Recap 2020: The good, the bad, and the ugly for China’s startups

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Hello readers,

Positive things I learned about myself in 2020: I can run more than 3 kilometers, matcha espresso is my new best friend, and if there was a zombie apocalypse, I can probably survive eating instant food and not meeting anyone for three months straight. But while my year has been pretty boring, China has had a crazy one full of roadblocks.

Today we look at:

• A recap of the year so far for China
• The whopping US$515 million raised by Lalamove
• Other newsy highlights such as the latest member of India’s unicorn club and the new joint venture by Ovo and ZhongAn Online

PREMIUM SUMMARY

What a year for the Middle Kingdom

Before we start making predictions for 2021 (which is incredibly difficult to do, given how 2020 has turned out), let’s take a look at the tech sector of the first country to be hit by Covid-19 and also the first to recover from it: China.

• I got new rules, I count ’em: Chinese regulators have published new rules that aim to prevent monopolistic behavior by internet platforms. The move has led to the suspension of Ant Group’s blockbuster US$35 billion dual listing and may impact ecommerce platforms such as Alibaba’s Taobao, JD.com, and Pinduoduo.
• Taking fake it till you make it too literally: Coffee chain startup Luckin Coffee, video-based social media platform Joyy, and apartment rental platform Danke are just some of the Chinese companies that have been accused this year of fabricating their numbers.
• And the winner is: As students shifted to studying online during the pandemic, China’s edtech sector quickly gained more attention, luring newcomers as well as investors to the space. Baidu-backed Zuoyebang is one such company, raising US$750 million this year.

Read more: Recap 2020: A year of roadblocks for Chinese tech startups

STARTUP SPOTLIGHT

Lalamove on the move