FoodRazor raises US$900K led by Cocoon Capital, aims to create a smart ecosystem

FoodRazor​, the invoice management platform based in Singapore, announced that it has raised a US$900,000 seed financing round led by early-stage venture capital firm Cocoon Capital alongside Found.Ventures and angel investors.

Niles Toh, CEO, and Founder of FoodRazor, said that the company will use the fund to support FoodRazor’s expansion into new markets and to support other invoice-heavy industries such as accounting, manufacturing, and logistics.

FoodRazor offers an end-to-end online platform that seeks to address the pain point of F&B operators by saving time on menial data entry tasks and helping make smarter purchase decisions. It digitises the entire invoice management process as well as provides restaurants with actionable insights, price analytics, and streamlining of the accounting workflow by scanning and extracting information from paper receipts and imports each line item to leading accounting software packages.

Global companies, law firms launch an open industry platform for lawyers

A group of law firms and corporations have come together to support the development of Lupl, the open industry platform for legal matters. The venture is a result of more than 12 months of work with in-house and private practice lawyers and industry experts to “solve shared frustrations relating to the handling of legal matters”.

Lupl has been formed as an independent corporation to develop, own, and operate the open industry technology platform. It is currently incubated through its development by a trio of international law firms, CMS, Cooley, and Rajah & Tann Asia, working with input from an advisory board of 16 in-house lawyers from blue-chip multinationals to the world’s fastest-growing tech companies.

Also Read: Cocoon Capital announces US$22M second fund to invest in enterprise tech startups

The goal of Lupl is to synchronise everything that goes into a legal matter – including people, documents, information, communications, and technology applications – in a single secure space, empowering lawyers and legal departments to work together on complex, high-stakes legal matters in a better and more efficient way. An open approach means any legal department and the law firm will be able to use Lupl, and any technology provider will be able to integrate with it via open APIs.

Entrepreneur First launches the Amplifier Network talent affiliate programme, strengthening access to deep tech talent

Entrepreneur First (EF), the talent investor, has revealed its first line up of nine EF Amplifiers, as part of the Amplifier Network – its new and exclusive talent affiliate and advisor programme.

The Amplifier Network is designed to leverage synergies amongst key players in Singapore’s deep tech ecosystem by providing a structured platform for established industry professionals to refer talent to the EF programme. At the same time, it also aims to drive deeper connections and sparking collaboration within the global community.

The pioneer batch of EF Amplifiers consists of key individuals who have been significant to EF Singapore’s growth since its inception four years ago, which is a mix of business and public sector leaders, academics, investors, startup founders and advocates across the deep tech community, armed with global networks covering Asia, North America, and the UK.

Promising deep-tech entrepreneurs referred by EF’s Amplifiers will be granted priority access to interviews with the EF admissions team for consideration for the next cohort. EF Amplifiers will also be invited to participate in community programmes such as panel discussions, webinars, as well as regular community and cohort.

The EF Amplifiers will be participating in the Launch programme of EF Singapore’s seventh cohort, as well as in the preparation for the upcoming eight cohort in August.

Vietnam’s HR tech startup BravoHR secures seed funding from tech startup accelerator Zone Startups Vietnam

Zone Startups Vietnam, tech startup accelerator has invested seed funding in HR tech startup BravoHR, with the participation of former Google, Alibaba, and BCG executives-owned VC firm 1005 Ventures.

Also Read: E-commerce wars in Vietnam intensify. Here is all you need to know

According to DealStreetAsia, BravoHR was launched in August 2018 to provide digital solutions for staffing, employee benefits. and rewards.

Involved in the round is 1005 Ventures, the investment fund founded by former executives of Google, Alibaba, and BCG to support startups, especially in the fields of transportation, medical, and human resource management

Three Vietnamese tech startups receive funding from Viet Valley Ventures

Viet Valley Ventures, a Vietnam-based venture capital firm, has invested in three tech startups: mobile recruitment platform JobsGo, software solutions startup WindSoft, and marketing tech startup for e-commerce setup EcomEasy.

Viet Valley Ventures is a newly-established homegrown venture capital firm that was founded in 2019 by senior tech executives working in Silicon Valley. According to DealStreetAsia, it is seeking to invest US$200,000-US$500,000 in five startups each year in Vietnam.
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But first, let’s address the elephant in the room and get it out of the way. Not all corporate-startup relationships work. According to a report published by 500 startups, the vast majority of corporates see less than 25% of their initial pilots with startups scale into solutions that can be taken to the market.

So why are we still talking about corporate-startup collaboration? Oh yes, the other 75% narrative. Corporates today recognise this need to work with startups to enable innovations, propelling them to step up their startup collaboration initiatives. 

In fact, the number of corporate investments in startups has nearly tripled in volume from 980 in 2013 to 2,795 in 2018, increasing over 9 times in value from $19 billion to $180 billion based on a study by GVC Analytics, a company that tracks corporate venture deals.

To quote Jerry Maguire, ‘you complete me’

The value of such collaboration to both parties is clear. Corporates bring the networks and resources to enable the startup to reach scale at a reasonably early stage. On the other hand, startups provide corporates with ideas, technologies, or solutions that they can quickly test and bring to the market. They are also viewed as beacons of creativity and innovation.

Yet, only a handful of startups will thrive and ultimately disrupt the entire industry. This is why corporate-startup collaborations mesh beautifully with the sequence.

So if corporations learn the steps well — set clear objectives and identify their capabilities and process of working with startups — there’s a higher chance they’ll finish the business dance with an encore.

Corporates looking to advance their innovation agenda through collaboration with startups possess these common objectives:

First objective: to solve immediate problems and priorities faced by internal BU stakeholders

Innovation champions within large corporates realise that in order to build organisational support for their programmes, they must build organisational support which sets up the foundation for more ambitious innovation initiatives or moonshot projects down the road. This is why innovation teams are now looking into startups as an alternative to traditional solutions suppliers and various corporates.

Not only do startups have the agility to test ideas fast, but they may also bring a new perspective of attacking the problems that hurt the business unit stakeholders — whether in terms of increasing revenues, or of decreasing expenses, or even of both.

To produce tangible results and early wins, the corporate innovation team needs to carefully choose startups with a strong execution track record, and ensure the readiness of stakeholders to support initial pilots and integrate startups by understanding their stakeholder priorities. On top of this, they may need to rethink the lengthy onboarding or procurement process that works for larger or traditional ventures and streamline them to make them more apt for startups.

Second objective: to explore and develop use cases for proprietary assets and technologies

It is not only funding that startups look for when working with established corporates. Corporates, for example, are often sitting on tons of underutilised data which startups lack access to and through which they can quickly turn into insights, business models, or products. 

For instance, we’ve seen opportunities for corporates to leverage our corporate-innovation programme to find best-in-class startups that can use corporate’s newly developed technologies to produce success stories that will hopefully drive future adoption leading to new business lines and revenue streams for the company.

Third objective: to explore sustainable technology solutions and accelerate the adoption of ESG principles

Doing good is doing good business. Large corporations today are beginning to integrate sustainable and circular practices into their tactical operations. And with more and more everyday consumers requiring their brands to adhere to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) measures, big corporations are stepping up their efforts to find innovations that will lead to:

• greater corporate transparency through automation of monitoring and reporting of impact
• more efficient use of resources and reduction of wastes and carbon emission
• alternative materials to plastics for packaging
• improved access to knowledge and financial inclusion of smallholder producers

Fourth objective: to develop investment opportunities or deal flow

Large corporations are turning to startups for cutting-edge technologies with the potential to disrupt their current businesses and provide a competitive advantage in the next 5 to 10 years. For these types of innovations that require a longer-term horizon and are non-incremental in nature, corporates are looking at startups across different stages for potential deal flow or investments. 

The good news? We are looking for corporates to be part of the innovation dance

We’ve discovered startups whose tech innovations present potential tech solutions for your business.

Our great strength as a company is our large network of relevant startups in the region and we think this can be of immense value to regional corporations, wherever they are in their innovation roadmap. Also through our regional reach, we are able to find and connect corporations to the startups most relevant to their innovation objectives.

If you’re interested in this initiative and would like to fast-track your corporate innovation and business transformation through co-creation of solutions, let us know by filling out this form.

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Dustin Masancay, who handles e27’s corporate innovation & ecosystem building, co-wrote this article.

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Pintek raises seed capital from Accion Venture to improve quality of education in Indonesia

Pintek, a fintech platform in Indonesia, has raised an undisclosed amount of capital from Accion Venture Lab to improve the quality of education in the country, according to a press statement.

The new capital will be utilised to enhance Pintek’s platform to meet the needs of underserved students and schools during COVID-19.

“There is a clear need for educational financing in Indonesia, and Pintek’s unique model, strong leadership team, and promising growth potential make them the ideal partner to address that need,” said Vikas Raj, Managing Director of Accion Venture Lab.

“We also want to assure parents and the wider education community that Pintek is here and always ready to assist any financial needs for education,” added Ioann Fainsilber, Co-founder of Pintek.

Founded in March 2018, Pintek aims to democratise access to education in Indonesia through affordable and flexible credit.

RedDoorz launches mental health support programme

Online hotel management and booking platform, RedDoorz, announced today the launch of its mental health initiative called “Hope Hotline” to provide support to the mental wellbeing of its employees, hotel partners and staff via online counselling sessions.

It has united with counsellors and psychologists across the region to conduct free counselling sessions remotely through online platforms for all RedDoorz employees and its hotel partners’ staff.

Also Read: News Roundup: FoodRazor snags US$900K seed funding led by Cocoon Capital

As part of the initiative, RedDoorz is also conducting a webinar with a panel of certified counsellors and psychologists for individuals working in the travel and hospitality sector to offer them psychological support.

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Image Credit: Pintek

 

 

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• What are investors looking for in startups?

Klippgen and Blakey emphasised that it is the quality of the founding team more than anything else. The model and product will always change but how founders approach VCs tells a lot about them.

In addition, they look if the market is big enough and look for the quality and originality of the product to see if the idea is sound enough as a potential customer before investing.

Blakey said he rarely looks at pitch presentations. If a founder takes the effort to get an introduction, a reference, etc. improves their chances of success. How to approach a VC is a critical thing and if a founder takes effort to do that well, half the battle is won.

• Is there anything positive about this crisis?

Klippgen reiterated that startups should be able to solve a problem cheaper and faster. So a recession or any kind of financial problem (like this crisis) is, in fact, an opportunity. With the added layer of social distancing, this crisis will force everyone to move online and come up with more efficient business models.

Most brands become more successful after a crisis, they said. Since fundraising is tighter and money is difficult to raise, founders value it a lot more and use it more effectively.

• What about expansion and overseas markets?

SEA or APAC is not the worst-hit markets, so the general advice is to capture your home market first. It is probably wiser to wait till mid-2021 to make a push to be global. And be open-minded about where to go as you depending on where you gain traction.

• What kind of startups is Cocoon looking for?

At Cocoon, they are focussed on great teams. “We are not so much after the sector. Very rarely startups have the right product-market fit,” said Blakey. They are looking majorly at logistics, fintech, health tech, deep tech, and medtech.

• How should VCs manage their portfolios?

For a VC, communication is crucial. Essentially saying what they require and what they are willing to offer. Don’t over promise what you are going to deliver as a VC. Founders get very frustrated sometimes as the connections promised may not come through. They want to know exactly what they are getting when it comes to working with VCs.

• Are we going to see more M&A now?

Cross-border M&A will likely go down. Companies are dealing with local issues and need to reserve capital for running the business. But in-country or in-region M&As may take on a different form, said Klippgen, although not too popular. He also noted that M&A activities are relatively still low in SEA.

• Is it better for startups to hibernate right now?

In a crisis, companies will raise fewer funds although they should raise more. Basically, they have to save and develop more slowly. We generally ask companies to raise for 18 months but now we think it’s good to buffer for 24 months.

Don’t go completely into hibernation, find innovative ways to manage cash flow. Eg: one startup is renting its tech team to another one to continue their payroll.

“We have advised our portfolio firms to survive until Q2 2021. If there is no way to do, you may hibernate for a bit. The main objective is to not run out of cash. If you are a smaller team, this is a good time to compensate key people with equity.”

Use this time to raise small amounts of money if you can identify interesting pivots or opportunities. And try not to seek shelter in VCs to extend your runway, those requests will most likely be turned down.

Quote of the day

Failure and entrepreneurship are strongly interlinked.

– Michael Blakey

Food for thought

• For a company that focuses on events and travel experiences, what is the way forward?
• How would the monetary and fiscal policy changes affect the risk appetite for the investors?

Resource

Watch the full recording below.

Stay tuned for their thoughts on several other interesting questions raised in the webinar.

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More than half of the Singaporean consumers make big decisions based on emotions, experiences and intuition, in comparison to factual data and technology, according to new research from Qlik conducted by YouGov.

Yet, this is not the case for smaller decisions.

For minor decisions such as picking the fastest route to a destination (81 per cent), booking a movie ticket (67 per cent) or generating a travel itinerary for the next vacation (55 per cent), consumers tend to place more trust on technology possibly because these decisions aid convenience and do not have a significant impact on one’s life.

So naturally, for major decisions that involved dating life or choosing the right career path, people trusted humans more than robots.

There has been a surge of mobile fitness apps, in recent times, many of them utilising “virtual nutritionists and fitness coaches” to help other people work out effectively.

Also Read: Going big? Then Go e27 Pro.

But according to the report, more than half of the individuals would instead rely on humans than mobile applications.

Concerns about data and privacy

Qlik’s data comes alongside another report that indicates the growing concern for privacy issues.

About 51 per cent of Generation Zs said that they were warier about how online companies were handling their data.

This number is comparatively higher compared to Millennials (42 per cent) and Generation X (48 per cent), but lower than Baby Boomers (56 per cent).

Suganthi Shivkumar, Managing Director of ASEAN, Qlik, matches this behaviour to the easy access of internet experienced by Generation Zs from an early age.

Unlike Millennials, this generation has received the full benefits of technology early on, causing them to be “less charmed by the novelty and make them warier of its potential consequences”.

“Each generation relies on and trusts data and technology more than the previous one,” she said.

“Surprisingly, Generation Z bucks this trend, putting them more in line with older Baby Boomers. This could be a sign of tech fatigue or a more pessimistic view towards technology in general. Generation Zs are digital natives, meaning they’ve been raised with computers and on the internet. More experience with digital connectivity could make them less charmed by the novelty and warier of its potential consequences.”

However, if trust issues can be resolved, data and technology can have a much more significant impact on consumers’ lives.

Qlik’s report also found that in the next five years, almost half (48 per cent) would allow integrated body sensors to measure their vitals and inform their doctor about any abnormalities.

Also Read: Dathena closes US$12M Series A led by Jungle Ventures to protect businesses from cyber attacks

More than a third (35 per cent) would permit an app to limit or prioritise spending based on their savings plan, while just under a third (30 per cent) would allow data and technology to secure their next job.

“Only when companies start to remove the ‘black box approach to AI’ and show consumers what data is collected and how it is used to make recommendations, will they trust data more when making higher-impact decisions,” concluded Shivkumar.

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Image Credit: Mathieu Bigard

 

 

 

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Dekoruma.com, an online marketplace connecting interior designers and construction service providers in Indonesia, has secured an undisclosed amount in pre-Series C funding from InterVest Star SEA Growth Fund 1 and existing investors, says a DealStreetAsia’s report

InterVest Star SEA Growth Fund 1 is a US$100-million fund, co-managed by Indonesia’s Kejora Ventures and Korean VC InterVest.

Co-founder Dimas Harry Priawan said Dekoruma.com will use the funding to develop its its interior design and project management app SOMA.

Founded in 2016, Dekoruma’s platform enables both homeowners and construction service providers to purchase construction materials, furniture and furnishings.

For homeowners, it provides fully automated services in selecting service provider, procurement process, installation and financing options.

Dekoruma claims it has been able to scale up its capacity to run more than 500 simultaneous unique “design & build” projects at any point in time. Each project is valued at approximately IDR 70-100million, and can be managed by more than 100 interior design partners based in Jakarta.

Also Read: Indonesia’s Dekoruma raises Series B funding, aims to expand in the market

In late 2018, the company raised Series B round of funding, led by GDN, which was joined by by AddVentures and existing backers Skystar, Beenext, and Convergence.

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Photo by Tony Lee on Unsplash

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Singapore-based online retailer IUIGA announced today it has raised US$10 million in Series A round of funding, led by Konimex Technologies, a subsidiary of Indonesian conglomerate Konimex Group.

The fresh money will be invested across IUIGA’s Singaporean and Indonesian operations, with Indonesia being the key focus for 2020.

Also Read: Going big? Then Go e27 Pro

IUIGA will also invest in Big Data and Artificial Intelligence to deepen its e-commerce personalisation.

“Most immediately, we’re intending to grow our Indonesian operations with the target of doubling the office’s headcount in the coming six months. Indonesia’s potential is immense, with its burgeoning tech-savvy demographics. We want to be right in the action and unlock the economic potential in growth by 2025,” said Jaslyn Chan, Chief Growth Officer of IUIGA.

Indonesia has always been an attractive market for e-commerce companies because of its large and diverse population. There has always been competition looming from giants like Tokopedia and Bukalapak. However, Chan believes that direct-to-consumer retail opportunities are still untapped in the region.

Launched in 2017, IUIGA sells products ranging from kitchen products to apparels to electronics. The products, claims the company, are “hand-picked from some of the world’s best, undiscovered manufacturers under their Original Design Manufacturer (ODM) business model”.

Also Read: Why crowdfunding will be the new normal for Malaysian companies

By working closely with the manufacturers, the brand opens up opportunities to sell directly to consumers without incurring unnecessary costs by going through middlemen.

The strategic investment from Konimex will help the company broaden the reach of its omni-channel business model across Southeast Asian markets.

Furthermore, IUIGA plans to expand its physical footprint into fulfilling its growing omni-channel demand.

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Image Credit: IUIGA

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The Indonesian chapter of Silicon Valley-based accelerator Plug and Play, GK-Plug and Play, has announced the 15 startups of its sixth batch.

The organisation also announced that the final pitch will be done virtually, following up a three-week training and videotaping of the pitch sessions.

Aaron Nio, Director of GK-Plug and Play, stated, “After the virtual final pitch, we will stick to our Expo Day agenda later, examining the situation carefully when the time comes.”

The 15 startups represent multiple tech industries such as food and agritech, health, Internet of Things, and so on.

Assemblr, a 3D and interactive augmented reality platform to help creators create content

Cubeacon, an IoT device startup that was founded in 2014 and has recently finished a smart building and smart airport project

ETAB, a platform that focusses on service and transportation industry, combining relevant content in HD with an advertisement

Gomodo, an e-commerce web-building startup with distribution solution to cater to offline service, for tourism and activities

Also Read: GK-Plug and Play Indonesia names new partners, graduates 16 startups

Member.id, a technology consulting firm that is data-empowered in helping business designs loyalty programme

My Health Diary, an AI startup that builds a personalised, prevention-oriented treatment

OKE Garden, an online service that combines products from decorative plants farmers and garden farmers

PearlPay, a payment gateway that seeks to give affordable banking solutions for financial institutions and underserved individuals

Transfez, a licensed remittance company that serves individuals and businesses to send money across the world from Indonesia

WhatsHalal, a startup that seeks to become an ecosystem of guidance and provider of halal-certified food for the Muslim community.

Otomo, a travel tech startup that allows customers to book a private tour or cheap rental car, bus, to yacht and jet for leisure or work in Bali, Jakarta, Yogyakarta, and other cities in Indonesia

Otoklix, a startup that seeks to transform conventional car workshops by capturing customers’ transactions in a front-end system.

DotX, a startup that allows underserved community to access banking service using a smartphone

Dorent, a one-stop solution platform for warehouses and other services

Nalagenetics, a medtech startup that focusses on dose personalisation and prescription

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The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), others unveil US$6M scheme to support fintech startups

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), along with Singapore FinTech Association (SFA), AMTD Group and AMTD Foundation, have jointly announced a S$6M (US$4.2M) package MAS-SFA-AMTD FinTech Solidarity Grant to support fintech companies.

Also Read: Going big? Then Go e27 Pro.

It will add on the S$125 million support package announced by the MAS on April 8 for companies in the financial sector.

The grant aims to help fintech companies maintain their operations and encourages them to continue innovation and growth.

Sopnendu Mohanty, Chief FinTech Officer of MAS, said, “There is a surge in demand in the financial services industry around the region for solutions to address the need for remote digital services amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Fintech firms have a great opportunity to step up actively during this period to provide these solutions. The Business Growth Grant will help fintech firms offset their costs.”

Facebook partners with Fave to help local businesses in Singapore

Social media giant Facebook has partnered with Southeast Asia’s mobile payments and rewards platform Fave to help Singaporean businesses affected by COVID-19.

Through this partnership, Facebook (and Instagram) will use its platforms to provide social media users with Fave’s digital gift cards (e-cards) from local businesses operating under Singapore’s circuit-breaker measures, with a special focus in retail, hospitality, and food and beverage (F&B) sectors.

Currently, around 400 local businesses in Singapore like Crave, Jollibean, Nippon Home and Pixie Nail Spa have signed up for the e-cards.

“By joining forces with Facebook and Instagram, we aim to extend support to local businesses further with utmost speed and urgency. Our partnership will accelerate our local businesses’ ability to adapt and digitalise while providing a much-needed income boost to keep them afloat during these challenging times,” said Ng Aik-Phong, MD of Fave Singapore.

SESTO Robotics launches disinfectant robot to address the urgent need for better hygiene

Singaporean robot company SESTO Robotics has launched a dual-function autonomous mobile disinfectant robot SESTO HealthGUARD to address the urgent needs of hygiene during COVID-19.

The robot will be valuable not only to ensure clean facilities but will also help to maintain social distancing.

The robots can be set up via a tablet or laptop and can be used to clean large surfaces more efficiently through its multi-nozzle sprayer.

“Our self-navigating, fully-autonomous SESTO HealthGUARD is ready for round-the-clock thorough facility disinfection. Applying our knowledge in deep-tech and robotics, the team at SESTO Robotics hopes to accelerate public health and safety with innovation and technology,” said Ang Chor Chen, CEO of SESTO Robotics.

Alpha Startup Digital Accelerator announces winners of its first batch

Malaysia’s first Digital Accelerator programme, the Alpha Startup Digital Accelerator (ASDA), has announced three startups out of 15 as the winner of its first batch, they are – BlueDuck, Internspoon and Nanobar.

The three companies have been awarded around US$14,000 [RM 60,000] in total to kickstart their business ideas.

BlueDuck is a prop-tech startup which saves property investors time and money by automating expensive manual processes with cloud-based solutions and flat fee services.

Nanobar is a small vending machine, appropriate for any hotel room countertop, to help online brands have a physical store through spot purchasing in-room.

Internspoon is an internship platform that matches interns to employers.

Singaporean startups join Scaler8 for long-term opportunities in Germany post-COVID-19

Six deeptech startups operating in the medtech and AI have joined Scaler8, an expansion programme that helps Singaporean companies expand to Germany, with the goal to produce and scale solutions to fight against the virus.

They are:

TeleMedC: A remote diagnostics medtech startup for eye diseases.

Biorithm: A wearable device that enables continuous and automated monitoring of fetal and maternal heart rates.

Also Read:  Roundup: Samsung-backed HR-tech startup Swingvy launches in Taiwan; Filipino ride-hailing firm Angkas pivots to deliveries

Cognicept: Focuses on efficient robot communication via human-in-the-loop (HITL) error handling with tele-robotic networking technology and human remote operators.

dDriven: Creates live, cross-functional digital replica of business and manufacturing operations using its no-code platform

Attonics Systems: Bridges gaps between high-end spectroscopy and industry demands for intuitive, mobile and affordable sensing solutions

RADICALi: Provides an intuitive and user-friendly system for compliance teams to collaborate remotely and manage workflows

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Image Credit: Mike Enerio

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Singaporean deeptech company Dathena has told e27 that it has closed a US$12-million Series A financing round, led by early-stage VC firm Jungle Ventures.

Other investors in the round include Caphorn and SEEDS Capital, an investment arm of Enterprise Singapore.

Dathena will use the capital for R&D and hire staff across sales, marketing, and customer success functions in New York City.

It also plans to expand its co-sell partnership with Microsoft into the US, helping Azure Cloud and Microsoft 365 customers to automate data protection and comply with data privacy regulations.

“Our mission is to build trust in the digital world even as companies navigate these challenging times and are inundated by torrents of data from exponentially multiplying sources,” said Christopher Muffat, Founder and CEO of Dathena.

“This Series A funding round will help us accelerate our product development and go-to-market efforts, giving more companies the chance to benefit from our flexible, cost-efficient, and uncompromising data security solutions,” he noted.

Also Read: Going big? Then Go e27 Pro.

The data distress

Numerous companies today are facing security challenges, especially during the pandemic, as cybercriminals have been reportedly ramping up attacks on businesses. This indicates that there is a strong need for enterprises to protect sensitive data and information.  

While several companies move their services to the cloud, new security methods are required to mitigate the risk to protect against corporate and reputational damages.

Citing the findings of IT security firm Check Point, Channel Asia recently reported that advanced persistent threat (APT) specialists are persistently targeting countries such as Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar and Brunei.

To address this issue, Dathena promises to deliver efficient, cost-effective data security, privacy, and compliance for clients operating in highly regulated spaces, using its patented artificial intelligence (AI) tools.

Also Read: Singaporean deep tech company Dathena eyes North America growth with new HQ launch

Founded by risk management expert Muffat, Dathena uses Machine Learning and AI tools to help companies prevent data loss, govern data, and meet employees’ demands for cloud-based tools.

The company claims that it has delivered up to 99 per cent accuracy in data classification, coupled with an 80 per cent reduction in information security operational costs, for clients in fields such as financial services, healthcare, and Defence.

At present, it has more than 200,000 users across a range of industries and has established its presence in Singapore, Thailand, France, Switzerland and the US.

Previously, Dathena raised an undisclosed funding round in March 2019, led by MS&AD Ventures, with participation from existing investors CerraCap Ventures and Demetis.

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Image Credit: Dathena

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