The Latest from Rita Liao
China Roundup: Tencent’s NBA test, TikTok parent deepens education push
Welcome to TechCrunch’s China roundup, a digest of events that happened at major Chinese tech companies and what they mean to tech founders and executives around the world. The talk about U.S.-C
Africa’s top mobile phone seller Transsion lists in Chinese IPO
Chinese mobile phone and device maker Transsion has listed in an IPO on Shanghai’s STAR Market, a Transsion spokesperson confirmed to TechCrunch. Headquartered in Shenzhen, Transsion is a top sell
Africa’s top mobile phone seller Transsion to list in Chinese IPO
Chinese mobile-phone and device maker Transsion will list in an IPO on Shanghai’s STAR Market, Transsion confirmed to TechCrunch. The company — which has a robust Africa sales network — coul
What Huawei didn’t say in its ‘robust’ half-year results
The media has largely bought into Huawei’s “strong” half-year results today, but there’s a major catch in the report: the company’s quarter-by-quarter smartphone growth was zero. The
China’s Vivo is eyeing smartphone users in Africa and the Middle East
Africa’s mobile phone industry has in recent times been dominated by Transsion, a Shenzhen-based company that is little known outside the African continent and is gearing up for an initial publi
GitHub confirms it has blocked developers in Iran, Syria and Crimea
The impact of U.S. trade restrictions is trickling down to the developer community. GitHub, the world’s largest host of source code, is preventing users in Iran, Syria, Crimea and potentially ot
Joy Capital closes $700M for early-stage investments in China
Joy Capital, the venture capital firm that has backed Luckin, NIO, Mobike and other investor darlings in China, just raised $700 million for a new fund focusing on early to growth-stage startups. Laun
The scientist behind Juul launches a Juul alternative for China
The chemist who helped create the magic sauce behind Juul, Xing Chenyue, unveiled the product of her new startup Myst Labs this week after two years of development: electronic cigarette alternatives d
Tencent brings cloud service to Japan in global push
The world’s largest video game publisher is looking outside its home country for growth. Tencent, the Chinese internet behemoth that operates WeChat and a few blockbuster games, announced on Fri
How skate legend Per Welinder finds an investing niche amid US-China trade tensions
Months of tit-for-tat trade negotiations between China and the United States have damaged cross-border investment interest between the superpowers, especially in areas that involve deep technology and
Alibaba to help Salesforce localize and sell in China
Salesforce, the 20-year-old leader in customer relationship management (CRM) tools, is making a foray into Asia by working with one of the country’s largest tech firms, Alibaba. Alibaba will be
Nintendo Switch might soon go on sale in China via Tencent
After months of anticipation, Nintendo Switch is ready to shed more light on its China launch. The Japanese console giant and Tencent are “working diligently” to bring the Switch to the wo
China plans e-cigarette regulation as industry booms
China is taking steps to regulate its blossoming vaping market as health concerns over electronic cigarettes increase. China’s National Health Commission has begun research into e-cigarettes and
China’s coffee upstart Luckin pushes into India and Middle East
Luckin continues to expand at jaw-dropping speed as it announced plans to open shop overseas for the first time. On Monday, the Starbucks challenger from China said it has signed a memorandum of under
White Star Capital eyes Asia growth with new Hong Kong office
For western startups looking to enter Asia and Asian startups expanding globally, more funding has become available as investors are increasingly looking to export local tech solutions to overseas mar
After Baidu tie-up, BMW taps Tencent for autonomous driving in China
China is BMW’s largest market, and the German automaker knows in order to capture the country’s demanding consumers, its future models must support robust autonomous driving capability. Bu
How a Hong Kong startup gets caught up in US-China trade war
Taylor Host has been operating his artificial intelligence startup out of Hong Kong for more than two years. The American entrepreneur has clients from Europe, North America and Asia, but he settled i
China startup deals shrink as fundraising for investors plummets
Chinese startups continue to weather tough times as private investors, caught in a cash crunch, are concentrating money into fewer deals. China’s deal-making activity for startups in the six mon
Snap turns to search giant Baidu to court Chinese advertisers
Two years have passed since Snap Inc. first struck a deal with Baidu that authorized China’s largest search engine to be a reseller of Snapchat ads for companies in Greater China, as well as Jap
Online shopping guide SMZDM surges 44% on China stock market debut
When Chinese internet companies seek initial public offerings, they tend to look to the United States, where rules for profitability are less strict. SMZDM, an online shopping guide that few people ou