Startup Snapshot

CTrip is reportedly planning to delist from Nasdaq, Uber’s Asia-Pacific operations are staying headquartered in Singapore while it works things out with Hong Kong, and Oyo founder Ritesh Agarwal has set up a new venture capital firm.

You can hear the details on all this news and more on this week’s episode of The Weekly Snapshot.

More information on today’s episode here: https://www.techinasia.com/weekly-snapshot-news-ctrip-uber-oyos-ritesh-agarwal

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Starting to Know - Business is a podcast by Ishu Singh that’s all about exploring the unexplored depths of the business world. If you want to learn about marketing, branding, growth, and more, whether you have just begun your entrepreneurship journey or are running a scaling company, subscribe to Starting to Know - Business wherever you get your podcasts.

Gojek appointed a new group chief technology officer, Indonesian fashion ecommerce startup Sorabel is set to close down after the Covid-19 pandemic wiped out its cash, and Ant Group has started the process of doing a concurrent IPO on the Shanghai Stock Exchange’s Star Market and the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong.

Hear the details on all these stories and more on this week’s episode of The Weekly Snapshot.

More information on today's episode here: https://www.techinasia.com/weekly-snapshot-news-gojek-sorabel-ant-group

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The Cereal Entrepreneur is a podcast by Startup Magazine. Its last series focuses on startups that have shifted their business strategies to support others amid theCovid-19 crisis. It features companies that do 3D printing for hospitals, create networks for small businesses, and more.

Subscribe to The Cereal Entrepreneur wherever you listen to podcasts or visit startupsmagazine.co.uk to learn more.

Jio Platforms is in the news again, bagging investments from Qualcomm and Google, Wavemaker Partners closes its third Southeast Asia fund at US$111 million, and SoftBank’s share prices are on the rise.

Hear the details on all these stories and more on this week’s episode of The Weekly Snapshot.

More information on today's episode here: https://www.techinasia.com/weekly-snapshot-news-google-softbank-wavemaker

ByteDance’s short-video app TikTok hogged the headlines last week with its plan to exit Hong Kong. According to the company, it’s also considering changing TikTok’s corporate structure due to increased scrutiny from India and the US over security concerns.

In other news, Sequoia Capital India announced two new funds worth a total of US$13.5 billion, logistics services provider GoGoVan has rebranded to GoGoX, and Korean ecommerce major Coupang is buying the software behind Singtel’s Hooq.

Hear the details on all these stories and more on this week’s episode of The Weekly Snapshot.

More information on today's episode here: https://www.techinasia.com/weekly-snapshot-news-tiktok-sequoia-gogovan

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To better navigate the challenges of humanizing a brand and its customer engagement, Jean Thomas, chief marketing officer at Pomelo Fashion, and Kenneth Soo, Asia-Pacific team lead for customer success at Braze, will share tips and tricks that businesses can use to interact with their customers in a sensitive and efficient manner.

Register for our virtual event at https://techin.asia/tiaevent and learn the best ways to retain users, keep messaging personal, and do good in troubled times.

Luckin Coffee confirmed US$300 million in fabricated revenue, ecommerce startup Leflair’s CEO was summoned by the Ho Chi Minh City police, and Pinduoduo and Grab saw some movement in their leadership teams.

Hear the details on all these stories and more on this week’s episode of The Weekly Snapshot.

More information on today's episode here: https://www.techinasia.com/weekly-snapshot-news-luckin-coffee-grab-pinduoduo

Episode Sponsor:

To better navigate the challenges of humanizing a brand and its customer engagement, Jean Thomas, chief marketing officer at Pomelo Fashion, and Kenneth Soo, Asia-Pacific team lead for customer success at Braze, will share tips and tricks that businesses can use to interact with their customers in a sensitive and efficient manner.

Register for our virtual event at https://techin.asia/tiaevent and learn the best ways to retain users, keep messaging personal, and do good in troubled times.

At the end of 2019, Meituan-Dianping recorded close to US$400 million in net profits, with more than half of the company’s revenue coming from food delivery. Seeing as the online food delivery industry is notoriously a loss-making business, this came as quite a surprise.

How did Meituan-Dianping succeed, when other players like US counterparts Uber and GrubHub are still struggling? Can other online food delivery players replicate its success? Tech in Asia reporter Putra Muskita answers these questions and more on this month’s Deep Dive.

More information on this episode here: https://www.techinasia.com/deep-dive-online-food-delivery-industrys-problem-profitability

Episode Sponsor:

To better navigate the challenges of humanizing a brand and its customer engagement, Jean Thomas, chief marketing officer at Pomelo Fashion, and Kenneth Soo, Asia-Pacific team lead for customer success at Braze, will share tips and tricks that businesses can use to interact with their customers in a sensitive and efficient manner.

Register for our virtual event at https://techin.asia/tiaevent and learn the best ways to retain users, keep messaging personal, and do good in troubled times.

There’s been a lot of movement in the startup scene.

Bukalapak co-founder and president director Fajrin Rasyid has left his role to join local telecommunications firm Telkom Indonesia as its digital director. Lazada Indonesia CEO Chun Li is poised to take over as group chief executive at the ecommerce firm after Pierre Poignant stepped down just a year and seven months after taking on the job. Meanwhile, SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son exited Alibaba Group’s board of directors after a stint of almost 15 years.

Hear the details on all these stories and more on this week’s episode of The Weekly Snapshot.

More information on this episode here: https://www.techinasia.com/weekly-snapshot-news-gojek-bukalapak-lazada

Episode Sponsor:

TIA Product Development Conference is a four-day virtual summit over two geographic series on how to build, scale, and pivot your product amidst the Covid-19 pandemic. It will feature product leaders from Southeast Asia, China, and Silicon Valley who will share tips, lessons, and guidance on how to manage a tech product in these challenging times.

Register at https://pdc.techinasia.com and use the code “special4flash” before June 30, 2020 to get 40% off your purchase.

Last week can be described as a rollercoaster ride, as Asia’s tech community went through several ups and downs.

Grab and One Championship announced layoffs early in the week, with affected personnel numbering in the hundreds. On the flip side, Disney+ posted a bunch of job openings in Singapore and Indonesia, while Jio Platforms made headlines with news that it bagged over US$15 billion of funding in just two months.

Hear the details on all these stories and more on this inaugural episode of The Weekly Snapshot.

More information on this episode here: https://www.techinasia.com/weekly-snapshot-news-grab-championship-jio-platforms

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Cloud kitchens have become increasingly prominent in the past couple of years, with players like Grab, Foodpanda, and Deliveroo setting up their own operations.

The vertical is a gamechanger for the food ecosystem, with food delivery platforms emerging as the big winners because they  stand to see their order numbers grow. But it’s a different story for restaurants despite the perks that they can get by signing up with cloud kitchens.

Tech in Asia journalist Melissa Goh explains how cloud kitchens work and why they might not be the best fit for every restaurant.

More information on this week's episode here: https://www.techinasia.com/deep-dive-cloud-kitchen-phenomenon

Episode Sponsor:

DigitalOcean is on a mission to simplify cloud computing so developers and their teams can spend more time building software that changes the world. Get started with cloud hosting for free with DigitalOcean at https://do.co/deepdive.

Chinese mobile payment app Alipay recently incorporated the features of several apps from Alibaba’s ecosystem to expand its lifestyle service offerings.

This move was prompted by the escalating competition with fellow super apps WeChat and Meituan-Dianping, whose recent forays into fintech signal that they also want a share of China’s payments pie.

What led to the heightened tension among these players and how will it all play out? Tech in Asia journalist Nicole Jao breaks down the who’s who of China’s super-app race and discusses its impact on the tech ecosystem.

More information on this week's episode here: https://www.techinasia.com/deep-dive-race-chinas-top-super-app

Episode Sponsor:

DigitalOcean is on a mission to simplify cloud computing so developers and their teams can spend more time building software that changes the world. Get started with cloud hosting for free with DigitalOcean at https://do.co/deepdive.