Malaysia-based startup Rush’s premise is simple. Whenever you’re in need of smartphone energy to ensure connectivity, go to the nearest store to rent a power bank. Scan code on any Rush kiosk, grab the power bank, and once you’re done using it, drop it back to the nearest kiosk you can find.

Rush believes that our day-to-day life is not something that can be done without a properly working smartphone. “As the world evolved, smartphones have become part of an important device in our daily life. All our work, communication, social, transportation, wallet, food, and more are solved by using a smartphone. It’s made life more efficient and convenient,” says Dylan Wong, co-founder of Rush.

Malaysia has 26 million internet users, and the country is currently the top four country in the world who spent an average of 4.02 hours a day on smartphones in 2019. This kind of lifestyle provides plenty of opportunities for startups such as Rush.

Why powerbank

“Running out of battery on our phones happens at least two times for us in a day. Like anyone else we have also tried different methods, including buying extra phone charging cables, powerbanks, and even carrying phone chargers wherever we go. Then we notice the problem didn’t really go away, because you would need to either remember to bring these extra items on top of what you need everyday. And as an additional tool, there could be times when you don’t remember to charge them! We also noticed that these problems happened to most people around us,” explains Wong.

To validate this issue further, Rush’s team conducted a survey in Klang Valley, about their phone usage and charging habits. The results showed that 56 per cent of the people surveyed are experiencing the same mentioned issues on an everyday basis.

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“Some funny but common scenarios include, asking around for cables, or trying to look for a power plug socket to charge their phone. It all happened as a part of the daily lives of people with smartphones,” Wong comments.

In the dawn of 5G

In the sense of welcoming the highly anticipated 5G, Rush aims to be ahead of innovation.

“New phone technology is almost everywhere today, and with 5G coming soon, and the battery consumption of a 5G phone is 2.5 times more compared to 4G phones. Phone innovations continuously evolve, but battery technology remains stagnant for the next few years with battery capacity expansion not significantly ‘catching up’ to cater to the actual needs and increasing usage of these new phone features,” says Wong.

So according to Rush, the immediate solution is to have a power bank ready to rent anywhere at any time.

Challenges in familiarisation

As power bank sharing is a relatively new product and business in the Malaysian market, there are challenges to face in promoting the use of the service.

“The biggest challenge would be helping our users to understand and change their phone or mobile devices charging habit that has been with them for a long time,” Wong points out.

Furthermore, based on the results of the survey the company has conducted in the Klang Valley area, 83 per cent of the respondents have also expressed that they are receptive to power bank rental or sharing service, something that boosted the confidence of Rush that there are untapped markets for ready-to-rent power bank.

“Our approach is direct to users, promoting our products through events, and on-ground roadshows. Besides that, we also work closely and extensively with all our partners, who are from different industries: F&B, entertainment, hotels, and services,” says Wong.

Wong mentions that they have partnered with established names such as Tealive and Holiday Inn Express.

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“We strive to create an ecosystem by understanding both our partners and our users’ needs and wants, hence our approach mainly aims to help our partners’ business drive awareness, footfall and consequently sales, while at the same time having Rush users enjoying the convenience of our power bank sharing service and the various features that benefit their everyday lifestyle,” Wong adds.

Behind Rush

Currently, Rush is operating in a team of 15 people. It was established by co-founders Dylan Wong, who is also the CEO, and Ng Yong Ching as the COO, who is also Wong’s long time friends.

Both Wong and Ng were part of the pioneer team of Grab and e-scooter oBike and shared a few years working together in several startups before co-founding Rush.

What to expect after pandemic

COVID-19 pandemic undoubtedly has thrown a curveball for most businesses and startups in particular, and Wong says that the company’s not immune to it.

Like other startups trying to survive, Rush also did some adjustments to the situation by trying to cater to their customers and partners better.

“We’ve worked with partners or kiosks to help them to promote their business by providing and selling exclusive e-voucher to our users which we subsidise as well. Our focus is to help merchants to gain some cash flow and conserve more cash. It also can attract users to visit the retails,” Wong elaborates.

As for the post-pandemic era, Wong adds that sanitisation is their main priority to provide comfort and convenience. “We will sanitise all the power bank and our partner/merchant will help us to sanitise after users use it.”

Focussing on user experience

User experience is at the core of Rush’s product developments, as Wong emphasised.

“We constantly review our app functions and features and rolls out new features that enhances the Rush user experience. Just this month, we have launched a new reward and advertising features in our app, which Rush users can now enjoy to get their hands on exclusive deals and rewards from our partners. These rewards wrap around our users’ everyday activity and lifestyle, and most are redeemable as long as you have a Rush account.”

To ensure service availability, as well as enhance user convenience, in the coming months, Rush will be launching its loyalty programme that aims to benefit both partners as well as users.

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Power bank sharing and rental service still being considered as a novelty. Not only in Malaysia, but also in other Southeast Asian countries.

“Compared to other regions like China that are more matured with this service, Chinese people are now very familiar with the power bank rental service as the solution to everyday device charging and/or battery issues. They find it convenient as it has become a necessary service to be provided by most businesses,” Wong draws an example.

With the country’s effort in building and improving our public infrastructure and transportation, mobile devices and internet usage will only increase significantly for the next few years.

“The potential is definitely there, if we look at the trend and how prepared the country is,” Wong concludes.

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Image Credit: Rush

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Ackcio, a Singapore-based provider of wireless solutions for industrial monitoring, announced today the completion of its pre-Series A capital, co-lead by Wavemaker Partners, and Michael Gryseels, President of True Digital Group.

Existing and new investors, including SEEDS Capital, AccelerAsia Ventures, Aletra Capital Partners, Foundamental, and Entrepreneur First, participated in this round.

The size of the round was not disclosed.

Ackcio was founded in 2016. Its technology helps contractors monitor their projects to manage risks and increase safety. This, in turn, helps the construction and mining industries reduce costs, improve worker safety and also comply with regulatory requirements on geotechnical monitoring that govern construction and mining operations in many countries.

The startup has recently opened a sales office in Canada to penetrate the North and South American markets. It currently serves clients globally with a presence in over 15 countries in Southeast Asia, China, Oceania, Europe, and North America.

Also Read: Your smartphone battery runs out at least twice a day. This Malaysian startup has a solution for that

“The additional funds will help us expand our presence in our existing markets and also expand to new markets in the coming months,” said Co-founder and CEO Dr. Nimantha Baranasuriya.

In Singapore, Ackcio’s solutions have been used for monitoring geotechnical sensors in major infrastructure development projects, such as the Thomson–East Coast MRT line, Bedok Canal expansion, and Paya Lebar Quarter.

The company was recently awarded a large contract to supply its equipment to a new infrastructure development project at the Changi Airport.

Along with this new funding round, Arnoud Balhuizen recently joined Ackcio’s advisory board.

Foundamental is a global investor in construction, mining and renovation technology with offices in San Francisco, Berlin and Singapore.

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SEEDS Capital, the investment arm of Enterprise Singapore, along with other six co-investment partners, has unveiled its plans to invest US$36 million into maritime tech startups, Sea Trade Maritime has reported.

The partners are Schultz Group’s capital arm Innoport, Kuok Singapore’s venture capital unit KSL Maritime Ventures, PSA unboXed, Rainmaking, ShipsFocus-Quest Ventures, and TecPier.

The initiative seeks to invest in early-stage ventures to develop sustainable solutions that improve operational efficiency and safety across the different segments of the maritime sector.

Ted Tan, Chairman of SEEDS Capital and Deputy CEO of Enterprise Singapore, said: “The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the need to accelerate the transformation of our industries. As a global hub for trade and connectivity, we have continually leveraged technology and innovation to develop and facilitate efficient, resilient, and secure trade flows.”

Startups will also receive hands-on assistance in fast-tracking commercialisation, with mentorship and connection to potential clients through their networks.

Also Read: These are the top three startups chosen by PIER71, offering latest maritime tech solution

The initiative is also supported by ESG and the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), with the aim to drive the growth of the maritime sector through technology and innovation.

In total, there are more than 50 promising Singaporean startups that can benefit from the joint investments.

According to Tan Beng Tee, MPA’s Assistant Chief Executive (Development), maritime technology startups play an even more important role in accelerating digitalisation and innovation efforts to prepare the maritime industry for a new normal post-COVID-19.

The maritime tech sector in Singapore has seen a rise since last year, when PIER71 (Port Innovation Ecosystem Reimagined @ BLOCK71), a collaboration between the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and NUS Enterprise, launched a PIER71 Accelerate – a five-week market and business model validation programme joined by 24 startups in November. PIER71 has a mission to build a maritime entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystem in Singapore.

A year ago, Techstars had started dedicated global maritime accelerator called the Eastern Pacific Accelerator powered by Techstars, with Singapore’s largest shipping company Eastern Pacific Shipping (EPS).

The programme saw the first class of nine startups, selected from hundreds of worldwide applicants, selected with consideration and input from EPS’s Operations, Marine Technical, Commercial, IT, Fleet Personnel, and Management teams.

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Photo by Billeasy on Unsplash

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SINO Hua-An’s F&B biz Craveat International to go tech

Malaysia-based investment holding company Sino Hua-An International has announced its plan to invest RM30 million (US$7 million) to transform its subsidiary, Craveat International, into a technology company for the F&B industry.

This is a kickoff for Techna-X, the technology division, to grow the group’s revenue stream as a digital enabler to lead digital transformation of the old economy in the Asia Pacific region.

“In line with Hua-An’s direction of focusing on the digital transformation space, we want Craveat, our F&B subsidiary to be known as a technology company that serves excellent food and drinks. Drawing on the Techna-X infrastructure, today signifies the day of the transformation of the F&B operations and mindset,” said Jared Lim, Executive Director of Hua An.

Also Read: Ackcio raises pre-Series A co-led by Wavemaker for expansion of its wireless monitoring solutions

Homegrown F&B brand, Teh Tarik Place (TTP), will lead in the transformation which targets to open 100 outlets in 36 months throughout Malaysia and in the Asia Pacific region.

The Techna-X platform will provide advantage to TTP via its POS system, business intelligence platform and data engine as well as TTP’s Halal-certified central kitchen in order to better plan and manage operation processes with the aim to deliver a superior customer and business experience to its customers.

TTP also uses data analytics in traffic flow to allow TTP’s management to make more informed decisions in the selection of locations for outlet expansion.

Snap to open office in Singapore as part of SEA expansion

Snap is expanding its operations into Singapore, with Anubhav Nayyar tapped to lead Snap’s market development efforts across the Southeast Asia region.

According to a BrandingAsia report, Snap plans to open an office in Singapore later this year.

“The company is monitoring the global COVID-19 pandemic, and following local guidance by encouraging remote working. Once the situation eases, the company will accelerate plans to establish a local presence,” said Nayyar.

Prior to joining Snap, Anubhav spent seven years at Viber where he was the Senior Director & Head of Asia Pacific. Anubhav was Viber’s first regional employee, and was responsible for establishing it in multiple countries in Asia as well as setting up operations across the region.

GrabPay expands its merchant base in Malaysia

Grab today announced the expansion of GrabPay’s merchant-partners to include household brands from all essential categories, such as groceries, pharmacies, food, electronics and hardware across the nation.

The list of brands includes a variety of chained outlets such as MyNews, Tesco, Guardian, Watsons, KFC, McDonald’s, Mr.D.I.Y and SenHeng.

“The expansion of GrabPay’s merchant base is part of Grab’s on-going commitment to create awareness about the benefits of digital payments and nurturing the cashless adoption in Malaysia. The expansion of GrabPay’s partner base is also timely with the government’s recent PENJANA announcement to encourage Malaysians to spend as a means to help revive the economy post the impact of the pandemic and movement control period,” said Priyanka Madan, Head of GrabPay Malaysia.

Inflection Point Ventures invests in Indian foodtech startup Samosa Party

Indian angels investment platform Inflection Point Ventures (IPV) has invested an undisclosed amount in snacking startup Samosa Party.

IPV has been investing in startups in sectors like health-tech, edutech, delivery, online grocery and social distancing tech to help companies working in these areas scale up and eventually create a large-scale impact for helping people in managing the COVID situation.

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Ankur Mittal, Co-founder, IPV, said: “Samosa Party has grown tremendously over the past couple of years and has risen to amongst the top brands for Indian snack food in Bangalore. In a post-COVID world of increasing focus on hygiene standards, startups like Samosa Party will be relevant as customers would trust hygienic and professional managed brands to serve them food with safety being the guiding force from kitchen to table.”

Samosa Party was launched with a mission to make good quality samosa accessible to customers across all channels in a hygienic and trustworthy environment. It operates by solving the supply side problem with the production and consumption of samosa at scale using technology.

The startup has scaled to serve 150,000 samosas per month. It combines the traditional cooking processes to solve the problems of scale using food technology and production innovation at every stage.

Samosa Party intends to utilise these funds to set up the infrastructure for scale, open cloud kitchens across Bangalore and other tier 1 cities.

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Botsync, a Singapore-based robotics startup that builds heavy-duty autonomous mobile robot solutions, has secured a seed round of funding, jointly led by Wong Fong Industries, SEEDS Capital, Angelhub, and Artesian Venture Partners.

The company will use the capital  — the amount was not disclosed — to accelerate product development, build new technology teams and scale up production.

“This funding support empowers us to scale up the commercialisation of our robotics solution and enhance the features of our automated vehicles for safer and more reliable use,” said Rahul Nambiar, CEO and Co-founder of Botsync.

Botsync was founded in 2017 by graduates from Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University (NTU) — Nikhil Venkatesh, Prashant Trivedi, Singaram Venkatachalam and Rahul Nambiar.

The startup enables companies to simplify automation of their material movement processes with an intelligent fleet of autonomous mobile robots that can transport payloads between 500 and 1,000 kg.

The robots are designed to be modular and can be deployed without any dependence on infrastructure-based sensors like QR codes. This allows companies to automate daily material handling processes without stopping their existing operations, claim the founders.

The robots can be configured and commissioned in minimal time, in some cases less than a week, the firm boasts.

Also Read: Your smartphone battery runs out at least twice a day. This Malaysian startup has a solution for that

Powered by deep learning engines, Botsync’s in-house built autonomous mobile robots traverse the local area to create maps of their operating environment. Using this data, they intelligently execute autonomous manoeuvres while avoiding other people and equipment.

To date, Botsync has completed sales contracts across Singapore and India and is currently working with a global energy management solutions company and an international transport and logistics company on pilot projects.

In 2020, the company expects to complete two to three commercial deployments of their MAG robots, increase sales of their industrial training products, and expand its market reach in Southeast Asia and India.

Botsync was incubated at the EcoLabs Centre of Innovation for Energy (EcoLabs), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore), where its product commercialisation was accelerated and its funding rounds supported by the EcoLabs co-investor network.

Botsync’s early investors also include Brinc and Nanyang Technological University’s Ecolabs Center of Innovation.

SEEDS Capital is the investment arm of Enterprise Singapore, Wong Fong is a SGX-listed group specialising in several businesses, including customised engineering solutions, industrial and hospitality training, education and talent management and placements.

Angelhub is a startup investor based in Hong Kong, and Artesian is an alternative investment firm in the Asia-Pacific region with over 400 startups in its portfolio.

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Image Credit: Botsync

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