Asia's tech news / July 5th 2022
A snapshot of recent tech news headlines from across the broad Asia-Pacific region
Our inaugural issue - on Substack, that is - featuring an at-a-glance, bullet-pointed outline of Asia’s tech news headlines in the simplest possible format: headlines + links. The aim? Quick-reference news for a time-poor readership.
In this issue:
Vietnam: Loship one-hour-delivery e-commerce startup reportedly now seeking debt financing instead of Series C equity funding in response to challenging environment (link)
Vietnam: Ascend Vietnam Ventures, seed-stage VC firm, exceeded its $50M target for flagship AVV Alpha early-stage fund, looking at a broad technology base (link)
Philippines: An intro to yufin, merchant fintech platform enabling underserved and often unbanked SMEs in emerging markets to enter the digital economy (link)
Philippines: Alibaba Netpreneur Training to launch with QBO Innovation Hub, Gobi Partners VC firm and JCI Manila, a 4-week program focusing on online commerce (link)
Philippines: Central bank is exploring 3 key technologies for new financial market infrastructure, including blockchain, whilst developing POCs in 6 technologies including AI (link)
Thailand's Translucia partners Australia's Two Bulls software firm to build Metaverse Research and Development Center in Melbourne, with initial budget of $100M (link)
Taiwan: GlobalWafers unveils plans to build a $5BN semiconductor silicon-wafer facility in the US, set to be the largest such facility on American soil (link)
Cambodia: Securities and Exchange Regulator inks agreement with Binance blockchain infrastructure provider to develop digital assets landscape and regulations (link)
South Korea: Krafton game developer unveils Ana, 'virtual human' for the metaverse, powered by conversational AI to interact with people exploring digital worlds (link)
Singapore: BetterData selected as first startup for the Franklin Templeton Singapore FinTech Incubator with AI-driven data analysis platform (link)
Hang Seng Indexes Company recently launched the Hang Seng China Metaverse Index, and Genomics and Oncology Index, focusing on performance of Chinese companies (link)
Taiwan's OwlTing blockchain services provider gains Dow Jones Risk & Compliance database license for OwlPay platform, strengthening the service's KYC and risk management (link)
Philippines: Asia Open RAN Academy launches, backed by Tokyo and Washington, to boost open radio access network knowledge across members of ASEAN (link)
India: T-Hub innovation hub and ecosystem enabler inaugurates 'world's largest innovation campus' in Hyderabad - 582,689 square feet across 10 floors (link)
Japan: NTT Docomo mobile major preps 'post-smartphone era' move into 'industrial metaverse', seeing a future in remote, team-based AR work environments (link)
China and NFTs: "...should hold relevant regulatory permits...enforce user real-identity checks...resolutely ban financial speculations and promote rational consumption..." (link)
“The market for plant-based meat in the Asia Pacific region is expected to swell by 25% from 2020 to 2025, with increases of up to 200% in China and Thailand...” (link)
Japan: An intro to Motion Lib, working to bring fine-detail haptic feedback to robotic activities, potentially for use to feel patient organs during remote surgeries (link)
China: Pinduoduo social e-commerce platform expected to overtake rivals JD and Alibaba in terms of gross merchandise value growth by 2024 (link)
And in case you missed it…
Headlines and useful reference points in tech news from the wider world.
X-PITCH 2022 is open for startup applications, featuring 15-second, 60-second and 3-minute pitch challenges under this year's theme of 'tech for good' (link)
ICYMI: eBay recently entered the NFT space, partnering OneOf web3 platform for NFT collection of interpretations of iconic athletes featured on Sports Illustrated covers (link)
ICYMI: US Federal Communications commission member requests Apple, Google remove TikTok from app stores over China-related data security and policy compliance concerns (link)
NFTs in gaming: "...developers like Riot Games have had to apologize and withdraw [NFT] integrations in their games after massive fan backlash" via Tech in Asia (link)
ICYMI: "Motherboard asked some of the biggest tech companies on the planet if they'll provide law enforcement with user data related to abortions. None of them answered the question." (link)
The devolution of Google Search: “Today, I was searching for ‘hearing aids’ for my dad on my phone and I was stunned by the number of ads, and non-link results. It’s pretty stunning…” (link)
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