Shunwei Capital, a venture firm backed by Xiaomi’s CEO Lei Jun, has led a US$100 million series D round of financing for Kujiale, a Chinese home design platform utilizing virtual reality (VR) technology.
Former Autodesk Director Wang Lifeng Joins 51HiTech As CTO
Wang Lifeng, a visual technology expert who previously worked as a director at Autodesk Software (China) Co., Ltd., and a researcher at Microsoft Corporation, has joined 51HiTech, a Beijing-based virtual reality and augmented reality start-up as chief technology officer, according to the firm’s announcement on its WeChat account.
Chinese Police Don Facial Recognition Sunglasses To ID Suspects
Chinese police have a stylish new way to fight crime: high-tech facial-recognition sunglasses.
Tencent Buy Strategic Stake In US Film Producer Skydance Media
China’s Tencent Holdings Ltd. has made a strategic investment in American media company Skydance Media, LLC as part of a production and distribution partnership, according to Skydance’s announcement.
Alibaba Innovation Ventures Joins $30M Round In Israeli Safe Driving App Developer Nexar
China’s Alibaba Innovation Ventures, the corporate venture capital investment arm of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., has joined a US$30 million round of financing in Israeli safe driving software developer Nexar.
Sequoia Capital China, SoftBank Invest $50M In Augmented Reality Camera App Snow
Sequoia Capital China and SoftBank Group have invested US$50 million in augmented reality camera app developer Snow China, according to a Snow Corporation announcement.
Singapore’s Temasek Leads $100M Round In Chinese Robotics Firm Rokid
Singapore’s Temasek Holdings has led a new funding round in Rokid, a Chinese robotics start-up. Investors including Credit Suisse Group, CDIB Capital International, and existing investor IDG Capital also participated in the round, Rokid announced on its Wechat official account. The company did not disclose the amount it raised, but Chinese media reports put the number at US$100 million. Rokid did not immediately respond to China Money Network’s inquiry to confirm the figure. The new round values the company at …
Lenovo Launches China Industrial Big Data Application Alliance To Boost Smart Manufacturing
Lenovo Group Ltd. has teamed up with China Electronics Standardization Institution to launch an Industrial Big Data Application Alliance to support the utilization of industrial big data.
Chinese AI Firm Sensetime Forms Partnership With Honda To Build Smart Cars
Chinese artificial intelligence start-up SenseTime has signed a long-term development agreement with Japanese car manufacturer Honda to build smart artificial intelligent cars with autonomous driving.
Chinese AI Firm SenseTime Aims To Expand Via Investing In VR Firm 51HiTech
Chinese artificial intelligence company SenseTime has teamed up with Chinese property developer Modern Land (China) Co. to lead a RMB210 million (US$32 million) series B round in 51HiTech, a Beijing-based virtual reality and augmented reality start-up focused on applications in the real estate sector.
Entrepreneurs, Companies Drawn To Naked Hub’s Co-Working Space Offerings In Hong Kong
Entrepreneurs, start-ups and companies are drawn to the flexible, vibrant and energizing atmosphere at naked Hub co-working space in Hong Kong, the newest and hippest shared work place in the metropolitan. "Hubbers", what naked Hub calls its tenants, found the work environment that comes with bright yellow bean bags and unlimited free beer an ideal place for networking, business cooperation at affordable prices.
China Creation Ventures Reaches First Closing Of USD Fund At $100M
Chinese venture capital firm China Creation Ventures, founded six months ago by Zhou Wei, formerly a managing partner at venture firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers China, has reached first closing of its U.S. dollar dominated fund at nearly US$100 million.
China’s Alibaba Joins $502M Round In US Augmented Reality Start-Up Magic Leap
Singapore’s Temasek Holdings has led a US$502 million series D round in Magic Leap Inc., a U.S.-based augmented reality start-up.
Google Inks $1.1 Billion Deal Investing In Taiwan’s Smartphone Maker HTC
Alphabet subsidiary Google announced today that it has signed a US$1.1 billion agreement with Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC Corporation, in which certain HTC employees – many of whom are already working with Google to develop Pixel smartphones – will join Google. HTC will receive US$1.1 billion in cash from Google as part of the transaction. Separately, Google will receive a non-exclusive license for HTC intellectual property.
Baidu Hires Former Weibo CFO Herman Yu As CFO
Chinese search engine Baidu Inc. has hired Herman Yu (pictured), former chief financial offer of Chinese social media company Weibo Corp., as its new CFO.
Taiwanese PC Producer ASUS Launches $50M Venture Fund
Taiwanese computer maker AsusTek Computer Inc., better known as ASUS, is partnering with Silicon Valley-based Fenox Venture Capital to launch a US$50 million venture fund to help U.S. technology start-ups expand to China.
Qingsong Fund Launches Third Venture Capital Vehicle At $129M
Qingsong Fund, a venture capital firm founded by Alvin Liu, a co-founder of Tencent Holdings Ltd., has launched its third investment vehicle with RMB850 million (US$129 million) in committed capital.
Baidu, China Life To Launch $1B Internet, AI Fund
Chinese Internet giant Baidu Inc. and China Life Insurance Co., Ltd will launch a RMB7 billion (US$1 billion) private equity fund targeting investment opportunities in the Internet, artificial intelligence, online finance and mobility sectors.
Autohome Leads $14M Round In Chinese AR Solutions Provider Sight Plus
Autohome, a Chinese automobile sales platform backed by Li Xiang, founder of electric vehicle start-up NIO, has led a series A round worth nearly RMB100 million (US$14 million) in Sight Plus, an augmented reality solutions provider.
Vertex Leads New Funding Round In Chinese Online Real Estate Agency Julive
Vertex Venture Holdings Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Singapore’s Temasek Holdings, has led a series B round worth tens of millions of U.S. dollars in Julive, a Chinese online-to-offline (O2O) real estate agency.
Meitu Joins $14M Round In Chinese Augmented Reality Firm HiScene
Chinese investment firm, Shanghai Cableway Investment, has led a series B investment round of nearly RMB100 million (US$14 million) in HiScene, a Beijing-based start-up developing hardware and software products for augmented reality.
Chengdu Government Leads $140M Round In Chinese Smartphone Developer Smartisan
Chinese smartphone maker Smartisan Technology Co., Ltd., founded by Chinese Internet celebrity and English teacher Luo Yonghao, has raised a RMB1 billion (US$140 million) new funding round led by entities backed by the government of Chengdu.
Virtual Reality Finds A New Application In China’s Drug Rehab Centers
China is finding a new application for virtual reality (VR) in drug rehab centers. Four such centers have been set up in coastal Zhejiang province using VR programs to treat over 1,008 drug abusers.
Lenovo Leads Funding Round In Chinese AR Optical Module Developer NED+AR
Lenovo Capital and Incubator Group have led a pre-A round worth tens of millions of RMB in Beijing NED+AR Display Technology Co., Ltd., a supplier of optical modules for augmented reality glasses.
With Porn Banned In China, Taiwanese Firm To Release First Chinese Adult VR Movie
As pornography is banned in China, a Taiwanese firm wants to get some skin in the game.
China’s Lenovo Aims To Become AI Powerhouse With $1.2B Tagged For Research
It seems that every technology company in China wants to be an artificial intelligence firm. The latest to join the club is Lenovo Group Ltd., until recently the world’s largest personal computer maker.
Gobi Partners Joins $15.5M Round In U.K. AR Firm WaveOptics
Gobi Partners, a Shanghai-based venture capital firm focused on information technology, telecom, media and technology (TMT) and digital media industries, has joined a US$15.5 million series B round in WaveOptics, a U.K.-based augmented reality (AR) company.
China’s Western Province Creates Virtual Reality Town To Spur Development
Guian New Area, a 1,795 square kilometer economic zone located near Guiyang city in sleepy Guizhou province, has established Beidouwan Virtual Reality (VR) Town, an initiative backed by preferential government policies to support the development in the fast-growing VR industry in China.
HTC, Quanta Invest $30M In Israeli Augmented Reality Developer Lumus
Taiwan’s HTC Corporation and Quanta Computer have invested US$30 million in Israeli augmented reality firm Lumus Ltd., a start-up that develops transparent wearable display.
Lenovo Capital Invests In Chinese Virtual Reality Start-Up SoReal
China’s Lenovo Capital and Incubator Group have made an undisclosed strategic investment in a virtual reality content production start-up SoReal, which is backed by acclaimed Chinese director Zhang Yimou.
CITIC And SBCVC To Inject $50M In Digital Domain To Bet On Virtual Reality
CITIC Ltd. and SB China Capital (SBCVC) have invested HK$190 million (US$24.5 million) in Hong Kong-listed visual effects content producer Digital Domain Holdings Ltd. as strategic investors, the companies announced.