Three tech companies. Three solutions. One winner.

On Climatic Startup Showdown, breakout tech companies pitch their solutions to the world’s toughest venture capitalists – and find out if they have what it takes to get to the next level and transform the Asia Pacific construction industry.

Also read: Harnessing sustainable technology to build a resilient future with IPI

The Startup Showdown contestants are:

Caidio, an award-winning construction technology startup from Finland with direct development and sales operations in China. Caidio develops AI-powered products for improving quality, decreasing waste, and reducing CO2 in concrete production.

viAct, the Hong-Kong based provider of an AI-powered computer vision solution that automates monitoring to increase productivity and safety and reduce delays on construction sites.

WaveScan, a Singapore-based deep-tech startup specializing in see-through scanner technology and advanced AI algorithms for high-resolution structural inspections. WaveScan’s solution integrates into autonomous vehicles, such as drones, and provides end-to-end AI-enabled asset inspection, addressing the specific needs of the built environment sector.

Watch the startups showdown in the video above or click this link to watch it in another browser.

The Climatic video series focusses on the innovators decarbonising the Asia-Pacific region’s construction industry and the industry leaders partnering with them to scale.

Want your startup to join Climatic? Apply today

Disclosure: This is video distributed by e27 sponsored by ADB Ventures.

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Singapore-headquartered video games developer Virtuos has secured US$150 million in new financing from the funds affiliated with Asian private equity firm Baring Private Equity Asia (BPEA), with participation from existing investor 3D Capital Partners.

According to a press statement, the deal makes BPEA the largest external shareholder in Virtuos. 

Virtuos will continue to operate under CEO Gilles Langourieux. Together with the rest of the management team, he still owns over 70 per cent of the company’s shares.

The company will use the funds to accelerate growth and finance its buy-and-build strategy across global markets with strategic partnerships and acquisitions. The deal will also improve its digital platform and digitalise its studio network, improving productivity, innovation and games delivered.  

“The acquisition and establishment of new studios will allow us to expand our global footprint and offerings, enabling us better to meet the needs of our network of partners and leading publishers worldwide,” said Virtuos CFO Jasmine Cheong.

Also read: Mobile, e-sports, live streaming shaping SEA’s gaming startup landscape in 2021

Since its inception in 2004, Virtuos has developed predominantly with art production and game development services for AAA consoles (AAA are types of games produced and distributed by mid-sized or major publishers), PCs and mobile handsets. 

Its most successful titles are Assassin’s Creed, Call of Duty, Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age, Horizon Zero Dawn, League of Legends, NBA 2K18, and Shadow of The Tomb Raider.

With over 2,300 employees, Virtuos has delivered integrated end-to-end game development solutions for game franchises in 13 locations across Asia, North America, and Europe.

The company boasts that it works with 18 of the world’s top 20 digital entertainment companies, such as Activision Blizzard, Bandai Namco, Take Two Interactive, and Ubisoft.

Virtuos has also contributed art services to the film industry’s blockbuster franchises such as Black Panther, Jurassic World, The Avengers, and Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

“As the gaming industry and the demand for its content continue to proliferate, Virtuos will also grow as one of the largest entertainment content creators worldwide,” said CEO Langourieux. 

Fundraising in the video game industry continued at a record level in the second quarter of 2021 with US$18.2 billion of M&A, and another US$7.4 billion in investments, according to DDM Game Investment Review. 

The total funds pumped into the gaming sector in the first two quarters of 2021 is already double the amount invested in all of 2020.

Forbes reported that the game industry has flourished during the pandemic in multiple sectors with a boom in virtual-reality gaming, the launch of new consoles from Microsoft and Sony, and the inception of cloud-based gaming services.

Also read: These Artificial Intelligence startups are proving to be industry game-changers

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Image credit: Virtuos

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Here’s a glimpse into our automobiles’ future. Electric vehicles (EVs), once regarded as a lifestyle item, have now come full circle to be considered essential in Singapore’s 2030 Green Plan, a nationwide initiative to advance the country’s national agenda on sustainable development.

The adoption of EVs pushes for a greener, cleaner, emissions-free future. 

Why are EVs so important?

Environment

By opting for an EV, you are assisting in reducing hazardous air pollution caused by exhaust emissions. When an EV is charged from the grid, it produces greenhouse gas emissions, much lower than the usual carbon emissions from a diesel-powered vehicle.

Minimising carbon emissions cleans up our environment and makes resource and energy conservation the new normal.

Health

Reduced hazardous exhaust emissions are beneficial to our health. Better air quality will result in fewer health problems and pollution-related costs. Electric vehicles are also quieter than gasoline and diesel vehicles, resulting in reduced noise pollution.

Also Read: Ecosystem Roundup: J&T Express in talks for US$1B with Tencent, Carsome bags US$200M, Play Ventures raises US$30M+ for new vehicle

Automakers’ 0pinions

It’s rare to see the industry leaders divide as radically as they have with electric vehicles in an industry as entrenched as the automobile industry. When it comes to the future of electric vehicles, however, the two largest firms, Toyota and the Volkswagen Group (VW) have taken diametrically opposing positions.

The Volkswagen Group has taken a hard line on electric vehicles, emphasising the need to adapt fast and effectively. Toyota, on the other hand, has consistently poured cold water on the future of electric vehicles.

Toyota remains investing in hybrid automobiles. However, unlike plug-in hybrids, regular hybrids cannot be charged and must rely on fossil fuels for electricity.

Obtaining public opinion

Motorist is an automotive platform headquartered in Singapore with over 115,000 app users, i.e. eight per cent of Singapore’s vehicle population. Through transparent transactional processes (buy, sell, insurance), personalised smart reminders and notifications, Motorist hopes to simplify car ownership for the masses.

Currently, eight in 10 users act upon a reminder, whether it’s time to renew their road tax or pay a traffic fine, has conducted a poll with close to 3,400 of their app users in Singapore regarding Singapore’s energy-saving strategy.

Over 73 per cent of users surveyed expressed interest in government attempts to promote the use of electric vehicles in a study done by the company.

Furthermore, over 65 per cent of respondents expressed an interest in adopting EVs after the S$5,000 minimum additional registration charge for EVs was eliminated in January 2022.

The poll also revealed that non-EV users were enthusiastic about moving to EVs, with 68.1 per cent of interested respondents. At the same time, the remainder expressed reservations due to pricing, range, and the bother of charging EVs but said they would keep EVs in mind in the future.

Transitioning too soon, whether as a producer or a consumer, has its drawbacks.

However, given what is at stake for both parties, people should promptly consider this shift. With what the future holds, it’s evident that the automotive industry is on the verge of seeing a level of technological upheaval that hasn’t been seen in decades.

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Unlike most sectors, edutech has been booming over the past year amidst the pandemic, as many brick and mortar education and professional training institutions in the region are scrambling to digitise. The global edutech industry is currently valued at US$ 89.49 billion in 2020 and is expected to witness a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19.9 per cent from 2021 to 2028.

This provides ample opportunities for entrepreneurs and investors to capitalise on the growing demand locally and globally and poses a few challenges to the industry.

As industry players continue to innovate to streamline online education, Knovo’s take on three issues that must be addressed to ensure learners can fully benefit from the digitisation of education.

Unfiltered education content and fragmented industry

As of January 2021, about 60 per cent of the global population is reported to have access to the internet via mobile devices, allowing them to access hundreds of edutech platforms and making it difficult for the average student or professional to figure out which education platform is right for them.

Therefore, data aggregation and adaptive learning technologies are important in edutech platforms to help filter education content on the internet.

The high influx of edutech providers has also resulted in the industry becoming more fragmented due to various learning management systems.

The key is to democratise access to quality education tools for students, professionals and educators, thereby driving inclusiveness in e-learning.

To illustrate, Knovo recognises the importance of data aggregation and the impact adaptive learning technologies have on a user’s learning journey.

Its Virtual Interactive Knowledge Exchange (VIKE) platform actively aggregates key players in the edutech industry. Its “one-stop” learning system allows users to tap into a repository of educational content and learning resources to learn synchronously or asynchronously.

As edutech allows ‘flipped learning’ where learners can consume materials offline at their own pace, Knovo addresses the gaps in allowing students to reach out to connect with educators for validated learning and real-time interactions.

Also Read: VUIHOC gets funding from Do Ventures to provide primary school education through animation, gamification

This mode allows a recurring bond between the educators, enterprises, and learners while giving the recognition and exposure for the educators and institutions to connect with new learners globally, outside of their own market or learner base.

This creates an “edu-social” experience between students and educators, giving them flexible learning modes and technology-based features to deliver adaptive digital education content.

Knovo focusses on ‘right’ educator and supply of quality educators

With unfiltered education content comes the challenge of finding the ‘right’ educator. From firsthand experience, the right tutor could change a person’s life as it did for me.

Shadow education is deemed necessary, especially in Asian countries, as most parents believe that an investment in education will pay the best dividends in the years to come.

From a score of F to an A in Mathematics, my experience with an amazing tutor changed my life and was fundamental in earning a good degree and opening up many career options.

With the heightened restrictions and lockdowns implemented worldwide, we recognise that not many have the financial capacity or equal access to quality education. This is where Knovo’s solutions come in.

In collaboration with Singapore Brand Educators and centres, we facilitate access to quality education for underserved communities, making online learning and teaching easier through end-to-end solutions, from class booking, scheduling, virtual learning delivery tools and payment solutions for both learners and educators, all in one.

Our primary goal is to digitally connect qualified educators to learners from all over the world so that those who desire to learn can access quality education without breaking the bank.

Gaps in quality workforce

The reality is that even in this day and age, not many have access to quality education, especially in developing countries. The gaps in the quality of the workforce can directly impact standards of living, business decisions, and the economic growth of countries. These issues derive from lower education standards and have an impact on the way people think and act.

At the K-12 level, where more supervision is needed, the future of education will likely move towards a blended learning model. In tertiary and vocational education, there will be a need for more flexible learning modes to help students acquire the skills they need for jobs or provide them with the opportunity to reskill and upskill at ease.

Hence, as automation and technology transform the labour market, more emphasis will be placed on developing skills that cannot be easily automated, resulting in requirements to be retrained multiple times during their career.

Therefore, I see a rise in AI-powered training suites for enterprises to manage content for such training and drive acceleration in reskilling and upskilling over a longer term.

Also Read: How edutech startups can accelerate active learning

In that vein, the tertiary education spectrum can benefit greatly from blockchain, which provides easy records of students’ educational qualifications or admission details.

This will transform the record-keeping of certificates as well as student credentials in learning institutions and issuing credentials. While many appreciate blockchain as ‘that thing that makes bitcoin work’, there are far more applications for it.

Being secure, decentralised ledgers, blockchains can be applied in many fields, including healthcare and education. I think this is an area that edutech could look at adopting to achieve its full potential.

Our internship programmes for local tertiary and university students allow them to work on real software development projects and understand more about the tech industry and career paths through our extensive database of live instructors and industry experts.

Such courses are targeted towards industry-relevant skills required for jobs and provide lifelong learners with the opportunity to upskill or re-skill through industry-based programmes.

With more initiatives from other edutech providers, we would support a steady pipeline of industry-relevant talent and further establish Singapore as a Global-Asia technology hub.

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Portcast, a Singapore-based AI-powered logistics startup, announced today that it has closed a US$3.2 million pre-Series A financing led by Imperial Venture Fund.

Imperial Venture is a US$20-million joint corporate VC vehicle between Newtown Partners and South African logistics company Imperial.

The round also saw participation from Wavemaker Partners, TMV, and Innoport, among others.

Portcast plans to use the new funding to press ahead with international expansion, double the team size and product enhancement, and move from predictive AI to prescriptive AI. The startup also plans to launch new product features such as order-level visibility and scenario planning.

Founded in 2018 by Nidhi Gupta, Portcast offers global freight forwarders and manufacturers an intuitive SaaS platform and APIs to accurately predict air and ocean cargo flows and forecast daily demand.

By leveraging proprietary machine learning algorithms and real-time external market data, Portcast helps its clients achieve real-time visibility, reduce operational costs and improve customer experience, thereby improving supply chain profitability.

The company claims to have predicted the estimated time of arrivals of more than 90 per cent of ships globally and forecasted demand for over 30,000 trade routes (both air and sea) daily.

Also read: Vietnam’s supply chain amid worst COVID-19 outbreak: How tech startups are getting along

According to Gupta, record delays, unprecedented congestion at ports, and constrained capacities have led to high transportation costs of the global supply chain. This translates into the end consumers’ loss and low service reliability.

“We believe that companies with predictive visibility on cargo movements have a significantly higher preparedness to downstream planning and customer service,” said Gupta. “The cloud-based technology has the ability to map out the cascading effects of disruptions such as Typhoon In-fa and the Suez Canal congestion, allowing forwarders and shippers to respond and react more effectively in such scenarios.”

Gupta added that the technology contributes to the reductions in overall port fees by 20 per cent and manual work by 80 per cent for our customers.

“Portcast has proven its technology not just in the long-haul routes, but also in multi-port voyages and emerging economies, which are harder to predict,” said Llew Claasen, managing partner at Newtown Partners. “We believe the technology has global replicability in automating logistics workflows and digitisation.”

Before the latest round, Portcast received US$758,000 seed funding from Wavemaker and SGInnovate.

COVID-19 has enabled the global supply chain to touch its inflexion point, which empowers real-time visibility and forecast capabilities. Gartner reports that 50 per cent of product-centric supply chains will invest in real-time transportation visibility platforms by 2023. 

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Image credit: Portcast

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Pasarnow, an Indonesia-based multi-channel e-groceries platform, has secured a US$3.3 million seed funding, led by East Ventures.

SMDV, Skystar Capital, Amand Ventures, Prasetia Dwidharma, and other angel investors also participated.

This funding will be used to expand Pasarnow’s regional coverage and strengthen its capability in the groceries supply chain and last-mile solutions.

Pasarnow seeks to expand into new cities, hire key talents, enhance its data and technological infrastructures, and develop micro warehouses called frontline mini hubs. As a complement to the current ten hubs across Greater Jakarta, the hubs are designed to enable instant delivery and provide the best last-mile fresh produce solutions to customers. They are located in densely populated areas and equipped with proper fresh and frozen products infrastructure.

“Currently, Pasarnow operates in Greater Jakarta and Bandung, with over 100 full-time employees and 200 daily workers and driver-partners,” said Donald Wono, CTO and co-founder of Pasarnow. “This funding round enables us to cater to more customers and further increase our tech capability.”

Also Read: Agritech ecosystem in Thailand: More than 60 per cent of startups have not raised external funding

Founded in 2019 by Wono, James Rijanto, and Cindy Ozzie, Pasarnow aims to streamline Indonesia’s complicated and layered fresh products supply chain and deliver quality food products to its customers through its multi-channel platform.

“Ensuring product freshness when it reaches the customers is supremely challenging. Food products like fruits, vegetables, and frozen meat are susceptible and perishable, requiring fast and temperature-controlled delivery, which causes expensive logistics costs,” said CEO Rijanto.

“That is why Pasarnow has been investing heavily in our technology and operational infrastructures to solve these issues. Furthermore, having a multi-channel platform helps us in achieving faster economies of scale and in creating greater efficiency in our operations,” he added.

Pasarnow applies a multi-channel ordering system in a single mobile application to provide a unique customer experience based on the channel segmentation: B2B and B2C.

Each channel has a different set of prices, promotions, and key features to meet customers’ specific needs. The operational back-end aggregates all the orders and develops a demand forecasting system that helps its 1,000-plus farmers and suppliers better plan and optimize their harvesting and delivery schedules. It enables Pasarnow to offer fresh and great quality products at fair-trade pricing to customers and minimize its wastages.

Indonesia’s grocery retail value is estimated at US$108 billion in 2019 with online grocery accounting for only less than one per cent of the total. Online grocery retail is projected to increase at around US$13 billion by 2025.

Also Read: Go-Ventures leads US$16M Series A in grocery social commerce startup Segari

With the vast opportunity driven by a shift in customer behaviour towards shopping groceries online due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Pasarnow has expanded its operations to other cities, claims to have yielded a 400 per cent increase of B2C orders and doubled its monthly revenue.

East Ventures, co-founder and Managing Partner of Willson Cuaca, said, “The changing shopping behaviour of consumers due to the COVID-19 pandemic has brought about another challenge in the grocery industry. Customers demand fresh and high-quality produce daily amidst the complex grocery supply chain. Pasarnow comes to tackle the challenge, eliminating inefficiencies in the process through its data-driven business model.”

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Image credit: Pasarnow

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Rainforest, a Singapore-headquartered e-commerce brand aggregator, has bagged an oversubscribed US$20 million pre-Series A round led by Monk’s Hill Ventures.

Other investors that have participated in the round are January Capital, Crossbeam Venture Partners, Amasia, Lo & Behold Group. Existing backers Insignia Ventures and Nordstar also joined. 

According to co-founder and JJ Chai, Rainforest will use the money to double down on its growth strategy to acquire more e-commerce brands in Asia Pacific, including China, Southeast Asia and Australia. 

Also Read: Former Carousell, OVO execs launch e-commerce brand aggregator Rainforest with US$36M seed funding

A portion of the capital will be used to hire new employees in the acquisition, branding and marketing, product development, supply chain, operations, and strategy.

Rainforest was launched in January 2021. In May, it secured US$36 million in seed funding, led by Nordstar, with participation from Insignia. The round also included a US$30 million debt facility from an undisclosed US-based debt fund.

The company acquires consumer e-commerce brands, providing entrepreneurs with a healthy exit. It also invests in the acquired brands to grow them globally. It leverages its proprietary technology to improve inventory management, cost optimisations, and expansions to new marketplaces and channels for these brands — mainly in home goods, mother & kids, personal care, and pet categories. 

Rainforest has used the previous financing to buy out six e-commerce brands on Amazon marketplaces. Its claims its portfolio has seen over 50 per cent improvement in annual growth rates post-acquisition. Recently, it acquired a China-based brand for US$3.6 million as part of its latest initiative to expand into the Chinese market. 

The company now aims to triple its portfolio by the end-2021 and expand across the European and American markets.

“As one of the largest Amazon sellers in Southeast Asia, Rainforest is tapping into the rise of marketplace sellers off the back of a large, fast-growing e-commerce market,” stated Peng T. Ong, co-founder and managing partner at Monk’s Hill. “JJ and his team have demonstrated thoughtfulness while being formidable operators in acquiring and significantly growing e-commerce brands.”

Additionally, Rainforest recently hired two VPs — Yev Ivanko and Christine Ng. Each brings with them over 15 years of experience in international expansion and business development.

Also read: E-commerce for the future: How open banking enables greater security and trust

According to Marketplace Pulse, third-party sellers on the Amazon marketplace sold US$300 billion worth of goods in 2020, adding a staggering US$100 billion net growth since 2019. Of which, 30 per cent are based in Asia, Chai told TechCrunch.

A recent Asian Development Bank report says B2C platforms revenues reached US$3.8 trillion in 2019, with US$1.8 trillion of it in Asia. E-commerce accounted for over half of these revenues (more than US$1.9 trillion globally), of which $1.1 trillion was generated in Asia.

In May this year, Una Brands, another Singapore-based e-commerce brand aggregator, announced a US$40 million seed round of equity and debt financing. Una was co-founded by Kiren Tanna, the former CEO of Rocket Internet Asia and founder of foodpanda and ZEN Rooms.

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Image credit: Rainforest

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It has been an interesting six years building Carsome into what we are today. We have been on a journey to digitalise Southeast Asia’s used car industry and elevate the car buying and selling experience through innovation and technology.

Over the years, we faced many challenges, and the COVID-19 pandemic brought along a new set of obstacles. Most of us would know people who are struggling financially, mentally or physically, in these hard-hitting times.

I have been lucky to meet so many people from all walks of life through my role at Carsome, and I’d like to believe that we are doing our utmost best in each encounter to help those we met.

Carsome was built based on this idea to help consumers have a better experience when buying and selling cars. Ultimately, we want to support people to move forward in their lives, even if it means helping those in need and believing that we can make a difference by supporting the community in meaningful ways.

We want to be part of a thriving community that beats the odds together.

Taking care of our own people

During these difficult times, fellow Carsomers have shown true loyalty in ensuring that the business runs as smoothly as it can, notwithstanding the challenges of working from home, lockdown restrictions and at the same time battling a pandemic that threatens our health.

They are the backbone of Carsome, and their health and safety are our top priority. With this in mind, we recently launched our very own team member vaccination drive to ensure the safety of both our employees and our customers.

The initiative helps our employees, who have not already secured appointments through the national vaccination programme, get their vaccination faster. It also helps us play a part in helping the country reach herd immunity and return to normalcy in our daily lives.

At the time of writing, close to 150 Carsome Malaysia employees and Carsome Academy students have or will be vaccinated through this initiative.

We are also extending our vaccine supplies to our partners across the chain to help them get vaccinated at a faster rate so that we can work together to ensure the safety of everyone in the entire used car ecosystem – from suppliers, retailers to customers – and keep each other protected.

Also Read: Malaysia’s Carsome raises US$19M Series B round to strengthen presence in Indonesia and Thailand

Helping businesses get back on their feet

As much as it affects individuals and families, the pandemic has also hit many businesses hard. So we came up with the Used Car Dealers Buy-Back Program, where we help our partner-dealers by buying back the cars they bought from Carsome at the same price they paid.

To date, under the program, we have repurchased cars from more than 10 dealers at a total value of close to MYR1 million.

We hope to help our partner dealers maintain cash flow and liquidity to sustain their businesses in the pandemic via this program.

Giving youth a little push in the early days of their careers

Then there are fresh graduates –-what a challenging time to enter the working world. Many need a car to get to their first jobs –especially when private vehicle ownership is preferred out of hygiene and safety concerns– and the reality is that with no credit history, it is hard to get a loan approved by conventional banks.

We decided to give these graduates a little boost through our graduate auto-financing program. As long as they graduated in the last five years with at least a degree, they need an employment offer letter and a comfort guarantor with no minimum requirements, something different from the traditional guarantor required by common banks, to get a loan to purchase a Carsome Certified car.

We hope with this financing product; graduates will be able to move forward in life with one less hurdle.

Caring for the community where we operate in

Amid all our day-to-day challenges, it is easy to forget that we have already endured nearly two years of the pandemic, and everyone faces difficulties of a different kind. A recent country-wide movement that caught our attention was #BenderaPutih, which calls upon those desperately needing help to display a white flag outside their homes.

Despite facing struggles of their own, many Malaysians rose to the occasion to help. This reminded us that humanity is not lost and inspired us to support the #BenderaPutih initiative.

To aid the cause, we began an internal donation drive to buy essentials for our 48 volunteers to deliver to those in need. We also collaborated with SESO, a local non-profit enterprise against food poverty. As their transportation partner, we have been helping SESO to deliver food and supplies to various Klang Valley locations they identified.

In fact, just last weekend, we have sent out more than 100 care packages courtesy of HappyFresh, to those in need.

Make it #CarsomeCares

We have been humbled by many stories of families in need, businesses trying to stay afloat and some businesses having to close down in these difficult times. #CarsomeCares reminds us of our caring and compassionate core, which we channel through our initiatives to help society as best we can, and we welcome everybody to join us.

I am very proud of the Carsome family and their strong support for #CarsomeCares; this reverberates with what the company believes all around. I look forward to doing more with Carsomers in this regard – let us all get through this together.

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NOICE, a multi-vertical audio platform for Indonesian listeners, announced today it has secured an undisclosed ‘7-figure USD’ in pre-Series A round co-led by Alpha JWC Ventures and Go-Ventures.

As per a press statement, Kinesys Group, Kenangan Fund, and several unnamed business angels participated in this round.

Additionally, the company has announced that former Google Asia Pacific’s executives Rado Ardian and Niken Sasmaya joined NOICE as its CEO and CBO, respectively. 

According to CEO Ardian, NOICE will use the new capital to build the platform’s new live audio feature, develop original content and hire talents across the region to accommodate users beyond Jakarta. 

It also plans to expand its content distribution, set up content creation and monetisation tools and increase in-app community engagement.

NOICE is owned and operated by Mahaka Media Group, which was created by Erick Thohir, Indonesia’s minister of state-owned enterprises. 

Also read: The 27 Indonesian startups that have taken the ecosystem to next level this year

Launched in June 2018 as a radio streaming platform, NOICE streams local audio content, including radio, music, audiobooks and podcasts, to registered listeners across Indonesia.

NOICE differentiates itself from its global rival Spotify through the platform’s hyperlocal in-house content.

“Our USP is our high-quality original content that is only available on NOICE with numerous talented content creators, ranging from imaginative first-timers to well-known celebrities,” said CBO Sasmaya. “These individuals realise their dreams by showcasing their artistic skills across a range of genres, such as comedy, music, religion, horror, parenting, lifestyle and edutainment.”

According to the company, NOICE is “Indonesia’s largest podcast network”, with 800,000 people tuning in and 100+ original shows being broadcast. 

By Q3 2021, NOICE boasts over one billion minutes of audio content streaming, showing high levels of engagement and consumption on the platform.

“While digital content consumption has been growing in Indonesia, there is a significant gap in the audio content vertical, especially for hyper-local content. As more people are working, learning and being entertained at home, demand for quality content has increased exponentially,” said Aditya Kumar, SVP of Investments at Go-Ventures. “NOICE is well-positioned to address this unmet need, becoming Indonesia’s leading audio platform.”

NOICE said it clocked a 144 per cent surge in the number of users over the past year, which was achieved “without any major marketing spend.”

Last year, the startup received funding from Alpha JWC Ventures and Kinesys Group.

The audio streaming market has ramped up over the past years in Indonesia. According to Nielsen research, in February 2020, more than 3.6 million Indonesians is listening to podcasts. 

Meanwhile, the global streaming platform Spotify also witnessed a 149 per cent increase in Indonesian users from June 2019 to June 2020, alongside a 220-per-cent hike in music streaming across Southeast Asia.

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Image credit: NOICE

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By definition, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), which is commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew or passengers on board.

These pilotless sophisticated machines come across as extremely new-age but the origin of the concept of drones can be traced back to as early as the mid-1850s when Austria used unmanned balloons during a war. 

Although originally built for military purposes, drones have seen rapid growth and advancements and, in the digital era, made a break to consumer electronics, especially after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) granted hundreds of new exemptions for companies to operate drones in the U.S. through FAA Part 107 in the year 2016, helping push the commercial drone market growth forward all over the world. 

The bustling market of commercial drones in APAC

According to reports, the unmanned aerial vehicle market is estimated to grow from USD 27.4 billion in 2021 to USD 58.4 billion by 2026, at a CAGR of 16.4% with the Asia Pacific projected to account for the largest size of the UAV market during this period. Drones also have a wide range of applications across different industries, such as entertainment and recreation as well as logistics.

Today, almost all YouTubers and Vloggers can be easily spotted handling drone cameras at exotic holiday destinations to shoot content. Sports reviewers leverage drones to get aerial images of games while sports coaches use them to analyse team formations and train players. In the logistics industry, drones help in several ways — from saving in distribution costs to faster deliveries and reducing urban traffic to helping cut down on carbon dioxide emissions. Drones are efficient in that they can work 24 hours, 365 days a year. According to Statista, the commercial drone revenue in the Asia Pacific is expected to reach 3667.69 million USD.

Tapping into the burgeoning drone market and the emerging trends in this industry in APAC, key stakeholders from around the world are making strides in the region. One of the leading players is PABLO AIR, a drone software developer based in South Korea. Established in 2018, PABLO AIR has a keen focus on providing the most sustainable drone delivery service for the global community and people who need equal social benefits, such as medicines and emergency kits.

The founder of the company, Mr Youngjoon Kim decided to launch PABLO AIR after he watched a drone art show conducted by Intel for the Pyeongchang Winter Olympic. He did extensive research on the UAV security system and found his vision for a global society with his own built technology.

“We have strengths of Ground Control System (GCS), communications utilisation, and Flight control system. These technical features enable us to operate multiple drones in real-time for delivery purposes, regardless of the flight circumstances such as offshore operation. Most importantly, PABLO AIR is focusing on Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) to use their skills for positive social impact and also obtained social impact and smart logistics funds for Pre-Series B funding,” shared by Chanjoo (Derek) Lee, Chief Operating Officer from PABLO AIR USA.

Envisioning a global business environment empowered by holistic drone solutions

PABLO AIR is actively involved in exploring global business opportunities and empowering partners with holistic drone delivery solutions that cover entire business operations in terms of software as well as hardware. Key stakeholders, including VCs and investors, see potential in this idea. In August this year, PABLO AIR obtained US$ 11 million in accumulated funding through series A and pre-series B. The most recent pre-series B round closed at US$8 million.

“We are backed by an individual investor Mr Lee Soo Man, the founder of SM Entertainment, and major Korean VCs and corporations as Strategic Investors (SI). Our investors found our vision of global business based on our reputation and successful use case in South Korea,” shared Derek. The company is planning to use this recent fundraise for global business expansion with a keen focus on Southeast Asia and the USA.

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PABLO AIR also attributes its success to the Malaysian Global Innovation And Creativity Center or better known as MaGIC, through their virtual Global Accelerator Programme (GAP). This online programme focuses on accelerating local and international startups from all over the world, with an interest to expand their business in the ASEAN region, enabling them to be investment-ready in 3 months. 

Derek said, “MaGIC allowed us to develop our strategy for the ASEAN market expansion. The region has huge potential in terms of population and economic growth, and this is what caught our investors’ ears. While participating in a series of meetings with the cohorts, I was able to gain a better understanding of how the startup ecosystem in Malaysia works. During this process, I was happy to learn that MaGIC supports and guides startups’ success, regardless of the startup’s origin country and/or stage.”

Entering Southeast Asia through Malaysia to create real social impact

With the new capital and insights learned from MaGIC, PABLO AIR is all set to enter the Southeast Asia market with their starting point as Malaysia, followed by Indonesia, Vietnam, and then the rest of the region. 

Malaysia is gearing to develop an ecosystem not limited to UAVs and drones, but also VTOLs and autonomous flying objects for the local and export markets. The country sees a lot of potential in the drone market backed by an abundance of local talents. Supporting this are reports even before the pandemic suggesting that Malaysia is the emerging drone hub in the region. As such, the size of the drone tech sector is expected to grow three times larger by 2025.

For PABLO AIR’s Derek, Malaysia is not only a promising market but he also has a deep passion for the country as his family in law are all based there. “My vision through PABLO AIR is to help Malaysian people and the local community who can be supported by our drone solutions with mutual partnerships with the local government,” he shared.

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PABLO AIR also plans on leveraging the deep relationships between the Korean government and the ASEAN region. With the Korean government’s New Southern Policy and the free trade agreement between Korea and ASEAN, this vision can be realised smoothly. At the heart of PABLO AIR’s drone solutions and expansion into the region is real social impact.

“This expansion will allow us to achieve our humanitarian mission using our drone technology to help people who are in need. When it comes to social benefits that are offered by our drone technology, enhanced approachability to people in isolated areas (currently 80km coverage proven from our previous demonstration) will greatly help state governments and social benefits that are currently widely spread. It will enable them to centralise their current governance and data and improve important aspects like medicine supply chains and more,” shared Derek. “We believe that our technology and team will be valued more when we provide direct benefits to the local community including government bodies and citizens,” he added.

How MaGIC is enabling startups with social impact to grow

MaGIC’s core vision is to enable a vibrant and sustainable startup and social enterprise ecosystem built on impact-driven innovation and inclusivity. In line with this vision, they are helping startups from different parts of the world that are leveraging technology to create real social impact by providing them with insights, knowledge, a better understanding of markets, and networks of key stakeholders, such as other startups, VCs, and investors.

PABLO AIR attributes a lot of its success to the GAP cohort 05 where they were able to build great partnerships with MaGIC and other participating startups. 

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“While pursuing these partnerships, we were able to learn more about the industry. For example, we are now an Innovation Acceleration Network (IAN) partner from NTIS who can support us to have Proof-of-Concept (PoC) to prove our technology and business model using drones. This strategy will make a huge differentiation against global competitors. We are expecting to optimise our technology and global business model after the PoC and we are confident that this will enable future partnerships with various government authorities and corporations. Moreover, we would like to actively build more partnerships with the assistance from MaGIC to prove and commercialise our technology in the Malaysian market.”

MaGIC has helped startups like PABLO AIR to build an actual business plan towards the ASEAN market and take action to make it happen. If you are a social impact startup keen on expanding business in Southeast Asia, be a part of MaGIC.

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This article is produced by the e27 team, sponsored by MaGIC

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