Have you ever woken up and seen an email saying your personal data got hacked? I bet that’s happened to you too and, sadly, there’s nothing we can do about it … yet. I definitely don’t want my special meal data out on the dark web. Sigh.

This post aims to shed light on the problem with the internet today and how blockchain technology is redefining web 3.0.

A brief history of the internet

Do you know what the internet is? If not, I highly recommend this short video by Vox. 

In short, whenever you type a URL into the web browser (let’s say www.nattariya.com), the web translates that data into bits (a string of zeros and ones) and transmits your query to open that website to your wi-fi router in radio waves.

The router then picks up the signal and sends the query to the Domain Name System (DNS) to look up where www.nattariya.com is hosted so that they can fetch the data on that website and show it on your laptop. 

Also Read: Why Malaysia is quickly becoming a cybersecurity hub for the rest of the world

If the data is hosted in another part of the world, the Internet Service Provider (ISP) will route your query over internet cables (yes, actual cables that go underwater) to get that data from the server somewhere in the world.

Once the data is fetched, it will return the data to the ISP, and the ISP will send it to your laptop the same way. And, all of this happens in split seconds.

The problems with the internet today: State and security

In truth, your data is not stored on ‘the cloud’, but rather at data servers somewhere, and that data is owned by the applications you’re using, rather than you.

Typically, the applications would use data servers offered by ISP or some big tech companies, such as Google, Microsoft, and Amazon. Big names promise big trust that they will be able to store and guard our data safely. 

This leads to a major problem with the internet today: you have to trust that the applications and companies you’re dealing with will be able to safeguard your private data and, more importantly, trust that they will not sell your data to the wrong people. 

The reason why the internet has this problem today is because of two things:

The internet is a stateless protocol

It doesn’t know who owns what and who sends what to whom. The family of protocols that the internet is built on, such as TCP/IP for data transmission, SMTP for the transmission of emails, or HTTP for the transmission of Hypertext, regulates data transmission, but not how data is ‘stored’. 

As a result, applications such as Facebook, Youtube, and Google are built on top of the protocols to store and manage data.

Therefore, these applications record and manage the ‘state’ and hold valuable user data. This is why selling user data to advertisers is the most common business model for Web 2.0. 

The internet was not designed with ‘security in mind

It was designed for transaction speed. Because data is stored and managed by centralised applications, the data on these servers is protected by firewalls, and system administrators are needed to manage these servers and their firewalls.

Trying to manipulate data on a server resembles breaking into a house, where a fence and an alarm system provide security. If you know how to jump the fence and break the alarm, you can get the data easily. 

The lack of security is an issue, as reflected by ransomware and data leaks.

AT&T lost the private data of 70 million users, Bangkok Airways faced a breach that took customers’ data, including passport numbers. We have come to accept those limitations as part of our lives and can’t do anything about them. 

How does blockchain fix the ‘state’ and ‘security’ problems in Web 3.0?

The internet, or what we typically call Web 2.0, stores data on a client-server model. The data that you store or query is stored on a server owned by a centralised entity somewhere. Blockchain allows ‘state’ to be recorded and stored in a decentralised way.

Also Read: Practical tips to protect your business from cyberattacks

Applications built on the blockchain will be able to utilise this ‘shared data layer’, which means that applications can no longer own or monetise user data. It also gives us availability, integrity and authenticity guarantee: we can always access data, and no one can change it.

On the other hand, encryption technology enables data ownership as it allows data to be transferred securely. For example, if A sends bitcoin to B.

Only B will be able to access the bitcoin because he has a private key. This concept of sending and receiving value on the internet was impossible because we lacked a worldwide ledger system (a.k.a. blockchains).

The recent breakthroughs in blockchain and encryption technology combined make it possible to transfer and store data differently. 

For the first time in history, we have the ability to add ‘secure properties’ to the internet. If you want to steal data, you would need to break into multiple houses around the globe simultaneously, which each have their own fence and alarm system, to breach them.

Web 3.0 is essentially a new way for individuals to use the Internet without giving up their privacy and valuable data. 

Can we use blockchain today?

The most important challenge in blockchain today is scalability. Contrary to traditional computers, the capacity of blockchains does not grow with demand. When you’re buying a new laptop, you’re adding to the worldwide compute capacity.

When running a blockchain node, you’re not increasing the network capacity. This is a major issue. Compared to a laptop, Ethereum’s performance is only 10 Kilohertz, whereas your laptop can process as fast as 3-4 Gigahertz.

For perspective, 1 GHz = 1000000 kHz. That’s right, your laptop is hundreds of thousands of times more powerful than Ethereum and makes Ethereum look like a nice little calculator. 

What use cases are suitable for blockchain technology?

Since blockchain, coupled with recent encryption and cryptography breakthroughs such as homomorphic encryption and zero-knowledge proofs, gives us secure computing, it makes sense to use it for use cases that require high integrity and security, e.g. financial services, first. In the future, once the technology scales, why not use the internet that comes with security guarantees for every transaction?

In 20 years, we’re going to expect everything to be secured. We’ll see those niche use cases expand as the network scales. The security-enabled by these new technologies will likely extend all the way to the hardware level. 

Also Read: How should SMEs and startups prepare to handle a ransomware attack?

You might not be using an iPhone but instead, a ‘secure phone where your information remains yours.

How do you interact with web 3.0?

In Web 2.0, Windows or iOS is a way to interact with programs developed by third-party applications. You install an app, visit a website, or install software and things happen on your device.

In Web 3.0, the model is flipped on its head. Instead of many devices executing many software instances, the network itself operates a single and secure instance of an application.

Today, the most common way to interact with secure computers is through sending and receiving tokens, and the standard of interaction is ERC-20. So start trying out Web 3.0 today by downloading Metamask and sending tokens from your exchange wallet to Metamask wallet.  

Welcome to the age of Web 3.0!

This post first appeared on www.nattariya.com and was inspired by a chat with Guillaume Le Saint of Atato on the Asian Fintech Podcast.

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Dagangan, a social e-commerce platform that supplies fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) to underserved rural communities in Indonesia, has secured US$11.5 million in Series A funding led by Monk’s Hill Ventures.

MMS Group, K3 Ventures, Spiral Ventures, and PnP also participated.

Dagangan will use the new capital to grow its in-house white-label products such as frozen foods, groceries and homeware appliances.

A portion of the money will be used to expand its digital product features such as pay later, logistics pick-up and delivery, talent acquisition. Dagangan will also grow partnerships with community leaders, key opinion leaders, local entrepreneurs, and village chiefs.

In addition, Dagangan plans to expand its footprint in tier-3 cities and tier-4 villages, including Java, Sumatra, and Kalimantan.

Also Read: YC-backed Super raises US$28M to grow its social commerce platform in Indonesia

The new round comes about three months after Dagangan bagged an undisclosed amount of pre-series A funding from CyberAgent Capital, Spiral Ventures, 500 Startups, and Bluebird Group.

Founded in 2019 by Ryan Manafe and Wilson Yanaprasetya, Dagangan supplies FMCG through its Android app and partnerships with community leaders. It uses a tech-enabled hub-and-spoke approach to reach out to key opinion leaders (KOLs) in a new market. For example, village chiefs, microentrepreneurs, or community heads in critical areas.

After establishing these key relationships, Dagangan will work with the supply chain, including FMCG producers and wholesalers or warung owners (shop owners), to deliver group orders cultivated by the KOL to consumers within 24 hours.

The group orders are placed on the company’s app. Dagangan also produces its private-labelled products such as groceries through its partnerships with local farmers.

To remove the need for multiple distribution layers and create a more efficient supply chain, Dagangan also enables direct product delivery from manufacturers or farmers to users.

Its group-buying model aggregates demand based on location, enabling users to make a joint purchase with other buyers, assisted by agents who will facilitate the end-to-end user experience.

To date, Dagangan has covered more than 5,000 villages in over 50 regencies. It has also distributed over 20 local products from smaller farmers and distributors to a broader market.

It distributes more than 20 private-labelled products, such as rice, brown sugar, and snacks items. Today, Dagangan has more than 20,000 active users that manage over 3,000 SKUs.

“Supplying basic daily necessities to rural communities in Indonesia continues to be one of the most complex problems to solve with existing inefficient supply chains and logistics networks. Dagangan’s hub-and-spoke model has shown impressive traction and an early proven track record that is impacting communities,” said Peng T. Ong, co-founder and managing partner of Monk’s Hill Ventures.

Super, another social commerce platform serving rural Indonesia, recently attracted a US$28 million oversubscribed Series B round led by SoftBank Ventures Asia.

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Image Credit: Dagangan

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The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed e-commerce technology ahead by two years and driven a revolution in how people pay for things.

According to the Mastercard New Payments Index, 94 per cent of consumers in the Asia Pacific region say they’ll consider using at least one emerging payment technology in the next year.

Nowhere is the shift toward emerging payment trends truer than in this region, where 88 per cent of people surveyed said they used at least one new emerging payment type in the last year.

Among that group, two-thirds (64 per cent) said they tried a new payment method they would not have tried were it not for the pandemic.

The findings from the Mastercard New Payments Index make clear that consumers want contactless simplicity with an easy interface.

For many, that’s meant adopting QR codes. In the Asia Pacific region, QR codes have gained solid traction compared to the rest.

Of those who used QR codes for payment, 63 per cent said they used them more frequently in the last year than they had in the past. According to the new research, the number is 64 per cent, above the global average of 56 per cent in both Thailand and India.

Furthermore, majorities of respondents perceive new payment methods like QR codes to be cleaner (76 per cent) and more convenient (71 per cent) for in-person payments.

Also Read: Here’re the most-used digital payments across APAC in Mar-Apr 2020

QR (short for Quick Response) technology isn’t new– the codes were invented in 1994 in Japan to help manufacturers track parts on automobile assembly lines– but smartphones are what have driven them into widespread use.

It’s now easy to scan a code and be directed to a payment, advertising or other gateways online. The technology feels simple and safe as it doesn’t require fishing for one’s wallet or providing personally-identifying information.

As a result, use cases within and beyond payments are proliferating. Fintech in China, India and other countries have expanded the use of QR codes for peer-to-peer money transfers and as a way for smaller merchants, who traditionally accepted cash largely, to use more digital payments.

Larger payments technology companies like Mastercard have created QR codes that offer global interoperability, increasing their accessibility as a way to pay.

Adjacent to payments, the technology has become useful for many purposes ranging from contact tracing for COVID-19 (as it’s used here in Singapore) to pay for taxi fares to directing diners to online menus at restaurants.

Small codes make a big difference for small businesses

But for many micro and small merchants (MSMEs) in these and other markets in the region, there are still pain points hindering their technology adoption.

Many of these businesses rely on home deliveries and transient storefronts to run their businesses.

Without counters with room to display a QR code, or POS machines that issue paper receipts, providing a QR code to customers to receive payments requires a merchant to print it out and carry it around on a flimsy piece of paper or to display it on a smartphone screen (which not everyone has).

To address this market segment, we recently introduced a Mastercard QR on Card solution in India – called ConQR – in partnership with BOB Financial Solutions Limited (BFSL).

This patented technology combines the convenience of paying with a credit or debit card and the ease of receiving payments via a QR code in one payments instrument.

Also Read: Telling the fortune of digital payments in 2021, CNY style

The innovation creates a portable and safe way for MSMEs to both pay and be paid, does not require a smartphone for them to use, and is an easy and cost-effective digital payments solution that can help them grow their businesses and establish a credit history.

Technology solutions like these will help small merchants better prepare for post-pandemic life because, quite simply, consumers now value businesses that offer more touchless payment options.

As Mastercard’s Index revealed, 74 per cent of consumers in APAC said they would shop at small businesses more frequently if they offered more payment options.

This shows that customers like paying with emerging payment methods like QR codes. They also expect businesses to provide these options and reward those that do with their loyalty.

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CoderSchool, a Vietnamese startup providing online coding courses, has secured US$2.6 million in pre-Series A funding led by Monk’s Hill Ventures.

Returning investors Iterative, XA Network and iSeed Ventures also joined.

The funding will be used to create more educational content and technology infrastructure for CoderSchool’s technical education programmes. It also plans to hire an additional 35 instructional staffers by Q4 2022 to support online operations.

Founded in 2015 by Charles Lee (CEO) and Harley Trung, CoderSchool offers full-stack web development, machine learning, and data science courses to Vietnamese. In 2020, it switched to online mode. It claims to record 100 per cent quarter-over-quarter growth in fully online enrollments since then.

Also read: Rocket Academy rakes in US$1.1M to tackle global software engineer shortage

“We’re obsessed with creating an exceptional remote-first learning experience with better results, for more people, at a lower cost,” said CEO Lee. “Coding is the future. At CoderSchool, we believe everyone in Southeast Asia deserves a chance to be part of that future. “

CoderSchool’s centralised platform employs data analytics to manage classrooms at scale and improve individual student performance. It also enables software to automate tedious day-to-day teaching operations, including student progress tracking, submission grading, class attendance, and course personalisation.

The startup guarantees job placement for students through its assistance in counselling, mock interviews, mentor introductions and workshops with technical experts. 

CoderSchool boasts that over 80 per cent of its full-time graduates landed a job within six months of graduation at leading local and global tech companies such as Momo, Tiki, Shopee, Microsoft and FPT Software.

“The need for strong engineers and developers in Southeast Asia has never been as pertinent as it is today with the growth of tech companies and digital businesses,” said Michele Daoud, partner at Monk’s Hill Ventures. 

To date, CoderSchool claims to have clocked over 2,000 alumni and recorded a tripling number of enrolled students.

According to a report of Vietnam’s IT recruitment platform TopDev, Vietnam is currently short of 500,000 IT personnel, especially high-skilled engineers. Meanwhile, only around 5,000 IT students graduate annually from universities, of which the training programmes do not fully meet businesses’ requirements.

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Image credit: CoderSchool

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Indonesia’s leading insurtech startup, Fuse, has extended its Series B financing round by raising capital from a clutch of investors, including eWTP Technology and Investment Fund, CE Innovation Capital, and Saratoga.

This tranche comes just over a month after Fuse announced the closing of the Series B round led by GGV Capital, with participation from returning investors, including East Ventures (growth fund), SMDV, Golden Gate Ventures, Heyokha Brothers, and Emtek. According to a Deal Street Asia report of June, Fuse raised US$30 million in that round.

The company will use the new funds for further expansion in Southeast Asia.

Also Read: ‘SEA is lagging behind in the growth of insurtech, financial advisory, embedded finance’: Ganesh Rengaswamy of Quona Capital

“As a leading insurtech player in Indonesia, Fuse has a unique value proposition that empowers traditional sales channels by connecting numerous and scattered insurers with a large agent network, providing agents/brokers with a comprehensive lineup of insurance products. In addition, Fuse has demonstrated an ability to leverage new and innovative insurance products from other countries to create a distinct competitive advantage,” said Jiang Dawei, Partner and CFO of eWTP.

Fuse was established in 2017 by industry veterans Andy Yeung and Ivan Sunandar to solve Indonesia’s last-mile trust gap in the insurance industry (97 per cent of Indonesians are underinsured for lack of trust in the current system). The startup has adopted an agent-focused model.

With over 60,000 agent partners on its platform, Fuse claims it offers instant closing and rapid claims processing. Its total gross written premium (GWP) exceeded US$50 million (IDR 720 billion) in 2020.

It has partnerships with more than 30 insurance companies and 300 insurance products on the platform. It covers everything, from employee benefits to digital insurance embedded in e-commerce platforms.

In 2018, it supported Tokopedia in launching its first transactional top-up micro-insurance product.

In October 2019, Fuse secured “a couple of million USD” in Series A round from investors, including EV Growth.

Also Read: Fuse raises Series A funding from EV Growth, to multiply presence across country

“Fuse seeks to address the trust concerns of 97 per cent of Indonesians who are still uninsured. We believe Fuse is on the right track to scale up the business in the long run. Given the relatively low penetration of insurance products in the country, promising population growth prospect, and the increasing demand from customers post the pandemic, we have full confidence in Fuse’s next phase of growth,” said Xiaolin Zheng, Partner of CEIC.

eWTP, an Alibaba-backed fund based in China, aims to tap startup opportunities in emerging markets. The US$600-million fund was set up in 2018 and has investments in India, Vietnam, and Thailand. Fuse is eWTP’s first foray into Indonesia.

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Image Credit: Fuse

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Global accelerator-cum-venture fund 500 Startups announced today it has rebranded as 500 Global, following the closing of a US$140 million global flagship fund.

This marks 500 Global’s largest fund to date, bringing its total assets under management to US$1.8 billion.

Under this new fund, 500 Global will expand its investment strategy beyond the accelerator and seed-stage to the later stages of a company’s growth. It also offers later stage co-investment opportunities to limited partners to expand its investment strategy.  

Founded in Silicon Valley 11 years ago, 500 Global invests in early-stage startup founders building fast-growing technology companies. The firm’s sectors of interest include markets where technology, innovation, and capital can unlock long-term value and drive economic growth.

According to a press statement, 500 Global has invested in 33 startups, which have attained unicorn status with valuations above US$1 billion. More than 120 startups in its portfolio are valued at over US$100 million. 

Also read: 500 Startups, Enterprise Singapore launch programme for emerging entrepreneurs to build startups from scratch

Some of its prominent portfolio companies are Talkdesk, Canva, Grab, Shippo, and more. It also joins pre-seed to IPO round of e-commerce startup Bukalapak, which has just enjoyed Indonesia’s biggest-ever listing in August.  

“As venture capital continues to globalise and the percentage of unicorns from outside the US increases further, 500 Global has deep expertise and a strong track record of investing in markets around the world,” said Christine Tsai, CEO and founding partner of 500 Global.

The firm boasts a network of 6,000 founders representing more than 2,500 companies across 77 countries. 

Not only does it have a presence in Silicon Valley, but 500 Global has also broadened its activities in Latin America and East Asia in 2011, the Middle East in 2012, Africa in 2013, and Southeast Asia in 2014. Last month, 500 Startups has rebranded its Southeast Asia fund from 500 Durians to 500 Southeast Asia.

According to Refinitiv data, buoyed by the pandemic-induced digital transformation across the world, global VC funds have invested record-breaking US$268.7 billion so far in 2021, exceeding their total investments of US$251.2 billion a year earlier.

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Image credit: 500 Global

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During the first half of 2021, public interest in blockchain reached an all-time high. Towards the end of last year, we saw an upswing in the number of organizations and enterprises buying and holding cryptocurrencies, causing the price of Bitcoin to cross US$60,000 for the very first time in March.

Talk of crypto quickly made its way into dinner table conversations, and it seemed as if everybody on the block was eager to dive into the world of blockchain.

For those that have been in crypto for a while, this bull run finally let them exit many of their alt-coin investments from the 2017 ICO wave, as the wider market price sentiment rallied alongside the mainstream coins to reach an all-time high.

The other worthwhile trend over the past six months has been the mainstream adoption of NFTs (non-fungible tokens), a technology that provides true ownership capabilities and authenticity over digital assets.

We saw hordes of multinational brands, intellectual property owners, celebrities, and individual creators quickly embrace this new technology and flock to various platforms to either buy NFTs or mint some of their own. 

It’s certainly been an exciting ride since AppWorks Accelerator started publishing Taiwan’s Blockchain Ecosystem Map two years ago.

In line with previous editions, we’ve observed several notable trends that have defined the blockchain industry this past half-year. 

Also Read: Taiwan’s AI ecosystem map: Deepening synergies between startups and corporates

Branded drops accelerated end-user adoption of NFTs

The NFT standard was formulated in 2017, so why did it only catch on this past year? It really came down to two key driving forces.

First, mainstream brands and IPs started employing NFTs as a vehicle to interact with their fans, such as the NBA through NBA Topshot, Taco Bell, and even the band Kings of Leon.

By creating a virtual experience through NFTs, brands were able to engage and create a unique bond with their loyal fans despite physical restrictions under COVID-19, allowing them to also generate alternative revenue streams from the sales of NFTs.

Second, NFTs are becoming an alternative asset class for yield-driven crypto holders and investors. During the ICO era in 2017, most developers and investors were either busy issuing coins or trying to find the next cryptocurrency with a hundred-fold growth potential; it wasn’t long until this model became monotonous and out of fashion.

Also Read: In brief: Taiwan’s XREX rakes in US$17M, Malaysia’s Poptron raises funding from Choco-Up

Fast forward to 2021, decentralised finance (DeFi) hit a US$100 billion market cap and drove crypto prices to all-time highs. As NFTs started emerging, crypto holders were naturally drawn to their consumer appeal and accretive potential, propelling NFTs into the limelight for mass adoption.

Much of this adoption is supported by advancements in the underlying infrastructure, including a growing ecosystem of protocols, marketplaces, games, developers, creators, and of course, buyers. 

Evidently, a lot of moving parts have come together in the last few years to catapult NFTs into stardom. In Taiwan, the NFT landscape has also evolved significantly compared to the second half of 2020.

For example, Lootex, an AppWorks alumnus, and Oursong, a subsidiary of KKBox, both established NFT products long before the recent bull run. All the effort they put in during previous cycles are now bearing fruit, with both companies receiving an influx of new partnerships and commercial opportunities.

During this time, we also saw a proliferation of new NFT players, such as JCard and Fansi, effectively creating a diverse selection of platforms for creators to choose from. 

With Beeple’s First 5000 Days selling for US$69 million, celebrity engagement, and primetime media including even SNL releasing NFT coverage, all the major signs of a bubble were there.

And surely enough, monthly transaction volume experienced a significant decline of 90 per cent shortly after its record high in May. Nevertheless, as witnessed with previous blockchain hype cycles, where there is money, there will be talent, and where there is talent, there will be development.

Ultimately, NFTs are still in the early innings, and while collectibles have served as the primary use case so far, this new technology will eventually extend across any product, service, or application that needs to use a digital ID. 

Taiwan’s regulation catching up to the world

Up to recently in Taiwan, the laws and regulations related to cryptocurrency have been very vague. And for those trying to stay compliant, they could only follow the existing but outdated mandate, or hope for the best by following foreign regulations.

Also Read: 3 trends that defined Taiwan’s blockchain industry last year

This was changed in April this year, as the Executive Yuan aligned their stance with the rest of the world by implementing strict AML/KYC requirements when dealing with cryptocurrencies. 

Existing players such as MaiCoin—the primary fiat-to-crypto exchange in Taiwan—faced minimal impact as stern KYC controls were already in place.

However, teams working on DeFi, lending, and investing may face greater obstacles, as it is challenging to design a user experience in a decentralized manner that complies with regulations while still adhering to the spirit of decentralization—a faux pas that many blockchain founders and evangelists are becoming increasingly critical of.

Going forward, we expect decision-makers to implement more comprehensive and tailored regulations for DeFi to prevent bad actors from gaming the system and taking advantage of everyday consumers; this will ultimately encourage more users and wider adoption, benefitting the ecosystem as a whole. 

Influx of funding and talent set to accelerate the development

With the price of bitcoin hitting an all-time high in H1 2021, investors around the world are taking note of the industry’s activities.

For example, in May this year, Dapp Pocket announced that they had been acquired by Turn Capital, a family office run by 17LIVE co-founder Joseph Phua.

It also merged its two products, Dapp Pocket and Cappuu, into Coinomo, with the aim of bringing crypto to mainstream users in Southeast Asia. 

At the same time, another blockchain wallet developer in Taiwan Portto, whose product Blocto serves as one of the earliest wallets supporting Flow and the largest delegated node by user count to stake Flow tokens, recently announced the completion of an US$8.8 million fundraising round.

Primary investors include top blockchain VCs from Silicon Valley and Taiwan, as well as participation from a notable crypto exchange, public chain foundations, NBA players, and well-known American entrepreneurs, among others. 

Despite a significant price correction in cryptocurrencies since May, the momentum that has been brewing over the past six months will likely pay off in the second half of the year, whether through DeFi, NFT, or blockchain applications at both the consumer and enterprise level.

We’ve also started to observe more international companies such as Animoca Brands enter Taiwan to recruit top-tier blockchain talent, which is expected to further accelerate the development of the country’s blockchain ecosystem. 

Also Read: How small and medium-sized restaurants in Taiwan leveraged digital tools to survive

To help fuel this momentum, AppWorks Accelerator #23 will kick off in August 2021 and has added Flow as one of its programme partners.

It will combine the resources of the Flow ecosystem to assist entrepreneurs using blockchain, NFT, and DeFi technologies to construct a new decentralised world.

Taiwan’s Blockchain Ecosystem Map First Half 2021 is created by AppWorks, Co-produced by Blockchain Media – Blockcast, BlockTempo, Zombit. This map is updated every six months.

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Xendit becomes a unicorn after a Tiger Global-led US$150M Series C round
Accel Partners, Amasia and Goat Capital also participated; Xendit enables businesses of all sizes to accept payments, disburse payroll, run marketplaces on an easy integration platform; The fintech firm plans to expand into select countries across Southeast Asia.

Carousell enters unicorn club after a new US$100M round led by Korea’s STIC Investments
It is currently valued at US$1.1B; CEO Quek Siu Rui said Carousell will deepen its investments in re-commerce across new categories and markets and will continue to seek opportunistic acquisitions in scaling up.

Capria Ventures partners with and invests in AC Ventures
The partnership is in line with Capria’s plans to invest in Southeast Asia, India, Latin America and Africa; Capria will also look to co-invest directly in AC Ventures’s portfolio companies; AC Ventures is in the process of hitting final close of a US$120M target fund.

Jungle Ventures makes US$225M first close of Fund IV
Investors include Temasek, IFC, DEG, and some Asian and global family offices; Jungle targets to raise US$350M for this fund; Jungle plans to invest in 12-13 startups from seed to Series B; The ticket size will range from US$1million to US$15 million.

Indonesian conglomerate MNC Group pours US$40M into entertainment app Migo
The app lets users access movies and TV shows by connecting their smartphones to Migo Hotspots or brick-and-mortar locations and allows them to download video content without using any mobile data.

A woman among women: 27 female-led startups in SEA that are going places
The year 2019 marked the deadly coronavirus’s arrival, but also welcomed a slew of female leaders who have sparked innovation on all fronts.

A horse of another: Here’s the full list of Southeast Asia’s 23 unicorns
Since having only three unicorns in Southeast Asia in 2014, the ecosystem is now brimming with more billion dollar startups in the region.

Alibaba-backed eWTP fund enters Indonesia by joining insurtech startup Fuse’s Series B round;
CE Innovation Capital and Saratoga also participated; Fuse recently raised US$30M in Series B led by GGV Capital; With over 60K agent partners on its platform, Fuse claims its total gross written premium exceeded US$50M in 2020.

Pluang raises US$35M, bringing total funding this year to US$55M
Investors are Square Peg (lead), SIG, UOB Venture Management, Go-Ventures and Openspace Ventures; Pluang offers a broad suite of asset classes for retail investors, enabling them to invest in gold, equity indices, mutual funds and cryptocurrencies.

Adatos nets Series A for its AI-driven remote sensing solution for agri, carbon markets
Investor is Malaysia’s Genting Plantations; Adatos’s tools analyse complicated open-source satellite data sets to give operational and strategic insights for agriculture and carbon markets.

Thai retail giant Central joins lifestyle e-commerce startup Mercular’s US$4M Series A round
The initial backers of this round are Kairous Capital, CyberAgent Capital, 500 TukTuks, N-Vest Venture, and Premier Advisory Group; It currently sells more than 20K hobby and lifestyle products, including headphones, speakers, smart home devices, computers and accessories.

GlobalCare bags funding from VinaCapital to provide insurtech solutions to Vietnamese insurance firms, agents
It allows insurance companies and agents to sell policies via a cloud-based and on-premises app; The solution enables end-to-end service management, including monitoring transaction history and processing claims; It has a network of 3K+ O2O stores providing consumers with various insurance products.

CoderSchool bags US$2.6M pre-Series A led by Monk’s Hill to provide online coding course to Vietnamese
Its centralised platform employs data analytics to manage classrooms at scale and improve individual student performance; CoderSchool guarantees job placement for students through its assistance in counselling, mock interviews, mentor introductions and workshops with technical experts.

Vida attracts funding to provide digital signatures, identity authentication services to Indonesian MSMEs
Investors are Jungle Ventures, Alpha JWC Ventures, and Monk’s Hill Ventures; Vida helps companies verify identities digitally using biometrics, machine learning and computer vision, and Big Data to run checks on identity cards and facial biometrics against government databases.

Digital Media Nusantara raises pre-Series A funding round from Malaysian finance ministry subsidiary
The company aims to accelerate its mission to become Southeast Asia’s first fintech media firm, operating at the first mile of the financial markets infrastructure and market intelligence value chain.

BNPL giant Affirm former execs join Fundiin’s oversubscribed US$1.8M seed round
Investors include Genesia Ventures, JAFCO Asia, Trihill Capital, 1982 Ventures, Zone Startups Ventures; Fundiin claims to have collaborated with over 100 merchants in Vietnam and boasts of increasing retailers’ sales by 30%.

Bluesheets raises US$1.5M to further expand its business, enters new client segments
Investors are Investible (lead), Antler, 1982 Ventures, Kiplex Ventures and Kistefos; Bluesheets uses AI, classification algorithms, and ML to automate enterprise accounting and enable financial automation for local and global businesses.

East Ventures injects US$1.5M into vehicle management and tracking startup McEasy
McEasy’s solutions assist allows real-time tracking of vehicle locations and enables companies to plan, implement, monitor, and optimise logistics processes; Its customer portfolio covers various industries and business sizes, such as MGM Bosco, Rosalia Indah Group, RPX and FedEx Indonesia.

Touchstone Partners injects US$1M seed funding into telemedicine platform Medigo
Vietnam-based Medigo helps people buy medicine remotely from the comfort of their homes, especially during lockdowns; Medigo is developing more service offerings such as advertising and ordering medicine in bulk for the pharmacies in the network.

Mobility safety startup Rider Dome raises US$1M
Rider Dome has developed a collision alert system that aims to make riding motorcycles safer; The system utilises algorithms combining computer vision and deep learning to analyse real-time video feeds from the front and rear cameras mounted on a motorcycle, providing riders with real-time alerts on critical threats on the road to prevent accidents.

Exceptional founders to nurture, invest in promising startups as part of Monk’s Hill Ventures’s new programme
The Venture Scouts programme comprises over 20 venture scouts including Bukalapak’s Achmad Zaky, Snapcart’s Araya Noon Hutasuwan, Zopim’s Royston Tay, and Turochas Fuad; They will invest in high-growth pre-seed and seed startups across Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, and Malaysia.

Dezy automatically converts users’ deposits into SGD-backed stable coins, attracts funding
Investors are DeFiance Capital, HH VC Investments, Impiro, and Tranglo founder HY Sia; Dezy commits to secure users’ access to decentralised finance with inclusivity, transparency, and no lock-in of deposit.

 

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Singapore-based alternatives for meat and seafood company Growthwell Foods has secured US$22 million in Series A funding led by PE firm Creadev.

GGV Capital, Iris Fund and existing investors Temasek and DSG Consumer Partners co-invested in the round.

The startup said in a press note that the new fund is nearly 3x of the money it raised in 2019. Growthwell Foods plans to use the capital to accelerate its business expansion and product development efforts within Southeast Asia.

Also Read: Alt.Flex.Eat: Flexitarianism is the flavour of the SEAson

The company claims that the capital will be used to further Growthwell’s vision to “become Asia’s leading plant nutrition foodtech company”. It aims to care for 100 million lives with sustainable and nutritious plant-based choices while reducing the world’s reliance on meat and seafood and with that reducing the impact on the environment”.

Established in 1989, Growthwell Foods manufactures plant-based meat and seafood solutions for F&B businesses and organisations globally. With its origins in meat substitutes, the company currently focuses on seafood alternatives. It plans to launch new seafood and chicken alternatives collection aimed at the growing number of flexitarians.

Growthwell is also ramping up its production and distribution capacity by setting up a technology centre. The centre will house innovative technologies to cater to the growing demand for plant-based meat and seafood alternatives in the region.

Jenny Lee, managing partner at GGV Capital, added: “Sustainability, especially around the food supply chain and ingredient sources, is a key thesis for the GGV team globally. We look forward to partnering with Growthwell to capture the big mass-market opportunity in alternative protein and to develop new, affordable, and delicious plant-based analogues that people from all walks of life will enjoy eating.”

Also Read: ‘Global demand for plant-based meat products will be driven mostly by flexitarians: Next Gen’s Andre Menezes

Singapore is a market crowded with several startups such as Shiok Meats and Next Gen operating. In July, Next Gen Foods, a plant-based foodtech company, raised US$20 million from a clutch of investors such as Temasek and K3 Ventures. Shiok Meats is another startup in this space that secured US$12.6 million in a Series A funding round in September 2020, led by Aqua-Spark.

The global plant-based protein segment is expected to reach US$85 billion by 2030, according to UBS. Global investment in food technology for the first three quarters of 2020 was US$8.37 billion, beating the US$7 billion raised in 2019.

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Image Credit: Growthwell Foods

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Malaysia-based car-sharing platform SOCAR today announced that it has raised up to US$55 million Series B funding round from South-Korea-based EastBridge Partners as well as Malaysian multinational Sime Darby Berhad.

Putting the company’s valuation at US$213 million, this is the first investment that EastBridge Partners and Sime Darby has ever made in SOCAR.

This funding round also takes SOCAR’s financial tally to US$73 million.

According to a press statement, the investment will be structured into two tranches, with 60 per cent upfront and the additional 40 per cent disbursed based on agreed conditions.

SOCAR plans to use the funding to support continuous tech enhancements, the introduction of clean mobility initiatives, and further development of its P2P car-sharing marketplace TREVO.

“We will utilise these funds to supercharge our vision of multiflex mobility and bring the convenience of car-sharing to more people across Southeast Asia. As countries move into new phases of post-COVID-19 recovery, we are committed to using our TREVO platform to create more economic opportunities for car owners while leveraging the supply of vehicles on our platform to remind consumers what it’s like to be free to travel again in the comfort of their own private space, in a vehicle of their choice,” said SOCAR CEO Leon Foong.

Also Read: Leveraging OKRs in the face of Malaysia’s ‘Great Resignation’

Launched in Malaysia in January 2018 as a joint venture between SK Inc and Socar Inc, the company is behind the car-sharing app SOCAR and P2P car-sharing marketplace TREVO.

It closed a US$18 million Series A funding round in February 2020. The investors involved in this funding round are Eugene Private Equity Co. Ltd. and KH Energy Co. Ltd.

The company said that it has 2,200 cars onboard its SOCAR platform in 36 different models in over 1,000 locations in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Johor, Ipoh and Melaka. It currently has close to 6,400 car listings in major cities in Malaysia and Indonesia onboard its TREVO platform.

Prior to this funding round, SOCAR has teamed up with Sime Darby Auto Selection (SDAS), a multi-brand used car dealer under Sime Darby Motors, for the ‘Fund Your Drive’ programme.

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Image Credit: SOCAR

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