VENTURE CAPITAL POST

Mobile messaging apps Line and Kakao Talk are busy trying to conquer overseas markets such as Southeast Asia and India. But they may do well to keep a close eye on their home turf of Japan and South Korea as China's WeChat amasses more users.

SoftBank Corp has no plans to invest in messaging application Line Corp, Ken Miyauchi, chief operating officer of Japan's No. 3 mobile carrier, told reporters on Friday.

Chinese authorities say they have blocked messaging apps KakaoTalk and Line as part of efforts to fight terrorism,South Korea said on Thursday, the first official explanation of service disruptions in China that began a month ago.

New York, US-based mobile gameplay-recording startup Kamcord raised $7.1 million in a Series A funding round led by TransLink Capital to conquer the giant gaming markets of Japan, China, and South Korea.

Japan-based mobile messaging app Line will launch an open sticker marketplace called Line Creators Market in April and will also release a Skype-like service in five countries.

China based mobile app distribution platform Wandoujia raised $120 million in a recent funding round led by SoftBank Corp, for the acceleration of its growth and development of its mobile search technology.

Gogolook chief executive officer Jeff Kuo confirmed to TechCrunch about the company's merger with Korean Internet company and LINE app owner Naver, which was worth TW$529 million or $17.6 million, according to a state report.

The new Series C funding worth USD42 million received by DataSift, a social data platform for enterprises and brands, was said to be used for expansion in international markets and verticals, and strategic acquisitions.

Line, a message app based in Japan, proudly announced at a press conference in Tokyo that it has added another 100m people to its registered user count, totaling the number of registered users since its launch at 300 million. It hopes to hit 500 million registered users by 2014.

Despite continued speculations that it would go public, Japan-based messaging app Line said it did not see the need to hold an initial public offering.

South Korean communication app maker Line would stand to be valued at USD8 billion should it go public, according to information technology news site The Next Web.