China Roundup: Robot platform nets over $200m in fresh funds, and more (Updated)

Update (November 8, 8:40 p.m. SGT): Adds news on Edge Medical Robotics

Robot platform nets over US$200 million in series C money

• Boyu Capital, Temasek and Sequoia China led the financing round in Edge Medical Robotics, along with participation from existing investors including 3H Health Investment, LYFE Capital and Guoce Capital.
• The latest investment will be used for the commercialization of core products, expansion of R&D, construction of large-scale production bases and training centers, and comprehensive commercial layout.
• Founded in 2017, the company offers technologies such as multi-hole surgical robots and single-hole surgical robots. The company has been granted over 400 patents to date.

China targets online brokerages next in tech crackdown

• Futu Holdings and Up Fintech Holdings’ shares took a hit after Chinese authorities threw a rhetorical blow through state-owned publication People’s Daily.
• People’s Daily warned readers that online cross-border brokerages “could violate user privacy and face regulatory risks.” Currently, investors are facing issues remitting money in their offshore securities trading accounts back to their mainland bank accounts.
• This is the latest media-mediated state assault in an ongoing crackdown that has seen tech giants fined and sanctioned, as well as prevented from going public.

Huawei sells server business as chip woes continue

• There has reportedly been a change in the ownership of Huawei’s Super Fusion Digital Technology, which runs the company’s x86 server business. Henan Information Industry Investment, a unit of the Henan provincial government’s finance department, is the newest shareholder in the server business.
• Buyers of Huawei’s x86 server business also supposedly include industrial funds, overseas sovereign wealth funds, internet companies, and banks.
• The potential sale of the server business comes amid a global shortage of chips as US sanctions prevent Huawei from buying the same from Intel and other sources.