Rocket Internet, a German company well-known for their ability to clone thriving businesses and execute it in other geographical markets, have launched a Pinterest clone called Pinspire, reported Daily Social.
Not exactly an inspiring name, but Rocket Internet is not known for being original either. What’s unique about them though, is how fast they are able to copy a business idea and get it up and running in no time. Read more
Ru-Net, a Russion VC firm focused on funding Internet and IT industries, has plans to invest US$50M in Southeast Asia in the next two or three years, reported Penn Olson.
Successful companies that they’ve already invested in include: OZON.ru, an Amazon-like website, BigLion, a daily deals site, and ivi, an online video site. Read more
Filed under Innovation & Technology, News Stop, Technology, Venture Capital & Private Equity, WebTags: biglion, digital media partners, ivi, mj group, ozun.ru, rtp ventures, ru-net
QR codes have taken off in a big way in the marketing world lately, and PayPal is the latest to get in on this craze.
Just recently, they launched a pilot program in Singapore’s train stations to allow locals to purchase Valentine’s Day gifts at discount using QR codes, reported AllThingsD.
To purchase a gift, commuters would need to download a QR code reader on their mobile phones to scan the right spot on the poster. They will be brought to a webpage where they can purchase the product using PayPal. The experiment is being run on 15 subway stations in Singapore. Read more
Philippines telecom operator Globe has partnered with Singapore counterpart SingTel to bring MyAppsMall, a cross-platform mobile app store, to Globe prepaid and postpaid subscribers in the Philippines, reported ABS-CBN.
The app store contains over 20,000 free and paid apps, which includes categories like games, social networks, Internet browsers, lifestyle, news, entertainment, and more. The app can be accessed via a web browser on both PC and mobile. Read more
Socialwalk, an online platform that helps event attendees build potentially useful connections with each other, has expanded to three countries within a year. Now, they want to help others do the same.
The founders, Tham Keng Yew and Eileen Feng, recently shared in a press release some tips regarding how companies can expand regionally. Read more
Melbourne-based tech start-up incubator BlueChilli has announced plans to expand to the United States and Southeast Asia, which will follow the impending opening of its Sydney incubator this year, reported StartupSmart. Read more
(1) The Nomura Research Institute says that Japan’s social gaming market will likely be worth 393.5 billion yen (US$5.1 billion) in fiscal year 2016, roughly doubling in size when compared with 2011.
(2) Ad agency Hakuhodo’s Future Technology Works department has come up with a new app that controls your dreams. The Yumemiru (translated as ‘see the dream’) app lets users select different scenarios to dream about. It influences your dreams while you snooze by broadcasting sounds. Read more
Filed under News StopTags: Around Asia, CyberAgent, DeNA, Emblem of The Gods, Final Fantasy Brigade, Gree, Hakuhodo's Future, Key Asia Startup News This Week, Key Japan Startup News This Week, Key Startup News This Week, KLab, Konami, Mixi, Mobage, Sangokushi Kingdom, Shin Sengoku Buster, Social Game Academy, Square Enix, Susumu Fujita, The Yumemiru
(1) PT Kompas CyberMedia, the company behind Kompas.com, announced an investment in city directory startup Urbanesia.com.
(2) Metro TV officially announced (via Twitter) that they have released a mobile application for Android platform and it is available for free on Android Market. Read more
Filed under News StopTags: Around Asia, Bhinneka, Blaast, Cabara.co.id, dealkeren, East Ventures, Go Indonesia, Hackerspace Bandung, HackerSpaceBDG, Huawei Tech Investment, idblogNetwork, Inapay, Industri Telekomunikasi Indonesia, INTI, Iriana Muadz, Jajalindo, JuraganGadget, KAI, Kereta Api Indonesia, Key Asia Startup News This Week, Key Indonesia Startup News This Week, Key Southeast Asia Startup News This Week, Key Startup News This Week, Kompas CyberMedia, Kompas.com, LivingSocial Indonesia, Metro TV, Plasa, Tandif, Tap-Izy, tiket.com, Urbanesia.com, XL Axiata, Yotomo
It was not a happy year for big bookstores.
In August and September 2011, Borders closed both its outlets in Wheelock Place and Parkway Parade. In October, Computer Book Centre, at Funan IT Mall, followed suit, becoming an exclusively online business.
More bad news followed in December: Home-grown book retailer Page One announced that it will close its store in VivoCity on 19th February this year in VivoCity due to high rentals. The company has been incurring major losses since its opening in 2006. Read more
Filed under Featured, Innovation & Technology, News Stop, Retail, Special Commentary, Technology, WebTags: booksactually, borders, harris bookstore, pageone, the pigeonhole, woods in the books
Over 19,000 commercial buildings and offices since December 2011 have been hooked up to Singapore’s Next Generation Nationwide Broadband Network (Next Gen NBN), a government program to wire up the entire country with a fibre optics network that can provide Internet speeds of up to 1Gbps or more. Read more
