Biofourmis, a Singapore-based digital therapeutics company, has announced the completion of its US$100 million Series C financing, led by SoftBank Vision Fund II.

Existing investors Openspace Ventures, MassMutual Ventures, Sequoia Capital and EDBI also joined.

This round comes over a year after the firm secured US$35 million in Series B round in May 2019. As per a press statement, since this deal Biofourmis increased its revenue “significantly” through new partnerships and growth with seven pharmaceutical companies and 10 health systems, globally.

During this period, Biofourmis also made several acquisitions, including wearable biosensor firm Biovotion and Takeda Pharmaceuticals’s oncology-focused digital therapeutics company Gaido Health.

“COVID-19 is pushing remote monitoring and digital therapeutics to the forefront of medicine,” said Biofourmis CEO Kuldeep Singh Rajput. “Our vision is to use digital medicine to empower patients, clinicians and researchers everywhere by providing software-as-a-treatment for patients with unmet clinical needs, from post-acute care to optimal medication therapy.”

Also Read: 7 healthcare industries ready to be disrupted by AI in 2022

“With this new funding, we will accelerate our global expansion, advance our digital therapeutics pipeline, develop additional care pathways and drive deeper integration with our health system, hospital, pharmaceutical and clinical research clients and partners,” he explained.

A portion of the funds raised from this round will be used for for developing, validating and commercialising several of its released and unreleased digital therapeutics solutions across cardiology, respiratory, oncology and pain across the US and key Asian markets (Asia Pacific, China and Japan).

In conjunction with the Series C financing announcement, Biofourmis has also announced an alignment of its internal operations to enable deeper integration with clients and partners and to support ongoing innovation.

The new business structure will include two verticals:

● Biofourmis Therapeutics: A new clinically validated software-based therapeutics to treat and manage patients with unmet clinical needs. These digital therapies work independently or in conjunction with pharmacotherapies, thereby augmenting drug efficacy, reducing costs and resulting in better patient outcomes.

With its “beyond the pill” model, pharmaceutical companies can prescribe the company’s digital therapeutics solution as a companion therapeutic with high-value drugs to improve efficacy and to better manage and treat patients with complex chronic conditions.

● Biofourmis Health: This focuses on virtual care models to manage patients remotely as they transition from acute to post-acute care. The company’s AI-based Biovitals Platform is layered with personalised care pathways to manage patients with heart failure, coronary artery disease, respiratory illnesses and cancer, especially those undergoing chemo/radiation therapy or CAR-T treatment.

Also Read: This Singaporean startup wants to save you by predicting medical crises before they arise

Biofourmis Health’s “home hospital” initiative leverages the company’s AI-based remote monitoring to lower healthcare costs through reductions in length of stay, readmissions and emergency department visits, among other measures.

It will also improve patient outcomes by enabling clinicians to remotely monitor patients and intervene up to 21 hours in advance of when a medical crisis would have otherwise occurred.

Started in 2015, Biofourmis discovers, develops and delivers clinically-validated software-based therapeutics to provide better outcomes for patients, advanced tools for clinicians to deliver personalised care, technology to demonstrate the value of and complement pharmacotherapy, and cost-effective solutions for payers.

It has built Biovitals, a highly sophisticated personalised AI-powered health analytics platform that predicts clinical exacerbation in advance of a critical event, which is the backbone of their digital therapeutics product pipeline across multiple therapeutic areas—including heart failure, oncology, infectious disease, chronic pain, acute coronary syndrome and COPD.

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Image Credit: Biofourmis

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PropertyGuru raises US$220M from TPG, KKR; The group claims it recorded 24% revenue growth y-o-y and continues to lead in SEA with 57% market share; The group claims it provides 2.7M+ home options for property seekers in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam; In Oct. ’19, PropertyGuru suspended its proposed IPO plans on ASX. e27

SoftBank Vision Fund leads US$100M funding in Singapore’s Biofourmis; The money will go toward accelerating the health-tech firm’s global expansion; It will also use the new funds to develop and commercialise several released and unreleased digital therapeutics solutions across segments like cardiology, respiratory, oncology, and pain. TechInAsia

Livspace raises US$90M led by Kharis Capital, Venturi Partners; The home design and renovation firm claims to have hit a gross revenue run rate of over US$200M in March and expects to grow into a US$500M business in the next 2 years; In May, it laid off 450 people, or 15% of its workforce. The Economic Times

Indonesian insurtech PasarPolis secures US$54M Series B; Investors include LeapFrog Investments, AlphaJWC, Intudo, Xiaomi, Go-Ventures; The firm wants to make deeper penetration into Vietnam, Thailand; Insurance penetration rate in ASEAN is 3.6%. e27

AI-based loan recovery startup Flow raises debt capital from Genesis; Flow’s data-driven collection strategies have supported over 2.8 million consumers to date; The firm has operations in Singapore, Vietnam, India, Indonesia; In May, it secured US$6M Series A. e27

Malaysian digital media group REV Asia to acquire smaller rival iMEDIA for US$9.6M; iMedia claims to have a combined reach of over 8M visits monthly; iMedia is expected to make US$723K in net profit after tax in 2021; As per a recent report, digital ads spent from Jan-May ’20 exceeded US$104M, accounting for over 22% of total ads spend. e27

Digital health startup Mobio Interactive secures US$1.8M from Verge HealthTech Fund, others; Mobio develops and commercialises clinically validated and objectively quantified software to prevent, measure and treat mental illness; The funds will be used for the clinical validation of Am Mindfulness, a meditation app that it claims to outperform placebo in randomised controlled trials. MobiHealthNews

eBay- and Telkom-owned Indonesian e-commerce platform Blanja.com shuts down; In 2016, the two firms reportedly injected US$25M into the startup; According to iPrice data, by Q1 2020, Blanja.com fell to 27th place, with just over 400K monthly visits; In 2018, its CEO Aulia Marinto resigned to return to Telkom. e27

Singapore’s mobile games publisher Potato Play raises US$1.75M from Beenext, Play Ventures, Atlas Ventures; The startup helps mobile games (a US$68.5B market) created by Asian developers to take their titles to global markets; The startup has brought over 20 games to market; It claims its games have been downloaded 15M times. e27

Indonesia to digitalise state-owned enterprises (SOEs) for competitiveness; The government plans to direct 3 VCs — MDI Venture, BRI Ventures, Mandiri Capital — to invest in startups that have the potential to help SOEs digitise; As of last year, the nation had 114 SOEs and the number  rises to 772 when all subsidiaries are included; Their assets are worth an estimated US$560B. Nikkei Asia Review

In August, digital transformation took centre stage as startup investors embraced a whole new normal; With the pandemic restricting movement, SEA startup ecosystem saw a surge in popularity of platforms that enable digital transformation for conventional businesses among investors. e27

Singapore’s fintech GoBear lays off 22 staff despite recent US$17M funding; This makes up 11% of its total workforce of 200 employees; Despite COVID-19, GoBear’s financial services platform has seen gross margin positives with growth across the insurance and lending verticals. Vulcan Post

Singtel launches 5G trial services in Singapore, second telco after StarHub to do so; The services are free for the first 20K customers with 5G-compatible smartphones as part of a three-month trial; Network speeds range from 200Mbps to 1Gbps depending on the devices used, population density and other environmental factors. The Straits Times

UMG Idealab invests in Myanmar’s Zay Chin; Its app enables people to purchase goods from wet markets online; The startup will use the funds for regional expansion; UMG Idealab has invested in over 60 companies across Indonesia, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia and China. DealStreetAsia

On-demand household cleaning service Yangon Broom raises funding from Yangon Capital, EME and NestTechVN; The Myanmarese startup will use the funds to launch a training school that will train people in high-quality cleaning services, as well as to launch a mobile app. e27

Singapore launches US$15M scheme to help local built-environment firms go digital; Built environment firms, particularly construction companies, have been heavily affected by COVID-19; Under the scheme, companies in the construction sector can defray up to 80% of the costs of digital equipment, capped at US$15K per project. The Business Times

Why startup founders should be open to pivoting anytime; Many founders encourage their fellow entrepreneurs to pivot as fast as they can, since no one could predict the future; The pivot should be based on data and your analysis; Understand what you have on hands and what you can achieve within a short period of time. e27

How the future of work will shape the future of mobility; In a future where employees have greater autonomy to choose when and how they want to travel, a combination of flexible working hours, HR tech and a connected fleet could create a better mobility-as-a-service model. e27

Meet the 7 graduates of SOSV-backed MOX’s 9th cohort; They come from India, Indonesia and Pakistan; The names include Deliverfuel, MyRobin, and PriceOye; Selected startups will receive US$100K-120K in funding from SOSV and MOX as part of the 6-month programme. e27

The top e-commerce secrets retailers are enjoying right now; E-sales increased 55% to US$66.3B in July this year compared with July last year; Clever retailers quickly pivoted to better service their online consumers in the absence of physical stores, using AR, live chat, 3D imagery, video, etc. to enhance customer experience online. Inside Retail

Mastercard, MDEC ink MoU to spur e-commerce, foster financial inclusion among micro SMEs; Under the collaboration, Mastercard will work together with the Malaysian government agency to support industry partners and facilitate the rollout of the fintech giant’s payments and business technologies. Digital News Asia

What beekeeping taught Warren Knight about digital leadership; Bees are great communicators, using vibrations and pheromones to help pass complex messages; Bees take on a number of different roles in the hive during their lifetime; So they know how to perform a range of different tasks and, in an emergency, can revert to previous jobs and help out. The Next Web

Technology is key to rebooting tourism; It is now critical to protect individual data, and travellers will demand assurance that digital interactions with the government and the industry remain secure; Travellers will seek out destinations that have enabled and supported digital payments and commerce across all levels of the economy, with a focus on enabling contactless payment. Jakarta Globe

PLDT, Smart fire up 5G at TV5 Media Center in Philippines; PLDT said TV5 can explore the use of Smart 5G through certified devices for live coverage and news gathering with 5G now available in its studios; Smart’s 5G mobile network in late July went live as a commercial service. Philstar

Frasers Property Retail launches e-commerce marketplace in Singapore; Consumers can use it to browse and purchase products from tenants across all of the firm’s malls; The service uses Frasers’s app with a potential membership of 800K+ shoppers on the platform; The app is launching with 200 merchants on board. Inside Retail

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Kevin Nguyen is no stranger to e27’s thriving contributor community, having consistently published at least one article per month on the platform on topics he’s most passionate about –travel and healthcare.

“I’m most interested in these topics because these are the industries that my software clients are from,” he said, giving a nod to the software firm he established three years ago, Adamo Digital.

He learned a lot from dealing with these clients, whom he claimed mostly based in Singapore, US, and Australia. Because of his love for writing, he then decided to write regularly about the trends in the healthcare, food tech, and travel tech market.

From software engineer to a CEO

Adamo Digital, the software company he founded in 2018, now has employed 50 people and is based in Hanoi, Vietnam. Nguyen himself said that back then in the university days, he studied business and learned about programming on his own.

Before starting his own software company, Nguyen first got his toe dipped in the tech world working in a travel tech company. He used to build a booking system for flights, hotels, and tours for people to travel to Vietnam.

Not long after that, he ventured on his own by combining his tech knowledge and business background. He started Adamo Digital that focusses on mobile app and website developments from different tech companies.

He regularly came across companies in healthcare and travel tech, and even now, is working on a Singaporean healthtech company that connects patients and doctors without the need for face-to-face meetings.

Also Read: Rachel Lau of RHL Ventures on the kind of thinking that allows innovation

From a reader to a thought leader

Having been an avid reader of e27 since three to four years ago, he began to develop a passion for writing and used the contributor channel to publish his thoughts.

“Until now, with the new contribution policy, I still faced rejection. But I think it’s a good exercise because e27 has this intact policy regarding the quality of writing that can be associated with its brand, which helps filter only the tech-related industry enthusiasts and experts to share their thoughts,” Nguyen said.

Nguyen’s use of e27’s contribution channel goes so far as trying to publish at least one article per month.

“I think I’ve learned a lot from reading the articles published on e27, as it’s always something that readers can gain information from. I tried to emulate that in my articles, and when it’s working, I get to share my experience with my clients, from my point of view,” he added.

On writing as a personal branding

e27’s contribution channel branded itself as a hub where a thought leader can contribute ideas and opinions. Nguyen said that it may motivate contributors to do more research in topics worth talking about, to explore ideas, and finally, to write about it to establish oneself as a thought leader.

“I think it has to do a lot with personal branding. It’s all about the content that you write. I started out didn’t really have much to say, but I took the time to read and understand the industries where my clients are and follow the trend. By writing for e27, I think in a way, I’ve branded myself as the expert in the industry, especially if I focus on several topics only,” Nguyen said.

After seven articles published on e27, what comes next for Nguyen?

“It will always revolve around what learnings I gained from some of my clients at Adamo Digital. I will write more about things that are pertinent to our client’s market and tie it to what’s trending. It’s a formula I tried to apply in my writings,” he concluded.

For more of Nguyen’s articles, click here.

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Image Credit: Kevin Nguyen

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Indonesian vehicle tracking startup Webtrace raises funding

The story: Indonesia-based vehicle tracking and fleet management solutions startup Webtrace has secured an undisclosed amount of investment in an extension of its seed round.

Investors: Corin Capital.

The seed round was led by Prasetia Dwidharma, with the participation from Astra Ventura and a Singapore-based unnamed angel investor.

Plans: The funds will be used to strengthen its marketing and customer acquisition strategy as well as expanding sales headcounts.

What is Webtrace: Trucking companies and fleet owners in Indonesia are in the race of tight pricing competition, largely caused by the huge population of commercial vehicles (9.6 million units as of 2019). Webtrace aims to help those companies to be more efficient in cost saving as well as improve the utilisation rate, productivity, and safety by implementing IoT sensors.

99 Group appoints Shivkumar Krishnan as new CTO

The story: Singapore-based 99 Group, which operates several property portals including 99.co, iproperty.com.sg and rumah123.com, has appointed tech veteran Shivkumar Krishnan as Chief Technology Officer.

Who is Shivkumar Krishnan?

With close to two decades of experience in the tech industry, Krishnan spent more than 10 years in the US at tech giants, such as Microsoft and eBay, as well as startups.

Prior to joining 99 Group, he was the Director of Engineering at Circles.Life and the Engineering Leader at Grab.

He holds a Masters in Computer Science from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Hiring 100 people: The company also said it will boost its tech workforce by hiring about 100 additional tech staff over the next 12 months, in a move to accelerate the company’s tech innovation for an evolving real estate industry.

The company is recruiting talent such as front- and back-end engineers, app developers, product managers, UX/UI designers, and data analysts, with the job openings already live at 99.co/team.

Meet the 8 startups presented at Iterative’s virtual Demo Day

The story: Iterative, an early-stage startup accelerator focused on Southeast Asia, launched in February and on Monday hosted its first Demo Day for investors across Southeast Asia and in the US.

The virtual Demo Day was the culmination of a 12-week programme that featured eight companies from Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

Which are the startups?

1. Become: Affordable teeth straightening for Asia
2. Bungkus: Halal food delivery
3. Haulio: Tech-enabled first mile logistics
4. Outside Voice: No-code app builder for Whatsapp
5. Propseller: Technology powered real estate agency for Southeast Asia
6. Sendhelper: The fastest way to hire top home service professionals
7. Starboard: Xero for corporate entity management
8. TendoPay: Buy now. Pay on installments for your online purchases

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Image Credit: Webtrace

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Freshket, a Bangkok-based agritech startup, has raised US$3 million in Series A funding round led by Singapore-based Openspace Ventures, with participation from Thai PE firm ECG-Research and public-private joint venture Innospace.

Pamitra Wineka and Ivan Sustiawan (co-founders of Indonesian agritech startup Tanihub), existing investors Denis Asia Pacific (French/Singaporean food conglomerate), and Thai family office Seedersclub also participated.

Also Read: Indonesia’s agritech industry is at an inflection point

“This infusion of capital will allow Freshket to upgrade technologies, enhance efficiencies in our supply chain management and improve our customer service platform. Our planned technology investments will enable us to scale rapidly and move further upstream in the supply chain,” said Co-founder and CEO Ponglada Paniangwet.

Founded in 2017 by Paniangwet and Tuangploi Chiwalaksanangkoon, Freshket is an e-commerce marketplace that brings together farmers and food processors to supply fresh produce to B2B and B2C customers in Thailand.

Also Read: How TaniGroup faces challenges, opportunities in Indonesian agritech industry

For the B2B segment, the food service market in Thailand alone is worth over US$7.7 billion in annual purchases spread across more than 200,000 restaurants.

Hian Goh, Founding Partner of Openspace Ventures, said: “Freshket is addressing a massive market opportunity and is positioned at the intersection of Thailand’s agriculture and food & beverage sectors. We will help the company further develop digital technologies to facilitate growth for farmers, food companies, and restaurants alike.”

In February 2017, Freshket raised six-digit US dollars in its first round of venture funding from 500 Tuk Tuks and a corporate VC fund of an agri firm in Thailand.

Freshket is Openspace’s second investment in Thailand this year following its first investment in Finnomena. It has also earlier invested in Tanihub and Singapore grocery platform Redmart.

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Image Credit: Freshket

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