Jon Russell
Jon Russell is an Asia-based writer for TechCrunch. Formerly he was an Asia editor for The Next Web.Jon Russell is passionate about the development of the internet, technology, and startups in Asia. He is based in Bangkok, Thailand.
You can email him at jr@techcrunch.com or use his PGP key.
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Latest from Jon Russell
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Kik could pave the way for more mainstream tech company ICOs
ICOs have barely touched mainstream tech companies. But that all changes this week as Kik begins selling its Kin token in an ICO targeted at raising $125 million. The sale bucks ICO trends, and it could prove to be a seminal event for the tech industry at large. Read More
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UK regulator says ICO investors should be ‘prepared to lose your entire stake’
The UK’s markets regulator has added its voice to warning calls from across the world around the dangers of ICO investing. ICOs, also known as token sales, have brought in an estimated $1.7 billion in crypto token investment for companies this year, but the boom has raised concern among financial regulators for the potential for scams, money laundering and other illicit… Read More
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Nintendo will revive the NES Classic and continue selling the SNES Classic in 2018
Good news for old skool Nintendo enthusiasts — the company has said it will revive the NES Classic Edition next year, and it plans to continue selling the SNES Classic in 2018, too. The company originally killed off the hit NES Classic Edition with an announcement in April and it had also said that the SNES version, which went up for pre-sale last month, would not live beyond this year. Read More
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Zilingo raises $18M for its fashion e-commerce service in Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia-based fashion marketplace Zilingo has closed an $18 million Series B funding round led by Sequoia Capital India and Burda Principal Investments. Zilingo was founded less than two years ago by ex Sequoia analyst Ankiti Bose (CEO) and former Yahoo engineer Dhruv Kapoor (CTO). The basic vision is to help Southeast Asia’s thriving independent fashion sellers… Read More
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Singapore’s Red Dot Payment closes $5.2M Series B round
Singapore’s Red Dot Payment, a payment gateway startup founded by a team of ex Visa and MasterCard executives, has closed a $5.2 million Series B round to grow its business. Existing backers GMO Venture Partners from Japan, Wavemaker Partners, Skype co-founder Toivo Annus and MDI Ventures put into the round. New investor DORR Group also took part. The startup previously raised an… Read More
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Xiaomi takes aim at Apple with a Macbook Pro rival priced from $858
Xiaomi is shooting a number of arrows at Apple today. Smartphones aside, it just launched an affordable take on the Macbook Air that ships with Windows. The first Xiaomi laptop was a shot at the Macbook Air when it was unveiled in the summer of 2016, and the company is back with its take on Apple’s more expensive computer. The Mi Notebook Pro — because all comparisons start with… Read More
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Xiaomi unveils second bezel-less Mi Mix smartphone and new Mi Note phablet
It’s the day before iPhone launch and Xiaomi is back at it again with the unveiling of the follow-up to last year’s highly-acclaimed and near-bezel-less Mi Mix smartphone. The Mi Mix 2 keeps the previous design aesthetic — developed by a team led by designer Philippe Starck — but with a slightly smaller six-inch display and improved 18:9 screen resolution. The bezel… Read More
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PewDiePie, the world’s most popular YouTuber, is back making more racist comments
PewDiePie, the world’s most popular YouTube broadcaster with over 57 million subscribers, is back once again making racist comments. The broadcaster, real name Felix Kjellberg, lost a lucrative contract with Disney earlier this year after posting anti-Semitic content and making repeated references to Nazis in videos. This time around Kjellberg, who is known for being the best-paid… Read More
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Japanese startup plans one-stop ICO platform fueled by VC investment and an ICO
China banned ICOs this week and it is investigating platforms that facilitate them. Over in nearby Japan, one company is hatching an ambitious plan to offer a one-stop-service to let companies across the world take advantage of blockchain technology and IPOs. And all without violating financial regulations. Tech Bureau currently helps companies with consultancy and a range of… Read More
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China’s UrWork invests in Indonesia’s ReWork via $3M deal as WeWork rivalry heats up
UrWork, the unicorn that is competing with WeWork in China, is following its American rival’s lead by extending its reach in Southeast Asia after it took part in a $3 million funding round for Indonesia-based ReWork. The round, which is described as pre-Series A, was led by China-U.S. firm ATM Capital and Indonesia’s Convergence Ventures. UrWork was a participant alongside U.S. Read More
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Budget hotel network pioneer OYO raises $250M led by SoftBank’s Vision Fund
India-based OYO, a startup that pioneered and popularized the concept of budget hotel networks, has closed $250 million in new funding led by SoftBank’s Vision Fund. The startup was founded in 2013 by Thiel Fellow Ritesh Agarwal, now aged 24, and the concept centers around standardizing the quality of India’s wildly differentiated affordable hotels, and providing some structure… Read More
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ICO funding hit a record $800 million in Q2 2017
If a ban initiated by China’s central bank this week marks an end to the first era of ICOs — the early gold rush before the regulators arrive — then Q2 2017 may turn out to be a peak quarter in the history of the industry. The total amount raised by startups via ICOs, which are known as token sales and involve the sale of newly minted crypto coins based on… Read More
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Apple says its developer service was affected by a bug not a security breach
Apple has explained that an issue that briefly affected developer accounts today was caused by a bug and not a security breach as some had speculated. Earlier today (Wednesday), handfuls of reports came in around an anomaly that changed some developers’ home addresses within Apple’s system to a location in Russia. Given recent history, including the hacking of Hilary… Read More
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Niantic’s postponed European Pokémon Go events will now take place in October
Good news for Pokémon Go fans in Europe: Niantic has announced new dates for the events in Europe that were postponed following the disastrous outcome of the first-ever Pokémon GO Fest in Chicago in July. The events — dubbed ‘Pokémon GO Safari Zone’ — will be held as follows: October 7, 2017
Fisketorvet—Copenhagen, Denmark
Centrum Černý Most—Prague… Read More -
Chatbot startup founder sees Southeast Asia potential despite slow start worldwide
Chatbots may have underwhelmed thus far, but the impact of the technology still has bags of potential in international markets where mobile messaging has been mainstream for years. That’s the view of one startup that’s working to bring the benefit of bots to the mainstream in Indonesia, the world’s fourth most populous country and the largest economy in the growing region… Read More
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Remember when WhatsApp didn’t want to make money?
WhatsApp is preparing to make money by facilitating conversations between business and consumers. It’s a great move. Messaging is huge, and there is vast scope for bringing brands and businesses on board. It’s a process that’s been happening for years, predominantly with Asia-based chat apps that let users follow official accounts, but enterprising business people in… Read More
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Google is hiring AI talent from China even though it’s still blocked in the country
Google’s core search service has been blocked in China for over seven years, but that isn’t stopping the internet giant from snapping up artificial intelligence and machine learning talent from the country. AI is tipped to become pivotal to the future of tech, with high-profile figures such as former Google China lead Kaifu Lee betting big on its potential to… Read More
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Thailand’s Event Pop raises $2M to expand its ticketing service in Southeast Asia
Event Pop, a two-year-old digital ticketing startup from Thailand, has raised a Series A round of over $2 million to expand its product and move into new markets. The round was led by Thai investors InVent, a subsidiary of the parent of operator AIS, and Kasikorn Bank’s $30 million Beacon fund. Event Pop had previously raised $500,000. One of its backers is millionaire… Read More
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Hong Kong regulator ‘concerned’ by ICO funding boom
One day after China’s decision to ban ICOs pending an investigation, Hong Kong — the country that is a special administrative region of China — has voiced concern at the growth of ICO fundraising. ICOs, which involve the sale of newly issued crypto coins to raise money, are said to have brought in $1.6 billion in funding for companies so far this year, according to… Read More
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Xiaomi’s first phone running stock Android looks impressive and costs less than $250
Xiaomi’s newest flagship smartphone will launch the day before the next iPhone, but Chinese firm has offered another new arrival before that date — and it marks a departure from the usual. That’s because Xiaomi has unveiled its first device running Google’s Android One software, and it’s called the Mi A1. The device was launched at a press event in India today… Read More
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