Category: Asia
Apple to begin online sales in India this year, open first retail store in 2021
For a decade, Apple has solely relied on third-party sellers, stores, and marketplaces to sell its products in India. That will begin to change this year. At the company’s annual shareholder meeting Wednesday, chief executive Tim Cook told investors that Apple will open its online store in India, the world’s…
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Chinese firms rush to bring 5G smartphones to India
India is unlikely to have any substantial coverage of 5G until at least the end of next year, with telecom operators in the country yet to participate in spectrum auction. But that hasn’t stopped Chinese vendors Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi from bringing 5G-enabled smartphones to the world’s second largest handset…
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On-demand tutoring app Snapask gets $35 million to expand in Southeast Asia
Snapask, an on-demand tutoring app, announced today that it has raised $35 million in Series B funding. Earmarked for the startup’s expansion in Southeast Asia, the round was led by Asia Partners and Intervest. Launched in Hong Kong five years ago, Snapask has now raised a total of $50 million…
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Disney blocks John Oliver’s new episode critical of India’s PM Modi
Disney-owned Hotstar, India’s largest on-demand video streaming service with more than 300 million users, has blocked the newest episode of HBO’s “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” that was critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The move has angered many of its customers ahead of Disney+’s launch in one of…
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Blockchain security startup CoolBitX raises $16.75 million Series B round
CoolBitX, a blockchain security startup based in Taiwan, announced today it has raised $16.75 million in Series B funding, led by returning investor SBI Holdings, a Japanese financial group. Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bitsonic, Monex Group, another Japanese financial group, and Taiwan’s National Development Fund also participated. Founded in 2014, CoolBitX…
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ProtoPie helps designers translate their work to engineering without the hassles
It’s the golden age of design for software companies. Designers are becoming more visible and popular on engineering teams, figuring out everything from the visuals of color palette and fonts to the deeper interaction flows and user experience journeys that underlie products. As my colleague Jordan Crook recently described, that…
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