Chinese car rental service provider Yongche, commonly known as Yidao Yongche, and Haier Financial Services, the financial arm of Chinese consumer electronics maker Haier Group, today announced the establishment of Haier Yidao Travel (our translation), a joint venture delivering car rental services, car financial leasing, and more. Under the deal, the two companies will each hold 50% in […]
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Meituan Confirms US$700M Funding Round at US$7B Valuation
Rumors began swirling last month that Meituan, the leading group-buying service in China, had raised US$700 million in new funding. Wang Xing, Meituan founder and CEO, confirmed this yesterday, saying that the round, led by Sequoia Capital China, valued the company at US$7 billion. It has also been reported that both Meituan and Dianping were planning […]
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[Startup Interview] Knock Your Phone, Qeexo Will Listen
Think of when you’re reading an article on your phone, and you want to send snippets of it to your friend. You have to select the text, copy and paste it, select the social network on which to send it then find your friend. It’s a hassle. But now you can save time with ‘FingerSense’, and […]
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Online Education Startup XueXiBao Lands US$20M Series B Funding
As one of the hottest verticals in China’s booming online education industry, K-12 education attracted a flock of entrepreneurs and investors last year, and this trend seems set to continue this year. XueXiBao, a Beijing-based online platform for K-12 education, announced it has landed US$20 million of Series B financing led by SoftBank China Venture Capital and followed by […]
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On-Demand Service App is the Hot New Startup Trend in China
The on-demand economy is growing fast in China. Though the Chinese authorities are interfering with some services, such as private car hailing, internet-enabled marketplaces for freelances are clearly an unstoppable trend. In first-tier and some second-tier Chinese cities, citizens are able to hire personal chefs (Shaofanfan, Whichef), photographers (Douban’s Yipaiyi), cleaning ladies (ayibang, 1jiajie), and driving instructors (58Peilian). There […]
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[Korean Startup Interview] NewsyStock Helps Investors Master The Market
The Chinese central government last year launched “Hu-Gang Tong“, a system allowing investors in Hong Kong and on the mainland to trade in stocks listed on the other side’s bourse through securities firms in their own market. Acting on this development, startup NewsyStock aims to help small investors who are interested in overseas stocks. Securities […]
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Gesture Controlled Speaker Sugr Cube Launched on KickStarter
I have to confess that as a music junkie, I am obsessed with buying all kinds of speakers. (I even have one in the bathroom). So when I saw Sugr Cube, I was thrilled. Sugr Cube is a touch and gesture controlled Wi-Fi speaker that streams online music. They just launched a crowd-funding campaign on […]
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Alibaba Launches Team Collaboration App Dingtalk
The team at Alibaba Group which developed Laiwang, the messaging app aiming to supplant Tencent’s WeChat, has stealthily launched a team collaboration app named Dingtalk, or Dingding. Dingtalk is more like a WeChat app for business, enabling staff to search for colleagues and conduct one-on-one or group chats. With several Chinese tech companies, including WeChat […]
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Xiaomi Debuts Flagship Smartphone Xiaomi Note, Retailing from US$371
Instead of the long-rumored smartphone Mi5, Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi unveiled today Xiaomi Note, the latest addition to Xiaomi’s higher-spec and higher-priced smartphone product line. Here’s the Xiaomi Note’s tech specs: Operating System: MIUI 6 Weight: 161g Colors: Black, White Display: 5.7-inch display, 1920-by-1080-pixel resolution, 386 PPI Screen: Corning Gorilla Glass 3 Rear Camera: Sony 13 Megapixel Front Camera: Sony 4 Megapixel Bluetooth: Bluetooth […]
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Chinese P2P Lending Site Dianrong Announces Fresh Funding From Tiger Global
Dianrong, China’s leading P2P loan service, announced that it has secured new financing from Tiger Global. The specific investment was not disclosed but it was reported to be between tens to hundreds of million of dollars. The funds will be invested in technology development and team construction, according to company co-founder and CEO Guo Yuhang. The platform had […]