Also, IoT startup CRON Systems raises US$1.2 million, NBA and Rakuten team up, and more
China’s Airbnb, Tujia, raises US$300 million
Tujia, the Chinese equivalent of Airbnb has raised US$300 million in a round led by Chinese travel booking giant Ctrip and All Stars Investment, according to a report by Bloomberg. Other investors include China Renaissance’s Huaxing Growth Capital Fund, Glade Brook Capital and G Street Capital.
The round puts Tujia at a valuation of US$1.5 billion.
The platform has now 650,000 listings, far overshadowing Airbnb’s China chapter — it has only 100,000 listings currently. Tujia also has presence in over 1,000 overseas destinations, these includes Japan.
JD.com launches luxury e-commerce arm
Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com has announced the launch of its luxury e-commerce arm called Toplife.
Toplife will feature a range of luxury and high-end stores from global brands covering fashion, jewelry, watches, health and beauty, home furnishings, cosmetics, and electronics.
Brands will receive service support from JD, including a 24-hour a day customer support and fulfillment, as well as brand-building and marketing resources.
They will also be able to access JD’s logistics network, including its JD Luxury Express, the white-glove delivery service that is available in major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Chengdu.
Luxury brands that have already joined Toplife include La Perla, Emporio Armani, Rimowa (LVMH), B&O Play and Trussardi.
“Working with Toplife, luxury brands worldwide are now able to directly provide customers throughout China with a true luxury shopping experience previously only associated with high-end offline stores. Toplife aims to mirror the offline luxury shopping experience in a premium e-commerce experience,” said Richard Liu, Chairman and CEO of JD.com, in an official press statement.
Indonesia govt buys new IT system to automate internet censorship
Indonesia’s Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (Menkominfo), has purchased an IDR 221 billion (US$16.3 million) IT system to help it automate internet censorship, according to a report by Coconuts.
The IT system was developed by PT Industri Telekomunikasi Indonesia (PT Inti), a state-owned IT company.
Also Read: The Glints team is breaking up, Co-founder Looi Qin En is leaving the company
It is expected to roll out in the beginning of next year.
Currently, censorship of internet websites is done by Menkominfo staff manually keying in websites into the system. To date, they have blocked over 800,000 websites.
Defence IoT startup CRON Systems raises US$1.2 million
India-based defence IoT startup CRON systems has raised US$1.2 million from early-stage investor YourNest.
It will use the funds to accelerate the company’s international expansion across Middle East, Africa and Europe, increase production capabilities and strengthen R&D for the next generation of products. It also plans to open up new offices in the US, Singapore and Adelaide.
Founded in 2015 by Tushar Chhabra, Saurav Agarwala and Tommy Katzenellenbogen, CRON Systems provides tech solutions that leverage on AI, lasers, data, encrypted communications and automation to strengthen border security.
CRON’s IoT and laser-guided intrusion detection systems help identify and report human and mechanical intrusions along large-scale land borders.
CRON already has defence and security clients such as the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) and the Indian Army. It also signed partnership with the Israeli Defence Force (IDF)
NBA and Rakuten team up
The National Basketball Association (NBA) and Rakuten that will make the latter an exclusive distributor for all live NBA games and the marketing partner for NBA.
For this season, Rakuten will offer NBA LEAGUE PASS, the league’s premium live game subscription service, exclusively to Rakuten members in Japan through NBA.com, the NBA App and for purchase through Rakuten’s video-on-demand service, Rakuten TV.
NBA LEAGUE PASS will allow fans to watch all NBA games including preseason, regular-season and playoffs games, NBA All-Star, NBA Conference Finals and The Finals.
Also Read: Intex-backed sports social platform Rooter.io close to raise Series A funding
Rakuten will also offer a subscription package on Rakuten TV, providing fans with access to nine games a week, one game per weekday and two games each on Saturdays and Sundays.
Rakuten Viber, Rakuten’s instant messaging platform, will also become an official platform for the NBA and its teams, providing their more than 900 million users with access to league content.
—
Image Credit: Tujia
The post Captain’s Log: China’s Airbnb raises US$300M, JD.com launches luxury e-commerce arm appeared first on e27.