched a stock-trading feature on its subsidiary Paytm Money designed to help users who are new to trading. Someone’s lucky but don’t get jelly: Paytm had raised US$1 billion at a US$16 billion valuation, just a month before the pandemic wreaked havoc.

4️⃣ TikTok’s rival Likee gaining grounds

While TikTok is facing trouble in the US and India, its Chinese rival Likee has quietly garnered 150 million monthly active users in June, according to a report from its parent company Joyy. Not new to the video app game, Joyy is also the owner of popular livestreaming app Bigo.

5️⃣ Xpeng and Li Auto catch fire

Why you shouldn’t forget Bangladesh

Bytedance’s stress relief method: Edtech

Startup feature from the community: Retykle