London-based startup accelerator Founders Factory is launching a venture-building initiative in Asia while Binance has secured a permanent licence in Kazakhstan. Also, Alipay has reportedly been removed from Shanghai’s high-tech company list.
Founders Factory, Pico Group’s new venture-building initiative in Asia
London-based startup accelerator Founders Factory and Pico Group have announced the launch of a venture-building initiative in Asia.
Over the next three years, the venture-builder will focus on startups in areas including Web3, martech and event activation, according to an announcement.
As part of the initiative, the accelerator will focus on enabling pre-seed and seed-stage startups to scale up while the venture studio will identify and help jumpstart new startups.
Through the collaboration, Pico aims to create a vibrant brand activation ecosystem for startups. This collaboration also marks Founders Factory’s expansion into Asia. To date, the company has created over 80 startups from scratch and invested in a further 220 via its accelerator model in Europe, North America and Africa.
Binance secures permanent licence in Kazakhstan
Crypto exchange Binance has been granted a permanent licence by Kazakhstan’s AIFC Financial Services Authority (AFSA) to operate a digital asset platform and provide custody services at the Astana International Financial Center.
The platform will be authorised to offer digital asset exchange and conversion services, deposit and withdrawal of fiat currencies, cryptocurrency custody and exchange trading.
Alipay removed from Shanghai’s priority high-tech firms list
China’s mobile payment giant Alipay, owned by Ant Group, has been removed from Shanghai’s priority high-tech company list, Bloomberg reported.
The company failed to meet the spending requirement on research and development, according to a notice from the Chinese government. The fintech firm, therefore, may not receive certain tax benefits.
Launched in China in 2004, the QR-code payment app Alipay has grown into one of the world’s largest digital wallets with over 1 billion active users.