Airbus Ventures, a venture capital company sponsored by the global aircraft manufacturer, recently made its debut in Singapore with an investment in last-mile internet connectivity startup Transcelestial last month.

The global VC firm, with its Asia Pacific operations being managed by Partner Lewis Pinault, who is based in Tokyo, now looks to make more investments in the region.

“I’m a firm believer that Asia Pacific is rich in innovation,” Pinault told e27 in an interview, shortly after the Transcelestial funding. “There’s a tremendous amount of innovation happening in Asia Pacific, some of which may not be too obvious. Many investible companies are emerging in the region.”

Also Read: Navigate through our collection of Perks in this exciting e27 Pro update

According to Pinault, it was tough for the VC firm to choose between Japan and Singapore to base its Asia Pacific operations. Both countries have smaller but respectable VC markets and activities and have strong engines of underlying innovation that make them attractive.

“Both draw international pools of talent. We like the transparency of both the markets. There’s even a natural affinity between the two countries: we see many Japanese investors in Singapore and many Singaporean talents in Japan. So, we are so excited to be investing and becoming more active in Singapore,” he added.

While it has already a handful of investments in Japan (Carbon Fiber Recycling Co., InfoStellar, Telexistence), Singapore had always been in the VC firm’s radar.

“What is so impressive about Singapore is that while it attracts talent from around the world, there is a common language infrastructure for English. Whatever the ethnicity or origins, the people of Singapore are completely competent in the language and are often very competently multilingual, which is another asset,” he noted.

“In terms of having a view of the world, recognising that there are multiple cultures, sources of innovation, ways of adding positive diversity and complex systems is what innovation is all about. I think that’s a natural advantage for Singapore,” said Pinault.

He also thinks the city-state has a great education and university infrastructure and governmental support programme. Although it is small as an international hub, it is vibrant.

“And for me, it’s a huge privilege to be looking at this kind of access, this dynamic between Japan and Singapore because they each bring different things to the tables,” he said.

He also added that the VC firm will soon announce its second investment in Singapore in new and deep space capabilities.

Founded in 2016, the VC firm (it doesn’t call itself a corporate venture capital) operates with substantive independence and autonomy. According to Crunchbase, Airbus Ventures has so far raised a single fund, Airbus Group Venture Fund, worth US$150 million, in January 2016.

According to market sources, Airbus Ventures is in the midst of raising a new and larger fund.

It primarily invests in “extraordinary startups” whose important future impacts are set to redefine the aerospace industry. So far, it has made 46 deals across the globe.

Also Read: VCs get behind Disaster Tech in search for innovative life-saving technologies

“In the Asia Pacific, we are seeing advances in real frontier technologies like new and deep space capabilities and teleoperator robotics, and connectivity systems, which we think are special and important,” he said.

“Broadly speaking, we are focused on a thesis on autonomy and autonomous systems connectivity, as well as electrification, cybersecurity, advanced computing, robotics, AI, new space and deep space technologies. Also new material tools and design for manufacturing, particularly in Southeast Asia,” Pinault stated.

Airbus Ventures invests from its global fund and doesn’t run a separate fund for the Asia region. It invests in early-stage and growth-stage companies.

“We don’t invest from the balance sheet of Airbus. We have a separate fund. We function as a General Partner to our LP. We are a global fund and we don’t have a separate fund for Southeast Asia,” he said. “We have an expectation that a significant proportion of the fund will be spent and investing in the Asia Pacific region.”

According to Pinault, the COVID-19 has been a terrible crisis for the whole world to face. “Certainly, there will be some necessary innovations and some spectacular innovation. And I hope that we learn to adapt to different collaboratives system approaches.”

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Incomlend, a global online invoice exchange platform headquartered in Singapore, has raised US$20 million in Series A round of investment led by Sequoia India.

Existing investor CMA CGM Group, a company operating in the shipping and logistics industry, also participated.

The fintech firm will use the funds to drive expansion into Europe, Southeast Asia and North Asia, while advancing its technological development in digital invoice finance underwriting and processing.

Also Read: ‘Asia Pacific is rich in innovation’: Airbus Ventures Partner Lewis Pinault

In December last year, e27 had reported that Incomlend was in the final stages of closing its Series A fundraising with large global equity investors.

The new round comes more than two years after it received an undisclosed sum in funding from GTR Ventures, an investment and venture-building platform specialised in trade and supply chain.

Incomlend was established in 2015 by former Columbia Business School classmates Kouchnirenko and Morgan Terigi as software that could provide finance directly to trading companies from a private investor pool.

Its invoice exchange platform connects exporters and importers with institutional investors. Through Incomlend, exporters can get paid early for supplied goods and services while importers are able to extend payment terms and minimise the risk of supply chain disruption.

Investors, meanwhile, can access an attractive new alternative asset class and accelerate return on capital.

Incomlend’s innovative model is designed to solve the credit crunch hampering growth among cross-border trading companies worldwide.

More than 40 per cent of trade finance applications from small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are rejected by banks, according to a 2019 report by the ADB.

The impact is acute in high-growth Asia where SMEs — which account for more than 95 per cent of all businesses and provide two out of three private-sector jobs in the region — need more financing options to meet their growing demand.

Further, low-interest rates in Asia — and negative rates in Europe — are prompting many global investors to seek alternative asset classes.

“Incomlend’s mission is to increase financial inclusion on non-recourse basis for companies of all sizes across the globe while offering investors real alternatives non-correlated to financial markets to existing asset classes,” said Terigi. “International trade is the cornerstone of Asia’s economy, and we aim to help exporters develop their business by providing alternative working capital finance when and where they need it.”

Also Read: The future is hybrid: What will events look like post-COVID-19?

To date, Incomlend claims to have facilitated over US$330 million in financing and covered invoice finance trades across 50 countries.

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Beenext, others invest US$1.4M in India’s online climate school Terra.do

The story: Terra.do, an online school for climate change, has raised US$1.4 million, according to YourStory.

Investors: Beenext’s Emerging Asia Fund (EAF), Stanford Angels and Entrepreneurs (lead), Zerodha-backed Rainmatter Capital, undisclosed angel investors

What is Terra.do?

A startup that selects individuals who care about climate change, and takes them through a 12-week boot camp to work on high-impact climate projects.

India’s Flipkart launches consumer tech-focused accelerator programme

The story: India’s e-commerce company Flipkart has announced the launch of its accelerator programme, Flipkart Leap, specifically focussed at idea-stage startups in the consumer internet technology sector, according to Economic Times.

More details: Shortlisted startups will receive an equity-free grant of US$25,000 along with a 16-week mentorship from Flipkart’s leadership from business, operations, product, and technology.

Entry requirements: Applicants should be based out of India and have a working prototype

Traveloka clears close to US$100M in travel booking refunds after pandemic hit

The story: Indonesia’s travel unicorn Traveloka has cleared up to US$100 million travel refund requests after the pandemic, according to TechInAsia.

The firm recently raised US$250 million in fresh funding from an undisclosed investor along with EV Growth.

In another interview with e27 Andhini Putri, Head of Marketing, Transport said that the company has already seen a demand for travel and staycation from countries that have ended their lockdown. Even though the industry is far from total recovery, revival is slowly crawling up.

Also Read: In brief: EDBI invests in Vesta; edutech startup ACKTEC raises funding

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Image Credit: Beenext

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Daryl Lim met co-founders Yong Shin Leong and Chong Voon Foo at the Industry 4.0 networking event hosted by SG Innovate. Soon after, they decided to join a hackathon where they realised that they worked well as a team and had complementary skill sets.

Lim, Leong, and Foo soon after entered the realm of entrepreneurship by launching a robotics programming software startup that helps people develop deployable robotic systems.

Before this, Lim had founded his computing distribution startup which sold automation solutions to companies such as Seagate. This led him to understand the problems of automation which he describes as “really boils down to the deep difficulty of programming robotic systems.”

“Developed countries tend to offshore labour because of the low labour cost [abroad]. There is a lot that manufacturing jobs in Singapore that was gone already. There is a new revolution happening because of Industry 4.0. For example, US companies such as Tesla and Foxconn are hiring in the tens to hundred thousands of employees because they can have operations in local environments through robotic systems,” Lim shares with e27.

“I find it very interesting. I think that is really where I think nation-building has to go, to sustain jobs rather than just offshoring because it’s cheaper.”

How it works

Augmentus makes use of an iPad which has low computing power and a sensor camera to help individuals with no programming background develop robotic systems.

Also Read:  Best way for kids to learn coding? “They need to feel like they’re playing a game”

All they have to do is simply draw robot paths via a live video feed on their mobile or iPad device and observe how their robot moves without typing any code.

According to Lim, 70 per cent of the cost of owning a robot is in the software integration work. But Augmentus wants to eliminate the costs so that SMEs and farmers can harness the full benefits of robotic automation; at the moment only MNCs and people with deep pockets can profit from it.

Their product is set to be launched in December.

From offshoring to inshoring

Besides creating an easy-to-use robotic system, the young entrepreneurs also envision sustaining local talents in robotics manufacturing in the future –a move that was inspired by Tesla.

Singapore outsources most of its manufacturing jobs, and Lim believes in bringing many of the work back locally. Backing his argument, he gives the example of the US, which had previously depended on China for outsourcing. But now it has been making a local shift.

“As a country, I think we should be trying to sustain local talents in general,” he says.

Lim trusts that this will help create more jobs and help in building a more sustainable logistics supply chain.

Eyeing other markets

Augmentus is currently based at NUS Enterprise. In the future, the startup wants to focus on markets in South Korea, Japan, Thailand, and Australia.

Lim and Foo have mostly kept themselves free from academics and have taken a one-and-a-half year off from NUS, while Leong has been with the company full time.

Also Read: How the future technology can destroy jobs… and also create

Despite receiving scepticism from investors as a group of student entrepreneurs looking to raise funds, they are now obtaining growing interest from them.

“I am open to the idea of working on Augmentus full time if the need arises,” Lim quips.

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Image Credit: Augmentus

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Southeast Asia is home to one of the fastest rates of digital payments adoption —which is forecast to grow to more than US$1 trillion by 2025.

Reinforced by an internet economy of 400 million users and almost two-thirds of consumers in Southeast Asia choosing card over cash, it is no surprise that digital payments have become an accustomed part of everyday lives.

As the region’s digital economy continues to surge, it is a natural progression that traditional stores of value such as gold are receiving the digital treatment.

While the demand for gold has been on a one per cent year-on-year rise globally, gold consumption in the 10 ASEAN countries reached 309 tonnes in 2018, making it the third-largest market for gold globally.

In Southeast Asia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam together accounted for over 80 per cent of the region’s gold market. With a rich cultural and traditional importance in Asia, gold holds an important role in customary traditions such as weddings or baby showers —where gold jewellery, bullion, and coins are prized possessions that are handed down for generations as a symbol of wealth and prosperity.

The combination of rapid digital adoption and the cultural importance of gold in Southeast Asia makes the region a prime location for users to drive and pioneer the adoption of digital gold—enabling consumers to reap the enduring benefits of gold with the convenience and speed of digital payment.

Also Read: 4 ways you can capitalise on the food tech gold rush in Asia

Going digital simplifies the process of purchasing gold for mainstream consumers, as it removes the need to worry about high premiums, insurance, or safe-keeping of their gold. As a result, Gojek is also catching on to this trend and is now offering an online gold investment feature.

Governments across Southeast Asia have also played a crucial role to help emerging financial innovations, such as digital gold, to excel and thrive in the region. This is a result of progressive regulations and a favourable technological infrastructure—cultivating the growth of emerging technologies and digital innovation.

As a result, countries such as Singapore have experienced more than S$1.2 billion (US$875 million) in fintech investments in 2019, more than double the investments from the year before, further showcasing the region’s potential and growth. Understanding that digitisation is crucial to future-proof the region’s economy, governments in Southeast Asia have further legitimised new technologies through grants, funding, and piloting proof of concepts—fostering greater acceptance as users understand the benefits such technologies will bring them.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, governments across Southeast Asia remain committed to the acceleration in technology development and adoption—further driving cashless initiatives to reduce physical contact in an effort to help flatten the curve and limit the spread of the virus.

The Singapore Government allocated SG$500 million (US$364 million) to boost e-payment adoption and neighbouring Malaysian Government assigned a digital stimulus to accelerate the adoption of e-wallets, providing all eligible Malaysians a one-off MYR30 (US$7) incentive to spend via selected service providers Boost, GrabPay, and Touch ‘n Go eWallet.

As a result, countries across Southeast Asia are seeing an uptake in digital payments adoption—as Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat announced that more than 50,000 businesses have adopted Paynow Corporate since April 2020, and GrabPay Malaysia reported a 1.7-time increase in cashless transactions.

While digital payments were seen as a convenience prior to the pandemic, they are now a critical factor in the “new normal” and will be a driving force for innovation within the region—sparking the growth of emerging technologies such as digital gold which places a traditional, physical asset within the digital realm.

However, anything placed in the digital realm is open to cyberattacks which have prompted businesses and authorities to explore blockchain technology due to it’s secure, transparent, and immutable characteristics.

Also Read: Indonesia to regulate digital gold transaction by the end of the year

Organisations and governments across Southeast Asia have been strong advocates of blockchain technologies—implementing the benefits of blockchain into its ecosystem through various initiatives such as Project Ubin and the establishment of Tribe Accelerator, Singapore’s first government-backed blockchain accelerator.

Such progressive blockchain initiatives have played a key role in the development of digital gold, offering an alternative channel for consumers and industry players to purchase this shiny metal in a manner that is secure, convenient, and transparent.

The unique combination of rapid digital adoption, enduring cultural traditions, and progressive government regulations will further develop the potential for digital gold and other innovations to come.

As Southeast Asia’s digital economy continues to flourish and thrive, the region’s future shines brightly—not just as a digital gold haven but also as a global leader in digital payments.

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