Phasio, a Singapore- and Berlin-based startup developing software for the ‘productionisation’ of digital manufacturing, has secured US$2.5 million in seed funding led by Airtree Ventures.

500 Global, Entrepreneur First, and Michael Sorkin’s Gattaca Ventures also joined the round.

The strategic funding will enable Phasio to scale its engineering team to support the growing demand for its interface. A portion of the capital will be used to accelerate its manufacturing interface with feature improvements.

Also Read: Industry 4.0: Navigating disruptive technologies in manufacturing

“Our manufacturing interface is not just a tool; it’s a carefully designed ecosystem rooted in a deep understanding of the challenges that both manufacturers and customers face. Phasio’s intuitive by design, removing barriers and making it easier for manufacturers to focus on what they do best: creating quality products,” said Co-Founder Sudharshan Raman.

Founded by Harry Conor Lucas (CEO) and Raman (CPO), Phasio provides a manufacturing interface tailored to address existing friction points between manufacturers and customers throughout the standard process. The company claims its software tackles the end-to-end workflow between these stakeholders — from instant quotations to collaborating on designs to managing personalised order experiences via a digital storefront.

Each tool featured on Phasio’s manufacturing interface is designed to streamline product development in a way that’s intuitive to the manufacturer-customer workflow. For instance, when collaborating on designs, Phasio’s interface enables the manufacturer and customer to view the design on the former’s website and leave comments on the parts in 3D. This means a single engineer can scale up their workflow from an average of two projects to ten at a time.

Also Read: Making smart manufacturing a cost-efficient reality for SMEs

In addition to its core features, Phasio has developed ManufacturingGPT (mGPT), an AI agent to answer questions customers may have about specific manufacturing processes to simplify parts of the order management workflow, which may need an instant response.

Phasio’s platform boasts a number of integrations across the manufacturing workflow from Computer Aided Design software (Fusion360, CREO, Solidworks), accounting software (Xero, Quickbooks and Zoho), and shipping providers (Australia Post, UPS and FedEx).

Over 50 local manufacturers use Phasio across many markets, such as Singapore, Australia, Germany, India, the UK, Greece and the Netherlands.

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Vishal Harnal, Managing Partner at 500 Global, added: “Manufacturing plays a key role in bolstering the prosperity of the global economy. Phasio’s commitment to foster hyper-local and hyper-connected manufacturing holds the potential to catapult not only their customers but the people and economies dependent on these industries.”

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Image Credit: Phasio.

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LUNA, an Indonesian embedded fintech and vertical SaaS platform for retailers and MSMEs in Indonesia, has raised an undisclosed round of financing led by TNB Aura through its TNBA Scout initiative.

Seedstars and existing investors 1982 Ventures, Century Oak Capital, and Prasetia Dwidharma also participated.

Also Read: Fintech funding in Q3: Indonesia witnesses 94% plunge while Vietnam sees 190% surge

With this financing, the startup plans to recruit talent across all functions, expand to new cities in the archipelago, and invest in platform development.

Launched in late 2019 by Abdullah Lewis (CEO), Patricco Baron (CTO), and Irianto Siah (COO), LUNA is an Operating System for merchants to improve their operations, payments, accounting, access to financing, supply chain, digital marketing, customer relationship, loyalty programmes, HR, legal and compliance.

“Retail merchants face an incredibly complex and competitive market. Many have not digitised or are using outdated legacy systems not built for Indonesian retailers or MSMEs. We are the all-in-one system for retail owners to scale their business and provide enhanced customer experiences,” CEO Lewis said.

Also Read: What you can learn about Singapore, Indonesia from this list of top tech startups

Its solutions include a mobile point-of-sale system with a built-in enterprise resource planning (ERP)/accounting system (Luna POS); QRIS, debit, and credit card payment enablement (Luna One); financing support for MSMEs (Luna Capital); online web (TokoLuna); and digital supply chain solutions (Luna Mart); legal support, company registration, and patenting (Luna Legal); helping MSMEs to manage social media and advertising (Luna Ads); as well as HR management, loyalty programs, and customer relationship management offerings.

According to the company, it covers over 70 cities in Indonesia and is growing over 20 per cent m-o-m, with over 7,000 active merchants onboarded.

LUNA has partnered with major banks such as Bank Jawa Barat, CIMB Niaga, Bank Neo Commerce and Nobu Bank; P2P lenders Koinworks and Batumbu, and wireless network operator Smartfren. The company is rolling out an HR management system and additional value-added services to meet the needs of MSMEs as a comprehensive solution.

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“With 90 per cent of all MSMEs in ASEAN based in Indonesia, we believe there is still a large, untapped market presently facing a lack of access to new technology and capital. We believe LUNA’s unique access to MSMEs through its rural bank partnerships along with their POS system software serve as prime data collection points which will enable business owners access to their full suite of product offerings,” said Glen Ramersan, Managing Partner & Head of Indonesia, TNB Aura.

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Image Credit: LUNA.

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Eazy Digital, a SaaS platform empowering agents and brokers to automate their insurance sales and processes in Thailand, has closed a US$1 million seed round.

M Venture Partners led the round, with participation from returning investors Wavemaker Partners, OneDegree, Ascend Angels, and Orvel Ventures.

Also Read: Thai insurtech company Roojai acquires DirectAsia from Hiscox

The fresh funding will be used to upgrade Eazy Digital’s automated agency management system platform for agents and brokers and fuel expansion to Malaysia and the Philippines.

Eazy Digital was built by serial entrepreneurs and insurance veterans Harprem Doowa (CEO) and Maethavee Sukul (COO). Doowa, previously co-founded Frank (acquired by bolttech in 2020).

Eazy Digital leverages technology to help insurance intermediaries break free from manual and legacy processes. The insurtech platform is built to handle millions of transactions with features such as an automation campaign builder to launch data-driven and personalised campaigns to boost sales efficiency. Agent request management that connects to a workflow system allows agents to request claims, amendments, quotations, and cancellations.

Intelligent dashboarding and reporting of key KPIs and SLAs to help boost visibility for agents. Agency profile pages allow individual agents to have their own profile pages branded under the insurance company. These pages help agents quickly build trust and generate leads.

Also Read: Wealthtech, insurtech, SaaS fintech are the new hot verticals in Indonesia: AC Ventures report

Other modular add-ons in the works include Application Programming Interface (API) enabled payment, onboarding, workflow management, dashboard, and training management to reduce operational workloads.

Eazy Digital recently partnered with Ergo Insurance and Tokio Marine Safety Insurance, facilitating 100,000 policies, renewals, and claims in Thailand.

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e27 has been dedicated to nurturing a supportive ecosystem for entrepreneurs since its inception. Our Contributor Programme offers a platform for sharing unique insights.

As part of our newly introduced ‘Contributor Spotlight’, we shine a weekly spotlight on an outstanding contributor and dive into the vastness of their knowledge and expertise.

In our first episode, we feature Daan van Rossum, CEO of FlexOS and the creator of Future Work, a weekly newsletter and podcast about the future of work for an audience of over 15,000 business and people leaders.

A valued contributor, Rossum joined us in Q2 with his debut article. Since then, his work has amassed over 3,000 views. His motivation as an e27 contributor stems from his desire to impart knowledge and experience to the startup community.

Rossum shares his personal and professional journey in our debut episode of Contributor Spotlight.

The driving force

Rossum is passionate about helping startups create environments where their employees flourish in happiness and productivity. “Startups can potentially change the world, and I want to help them achieve their goals,” he said candidly.

How it all began

Rossum embarked on his journey at 15 when he chose to leave school and delve into the internet, enticed by its transformative possibilities. With experiences at Ogilvy spanning multiple global cities, he ventured to establish his own company, committed to aiding individuals in discovering happiness and realising their aspirations.

This journey evolved further as he took on the CEO role at Dreamplex, a co-working network in Vietnam. He later introduced FlexOS, a platform that empowers people-centric managers in hybrid and remote work settings.

Also Read: Myths vs reality: Remote and hybrid managers report high productivity and trust

The future is happy

Rossum specialises in employee experience, employee engagement, remote and hybrid work models, and fostering happiness in the workplace.

Regarding employee experience trends, he said, “There’s a noticeable shift towards emphasizing its importance in boosting engagement, retention, and productivity. Furthermore, we’ve seen the rapid rise of remote and hybrid work models, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. This has pushed companies to rethink and enhance the experience for remote and hybrid workers.”

He highlighted the growing focus on workplace happiness, emphasizing that companies now understand its role in driving productivity and innovation. They actively strive to create supportive, valued, and appreciated workplaces.

Advice for budding thought leaders

To all aspiring thought leaders and regular contributors seeking to enhance their skills as articulate and efficient communicators, here are some of his top tips:

• Develop a deep understanding of your field. This will give you the credibility and authority to speak on relevant topics.
• Maybe, more importantly, understand who you’re writing for. If you don’t know what your audience cares about, it’s hard to provide real value. 
• Be able to communicate your ideas clearly and concisely. 
  • Writing is thinking, but the final product should convey your message. I highly recommend the University of Michigan’s Good With Words course. 
  • Read a lot. The more you read, the more you’ll get into the flow of writing well yourself. 
• Be responsive to your audience. Engage with them on social media and answer their questions. Writing can’t be a one-way street. Let your readers inspire your next piece and help you develop your thinking and writing. 

Juggling too many things?

“Understanding your priorities is crucial,” Rossum emphasised. “Once you’ve identified them, it’s time to evaluate your schedule. Chances are, your current time allocation doesn’t align with your priorities. In that case, it’s time for a schedule reset.”

He further suggested allocating time to prioritise significant aspects of life, such as family and career, emphasizing deliberate scheduling and hyper-effective time management. He recommended eliminating non-contributory meetings and dedicating substantial blocks for meaningful, productive work.

“In my case, I rely on tools like Clockwise to automate this process, even reshuffling meetings. Balancing work, contributing, and personal life can be challenging, but setting boundaries and consciously structuring your time is essential. It’s equally important to include moments for relaxation and rejuvenation. When you follow these principles, you’ll find ample time to enjoy life”, he added.

Also Read: Examining global hybrid and remote work trends beyond the West

Staying in the loop

To stay informed, Rossum relies heavily on LinkedIn, where he follows industry leaders and influencers. “I’ve found that when crucial news surfaces, it’s often shared by one of these individuals on their profiles”, he said.

Podcasts are another invaluable resource, he feels. He’s an avid listener, regularly tuning into shows like This Week in Startups, Josh Bersin, WorkLife with Adam Grant, Acquired, My First Million, and HBR Ideacast.

He mentioned that he stays informed by subscribing to email newsletters like People Geekly and Dror Poleg, focusing on developments in employee experience, employee engagement, remote and hybrid work models, and happiness at work. These sources provide valuable updates and trends in his areas of expertise.

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Are you ready to be a part of a vibrant community of entrepreneurs and industry experts? Do you have insights, experiences, and knowledge to share?

Join the e27 Contributor Programme and become a valuable voice in our ecosystem. 

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Distance learning has always been seen as a solution to give greater access to education, especially in communities where educational facilities are limited, or for more mature students who have to juggle school with other commitments such as work or family.

In Asia, we have been seeing the rise of edutech startups who are helping students to learn better through technology, such as Jakarta-based Zenius or London-based Quipper who has a strong presence in Asian market.

The rise of virtual reality (VR) also means that the education sector –particularly distance learning platforms such as MOOCs and online schools– will be able to integrate it to create a more meaningful learning experience for students.

This infographic courtesy of NowSourcing breaks it down for you.

Featured image credit: Tran Mau Tri Am on Unsplash.com

This article was first published in March 9, 2016

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