tech:

taffy

Chinese WI Harper Group Invests $4M In SNS Plus

WI Harper Group, a Chinese early growth and expansion stage venture capital firm has invested $4 million in a co-lead round with Matrix Partners  into SNS Plus, an international publisher and distributor of worldwide games with a focus on the Asian market.

The $12.5 million raised by SNS+, a Taiwan based company, is significant as it’s an amount that has not been seen in Taiwan’s early stage Internet related companies for over a decade. The model here is bridging mainland game studios to the overseas market, and having a channel focus to secure stable money, which SNS+ has already done.

SNS+ proprietary technology provides server, bandwidth, specialized tech support centers, and overseas operational experience. As of June 2011, SNS+ has published more than 60 games on Facebook, and more than 15 games on other platforms such as Zingme, iPhone, Friendster, etc.

Founded in 1993, WI Harper Group is one of the founding venture capital franchises in Greater China. The firm invests in early and expansion stage companies with significant operations in China and aspirations to become global leaders. The firm has made over 150 investments in the technology, clean technology and health care sectors. The firm manages over $750 million in committed capital.

(Image courtesy: China.org.cn)

Just in

U.S. bans noncompete agreements for nearly all jobs — NPR

The Federal Trade Commission narrowly voted Tuesday to ban nearly all noncompetes, employment agreements that typically prevent workers from joining competing businesses or launching ones of their own, writes Andrea Hsu. 

The Coca-Cola Company commits $1.1B to Microsoft Cloud and AI partnership

The Coca-Cola Company and Microsoft announced a five-year partnership on Tuesday. As part of the collaboration, Coca-Cola has committed $1.1 billion to Microsoft Cloud and generative AI capabilities. 

Apple deletes WhatsApp, Threads from China app store on orders from Beijing — CNN

Apple has removed WhatsApp and Threads from its app store in China, following an order from the country’s internet watchdog, writes Juliana Liu.