NEWS GOLDEN CANADIAN SPEED SKATER FIRST OLYMPIAN SPONSORED BY CRYPTO There were almost 3,000 athletes competing at the recent PyeongChang Winter Olympics in South Korea, but only one was paid in cryptocurrency, according to a CNN report. Canadian Ted-Jan Bloemen – who took gold in the men’s 10,000m long-track speed skating and silver in 5,000m – became the first Olympic athlete to be paid in virtual money when he struck a one-year sponsorship deal with ONG Social, a decentralized social network and crypto community, and CEEK VR, a developer of virtual reality experiences. It’s often not easy being a Winter Olympian, particularly in securing financial support to fund the pursuit of sport success. Bloemen is exploring a whole new frontier, his agent says. According to Kgazette.com, ONG Social has mined 300 million coins, worth a total of US$138.69 million. The Waves and Ethereum blockchain cryptocurrency was founded in June. It’s not known how many coins Bloemen stands to receive. The deal was “a minimum amount in cash, but most in cryptocurrencies,” he told Canada’s National Post newspaper. “For me, the real risk of not getting anything is not there, because I got a little [cash] out of it already.” “And that combination makes this sponsorship really fun, right. Because we’re going to help each other. I’m trying to get them a little more exposure to make them succeed, and that would help all of us, right.” olympic.ca/team-canada/ted-jan-bloemen/ www.facebook.com/tjbloemen/ ONG.social | CEEK.io
SENSETIME RAISES US$600m IN SERIES C FUNDING SenseTime, China’s leading artificial intelligence (AI) company, announced in early April that it raised US$600 million in its Series C round of funding. Alibaba Group is taking the lead role for this round of funding and other participants include Temasek and Suning. SenseTime sets a record by raising US$410 million in its series B round of funding last July, and once again sets a new record for venture capital funding in the AI sector. The capital injection will support the buildout of SenseTime’s AI platform, advancing the company’s technological innovation and opening up new business opportunities. | www.sensetime.com
TENCENT, AVIVA TEAM UP IN HK TO OFFER ONLINE INSURANCE
UK insurance giant Aviva and its partners Chinese Internet major Tencent Holdings and private equity fund Hillhouse Capital have received regulatory approval to launch a digital insurer, according to the companies. Hong Kong’s Insurance Authority approved the joint venture in February, and it is expected to begin operating in Q2 2018. www.aviva.com | www.tencent.com | www.hillhousecap.com 16 | JUMPSTART MAY/JUNE 2018
METRORESIDENCES ENTERS HK MARKET Singapore-based corporate accommodations startup MetroResidences has begun offering business travellers and expats in Hong Kong a more local and guest-centric way to stay. Operating in the sharing economy, MetroResidences curates apartments from property owners and fully manages them as serviced apartments for monthly stays. This business model allows MetroResidences to price the listings lower than traditional luxury hotels and serviced apartments. The current home listings are located in Wanchai, Tin Hau, Causeway Bay, Quarry Bay and Central. MetroResidences launched in Singapore in 2014 and expanded to Tokyo in 2017. The startup raised funding of US$2.8 million in 2017 from Rakuten, a Japanese electronic commerce and Internet company, and is accelerating its expansion in Asia. Each MetroResidences apartment is curated, taking into account the location, price, quality and amenities. The company has housed executives from over 2,000 companies. | metroresidences.com/hk
CHINA’S OFO MULLS GOBEE BIKE TAKEOVER Beijing-based dockless bicycle-rental company Ofo plans to take over the operations of Hong Kong-based GoBee Bike, according to an SCMP report in mid-April that cites people familiar with the matter. Neither Ofo nor GoBee Bike confirmed the reported takeover. Both companies are backed by Alibaba. “Under the proposed plan, Ofo will take over the running of GoBee Bike’s operations and keep its brand unchanged for the near future, said the sources, who asked not to be named because the discussions are private. The talks are preliminary and a final agreement may not be reached, the sources said, without disclosing any financial details,” the SCMP reported. This development follows GoBee Bike’s recent decision to retreat from Europe after incurring mass thefts and vandalism in France and Brussels, and closing its operation in Italy, according to a report by Techcrunch. With Gobee Bike’s exit, there are three remaining Asian bike sharing operators in France: Singapore’s oBike and China’s Ofo and Mobike. www.ofo.com | Gobee.bike