Start-up news in brief: Jet.com valuation at $1.5 bn

Jet.com, competitor of Amazon.com , is close to raising $500 million to $550 million in a funding round led by Fidelity Investments. The investment would give the year-old online shopping start-up a valuation of $1.5 billion. Founded by a former Amazon executive, Jet is aggressively trying to undercut its chief rival's prices and attract customers quickly, Bloomberg News said.

Uber sticks to China plans

Uber Technologies, the world's most valuable start-up, valued at $50 billion, said it would push ahead with plans to expand into Chinese cities, downplaying the potential impact on its operations from proposed regulations on the ride-hailing sector. Its China unit is sticking to plans to be in about 100 new cities in the next year, said Liu Zhen, head of strategy, Bloomberg News reported.

Rappler raises funds

Rappler, an online news portal in the Philippines, raised an undisclosed amount from Omidyar Network, a fund created by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar and his wife, Pam. Rappler is an all-digital news organisation that uses technology and crowdsourcing to disrupt traditional news sites. It has a patented mood meter, which tracks the emotions elicited by its stories, and a mapping tool called Reach that shows how stories move through the community, Tech in Asia said.

Digital Magics stake in start-up

Digital Magics, an incubator of digital projects that provides consulting services and acceleration services, has taken a five per cent stake from the promoters of start-up ProfumeriaWeb, an Italian e-commerce marketplace for perfumes and cosmetic products, with the option to raise the stake to 13 per cent, based on achieved results, Reuters reported.

Huami to launch more devices

Huang Wang, the chief executive officer of China's Huami Inc, is preparing to challenge Fitbit Inc's global dominance with a string of new wearable fitness devices. The feisty start-up and Fitbit's biggest Chinese rival plans to introduce a line of more sophisticated fitness trackers over the coming year, at a-tenth of the price of the US company's gadgets.

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