SoftBank also bought big stake in imminent IPO and Singapore polytechnics team up for an incubator

SoftBank Vision Fund invests in US$250 million Slack round

The internal company messaging platform, Slack, announced today it has completed a US$250 million Series G round lead by SoftBank Vision Fund. The deal puts the company’s valuation at US$5.1 billion. Accel was the second-largest investor in the round.

The money is meant to be a war chest — capital to be deployed when it becomes necessary to adapt to a fast-changing business environment.

SoftBank was attracted because of the company’s growth along with the fact that it is a market leader for cloud-based internal communications. Slack has successfully provided a viable alternative to email.

“”Slack is the operating system for today’s fast moving businesses, enabling teams to work together effectively at a time when businesses need to be responsive to rapid change and disruption,” said Deep Nishar, a Senior Managing Partner at the SoftBank Vision Fund, in a statement.

Singapore bill to tackle cybersecurity delayed until 2018

A piece of Singapore legislation meant to ensure the owners of Critical Information Infrastructure secure their property from cybersecurity threats has been delayed until 2018.

It also would set up a reporting framework and set regulations for managing attacks and improving standards.

“The bill requires our CII owners to take responsibility for securing their systems, facilitates information sharing, and empowers Cyber Security Agency of Singapore or CSA and sector regulators to work closely with affected parties to resolve cybersecurity incidents in a timely manner,” said the Minister for Communications and Information Yaacob Ibrahim in a speech today.

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Furthermore, the government wants to partner with private companies to improve the pool of cybersecurity talent. Ibrahim said the talent for cybersecurity professionals does not meet the demand of today’s society.

SoftBank buy 5 per cent of ZhongAn, China’s first online insurance broker

SoftBank Group, which has grown into one of the most active investors in tech, has bought a 5 per cent stake in ZhongAn ahead of its planned IPO in Hong Kong, according to TechCrunch.

The deal makes SoftBank a cornerstone investor in ZhongAn, who is trying to raise about US$1.4 billion through the IPO. Investors in the company include Ant Financial, Ping An Insurance and Tencent. According to the article, the company claims to have sold 7.2 billion policies and serves 492 million people in China.

The company was said to be choosing between China and Hong Kong for an IPO and went with the latter because of uncertainty over the timing of the approval in China.

Singapore Polytechnics join hands to launch incubator for students and alumni

Pollinate incubator run by Singapore’s polytechnic institutions — Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Singapore Polytechnic and Temasek Polytechnic — was launched today in the one-north district.

The programme is open to students and alumni of the tertiary education facilities and it is part of the city-state’s larger effort to boost entrepreneurship in the city. The National Research Foundation is injecting a S$1 million (US$740,000) fund to support the incubator over the next three years.

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The startups will receive advice from the Ministry of Education, SPRING Singapore (soon to be named Enterprise Singapore) and SGInnovate.

Baidu has a new Head of Finance

Herman Yu, a former executive from Sina Weibo, has been appointed to become Baidu’s next Chief Financial Officer, according to the South China Morning Post.

Yu is replacing Jennifer Li, who is not leaving the company but rather moving to become the Head of Baidu Capital, a private equity arm focussed on artificial intelligence. China’s top search engine has dumped immense resources into its AI development with the hopes of becoming a global leader in the field.

Herman Yu will take over effective immediately.

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