Asia

Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange company Crypto.com and electronic equipment firm Sony Electronics (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. (SES) have on Wednesday announced the acceptance of USDC, a U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin, exclusively on Sony Store Online in a move to make direct crypto payment accessible to SES’ consumers.

OpenAI Global, LLC, a United States-based artificial intelligence (AI) research and development company, has announced a new funding of $40 billion led by Softbank at a post-money valuation of $300 billion.

Granite Asia, a multi-asset investment platform focused on technology, and Integral Corporation, Japan’s publicly listed private equity firm, have announced the formation of Granite-Integral, a joint venture designed to invest in high-growth companies with a strong Japan nexus.

Hong Kong digital bank ZA Bank has on Monday announced the appointment of Calvin Ng as its new Chief Executive Officer, effective from March 27.

AnyMind Group, a business process as a service (BPaaS) company for marketing, e-commerce and digital transformation, has on Monday announced the completion of its full acquisition of AnyReach, a Japan-based e-gifting company, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, AnyMind Japan Inc.

Smallcase, India’s largest model portfolios platform, has raised $50 million in its Series D funding round with a mix of primary and secondary led by Singapore's Elev8 Venture Partners.

NUS Enterprise, the entrepreneurial arm of the National University of Singapore (NUS), is expanding its presence in Japan with the launch of its second BLOCK71 office in Tokyo today.

Ant International, a global digital payment, and LankaPay, Sri Lanka’s National Payment Network, have jointly announced the launch of enabling cross-border mobile payments for Alipay+ partner users via the LANKAQR network, enhancing the connectivity between global consumers and Sri Lankan merchants.

Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN+), which includes Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, Hong Kong and Taiwan, leads in hybrid artificial intelligence (AI) adoption at 68 percent, surpassing global and Asia Pacific (AP), Lenovo study showed Wednesday.

Vertex Ventures Japan (VVJ) has announced the completion of the first closing of its inaugural fund, Vertex Ventures Japan Fund I (VVJFI), targeting JPY 10 billion ($66.95 million).