Jon Russell
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The Latest from Jon Russell
EV Growth closes $200M fund to cover Southeast Asia’s Series B funding gap
East Ventures has long been known as one of Indonesia’s longest-serving and most active seed-stage investors, but now it has officially moved up the food chain after it announced a final close o
Agritech startup TaniGroup raises $10M to help Indonesia’s farmers grow
In 2016, former World Bank analyst Eka Pamitra teamed up with five friends to start a business that would help farmers in their native Indonesia. Today their company — TaniGroup — closed a
Indonesia’s vegetable hawkers are going digital thanks to a new startup
Few things are more interesting than the convergence of old and new. It’s with that in mind that we once again look to Indonesia, where East Ventures, an early-stage VC that’s behind a pro
SoundCloud buys artist distribution platform Repost Network
The past year has seen Spotify embark on a series of acquisitions to beef up its service, particularly on podcast content. Now it is the turn of SoundCloud, another European music startup — albe
China’s largest chipmaker is delisting from the NYSE
The U.S-China trade war is increasingly influencing tech. Huawei has suffered a turbulent past week with key suppliers pausing work with the company, and now China’s largest chipmaker is plannin
Crypto exchange Binance prepares to add margin trading ‘soon’
Binance, the world’s most prominent crypto exchange, says it is close to adding a much-anticipated margin-trading feature to its service following weeks of speculation. The company tweeted confi
Indonesia restricts WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram usage following deadly riots
Indonesia is the latest nation to hit the hammer on social media after the government restricted the use of WhatsApp and Instagram following deadly riots yesterday. Numerous Indonesia-based users are
A young entrepreneur is building the Amazon of Bangladesh
At just 26, Waiz Rahim is supposed to be involved in the family business, having returned home in 2016 with an engineering degree from the University of Southern California. Instead, the young entrepr
Food delivery startup Dahmakan eats up $5M for expansion in Southeast Asia
It’s harvest season for Southeast Asia’s full-stack food delivery startups. Following on from Singapore’s Grain raising $10 million, so Malaysia-based Dahmakan today announced a $5 m
Biofourmis raises $35M to develop smarter treatments for chronic diseases
Biofourmis, a Singapore-based startup pioneering a distinctly tech-based approach to the treatment of chronic conditions, has raised a $35 million Series B round for expansion. The round was led by Se
Ikea invests in Livspace, a one-stop platform for interior design based in India
Fresh from raising $70 million last year via big names including Goldman Sachs and TPG Growth, Livspace, an India-based startup that offers a one-stop-shop for interior design, has lured yet another
Huawei responds to Android ban with service and security guarantees, but its future is unclear
Huawei has finally gone on the record about a ban on its use of Android, but the company’s long-term strategy on mobile still remains unclear. In an effort to appease its worried customer base,
LG developed its own AI chip to make its smart home products even smarter
As its once-strong mobile division continues to slide, LG is picking up its focus on emerging tech. The company has pushed automotive, and particularly its self-driving capabilities, and today it doub
China’s Luckin Coffee raises up to $651M in upsized US IPO
Another week, another cash-burning tech IPO in the U.S. Following on from Uber’s high-profile listing, ambitious Chinese startup Luckin Coffee has raised up to $650.8 million on the Nasdaq after
Amazon leads $575M investment in Deliveroo
Amazon is taking a slice of Europe’s food delivery market after the U.S. e-commerce giant led a $575 million investment in Deliveroo . First reported by Sky yesterday, the Series G round was con
Chat app Line is adding Snap-style disappearing stories
Facebook cloning Snap to death may be old news, but others are only just following suit. Line, the Japanese messaging app that’s popular in Asia, just became the latest to clone Snap’s ep
Vertex Ventures hits $230M first close on new fund for Southeast Asia and India
Tis the season to be raising in India and Southeast Asia. Hot on the heels of new funds from Strive and Jungle Ventures, so Singapore’s Vertex Ventures, a VC backed by sovereign wealth fund Tema
YouTrip, a challenger bank in Southeast Asia, raises $25.5M for expansion
Singapore-based startup YouTrip thinks consumers of Southeast Asia deserve a taste of the challenger bank revolution happening in the U.S. and Europe, and it has raised $25.5 million in new funding to
Alibaba returns to growth with revenue up 51% to $13.9 billion
It’s business as usual for Alibaba after the Chinese e-commerce giant bounced back from a lackluster Q3 — which saw its slowest growth for three years. For Q4, the company saw revenue surg
Tencent’s mixed bag for Q1: record profit despite weakest revenue growth yet
Tencent, Asia’s largest tech firm, had a horrific 2018 on account of a country-wide freeze on new game monetization in China, but there’s evidence it has turned the corner. The companyR