Payward (Kraken) Acquires Reap
Payward, the parent of Kraken, agreed to acquire Hong Kong‑based payments platform Reap for up to $600 million. Reap provides a single API that links card networks, traditional banking rails and blockchain settlement, giving Payward an instant foothold in the emerging stablecoin‑payment stack. The deal mirrors recent moves by Stripe and Mastercard to control the interface between fiat and programmable money. Analysts view the purchase as a strategic push to embed stablecoins into mainstream commerce rather than build a separate crypto ecosystem.
What if Cheaper, Neutral AI Could Win the AI Race? — Bruce Yang, Co-Founder & CEO of Agnes AI
Bruce Yang, co‑founder and CEO of Agnes AI, outlined a strategy to make advanced AI affordable and neutral for the 99.5% of internet users who currently lack access. He highlighted that only 0.5% of global users pay for AI, while...
Indonesia’s Super App, GoTo, Growing Up
Indonesia’s GoTo Group posted its first quarterly profit in Q1 2026, netting roughly $9.9 million after a $21.2 million loss a year earlier. Revenue climbed 26% year‑over‑year to $305.8 million, while adjusted EBITDA more than doubled to $52.3 million. The profitability surge is anchored in...
Will China Restrict US Investment Into Its Top AI Startups?, Anthropic Creates a Hub In Singapore
China is reportedly preparing to block U.S. investment in its leading AI startups unless regulators approve, mirroring U.S. Treasury rules that take effect in January 2025 to curb American capital flowing into Chinese AI, semiconductor and quantum firms. The move...
Deepseek’s Funding and What It Means
DeepSeek, a Chinese open‑source AI startup, is reportedly raising at least $300 million, valuing the company around $10 billion. The capital infusion reflects the high costs of scaling compute, deployment, and reliability despite the firm’s efficient, low‑cost model. The round also highlights...
Samsung’s Profit Surges On AI-Related Gains, Japan Moves to the Industrial Deployment of AI
Samsung projected a first‑quarter operating profit of about $38.7 billion, driven by soaring demand for AI‑optimized DRAM and HBM memory. South Korean chip makers, led by SK Hynix’s 60% HBM share, saw stock gains as memory prices are forecast to jump 58‑63%...
Is China's Domestic AI Stack Coalescing?
China’s AI ecosystem is rapidly coalescing as domestic chipmakers capture 41% of the AI accelerator server market, aiming for 50% by year‑end, while firms like DeepSeek and Zhipu rewrite model code to run on Huawei silicon. Nvidia disclosed a $4.5 billion...
AI Agents Can Think and Act, Is Your Business Ready? EP 417 - Raymond Ngan
Businesses are shifting from simple automation to agentic AI systems that can reason, plan, and act independently. The episode with Raymond Ngan highlights potential gains such as faster decisions, higher productivity, and end‑to‑end workflow automation. However, it also warns that...
Is B2B FinTech Quietly Running Asia’s Economy? EP 415 - Raunak Dembla and Daniel Keki
Asia’s economic engine is increasingly powered by B2B fintech, which streamlines payments, working capital, and treasury for enterprises. In a podcast, Revolut Business Singapore’s Daniel Keki and Decentro’s Raunak Dembla argue that business‑focused finance solutions deliver more sustainable growth than...
Is OpenAI an Asian Story?
SoftBank played a pivotal role in OpenAI's $110 billion funding round, positioning the Japanese conglomerate as a key backer of the AI leader. The investment goes beyond traditional venture capital, targeting the compute, chip, cloud, and energy infrastructure needed for large‑scale...