Asia news roundup: Chinese answer to SpaceX lifts off, $21m for ‘smart luggage’, and more

Photo credit: Pixabay

Here’s a wrap of the day’s news.

Robotics and drones

CowaRobot pulls in US$21.2 million series B funding (China). The Chinese robotics company raised the funds in a round co-led by SoftBank China Venture Capital and China Creation Ventures. Other investors included Infore Investment Holding Group, Orca M&A Capital, and China Minsheng Investment Group. CowaRobot develops robotics for low-speed autonomous driving, street cleaning, and logistics. It also makes “smart luggage” that auto-follows its owners. The company will use the money to develop its research and development team and self-driving technologies. (China Money Network)

Fintech

Jianwei Data secures pre-series A funding in Baidu-led round (China). The AI-powered financial data service provider raised the undisclosed capital in a round co-led by Baidu Ventures and Next Capital. Jianwei extracts information and statistics from different stock market sectors and organizes them into data sets. The funds will be used for tech development. (KrAsia)

Open bags pre-series A funding (India). Bangalore-based fintech startup Open secured the undisclosed capital in a round led by Japanese staffing firm Recruit and Unicorn India Ventures. The round was joined by existing investors ISME-ACE and AngelList. Open, which offers digital banking services for small businesses, will use the money to attract more customers and roll out new products for lending and wealth management. (Inc42)

GiveIndia and LetzChange join forces (India). The crowdfunding platforms are set to merge under the GiveIndia name and ramp up fundraising efforts for charitable causes. The combined nonprofit plans to spend more than US$2.2 million on enhancements, which will focus on subscription-based giving and scaling its services. (Livemint)

Transportation

OneSpace launches country’s first privately built rocket (China). Named “Chongqing Liangjiang Star,” the 9-meter tall OS-Xo rocket launched at an undisclosed site in northwest China, reaching an altitude of 25 miles before falling back to Earth. The sub-orbital journey was part of a research contract with an undisclosed company for aerodynamic and high-altitude tests. (China Money Network)

Photo credit: Andrew Gook / Unsplash

Didi’s credit score to incorporate bike-rental violations (China). Recent illegal deployments of Didi’s dockless bikes and Street Rabbit e-bikes will be indicated on the company’s credit score, local government in Shenzhen have announced. Due to violations, around 9,000 of Didi’s bikes have been seized since May 15. The city’s transport commission has barred companies from adding more bikes since August of last year. (TechNode)

Blockchain and cryptocurrencies

Ethereum listed as top public blockchain project, Bitcoin in 13th place (China). The ranking comes from the Chinese government’s first monthly Global Public Chain Assessment Index. Ethereum got a score of 129.4 on the index, while the older Bitcoin blockchain earned a rating of 88. The index takes into account a project’s technological capabilities, application usefulness, and innovation. (Reuters)

Ecommerce

An offline retail store in Hangzhou displays a Tmall logo after partnering with Alibaba / Photo credit: Alibaba

Tmall debuts brick-and-mortar stores for customer services (China). The online retail platform has partnered with Alibaba-owned mall operator Intime on consumer services centers in Hangzhou. Officially named Tmall Wuyougo Service Center, the physical stores will offer smartphone and watch repair, clothing and jewelry alteration, and cleaning services for luxury goods. Users can book services, check rates, or track order status online with the Tmall or Mobile Taobao app. (Alizila)

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