Smile API, an information infrastructure startup in the Philippines focused on employment and finance data, today announced a “significant” undisclosed funding from its new investor Afore Capital, a US$300 million US-based venture firm focused on pre-seed startup investing.

In a statement, the startup said it was the second seed round since its founding in April last year with CreditEase and Plug and Play as investors.

Anamitra Banerji, the Managing Partner at Afore Capital, said they invested in Smile API because of the progress the startup has made in a short time with its Application Programming Interface (API).

Claimed to be the first of its kind in the Asia Pacific, Smile API aims to enable broader financial inclusion by serving as a bridge between the public and financial institutions for financial data or source of income data. Smile’s major focus is on employment data of casual employees and freelancers, including gig workers.

Banerji pointed out that one of the main challenges in the local market in Southeast Asia is data, including banking and finance data, which lenders require before making credit decisions. Smile aims to bridge this gap by enabling people to get and use their employment data.

Also Read: Meet the 22 notable startups that have brightened up the Filipino tech ecosystem

Besides employment data, Smile’s digital platform also allows e-wallets, loans, insurances, digital bank accounts and many more applications to become available through a simple, white-labelled interface. At the same time, it keeps the end-user in full control of what data is shared and with whom.

Smile API CEO Jerome Eger, along with Smile Chief Product Officer Jan Alvin Pabellon, announced that the company had expanded its coverage to 40 million workers in the Philippines.

Its latest customers include local B2B logistics provider Tarana.ph and fintech startup Plentina.

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Singapore-based precision gut microbiome company AMILI has secured US$10.5 million in Series A financing.

(The gut microbiome consists of trillions of bacteria, viruses, and fungi that live in the digestive tract. It plays a key role in almost every aspect of human health.)

Vulcan Capital, the investment arm of the late Microsoft Corp Co-Founder Paul Allen that invests in category-leading technology, internet and life sciences companies, led this round.

Pruksa Group, TVM Capital Healthcare, Emtek Group, Capital Code, Pureland Group, Blue7, GK Goh, and SEEDS Capital also participated.

AMILI will use the capital to accelerate its expansion in Southeast and Greater Asia. The funds will also be used to accelerate microbiome research partnerships and discovery and develop AMILI Prime.

Also Read: How biotech is changing the global agriculture game for investors

AMILI offers three products: (i) a multi-ethnic Asia microbiome database, (ii) a microbiome bank with samples stored for metagenomic and metabolomic analysis, and (iii) AMILI PRIME, a set of proprietary analytical tools, informatics pipelines and discovery engines.

These core assets are used to power the firm’s four commercial engines:

Diagnostics and therapeutics: It works closely with academic institutions and biotech companies to identify novel biomarkers, elucidate mechanistic pathways and formulate products to modify the gut microbiome and treat disease.

Faecal microbiota transplants: Collection, analysis and processing of FMT preparations used by patients, hospitals and research institutes across the region.

Personalised wellness: It is offered under the direct-to-consumer brand BIO & ME, which includes gut health testing services and personalised supplements developed through AMILI PRIME based on multi-ethnic Asia data.

Food for Health: Partnerships with food manufacturers and retailers to assist them in product validation, measurement and development. AMILI provides them with insights into the impact of various ingredients, recipes and foods on the human microbiome, particularly concerning the consumer in Asia.

Since its inception, the startup claims to have established more than 20 research studies across a wide range of health indications, with a total grant value exceeding S$60 million.

The firm plans to expand its BIO & ME product into the rest of Southeast Asia and Hong Kong in 2022.

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Employer-employee dynamics have already undergone a major shift in the last two years, and recent economic forecasts suggest that another transition could be up ahead.

Experts and policymakers across the US, UK, Singapore, and the world predict that we could be at the cusp of another recession in the next five-year period, although the extent of it remains uncertain.

In an announcement in May, Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong spoke about the likelihood of a global recession occurring in the next two years, potentially by 2023 or 2024.

In the same month, Goldman Sachs Senior Chairman Lloyd Blankfein said that there is a very high risk of a US recession, and large companies should start preparing at the earliest. Goldman Sachs has even come out with a report recommending a necessary growth slowdown to help temper the rise in wages of employees.

Workers stand to face yet another period of uncertainty in employment, and organisations could likely frame return to office (RTO) policies in the employers’ favour.

There is already a disconnect between employer and employee sentiment around RTO. A study by Slack’s Future Forum consortium found that two-thirds of senior executives believe they are very transparent about their post-pandemic policies, while less than half of workers agree.

Likewise, nearly half of senior executives want to work from the office every day, compared to just 17 per cent of workers. Both a symptom and cause for this disconnect is the fact that 2 in 3 executives are designing post-pandemic policies like RTO with little to no input from workers.

Also Read: Behind the scenes of oVice: a leading remote work solution

In 2021, workers left their places of employment in droves due to this disconnect, causing the Great Resignation. But now, with a recession in the offing, the scenario could get more complex.

How the news of recession may impact remote, hybrid, and RTO arrangements

As a result of the Great Resignation, it was possible for top talent to choose their most favourable workplace conditions and gain from a bullish market.

The recession, with its fear of layoffs and job uncertainties, turns this on its head and creates an environment where employers may be poised to push more aggressive RTO policies. Large corporate employees like Uber and Netflix are either scaling back hiring plans or letting go of a certain segment of workers.

Now the question arises if it becomes harder for employees to be essential to a business when they are remote. In that case, workers may feel compelled to comply with a full return to office regardless of their own preferences. Despite performing well in a remote or hybrid arrangement, policies that favour presenteeism in the face of a recession could put an employee’s current position at risk.

In this environment, it becomes crucial for companies to strike the right balance. The optimal policy is one that benefits business outcomes, productivity, and employee wellbeing, instead of only reacting to short-term market conditions.

Striking the right balance and navigating the talent market shifts effectively to maximise both motivation and productivity will rely on active steps from both employers and employees to bridge the gap in human connections at work.

Indeed, not taking feedback or input from workers (which is what so many companies are doing) can lead to RTO policies that drive compliance amid a recession but not engagement, eventually bringing down productivity and output.

The need to empower middle managers with empathy and autonomy

The key to addressing the disconnect and navigating these “rough tides” successfully is to empower middle managers, who are the conduit between an organisation’s decision-makers and workers at the frontline.

Research confirms that managers are not always happy with remote work arrangements and would rather have employees be present, which is not always conducive to productivity. Instead, it is vital that managers are equipped and able to act with empathy, and understanding of employee needs. They should also have the autonomy to make decisions that best fit their unique team dynamics, as well as the organisation as a whole.

This is crucial because different teams in an organisation will have different dynamics, interpersonal relationships, personalities, roles, and drivers of engagement. It is only through constant monitoring, two-way feedback, and tailored education that managers will be able to understand and respond to their team’s requirements.

For example, in a recession scenario, knowledge workers may face a different kind of anxiety while onsite, and frontline workers may face high work pressure and stress. By observing and measuring the right employee sentiment indices, managers will be able to grasp and act on the real need of the hour.

Also Read: Why Musk’s remote-work policy at Tesla does not apply to tech startups

However, this does not mean that managers should be left to their own devices, without support when it comes to empowering their teams. They need to be equipped and trained with the right tools and resources so that they can engage their teams effectively and compassionately.

This includes people analytics that is tailored for employee experience analysis and manager guidance. It is not sufficient to simply surface the data, personalised action suggestions are necessary to help managers make the right call at the right time.

Currently, there seems to be a gap in this regard. Our research indicates that 42 per cent of HR administrators report that it is difficult to include managers in the decision-making process in a post-pandemic scenario, not due to lack of intention, but due to the absence of resources and preparation.

In addition to adopting the right tools, organisations must complement policies structured in a manner that managers can act with autonomy while being confident about the veracity of their decision.

The way forward

A return to work may be inevitable for some companies, and employees may find themselves having to comply. It is only with the constant communication, transparency, and a demonstration of empathy by managers that it will be possible to maintain trust.

Without engaged and productive employees, companies will find it difficult to navigate a recession period. Optimising for employee experience through manager empowerment should be a top priority for organisations moving forward.

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Vidio recently announced a US$45 million (over IDR663 billion) funding from several strategic investors. The largest amount was provided by Sinarmas Group, PT Dian Swastika Sentosa (DSSA), through its subsidiary PT DSST Mas Gemilang (DSST). Other investors also participated, including Grab LA Pte Ltd (Grab), and PT Ekonomi Baru Investasi Teknologi (EBIT), a subsidiary of the Bali United football club.

For the record, DSSA is one of the shareholders in DANA (PT Elang Andalan Nusantara). Previously, DANA was operating under the Emtek Group.

This is Vidio’s follow-on funding after securing fresh funding of US$150 million from Affinity Equity Partners in October 2021. Previously, Vidio was entirely owned by Emtek Group under Surya Citra Media (SCM).

The entrance of Sinarmas Group marks an open door for Vidio to collaborate strategically with its portfolios, such as Smartfren and MyRepublic. Along with its new investors, Vidio aims to drive growth and strengthen its position as a leading local OTT.

Vidio CEO Sutanto Hartono said the company is to increase its commitment to users by continuously adding the best premium content with this new fund, as well as improving the features and quality of the platform.

“Aside from an exclusive Premier League airing in August and the World Cup in November, we will also be more aggressive in releasing local original series and quality soap operas to entertain streaming audiences in Indonesia,” he said Tuesday, June 14.

Also Read: The secret sauce of how brands and creators use video for growth and success

Investors also delivered their statements. DSSA’s Director Daniel Cahya said this investment is the starting point for sustainable collaboration between the Sinarmas Group and the Emtek Group. It is also a positive act for the group, including Smartfren, MyRepublic, and other DSST digital investments, with Vidio as the content provider.

“Being the most preferred partner of Vidio is an honour for us. This collaboration is expected to bring added value, and the Sinarmas Group is fully committed to building an integrated digital ecosystem. Therefore, we welcome the strategic partnership with Vidio,” Cahya said.

Meanwhile, Grab Indonesia’s Country Managing Director Neneng Goenadi said that Grab and Emtek Group have an aligned vision that Indonesia’s bright digital era should be enjoyed by the entire society. OTT is a sector that has experienced rapid development in the country, especially since the pandemic and the shifting focus of the entertainment industry from linear channels to OTT and streaming will continue in the next few years.

“We are pleased to be able to strengthen the strategic partnership that has been established with the Emtek Group through investment in Vidio. As the largest OTT platform in Indonesia, Vidio has an extensive reach, and we see the potential for solid synergies between the Grab and Vidio ecosystems. Together with Emtek Group, Grab will present more digital solutions with positive impacts for society and the environment in Indonesia,” Goenadi said.

The milestones

According to a report from Media Partner Asia, in the first quarter of 2022, Vidio rules on top of the table for the OTT platform based on monthly active users (MAU) and total minutes streamed. The company continues to add to its content catalogue in the sports field and claims to be the most complete in Indonesia.

The list starts from the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar, English Premier League, Indonesian Football League (Liga 1, Liga 2, and Liga 3), UEFA Champions League and UEL, NBA, European Football League (Serie A, La Liga, Ligue 1) , FA Cup, Formula One, Indonesian professional volleyball league (ProLiga), Indonesian Basketball League (IBL), Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), and a wide selection of other premium sports content. Additionally, Vidio continues to actively release original content of up to three titles every month.

On a separate occasion, in an interview with DailySocial, Vidio Managing Director Monika Rudijono said that until the closing of Q4 2021, Vidio had experienced an increase in the number of MAU reaching 62 million subscribers. Among its user base, 2.3 million of them are paid users. “Vidio closed Q1 2022 with 1.9x growth in paid subscribers compared to Q1 2021,” she added.

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This article was written by Marsya Nabila for DailySocial.

Image Credit: Vidio

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Singapore-based Tictag, a startup aiming to make data easy and accessible, has raised US$1.3 million in pre-Series A funding, led by M Venture Partners. Investible, East Ventures, Farquhar Venture Capital, and Sam Gibb (Managing Partner of Resolution Ventures) also co-invested.

Tictag plans to use the money to accelerate its expansion across Asia and enhance its technology. The startup already has operations in Singapore, South Korea, and Indonesia.

Founded in 2019 by Artificial Intelligence professionals Kevin Quah, Lee Jin and Low Yihang, Tictag aims to solve the data preparation problem faced by companies working with machine learning models. It converts complex annotation tasks into simplified bite-sized, gamified ‘quests’ on a mobile app platform.

In other words, Tictag reduces the complexity of data annotation and converts data into assets by empowering companies to collect, classify, and annotate data of all types accurately while maintaining affordability.

Also Read: Differences between AI and Machine Learning, and why it matters

In the process, companies can avoid heavy investment in developing in-house AI and ML tools and teams to collect and structure unstructured data.

Tictag, an IMDA Spark company, supports most data annotation types, including Bounding Polygons, Audio Transcription, and Named Entity Recognition.

At the same time, Tictag enables its app users, known as Taggers, to earn monetary rewards by performing simple data annotation tasks wherever, whenever.

“With this investment, we’re setting our sights on growing not only our customer base but our Tagger base and technology across Asia, tapping into the diverse experiences of our new strategic investors,” Quah CEO Tictag said. “We’re one step closer to our vision of a world where everyone can benefit from working with data.”

Besides, Tictag is launching its audio data collection and image data collection features. Companies needing to form original or bespoke quality audio rapidly and image data datasets can tap on Tictag’s platform at scale.

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True Global Ventures 4 Plus (TGV4 Plus), a Web3-focused fund run by Singapore-based distributed ledger technology (DLT) equity fund True Global Ventures, has announced the first close of its US$146 million follow-on fund.

The fund will continue to double down on its existing investees. It might also invest in other late-stage Web3 deals opportunistically.

Also Read: True Global Ventures injects US$10M into NFT metaverse game The Sandbox

Founded by an international group of angel investors, TGV 4 Plus invests in Web3 primarily in late-stage Series A, B and C across three verticals: entertainment & gaming, financial services, infrastructure & data analytics/Artificial Intelligence. 

It has invested in unicorns and other renowned firms, including Animoca Brands, The Sandbox, Forge, Chromaway, Coinhouse, GCEX, Chronicled, and Dedoco. 

The fund covers 20 cities in North America, Europe and Asia. 

“The base fund has been a fantastic success, but we are still only in the starting blocks of Web3. We believe that our early winners will grow even stronger. With the follow-on fund, we allow our partners to invest more into these companies,” says Fredrik Adolfsson, General Partner of TGV4 Plus. 

General Partner Dušan Stojanović added: “We raised the money in record time in four months, and we believe this is the best time to invest during market corrections. I would say that it is much easier to see more clearly who the winners are now. This has created a high confidence level amongst our investors who have seen a large GP Commit and the first call being executed very quickly.”

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

Last September, TGV 4 Plus closed its fourth fund at over US$100 million to invest in blockchain companies, primarily in the Series B and Series C stages.

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In today’s competitive market, it is important for startups and companies of any size to maintain their competitive edge and stay relevant. Corporate-startup partnerships have become increasingly popular to leverage each other’s strengths.

Corporates have abundant resources, from funding and access to talents that startups need. The agility of startups with fresh new ideas and solutions is something that corporates lack due to rigidity and structure. Corporate-startup partnerships create a win-win situation for both to positively impact the entire industry. 

Corporate-startup partnerships are vital to Sunway Group’s journey to becoming the region’s model smart sustainable city, integrating technology and innovation towards creating a safe, healthy and connected environment for the community to live, work, learn and play.

To drive these initiatives forward, Sunway iLabs was launched to foster entrepreneurship and stimulate market-driven innovations, to help entrepreneurs become more competitive in this rapidly changing environment.

About Sunway iLabs

Launched five years ago, iLabs has created an ecosystem that includes startups, students, staff and researchers to build ideas with the same vision of evolving the city to the next level. These are the core elements for iLabs’ flagship corporate startup programme, the Sunway iLabs Super Accelerator.

Also Read: ‘There’s no one-size-fits-all for corporate innovation, experimentation is key’: Sunway Group’s innovation chief

The new partnership with Carsome, Carsome Mobility Lab, will offer the same corporate-startup benefits to startups disrupting the auto ecosystem. 

“We are truly excited over this partnership with Sunway iLabs, as this is the first-of-its-kind accelerator in the Southeast Asian region to identify, partner and scale innovative startups. It is an honour for us to be supporting and boosting the entrepreneur and automotive communities through this unique programme. This is another huge step towards Carsome’s vision of creating the most trusted vehicle ownership ecosystem, powered by technology and data,” said Eric Cheng, Co-Founder and CEO of Carsome.

In partnership Carsome and Sunway iLabs, the Carsome Mobility Lab, a South East Asia auto-focused ecosystem accelerator that aims to boost the entrepreneur and automotive community has been launched.

This partnership aims to contribute to Malaysia and South East Asia’s growth in the automotive industry by enabling startups to tap into Carsome’s domain expertise and Sunway’s vast network of resources and thriving ecosystem.

The support given by Carsome and Sunway iLabs does not stop at funding and networks, but an end-to-end process where startups will have the opportunity to validate, and test solutions and business models in Sunway City Kuala Lumpur and Carsome’s locations. 

There are two tracks in this programme:

Pre-accelerator

Selected startups will go through an intensive two months period filled with workshops, mentorships and business introductions with the Carsome Group and other industry leaders in the Sunway ecosystem.

Accelerator

The top startups will spend two months working on the synergies with Carsome and Sunway and executing the offered solutions within the ecosystem and ultimately making an impact in the auto ecosystem in South East Asia.

Why an auto-ecosystem focused accelerator?

Malaysia’s automotive industry has been an attractive outlook for automotive companies. The industry plays a big role in the country’s GDP contributing around 4% in 2021 and is the third-largest automotive market in ASEAN.

As the trend is moving towards digitalisation, it has driven the establishment of new startups that are introducing new solutions and business models which will shape the automotive industry in the years to come.

Also Read: This family office has launched a startup accelerator with a mission to protect, restore biodiversity in SEA

Even though the market is saturated with marketplaces, motor insurance aggregators, after-sales services and car rental platforms, there are many opportunities that are untapped in this fragmented market. With this programme, the aim is to ultimately bring the best innovation into the industry and benefit the consumer’s vehicle ownership journey. 

What startups are we looking for?

Financial Services

Startups that have creative offerings for consumers including financing, warranty, insurance and etc.

Sustainable Mobility

In line with our commitment to Sustainability Development Goals (SDG), we are looking for startups who are offering green transport system solutions, e-mobility, sustainable vehicle ownership and sustainable tech.

Blockchain and NFT

NFTs have been a buzzword in recent months and we have seen significant growth of adopters in Malaysia. We are looking for startups who offer solutions on security, transparency, tracking, tokenisation and automotive gamification on Web3.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML)

The use of AI and ML would significantly reduce human errors and with advanced technology, processes would be streamlined and benefit repetitive tasks in the automotive industry. The areas we are looking to improve would be driving insights, understanding consumer behaviour and personalisation through SaaS, analytics and the internet of things (IoT).

Connected automotive ecosystem

Startups that have solutions on integrated automotive solutions, personalised driver/owner experience, vehicle maintenance management, and driver safety and experience.

Aftermarket automotive design and hardware

Startups that have solutions for aftermarket lighting, vehicle accessories, collaborative design, voice and sound tech, automotive 3D printing and hardware.

Vehicle support marketplaces and providers

Startups focusing on eCommerce marketplaces for vehicle parts and services. 

How to join the programme

The programme is currently open for applications and startups are being referred to the business units on a rolling basis. Interested startups can apply to the programme here through the Sunway iLabs website. Applications close on the 4th of July, 2022.  

For more information and application, head over to the website here.

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This article is published as a part of a partnership with Recruitery. Recruitery is an all-in-one hiring platform that provides headhunt, payroll, taxes, and compliance solutions for remote teams in SEA.

Elon Musk, the most potent entrepreneur globally, has just stirred a controversy last week with emails to “everyone” at Tesla, urging everyone to return to work at the office. This is a brave yet risky move because this policy tends to disregard the 60 per cent of Americans with remote-capable professions who wish to work from home all or most of the time after COVID-19, according to a 2022 Pew Research Center study.

However, there is a fact we can never refuse. Musk is inspiring with his perspectives and actions, especially to founders worldwide.

The question now is, is it a signal that after the pandemic, remote working is not probably an ideal option anymore? How can we absorb this news and apply it to our startups?

Why can Tesla CEO, Musk defy the majority?

Even with the harsh public criticism, Musk has his own rationales behind his decision. 

Each company has its unique culture, and the CEO has the power to determine what works best. Tesla creates tangible products and has factories, which is very different from the software industry as it may require an “office-centric” culture.

Musk has formed an intense work style since day one. If Tesla has to thrive, it has to run fastest and smartest with focus and intensity unlike any other.

There are many things to do and not to do from a car being manufactured and delivered to the customer. And it’s challenging to make that happen in a young company, but many highly-motivated people go to extreme lengths.

Will this decision affect the retention rate at Tesla? Yes.

Will it be significant? Not sure. Because there are some exclusive privileges.

First, Musk has a famous personal brand with his disruptive thinking and impressive achievements. Hardly any other person has exerted as much influence over such wide-ranging industries that could shape the future of the global economy: social media, space travel, autonomous driving, electric transportation, and artificial intelligence. Everyone who worked under him landed at some of the great places.

Also Read: Why a recession is a good time to start hiring globally

Secondly, Tesla has one of the best-designed and innovative products in the world. Their electric cars accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy, which will revolutionize the industry and bring positive environmental changes. No matter how remote-work policy at Tesla is, there is still a massive number of top talents aiming to work at Tesla.

If your firm is not Tesla, you should not act like Musk

There was a humorous anecdote; when my startup friend obtained this information, he asked his team, “Should we follow this?”

Of course, if your company is not Tesla, you shouldn’t act like Musk.

There are two key reasons why Musk’s policies will not apply to tech startups. 

First, startups won’t be able to scale fast because potential talents increasingly prefer hybrid or remote jobs. The organisation’s management must adapt to these changes to sustain a talent pipeline. After the COVID-19 outbreak, the world and labour market have altered.

Particularly in the tech industry, employees in this field are becoming more flexible; they are in high demand all over the globe. They always have alternative options to consider besides your company.

Microsoft’s Work Trend Index indicates that hybrid working is the favoured working approach globally in the expected time. According to a Microsoft analysis on the rise of the “hybrid workplace” in Vietnam, up to 81 per cent of employees, particularly young Gen Z workers, desire to continue working remotely. 

Second, letting employees work at an office definitely won’t help you save operational costs, which should be considered one of the top priorities given a possible recession in 2022.

For example, think about how much money it would take to operate a permanent office. Specifically, offices must be furnished with desks, chairs, couches, and other essential equipment. Not to mention the employees’ coffee, water, and snacks throughout the day. 

According to McKinsey & Company Global Management Consulting, not only is hybrid working comfortable for workers, but it also reduces organizations’ operational expenses by up to 30 per cent. 

In particular, in the previous article, we should prepare for a recession to come, which is why global hiring is on the rise, leading to remote work being unavoidable.

In summary, the answer to the issue of whether Musk is committing an offence is “no”! It was just inapplicable to other technology startups.

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When it comes to innovation, the Asia Pacific region is full of both emerging businesses and constantly growing legacy companies. Part of the region’s strength in this respect lies in its relatively young demographic, which at the same time takes up a large chunk of the global population. In 2020 alone, over a hundred leading unicorns came from Asia.

The innovative economy in the Asia Pacific is largely driven by science and technology, and the way this interacts with a desire for development. In the past two decades since the onset of the millennium, projects in the region such as the Hyper Interdisciplinary Conference and the NEST Career Design Seminar Series have tapped into the region’s talent pool to create opportunities for innovation and help harness the vibrant tech ecosystem’s full potential.

“Knowledge Manufacturing” in the market of ideas 

These projects reveal an important, though sometimes understated aspect of technological advancement for social change: research and “Knowledge Manufacturing”. More than one’s educational background, knowledge-based factors can pique an inquiring mind that already has the propensity to explore business. The issue lies in how to bridge the gap between the desire for knowledge and applying those ideas in practical means. Upon addressing this, unique solutions for present gaps in the market and society at large can be made, as seen in the thriving startup landscape in the region and even across the globe.

Also read: Kristal.AI expands to ESOP liquidity offerings

But how can research and the market be combined in such a way that makes the most out of both worlds? That’s where “Knowledge Manufacturing” companies like Leave a Nest come in. Founded in 2002, Leave a Nest has since provided an interdisciplinary knowledge-based platform that allows experts from various fields, particularly science and technology, to come together with startups, and vice versa. 

Leave a Nest: “Advancing Science and Technology for Global Happiness”

Leave a Nest’s goal is to bolster innovation through knowledge. Through a QPMI (Question, Passion, and Mission) lens, Leave a Nest is able to act as a science bridge communicator between research and academe, and the market to produce top solutions for social change. This stems from the company’s roots as a science and research organisation first and foremost, but also, at its core, a business geared towards improving the world’s quality of life by making use of concepts and sensibilities. The company provides “Knowledge Manufacturing” as its main service. 

With the vision of “Advancing Science and Technology for Global Happiness,” Leave a Nest aims to not only promote progress in the evolutionary sense but also enable global progress using science and technology. In its various projects, Leave a Nest has acted as a bridge communicator between businesses that have the power to improve society through research and the academe. Linking the two seemingly distinct industries is what makes the business unique. 

Leave a Nest’s latest programmes and projects

For instance, Leave a Nest has taken a lead role for the past 20 years in the Hyper-Interdisciplinary Conference (HIC) happening in six countries across the ASEAN region, which brings together innovators to discuss their research and work for social change. In 2022, the HIC’s theme was to think beyond what currently lies on the horizon and look even further for greater innovations. With an interdisciplinary approach to modern-day issues such as healthcare, the environment, and sustainability, the conference successfully gathered experts in the fields of science and technology, as well as other interested participants, such as researchers and students.

Also read: JTC bolsters Southeast Asian innovation through LaunchPad

Additionally, Leave a Nest has also supported startups in groundbreaking fields like deep tech. With one of Leave a Nest’s platforms, TECH PLANTER, up-and-coming businesses interested in exploring deep tech can find the support necessary in setting off their initiatives.

The platform is best for startups that are still finding their footing in their field and want to work hand-in-hand with a solid research and development background. As an accelerator programme, TECH PLANTER is unique in that it doesn’t have a set time frame for participating startups to access resources and mentorship. This makes it perfect for long-term exploration and growth. The TECH PLANTER Asian Final is coming up in August as well.

Ways forward

For its 20th anniversary, Leave a Nest — operating under the mission “To be the Most Effective ”Knowledge Manufacturing” Group in the World” —​​ envisions leading a new era of ideas and innovation. Taking off from the company’s goal to help create sustainable businesses globally and “Advancing Science and Technology for Global Happiness”, Leave a Nest continues to endeavour growth in the startup ecosystem by means of research and scholarly pursuits, utilising science and technology as the primary basis for change.

In its 20th-anniversary press release to Nikkei, Leave a Nest discloses that they aim to do this by pursuing “Questions with Passion”, which in effect results in the process the company calls “Knowledge Manufacturing.” Becoming the bridge between disciplines from the university and business practice will continue to be the company’s vision moving forward.

Leave a Nest also recently held a director’s summit in which main directors from the Leave a Nest group especially in the fields of education, human talent development, and investment were invited to share ideas on how the organisation can help shape the next 20 years through projects and various forms of support and partnerships.

In its commitment to promote innovation through scientific bridging and communication, Leave a Nest has expanded its reach through other countries in the Asia Pacific (Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines) as well as in the UK and the US. It also continues to engage startups and research organisations and experts alike through its various projects. Among these milestones were the recently concluded HIC 2022 and TECH PLANTER.

Also read: Top 5G Startups in 2022 Announced

The visualisation of this commitment can be seen in Leave a Nest’s new corporate logo, which reflects the company’s move towards “front leaning, dynamism, and edge strength.” The logo was unveiled on May 1st of 2022, just in time for Leave a Nest’s 20th anniversary on June 14. Moving past simply responding to change, the company’s logo reflects spearheading and leading innovation in the years to come. This also solidifies the company’s goal to create a network of passionate individuals that will create change and growth for the rest of the world.

To learn more about Leave a Nest’s recent projects, you can check out Hyper-Interdisciplinary Conference (HIC) and TECH PLANTER.

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This article is produced by the e27 team, sponsored by Leave a Nest

We can share your story at e27, too. Engage the Southeast Asian tech ecosystem by bringing your story to the world. Visit us at e27.co/advertise to get started.

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With the metaverse market in the Asia Pacific expected to contribute US$1.04 trillion to the region’s GDP by the next decade, the scale of conversation and appetite for the metaverse has been enormous, this is despite not having a universal consensus around what exactly and how this innovative technology works.

This speaks to an interesting question, one that is perhaps more pertinent than defining the metaverse, do businesses necessarily need to fully understand the metaverse before moving to tap its potential?

Perhaps not, as the journey towards the metaverse is more of an evolution rather than a revolution. The APAC region, in particular, steering the mobile-first gaming paradigm with its estimated 1.62 billion gamers, is well-positioned to capitalise on this trend as gaming is often thought to be the centre of today’s metaverse.

Beyond gaming, the COVID-19 pandemic has also hastened the shift online, and to mobile for that matter, across sectors like work, payments, retail and even our day-to-day communications. The metaverse in that regard seems like a logical next step, where the real and virtual worlds become more intertwined.

In APAC at least, it is clear that accommodating the metaverse does not require a complete overhaul of the business. With the pandemic driving digital transformation to the top of many business priorities, most organisations here already have digital strategies in place and are actively seeking to capture the opportunities within the digital paradigm, and these same opportunities serve as the perfect gateway into the metaverse.

Attempting to exactly and fully define the metaverse before integration plays into the view that metaverse adoption is a sweeping, once-and-done initiative. We know from experience that this is not true, given how quickly technology advances.

Also Read: How the metaverse opens new opportunities for education

Cases in point: 4G is very quickly giving way to 5G and now 6G, while cloud adoption has heralded the rise of organisations born and built on the cloud. Instead, an iterative approach that uses a series of small steps, each with practical deliverables, can help an organisation benefit expediently from the metaverse, tapping the digital foundation that has already been set.

Here’s how to get started:

Step 1: Understanding how the metaverse fits into business needs

As with any new business undertaking, research is key. Organisations should not launch a metaverse initiative simply for the sake of jumping on the bandwagon, but rather ensure that the initiative will address a specific business need and provide a return on their investment.

This can range from returns like new revenue streams, improved customer experiences, or better employee training.

For example, organisations often find opportunity in the real-time interaction and immersion offered in the metaverse, characterised by second-to-second reactions and feedback loops that provide instantaneous insights about their audiences.

With these insights, businesses can then better understand the interests and intentions of their customers, partners or even employees, and continually provide a hyper-personalised experience tailored to what they seek.

While such returns might not always be easy to measure financially at the get-go, metaverse enthusiasts in the region might be glad to know that a recent study found nearly half of those surveyed in Singapore and Australia are interested in socialising, working and shopping in a 3D virtual space, a prospect that business leaders are hard-pressed to ignore.

Step 2: Translating the data generated into long-term outcomes

Keeping in mind that it is data that will fuel the digital future, the next step is for organisations to find ways in which metaverse data can be funnelled to support user experience requirements in the long term.

It is a two-way street: on one hand, the ability to continuously track what users are doing in the metaverse provides an in-depth understanding of user context, which is key to driving ubiquitous and spatial computing such as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies forward.

On the other hand, the enhancement of these technologies, in turn, facilitates the collection of data in the virtual world. The more data an organisation has, the more effectively it can generate meaningful user experiences highly relevant to each individual user.

At this stage, organisations may need to stop and consider how to integrate the metaverse into existing legacy systems in a way that translates to maximal long-term value, even if it means reshaping their business models to accommodate the metaverse.

Step 3: Putting in place metrics centred on user experience

80 per cent of APAC consumers reported that the quality of customer service they receive impacts their purchase decisions in 2022, underlining the importance of placing users at the centre of all decision-making. The metaverse should be no exception.

Also Read: How luxury brands are experimenting with the metaverse

This means that users should not be the core metric organisations apply to evaluate the success of their metaverse initiatives, but rather how they facilitate an experience that is both relevant and meaningful to each user.

Data privacy and trust also becomes increasingly important as a metric for user experience in the metaverse’s approach to digital identity, as data detailing users’ contexts and intentions is essentially free for the taking.

With a recent study revealing that most APAC businesses will outpace the global average in terms of investing in customer experience management and customer data technology in 2022, it seems that organisations in the region are primed for metaverse success.

While capitalising on this advantage, it remains critical to acknowledge that the integration of the metaverse necessitates constant re-examination, updating, and improvement over time. After all, new metaverse technologies will continue to be introduced, business conditions continually evolve, and competitors may eventually catch up.

With the APAC region already leading the pack, what’s there to wait?

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