The future for Japanese tech investor Softbank looks cloudy as its controversial CEO Masayoshi Son maps out a new future. With its second Vision fund still in the distance, Softbank's new strategy is to hone in on AI deals, excercise more caution about investing in more startups, rescue some struggling portfolio companies, and focus resources on only the most promising companies in this post-Covid era.

A Forbes article quotes several in the inner circle at Softbank and delves into several disappointing deals from its huge $100 billion Vision fund that invested in 88 emerging market leaders over the past three years, among them WeWork and Uber. Not much mention is made of the investor's troubled Asian portfolio companies such as Indian hotel chain Oyo and ride-hailing services Didi in China and Ola in India. But China's TikTok owner Bytedance and South Korean online retailer Coupang are pinpointed as potential winners.

What has propped up debt-ridden Softbank throughout boom and bust cycles? An early $20 million investment in Alibaba that is now worth $200 million but is not a lasting fix.

Sony has made a $400 million strategic, equity investment in Chinese video streaming site Bilibili, a YouTube - plus of China with comics, animation and games. Bilibili went public on Nasdaq in 2018.

Beijing-based e-payments innovator Ksher has picked up $10 million in A round funding, led by MindWorks Capital, following seed financing from Sequoia Capital China.

Fintech startup Dsdaq raised $1.5 million in angel funding from Draper Dragon and family investment office Efftronics Asia, for its multi-trading asset platform.

Venture Funds

Prominent US-China VC firm Q iming Ven ture raised $1.1 billion for a new well-positioned fund focused on early bets in healthcare and tech businesses. Despite tough challenges caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and geopolitical uncertainties, Qiming closed its Fund VII on its initial target amount and timetable.

Singapore's Quest Ventures has launched a $50 million fund, its first with outside investors, to focus on digital commerce investment mainly in Southeast Asia and China.

The Therapeutics Accelerator , an initiative launched by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation , Wellcome , and Mastercard to speed up response to the COVID-19 epidemic, pulled in $25 million from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and GBP 40 million from the UK government.

Novartis launched a new Covid-19 response fund to provide $20 million in grants to support public health initiatives. Silicon Valley-based biopharma research company Gilead Sciences has created a $20 million fund to support non-profit companies on the brink of closure.

China surpassed the U.S. for the first time in new patent applications, with 58,990 filings compared with 57,840 for the U.S.

China has been gaining on this measure for several years, as its entrepreneurial boom has kicked in over the past two decades.

Just days after accounting fraud was uncovered at China coffee chain Luckin, (see last week's issue) two more U.S.-listed Chinese stocks have been hit. Chinese video streaming giant iQiYi, the Netflix of China, has been accused of inflating user numbers and revenues by activist research firm Wolfpack. iQiYI, which is majority owned by Baidu, is refuting the claims, citing the research firm for "numerous errors, unsubstantiated statements and misleading conclusions."

As scrutiny over Chinese stocks has increased, China's e-learning king TAL Education has also admitted inflating sales though blamed it on one employee.

The Chinese government has managed the process of someone coming in from outside China to avoid further outbreaks in a Big Brother way. New entrants must endure many hours of screening and interviews at the airport before being allowed to come home, where they face 14 days of quarantine. Food is delivered to them, their temperature is closely monitored and a 24-hour remote sensor on their door makes sure they don't leave. After 14 days, an Alibaba app on their smart phone tracks their location. The app can also track everyone, so alerts can be made. Risk ratings of green, yellow, red are assigned to each individual. Highly doubtful this would work in the US of A, but it's working in China.

Luo Yonghao , a flamboyant entrepreneur best known for the Smartisan smartphone brand, sold more than 110 million yuan ($15.5 million) of products in his first e-commerce livestream on Douyin , the short-video app that is a cousin to TikTok . The livestreaming e-commerce trend being pioneered in China could be a model for Western companies.

3D printing is back in vogue. DCM Ventures portfolio company Origin, which is in this 3D sector, is partnering with Stanford University School of Medicine to rapidly develop and produce personal protective equipment and FDA-approved COVID-19 test kits.

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