附近上门

While tech in the U.S. may have taken a long weekend, China鈥檚 startup scene stayed active and moved forward unabated. Here is what you need to know about the dealmaking in the region.

Ant Financial Becoming #1

First off, Alibaba payments affiliate, Ant Financial, has closed $10 billion in funding at a $150 billion valuation, . Singapore鈥檚 , , and have reportedly participated in the company鈥檚 latest round. Other participants include and Sequoia Capital.

If confirmed, this round would make Ant Financial the most valuable unicorn in history. The company has invested in China鈥檚 bikesharing underdog, , which was later acquired, and India-based food delivery and restaurant search app .

Ant Financial was previously a subsidiary of Alibaba which reduced its ownership in the company last year to a 33 percent direct equity stake in exchange for intellectual property rights related to the company. This latest round would bring its total known funding to more than 14 billion, according to 附近上门.

Tencent Avoiding Backlash

has pulled its in online content startup in response to criticism regarding intellectual property rights, . While the investment seems like chump change in comparison to, well, almost , the implications are much more far reaching.

According to the Reuters report, the state-run media publication the People鈥檚 Daily, widely considered to be the voice of the Chinese government, further criticized Chaping for plagiarism. This withdrawal comes as the government has increasingly displayed its ability to of even some of China鈥檚 most successful startups, like , over other concerns regarding content 鈥渜uality.鈥� Tencent鈥檚 latest move legitimizes the understanding that Chinese companies, even those like , , and Tencent, are aware of their reputations and wary of government scrutiny.

齿颈补辞尘颈鈥檚 Global Eyes Get Bigger

附近上门 News has recently explored affordable smartphone maker rise and potential IPO. Now the company is reportedly looking to expand its operations in Western Europe. According to the , the smartphone maker, which ranked sixth in smartphone shipments in Western Europe in Q1 2018, is aiming to raise its influence in the high-end smartphone market. To do so, it has struck deals with local carriers like Orange.

While the company plans to sell its handsets in the iPhone and Android-dominated U.S. in the future, the experiences of both Huawei and are discouraging. Those increasingly protectionist policies targeting Chinese tech companies wanting to operate in the U.S. are likely major concerns for the company, which has experienced tension with Apple over intellectual property in the past.

There you have it, all the right ingredients to bake a normal day in Chinese tech news: a huge funding round, government scrutiny, and global expansion.

From The聽:

, the operator of Chinese online payment platform Alipay, has reportedly closed its latest funding round of $10 billion, with backers including Temasek, GIC and Warburg Pincus. The new financing is said to value Alibaba-controlled Ant at a staggering $150 billion.

VC firm DCM raising record $750M fund

So far, 2018 is shaping up as a banner year for venture capital fundraising, with established firms seeking ever-larger sums to keep up with the competition. The latest to enter the fray is聽, a 22-year-old Silicon Valley-based firm that its seeking $750 million for its ninth flagship fund.

, a Paris-based developer of mobile games, has raised $200 million in fresh funding from Goldman Sachs.

Here are the most heavily funded direct to consumer startups

Venture investors have poured hundreds of millions of dollars into direct-to-consumer products companies, like Warby Parker and Glossier. 附近上门 News takes a look at which companies have taken the most funding so far.

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