‘There’s still an acute shortage of Series C/D capital in SEA’
Asia Partners’s General Partner Nick Nash said there is a Series C and D funding gap of ~US$900M for SEA to catch up with China; This is, however, less than the funding gap of US$1.1B last year and US$1.2B in 2019.
Malaysia’s unicorn Carsome to lay off staff
The used-car firm has apparently started letting people go in Thailand and Indonesia; It is now bringing the effort to Malaysia and its regional roles, a Tech In Asia report highlighted.
Shopee layoffs hit staff in Taiwan, Philippines
Dozens of employees in the Taiwanese office were asked to pack their things and leave on Monday; The layoffs in the Philippines would reduce the workforce by “a low single-digit percentage.”
Shopee faces backlash over endorsement in the Philippines
The firm appears to have sparked the ire of users who questioned how it has money to hire Filipino celebrity Toni Gonzaga as its brand ambassador even as it recently announced layoffs in the country.
Traveloka receives US$300M financing facility
The investors include Blackrock, Indonesia Investment Authority, and Allianz Global; Traveloka has so far raised US$862M+ from investors, including Expedia, Rocket Internet, GIC, and East Ventures.
Exclusive: Scooterson lands US$74M contract to build electric two-wheelers in Singapore
Scooterson is setting up a manufacturing facility in Singapore, which plans to produce around 850 units monthly, starting April-March 2023; It plans to hire 15 employees in the R&D department and 20-25 in the manufacturing department in the next 6-9 months.
Grab to launch digibank in Malaysia, Indonesia in 2023
Bank Fama International will serve as the foundation for the digibank it plans to establish in Indonesia; The announcement follows the launch of GXS Bank, a digibank formed in partnership with Singtel, in Singapore last month.
E-commerce brands aggregator Una Brands raises US$30M Series B
Lead investors are White Star Capital and Alpha JWC; The firm will use the capital to double down and fund acquisitions of high-quality e-commerce brands across home & living, mother & baby, and beauty & personal care categories.
Aiello banks US$5.8M to take its voice AI assistant for hotels beyond Taiwan
Lead investors are JAFCO Asia and Wistron Corporation; Aiello’s voice assistant analyses the needs and usage behaviours of guests during their stay and extracts data which can be used to improve hotel management.
Singapore’s field service management startup FTV Labs raises US$1.5M seed
Investors are Origgin Capital and Mitsubishi Electrics ME Innovation Fund; FTVLabs’s KEGMIL digitises and automates inefficient spreadsheet and paper-based workflows, enabling field service companies to enact timely data-driven insights.
Indonesia’s Mycotech raises US$1.2M to develop eco-friendly leather for fashion industry
Investors are AgFunder, Temasek Lifesciences, Fashion for Good, Third Derivative, and Rumah Group; Mycotech employs mycelium as a binding agent to create biomaterial composite Biobo and cultivates it to create strong, leather-like material Mylea.
Children’s behavioural health startup KinderPass raises US$500K
Goodwater Capital, Momentum Capital, Better Capital, and SuperMorpheus are the investors; KinderPass provides online therapy and personalised support for children’s developmental delays, learning difficulties and behavioural issues.
Entrepreneur First unveils 7 SG firms in latest cohort
The Singaporean companies in the latest cohort solve problems related to women’s health, fintech, Web3, and machine learning; Five of these startups are raising seed rounds and two have recently concluded fundraises.
AC Ventures ties up with CTO-as-a-service firm to bolster tech teams
The collaboration with 8020cto is aimed at helping SEA startups face technical challenges; 8020cto will guide the founders of ACV’s portfolio companies on streamlining their technical and business strategies as well as coach their CTOs and engineers.
Malaysian crypto exchange MX Global bags US$1.6M
Binance and Hachiman Technology are the investors; In June, CEO Changpeng Zhao revealed that Binance will work with Malaysian cryptocurrency exchanges to expand its services in the country.
Terra founder contests South Korea’s Bitcoin transfer accusations
“There is no ‘cashout’ as alleged,” Do Kwon shared in a Twitter post; However, the police alleged that 3,313 bitcoins from Luna Foundation Guard were moved to crypto exchange platforms KuCoin and OKX between September 15 and 18.
Terraform Labs says accusations against CEO have ‘no reasonable basis’
A spokesperson for the firm issued a statement that Do Kwon was in communication with the authorities through his lawyer; The exec said Kwon is “not on the run” and is actively managing Terraform Labs.
Physical collectibles maker Mighty Jaxx launches NFT collection
It will team up with checkout solutions provider Paper to offer buyers the option to pay via credit card; Adding credit cards as a payment option makes buying NFTs more convenient.
Crypto adoption steadies in South Asia, soars in the SEA
This article analyses the main drivers and barriers to grassroots cryptocurrency adoption in South and Southeast Asia countries.
This startup aims to make rooftop solar accessible to smaller households with zero upfront cost
Customers can then choose either its five-to-year plans for rent-to-own or direct purchase; Solar AI’s goal is to convert 5,000+ properties across Southeast Asia to solar by 2025 and decrease up to 84,394 tonnes of carbon per year.
Web3, wallets, and winning the next culture revolution in SEA
Blockchain wallets fundamentally serve as the entryway into Web3 and the next evolution of consumer culture, marked by decentralisation.
How e-sports is evolving with blockchain gaming
The use of blockchain will increase trust in e-sports because of the platform’s transparency, allowing everyone to see what is happening.
Meet the 6 companies you can connect with at Echelon 2022
Echelon 2022 is designed to help companies achieve favourable business outcomes by connecting attendees with decision-makers of various companies across various industries.
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Echelon 2022 aims to provide intimate and focused discussions on key topics and business matching services to facilitate business-driven connections during the two-day event. e27 will curate and invite key stakeholders of startups, investors, corporates, and ecosystem enablers to drive towards fruitful business outcomes at Echelon.
The 2022 Echelon edition will be co-located with SWITCH at Resorts World Sentosa from 27 to 28 October 2022. Learn more here.
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