Vietnam-based venture investment management platform Wiziin has secured US$500,000 in pre-seed funding from an unnamed tech serial entrepreneur.

“The venture capital world has long adhered to traditional methods of funding and investing in startups. This funding will enable us to accelerate our next efforts in emerging blockchain technology to disrupt this industry and revolutionise how venture capital operates based on the tokenisation of assets, and smart contracts,” stated Co-founder Thong Dang.

Founded in 2020 by experienced venture capitalist Tien Nguyen and serial entrepreneur Dang, Wiziin aims to bridge the gap between investors and founders through its new blockchain-based platform.

It provides tech platforms specialising in data-driven solutions for startups and investors in capital raising, dealmaking, and co-invest monitoring. It has a network of over 200 investors, and over 5,000 companies have raised funding via the platform.

Also Read: Leveraging blockchain: A new era for small business innovation

Wiziin is creating a new investment platform named “Homerun.club”, which enables efficient co-investment in blockchain environments for professional individual investors. By eliminating intermediaries, this platform aims to democratise funding access, empower entrepreneurs globally, and attract a broader range of investors.

“While our platform operates in a decentralised manner, we still require users to verify their identity in order to comply with regulations and safeguard investor interests. This verification process effectively mitigates fraudulent activities and enhances the overall credibility of our platform,” explained Dang. “We are also actively seeking institutional funding later this year to further develop the platform. This will enable the fundraising process to become a collaborative effort between the project and its community, driving mutual growth and success.”

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The image used in this article is AI-generated.

The post Wiziin nets US$500K for its blockchain-powered venture investment management platform appeared first on e27.

GoTo on track to profitability, loss narrows 56% in Q2
The group posted net revenue of US$232M in Q2, an 87% increase from the same period last year; Meanwhile, its net losses amounted to US$216M, a 56% drop from Q2 2022.

ID audio startup Noice lays off staff amid restructuring efforts
According to the company’s LinkedIn page, it has 215 employees; It is unclear how many are impacted; Noice offers a hyperlocal approach to podcasting and audio storytelling by platforming series in local dialects.

Xendit sheds ‘small number’ of product jobs
The fintech unicorn said the move has less to do with revenue or cost reduction and more about increasing the speed of its software development life cycle and generating “accountability within engineering processes.”

Bad loans from Indonesia’s fintech lenders hit US$338M: OJK data
The amount marked a 54.9% jump y-o-y; It also outpaced the growth of total outstanding loans disbursed by the country’s fintech lending platforms, which increased 18.9% y-o-y.

BNPL startup Atome renews US$100M debt facility with HSBC Singapore
The funds will help the fintech firm to expand its services in the Philippine market and develop new consumer financing products; Atome claims it has over 40M app downloads and has disbursed more than US$4B in loans.

GoTo to exit entertainment biz, target budget consumers as it eyes profits
The company is expanding its consumer base while being “extremely disciplined” about costs; GoTo has reduced its workforce by 24% over the past three quarters while reducing non-personnel fixed operating expenses by 10%.

HealthXCapital joins Jungle to lead healthcare investments in SEA & India
HealthXCapital has engaged with over 1,200 founders across various healthcare segments, including home care, ambulatory care, insurtech, data sciences, and brain health.

SG politician leaves Grab to take ‘external-facing’ role in fintech firm
Tin Pei Ling served as director of corporate development at Grab, a shift from her initial role as director of public affairs at the firm.

Boost Capital lands US$2.5M for its chat-based bank client onboarding platform
The Singapore-based SaaS platform enables financial institutions to digitally onboard applicants for loans, savings, credit cards, and insurance quickly.

Beep launches SEA’s largest eRoaming network with a seed round
The lead investors are GGV Capital and Wing Vasiksiri; Beep is an IoT transaction platform that is a universal translator, connecting various charging systems used by different operators.

Antler joins SaaS insurtech platform CHOYS’s US$1.1M seed round
Other backers are Wing Vasiksiri, Foremast, and Fintech Nation Fund; CHOYS empowers organisations with well-being tools and a platform to make a “bigger impact” by better understanding and connecting with their people.

Sea Group logs minimal revenue growth in Q2, misses estimates
Sea Group registered US$3.1B in revenue for Q2; The logged amount marks a 5.2% increase year on year; Nonetheless, Shopee continued to be the biggest money maker for the group, generating US$2.32B in revenue for Q2 2023.

SG competition watchdog opens Grab, Trans-cab merger for public comments
Grab and Trans-cab submitted the merger proposal to the CCCS in August for a decision on whether the acquisition would violate a section of the Competition Act 2004.

MAS to regulate stablecoins for ‘value stability’ in new framework
Issuers need to meet a minimum base capital and several prerequisites, including the stability of the tokens’ value; Companies must also return the par value of the holder’s stablecoin within five business days if requested by a customer.

Musk says X will address shadowbanning ‘soon’.
Shadowbanning is not outright banning a user but making changes that ensure their content is no longer circulated and kept out of public view; Shadowbanning has been a topic of concern even in Twitter’s earlier days.

Indonesia, Singapore start trial on cross-border QR code payments
Both have set a target of introducing the system in the second half of this year.

From a single brew to unicorn: Kopi Kenangan’s journey of coffee and creativity
Kopi Kenangan is now in the early stage of exploring the use of AI for picking locations for new store openings.

Gushcloud’s winning formula: Navigating authenticity, innovation, and tech in influencer marketing
CEO Althea Lim says Gushcloud stays away from paid influencer gigs that could have the possibility of being mistaken to be propaganda.

27 ID startups that have taken the ecosystem to next level this year
These Indonesian startups have made the nation proud in this Independence Day; It has proven to be a challenging –yet historical– year.

Inclusion matters: How GitHub enhances accessibility for individuals with disabilities
Exploring the tech industry’s commitment to inclusivity, the strides made in workplace accessibility, and the transformative power of diverse perspectives.

AI is not about job displacement but job augmentation: Nick Eayrs of Databricks
We will still want a human in the loop to oversee and check the output from AI while having AI do the mundane stuff in a more efficient way, says Nick Eayrs of Databricks.

Flexibility is key: How to succeed in an ever-changing startup world 
With the right mindset and approach, you can thrive in a constantly changing startup world and turn challenges into opportunities for success.

Balancing AI and human ingenuity: A guide to keeping your brain sharp
By adopting a balanced approach and implementing these strategies, we can maintain our cognitive edge and harness the full potential of AI.

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Image Credit: Gojek.

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Amidst the AI revolution, e27 presents a new series showcasing how organisations embrace AI in their operations.

Raviteja (Ravi) Dodda is the co-founder and CEO of MoEngage, an insights-led customer engagement platform built for customer-obsessed marketers and product owners.

Dodda has over ten years of experience leading global teams and managing products. Before joining MoEngage, he co-founded DelightCircle, a localised retail mobile app.

He has been included in the BW Disrupt 40 under 40 and Forbes 30 under 30 lists.

In this edition, Dodda shares how MoEngage has embraced Artificial Intelligence.

Edited excerpts:

How do you perceive the AI revolution and its potential impact on your industry and workforce?

From my perspective, I find Artificial Intelligence to be nothing short of a revolutionary force, completely transforming the way businesses approach their marketing strategies. It empowers them to reach unprecedented efficiency, personalisation, and overall success.

Thanks to AI, companies can now swiftly gather information and take decisive action in their marketing endeavours. Marketers, in particular, can harness the power of AI to gain real-time insights, allowing them to prioritise crucial aspects like customer value and revenue.

Furthermore, the wonders of AI and machine learning extend to understanding customer preferences, enabling brands to send messages at the perfect time and through the most effective channels, ultimately leading to improved Return on Investment (ROI).

By embracing AI’s (automation and optimisation) potential, brands can delve deep into customer behaviour, accurately engage the right audience, and establish personalised connections at every stage of the customer lifecycle. This level of personalisation fosters stronger customer relationships, engendering loyalty and trust in the brand.

As I see it, the impact of AI and automation on the workforce in the customer engagement industry could bring about specific changes. While AI can handle many routine tasks, I believe that humans will continue to play an important role, resulting in a fusion of Human-in-the-loop (HITL) decision-making that leverages human and machine intelligence to create optimal results.

To thrive in this evolving landscape, I think the workforce may need to embrace this shift by acquiring new skills related to AI, data analysis, and customer experience management.

In what ways has your company embraced AI technologies to improve operational efficiency or enhance business processes?

We are ahead of the curve, and our customers have been leveraging our Sherpa AI engine and machine learning to power their consumer brands. It helps them optimise their conversion, reach customers at the right time, and move to predictive customer engagement, fueling their business growth.

Sherpa lets you protect your customer base by identifying customers likely to churn, convert, or become inactive. Sherpa can boost your ROI by identifying customers ready to buy and upgrade. You can even set up custom prediction models and test the accuracy of those models with our built-in Prediction Quality Scores and more.

Can you share specific examples of how AI has been integrated into your workforce to streamline operations or drive innovation?

We have a task force to leverage AI for our business and customers. The GenAI task force at MoEngage is a good example of how a diverse representation can drive varied opinions, eliminate bias and ensure a system balance.

Also Read: AI is not about job displacement but job augmentation: Nick Eayrs of Databricks

With this, we strive to guarantee that all employees go through the same recruiting procedure, receive equal compensation, and have equal opportunities for career advancement.

What challenges or concerns did you encounter when implementing AI technologies within your organisation, and how did you address them?

We are in the learning phase to identify the right problems we want to solve with GenAI. For both our internal teams and our customers, we want to be able to add value that helps drive growth.

So, we are not focusing on just adding a layer on top of Open AI to solve things already addressed by the tools like ChatGPT, among several others.

How do you ensure transparency and uphold ethical considerations in using AI technologies within your organisation to mitigate privacy concerns?

Employees’ privacy is at the core of everything we do with AI technology. We’ve worked hard to create clear and honest privacy policies explaining how we handle user data – from collection to storage and sharing. We always ensure to get explicit and informed for any data utilised for AI-powered analysis because respecting user privacy is paramount.

We’re vigilant about collecting only the necessary data for AI-enabled tasks. We go the extra mile to anonymise (PII Tokenised Sending and Masking) it whenever possible, reducing the risk of privacy issues.

We take great pride in following ethical guidelines, ensuring fairness and responsibility in the development and use of AI technologies. We keep our employees up-to-date through ongoing education and training, fostering a culture of awareness and accountability regarding privacy concerns and the ethical impact of AI-powered technologies.

How do you ensure that AI technologies complement your workforce’s existing skills and expertise, rather than replacing or displacing human workers?

Based on historical experiences – such as the industrial revolution – we can infer that technological revolutions initially result in disruption, which leads to job losses, but ultimately results in job growth and prosperity over the long term due to improved efficiency.

Also Read: AI has its advantages but it can never fully replace humans: Asnawi Jufrie of SleekFlow

To ensure harmonious integration of AI with the workforce, we adopt a strategic approach, identifying roles where AI complements and enhances human capabilities. We foster a continuous learning and innovation culture, encouraging employees to see AI as a valuable tool that augments their skills, not a job threat. Prioritising human-centred design principles in our AI development, we create intuitive, user-friendly solutions that promote collaboration between humans and AI, preserving human expertise.

At MoEngage, we actively encourage team members to propose novel ways to integrate AI and recognise and reward ideas that strike a harmonious balance between AI and human capabilities. Through this balanced integration, we drive prosperity and growth in our organisation and beyond.

How do you envision the future collaboration between humans and AI? What role do you see AI playing in augmenting human capabilities?

Envisioning the future collaboration between humans and AI foretells a remarkable transformation in our work and life in general. AI has the potential to become an invaluable tool, augmenting human capabilities and leading to unprecedented advancements across diverse fields.

However, it is vital to emphasise that AI’s role is to enhance human capabilities, not to replace humans. Striking a harmonious balance between AI and human involvement will be paramount to unlock the full potential of this collaboration.

For instance, the AI-powered capabilities showcased by our recommendation engine Sherpa not only help marketers and product owners (from consumer brands) send the right message to the right customer at the right time on the right channel (thus optimising RoI) but also save them time to focus on improving the conversion funnel and working on novel strategies to drive business growth. This is where I feel AI can augment human capabilities.

What advice would you give to founders looking to leverage AI in their workforce?

It is vital to understand that while AI-powered technologies can make life easier, improve productivity and drive operational efficiency, they must be balanced well with the human element.

Ensure that the processes for which you want to implement AI-enabled technology are ultimately helping human operators maximise the potential of their work. AI shouldn’t be considered a replacement but rather a complementary effort to drive better business results.

Leaders and founders also need to ensure the ethical implementation of AI, where the technology only serves to improve and elevate the level of expertise of team members and not aim to sideline them effectively.

The AI-enabled processes should allow for the analysis of large data sets and provide actionable insights faster, thus helping individuals and teams (across consumer brands) focus on providing seamless and relevant customer experiences.

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Fundraising or preparing your startup for fundraising? Build your investor network, search from 400+ SEA investors on e27, and get connected or get insights regarding fundraising. Try e27 Pro for free today

The post AI must be used to enhance team members’ expertise, not to sideline them: Ravi Dodda of MoEngage appeared first on e27.

Malaysia has a high rental deposit problem.

The hefty deposits, often exceeding a tenant’s monthly salary, restricts mobility and housing options, especially for the Middle 40 (M40) and Bottom 40 (B40) group and young professionals.

As per an estimate, the total rental deposits stuck in the market amount to a massive US$6 billion.

Earnest Wong and Edmund Chong saw an opportunity here to bring a change and create an impact.

“We saw the pain points of high rental deposits and decided to create a solution to free up cash flow for tenants while providing security for landlords,” says Wong.

Wong (CEO) founded BlueDuck with Chong in 2018. Wong has a strong background in insurance and management, while Chong (CTO) brings years of experience in systems and security.

Also Read: ApartX allows landlords to share their properties via smart home solutions remotely

In a nutshell, BlueDuck is a fintech company providing financial services in Malaysia. It offers an easy rental solution for people looking for residential or commercial properties. It allows tenants to save cash upfront while enabling landlords and agents to rent out faster to a verified tenant.

The startup runs a zero-deposit programme, which allows tenants to pay a small annual subscription fee instead of traditional cash deposits, freeing up their cash flow. Upon verification, tenants receive a Blueduck Guarantee Certificate to reassure landlords.

The startup charges a tenant profiling fee on top of a small fee of 1 per cent of each rental transaction.

In addition, it charges an upfront one-time BD subscription fee charged yearly. The fee is 15-20 per cent of a 3-month guarantee, depending on the credit score and the BD scorecard and the purpose of renting (commercial/residential) of the tenant.

If any unforeseen incidents happen, Blueduck steps in to cover the cost on behalf of the tenant.

The programme has over 6,000 subscribers.

“In addition to the revenue generated from the zero-deposit programme’s subscription fee, we also derive income from our hassle-free rental collection services for landlords. Furthermore, our tenant profiling service aids landlords in making informed decisions, further adding value to their rental experience. These diversified revenue streams contribute to BlueDuck’s sustainable growth and financial success,” he explained.

Blueduck collaborates with over 1,000 landlords, realtors, and property developers in Malaysia.

While BlueDuck has made good progress, the company is aware of the challenges ahead. Creating widespread awareness about the zero-deposit programme is one.

“As we continue expanding, education becomes vital. To address this, we’re strategically partnering with developers and agents to reach a wider audience. Additionally, ensuring a seamless user experience and building trust are ongoing priorities. By leveraging advanced technology and focusing on excellent customer service, we’re committed to overcoming these challenges and furthering our mission,” says Wong.

BlueDuck has onboarded two VC firms to its cap table, along with experienced angel investors. He says their expertise and guidance have been invaluable in shaping its strategic direction and fueling growth.

In the short term, BlueDuck is focused on expanding its market presence by increasing its subscriber base and forging strategic partnerships with developers and real estate agencies.

“In the long term, our vision is to become a dominant player in the region, expanding beyond Malaysia and venturing into other ASEAN countries. We envision a future where Blueduck’s zero-deposit programme becomes a standard in the rental industry, empowering millions of tenants and landlords,” Wong concludes.

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Image Credit: BlueDuck

The post How BlueDuck tackles the ‘hefty rental deposit’ problem in Malaysia using a zero-deposit scheme appeared first on e27.

Yesterday, e27 and Splunk teamed up to host “Information to Action: How to understand user behaviour, influence design, and shape business strategy” at The Hive Carpenter, illuminating the path for businesses seeking to harness the power of digital experiences to drive customer satisfaction and business success. The event brought together industry leaders and tech aficionados to explore the partnership between data and business success.

A lineup of exceptional speakers, including Pauline Sim, Manivannan Govindan, Simon Lawrie and Anisa Maulani delved into real-time insights for downtime reduction, leveraging exceptional digital experiences to achieve business objectives, and making sound data-driven decisions.

Also Read: Why using security information and event management (SIEM) tools makes sense even if SEA isn’t high on compliance yet

Here are some highlights from their discussion:

• Essence of Digital Experience: The discussion began with an exploration of the digital experience’s core, emphasising its emotional impact alongside functionality. Personalisation, speed, and reliability were identified as vital components.
• Overcoming Challenges: Resistance to change was recognised as a universal challenge in digital transformation. The panel stressed the need for cultural shifts, stakeholder alignment, and effective communication.
• Data-Driven Decision-Making: Data insights were highlighted as guiding lights for informed decisions. Real-world examples, such as banks during peak seasons, showcased the transformative impact of data analytics.
• Automation as a Solution: Automation was spotlighted as a solution to industry challenges such as talent shortages. Its efficiency-boosting potential and benefits in addressing talent gaps were underscored.
• Holistic Transformation Approach: Integrating digital tools seamlessly into existing ecosystems, balancing in-house development with ready-made solutions, and embracing innovation and automation were highlighted as pathways to successful digital transformation.

“Information to Action” was not just a discourse on digital experience but a voyage into the heart of customer engagement and business growth. The insights shared by the panellists resonated with professionals seeking to enhance their digital offerings and create lasting impressions on their users. Moreover, the event provided an opportunity for everyone to connect with fellow tech enthusiasts and industry leaders in the digital space. And guess what? It was a big success!

Also Read: Bill Tai wants to ’empower the next generation’ of Zuckerbergs

A heartfelt thank you goes out to all the attendees who joined us. We had an absolute blast! Don’t forget to take a peek at these photos from the event.

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