Eastly: Asia Tech News Direct From The Source
Welcome to Eastly, your weekly infusion of all the top tech stories from the world’s innovation powerhouse: East Asia!
Every Sunday we’ll bring you a short, sharp roundup of the biggest stories our team in China have spotted – the kind of stuff that takes a few weeks for the Western media to notice.
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There seems to be a lot of it about. Money, that is. As China gets back on an even keel post-COVID, it seems there’s a renewed faith in investment – and in both the country’s tech community and its consumers.
Pokémon Opens Official Shanghai Subsidiary
Shanghai, I Choose You!
Date: 23 July, 2020
The Pokémon Company, one of Japan’s biggest global success stories, has officially incorporated a subsidiary business in China.
To be known as the Pokémon Shanghai Toy Limited Company, the firm was established in Shanghai on July 20, 2020, with a registered capital of 120 million yen.
The company's scope includes toys, animation, amusement, and entertainment products.
Source: https://36kr.com/newsflashes/806606415479175
Huawei Announces Smart Traffic Tech
Smarter life on smarter roads
Date: 23 July, 2020
Huawei officially unveiled its smart traffic technology at an online conference earlier this week.
A fusion of different tech components – including AI, big data, cloud computing, and 5G – the new solution is designed to enhance traffic law enforcement, vehicle inspection, and traffic control scenarios.
Source: https://www.egsea.com//news/detail/693446.html
China’s Answer To Canva Raises 30 Million Yuan
Hecai vs. Canva - who’s going to win?
Date: 24 July, 2020
Hecai, the AI-powered graphic design company that’s being touted as China’s answer to Canva, has received 30 million yuan in A2 series investment funding.
Comprising institutional investment from a consortium of firms – including Wan'an, Merrill Lynch, and Yinji Assets – founder Tong Shitian plans to use the funds to expand its product line, promote the business internationally, and continue to advance Hecai’s AI capabilities.
Hecai previously raised 10 million yuan in series A and A+ rounds in 2017, completed a B round of financing in 2018, and obtained equity investment from Baoguang Investment in June 2019.
Source: https://www.36kr.com/p/806856558985346
Investors Back Flexible Employment Platform
Clouds are gathering… for innovation?
Date: 24 July, 2020
Flexible employment platform, Zhongfuyun, has raised investment from the Cloud Angel Fund to the tune of 10 million yuan.
Company founder, Chen Qing, said that after this round of financing the company will continue to perfect its overall business model, build a strong technical platform, and expand its sales efforts.
Zhongfuyun (which literally translates as ‘China Service Cloud’) focuses on four major areas of employment: catering services, logistics, food delivery, and retail. Unlike the traditional service industry, Zhongfuyun aims to open up the whole process of flexible employment – including job searches, training, and expenses.
Source: https://www.36kr.com/p/808078082719873
Offline Business Is Recovering
The recovery is finally here!
Date: 24 July, 2020
It’s not just the tech sector that’s starting to see green shoots. New initiatives are giving other offline areas of the Chinese economy a boost.
For example, the Zhejiang Province government recently issued 10 million movie coupons; helping to kickstart theatre box offices. Also, in travel, aviation has recovered by up to 80% of pre-epidemic levels.
Source: https://www.chinanews.net/news/265878047/chinas-zhejiang-to-issue-movie-coupons
Notes:
Hecai: Established in 2015, Hecai started out working closely with media companies, offering digital advertising services. After continuous iteration, the company entered China's programmatic advertising sector in 2017 and gradually grew into an artificial intelligence graphic design platform.
Asia Markets
Asia equity valuations are very attractive vs. U.S., UBS says
Markets Summary: https://www.bloomberg.com/markets/stocks/world-indexes/asia-pacific
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