Welcome back,

Apple wants to make a lot more iPhones in India as soon as possible. And Trump’s trade war has only accelerated this desire. The US tech giant plans to make every single iPhone that it sells on US soil in India next year. That’s 60 million devices and it will mean production will need to double. That’s no easy task—and it is one that China has already actively tried to hamper with export restrictions.

Elsewhere, Peak XV is raising a huge new fund as it tries to position itself as a global investor, not simply one tied to Asia. Foodpanda bid goodbye to the competitive food delivery market in Thailand. And Tencent Music may come to the aid of China’s top podcasting platform, which could finally get an exit.

All of this and more is here for you in today’s Asia Tech Review.

Have a great week!

Jon

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In recent years, Apple has consistently made moves to diversify its supply chain reliance on China and that’s only increased with the additional tension in US-Sino relations. Now though, Apple plans to shift the assembly of all iPhones that will be sold in the US to India—and it plans to do that as early as next year.

That’s according to a Financial Times story which states the goal is to double output from India to reach more than 60 million devices per year by 2026 in order to satisfy demand from the US market.

That wouldn’t cover all Apple markets yet, China accounts for 80% of Apple’s smartphone assembly. But China is making it tricky. As we wrote back in January, authorities in China blocked the export of key machinery required for iPhone 17 trial production. A move that slowed Apple down as it was forced to find alternative solutions.

Peak XV Partners—the fund formerly known as Sequoia India and Southeast Asia—is reported to be raising its first independent fund since it split from Sequoia.

The fund target is said to be $1.2-$1.4 billion. If successful, that would be the largest fund in Asia outside of China by some margin. Peak XV previously downsized its final fund under the Sequoia brand, returning 15% of the $2.8 billion to investors.

The fund is arguably the most storied in Asia but it is notable for its involvement in a number of bad apples, including eFishery, Zilingo and Byju’s, but since going independent it has put a focus on being global rather than just limited to Asia. It has hired a first US-based partner and it has reportedly invested in a number of US-based funds to gain an edge in America and particularly Silicon Valley’s hottest AI startups.

It stands to reason that the pitch for this new fund is around building a global Sequoia 2.0 rather than the continued focus on Asia. We shall see how the strategy progresses.

Podcasting startup Ximalaya is in talks to be acquired by Tencent Music in a $2.4 billion deal that could finally get it an exit.

The company has tried to IPO three times. The most recent effort came earlier this month as it filed papers in Hong Kong, although the Tencent Music acquisition may make that moot.

The platform has a listener base of more than 300 million users, according to the Hong Kong filings, but overall growth has slowed significantly—particularly as short video platforms battle for attention. Average usage, for example, is down from 144 minutes per day to 130 minutes over the last four years for monthly active users.

The company has also been through plenty of controversy. Its English version—Himalaya—announced it had raised $100 million back in 2019, only to retract the claim following media scrutiny. Its US push also featured a disastrous ‘podcasting house’ which The Verge dubbed “one man’s frat boy dreams.”

Tencent is said to have pushed the potential acquisition price down after weeks of negotiations. IPO talk may be Ximalaya effort to gain leverage of its own.

Finally, a footnote on Foodpanda announcing that it will close its business in Thailand in May.

We’ve written about parent company Delivery Hero and its reluctance to commit to the Asian market, instead preferring to focus on Europe and other regions where it sees higher spend and less competition. Thailand is about as tough as it gets, with Foodpanda said to be a distant third behind Grab and Line’s delivery service—Shopee is another deep-pocketed rival vying for attention.

Foodpanda has tried to offload its Southeast Asian business before. That wasn’t successful, and it is possible it may look to sell or close its business in other countries. Right now, it is also active in Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Cambodia, Myanmar, and Laos.

Huawei is set to test its most powerful AI chip yet, the Ascend 910D, as it looks to challenge Nvidia and strengthen China’s tech industry despite US sanctions link

Huawei has become a key player in China’s EV market by developing smart driving software used by brands like BYD and BMW link

China’s top tech firms, including ByteDance, Alibaba and Tencent, rushed to stockpile over $12B worth of Nvidia’s H20 AI chips before a US export ban took effect in April link

China’s e-commerce giants—including Alibaba, JD.com and PDD—have introduced multibillion-dollar programs to help exporters shift to domestic sales, aligning with national efforts to cushion the economy from rising US trade tensions link

A growing number of Chinese startups are eyeing US IPOs despite market volatility and geopolitical tensions between Washington and Beijing link

But robotaxi firm Pony.ai is weighing a secondary listing less than six months after its $260M US IPO, citing concerns over potential delistings of Chinese firms under a possible Trump administration link

A Chinese APT group known as Billbug breached multiple government and business entities in a Southeast Asian country between August 2024 and February 2025 link

AI video startup Sand AI appears to be blocking politically sensitive images link

Xiaomi delayed the launch of its first electric SUV, the YU7, after a fatal crash involving its flagship EV, dealing a setback to its plans to challenge Tesla and BYD link

Elon Musk said China’s export ban on certain magnets is disrupting his plans to build humanoid robots, marking a clear sign that the move is hitting major US companies link

After months of speculation, the US is conducting a criminal antitrust investigation into router maker TP-Link over alleged predatory pricing and whether its growing market share poses a national security risk link

Butterfly Effect, creator of Manus AI, raised $75M at a $500M valuation led by US VC Benchmark—it plans to expand to markets like the US, Japan, and the Middle East link

Meanwhile, the startup is said to have discussed the possibility of moving its headquarters abroad to avoid restrictions tied to its Chinese origin link

ByteDance is considering a major data center investment in Brazil link

China has lifted its 125 percent retaliatory tariffs on select US semiconductor imports, according to a report by Chinese business magazine Caijing, citing industry sources link

Google settled an Android TV antitrust case in India which will see it decouple the Play Store and Google Play Services from Android TV, to allow manufacturers to use Android TV without bundling Google’s apps—it is also removing licensing restrictions, enabling the sale of both Google-licensed and non-Google Android devices for five years link

The US and India are discussing a trade deal covering 19 areas, including farm goods, e-commerce, data storage and critical minerals, which could help India avoid higher tariffs link

India may cap Chinese firms’ equity in electronics joint ventures at 10%, requiring technology transfer due to limited domestic expertise link

Flipkart plans to move its headquarters from Singapore to India ahead of its anticipated IPO on local stock exchanges link

Crypto exchange WazirX plans to resume trading after a $230M hack, pending a Singapore court’s decision on its restructuring and compensation plan link

A91 Partners closes $665 million third fund, its largest yet link

Mobility startup Yulu is eyeing a $80M fund raise riding on the quick commerce buzz link

Alphabet shifts Google Pixel production from Vietnam to India amid US tariff concerns link

LG Electronics is said to said to have paused work on the IPO of its India-based unit, according to Bloomberg link

Blue Ocean Games, which is backed by Korean game giant Krafton, launched a $30M fund to back indie game developers link

Samsung is ready to invest $117M in a southern Indian facility, according to a government minister link

Didi is recruiting ride-hailing drivers in Hong Kong as it prepared to expand into the city-state link

Ant Group will acquire a 50.55% stake in Bright Smart Securities for HK$2.81B ($362M), expanding its Hong Kong presence link

Cybercrime gangs running billion-dollar scams out of Southeast Asia are expanding worldwide despite crackdowns, the UN has warned link

SK Telecom, South Korea’s largest mobile carrier with 48.4% market share and 34 million subscribers, says malware detected on 19 April allowed attackers to access sensitive USIM data link

SK Hynix is set to overtake Samsung as the world’s top DRAM vendor for the first time, driven by soaring AI demand—in Q1: SK Hynix held 36% of the DRAM market, ahead of Samsung’s 34%, according to Counterpoint Research link

Crypto exchange Bithumb plans to spin off its non-exchange division as it plans an IPO link

South Korea’s data protection authority said DeepSeek transferred user information and prompts without permission when the service was still available for download in the country’s app market link

Sumitomo and SBI Holdings will each acquire a 20% stake in FPT Smart Cloud Japan, a unit of Vietnam’s FPT, to boost AI adoption in Japan link

Chip-material maker Tekscend Photomask is planning an initial public offering in Tokyo as soon as the second half of this year link

TikTok plans to launch TikTok Shop in Japan soon as it seeks further international growth outside of the US and China link

In its annual report, TSMC said it has limited visibility on ‘downstream’ use of its chips after reports that its AI chips reached Huawei, despite US sanctions, thanks to intermediaries link

TSMC unveiled new chip technology designed to power the next generation of AI, including faster processors and large dinner-plate-sized chip packages that can handle massive computing loads link

North Korean cyber attack sophistication is growing with news that the groups created US-based companies to infect cryptocurrency developers with malware link

Furthermore, and as we’ve heard many times: North Korean hackers are using generative AI to help get hired by tech firms in the US and Europe link