Brief: SoftBank plans $1b SenseTime investment; Xiaomi issues crypto rewards

Photo credit: Pixabay

SoftBank in talks to invest over US$1 billion in SenseTime (China). SoftBank’s Vision Fund is said to be looking to plow capital into the four-year old startup. SenseTime – which uses AI tech for facial and image recognition – has raised more than US$1.2 billion this year from two other funding rounds. (Bloomberg)

Xiaomi offers crypto reward tokens on its newly launched platforms (China). Users can earn the Mili digital tokens by sharing wifi networks, connecting new IoT devices, using Xiaomi products, and inviting friends to the Xiaomi WiFi Chain platform. Xiaomi said the tokens will gradually be added to other business projects run by the group. (China Money Network)

Other news

Temasek buys US$30 million Ola shares from employees (India). Temasek secured the shares from former and early employees of the ride-hailing company. Ola raised US$1 billion last year in a funding round which saw participation from SoftBank and Tencent. (Livemint)

Commercial satellites developer Spacety raises US$22 million (China). Led by Legend Capital, the series B round was also joined by Matrix Partners, K2VC, and Maintrend Capital, among others. Spacety develops commercial miniature micro- and nano-satellites that weigh between 1 and 100 kilograms. (China Money Network)

Proptech startup Foyr closes series A round at US$4.2 million (Singapore). SRI Capital and property consultancy firm JLL were among the investors to take part in the round. Foyr uses AI to visualize and virtually customize interior spaces. It plans to use the funds to enter the US market. The company says it has a user base of over 150 architect and interior design firms in Singapore and India. (e27)

Restaurant review portal Wongnai pumps US$1 million into FoodStory (Thailand). Wongnai will partner FoodStory – a startup which provides restaurant management systems – to launch its own point-of-sale platform which will digitize meal ordering, billing, and inventory control. Founded in 2010, Wongnai claims it has more than 8 million monthly users. (DealStreetAsia)

Photo credit: Jan Persiel

WhatsApp restricts message forwarding in attempt to curb violence (India). The messaging app is piloting a feature that stops users from forwarding messages to more than 5 people at once. The trial is aimed at stopping the propagation of unfounded rumors and hoaxes via WhatsApp, following recent incidents in India which led to several lynchings. (BuzzFeed)

See: Previous Asian tech news