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$970 million in valuation – that’s how close Zilingo was to reaching “unicorn” status. And then Covid-19 happened, and all of the company’s plans and roadmaps were thwarted, resulting in rounds of layoffs.
What’s happening to the startup that a source says hit a gross merchandise value (GMV) of over US$2 billion by February 2020? Scroll down to find out more or jump right in here for the full story (🔒).
Your quick bytes for today:
🎥 The software of Hooq, the shuttered Singtel-backed video-streaming service, gets snapped up by Coupang, a major ecommerce player based in South Korea. But video streaming in Asia is not for the faint of heart.
👀 Many eyes are on the short video app TikTok for its “too close” proximity to China, so it’s considering making a change: Create a new management board or establish a whole new non-China headquarter.
💻 Imagine canceling a project after spending 1.5 years on it. That’s exactly what Google did when it ended a cloud service project meant for China and other countries.
📈 Whatsapp for Business hits the 15-million-user mark in India every month.
⚖️ It seems that JioMeet’s UI is looking a lot like Zoom’s, and the latter is considering taking legal action.
📱 A bunch of short video apps have popped up in India after the TikTok ban.
The struggles of an almost-unicorn
When it comes to the economic effects of the pandemic, almost-unicorns haven’t been spared either.
Zilingo, the Singapore-headquartered fashion ecommerce company, continues to cut more jobs not just locally but in Thailand, India, Vietnam, and Indonesia as well. It is also reportedly letting go of its Singapore office (🔒).
The startup that makes your internet less crappy
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