Jon Russell
I cover Asia (sometimes crypto) for @techcrunch and write my weekly @asiatechreview newsletter 📩 [email protected] 📲 Telegram: jonrussell 🇬🇧🇪🇺
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Factbox: Aluminum cans get boost from anger over plastic pollution
French food and drinks multinational Danone is the latest company shaking up the...
Black clothing exports to Hong Kong from China banned
Courier companies in China have issued notices of a ban on the export to Hong Kong of items including black clothing, and a courier firm worker affirms the ban. Protesters have adopted as their uniform black T-shirts, jeans and sneakers.
What's in store for the Gates Foundation in India?
Will charm get Gates Fouundations' immunisation efforts in India across the finish line? Or are there more hurdles in BMGF's path?
The hunt for Asia's El Chapo
A multinational task force is on the trail of a China-born Canadian national who, police tell Reuters, is the suspected boss of a vast drug network in Asia.
Jon Russell
If you only read one story this week, let it be this
3d
PhonePe: The second sun in Flipkart's solar system
Worth ~$10 billion today, Flipkart-owned PhonePe is no longer reliant on its e-commerce benefactor. However, it needs to figure out its business model
Rebel Foods' appetite for the overseas cloud kitchen pie
Rebel Foods has grown to lead in the cloud kitchens business in India. It's better known for its brands Faasos
Grammarly raises $90M at over $1B+ valuation for its AI-based grammar and writing tools
While attention continues to be focused on the rise and growing sophistication of voice-based interfaces, a startup that is using artificial intelligence to improve how we communicate through the written word has raised a round of funding to...
Jon Russell
Grammarly is such a great tool when you write BUT it comes with a whole load of privacy that I honestly don’t know are worth it (and now company is worth $1B+)
9d
Hong Kong Unrest an Ominous Lesson on Chinese Rule: Taiwan Leader
In a fiery speech likely to upset Beijing, Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen called on the island’s people to draw lessons from the violent protests in Hong Kong and pledged to defend Taiwan’s sovereignty.
Discount or death: How Amazon, Flipkart drive their festive sales
Even in the midst of an economic slowdown, Amazon and Flipkart’s flagship sales have broken new records. The secret sauce? A mix of persuasion, pressure and private labels
Jon Russell
Amazon and Flipkart sold billions of USD of product during India's largest e-commerce sales period -- but real story is the continued reliance on discounts to generate these headline figures for their PR blitz
9d
Apple removes Quartz news app from the Chinese App Store over Hong Kong coverage
Quartz says its website has also been banned in mainland China
TikTok tests the waters for Bytedance’s Indian edtech plunge
Chinese startup behemoth Bytedance, through TikTok's edutech play Edutok, is laying the groundwork for an edtech invasion of India
Jon Russell
A great read on ByteDance (TikTok parent) and its big plans to get into online education in India just as it has done in China.
TikTok has some 200M monthly users in India, and it is a higher priorty than Facebook for many professional streamers.
10d
Thailand arrests man amid #royalmotorcade controversy
Thai authorities have arrested and charged a man for posting "inappropriate...
Ritesh Agarwal to invest $700M in Oyo’s new $1.5B financing round
India’s largest budget lodging startup Oyo Hotels and Homes said today it plans to raise about $1.5 billion as part of a new financing round as the startup looks to expand its footprints in the U.S. and Europe. Ritesh Agarwal, the founder and CEO of...
Digital wallet Ovo is officially Indonesia’s fifth unicorn – KrASIA
Jon Russell
Here we go again:: Indonesia's government clearly reads CB Insights and believes it is the gospel truth
12d
SoftBank investee Grab's social impact fig leaf
Grab is the biggest fish in its pond and is now set on wooing regulators and governments at a time of crisis for growth-focused unicorns
Jon Russell
Grab's recent social impact report got me thinking about the sustainability of its business, particularly in light of the struggles of Uber & other SoftBank-backed businesses like WeWork: my @TheKenWeb story today dives into those topics in more detail
the-ken.com/story/grab-soc… 🔒 pic.twitter.com/wjaWk8jBrW
12d
Elon Musk Hired A Convicted Felon To Dig Up Dirt On The Cave Rescuer He Called A “Pedo Guy”
The Tesla CEO paid James Howard-Higgins more than $50,000 to look into a man he thought was a pedophile. Musk, however, failed to examine Howard-Higgins’ past.