The number of existing internet users, which is projected to reach five billion by the end of 2023 and grow to eight billion by 2040, is expected to drive global tech stack expansion, according to a new report by 500 Global.

But in order to capture value creation, tech companies need to be able to understand internet users on a global level. The report detailed that as startup activities are becoming more globalised, with more than 100 countries having active startup ecosystems, so are unicorn activities, with more than 50 countries minting at least one unicorn.

Global revenues are an increasingly important lever for tech, the report stressed.

Called the Rise Report, in this report, 500 Global analysed third-party datasets to examine the potential venture funding gaps between emerging economies (“Rise Economies”) and the relatively mature startup ecosystems. It also seeks to understand “patterns of innovation and potential opportunity in the tech landscape.”

“Our overarching thesis is that by identifying what we believe is the relative delta between where an underpenetrated venture ecosystem is versus their potential, we may find alpha on a global scale,” said Courtney Powell, COO and Managing Partner at 500 Global in a press statement.

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“When we’re able to quantify the potential gaps in a venture ecosystem, we believe we are better equipped to collaborate with all stakeholders to accelerate global venture ecosystems and enable startups to drive economic growth in their economies and financial returns to our investors.”

Beyond US and China

In the report, 500 Global also stated that while many believe that the next decade will be defined by the US and China, it also believes in the role played by Rise 30—the 30 largest, fast-growing economies outside of the US and China that are expected to surpass the two countries by GDP.

India tops this list, while Indonesia is the only Southeast Asian country that made it to the top 10 list. Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, and Malaysia were also in the top 20 list.

In the matter of the venture funding gap, in 2022, Singapore and Israel were the only two Rise Economies with Venture Penetration higher than that of the US.

Several key points that the report noted about the Rise 30 countries: They are growing faster, with younger population that are more social media savvy—and based in rural areas.

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Image Credit: RunwayML

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In today’s fast-paced and competitive world, building a dedicated and passionate following is a crucial factor for the success of any project. Whether you’re launching a blockchain platform, a digital art collection, or an educational initiative like Open Campus, finding your first 100 raving fans can set the stage for unprecedented growth and impact.

I was recently inspired by the remarkable story of Lee Kuan Yew’s documentary on Netflix, which transformed Singapore into a global powerhouse in a single generation. Lee’s leadership and vision were legendary. He took a small, resource-limited nation and turned it into an economic powerhouse.

One of his remarkable qualities was his ability to build a nation with a shared vision and passion. He didn’t just lead; he inspired a sense of purpose and unity in his people. This approach is applicable to projects of all kinds, especially in the Web3 and blockchain space.

Cardano: The power of a scientific community

Cardano, a third-generation blockchain platform, is a prime example of how a strong community can drive a project’s success. Its founder, Charles Hoskinson, understood the importance of building a community around a shared vision.

Cardano’s first 100 raving fans were often individuals with a deep interest in blockchain technology and cryptography. They believed in Cardano’s scientific approach to development and its potential to bring financial services to the unbanked.

As Cardano’s community grew, so did its influence. These early supporters became ambassadors, developers, and advocates. They contributed to research, built decentralized applications (dApps), and spread the word about Cardano’s capabilities. Cardano’s success wasn’t solely due to its technology; it was the passionate community that rallied behind it.

Bored Ape Yacht Club: A digital art movement

In the world of digital art and NFTs, the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) stands out as a remarkable success story. BAYC is a collection of unique, hand-drawn NFTs that also grant membership to an exclusive club. Owners of these NFTs become part of a passionate and creative community.

The Bored Ape Yacht Club’s first 100 fans were the early adopters who recognized the value of owning these unique pieces of digital art. But it wasn’t just about the art; it was about the shared identity and culture that emerged around BAYC. Owners proudly displayed their apes on social media, attended virtual meetups, and engaged in collaborative projects.

This sense of belonging and shared ownership created a powerful network effect. As more people saw the community forming around BAYC, they wanted to be a part of it. The project’s success was not only about the art but also about the community it fostered.

Chainlink: Bridging the gap with developers

Chainlink, a decentralised Oracle network, is another project that found early success by focusing on developers and building a community of fans within this niche. Chainlink’s first 100 fans were often developers who recognised the need for reliable and decentralised oracles to connect smart contracts with real-world data.

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Chainlink didn’t just create a product; it became an essential tool for the burgeoning DeFi ecosystem. By providing secure and tamper-proof data feeds, Chainlink enabled a new wave of DeFi applications. This value proposition resonated deeply with developers.

The Chainlink community grew organically as developers integrated Chainlink oracles into their projects and shared their positive experiences. The project’s first 100 fans played a pivotal role in shaping the narrative around the importance of oracles in the blockchain space. Chainlink’s success today is a testament to the power of cultivating a passionate developer community.

Open Campus: Bridging education and Web3 with early fans

Open Campus, a forward-thinking initiative at the intersection of education and Web3, is leveraging its early fans to drive impact. Just like Cardano, BAYC, and Chainlink, Open Campus recognizes the significance of building a passionate following from the ground up.

Open Campus’s first 100 fans are educators, learners, and enthusiasts who share a vision for the future of education in the blockchain era. These early supporters are not just users; they are co-creators and advocates. They actively participate in shaping the project’s direction, providing feedback, and spreading the word about its unique approach to education.

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By nurturing this early fanbase, Open Campus is not only building a strong foundation but also fostering a sense of ownership and community. These fans are instrumental in co-creating educational content, validating the project’s value proposition, and attracting new learners.

Identifying and building your first 100 raving fans

How can projects identify and cultivate their first 100 raving fans? Here are some key strategies:

• Define your vision: Clearly articulate your project’s mission and vision. What problem are you solving, and why is it essential? Your vision should resonate deeply with your target audience.
• Engage early adopters: Identify and engage with early adopters who align with your vision. These individuals are often passionate about your industry or technology.
• Create value: Provide real value to your early fans. Whether it’s unique technology, exclusive benefits, or a sense of belonging, ensure that they gain something meaningful from supporting your project.
• Listen and iterate: Actively listen to your early fans’ feedback and iterate on your project based on their input. This demonstrates that you value their contributions.
• Foster community: Encourage interaction among your early fans. Build spaces where they can connect, collaborate, and share their experiences.
• Tell your story: Share your project’s journey, successes, and challenges. Authentic storytelling can resonate deeply with your audience.
• Reward advocacy: Recognize and reward your most passionate advocates. This can be through exclusive access, tokens, or other incentives.

The first 100 raving fans are the foundation upon which successful projects are built. They believe in your vision, become your advocates, and drive your growth. Whether you’re in blockchain, art, education, or any other field, the lessons from projects like Cardano, Bored Ape Yacht Club, Chainlink, and Open Campus emphasize the enduring power of passionate communities. Cultivating these early fans is not just about building a following; it’s about building a movement.

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Singapore-based global impact investor Earth Venture Capital (Earth VC) has participated in the US$7 million seed financing round of Israeli agritech startup TreetoScope.

Others joining the round are Israeli Champel Capital, SeedIL, and strategic investors. 

The funding will be used for R&D, overall growth, and accelerating commercial agriculture expansion in North America and beyond. Its sales volume is now concentrated in North America and Europe. The company also plans to expand to Asia in the upcoming years.

“The funding will enable us to expedite our research and to expand, improve, and carry out our mission to provide farmers with the tools they need to grow more with less water and inputs,” Treetoscope CEO Dotan Eshet said.

Also Read: ‘Climate tech: SEA needs more time to improve startup quality, attract capital’, says Earth Venture Capital’s Tien Nguyen

Treetoscope provides farmers with advanced irrigation insights while applying Artificial Intelligence technologies and utilising innovative sensors developed by the company to measure plant water consumption in real-time.

Its in-tree/plant sensors are easy to install by the growers and directly measure water uptake in real-time. Combined with AI, integrated weather data, satellite imagery, and other remote data, Treetoscope’s irrigation management system provides growers with a more accurate data set to schedule irrigations, cut back water and other input costs, and ensure optimal crop health and production.

To date, Treetoscope has secured more than US$10 million in total investments, which includes grants from the Israel Innovation Authority and Bird Foundation.

Today, 70 per cent of annual freshwater consumption is used by the agricultural sector, and more than half is wasted because of poor irrigation systems, evaporation, and overall poor water management. Treetoscope enables farmers to save approximately 30 per cent in irrigation expenses increase the yield, and the weighted profits for the farmers.

Early this year, Earth VC joined the US$5 million Series A investment round of Israeli intelligent traffic management startup ITC.

Earth VC is a global VC firm investing in climate-tech solutions, with a focus on Southeast Asia. The firm invests in seed to Series A startups in AI, Machine Learning, robotics, new materials, new energy, and the IoT that serve the goals of switching to renewable energy, abandoning fossil fuel, and increasing the level of carbon storage.

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Flux Series: Marketing Leaders is happening at the St. Regis in Jakarta, Indonesia, on 15 November 2023. Are you working in the field of marketing? Don’t miss out on this focused and curated event designed especially for marketing professionals!

Get your tickets to Flux Series: Marketing Leaders today!

Partnerships are the cornerstone of success in any venture, and the forthcoming Flux Series: Marketing Leaders event exemplifies this principle. The Flux Series offers an exclusive platform for industry trailblazers to engage in immersive learning sessions, granting access to industry knowledge and actionable strategies that can fuel sustainable growth and profitability for your brand.

Set against the elegant backdrop of the St. Regis in Jakarta, Indonesia, on November 15, 2023, the inaugural edition of Flux Series promises to bring together influential marketing leaders. Their mission: to deliberate, brainstorm, and formulate actionable strategies for optimising marketing endeavors through AI-driven innovations and cutting-edge technology, all with the goal of achieving fresh marketing milestones for your company.

Within Flux Series: Marketing Leaders, attendees can anticipate enlightening keynote speeches, dynamic panel discussions, and hands-on workshops covering an array of topics surrounding the complex world of marketing. These sessions will delve into harnessing artificial intelligence to fortify marketing initiatives and cultivate deeper connections with customers, as well as exploring the latest trends in technology.

Partners that are committed to our mission

Sponsors hold a pivotal role in the triumph of Flux Series: Marketing Leaders on multiple fronts. Firstly, they extend diverse forms of support and coverage for the various facets that make the event an enriching and exhilarating experience for participants.

Furthermore, sponsors contribute their wealth of expertise and insights, affording attendees exclusive benefits. Through their extensive networks and marketing channels, sponsors extend the reach of the event, offering valuable insights to a broader demographic.

Also read: Engage your peers in roundtable discussions at Flux Series

Equally significant is the presence of sponsors at the event. This creates invaluable networking opportunities for attendees to acquaint themselves with the products and services on offer. This facet aligns seamlessly with the core purpose of Flux Series — to serve as a curated gathering for marketing leaders, fostering connections between all stakeholders. By championing Flux Series: Marketing Leaders, participants can engage with fellow marketing professionals, gaining access to industry best practices and actionable wisdom, ultimately forging novel partnerships and collaborations poised to propel business growth and triumph.

Meet Digimind at Flux Series: Marketing Leaders

Digimind is the global leader in AI-powered social listening platforms and market intelligence software designed for brands and agencies who want to accelerate digital transformation through an insights-driven approach. Recognised by Forrester and Gartner, Digimind’s best-in-class technology transforms social and online data into actionable business insights, enabling marketers to effectively plan, execute, and analyse their marketing strategy.

With offices in New York, Paris, Singapore, Grenoble, Rabat, Buenos Aires, Mexico, Madrid, and Amsterdam, Digimind is serving more than 700 customers worldwide.

Also read: Diverse range of startups make it to X-PITCH 2023 TOP100

Digimind prides itself on its mission: To be the world’s most trusted Social Listening and Intelligence platform, helping their customers understand the world as it is. “Having Digimind at Flux allows us to be in front of key marketing decision-makers from some of the country’s top brands, giving us the needed exposure to educate the audience about what our tool can bring to their business goals,” explained Jared Silitonga, Regional Marketing Lead at Digimind.

Digimind seeks to take part in Flux Series: Marketing Leaders because of the potential conversations they will be having with their connections at the event, a true testament to the program’s ability to connect industry leaders at the forefront of knowledge-sharing and innovative tech.

Join Flux Series: Marketing Leaders

Flux Series: Marketing Leaders goes beyond conventional learning environments by providing a curated selection of growth-oriented content stages. These stages serve as dynamic platforms where attendees gain invaluable knowledge on how to leverage disruptive technologies and harness the power of AI to supercharge their marketing efforts. Here, participants get to immerse in active knowledge-sharing guided by industry trailblazers who will be lending their expertise and experiences. From decoding AI-powered tools to unveiling transformative marketing strategies, these content stages are designed to equip marketers with actionable insights that can be seamlessly integrated into their business strategies.

Also read: How PriyoShop is revolutionising the B2B procurement process

For marketing leaders aiming to elevate their company’s marketing goals, Flux Series: Marketing Leaders is a must-attend event. Join us in Jakarta on November 15, 2023, for a day of insightful discussions, interactive workshops, and unparalleled networking opportunities that will reshape the way you approach marketing in the digital age.

Join the Flux Series or become our partner and be a driving force in the AI-powered marketing revolution. To learn more about the event, you may visit the official Flux Series: Marketing Leaders page.

Get ready to embark on a journey that will not only deepen your understanding of AI-driven marketing but also equip you with the actionable insights needed to thrive in the dynamic world of modern marketing.

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While building GPay at Google, software veterans Piet Walraven, Meiwin Fu, and Zihui Chen looked into how people discovered restaurants. It struck them that almost everyone ‘liked’ to save places but dealt with severe discovery overload.

“We’d ask people to show us their places, and they’d often chuckle. Besides a select few diligent restaurant list keepers, most would start scrolling screenshots, notes, social apps, direct messages, or open tabs, scanning for discoveries that got buried by other things worth remembering,” Walraven says. “We realised that the discovery overload will only worsen as we spend more time online. That’s when we decided to quit our jobs to build Drigmo.”

Drigmo — an anagram of Grimod de la Reynière, who wrote the world’s first restaurant guide L’Almanach des Gourmands, during the reign of Napoleon in 1803 — is a new social food app for people to save their places.

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The app was developed by Walraven, Meiwin Fu, and Zihui Chen — who built and sold their previous startup ‘Pie’ to Google before joining the search engine giant.

A social app built around people’s restaurant lists, Drigmo enables users to organise their places with custom tags and bring their lists to life by adding personal memories through notes, pictures, and videos.

As users grow their lists, their friends can see their activities and save discoveries from each other (like re-pinning on Pinterest). They can also explore their friends’ spots on a map to see what nearby places they visited or have on their ‘to-try’ list.

“When we studied hundreds of restaurant lists from passionate foodies, we found that the personal and social aspect of list-keeping makes people add mostly the places they love and recommend. This makes restaurant lists positive and truthful by default. We thought if restaurant lists are social, expressive, and positive, why not build an app around them? That’s how Drigmo happened,” Walraven says.

As the user base grew with the number of restaurants and memories saved on the platform, Drigmo evolved into a community of diners, helping other diners discover great places.

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The app doesn’t offer a ‘restaurant ratings’ feature; instead, it shows ‘who has saved this place’ and highlights the memories of their friends. The users find it a more efficient way of deciding if a place is for them, Walraven says.

Since its soft launch in Singapore in March this year, over 45,000 places have been saved and 15,000 tags created on the platform.

The app also integrated AI into the platform to provide place summaries based on all available reviews on the web and structuring its own community-generated data to make it even more helpful.

While there are editorial sites like Daniel Food Diary or players like Grab Food that offer reviews, Walraven doesn’t see them as competitors. “GrabFood, GoJek, Chope, etc. are an opportunity as they rely on reviews and place data to improve conversion and average order size.”

Although Drigmo is currently free to use, the company is exploring several monetisation models — such as offering its rich places data as an API and enabling restaurants to offer their guests a loyalty program that integrates deeply with the app experience.

The co-founders have already managed to raise a strategic round of funding from a handful of Singapore’s most experienced and well-respected investors.

In Walraven’s opinion, although all the social media apps in the market were launched with tall promises of bringing the world closer together, it turned out to be one of tech’s biggest fallacies. If anything, these apps have divided people.

“The next wave of social will be different. It has to be positive by design and a healthy, worthwhile place to hang out. We believe food is a great vertical to build in not only because it’s the last thing you can’t download but also because food has always done what big social screwed up; it connects people,” Walraven concluded.

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Image Credit: Drigmo.

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When it comes to the prospect of quantum tech in Southeast Asia, Singapore remains the most promising hub in the region with potentials in terms of talents, investments, and IPs.

In an interview with e27, Denis Kalinin, Asia Business Development Manager, Runa Capital, explains how government support allows quantum tech ecosystem to flourish in the country. There is also a strong emphasis on R&D, leading to investors flocking in to the space.

But this does not mean that running a quantum tech company in Singapore is not without challenge.

“Most of them still lack the commercial traction. Basically, it is [a matter of] scalability because most of the startups that we see in Singapore in the quantum tech space are Series A companies, not many of them actually reached even Series B and managed to get meaningful commercial traction,” he says.

“Another concern with Singaporean quantum tech startups is that they usually remain Singaporean. They struggled quite a lot with expanding to other markets.”

This is something that Kalinin believes can be solved by having the support of global investors that can help them with their international expansion journey.

“It’s a fundamental challenge of … nurturing those intrapreneurial skills, because many of the Singaporean deep tech founders, they are first and foremost scientists, not intrapreneurs.”

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Global expansion with a focus

Headquartered in Luxembourg, Runa Capital has a presence in major tech hubs such the US, the UK, France, and Germany. Having been around since 2010, the company’s uniqueness lies in their expertise and focus on the following fields: Deep tech, particularly in cloud infrastructure and the Future of Computing; enterprise SaaS, which nowadays tend to focus more on AI-enabled automation; and fintech infrastructure, especially in core banking infrastructure.

The company’s expertise in the deep tech and related spaces begin with its co-founders Ilya Zubarev, who founded global cybersecurity company Acronis (US$3.5 billion valuation in the recent round led by Blackrock) and virtualisation software provider Parallels (acquired by Corel), among the few; and Dmitry Chikhachev, who led global M&A and greenfield projects at Ritzio Entertainment Group, grew vending operator Uvenco (acquired by Montagu Group) as CEO/COO from scratch to US$25 million revenues and managed HR at Ericsson across seven countries.

In selecting a potential investment, Runa Capital puts heavy emphasis on strong products.

“We really like companies that are product-driven, rather than marketing-driven which can be capital intensive, so we sometimes invest really early on. That is when you can basically identify the product, analyse it and see that it can actually scale,” Kalinin says.

“We analyse the product’s sophistication; how defensible it is. Like, how many developers can copy this product? Is this product competitive enough with large corporations? Because once the area becomes hot enough, the question would be whether it can be reproduced by Google or Amazon or Apple. So, the product complexity and defensibility is one of the most important factors. The team is of course [is also a factor] which is partly related to the product and the team’s ability to execute.”

Runa Capital also puts an emphasis on having a global orientation. This is important especially in Asia, where startups tend to confine in their own regions, such as the case with unicorns such as Gojek and Grab.

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What Runa Capital can offer is an opportunity to enter global markets such as Europe, which he sees as a strength for the firm.

“Deep tech in Europe is growing really fast in terms of scientific research and government support. For example, for photonic investments and semiconductors. There are lots of talents including scientists and developers. For deep tech companies, in some aspects, Europe might be even more interesting than the US market.”

The firm is currently raising and deploying its fourth fund with the target size of US$250-300 million for seed and Series A stage companies.

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Image Credit: Runa Capital

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Tech startups based in Singapore secured a total of US$121 million over 12 rounds of investments in September 2023, as per a Tracxn report.

This amount is a 4.31 per cent increase over August 2023 and about a 22 per cent decrease over September 2022.

The top deals of September 2023 were bolttech’s US$50 million, Chitose Bio Evolution’s US$21 million, AWAK’s US$20 million, Novelship’s US$9.5 million, and Mythic Protocol’s US$6.5 million.

Saison Capital, Alpha JWC, Vickers Venture Partners, and Hashkey Capital were the most active investors last month.

See the infographic for more details:

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Philippine startup Kita Agritech has secured US$3 million in an “oversubscribed” seed funding round co-led by Gentree Fund and Altara Ventures.

Kita plans to use the money to digitalise the agriculture supply chain using big data and AI technologies.

Kita was launched in 2022 as a supplier of fruits and vegetables for restaurants in Metro Manila. The company supported local farmers by financing their agricultural inputs and directly procuring their goods for distribution to various enterprises, such as hotels, restaurants, and food manufacturers.

According to the company, this approach eliminated the expenses linked to conventional supply chain systems, ensuring profitability for farmers, and delivering the freshest, top-quality produce and ingredients to clients.

Also Read: Altara Ventures hits the final close of inaugural fund oversubscribed at US$130M

As an agricultural economy, the Philippines plays a significant role in the regional agricultural supply chain market, accounting for US$30 billion in trading volume, about 10 per cent of its GDP, and employing over 20 per cent of its population. The country is Southeast Asia’s second-largest producer of fresh vegetables, yielding over 5 million tons annually, following Vietnam.

As of October 2023, Kita operates three warehouses and a fleet of cold chain-enabled delivery trucks, serving major restaurant and hotel chains in the Philippines.

“Much of the initial growth and success in Kita can be attributed to having a very good team in place and focus on cash flow and profitability,” said Marc Concio, Founder and CEO of Kita.

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Singapore-based e-commerce aggregator Rainforest has raised US$21.5 million in a convertible note round from existing investors, including Canopy Tropics, Monks Hill Ventures, Insignia Venture Partners, and January Capital.

This brings the company’s total funding (debt and equity) to over US$100 million.

Also Read: Navigating the e-commerce jungle: Rainforest’s tech-driven journey in brand aggregation

Rainforest plans to use the funds to acquire new e-commerce brands, improve the platform capabilities to accelerate channel expansion, and for geographical expansion and product development.

Along with this, the startup also reported a revenue of US$37.5 million for the financial year 2022. This represents a 9x growth over US$4.2 million in the same period last year.

This was achieved by acquiring six brands in 2022 and also though organic growth of its previously acquired brands. Net loss for FY2022 was US$10 million compared to US$2.1 million in the prior year, as the company continued to invest in its team and technology platform to operate and grow its portfolio of brands.

Also Read: Rainforest acquires baby care brand NatureBond to grow its portfolio of cross-border brands

Rainforest was launched in January 2021. The company acquires consumer e-commerce brands, providing entrepreneurs with a healthy exit. It also invests in the acquired brands to grow them globally. Rainforest leverages its proprietary technology to improve inventory management, cost optimisations, and expansions to new marketplaces and channels for these brands – mainly in home goods, mother & kids, personal care, and pet categories. 

The firm now operates a portfolio of 16 brands, mainly in the parents and kids categories. Some notable brands include Babbleroo (diaper backpack, Lilly’s Love (toy storage), Comfy Bumpy (baby furniture), and Baby Deedee (baby sleepwear). It expects to make further acquisitions before the year’s close, including brands with more omnichannel distribution channels.

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In a month marked by dynamic growth in the Southeast Asian startup scene, a diverse range of companies secured substantial funding rounds in September 2023.

From biotech and fintech to healthtech and aquaculture, these startups showcased the region’s entrepreneurial prowess.

Automera revolutionised therapeutic approaches, Kiddocare offered childcare solutions, and NexMind empowered multilingual digital marketing. Meanwhile, platforms like Funding Societies and CrossFund transformed finance and equity financing. With billions in business financing and innovative solutions, these startups are poised to drive the region’s tech ecosystem forward.

Automera

Automera is an early-stage company focused on developing a novel therapeutic approach via autophagy-based targeted protein degradation. The biotech startup aims to leverage its understanding of autophagy, drug development capabilities, access to quantum chemistry, and generative Al-enabled insights to enhance its drug development programmes.

Automera’s autophagy-targeting chimaera small molecules (AUTAC) platform has broad potential across cancer and other disease areas, with oncology being the initial lead programme.

It raised US$16 million in a Series A round of investment co-led by Accelerator Life Science Partners and Temasek-backed ClavystBio. Other investors are EDBI and Xora Innovation.

Kiddocare

Founded in 2019 by Nadira Yusoff and Muhaini Mahmud, Kiddocare is an online platform connecting parents with verified childcare providers based on their preferences for time and location. These caregivers undergo rigorous screening and training before being onboarded. The platform primarily caters to urban millennial mothers, who wield substantial purchasing power and seek reliable childcare solutions.

Kiddocare offers the potential for weekly earnings of up to RM1,500 (US$318), affording women the flexibility to navigate motherhood and education. The Kiddocare Academy further provides opportunities for career advancement through specialised training programmes for carers, such as counselling, eldercare, tutoring and entrepreneurship.

The startup secured an undisclosed sum from Artem Ventures, Gobi Partners, MSW Ventures Asia Fund X, and ScaleUp Malaysia.

NexMind

Founded in 2019 by Francis Lui (CEO), Bernie Law (CPO), and Pattrine Hong (CFO), NexMind is an AI-powered multilingual digital marketing platform. It empowers professionals across industries with advanced SEO tools to create search-optimised content in 17 languages, with no technical SEO expertise required. Its SEO content generation tools simplify and streamline how brands create multilingual content that ranks on search engines like Google and Bing and e-commerce marketplaces like Amazon, Lazada, and Shopee.

Among the languages supported currently are Bahasa Indonesia, Bahasa Malaysia, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, Thai, and Vietnamese.

The firm received an undisclosed seed funding from 500 Global.

Funding Societies

Licensed and registered in Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia and operating in Vietnam, Funding Societies is an SME digital finance platform. In addition, it offers payments and collections intending to solve SMEs’ cashflow management challenges.

Funding Societies says it has achieved over US$3.2 billion in business financing, processing over 5 million transactions and serving about 100,000 SMEs across the region.

It scored US$27 million in debt funding led by AlteriQ Global, with participation from Aument Capital Partners and Orange Bloom.

CrossFund

Founded in 2021 by Ben Cardarelli and Davide Cali, CrossFund is an equity financing tool for early-stage startups in Southeast Asia and Africa. Investors can own equity in international startups with as little as US$5,000.

CrossFund leverages data to match its investors with startups based on sector, stage, geography, areas of expertise, and other more granular factors. The platform also accepts investments in crypto, leveraging third-party providers. It is soon launching a secondary market to foster liquidity for investors and founders.

It secured US$1.5M from undisclosed investors at a US$47 million valuation.

Gene Solutions

Established in 2017 by Vietnamese scientists, Gene Solutions has developed triSureFirst, a noninvasive prenatal test (NIPT) for detecting abnormalities of chromosome numbers in the fetus, such as Down Syndrome, Edwards, and Patau.

The test, based on detecting cell-free DNA of the placenta, is released into the mother’s blood to assess the risk of the fetus suffering from birth defects due to chromosomal number abnormalities.

The company claims that triSureFirst’s positive predictive value is 94 per cent for all three syndromes.

Since 2018, Gene Solutions claims to have made accurate tests accessible to over 500,000 pregnant women, helping over 65,000 pregnant women avoid unnecessary amniocentesis.

It secured US$21M from Mekong Capital.

Evo Commerce

Evo Commerce is a direct-to-consumer health & beauty startup based in Singapore. It aims to reshape the landscape of health & beauty products in the region by bridging the accessibility gap and “empowering Asian consumers with top-quality products”. The company owns two brands: back (focusing on post-party recovery aids and daily supplements) and Stryv (specialising in the affordable luxury segment for personal care electronics).

The startup claims to have achieved 25x growth in the past 18 months. It aims to achieve EBITDA profitability within the next six months of operations.

It banked US$2.8M in equity and debt financing from IJK Capital, Carousell Co-Founder and CEO Quek Siu Rui, Fave Co-Founder Joel Neoh, and Tipsy Collective.

Kora

Founded in 2022 by Dian Prayogi Susanto, Kora is an agritech startup focused on innovations in the post-harvest maize sector in Indonesia. It aims to elevate the quality and output of post-harvest maize, a crop selected for its pivotal role in Indonesia’s agricultural supply chain and its impact on animal feed costs. Strategically, the startup aims to disrupt the conventional maize supply chain by uniting all parties involved — from farmers to middlemen — under a streamlined B2B model.

Beginning with partnerships involving 30 farmers, Kora has expanded that number to approximately 130.

It bagged US$400,000 in a pre-seed funding round from Antler and eFishery founder and CEO Gibran Huzaifah.

Novelship

Founded in 2018, Novelship is an online marketplace for buyers and sellers to trade 100 per cent authentic sneakers, limited-edition apparel, and exclusive physical and digital collectibles. Novelship said it has rapidly expanded in recent years, with a compound annual growth rate of 37 per cent in revenue and 55 per cent in transactions.

Following the brand’s recent collaboration with Snoop Dogg to expand its collection, Novelship recently launched new in-house products, including Novelship branded T-shirts, socks, shoelaces, and Shoe Sole Protectors.

It raised US$9.5M in funding from East Ventures, iGlobe Partners, and GSR Ventures.

Parallax

‍Parallax is a Blockchain-powered money remittance startup based in the Philippines. Founded by Mika Reyes (CEO) and Alex Kuang (CTO), Parallax aims to provide “fast and cheap ways” to move money globally. It leverages blockchain technology to provide near-instant and cheaper (claims to save 83 per cent in fees) international payments.

It is currently focused on providing freelancers, remote workers and other global professionals with better payments for their recurring payroll, invoices and salaries.

The startup netted US$4.5M from Dragonfly Capital, Circle Ventures, General Catalyst, gumi Cryptos Capital, and others.

Manuva

Manuva is an Indonesian startup helping SME manufacturers produce ready-made, custom-made packaging and semi-branded goods. Founded in 2018 by Anggara Pranaspati, Raffisal Damanhuri, and Hasandi Patriawan, Manuva (formerly Tjetak) provides merchants and online sellers with various types of packaging, from cardboard and snack boxes to paper bags and plastic cups. Through more than 100 manufacturing partners, Manuva is producing more than 300 different packaging SKUs under its six private label brands for more than 7,000 retailers and 100 enterprise customers.

The startup also provides modern digitisation tools that enable players in their ecosystem to improve their logistics, procurement, inventory and sales processes.

It received US$8M from Tin Men Capital and undisclosed investors.

ERTH

Electronic Recycling Through Heroes (ERTH) is a Malaysian company focusing on e-waste recycling. In addition to facilitating responsible e-waste disposal, it also rewards contributors with cash incentives or vouchers. According to the company, this approach fosters a community-driven commitment to environmental preservation while providing economic compensation.

ERTH aims to achieve its goal by employing a gig-economy workforce of over 1,000 freelancers. These Heroes collect obsolete, faulty, and discarded electronics, such as laptops, smartphones, printers, televisions, and various devices, directly from households and businesses.

It secured funding from Gobi Partners and L8 Ventures.

Saladin

Founded in 2021, Saladin is an online platform that utilises a multi-channel distribution system to provide a single destination for personalised insurance solutions.

Saladin claims it has integrated traditional insurance processes with modern technology and a user-friendly design. This includes using API integration, modular design principles, and the harnessing of big data intelligence to recommend tailored and cost-effective insurance solutions.

It closed its Series A funding round led by Monk’s Hill Ventures, with participation from Peak XV Partners, Venturra Capital, and Patamar Capital.

SLEEK EV

Singapore-headquartered SLEEK EV offers affordable and sustainable mobility solutions.
Founded in 2019 by Kantinan Tunveenukoon and Zhang Quan (ZQ) Ong, SLEEK EV aims to establish electric vehicles as the standard rather than the exception in urban mobility. They address the issue of high travel expenses in Southeast Asia, where transportation costs can be over 30 per cent of income. Motorcycles offer an affordable alternative, and the founders are leveraging industry connections to promote cleaner and cheaper mobility through electrification.

SLEEK EV’s initial focus is on Thailand, a market worth over US$2.6 billion annually, where electric two-wheelers currently account for less than one per cent of the market share.

Since its launch, SLEEK EV has successfully sold over 1,000 of their EVs through a network of established dealerships across the country.

It secured an undisclosed Pre-Series A funding round led by ORZON Ventures, a VC firm backed by OR and 500 TukTuks.

DELOS

DELOS is an aquaculture-tech company in Indonesia. Founded in 2021 by Guntur Mallarangeng, Aris Noerhadi, Alexander Farthing, and Bobby Indra Gunawan Wibisono, DELOS aims to jumpstart what it calls the ‘Blue Revolution’. The vision is to propel Indonesia into a global aquaculture seafood producer within a decade, revolutionising and modernising the US$2.5 billion Indonesian aquaculture industry for seamless integration into the global seafood supply chain.

DELOS announced the completion of an undisclosed Series A funding round led by Monk’s Hill Ventures.

WhiteCoat

Launched in 2018, WhiteCoat is a B2B2C healthtech company aiming to be the first and single touchpoint for all healthcare needs of its users – from seeing a doctor and receiving medications to accessing their medical records. The platform allows users to choose the practitioner they want to consult from its in-house team of doctors (general practitioners and specialists) and a partner network of healthcare and allied care providers.

WhiteCoat closed a tranche of its Series B fundraising round to fuel its regional expansion.

TANGGapp

TANGGapp is a P2P mobile remittance app targetting Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs).
Founded in 2020 by Filipina-Dutch and American Harvard graduate Rebecca Kersch, TANGGapp enables customers in the Philippines to connect with local banks and e-wallets for transactions. It wants to be the international ‘Venmo’ across the seas for the 1.5 billion unbanked globally and migrant workers, starting with the Philippines.

Users can send money from TANGGapp without fees, regardless of the amount sent. Receivers can then link their bank account or e-wallet like GCash to directly receive money into their account in minutes.

The company claims the transfers can be done within seconds. The app allows the users to send as low as US$5. It also easily transfers money from a user’s US bank account to his Philippines bank account or e-wallet. It also has a feature to schedule auto transfers.

It closed a US$2.5M seed round from TEN13, Goodwater Capital, North Fifth Asia, Foxmont Capital, and angels from the Manila Angel Investors’ Network (MAIN).

Grouu

Grouu is an Indonesian startup working on the nutritional needs of infants and toddlers. Founded in August 2020, Grouu focuses on meeting the nutritional needs of infants and toddlers from six months and above. The development process of its products and menu involves parents as consumers and a team of experts comprising nutritionists, food scientists, chefs, and paediatricians to ensure complete and balanced nutrition.

According to the firm, its products and menu items are produced in facilities that meet hygiene standards set by the Department of Health and the National Agency of Drug and Food Control (BPOM) and are Halal certified.

It secured an undisclosed amount in additional investments from Singapore-based VC firm Teja Ventures.

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Copyright: rastudio

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