Singapore-based precision gut microbiome company Amili has secured an undisclosed amount in funding led by East Ventures.

The fresh capital will be used to expand its operations into Indonesia, with a primary focus on addressing common gut health problems using scientifically-based approaches tailored to the Indonesian context.

Established in 2019 by CEO Jeremy Lim, along with David Ong and Jonathan Lee, Amili conducts advanced gut microbe research and translates it into practical products and services.

(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, including digestion, immune function, mental health, and disease prevention.)

At present, Amili provides gut microbiome sequencing services, aiding healthcare professionals in improving patient care and developing probiotic formulations tailored specifically for Asian consumers. It also hosts a microbiome transplant bank.

Through its collaborations with regional research partners, Amili has created a multi-ethnic microbiome database that enables the development of offerings, such as Singapore’s first at-home gut microbiome testing service and the region’s first probiotic blend that includes prebiotics and postbiotics.

Also Read: MoneyHero to go public via a merger with Peter Thiel’s SPAC Bridgetown

The company has three fundamental assets:

• A multi-ethnic Asia microbiome database
• A microbiome bank with samples stored for metagenomic and metabolomic analysis
• Amili Prime, a set of proprietary analytical tools, informatics pipelines, and discovery engines

“Beyond medicine, the microbiome is important in food and agritech. Amili also looks forward to contributing to innovations in this space, particularly in health-enhancing foods and addressing stunting and malnutrition,” said CEO Lim.

“By conducting localised studies and understanding the specific intricacies of the Asian gut microbiome, we can discover insights and develop health interventions tailored to the needs and challenges of the Asian population, ultimately improving the health and well-being of individuals in the region,” said Willson Cuaca, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at East Ventures.

In June 2022, Amili secured US$10.5 million in Series A funding led by Vulcan Capital (now Cercano Ventures), the investment arm of the late Microsoft Corp Co-Founder Paul Allen. Pruksa Group, TVM Capital Healthcare, Emtek Group, Capital Code, Pureland Group, Blue7, GK Goh, and SEEDS Capital also participated.

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Echelon Asia Summit 2023 brings together APAC’s leading startups, corporates, policymakers, industry leaders, and investors to Singapore this June 14-15. Learn more and get tickets here. Echelon also features the TOP100 stage, where startups can pitch to 5000+ delegates, among other benefits like connecting with investors, visibility through the platform, and other prizes. Join TOP100 here.

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Indonesia’s digital investment platform Stockbit and Singapore-based investment specialist Fullerton have jointly acquired Ayers Asia Asset Management, a Jakarta-headquartered asset management firm.

With this acquisition, the three firms will collaborate to manufacture and distribute “quality investment solutions” for a broad spectrum of investors across retail, intermediaries and institutions in Indonesia.

Indonesia’s large population and strong growth prospects drive financial product and service demand. Although the number of investors in Indonesia grew by 38 per cent year-on-year in 2022, the asset management market remains underpenetrated when compared to neighbours in the region. Indonesia’s mutual fund’s asset under management is still less than 4.0 per cent of the GDP — far below Malaysia (35.8 per cent), Thailand (30.3 per cent), and India (15.8 per cent).

“We believe Fullerton’s strong track record in delivering quality investment solutions will benefit investors in Indonesia,” said Sigit Kouwagam, CEO and Co-Founder of Stockbit.

Also Read: Being prudent in spending should be at the heart of every management conversation: Aerodyne CEO

“Fullerton is excited to enter the Indonesian market with Stockbit, a fast-growing fintech player with a prominent brand and deep understanding of the diverse needs of investors in Indonesia. Their ambition to make investment solutions widely accessible complements our commitment to design quality offerings to meet the needs of this rapidly expanding and dynamic market,” said Fullerton Fund Management CEO Jenny Sofian.

Stockbit’s digital-first approach enables investors to build portfolios according to their risk profile and investment goals simply and optimally. Its products and services cover various asset classes, including stocks, bonds and mutual funds.

Fullerton has 20 years of experience investing across asset classes, markets, sectors and geographies. It has a strong focus on risk management, and its clients include sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies, family offices, private wealth and retail channels across Asia, Europe and the Americas.

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Echelon Asia Summit 2023 is bringing together APAC’s leading startups, corporates, policymakers, industry leaders, and investors to Singapore this June 14-15. Learn more and get tickets here.

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Use our special promo code: GO for 75% off your Echelon tickets!

The 2023 Echelon Asia Summit is happening at the Singapore EXPO on 14-15 June 2023. Are you a startup founder, investor, corporate, or tech enthusiast? Don’t miss out on one of the most anticipated tech conferences in the region! For more information, visit the official Echelon page.

As the entire Southeast Asian tech ecosystem moves towards a new phase of sustainable growth, e27‘s role must evolve as well on our platforms available for our community to join us in this journey. Echelon is by far the largest gathering of our community, partners, supporters, and stakeholders. Thus for this edition, we have created the e27 Ecosystem booth, where we will highlight members of our community, focusing on our 2022/23 programs and events to showcase the new platforms available to fulfil the ever-changing needs of the tech landscape.

The booth will have its own agenda for 2 days, comprising of our Pro members and the platform, celebrating outcomes and success of individuals or teams that have benefitted, deep diving into Southeast Asian cities, and conversing about practical advice and guidance in navigating this complex ecosystem.

Also read: Echelon: Bridging the Korean and Southeast Asia startup ecosystem

What to expect at the Echelon Ecosystem booth

Here is a snippet of the agenda that we will be discussing with our selected guests at the Ecosystem booth:

1. “e27 Contributor Program Workshop: How to become a thought leader in the startup ecosystem”
2. “Introduction on e27 Programs & Consulting | Fireside Chat with Prudence Foundation”
3. “Introduction on e27 Roadshow | Fireside Chat with CleverTap”
4. “What’s next: e27 Regional Plans and Programs”
5. “Building Strong Relationships Between Venture Capitalists and Startups: Strategies for Effective Fundraising”
6. “Innovating on the Acceleration Model with Communities, Meet the Leaders and Hear their Impact Stories”

Through these discussions and networking sessions, e27 hopes to achieve higher visibility on our newest platforms, showcase upcoming Southeast Asia projects, celebrate successes, and meet up with partners and supporters.

Invited guests can expect intimate discussions and conversations at the Ecosystem booth where e27 team members are available onsite to discuss further on your innovation ideas and plans for Southeast Asia.

Echelon Asia Summit 2023

Echelon Asia Summit 2023 is happening on 14-15 June, at the Singapore EXPO. Featuring a slew of speakers, exhibitors, business matching sessions, pitching stages, and more, the event enables participants to connect, network, and engage with the larger tech startup ecosystem.

Also read: Seeking to bridge Korea and Southeast Asia at Echelon is NFC

At the Echelon Asia Summit, participants get the chance to attend a diverse range of sessions, including keynote speeches, panel discussions, and workshops, all exploring exciting topics like AI, blockchain, e-commerce, fintech, and marketing. You’ll also have the opportunity to join networking sessions and meet-ups where you can connect with fellow entrepreneurs, investors, and industry leaders.

To learn more about Echelon Asia Summit 2023 and sign up for the event, visit the official page here.

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Photo by Ketut Subiyanto via Pexels

 

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Sustainability-focused deep-tech venture builder Singapore Deep-Tech Alliance (SDTA) has launched its revamped programme for its third cohort (STDA24).

This venture-building programme helps entrepreneurs bring advanced technologies to market in three phases, each structured with deliverables based on founder team formation, technology commercialisation, customer validation, product development and business building.

The nine-month programme will be segmented by new venture tracks, mentorship from SDTA’s senior advisory board, and access to the market through key Alliance Partners.

Participating ventures will have a greater and deeper access to a more vibrant ecosystem and connect with key research institutions through technology matching. They will also receive additional guidance from industry experts for their proof-of-concept project scoping and business-building activities.

SDTA will address societal challenges by building deep-tech ventures in Singapore. SDTA is launching five new venture tracks: manufacturing, semiconductor, healthcare, and energy verticals, with the climate tech horizontal spanning across the four verticals. This includes enhancing partnerships with entrepreneurs within these tracks and achieving a greater level of understanding of industry business needs, best practices and competitive advantages.

Also Read: Stockbit, Fullerton jointly acquire asset management firm Ayers Asia

SDTA will launch four key collaboration models with Alliance Partners to enable tangible and results-driven collaborations to further enhance public-private partnership models. These four collaboration models include:

New venture creation: A novel idea or opportunity area is identified by SDTA and its Alliance Partner, from which scope a use case that founders will build into a new venture.

Joint go-to-market: Leverage Alliance Partner’s existing technology stack to build novel solutions and jointly go to market with a new venture.

Be the exclusive launch customer: Co-develop prototypes or productise with a new venture and be the first in the industry to adopt novel solutions to improve operational efficiency and gain a competitive edge.

IP licensing: Licensing and commercialising Alliance Partner’s protected technologies to a new venture in exchange for royalties, licensing fees or equity in the venture.

Across all four models, SDTA ventures will have the opportunity to receive investment from Alliance Partners and be guided through the end-to-end process of taking advanced technology from lab to market.

The new Alliance Partners include Allnex, Dentsu Singapore, Micron Technology, Norgren, Zuellig Pharma and Panasonic R&D Center Singapore. Current partnerships have already been established by SDTA with TÜV SÜD, OMRON Asia Pacific, Lenovo Singapore, Avnet and Sunningdale Technologies.

Corporations interested in collaborating across the new SDTA24 venture tracks can reach out to join our industry network as an Alliance Partner and adopt one of the collaboration models.

Entrepreneurs passionate about climate tech in manufacturing, semiconductor, healthcare and energy industries can also submit their applications by 1 Aug 2023 to be a part of the SDTA24 Cohort.

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Echelon Asia Summit 2023 is bringing together APAC’s leading startups, corporates, policymakers, industry leaders, and investors to Singapore this June 14-15. Learn more and get tickets here.

The post SDTA revamps venture building programme for deep-tech startups in Singapore appeared first on e27.

Use our special promo code: GO for 75% off your Echelon tickets!

The 2023 Echelon Asia Summit is happening at the Singapore EXPO on 14-15 June 2023. Are you a startup founder, investor, corporate, or tech enthusiast? Don’t miss out on one of the most anticipated tech conferences in the region! For more information, visit the official Echelon page.

The Next Challenge Foundation (NCF) is a global startup accelerator foundation accredited by the Korean Ministry of SMEs and Startups. NCF focuses on building, connecting and reinventing sustainable global startup ecosystems on a city level towards the goal of nurturing the next generation of entrepreneurs who continue to initiate, create, and challenge the big questions of the future.

The main business areas of NCF include entrepreneurship education, startup investment and acceleration, startup builders network, coworking space design and development, and global expansion of incubating startups through connecting 9 countries’ startup ecosystems.

Also read: Echelon: Get to know our programs at the Ecosystem booth

At this year’s Echelon Asia Summit, NCF will be bringing with them 15 diverse and innovative startups from Korea to the Southeast Asian tech startup community! Echelon is a great opportunity for founders, investors, entrepreneurs, enthusiasts, and other ecosystem stakeholders to connect and potentially strike meaningful partnerships. These 15 startups are ready to meet you there!

Without further ado, here are the 15 startups from Korea who will be joining Echelon Asia Summit 2023 with the help of NCF!

15 Korean startups to watch out for at Echelon

1. AILO Corp. – “We are operating a Digital Goods All-In-One C2E Platform, ‘HAPL’ to innovate the originally complicated process of purchasing and using digital goods and ultimately create a Create to Earn (C2E) ecosystem where anyone can easily become a creator.”
2. ColorLoverLab Co., Ltd. – “Colour styling curation service based on colour data.”
3. FROMtheRED Inc. – “FROMtheRED is a game platform startup company and we have launched a project called ‘’Zempie’’. We want to make the biggest space for all game creators where they can freely share, collaborate, and create. We believe that everyone has unique ideas that can sprout into a big project.”
4. Funnkyvine Inc. – “PC/Mobile Game Developer and Blockchain/P2E game Developer”
5. JJAANN Company – “JJAANN Company is a startup servicing the next-gen social networking app, JJAANN, where users can find and hang out with their community and celebrities alike through group video chat and build meaningful relationships.”
6. Letitu – “Letitu is developing ‘The Pond’, a data/AI-based curriculum builder for high school students who can’t receive college counselling to achieve individual goals and successful college admission.”
7. LOYQU Inc. – “What makes LOYQU’s service different from its traditional taxi tour? In the case of traditional taxi tours, the company allocates the driver after the customer books the journey. Since the company is the one allocating the car and driver, it is hard for customers to find out the vehicle and driver information before the trip. With LOYQU, users can choose the time when they want to meet the driver. Secondly, they can plan their own route and third, users can freely check the vehicle type, condition and drivers based on other users’ reviews. Based on these strengths, LOYQU has been successfully operating services in 17 cities in Korea, including Jeju and Busan.”
8. LXNA GLOBAL – “LXNA GLOBAL is operating ‘Luxury & All’, the first non-face-to-face luxury repair and care platform in South Korea”
9. Mayoube – “We are currently running and developing an app, ‘Beluv’, for parents who have trouble finding safe baby products. Beluv analyses the chemicals in childcare products and provides an easy-to-read rating of their hazards. And based on that analysis, we also provide a chance to purchase safe products at the lowest possible price.”
10. Puzzle Monsters Inc – “Puzzle Monsters is a game development company that provides a leading P2E mobile game in Korea, specialising in ‘Idle Ninja Online’. Our goal is to be the top in the market through flexible adaptation with the latest trends, and the power to drive that idea.”
11. RATEL Games Inc. – “Ratel Games is a group of professional developers who have directly participated in the development of commercialised games from the beginning to the launch. Ratel Games consists of nine members who developed Nine Dragons, King’s Raid, Dungeon, and Fighter. From the 15th year to the 1st year, various seniors and juniors are showing their teamwork based on their actual collaboration experience. We are developing games with three titles which are Square Puzzle, Square Master, and Square Hearts, utilising the puzzle rules of Symmetry Puzzle.”
12. Roubit Inc. – “Roubit Inc. is a company that operates a gamified self-mental care app, called ‘Roubit’. We are creating a sustainable mental care solution through scientifically proven methods such as behaviour activation (BA) and character development games. With a user base of 250,000 in the United States and South Korea, we have been selected as Google Play’s Best App of 2021 on Self-care.”
13. SWITCHWON – “Switchwon is a financial technology startup that operates an online currency exchange and forex trading service.”
14. TRAVUT – “TRAVUT is a peer-to-peer based travel platform which offers mobile-based, efficient service that enables travellers to overcome language barriers, enhance mobility, and access local experiences that were previously challenging to attain.”
15. Zackdang Company – “Zackdang Company, is a South Korea-based company that revolutionise the beauty industry with Zamface, its flagship product. Zamface is a cutting-edge beauty application that utilises AI/AR technologies to provide personalised beauty tips and recommends tailored cosmetics by recognising facial problems (Personal Color, Skin Type, and Face Shape).”

Also read: Echelon: Bridging the Korean and Southeast Asia startup ecosystem

Echelon Asia Summit 2023

Get to know these unique startups and more at this year’s Echelon!

Echelon Asia Summit 2023 is happening on 14-15 June, at the Singapore Expo. Featuring a slew of speakers, exhibitors, business matching sessions, pitching stages, and more, the event enables participants to connect, network, and engage with the larger tech startup ecosystem.

To learn more about Echelon Asia Summit 2023 and sign up for the event, visit the official page here.

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Photo by Pixabay via Pexels

The post 15 exciting startups from Korea will be at Echelon via NCF! appeared first on e27.