Asian chat services KakaoTalk, LINE and WeChat threaten to overturn the mobile order of things, usurping the role of Google Inc, Apple Inc, Amazon.com Inc, Facebook Inc and telecoms carriers as gatekeeper to the consumer.
Consumer Web/Social Media
New York's Meetup closes second funding round for undisclosed amount
After 12 years in the industry, New York, US-based local group network Meetup closed an undisclosed amount in its second funding round from three major investors to allow some of its employees to exercise their expiring stock options.
Yahoo debuts new Gemini platform to combine mobile search and native ads
In a bid to compete with rivals in the search-advertising sector, US-based search giant debuted Gemini, its new platform that lets advertisers combine mobile search and native advertisements.
To stoke interest, LinkedIn opens 'Influencer' blogs to all members
LinkedIn Corp is attempting to become more like Facebook Inc by encouraging all members to generate a steady stream of shareable articles, a perk once available only to well-known business personalities.
MSL Solutions purchases Australia-based online handicapping system manager Golf Link
Paddington, Australia-based golf club industry software provider MSL Solutions purchased North Sydney, New South Wales-based handicapping system manager Golf Link Partners (GLP) for an undisclosed sum to expand its company portfolio.
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Prague, Czech Republic-based social media analytics firm Socialbakers scored $26 million in a Series C funding round led by Index Ventures to grow its workforce from 300 to 400 members.
San Francisco, US-based marketing automation firm Autopilot is releasing a new Chrome plugin that generates up to 42% reply rate on cold email prospecting and bridge the gap between sales and marketing.
An investigative report published by independent news organization Mother Jones said most federal judges are not keen to consider piracy claims based on computer Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, which are often used as proof to identify potential thefts.
Online music streaming service Spotify is recruiting a U.S. financial reporting specialist, adding to speculation that the Swedish start-up is preparing for a share listing, which one banker said could value the firm at as much as $8 billion.
Grand Rapids, US-based high school sports website Varsity News Network (VNN) pocketed $3 million in a Series A funding round led by Arsenal Venture Partners for the expansion of its school athletic platform and the launching of its first app.
Kickstarter, the fundraising platform used by millions of people to raise capital for creative projects and businesses, said on Saturday that hackers had gained access to some of its customers' data earlier this week but that the breach had been repaired.
Chinese bloggers asked for the help of US Secretary of State John Kerry to help push for Internet freedom in China in a meeting at the US Embassy in Beijing, Bloomberg reported.
Oregon Angel Fund led the $1.7 million round "Series Seed" round for Marshall Kirkpatrick's social marketing startup Little Bird, bringing the company's total funds raised to date to $2.7 million, TechCrunch reported.
Denver, US-based health management firm Welltok secured $22.1 million in a Series C funding round led by New Enterprise Associates to build a new application that will encourage consumers to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
