Ecosystem Roundup: Xendit lays off 5% staff; Blibli aims for US$2B valuation in IPO; Binance to probe potential US$110M exploit in blockchain

Blibli aims for US$2B valuation in Indonesia IPO
This is a significant markdown from the US$4B that the e-commerce firm was reportedly targeting in June this year; At the time, the Djarum-backed company was planning to raise around US$500M in the IPO this year.

Fintech unicorn Xendit lays off 5% staff in Indonesia, Philippines
“The decision was based on the business strategy by seeing the future situation and comprehensive consideration to make sure that we are ready to face future opportunities and challenges,” says its COO Tessa Wijaya.

‘Singapore’s dine-in experience hasn’t evolved much despite many F&B outlets’
qlub (SEA) COO Yong Sik Hoe says the city-state is blessed with robust banking systems compared to many Middle Eastern markets, which bodes well for the payments solutions firm.

Singapore’s 3D printing firm Structo raises US$10M
The investors include SGInnovate, Seeds Capital, and Apsara Investments; It has partnered with the dental industry and helped develop application-specific solutions for the sector – from hardware, software, and solutions made out of photopolymer resin.

Vietnam’s Marathon Education raises seed financing
The investors include Vulcan Capital, Forge Ventures, DSG Consumer Partners, and Goodwater Capital; The firm provides live interactive cohort-based classes in large- or small-class format to K-12 students in the country.

In September, the SEA startup ecosystem was all ready to go out again
We can even say that September was the month when the MICE industry in Singapore was making its comeback as the borders reopened and the world started turning again. But what does it mean for the tech startup ecosystem?

Alipay removed from Shanghai priority high-tech firms list
The company, owned by Ant Group, was removed because it didn’t meet R&D spending requirements, according to a notice from the Chinese government; As a result, the fintech giant may not receive certain tax benefits.

bolttech acquires majority shares in Indonesian insurance broker Axle Asia
This deal will accelerate the deployment of bolttech’s insurance exchange capabilities and complement its existing presence as a device protection provider in Indonesia.

Singapore’s risk assessment company Bizbaz raises US$4M
The investors include HSBC Asset Management, Vynn Capital, and SOSV; Bizbaz provides customer intelligence and risk assessment solutions to enable financial institutions to acquire and serve unbanked and underbanked populations.

Thai online learning platform Globish closes US$2.5M Series A+
The investors include depa, Premier, N-VEST Venture, ECG Research, 500 Tuktuks, and Stormbreaker Venture; Globish conducts 300K English and Chinese classes for learners comprising 20% of students and 80% of working-age people.

Indonesia’s climate tech venture builder Ecoxyztem raises funding
The investors are TAP Applied Agri Services, Konservasi Hutan Indonesia, and Pegasus Tech Ventures; Ecoxyztem provides access to talent, venture architecture for business modelling, go-to-market activities through business matchmaking, and investments.

500 Global selects 20 startups for Taiwan accelerator
The programme will be held in Taiwan this year, in collaboration with Taiwan Tech Arena (TTA), a deep tech startup ecosystem; Of the 20 startups, 12 are from Taiwan, and the rest are from HK, Korea, the US, the UK, Malaysia, Canada, and Indonesia.

Founders Factory, Pico Group launch venture builder in Asia
The collaboration will build a new venture studio and establish an accelerator programme for startups in areas like Web3, marketing technology, and event activation over the next three years.

Antler, Iterative back Indonesian mental health app for Muslims
Qalboo said it will use the proceeds of the round to build its app and R&D programme as well as recruit its first few team members; An internal study carried out by Qalboo found that 70% of Muslims in Indonesia suffer from mental health issues.

MAS to launch US$3.5M grant initiative for blended finance projects
Blended finance involves attracting commercial capital to projects centred around sustainability; The Asia Climate Solutions Design Grant will also be funnelled into high-impact target sectors in Asia.

AC Ventures partners with BCG to promote Indonesian ESG standards
The net impact ratio metric juxtaposes the degree of positive and negative resources used by a firm, which is akin to a profitability metric for ESG.

Velocity Ventures invests in Israeli robot kitchen firm
Hyper Food Robotics assembles 40-foot autonomous robotic “box” kitchens to prepare fast food; These kitchens handle all stages of cooking, from food preparation to packing.

Google launches circular economy accelerator
The 10-week programme for nonprofit organizations and startups in APAC and North America will focus on customer acquisition, product design, leadership development, circular economy deep dives, research, and workshops.

Binance to investigate potential US$110M exploit in Binance Smart Chain
The firm said about US$7M of the amount had already been frozen, with the help of its internal and external security partners as well as the community around the exchange.

TerraLabs co-founder seeks to withdraw from testifying in a parliamentary audit
In his written statement to South Korea’s National Assembly, Daniel Shin reasoned that his appearance at the proceeding may disrupt the ongoing probe into the Terra crash led by local prosecutors.

Thai media giant to work with Sygnum for US$300M hybrid equity-NFT raise
The amount will go toward T&B Media Global’s new interconnected metaverse platform Translucia; The hybrid equity-NFT structure is meant to provide both issuers and investors with a regulated means of participating in the opportunities presented by the metaverse.

Japan to expand NFT, metaverse investments
This is in line with PM Fumio Kishida’s pro-Web3 agenda; Under his administration, Japan has taken various steps toward digital transformation and Web3 integration, including setting up a Web3 policy promotion office to serve the country’s blockchain firms.

Binance gets digital assets license from Kazakhstan
Binance will offer digital-asset exchange and conversion services, the deposit and withdrawal of fiat currencies, cryptocurrency custody, and exchange trading in the country.

Why blockchain isn’t a fad
Blockchain now promises to decentralise the web, put the power back in the hands of users, and reward creators for their hard work.

How AI and automation can shape the future of farms
Developing an AI platform in the farming system reduces the time needed to conduct experiments and get results quicker.

The future of the rural economy is here
Over 80 per cent of Indonesia’s population is currently residing in rural areas; Social commerce platform Dagangan is leading the charge in accelerating the Indonesian rural business landscape.

Echelon 2022 to discuss the state of the SEA startup ecosystem
Catch leading experts and industry insiders at Echelon 2022 as they discuss the post-pandemic tech startup landscape and what’s in it for 2023.

Put yourself in the spotlight with our new contributor-only leaderboard
This leaderboard is a ranking chart based on article views where you can see our top trending contributors and their published bylines.

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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. 

Here’s the full list of the speakers for the 2022 edition, which will be co-located with SWITCH at Resorts World Sentosa from 27 to 28 October 2022. Learn more here. 

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