Jon Russell
Writer
The Latest from Jon Russell
Dating service East Meet East raises $4M to develop AI matching and expand into Asia
East Meet East, a New York-based matchmaking service focused on connecting Asian people in the U.S., is expanding its focus to go after dating opportunities in Asia after it raised a $4 million Serie
Tradeshift’s Gert Sylvest and Bancor’s Galia Benartzi sign on for TC Sessions: Blockchain in July
We are excited to announce two more top-quality speakers for our forthcoming TC Sessions: Blockchain event which takes place on July 6. Gert Sylvest, co-founder of Tradeshift and GM of Tradeshift Fr
LG promises to speed up bringing Android updates to its smartphones
LG is making efforts to improve the user experience on its devices after it opened a “Software Upgrade Center” in its native Korea. The new lab will be focused on “providing customer
WeWork confirms deal to buy Naked Hub, one of its main competitors in China
WeWork is buying up one of its largest competitors in China after it announced a deal to acquire Naked Hub. The deal was widely reported by Chinese media yesterday, but WeWork has now confirmed it thr
TravelTriangle raises $12M to digitize India’s travel bookings
TravelTriangle, a startup that is digitizing travel agencies and travel bookings in India, has raised a $12 million Series C round led by Fundamentum. The startup operates like a travel booking platfo
Alibaba’s Ant Financial is reportedly raising billions more at a valuation of at least $100B
Ant Financial, the Alibaba affiliate that looks after the firm’s hugely popular Alipay service, is reportedly gearing up for an enormous funding round that could take its valuation to $100-$150
Lyft is considering entering Japan’s challenging ride-hailing market for some reason
Lyft, Uber’s chief nemesis in the U.S., is thinking of entering the fiercely competitive Japanese ride-hailing space, according to comments from one of its founders. “We would love to be in Ja
Insurance giant Allianz confirms $35M investment in Asian ride-sharing unicorn Go-Jek
German insurance giant Allianz is following Google and Tencent by backing Go-Jek, the Indonesia-based ride-hailing and local services company valued at over $4.5 billion, after it announced an invest
CoinTracker raises $1.5M to make tracking crypto investments easy for anyone
It’s April, that means tax returns for people in the U.S. very soon. Given the breakout year that crypto had in 2017 — despite prices cooling down in recent months — and well-intend
Facebook is again criticized for failing to prevent religious conflict in Myanmar
Today marks the start of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s much-anticipated trip to Washington as he attends a hearing with the Senate, before moving on to a Congressional hearing tomorrow. Away fr
Google Home and Google Home Mini smart speakers go on sale in India
Google’s two smart speaker products — the Google Home and Google Home Mini — and its Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL smartphones are now available in India following a launch event in the
Following Singapore, Philippines regulator forces Grab to delay closing Uber’s app
Grab has given the Uber app a stay of execution in yet another market as regulators across Southeast Asia continue to investigate the merger deal announced between the ride-hailing companies last mont
China’s SenseTime, the world’s highest valued AI startup, raises $600M
The future of artificial intelligence (AI), the technology that is seen as potentially impacting almost every industry on the planet, is widely acknowledged to be a war between tech firms in America a
Myanmar group blasts Zuckerberg’s claim on Facebook hate speech prevention
It’s becoming common to say that Mark Zuckerberg is coming under fire, but the Facebook CEO is again being questioned, this time over a recent claim that Facebook’s internal monitoring sys
LG forecasts record Q1 profit despite its struggling smartphone division
LG’s mobile business may be a serial loss-maker, but the rest of the Korean firm’s interests are doing pretty well… better than ever actually according to its newest earnings forecas
Grab delays shuttering Uber app as Singapore probes merger deal
Fans of Uber in Singapore will have a little more time to continue using the app after Grab, the rival that is acquiring Uber’s business in the region, agreed to extend the life of the app until
Samsung, now the world’s largest chipmaker, forecasts record Q1 profit
Samsung has released primarily guidance for its Q1 2018 financial period and the signs are that it will be another blockbuster. The Korean tech giant’s sales in 2017 were enough to see it unseat
Crypto exchange Coincheck, still recovering from $400M hack, sold to online brokerage
Japanese crypto exchange Coincheck, made famous after hackers made off with more than $400 million in digital token NEM, has been acquired. The company announced today (in Japanese) that Tokyo-based o
Singapore-based smart lock maker Igloohome raises $4M
Singapore-based smart lock maker Igloohome has closed a $4 million Series A round. The investment was led by Insignia Ventures, the new firm started by ex-Sequoia venture partner Yinglan Tan. Philli
Alibaba is preparing to invest in Grab
Fresh from announcing a deal to buy out Uber in Southeast Asia, Grab looks set to gain further firepower with Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba preparing to invest in the ride-hailing firm. Alibaba is