The blockchain ecosystem and cryptocurrency provider behind Binance.sg, Binance Asia Services, today announced its post-money stake of 18 per cent in Hg Exchange (HGX). The deal is subject to regulatory requirements.

In a press statement, Binance Singapore CEO Richard Teng explains that the two companies aim to collaborate to “enhance the blockchain ecosystem in Singapore.”

“Crypto and traditional financial offerings continue to converge. Through this investment, we seek to work with HGX in enhancing offerings of products and services supported by blockchain technology,” Teng said.

He also added further details of their plans in the country.

“In Singapore, we continue to work closely with key government agencies to support the growth of the blockchain ecosystem and development of requisite local talent needed,” he said.

Also Read: How Binance acquired 35 per cent market share in a year with its new crypto derivatives line

HGX is Southeast Asia’s member-driven private securities exchange, founded by financial institutions PhillipCapital, PrimePartners, and Fundnel. It runs on Ziliqa’s blockchain technology.

In addition to shares in private companies, HGX is working to list alternative assets including wines, art, and real estate.

Earlier this year, it was granted a Recognised Market Operator license by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

In a opinion piece published on e27, Deon Tan observed that Singapore “has switched sides and is finally ready to be seen as a global cryptocurrency hub.”

“In Singapore, despite the lack of ‘flashy’ announcements, local government-linked organisations have been secretly working behind the scenes with crypto companies to improve their offerings,” Tan wrote.

“For example, at the beginning of this year, we saw how ShuttleOne helped finance the first batch of electric vehicles to replace the entire taxi fleet for commercial use in Singapore by 2026 — an early indication of Singapore’s careful but eager adoption of decentralised finance to fund public projects,” she continued.

The author also stressed that the ever-changing nature of the global fintech ecosystem spells massive opportunities for the relatively nascent universe of blockchain.

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Singapore-based Sealed Network, a Southeast Asia-focused expert network, has scored an undisclosed amount in Pre-Series A funding led by Asia-focused venture capital firm Quest Ventures.

Investment networks such as XA Network and Alumni & Angels also participated in the round.

The fresh funding will be used to fuel Sealed Network’s regional expansion by broadening its pool of experts. A portion of the capital will also be channelled to invest in internal search technology and platform development.

Upon the transaction, Jeffrey Seah, partner at Quest Ventures and ex-WPP and Publicis Groupe regional senior executive, will join Sealed’s board.

Founded in 2019 by ex-Grab executive Benjamin Emmanuel Lee and former Wavemaker Partners’s investment professional Leo Wen Ge, Sealed Network links investment managers, strategy consultants and market research firms up with experts for due diligence and research process.

Also Read: Keen to learn from Experts? Then the e27 Experts Program might be for you

Notable experts include Arum Kang, founder of Coffee Meets Bagel; Michael Tay, former Ambassador of Singapore to Russia; and Charles Yong, previously senior client partner at Korn Ferry.

Sealed boasts that its platform has built a network of over 35,000 experts spanning 25 industries, doubling down on a mission to connect the region’s top minds with organisations from across the world.

“When we started, we realised that many experts in Southeast Asia are either not on English language platforms or have a minimal online presence,” Lee shared with e27 in an interview. “This has quickly turned into a source of strength for us as we have been able to gain traction amongst local experts in almost every country in the region.”

Sealed Network claims that its business figures exceeded internal forecasts by more than two times, which is in line with the double-digit annual growth of expert networks worldwide, according to a study released by Integrity Research Associates and expert network aggregator Inex One.

“Expert networks provide valuable professional advisory for companies in their go-to-market strategies,” noted Jeffrey Seah, Partner at Quest Ventures. “Sealed brings unparalleled local expertise, enabling new Southeast Asia entrant businesses to better navigate a diverse but economically promising region.”

Globally, startups leveraging this model also snagged sizable deals, including Berlin-based Atheneum’s US$150 million funding, Chicago-headquartered Tegus’ US$90 million Series B round, while Gerson Lehrman Group (GLG) has filed for an IPO in the US.

Within Asia, China-focused Capvision is eyeing a US$300 million listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

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Image Credit: Sealed Network

 

 

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Carzuno raises US$500K in pre-seed funding

The funding: Singapore-based all-inclusive subscription platform for cars Carzuno announced an oversubscribed US$500,000 Pre-Seed funding round from investors such as Hustle Fund, Net Ventures, and undisclosed private investors in the automotive and ride-hailing sectors.

The plan: The funding will be used to expand its team, extend its technological offering, speed track more EVs on the platform, and raise subscription acquisition numbers among consumers and corporate partners.

The company: Launched in June, Carzuno aims to provide a more flexible alternative to traditional private vehicle ownership or hire. Since its launch, the company said that it saw triple-digit month-on-month growth, and the business has grown ten times in the last three months.

Circulate Capital invests in 3 US startups, 1 Singapore startup

The Story: Singapore-based Circulate Capital today announced that its venture capital fund Circulate Capital Disrupt (CCD) has invested in three US-based startups in the field of sustainable fashion, biotech, and smart materials. Its Circulate Capital Ocean Fund also invested into Singapore-based ACE Green Recycling, a clean tech firm specialising in clean battery recycling.

Also Read: Sealed Network scores undisclosed Pre-Series A funding to fuel SEA expert network

The Companies: Arzeda (Washington-based industry-leading Protein Design Company that aims to revolutionise protein engineering through computational biology methods), Circ (Virginia-based advanced recycling technology innovator with patented technology that returns clothes to the raw materials from which they were made), and Phase Change Solutions (North Carolina-based global leader in manufacturing bio-based phase change materials that stabilise temperatures across a wide range of applications).

CloudSEK raises US$7M in Series A funding round led by MassMutual Ventures

The funding: Cybersecurity company CloudSEK today announced a US$7 million in Series A funding round led by MassMutual Ventures, bringing its total investment to around US$10 million

The plan: The company will use the funding to support sales and marketing efforts across the Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and North America. It will also ramp up its research and development to combat the new global threat landscape.

The company: Founded in 2015 by cybersecurity expert Rahul Sasi, CloudSEK aims to construct a future where intelligent machines can emulate human cognition to predict cyber threats even before they occur. It employs unique data sets, proprietary ML models, and non-intrusive techniques to identify, analyse, and resolve cyber threats proactively.

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Image Credit: Carzuno

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Iterative, a Y Combinator style accelerator focused exclusively on Southeast Asia, recently hits close of its US$10 million Iterative Fund I to invest in early-stage startups in Southeast Asia.

Fund I was led by Village Global, Cendana, Facebook, with participation from experienced Silicon Valley insiders like Andrew Chen (partner at a16z), Qasar Younis (co-founder of Applied Intuition and former COO of Y Combinator), Chi-Hua Chien (managing partner of Goodwater Capital), Tushar Garg (CEO of Flyhomes), Moses Lo (co-founder of Xendit), Kum Hong Siew (COO of Airbnb China) and more.

According to the official statement, the Singapore-based accelerator is looking to raise Fund II next year.

Iterative plans to utilise Fund I capital to invest and accelerate 50 seed-stage companies in Southeast Asia, aiming to make entrepreneurship more accessible to more people. 

So far, Fund I has invested US$3.6 million in 26 companies over three batches, presenting a 6.5x return after 18 months of operations, claims the firm.

The accelerator also intends to launch a series of new programmes and initiatives, increase the number of investments annually by 50 per cent, and triple the size of its team to support the growth. 

Also Read: Roundup: Singaporean accelerator Iterative debuts 8 startups in first cohort

Iterative was founded in 2018 by Brian Ma, co-founder and former CEO of San Francisco-based proptech unicorn Divvy Homes, and Hsu Ken Ooi, ex-CPO of workforce management platform Workmate, which recently secured a US$10 million loan to expand in Thailand and Indonesia.

The Singapore-based startup accelerator follows the Y Combinator style and invests US$150,000 each in a batch of startups twice a year. Upon admission, Iterative deploys the full amount upfront then work hand-in-hand with the founders on their idea development for three months.

The accelerator programme includes 1:1 office hours with general partners,  group office hours, speaker series, and a fundraising boot camp. Iterative also leverages its community of alumni, whereby founders from various batches and stages assist one another.

Iterative also connects the startup with a select group of investors for follow-on investment opportunities.

Starting in June 2020, Fund I has graduated 16 startups, which are said to have collectively raised US$45 million from investors such as Monk’s Hill, Wavemaker Partners, Insight Partners, Addition and more. In September alone, five Iterative portfolio companies have announced new fundings. They are Spenmo, a Singapore-based fintech firm; CoderSchool, a Vietnam-based online coding school startup; Go Zayaan, an online travel agency (OTA) startup in Bangladesh; 1Export, a tech-enabled exporting company headquartered in the Philippines; and Friz, a Singapore-located fintech startup.

With a combination of personal ties to the region, Iterative founders shared that they are “ready for the prime time” as they believe Southeast Asia is “the next big opportunity”. 

According to Google and Temasek report, Southeast Asia’s population of 676 million people today has 440 million internet users. In the year 2021 alone, 40 million people were added, bringing the internet penetration in SEA to 75 per cent. In addition, Google forecasted that the region is ushering into a “Digital Decade” and on its way towards US$1 trillion gross merchandise value (GMV) by 2030.

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Image Credit: Iterative

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Indonesia-based consumer payments platform Flip today announced a US$48 million Series B funding round co-led by Sequoia Capital India, Insight Partners, and Insignia Ventures Partners.

This investment into the startup also marks New York-based Insight Partners’ debut investment in Indonesia.

In a press statement, Flip plans to use this funding to further accelerate its business expansion, strengthen its operations in Indonesia, invest in technology to provide a higher quality of service, and expand its workforce with a focus on engineering and product teams.

“We are honored to continuously receive trust and prolonged support from our partners. We are also excited to welcome a leading global venture capital and private equity firm, Insight Partners, which has proven successes in the financial technology landscape globally. We believe this partnership will help us in pursuing growth and realising our vision to build the fairest financial products,” said Rafi Putra Arriyan, Co-Founder and CEO of Flip.

“This new funding is a testament to our team’s commitment and persistence. It gives us the resources we need to fuel and accelerate our mission to build innovative solutions that simplify money movement in Indonesia.”

Also Read: Jeff Bezos-backed Indonesian startup Ula rakes in US$23.1M from Tiger Global, Flipkart co-founder

The funding followed its Series A funding round in 2020 led by Sequoia Capital India and seed round in 2019, co-led by Insignia Ventures Partners and Sequoia Capital India.

Flip was founded by University of Indonesia alumni Rafi Putra Arriyan, Luqman Sungkar, and Ginanjar Ibnu Solikhin who started the company while studying. The platform is meant to be an answer to the problem the CEO himself experienced as a college student, having to wait for a long time to transfer funds and pay a transfer fee each time to different banks.

Flip has grown its team to over 250 team members.

The company’s products include online P2P payments with interbank transfers to more than 100 domestic banks, international remittances, e-wallet top-ups, and business solution products.

It serves over seven million users for various kinds of financial transactions from and to different regions in Indonesia as well as for overseas money transfers.

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Image Credit: Flip

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