In brief: Huawei leapfrogs Apple; Freshworks banks Google, Sequoia funding

Photo credit: Tech in Asia.

Huawei surpasses Apple in worldwide smartphone shipments (China). The Chinese tech giant secured a record-high 15.8 percent global market share in Q2 2018, snatching second place from US rival Apple, which slipped to third. Samsung retained top spot with Huawei’s compatriot Xiaomi in fourth position. (IDC)

Freshworks racks up US$100 million funding (India). The round was led by Accel Partners and Sequoia Capital, with Google’s CapitalG participating. This brings the enterprise software startup’s total capital raised to US$250 million. It will use the fresh funds to fuel its growth and geographic expansion. (Freshworks)

Other news

Investree plans Southeast Asian expansion with series B raise (Indonesia). The peer-to-peer lender says it will use the undisclosed amount of capital to develop new products and technology, grow its user base, recruit talents, and push into other countries, including Thailand. SBI Holdings led the round, with Mandiri Capital Indonesia, Persada Capital, Endeavor Catalyst, 9F Fintech Holdings Group, and Kejora Ventures joining in. (Investree)

BigDish to float on London bourse (The Philippines). The food-tech startup, which allows restaurants to charge different prices at different times and lets users book tables, will use the capital to be raised from its London Stock Exchange listing for product development and market expansion. Operating across the Philippines, Indonesia, and Hong Kong, the startup is expected to reach US$17 million in valuation upon IPO. (BigDish)

Illegal peer-to-peer lenders seek refuge (Indonesia). Indonesia’s Financial Services Authority (OJK) said that over 200 P2P firms are operating without licenses in the country. They may have fled China amidst increasing control over its fintech sector. P2P companies are required to register with OJK. (The Jakarta Post)

See: Previous Asia tech news