Jon Russell
I cover Asia (sometimes crypto) for @techcrunch and write my weekly @asiatechreview newsletter 📩 [email protected] 📲 Telegram: jonrussell 🇬🇧🇪🇺
Last synced from Twitter 11m ago
Ajit Mohan to Sanjay Gupta: Facebook, Google hot on Hotstar's big stars
Sanjay Gupta joins Google India from Hotstar parent Star & Disney, followed by ex-CEO Ajit Mohan's move to Facebook. The theme is barely a coincidence
Jon Russell
Video in India is a major focus for tech giants in 2020
Streaming service Hotstar's incredible rise in India hasn't gone unnoticed - both Facebook & Google raided it for execs to run their India businesses
(Yes, I wrote an India story with @sanka9k)
the-ken.com/story/hotstar-… pic.twitter.com/LgLoxDcFMi
22h
Almost-unicorn PropertyGuru’s missed IPO exit
What are the reasons that caused PropertyGuru, the largest property classified business in Southeast Asia, to abort its plans to go public?
Jon Russell
PropertyGuru, SE Asia's earliest startups, canned a much-anticipated IPO at the 11th hour
@kakayy looks into what went down, why PG actually isn't profitable as it claims and how WeWork's own IPO disaster is causing problem for startups across the world
the-ken.com/story/almost-u… pic.twitter.com/c1QZgKxSWW
3d
WSJ News Exclusive | SoftBank Is Selling Wag Stake Back to Company -- Sources
SoftBank’s Vision Fund has agreed to sell its nearly 50% stake in Wag Labs Inc. back to the struggling dog-walking startup, marking another disappointment for the Japanese investing giant.
Why we're closing Mumbrella Asia
We’ve made a reluctant call. We’re closing Mumbrella Asia. It was a tough decision because people’s careers and livelihoods are involved. And the failure does not belong to those people. It was a tough decision because we’ve just run a successful...
Jon Russell
"When we launched, we told ourselves we were entering a bigger market [Southeast Asia] than Australia. In truth, we were going into a smaller one [just Singapore."
Filed under: Media is hard; Southeast Asia is hard; Media in Southeast Asia is hard
4d
The Ctrip wind beneath MakeMyTrip’s wings
Caught in a seemingly endless cycle of discounting, can Chinese travel giant Ctrip help India's largest OTA turn its slowing fortunes around?
Jon Russell
Fascinating look at Chinese travel giant Ctrip's play for India through MakeMyTrip--an OTA that is the clear leader in the country but has struggled to make its business financially sustainable
Can Ctrip's know-how help MMT reach terminal velocity?
the-ken.com/story/ctrip-ma… pic.twitter.com/PCJ6nadfpI
7d
Razer CEO Berated And Threatened His Staff, Former Employees Say
Min-Liang Tan was “officially pissed off,” he wrote in an email to members of Razer’s marketing team in February of 2014. The gaming hardware company hadn’t made the business website Fast Company’s 2014 list of “Most Innovative Companies,” and in...
South China Morning Post
South China Morning Post is a leading news media company that has reported on China and Asia for more than a century with global impact. Founded in 1903, SCMP is headquartered in Hong Kong, where it is the city's newspaper of record.
Flipkart leads $60M investment in logistics startup Shadowfax
Walmart’s Flipkart has backed Indian startup Shadowfax in a new $60 million financing round as the retail giant works to strengthen its logistics network in the nation. Flipkart led the Series D financing round for the four-year-old Bangalore-based...
Grab Launches Asia’s First Numberless Card
Grab announced the launch of GrabPay Card, Asia’s first numberless card that offers users unparalleled card security, access to an expanded rewards ecosystem and hassle-free Grab payments integration…
Jon Russell
I have to say the GrabPay credit card looks promising -- would be nice to have a Monzo-style card for Southeast Asia... few promising companies but nothing with Grab's reach across the region
8d
Carousell makes its mark on the global classifieds stage
The poster child for Singaporean startups is now SE Asia’s largest classifieds company. Will it become a king or pawn on the global classifieds chessboard
Jon Russell
I looked at Carousell's rise from Singapore startup darling to SE Asia's classifieds leader/global player following its recent $850M merger with 701Search--the combined entity has a shot at profitability and $1B+ valuation if things play out
the-ken.com/story/singapor… pic.twitter.com/FRDhXnsuJS
8d
Ep. 55: Kuaishou: The Anti-Douyin/TikTok?
we have admittedly relegated to a “supporting role” thus far here on TechBuzz: Kuaishou, which is rightfully known as the original Chinese short-video app.
Selling to those who can't pay: human cost of modern banking
From Kotak Mahindra Bank to Vijaya Bank to Justdial and Extramarks, the Mitras got caught in a web of misselling. The more they tried to break free, the more they got sucked right in
Jon Russell
Today’s @TheKenWeb story is a blockbuster on the horrors of modern banking in India - how a carpenter with aspirations got saddled with debt
the-ken.com/story/human-co… pic.twitter.com/j1E4FTW9bH
9d
Tariff hikes the key to Reliance Jio's IPO dream
Tariff hikes were a lifeline for Airtel and Vodafone Idea. For Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Jio, though, they're critical to a dream IPO
China Institutes Mandatory Face Scanning for New Mobile Users
China Institutes Mandatory Face Scanning for New Mobile Users
Tech in Asia - Connecting Asia's startup ecosystem
Jon Russell
Another huge fintech round in SE Asia: Kredivo — which offers credit and small consumer loans in Indonesia — just announced a $90M raise at a reported valuation of $500M
10d
TikTok accused in California lawsuit of sending user data to China
A California college student has accused popular video-sharing app TikTok in a c...
Facebook Gives Workers a Chatbot to Appease That Prying Uncle
The “Liam Bot” teaches employees what to say if friends or family ask difficult questions about the company over the holidays.
Next stop – AWS
I usually write a blog post when I change gigs. I think that has been the custom here for the 10 years I have been pretending to blog. I will probably write up more about the transition some day bu…