This article is published as a part of a partnership with Future Food Asia. Soos Technology is one of the 11 finalists of the US$100,000 Future Food Asia (FFA) 2020 Award to be hosted from September 21-25.

What comes first, chicken or egg?

It is a classic question. But even eggs are not born equal. The poultry industry is tasked to provide, with chicken meat and eggs, a cheap protein source for fighting global hunger. And so for farm owners, every point of profit counts.

But hatching male layers is pointless (male broilers are still the star of the farm) and has led to this disastrous industry practice of male culling. What if humans could work hand in hand with Mother Nature and put an end to it?

Enter Soos Technology, an Israeli startup that has developed for chicken a sex-reversal technology, something the aquaculture industry has been practicing for many years.

Soos’ proprietary incubation system affects the sex development process and turns genetic males into functional female chicks. While the industry has been obsessed with early sex detection, with solutions that are still sub-optimal in terms of biosecurity and efficiency, Soos deals with the root cause of the problem.

Music to chicks’ ears

Yael Alter, CEO and Founder of “Soos Technology” said that the idea for Soos started after she met her colleague and co-founder Nashat Haj Mohammad in an industry event. He had discovered that sound vibrations could induce sex reversal in poultry embryos.

As an industry veteran, Yael realised this was a game-changer for the poultry industry. Every year, the egg industry exterminates 7.5 billion male chicks since they have no commercial use. It’s not just an ethical issue, it’s also a plain waste of resources.

Also Read: How Crowde aims to empower smallholder farmers in Indonesia

Instead of putting two million eggs in incubators you can get the same result with one million if you can tell male from female before. Together with Nashat, Yael decided to turn the challenge into an opportunity and make it a business.

Soos started off with small laboratory incubators of 50-100 eggs on which the concept was validated. They then expanded their R&D facility to include three industrial incubators, a pullet house for 1,500 pullets and a layer house.

These figures are still modest for an industry where the average hatchery hatches 164,000 eggs per year but they enabled Soos to fine-tune the technology and reach a good level of repeatability.

It is essential if you want to disrupt a well-established industry where production is demand-driven and hatcheries need to be very precise on forecasting their output. Otherwise, capex is engaged, and incubators could remain idle.

Soos brilliantly illustrates that improving animal welfare (by saving billions of male chicks from a gruesome death each year) and improving profitability are compatible, with the right level of innovation and technology.

At a time where alternative proteins are the talk of the town in the VC industry, Soos is here to remind us that there are unaddressed challenges in the animal protein industry, and more talents are needed to address them.

Where are the males?

Speaking of talents, since the company’s establishment in 2017, Yael was lucky enough to be able to recruit a team of extremely talented and dedicated individuals, sharing the same vision to transform the poultry industry.

But is it really luck? Yael’s enthusiasm is infectious, not to mention the psyche, perseverance and grit she has demonstrated all along.

Also Read: No animals were harmed in the making of this ‘meat’ burger

Since Soos was announced a finalist of Future Food Asia 2020 (FFA2020) finalist Yael is excited to see the interest for Soos from all over the region. As one of the rare female entrepreneurs in the male-dominated agritech industry, Yael is rightly proud of her achievements and she hopes to see more and more women in high positions in this and other industries.

A cause she will be able to advance further thanks to this exposure.

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Both the insurance and technology industries in Indonesia have lately generated great interest among national and foreign investors. In addition, the technology industry is also revolutionising the life of millions of people in Indonesia, it is changing consumer behaviour and is driving the development of the entire country.

Insurtech is, therefore, one of the most exciting and promising industries to be exposed to today in the country.

Indonesia remains the fastest growing market for insurance globally. A study by Munich Re Economic Research shows that Indonesia will lead the growth in Health and Life Premium with CAGR of 9.1 per cent from 2019 to 2030.

For total premium income in the whole year of 2019, insurance companies operating in Indonesia secured IDR185.3 trillion (US$12.6 billion) for life insurance and IDR80.12 trillion (US$5.5 billion) in total premium income for health insurance.

Furthermore, the insurance industry in Indonesia has benefited from the COVID-19 situation thanks to a higher awareness among consumers about life and health risks. In fact, a chart by Lifepal shows the speedy recovery of the Indonesian gross premium income for life insurance in 2020 after the pandemic hit earlier in the year.

Moreover, the growth percentage in June brought the insurance premium income in June 2020 into a number exceeding June 2019.

Despite growing at an exciting rate, buying insurance for Indonesian customers is not easy and transparent. Customers often have limited access to options as they need to talk to insurance agents that are not always educated about the insurance policies, not allowed to sell multiple brands, and do not help customers after-sales. 

In some cases, traditional agents have created mistrust and are no longer capable of helping more educated and digital consumers. The confusion for all the terminologies and bias recommendations from agents has made finding the perfect insurance policy more of a matter of luck than a carefully planned action.

Also Read: How insurtech is changing the game in Southeast Asia

Lifepal aims to solve these problems by being the trusted financial advisor thanks to technical content and policies reviews about insurance and financial planning, the possibility to find compare from the largest selection of policies in the country and receive convenient support and assistance pre and post-purchase such as easy claim, policy management and emergency support.

As an online insurance marketplace focusing on consumers, Lifepal has gained the trust of over four million monthly visitors, one million social media followers and 50 insurance brands with more than a selection of 200 products ranging from health, life, automotive, employee benefits, and other insurance products.

These numbers make Lifepal the biggest insurance marketplace in the country by the size of the inventory, online visitors and registered users.

Lifepal technology is directed to use data of Lifepal’s millions of visitors and understand their needs well before matching them with the most relevant insurance policy for their needs, wants, and budget.

“With our agent technology and recommendation engine, empowered by objective consultants, we hope to continue being the trusted source for those looking for insurance especially in turbulent times such as the pandemic. We see customers appreciating our services from our large social media base and sales growth that has been growing ~50 per cent every month since the beginning of COVID-19, despite the 20 per cent drop in the overall insurance industry this year,” mentioned Giacomo Ficari, Co-founder and CEO of Lifepal.

The founding team comprises executives of Lazada and Indonesian tech entrepreneurs that, after the success in building the online marketplace for consumer goods, are now focusing on building an online marketplace for insurances.

“Benny, Reza, Nico and I got together in January 2019 by common negative experiences with our insurance agents. We realised that the entire customer experience is currently broken: from selecting objectively the right coverage and using it with assistance when emergencies occur.”

Also Read: Asian insurtech on the rise: An overview of the main players

“We realised the important role that a “reliable friend” and technology can play when choosing and using the right insurance. Hence, our tagline ‘Teman Andalanmu’,” continued Giacomo.

Aligned with the Indonesian government’s target to increase financial literacy, Lifepal routinely publishes data-based articles and social media posts, making clear topics within personal finance, financial planning, investments, business, stocks, and insurance. 

The varying backgrounds in the team help them extract and articulate data in a manner that is relatable and easily understandable by the public. Lifepal hopes to help more Indonesians to have a true understanding of their own financial planning and protection. 

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Bridgetown Holdings, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) formed recently by Peter Thiel’s Thiel Capital and Pacific Century, on Thursday filed for an initial public offering (IPO) with the US Securities and Exchange Commission to raise up to US$500 million.

A Renaissance Capital report says, the Hong Kong-based Bridgetown “plans on targeting a company in Southeast Asia with operations or prospective operations in the technology, financial services, or media sectors”.

What is SPAC and what does it mean?

As per Investopedia, SPAC is a company with no commercial operations that is formed strictly to raise capital through an IPO to acquire an existing company. They are also known as blank-check companies.

While the concept has been around in the market for many years and is used as a mechanism to bring companies public in the US, it has been relatively new to Asia, where companies are yet to jump on the SPAC bandwagon.

There could be many reasons for this “lack of enthusiasm” among Asian companies, one being that SPAC has less shine compared to a traditional IPO because perception-wise, it provides a less-than-ideal signal to the strength of a business.

“Conventional wisdom points to companies preferring typical IPO route where they get to go on a roadshow to raise funds, project a positive image or branding, and by way of market forces, command for competitive pricing,” says Dave Ng, General Partner of Altara Ventures, a newly-launched US$100 million plus fund in Singapore.

Also Read: What Ant Group’s upcoming IPO means for the Southeast Asian startup ecosystem

Notwithstanding, SPAC brings into table many benefits for companies looking to raise capital. Speed is one, meaning SPAC is faster than a traditional IPO and it involves less process and legwork needed to go public. It can also be a great way to introduce liquidity into tech companies as well as experienced executive talent into private companies.

“Because of these advantages, people are increasingly turning to SPAC as an alternative. Recent examples include DraftKings and Virgin Galactic,” Ng adds.

What does Bridgetown IPO mean for SEA?

No doubt, SPAC means more pathways to exits and liquidity for Southeast Asian (SEA) companies. It is also a great validation of the long-term potential for the region and its founders, employees and investors, experts feel.

“This is just another example of how Southeast Asia will be a driver of growth globally over the next five to ten years,” says Vinnie Lauria, Managing Partner, Golden Gate Ventures.

Specifically, Bridgetown’s targeting a tech or media company in Southeast Asia implies a few things: 1) the trend is picking up in the region, given the need for a quicker option to go public, and 2) there is also an appetite in the market coming from investors and as well as companies in the region’s tech and media industry.

Agrees Sanjay Zimmermann, Senior Associate at White Star Capital, saying he sees more SPACs being announced in the future. “Having seen the more than 100 SPACs emerge in North America earlier this year, we are not surprised to see this new SPAC coming out to focus on Southeast Asia. We welcome this initiative, which will provide an alternative path to liquidity and access to public markets for one or more rising tech, financial services or media company in the region.”

“We expect to see more Southeast Asian SPACs being announced over the coming months and look forward to seeing the impact that this will have on generating a new path to exit and/or funding for startups in the region,” Zimmermann predicts.

Echoing a similar view, Chia Jeng Yang, Principal at Singapore-based Saison Capital, shares that SPACs can be an excellent way to balance both global public investor exposure to the region as well as allow leading tech companies to focus on building its future.

“As SPACs allow for companies to customise their entry into the public markets (through how much/when they sell, lockup periods, incentive instruments, etc), they can be helpful for companies that may have a longer-term growth story,” shares Yang.

Also Read: ‘Growth at any cost’ has shifted to ‘growth with reasonable unit economics and a path to profitability’: White Star Capital’s Sanjay Zimmermann

What is the flip side?

Data suggests that SPAC is witnessing a boom in the US. According to Pitchbook, the amount of SPACs in the US rose drastically to over 100 in 2020 from just 46 in 2019.

This is expected to have some reverberations in Asia as well, given IPOs are becoming harder due to the situation created by the COVID-19 outbreak.

But can SEA companies make the most of SPAC?

Although SPAC usually means the buyout of a huge stake in one selected company, it may not mean much for companies in SEA, according to Sergei Filippov, Managing Partner, Morphosis Capital Partners.

“I do believe that majority of SEA startups won’t see this money coming in and won’t benefit from SPAC, as these are not traditional early-stage VC investments with multiple startups in a portfolio,” predicts Filippov.

Instead, this money (US$500 million being raised by Bridgetown) will be perfectly targeted to merge with the soon-to-be-acquired company to eliminate the pricing uncertainty that comes with traditional IPOs.

In his view, the Bridgetown IPO might also be related to Palantir Technologies’s delayed IPO and is an attempt to get funding from Singapore’s Temasek Holdings.

“But it is too early to say that but let’s see how this money will be used,” concludes Filippov.

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Image Credit: Founders Fund

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Yummy Corp., which runs a cloud kitchen management company under the brand name Yummykitchen in Indonesia, has raised US$12 million in Series B funding, led by SoftBank Ventures Asia.

Other participants in the round include Vectr Ventures, Appworks, Quest Ventures, Coca Cola Amatil X, Palm Drive Capital, as well as existing investors Intudo Ventures and Sovereign’s Capital, also co-invested.

This comes less than a year after the startup received a total of US$7.75 million in Series A, led by SMDV (Sinarmas Digital Ventures) and Intudo Ventures.

Also Read: gojek’s VC arm invests US$5M in India’s cloud kitchen startup Rebel Foods

Launched in June 2019, Yummy Corp. is a cloud kitchen and online catering brand Yummykitchen, focused on using the latest technology to develop innovative solutions for corporates and F&B brands.

The startup not only rents out shared kitchen space but also carries out operational procedures on behalf of partner brands to help them accelerate their expansion and reach wider consumers.

To date, Yummy Corp. claims to have served over five million meals and has over 70 kitchens serving more than 50 brand partners to manage their daily F&B operations.

Also Read: With Wahyoo, traditional eating stalls have the economic makeovers they never knew they needed

“We have seen unprecedented growth for Yummykitchen. With this funding, we will focus on our mission to take an active role in helping the F&B industry grow their delivery business, especially during this pandemic,” Mario Suntanu, CEO of Yummy Corp, said.

The year 2020 has been a relatively difficult year for many industries in Indonesia. Various restrictions placed in the effort to suppress the growth of pandemic cases have had many impacts across different sectors, including F&B.

However, some F&B businesses — especially those who have focused on digital channels — have actually shown a positive increase.

In March last year, Yummy Corp. acquired online catering service pioneer Berrykitchen for an undisclosed sum.

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Image Credit: Yummy Corp.

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“Conscious consumption” or a more healthy way of diet has been the driving trend in the foodtech sector for the last five to ten years, finds a new study.

Companies are creating alternative and plant-based protein and dairy, incorporating alternative ingredients such as CBD and algae, and developing free-form and cell-based food, says the White Star Capital study.

This is largely due to a shift in people’s values of food consumption, towards a healthier lifestyle.

According to Pitchbook, a company providing private market data, a significant chunk of the market share will be taken away from the US$350 billion annual meat market.

Also Read: Bringing home the (mock) bacon: How Burgreens aims to transform Jakarta’s vegan food market

This is because a massive number of people are now switching from animal-based proteins to plant-based ones because of COVID-19 where many reports identify meat markets as the source of the virus.

Food innovation and bio-engineered food have been predicted to continue growing annually by 10 per cent with the possibility of reaching US$104.6 billion by 2025.

This has largely provided a surprise opportunity and boost to this industry, but North America has maintained domination in the market in terms of global sales.

However, more Asian companies are also coming up to join the trend.

Most of the current innovations in Southeast Asia are now centred around alternatives to animal products.

The White Star study further says Asia and North America have driven VC funding in the foodtech segment globally, attracting over US$33 billion over the last three years.

In Asia, on-demand food delivery and grocery sales are growing at a 24.4 per cent CAGR, accounting for a 55 per cent share of the global online food delivery market, which is driven by high adoption rates of super apps such as WeChat.

Pet food is a sub-sector that has grown more than 33x since 2011, reaching US$375 million globally in 2019 — primarily driven by changing pet owner values and preferences for things like natural and organic ingredients.

Also Read: Bühler invests in Big Idea Ventures New Protein Fund; to invest in up to 100 plant- and cell-based firms

White Star Capital is an early-stage VC firm which primarily invests in North America and Europe. Its portfolio companies include Asia Innovations (Hong Kong), healthy meal startup Freshly (New York), rewards app Drop out of (Toronto), on-demand photo platform Meero (Paris), ride-sharing mobility platform Tier Mobility (Berlin), and dog food startup Butternut Box (London).

Last year, White Star Capital opened a new office in Hong Kong.

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Image Credit: Burgreens

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