This article is part of e27’s partnership with CEO Roundtable Podcast and Asian Investors Podcast and CEO TV hosted by David Kim.

Hrish Lotlikar, founder and CEO at SuperWorld said, “About four and a half years ago, five years ago, Pokemon GO came out and became this huge world sensation. A lot of people don’t know, but it was the fastest company in history to hit a billion dollars in revenue. Back then, we thought to ourselves, what if we can build the next Pokemon GO? What if we could build a world –a place where the next 1,000 Pokemon GOs are built?”

Lotlikar previously co-founded Rogue Initiative Studios, a Hollywood film, TV, gaming, and immersive entertainment studio. He was born in India and grew up in the US. He also has spent many years living around the world in Europe, Asia and South America.

SuperWorld is a virtual world in augmented reality (AR), digitally mapped over the surface of the Earth. Plots of SuperWorld land are represented as 64.8 billion non-fungible tokens (NFT) corresponding to real-world space.

Any user in SuperWorld can explore and create AR content, engage in a virtual real estate marketplace, or buy and sell NFTs in the SuperWorld NFT Salon.

How is your platform helping people buy and sell virtual real estate? Can you walk us through SuperWorld platform in terms of customer experience? How does that work?

In SuperWorld, You can buy locations that you love, whether it’s Central Park, the pyramids in Egypt, or your own backyard. What you’re buying is the digital, or “virtual “land that covers the earth at those locations.

“Superworld” platform was established in 2017.  Can you give me some idea how virtual real property has been appreciated for the past five years?

Properties in SuperWorld are all priced as 0.1 ETH. When SuperWorld virtual real estate first launched, the price of ETH was US$200 and now the price of ETH is US$4,500.

And the price of land in SuperWorld went up significantly. So the price of some land got appreciated more than 200 times for the last three years. Properties have sold for more than US$25,000 already on the secondary market.

Also Read: Demystifying NFTs and DeFi

What kinds of digital assets do you or your members use on SuperWorld?

The first one is Land-based on real-world earth, and others are digital assets created by individuals based on NFT such as building, music, video, podcast, arts, membership.

How are NFTs enhancing “Superworld”platform?

Alongside our AR app, SuperWorld hosts its own non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace,  the “NFT Salon,” which hosts NFT drops that aren’t just following the standard NFT formula, but give back to communities most in need, including work with indigenous peoples in the Amazon Rainforest, at-risk communities in the Caribbean, the rebuilding of Beirut, and helping to bring clean water to Flint, Michigan, just to name a few.

I’m very interested in projects that help us in our mission. Our “why” at SuperWorld is how do we build a better world?  How do we leverage technologies like augmented reality and virtual reality, blockchain, artificial intelligence?

How do we bring all these technologies together to actually improve the world and enhance humanity? Those are the kinds of questions that propel us forward.

Who are the competitors? What does set SuperWorld apart from others?

There is a variety of “worlds” out there. They are all “Metaverse” As you know, all Metaverse consists of virtual world and internet, kind of improvement of internet.

Probably, the most well-known metaverse “World” you may know are The Sandbox (CRYPTO:SAND) and Decentraland (CRYPTO:MANA). One main differentiator what we are doing on SupwerWorld vs the other virtual worlds I just named are, other virtual worlds are fully virtual but SuperWorld are mapped again on top of the real world.

We are on SuperWorld right now. Because you can buy lands around you or you can buy a location anywhere where people live in the real world. SuperWorld is the world, it is not just about NFT, digital assets, VR, AR  and AI.

SuperWorld is a movement. A movement behind SuperWorld is how to leverage technology to improve our lives and improve the real world.  We believe we are an entry point to metaverse to improve your real-world life. That is what we are doing.

Also Read: The art of blockchain: What is the NFT craze all about?

How many members or visitors do you have?  Please tell us about the acquisition of members or users at “Superworld” platform

We have more than 100,000 monthly website visitors and our average paying user spends US$3,900 in the first month.

Can you tell us about any activities that currently connect the real world and SuperWorld and what is a plan to increase that interaction going forward? 

As a platform that prides itself on building a better world “in real life” through the metaverse, SuperWorld has initiated a number of social impact projects that begin in the digital and yet have real-world impact, including our partnerships with Disaster Fighters (backed by the World Bank) to help at-risk communities in the Caribbean; Monograma, with whom we’ve partnered to increase awareness indigenous peoples in the Amazon Rain Forest; UNESCO, to help assist in the rebuilding of Beirut, in addition to partnerships with numerous other artists, companies and organizations that aim to improve the lives of others here on our physical Earth through digital mediums.

A few weeks ago, we sold members NFT, a digital asset that gave purchasers lifetime membership to a private luxury club in NY and Miami.

So buying that digital NFT they get access to a real physical place in NY and Miami, called “Custom House”.

So that is an example of how we take an activity that is virtual to provide real-world benefit, and vice versa as well.

Who are the investors of SuperWorld?

We are proud to be back by many of the top venture capital funds in the space: DraperGorenHolm, SOSV, Outlier Ventures, RedBeard Ventures, 186 Ventures, White Paper Capital, Altered Ventures, Capital Factory, Predictive Capital, and Cadenza Venture Capital.

What is your next step and vision for SuperWorld?

We are building a world that enables you to create your own SuperWorld, whatever that means for you. We are helping owners of lands and digital assets on SuperWorld to create anything anywhere and sell those digital assets anyplace in the Real World.

We are also launching “token” in SuperWorld. That token launch will enable anyone to gain currency in SuperWorld and earn a yield based on staking and voting and decision in building SuperWorld.

Also Read: NFTs provide new ways to handle IP management, empower content creators: Inmagine CEO Warren Leow

As the first augmented reality(AR) virtual world on blockchain, our overall goal is to improve and enhance the world and your personal life through AR in a fully decentralised way. Applying a combination of technologies in a user-friendly format, we enable everyone to create, connect, and monetise through content in new and unique ways.

As technologies improve across all spectrums interconnectedly, the metaverse will enable data-rich and immersive experiences across all aspects of life.

We are building a World that enables you to create your own SuperWorld, whatever that means for you.

This edited Q&A is based on the show’s original transcript. For the full interview listen to the podcast here.

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Vietnamese payment app MoMo has announced an investment in sales management startup Nhanh.vn for an undisclosed amount. 

This development comes a month after MoMo raked in US$200 million in Series E round at US$2 billion for tech investments and future M&As. 

The investment is in line with MoMo’s attempt to back Vietnamese startups and boost cashless e-commerce in the country.

“We want to support small and micro businesses (SMEs) to quickly digitalise at lower cost and scale through the solution of Nhanh.vn,” said MoMo co-CEO and vice chairman of the Board of Directors Tuong Nguyen. 

Last June, the fintech unicorn acquired local startup Pique that uses AI to turn visitors into customers. It planned to capitalise on Pique’s 25 million user database to improve its product offerings further.

Also read: A horse of another: Here’s the complete list of Southeast Asia’s 28 unicorns

Founded in 2014, Nhanh.vn specialises in cloud-based omnichannel sales management solutions. Its offerings include sales management software, web design, and features linking merchants with shipping businesses. It counts Facebook Marketplace, Lazada, and Tiki among its clients. 

Nhanh.vn claims to have served more than 80,000 enterprises in Vietnam with its services.

Momo, launched in 2007, offers mobile payments and e-wallet services for iOS and Android devices. Its range of products include cash transfers, mobile phone recharges, personal loans and services, such as software license and online game cards. 

The e-wallet has been evolving into a super-app marketplace that includes insurance, credit products, and digital vouchers, among other things. It also plans to launch investment products this year.

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In the recent Global Startup Ecosystem Report (GSER) 2021, Singapore was ranked 17^th globally and 5^th within Asia.

In spite of the pandemic, the island state still drew in S$5.5 billion of venture funding back in 2020, exhibiting the resilience of the Singapore Investment landscape. However, what goes behind this S$5.5 billion number?

Within the VC landscape, there were a total of 191 fundraises at the seed stage in 2020, representing almost 50 per cent of all venture deals completed.

One reason why Singapore is seen as an attractive hub for investing is that it is one of the most competitive economies and the second easiest place to do business in the world.

The island state is also primarily an English-speaking country and is uniquely located at the heart of Southeast Asia, making it a more accessible gateway for international players.

Taking a deeper look into Singapore’s startup ecosystem, we explore some of the more popular means to invest in startups and how they have evolved to suit the landscape.

Also Read: SEA tech founders playbook: A to Z of becoming a fundraising legend (Part 2)

Why traditional financing is still prevalent

In exchange for investors funds, the startup issues equity to the investors. The investors wait for the next fundraise or divestment event before cashing out their stake. Investing in the early stages allows investors to receive drastic returns on investment upon success.

However, with high rewards comes high risks. In the event a startup is not able to take off or grow, investors face losing all of their investments. Moreover, the illiquidity of private capital will require investors to hold onto their investment longer as they are required to wait for future fundraise or divestment.

As for the startups themselves, founders do not like giving up too much equity stake as they too wish to ride on the upside of their startup. Investors also prefer not to see too much dilution as they want the founders to be more incentivised and motivated to grow the company.

At some stage, the founders will be pressured by the investors to go for the next round of fundraising, even if they are not prepared to.

Should the startup be unsuccessful in raising money through traditional equity, the next alternative would be to seek a bank loan. Bank loans come with high interest rates since there is a higher chance of a startup defaulting or failing in its early stages.

With the burden of high-interest rates and monthly loan repayments, this could be highly detrimental to a startup’s growth.

Venture Debt: The rising alternative for fundraising

Venture debt is one of the emerging investment products that has increasingly gained traction over recent years. In a typical venture debt structure, the startup issues warrants, in exchange for capital, and arranges to repay the original investment and interest over a two (2) to four (4) year tenure in the form of a loan.

Also Read: SEA tech founders playbook: A to Z of becoming a fundraising legend (Part 1)

The investor has the flexibility to convert the warrants into shares, usually at a discounted price based on the valuation, set at the trigger event.

Venture debt financing allows the investor to receive capital back on a regular basis over the loan tenure. At the same time, the investor also gets to enjoy the upside by converting the warrant issued into an equity stake.

Nevertheless, venture debt does come with its own risks. As it requires fixed repayments to the loan from the onset, it can be a challenge for hypergrowth startups to manage cash flow.

The startup space is ever evolving, and there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Startup founders will have to properly evaluate their needs and circumstances to find out which is the most suitable for them.

Investors have also started turning their attention towards new emerging methods such as crowdfunding and frontier investment products such as revenue-based equity, which is becoming increasingly prominent within Southeast Asia.

The article is co-authored by Charles Phan, Project Lead, and Darrell Su, Senior Analyst, Capital Advisory at Paloe

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KoinWorks, one of the leading fintech platforms in Indonesia, has secured a US$108 million Series C investment round led by MDI Ventures, the corporate VC arm of Telkom Indonesia. 

Quona Capital, Triodos Investment Management, Saison Capital, AC Ventures, and East Ventures participated. 

KoinWorks will use the funding — consisting of US$43 million in equity and US$65 million in debt capital — to scale its solutions and hire 400 new employees globally. 

Indonesia has over 62 million MSMEs. It has a projected gross merchandise value of US$70 billion this year, and that number is expected to grow more than double in 2025. However, they are struggling to access finance. 

KoinWorks was founded in 2016 originally as a P2P lending company to support various levels of Indonesian society in achieving their financial goals. Focussed on underserved and underbanked markets, KoinWorks provides MSME owners and freelancers with a tool to kick off entrepreneurship and scale businesses by offering a range of products from neobank to credit and productivity tools. 

Also Read: KoinWorks secures US$10M from Lendable to help Indonesian SMEs raise funds online

“KoinWorks is here to democratise access to finance and debunk the myth that it’s only for a specific class of entrepreneurs. KoinWorks has shown that opening the doors to capital and providing educational tools helps SMEs grow their sales,” said Benedicto Haryono, CEO and Co-Founder of KoinWorks.

The platform features a marketplace of integrated applications, such as accounting software, POS, e-commerce, HRMS for SME, and a budgeting app. This is in addition to KoinWorks’s staple products such as working capital, invoice factoring, early wage access and treasury management.

The firm claims to have doubled its user base to more than 1.5 million users during COVID-19. 

The company is headquartered in Jakarta with a holding company in Singapore and has tech offices in Yogyakarta, India, and Vietnam.

In May 2020, KoinWorks bagged US$10 million from Lendable, which was preceded by a US$20 million raise in debt and equity investment from Quona Capital a month earlier.

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AMATELUS Co., Ltd. is the Japanese video technology startup behind SwipeVideo, a livestreaming software that allows multi-feed and 360-degree video viewing. Kei Oda, COO and Head of Overseas Business Development at AMATELUS described the product as a game-changer for the video viewing experience. The software gives users the ability to switch freely their point of view — simply having to swipe to change viewing angles whilst watching SwipeVideo.

SwipeVideo is a patented software featuring proprietary technology developed by the company that enables live-streaming or playback streaming of multi-angle video over any web browser.

With SwipeVideo, content creators are in control over the direction of the content to the viewer, providing a completely new video viewing experience with opportunities for increased engagement. Viewers can swipe to change angles, pinch to zoom in and out and playback in real-time, fast, or slow play.

SwipeVideo solves the problem of last-mile delivery for 360° and a multi-feed video explained Mr Oda. SwipeVideo does not require a specialised application so it can be embedded directly onto websites or viewed on popular apps like Instagram and Twitter. With VR/AR/MR content becoming popular around the world, tools for free-viewpoint video distribution and editing software, application development, and shooting are set to become more and more important for both content creators and consumers.

SwipeVideo’s early developments

 

The technology for this has been available for many years — it was first showcased in the Matrix movies over 20 years ago. Despite these early innovations, viewers have until now been unable to manipulate the viewing angle of such content due to the extremely large data requirements needed to stream simultaneously. With Swipevideo, real-time content delivery with no buffering is possible even in a 4G environment thanks to their proprietary software.

SwipeVideo can be used for both pre-recorded content and for live-streaming with as many angles as needed. Furthermore, content for such videos can be created with regular cameras available in the market, which means no specialised equipment is required. While the current market opportunities for SwipeVideo are in the B2B space, the potential is immense for applications that allow consumers to easily create and view exciting new content.

Also read: susuROBO: Anyone can become a live streamer in Southeast Asia and beyond

“Our product offerings are being streamlined with the ultimate goal for SwipeVideo to be an easily accessible SaaS product that can be used by corporations and individual creators alike,” Oda remarked about the product development roadmap. The startup is eyeing potential expansion and finds the Asian market enticing due to the rapidly growing numbers of the video consumption market in the region and a commitment to invest in network infrastructure.

Southeast Asia’s growing video consumption makes it an attractive market

“As a Japanese company, Southeast Asia is a natural expansion for AMATELUS,” said Oda. “We see Southeast Asia as a thriving and fast-growing hub where tech adoption is accelerating. Asian people embrace new technology and innovation, and we hope that SwipeVideo will soon be an integral part of video consumption in the region,” he added.

SwipeVideo use-cases are not just limited to 360° video, or multi-camera footage shot simultaneously. Separately filmed content can be merged to create a single, multi-angle movie. SwipeVideo has been deployed by businesses in projects across media, music, entertainment and fan-related content. Use cases for the free-viewpoint technology include videos that drive real-time experiences for events, e-commerce, physical stores, training, and technical instruction content.

Also read: Harnessing the power of AI to help improve gastric cancer detection

“We have been doing product iteration for the past 4yrs here in Japan. We have growing traction across a wide variety of use-cases, from technical education to sports and entertainment,” said Oda. “While we are currently laser-focused on our B2B business, we do see a future where SwipeVideo has many B2C applications,” added Oda. As the creator economy grows, the company is interested in developing new use cases for SwipeVideo.

“With the creator economy in mind, we are also considering SwipeVideo being embedded in NFTs – as a web video product, we would be able to create truly unique, tokenized content. SEA is a big hub for blockchain and tokenized economies, so we are extremely interested to explore this opportunity,” Oda explained about the future applications for the software.

Expanding to a variety of industries

In order to serve the region’s growing market, AMATELUS is focusing its efforts on making the software solution easy to deploy and use by clients across a wide variety of industries. “We have been testing out our successful applications with clients across the globe, and we are busy making sure that SwipeVideo is as easy as possible to deploy and utilize as a solution in a variety of use-cases. We realize that having a strong presence in local markets is an advantage, though like many other businesses we have suffered from the inability to travel during COVID.”

Also read: Exploring the future of connected vehicle technology and transportation industry trends with Geotab CEO Neil Cawse

Japanese agency JETRO is providing the company with vital support to help them make the expansion possible. “We are fortunate to have received strong support through JETRO – they have helped us across continents through accelerator programs, connections to local companies, mentors and potential clients,” Oda remarked. He emphasized that they are extremely committed to building a presence internationally. “We believe SEA markets to be an excellent opportunity for us, and we look forward to building upon our strong momentum in Japan,” Oda concluded.

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

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