Also, GO-VIET names new Manager and HappyFresh raises US$20 million

honestbee puts pause on Philippines operation — [yugatech]

honestbee, the regional online grocery delivery startup, temporarily suspended its operations in the Philippines, according to yugatech.

The company sent out materials over the easter holiday that said it would be “bee right back”. The closure coincides with the layoff of around 70 people, as reported by TechInAsia.

The company also released a statement that it was “working with its headquarters” to get the company on more sustainable footing. The Philippines Country Manager said the layoffs did not impact the local business and the 200 employees will continue to report to work.

HappyFresh raises US$20 million Series C — [e27]

HappyFresh, an online grocery startup headquartered in Jakarta, has closed US$20 million in a Series C round of funding, led by South Korean VC firm Mirae Asset-Naver Growth Fund, which is also an investor in e-commerce and fin tech startup Bukalapak.

Other investors of this round include strategic partners such as LINE Ventures, Singha Ventures and Grab Ventures, which reportedly also made an investment in the startup in July 2018, following a partnership.

The fresh investment will be used for both city and country expansion, as well as to invest in technology and further support the team in a number of specialist functions such as data science and omnichannel technology.

Go-Jek names new country manager for GO-VIET brand — [Go-Jek]

Indonesian ride-hailing giant Go-Jek announced today they have named Christy Le as the new general manager for its Vietnam operations under the brand GO-VIET. She was previously the country director for Facebook in the nation.

“I’ve seen how the success of GOJEK’s multi-service platform has transformed the lives of so many people in Indonesia and want to see the same happen in Vietnam,” she said.

Glife raiseus US$1.18 million for more sustainable restaurants — [e27]

Singapore agritech firm Glife announced today that it has raised S$1.6 million (US$1.18 million) in seed funding from Global Founders Capital and 500 Startups. A few groups of angel investors took part in this round, including F&B and tech veterans such as Royston Tay, the co-founder of Zopim.

The digital business-to-business (B2B) agritech firm said that it will use the funding to enhance the user experience for restaurants. This includes building a consolidated invoicing system to deal with perishable goods and greater traceability of produce from farmers. It is also pilot-testing an on-demand logistics technology for last mile delivery fulfillment, as well as to scale and strengthen the technology team in Singapore.

Glife’s farm-to-table platform seeks to redefine end-to-end agricultural food supply chain. It claimed that it has got more than 150 local F&B businesses connected directly with farmers within their ecosystem for fresh produce needs.

Huawei sees 39 per cent increase in Q1 revenue — [Huawei]

Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei announced today its revenue rose nearly 40 per cent in Q1 to US$26.78 billion while it shipped 59 million smartphones.

It also claims to have signed 40 5G contracts and shipped more than 70,000 basestations, a number that is surely to be politically sensitive amidst tensions with the United States.

The company was also profitable, reporting a net profit margin of 8 per cent.

—

The post Today’s top tech news, April 22: honestbee suspends Philippines operations indefinitely appeared first on e27.