Also in the news is Tencent’s earmarking of US$4.5B to fund the growth of Chinese content producers and clampdown on copyright plagiarism on its various platforms

Tencent to invest US$4.5B to nurture Chinese content firms and clamp down on plagiarism

Chinese internet conglomerate Tencent Holdings has earmarked 30 billion yuan (US$4.5 billion) to fund the growth of domestic content producers and clampdown on copyright plagiarism on its various platforms, says a South China Morning Post report.

According to the company, the investment will help boost the development efforts of content producers using its platforms, including social messaging apps WeChat and QQ, browser, news aggregator, Tencent Video, app store and live streaming app, to drive much more original content and traffic onto its sites, 

Lin Songtao, a Tencent vice-president, said the investment will also be used to nurture the most promising, talented content producers by helping to expand their businesses and establish what they are terming “offline culture bases”, to grow and mature the entire industry.

Qubole has closed a US$25M to expand to Southeast Asia

India-based Big Data-as-a-service startup Qubole has closed a US$25 million strategic round of funding led by Singtel Innov8 and Harmony Partners, with participation from existing investors Charles River Ventures (CRV), Lightspeed Venture Partners, Norwest Venture Partners and Institutional Venture Partners (IVP).

Singtel Innov8’s investment provides an important anchor for Qubole’s APAC expansion.

Additionally, Qubole also announced the appointments of Kevin Kennedy as Chief Operating Officer and Mohit Bhatnagar as Senior Vice President of Products.

Qubole is committed to the Asia Pacific region with a central office in Bangalore, India and a sales office in Singapore, led by Joydeep Sen Sarma, Co-founder and CTO. APAC has become a hotbed for Big Data, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning talent, and Qubole already services customers across India, including Ola Cabs, Saavn and Indix. With Singtel Innov8’s support, Qubole looks to expand its presence across Southeast Asia including India, Australia and Singapore.

Qualcomm signs US$12B deals with 3 Chinese handset makers

Global chip maker Qualcomm has signed US$12 billion worth of deals with three Chinese mobile phone firms on the sidelines of a state visit to Beijing by US President Donald Trump, says a Reuters report.

Qualcomm signed three non-binding MOUs to sell components over three years to Xiaomi, OPPO and Vivo, the firm said on Thursday.

The agreement was part of an over US$250 billion package of deals unveiled between US and Chinese firms during Trump’s first state visit to China. Trump has long railed against China’s massive trade surplus with the United States.

Goldman Sachs to invest US$876M in promising Japanese startups

Goldman Sachs Group is on the lookout for promising startups in Japan, says a Nikkei Asian Review report. The US company is ready to spend 100 billion yen (US$876 million) or more in Japan over the coming year or two, using its own funds and money from external investors.

Goldman Sachs also announced it would invest 2 billion yen in Sansan, a startup providing business-card management services. The Tokyo-based company’s mobile app, the Eight, has more than 1.8 million users in Japan. Sansan plans to launch overseas operations in India first, and then expand to Indonesia and other parts of Southeast Asia.

The post Captain’s Log, Nov 09: Singtel Innov8 joins Qubole’s US$25M funding; Goldman Sachs to invest US$876M in Japanese startups appeared first on e27.