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With a US$18M seed funding round, Treehouse is ready to bridge financial inclusion gap with DeFi

The Harvest product by Treehouse

Treehouse, a Web3 company that aims to transform on-chain data into meaningful metrics to help decentralized finance (DeFi) investors make informed financial decisions, recently secured an US$18 million seed funding round.

Led by an undisclosed large fintech investor, the funding round included the participation of notable names such as Lightspeed Venture Partners, Binance, MassMutual Ventures, Mirana Ventures, Global Founders Capital, Jump Capital, GSR, Wintermute, Do Kwon of Terraform Labs, and senior executives from SoftBank Vision Fund.

The company managed to secure this funding round within just 11 months since its founding. When asked by e27 about how they managed to do this, Treehouse CEO Brandon Goh said that in their early days, the company simply focused on executing its vision.

“Fundraising hardly crossed our minds as we were too engrossed in delivering! However, within six months of our inception, we managed to build a market-first working prototype with the little resources we had. Investor interests came in quite organically after that, and one thing led to another,” he writes in an email.

“That said, many strategic partners supported us early on when Treehouse was just an idea! Yusho (Co-Founder & CEO of Coinhako), and my ex-colleague Qijian (now the Co-Founder & CIO of Moonvault Capital) are two good friends who were extremely supportive in helping us start this venture.”

Treehouse has many plans with the new funding, but they are mostly centred around expanding its flagship product Harvest. The platform indexes blockchains and deconstructs users’ DeFi positions to present historical data, profit and loss (P&L), and risk metrics on a “seamless and highly intuitive” user interface.

The analytics platform provides information previously unavailable in DeFi and aims to establish a standard for users to analyse the DeFi risks associated with their current and historical positions.

Also Read: Demystifying NFTs and DeFi

It was built as a reflection of the team’s commitment to financial inclusion. Since its founding in mid-2021, Treehouse says that it has grown exponentially to over 100 people and launched Harvest Beta.

DeFying the status quo

As a promising new technology, DeFi has been gaining praise here and there for its potential in reshaping the traditional financial system, as dubbed by CNBC. Undergoing massive growth in 2020 due to tech advancement and increased liquidity access, experts claim it as the “next big thing” in crypto when it only account five per cent of the industry at the moment.

When asked about the problem that Treehouse tries to solve, Goh points out that despite being one of the most disruptive technologies of the 21st century, DeFi is still in its infancy and lacks many of the essential tools required for the space to mature.

“While several existing portfolio tools are available, many of the world’s largest DeFi funds still elect to use Excel given how inadequate these platforms are. Our product differs in our focus to provide institutional-grade analytics comparable to tools found in traditional asset classes,” he says.

The company was founded after the team fiddled with portfolio tools for over a year while trying to navigate the early days of DeFi.

“We could not find a platform with the type of analytics, historical metrics, and accurate risk breakdowns that we were accustomed to, so we decided to build one on our own. Before Treehouse, our team worked in traditional finance and technology firms like Point72, Revolut, and BNP Paribas. I worked on the fixed income team at Morgan Stanley but was already long convinced to join the space by that point in time,” Goh says.

According to the CEO, users of Treehouse platforms are retail and institutional investors who are active participants in the DeFi ecosystem.

Also Read: The unrealised importance of DeFi in fixed-income securities investments

“Given how nascent the space is, both spectra of users want the same tools. Most of our users seek transparency, platform reliability, security, and meaningful data analytics. More importantly, we pride ourselves on being community-first. Fostering a community of users who can learn and grow with Treehouse in their DeFi journey is to us the most fulfilling way of acquiring and retaining users,” he says.

Bridging to the future

When asked about the prospects of DeFi in Southeast Asia (SEA), Goh points out the financial access inequality that is prevalent in many SEA societies.

“In today’s legacy financial system, the everyday person lacks access to financial instruments that should be available to all. This gradual widening in financial resource inequality perpetuates many of the issues faced by societies today. More than 290 million people are unbanked within the ASEAN region, and only 18 per cent have access to credit,” he elaborates.

“DeFi can help bridge this gap and solve these real-world challenges. Beyond that, DeFi in SEA has been growing its presence day by day, not just in terms of user adoption but also in investments and job opportunities. Last year, over a billion was raised by SEA DeFi startups, and this development is unlikely to slow,” the CEO continues.

And this is the opportunity that Treehouse wants to pursue. Goh states that for the company, this funding round is just the beginning of their journey: They have many big plans in addition to improving their infrastructure and hiring world-class talents.

“We plan to use the funds raised to build a one-stop-shop for users to manage, trade, and hedge their DeFi positions. Treehouse will enable users to act on real-time information with the ease of clicking a button. We will build an ecosystem of products to empower the everyday DeFi investor to be confident of manoeuvring and protecting their financial health!” he closes.

Ready to meet new startups to invest in? We have more than hundreds of startups ready to connect with potential investors on our platform. Create or claim your Investor profile today and turn on e27 Connect to receive requests and fundraising information from them.

Image Credit: Treehouse

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26 startups of Techstars’ Founder Catalyst Program continue building their networks on e27 Pro

techstars

Techstars, in partnership with Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO), has recently concluded pitch days for the two cohorts under the Founder Catalyst Program. 26 startups from the two cohorts — Cleantech and General (Global-scale), pitched to over 300 potential partners and investors during the virtual pitch day held last March 3 and 10, respectively. 

During the pitch days, startups met with potential investors, partners, and customers in a virtual networking event. While the virtual and remote setup has limited the networking opportunities for them, participating startups with e27 Pro accounts have continued to connect with potential investors on the e27 network after the pitch day. 

Providing opportunities to build investor networks

Since the launch, e27 Pro has facilitated over 10,000 connections between startups and investors through Investor Connect. Recently, e27 Pro member X0PA AI, an AI-powered hiring solutions company in Singapore, raised Series A funding in a round that included  XCEL NEXT, an investor they met through Investor Connect. 

Also Read: X0PA AI bags US$4.2M Series A to scale its SaaS recruitment solutions

e27’s Investor Connect has over 400 active and verified investors in the region which the startups from the two cohorts of the Founder Catalyst Program can connect and engage for fundraising matters. (Not a Pro member yet? Start here.)

e27 is used to organize offline events which connect regional ecosystem players. This brings opportunities to founders to build their networks. As we move towards the new normal, having a platform where you can connect with investors virtually is a big help to those who would normally meet investors in physical events. 

With e27 Pro, we’re going back to our roots and helping startups with their fundraising by providing a platform that allows not only discovery but a tool to begin conversations with investors and update them on their progress.

Meet the 26 startups from the Cleantech and Global Scale cohorts

Those who missed the pitch days and virtual networking can still connect with the startups through e27 Startup Connect. Startup Connect allows investors or potential business partners to connect directly with startups for collaborations, knowledge sharing, and investment opportunities.

Cleantech Cohort

  1. Aonbarr Inc. – Founded by Shigetoshi Sakurai, who also acts as the company’s CEO, Aonbarr uses the magnesium collected in seawater to produce hydrogen. The company focuses mainly on the energy sector and is still at the pre-seed stages.
  2. Acoustic Innovations Co., Ltd. – As part of the Autotech industry, Acoustic Innovations seeks to transform the driving experience by minimising noise in vehicles through vibration absorption technology. Apart from convenience, the business also highlights the effects of its services as possibly improving vehicle safety and prolonging the vehicle’s performance.
  3. PJP Eye Ltd. – The business offers sustainable energy solutions by producing plant-based carbon batteries, called “Cambrian.” Such sustainable solutions will hopefully aid in the movement against climate change.
  4. Water Design Japan – Water Design Japan makes use of UFB Dual technology, or technology that expedites cleaning, ensuring a mess-free and cost-saving process. The business is primarily in the Cleantech and sustainability sectors.
  5. Hair Clinic Reve-21 Co., Ltd. – Hair Clinic Reve-21 offers everything to do with hair care but also goes beyond this to tackle issues of water purification and other health and Cleantech concerns.
  6. Kyoto Fusioneering – Under the Cleantech and energy industries, Kyoto Fusioneering develops advanced technologies for commercial fusion reactors to produce tritium production and generate power.
  7. Fermenstation – Focusing on sustainability, Fermenstation makes use of unused resources to produce functional cosmetic ingredients, animal feed, and fertilizer. The company is headed by its CEO, Lina Sakai and is currently at the Series A stage.
  8. AC Biode – Two of the business products have already been mainstreamed in the market. These are CircuLite, which upcycles ash into antibacterial materials, and TRL9, which mainly focuses on waterless composting toilets. AC Biode has already sold around 3,000 of its waterless toilets in Asia.
  9. Welltree inc. – Welltree’s biotechnology aims to deliver efficient service to users, particularly those in the healthcare industry. Welltree also expands its expertise to the wellness industries by allowing users to check their biome and order products from a centralised app.
  10. Fast Space inc. – Fast Space addresses the cost-efficiency of wind turbines. Providing high-rise lightweight towers for wind turbines, the company is currently at the pre-seed stage and focuses on the energy sector.
  11. C’s Techno Inc. – This energy-focused startup is breaking barriers in the production of graphene-based materials. Through its innovations, the company has great potential to transform the field of electronics, particularly its use of graphene materials.

General (Global Scale) Cohort

  1. Onikle Inc. – Onikle has developed a search platform of the same name, offering easy access to aspiring Computer Science researchers. The search platform, built on Artificial Intelligence, will find papers, allow researchers to organize them in a library, and share these within their scientific community.
  2. Vox Japan – The retail company Vox offers a personalized vending machine that gives easy access to daily essentials. The service allows retailers to install these products in customers’ homes for all-day access.
  3. ListenField – ListenField aims to improve farming productivity with its crop modelling technology. Through constant monitoring of soil and climate conditions, the business technology will hopefully increase agricultural production and promote collaboration among all stakeholders.
  4. Wayfarer – The hospitality industry could possibly see fewer costs and more efficient, decentralized operations through automation with Wayfarer. The company caters to hotel owners whose aim is to streamline their hotel management brand.
  5. Tablecross Inc. – Tablecorss’ byFood is a food entertainment platform that promotes global connections through its bilingual offers. While the company started out as a food booking platform donating meals to schools, byFood has since grown in the travel and food industry.
  6. IDDK Co., Ltd. – Developing a one-chip observation technology, IDDK focuses on developing microscopic observation devices for the technology industry.
  7. Kyoto Meditation Center Co., Ltd. – The company’s SanZen application mixes Zen practice alongside the demands of everyday work. The app lets users enjoy short meditations while simulating a peaceful experience through relaxing videos.
  8. Citadel AI Inc. – Citadel AI ensures users in the machine learning sector that their Artificial Intelligence operates at optimal performance. The company provides monitoring, testing, and governance tools to help users oversee the development of their own technology.
  9. yocto Co.,Ltd – yocto aims for digital transformation in the wellness industry through the use of IoT technologies.
  10. Cellid, Inc. – Cellid aims to improve UX by developing display modules using Artificial Intelligence and nanotechnology. The company is focused on the AR industry and is currently in the Series A stage.
  11. Canaan Advisors, Inc. – ZeniHub is the company’s real estate investment platform. The platform allows real estate properties in emerging economies accessible and affordable for potential investors.
  12. Isha Health – The business connects patients with care providers through its chatbot concierge. The platform allows users to have the best experience and be matched with the most appropriate care provider using digital health.
  13. Younode, Inc. – With its PULP platform, Younode will allow users to share their music and discover new tracks organically. In this way, the business aims to provide a more collaborative form of social networking.
  14. RUN.EDGE Limited – The business makes use of sports technology to provide a more interactive experience for users. Using its PITCHBASE and FL-UX for professional basketball and field sports respectively, the company has just concluded fundraising of pre-series B.
  15. Archelis Inc. – Archelis offers a glimpse at the future of work through its development of an exoskeleton suit for workers and professionals who engage in work that requires standing for long hours. The business aims to address the strains that standing work entails.

Interested in connecting with these startups? Simply click their profiles in the companies mentioned section in the upper right corner of this page. Connecting with these startups is free and only requires an updated personal and company profile.

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The 5-part agile leadership guide that will make you a better business leader

The future of work is changing, faster than ever due to the disruption of technology, aggravated by the pandemic.

While this is hardly a surprise, one need that remains constant or possibly even greater, however, is the need for effective leadership in the workplace.

I share a guide for business leaders looking to maximise their leadership impact. A result that has come about after my work with leaders from nearly 40 countries, this guide is your essential companion to developing agile leadership in our volatile world.

Before any business leader or executive dives right into the guide, it is important to first consider the definition of agile leadership. In my book titled ‘8 Paradoxes of Leadership Agility’, leadership agility (aka agile leadership) was defined as ‘the ability to navigate uncertainties and complexities with a sense of ease and authenticity.

As you lead teams and your organisation, there’s a high chance that you are also leading change, so take this opportunity to self-evaluate.

How are you navigating complexities and approaching uncertainties? Do you inspire confidence in your team, or are you stressed out about having to provide answers that you don’t have at the moment?

Consider where you currently stand on this spectrum of “agile leadership” and dive into the guide below.

This guide is organised into five inner voices. The voices were crafted with the belief that to lead teams ‘out there’, change must begin ‘in here’.

Also Read: 3 leadership lessons for women in tech

Embracing these different voices and understanding their misconceptions help leaders develop an all-rounded leadership style that resonates with the diverse millennial and Gen Z workforce while also increasing their resilience, cultural leadership and overall innovativeness in the complex world.

Five voices of leadership

Captain

This voice guides leaders to know themselves first, as they focus on their own strengths and values before focusing on that of others. This helps leaders to change their perspectives from focusing on the gaps rather than celebrating the strengths of the team. 

Misconceptions: Some leaders think they are self-aware enough. However, the reality is that self-awareness is a lifelong journey.

One never stops developing it. Further, the people whom you work with will always be changing, and the best way to be others aware is to first be self-aware.

Visionary

This voice helps leaders to cast a compelling vision on their team. Rather than blindly repeating the same message and mistakes, leaders can learn to communicate important messages to their team once they develop empathy to address the team’s aspirations and visions.

The message matters, and being able to cast and align the team’s goals with that of the company is crucial.

Misconceptions:  Often, it’s not about having the end in the mind, because it might not be very possible these days. Think more of the impact and the values that undergird the purpose of the organisation.

Developer

This voice helps to ensure that younger employees who desire career progress, growth, and development achieve what they want in the agile organisation they work in. Whether it is through benefits and shifting visions, the developer’s voice helps leaders to reconsider the intangible rewards to share with their employees.

Misconceptions: Having the best intentions to help others grow is not enough. An effective leader in the VUCA world knows how to flex his style to suit the needs of his stakeholders. As the quote goes, “Teach me the way I want to be taught, not the way you want to teach me.”

Strategist

The voice of the strategist helps executives reflect on how they can help their organisation achieve and discover more with the diminishing resources available.

Working harder to deliver more is not sustainable, so the strategist considers how to meet increasing demands, retain talents by leveraging areas of the highest returns.

Misconceptions: This has little to do with working faster, but working smarter. It’s not thinking at the issue with the same level of consciousness. It’s also not a matter of IQ. Likewise, it’s a matter of reductionist thinking and stripping down the issue to the core, and reducing undesirable outcomes of diminishing returns despite working harder.

Agilist

The inner voice of the agilist helps leaders think in incremental steps. Instead of worrying about potential failures, the agilist voice informs the executive on how to navigate the next best way forward in any experiment with an objective perspective, changing course when needed.

Also Read: 6 leadership lessons I learned after we raised our seed round

Misconceptions: Again, it’s not about being fast. Sometimes, being an agilist means taking the slower path for now. It’s not about changing for the sake of change, but to have strong reasons why something needs to be stopped, taken away, or continued.

These voices might sound daunting, but there is something in common: everyone has the potential to grow their five inner voices. Being aware of the five voices helps executives and managers discern new ways to achieve their goals, whether it is at work or beyond.

Every leader might even have a dominant voice that they lean towards, and this can be discovered through my Agile Leadership Evaluator where you’ll get to measure your level of agility. Once you get to know your dominant voice, you’ll know your own preferences and motivations.

At the same time, you might also start seeing gaps. If you could consistently work on the other voices while reflecting on what others around you need, you might start seeing better results in future projects and experiments in your line of work. 

Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing views from the community. Share your opinion by submitting an article, video, podcast, or infographic

Join our e27 Telegram groupFB community, or like the e27 Facebook page

Image Credit: rawpixel

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Holding tight or letting go: A paradox I face as a father and a corporate venture builder

This article is written as part of the Corporate Venture Launchpad programme. The SG$10 million pilot programme by EDB New Ventures aims to enable large, established companies new to corporate venturing to launch a new venture in Singapore within six months, supported by venture studios experienced in corporate venture building. Start your corporate venturing journey with us through the Corporate Venture Launchpad. Learn more here and connect with Rainmaking, an appointed venture studio of the programme here.

I am a father of an eight-year-old girl and a five-year-old boy. Being a parent puts me in several paradoxical situations; being friendly yet strict, critical yet supportive, adventurous yet cautious, and creative yet pragmatic. It all sums up in the age-old parenting paradox of holding tight and letting go.

As a corporate venture builder, I see corporates experience the same paradox of holding tight and letting go while building corporate ventures.

Step back and take a critical look at these two words in isolation: they are a contradiction.

At one end, we have corporates who are all about holding tight. They have a well-defined business model, a well-established set of business processes, a well-oiled method of deploying resources, and a well-evolved set of values and metrics that matter to the business.

On the other end, we have ventures who are all about letting go. By their very definition, ventures are amorphous, still discovering a business model, identifying the talent needed, defining their processes, and aligning on the metrics they should track.

How might we, the corporate venture builders, who transform an idea into an investable venture, bring these two universes together to create a strategically aligned corporate venture, a venture where the corporate is excited to invest its resources and can attract founders who are excited to invest their time and energy.

The keywords here are ‘strategically aligned.’ And therefore, the need for defining investability criteria.

Let us take screentime as an example. As a parent, I need to be strategic about how my children use screen time as it is inevitable.

I need to align with my partner on the objectives and boundaries for screentime while creating an environment for creativity, curiosity, and courage.

It is about us maintaining the paradox of holding tight while letting go because driving creativity, curiosity, and courage requires defining inspiring yet attainable objectives and outlining less constraining boundaries within the lines that we as parents are unwilling to cross.

Also Read: Why it maybe the opportune time to consider Corporate Venture Capital

Investability criterion is the paradox that corporate venture builders need to design and deploy from day one to ensure that the time, resources, and efforts are invested to focus on creating a strategically aligned corporate venture for the corporates and the founding team.

So, how should corporate venture builders think about investability criteria? It is a four-part process:

Step 1: Understand the stakeholders and their needs

As parents, we discussed why our children need screen time. We outlined the gives, gets, and risks and aligned them to our parenting values.

Invest time to deeply understand the corporate’s and founders’ needs across three dimensions: metrics, risk, and urgency.

Step 2: Define and align on the venture objectives

Think of this as setting the development objectives for the child. For us, the development objective of screen time was about triggering curiosity, learning new skills, and building self-control.

Think of objectives as the ultimate strategic and business goal the venture is designed to deliver. The objectives need to be SMART: specific, measurable, ambitious, realistic (therefore achievable), and time-bound.

Step 3: Define and align on the boundary conditions

Think of this as parents defining the rules and boundaries for the child. It is more than simply saying “No” or “Yes.” It is about creating the space for the child to explore, take risks, experiment, and build accountability.

For our children, the boundary conditions for screen time are listed below. And as a reward for self-control, our children get to watch a movie of their choice every Friday night.

Define the corporate venture’s boundary conditions across a matrix (below) of what the venture must, maybe, and must not do in terms of venture desirability, venture feasibility, and venture viability.

Step 4: Reference and iterate

Parenting is an ongoing process and requires continuous adjustments to reflect the interplay created by the objective and boundaries set.

The screen time criteria for our children have evolved since we set it because now my daughter is keen to get better at chess and wants to learn new songs to play using the guitar. At the same time, my son wants to learn about animals and learn the lyrics of his favourite songs.

Also Read: 5 things startups should know about Corporate Venture Capital

Similarly, investability criteria must be viewed as a line drawn in the sand and not as rules set in stone. And therefore, corporate venture builders must reference the investability criteria to inform the decisions taken during the formative stages of the venture and continuously review and shape them to reflect the new realities. It is not a one-time process.

Corporates, corporate venture builders, and founders must invest sufficient time in the first three steps to achieve maximum stakeholder alignment.

We must also dedicate time to step four throughout the venture building process. Achieving strategic alignment is like tightrope walking. Corporate venture builders need to be mindful to strike the right balance between aligning the corporate’s and founders’ aspirations and constraints.

Ultimately, as with the parenting paradox, objectives and boundaries must enable the founding team to take risks, fail often, and eventually thrive. And like parenting, this is an iterative process.

It is these paradoxes that make parenting and corporate venture building so challenging yet so rewarding. So the question is, how can you “hold tight and let go” in your organization?

To learn more about these steps, please watch this short video.

This article is written as part of the Corporate Venture Launchpad programme. The S$10 million (US$7.5 million) pilot programme by EDB New Ventures aims to enable large, established companies to launch a new venture in Singapore within six months.

Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing views from the community. Share your opinion by submitting an article, video, podcast, or infographic

Join our e27 Telegram groupFB community, or like the e27 Facebook page

Image Credit: thecorgi

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Ecosystem Roundup: GoTo to raise up to US$1.1B in IPO, FinAccel drops merger pact with VPC Impact, Webuy acquires Chilibeli

The Webuy team

The Webuy team

Indonesia’s GoTo aims to raise US$1.11B in IPO
GoTo is the second Indonesian unicorn to get listed on the stock exchange, following Bukalapak’s IPO last year; Prior to this, GoTo’s rival Grab has made their IPO on Nasdaq in December 2021.

FinAccel, VPC Impact Acquisition terminate merger agreement
This comes on the backdrop of the volatility in the US market, triggered mostly by geopolitical tensions and rate-hike concerns; Following the mutual decision, VPC Impact is leading a US$145M investment in FinAccel.

Webuy acquires Indonesian social commerce rival Chilibeli
Under the share-swap deal, the company will take control of all of Chilibeli’s assets, including its brand, database, software, agents, and customers; Chilibeli mainly sells fresh fruits and vegetables as well as household items.

PropertyGuru public offer sees 59% SPAC redemption rate
SPAC redemptions allow shareholders to redeem their shares at the original IPO price, potentially leaving the combined company with less money for its future operations; A high redemption rate signals low confidence in a merger

Carsome acquires majority stake in Singapore’s CarTimes Automobile
CarTimes offers a suite of auto solutions ranging from new and used car retail, rental, financing, insurance to repair, maintenance and workshops; This deal follows Carsome’s recent announcement of completing its acquisition of iCar Asia.

Rainforest acquires baby care brand NatureBond 
Rainforest CEO JJ Chai said it was a 100 per cent acquisition and its parent company Millenium Enterprises for a significant seven-figure amount; Rainforest will support the brand’s marketing, pricing, supply chain, sourcing, product development.

SG’s smart lock maker igloocompany banks US$12M Series B1 to expand its footprint in US, Europe
Investors are Purpose Venture Capital, Kickstart Ventures, Wavemaker Partners, and Insignia Ventures; In July 2021, igloocompany set up an office in the US, where it aims to deploy 1M devices, garner 400 enterprise partnerships, and achieve 2.5x growth over the past 18 months.

Indonesia’s fintech UangTeman loses online lending license
The news comes amid the fintech startup’s struggle to find a white knight who can save it from collapse; UangTeman had stopped paying salaries and even disbursing loans from the end of 2020, as it dealt with the fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Earned wage access startup wagely nets US$8.3M pre-Series A to grow in Bangladesh
Investors include East Ventures (Growth Fund), Integra Partners, GFC, Trihill Capital, and Blauwpark Partners; wagely also disclosed that it secured the backing of Central Capital Ventura, the VC arm of Indonesia’s Bank Central Asia

‘As workplaces rapidly change post-pandemic, the way people getting paid changes too’: wagely CEO
In this interview, he discusses how wagely solves the problems faced by lower- and middle-income workers struggling with unexpected financial expenses between paycheques.

How crypto savings startup Finblox attracted US$3.9M capital within just 4 months of launching
Investors include Dragonfly Capital, Sequoia India, Three Arrows Capital, Saison Capital, MSA Capital, and Coinfund; Finblox allows users to earn a yield on their assets passively, with no limits on minimum balances or withdrawal periods

Datature raises US$2.7M from Openspace to allow companies build breakthrough AI capabilities
Investors are Openspace Ventures and January Capital; Datature’s full suite of solutions provides teams with the ability to annotate, augment, train and deploy computer vision models, all without a single line of code.

SiCepat apologises for wrongful layoff procedure
The Indonesian logistics firm said there was a wrongful procedure in its recent layoff of 366 employees; Instead of dismissal letters, the company gave them resignation letters; In the last two years, SiCepat raised US$170M in investments.

Grab confirms Vietnam country head Nguyen Thai Hai Van’s departure
She stepped down to pursue a new career opportunity; The superapp didn’t disclose who will take over the role; Van joined Grab VN in Nov 2019 and was promoted to the position of country manager in Feb 2020.

Funding Societies launches US$16M ESOP buyback programme
Under the buyback, all eligible workers will have the option of selling their shares at no discount to Funding Societies at its series C+ preference share price; This is its 4th such programme, with its employees previously cashing out a total of US$3.5M in ESOPs.

Antler, Iterative back Indonesian B2B logistics firm Envio
Envio provides logistics solutions for the B2B segment; It currently has 35 air and marine transportation modes, 5,000 land vehicles, and 50 warehouses across the archipelago.

SG fintech firm Digital Treasures Center (DTC) gets regulatory nod for crypto services
With a license to offer digital payment token services, DTC can provide fiat-to-crypto pairing, which enables merchants to accept cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Tether – and convert them into fiat currency.

Animoca shuts down F1-based P2E game
The Hong Kong-based unicorn said it will replace the F1 Delta Time assets of current owners with NFTs for other games in its Revv Motorsport ecosystem, including MotoGP Ignition, Formula E: High Voltage, Revv Racing, and Torque Drift.

Ready to meet new startups to invest in? We have more than hundreds of startups ready to connect with potential investors on our platform. Create or claim your Investor profile today and turn on e27 Connect to receive requests and fundraising information from them.

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