Earth Venture Capital, a global climate tech VC firm based in Vietnam, has made a strategic investment in US-based cultivated meat startup Orbillion Bio.

This investment round was co-led by The Venture Collective and At One Ventures and joined by Y Combinator and Metaplanet. This brings its total funding raised to date to US$15 million.

Also Read: Earth VC, Tesla co-founder invest in French aerial inspection startup HyLight

The investment will primarily fund the startup’s efforts to achieve pre-commercial scale and bring its first product to the market.

Livestock farming is estimated to contribute approximately 11.1-19.6 per cent of global GHG emissions. While plant-based proteins are popular, meat demand is still projected to rise due to income and population growth, particularly in low– and middle-income countries.

To sustainably feed the world and protect the planet, a new method of producing animal protein is needed, and cultivated meat could be the solution.

Founded in 2020 by Patricia Bubner, Gabriel Levesque-Tremblay, and Samet Yildirim, Orbillion specialises in producing Wagyu beef cells. It has developed an algorithm for scaling up cultivated meat, making commercialising low-cost cultivated beef possible.

Currently valued at US$78 billion in the US alone, this market presents significant opportunities for Orbillion’s growth and expansion.

Orbillion has partnered with Luiten Food, a European leader in premium meats, to bring cell-cultured Wagyu beef to over 35 countries pending EU regulatory approval. This partnership will leverage Luiten Food’s network of 1,200 distribution channels, paving the way for Orbillion’s premium product to reach the market.

Also Read: Earth VC supports Blykalla’s advanced nuclear reactor for advancements in the clean energy industry

In September 2023, Orbillion conducted a 200-litre production run in Singapore.

Orbillion is moving towards achieving price parity with conventional beef, targeting an output of 4 million pounds of finished product annually. It achieves this by focusing on the scalability of its technology, which lies in an asset-light production system, optimised bioprocess, and developing a predictive algorithm for cultivated cells to enable rapid scale-up.

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Image Credit: Orbillion Bio.

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Samsara Eco, an Australian company using advanced, enzymatic recycling to end plastic pollution, has raised US$65 million in its latest funding round led by Temasek and Australian deep-tech investment fund Main Sequence.

New and existing backers, including Wollemi Capital, lululemon, Hitachi Ventures, Titanium Ventures (formerly Telstra Ventures) and DCVC, also participated.

Also Read: AirX Carbon turns coffee grounds, rice and coconut husks into bioplastic

The capital will be used to build new commercial facilities in Southeast Asia in the next few years. These facilities will recycle millions of tonnes of plastic waste, such as discarded textiles and packaging, to produce monomers (the molecular building blocks of plastics), which will be turned into brand-new products.

Samsara Eco will also scale up its global team of chemists, engineers and technicians and increase its library of plastic-eating enzymes.

Paul Riley, CEO and founder of Samsara Eco, said: “Our enzymatic recycling technology makes it easy for brands in almost every industry to meet their sustainability and decarbonisation goals by creating a circular loop for plastics.”

Launched in 2020, Samsara Eco has developed a new way to break plastic down to its core molecules, which can then be used to recreate brand-new plastic again and again. Its patented process, EosEco, uses a combination of biophysics, chemistry, biology and computer science (such as AI) to create a family of plastic-eating enzymes. The enzymes break down plastic waste (like textiles made from nylon and polyester) into raw materials, which are then integrated into existing manufacturing processes to create new products.

Samsara Eco recycles all forms of plastics, which can be used within existing cross-sector supply chains like automotive, electronics, and consumer packaged goods.

Also Read: Why these startups focus on informal plastic waste workers in the fight against climate crisis

“EosEco reduces the end-to-end recycling time, while also operating at a lower temperature and pressure to ultimately reduce waste and carbon emissions. By solving the circularity piece of the puzzle for all plastics, we’re making it possible to imagine a more sustainable future,” added Riley.

Since its inception, Samsara Eco has raised more than US$106 million from local and global investors, including Breakthrough Victoria, DCVC, Greycroft, Hitachi, lululemon, Temasek, Wildcard Ventures, and Wollemi.

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Image Credit: Samsara Eco.

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In his contributed piece for e27, Golf Sissada, Digital Marketing Manager at Seven Peaks, wrote about how businesses can hack product growth and user acquisition in Thailand. This begins with understanding how Thai people make purchases and securing the information needed to make that decision.

” … as of 2023, only 38 per cent of the Thai population used their desktop. However, 100 per cent of people living in Thailand own a smartphone. Greater audience reach, and effective product growth rely on a user-friendly mobile app,” he said.

This has provided plenty of opportunities for startups in Thailand for many years. But, just like the rest of the region, with the exception of the Philippines, the past year continued to be challenging for startups in Thailand.

Between January and May 2024, we covered five funding announcements from startups in Thailand from various stages and verticals.

We started the year with a US$1.4 million seed funding for Bangkok-based biotechnology firm UniFAHS. A2D Ventures led the investment, including the participation of ADB Ventures and InnoSpace.

Also Read: 500 TukTuks, ORZON Ventures execs launch Disrupt Health Impact Fund in Thailand

March saw two funding announcements from startups in Thailand, starting with Sleek’s pre-Series A extension round with Finnoventure Fund, followed by Spacely AI’s undisclosed pre-seed investment from SCB 10X.

In April, WYZauto, an online tyre marketplace for vehicle maintenance businesses in Thailand, secured US$2.25 million in a pre-Series A funding round led by Vynn Capital through its new Mobility and Supply Chain fund.

Two Thai startups were also among the 10 finalists for PepsiCo’s APAC Greenhouse Accelerator Program 2024.

CIRAC aims to provide a breakthrough technology for recycling aluminium-laminated plastic packaging, one of the most challenging packaging waste. Meanwhile, the other startup is AIIEV, which empowers businesses to achieve sustainability and cost savings through a game-changing subscription model for electric conversions.

Opportunities for startups

Despite the so-called funding winter and a relatively quieter period for startups, there continue to be opportunities for them to grow and develop their businesses. This could be in the format of the launch of new funds or programmes that help them incorporate best practices into their operations.

In May, Disrupt Technology Venture, a startup ecosystem builder in Thailand, launched a new healthcare fund that aims to provide the local healthcare sector with access to world-class deep-tech solutions and improve healthcare services for the local people.

Also Read: Dezpax to revolutionise food packaging for SMEs in Thailand

The fund is backed by prominent Thai businesses, including Digital Health Ventures, Thana Asset Company Limited, Saha Pathana Inter-Holding Public Company, and Sripatum University.

Meanwhile, earlier in April, AIS The StartUp, a programme run by Thai digital infrastructure provider Advanced Info Service Public Company Limited (AIS), announced a collaboration with the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET), the National Innovation Agency (NIA), and the Thai Startup Association to educate local entrepreneurs about the importance of integrating ESG (environment, social, governance) principles into business processes.

It aims to strengthen local tech entrepreneurs by enhancing their understanding of applying ESG (Environment, Social, Governance) principles to analyse investment risks and assess company valuations, especially in establishing fundamental ethical dimensions, such as corporate governance, partnership governance, financial governance, or shareholder governance.

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Image Credit: © rawpixel, 123RF Free Images

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Hubble, a Singaporean startup that aims to transform progress and payments in the built environment industry, has closed a US$5 million funding round led by Asia-focused private credit financier AlteriQ Global.

The funding will be used to accelerate the expansion and growth of its financial services division Hubble.Financial into new industries and beyond Singapore.

Also Read: Understanding the role of fintech, blockchain in transitioning to net zero

Founded in 2016, Hubble digitises and automates site processes to track and expedite progress and enable on-demand liquidity through early payment solutions based on verifiable progress data. Its full-stack progress-to-payment platform synergises the progress data insights from Hubble.Build (its construction management division) with early payment solutions from the financial services division.

Given the current challenges within the construction sector, such as high interest rates and increased costs for manpower and materials, the financial services unit offers a flexible and sustainable alternative to traditional financing. By providing immediate working capital, it supports main contractors and subcontractors with the necessary liquidity to navigate these challenges.

Since its inception in mid-2023, Hubble.Financial claims to have demonstrated 655 per cent growth to reach over US$20 million across its projects. This number is expected to more than double in 2024 and beyond.

The synergy between Hubble.Build and Hubble.Financial empowers property developers and main contractors to execute early payments at scale based on verifiable progress data and injects liquidity into the built environment supply chain.

Also Read: Navigating the gender divide in Southeast Asia’s fintech landscape

The startup claims to have digitised and automated over 300 construction sites worth over US$50 billion through Hubble.Build’s integrated construction management platform and provided over US$20 million worth of financing to its customers.

With offices in Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines, the company serves over 100,000 users from 3,700 companies daily.

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Image Credit: Hubble

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Women in leadership roles are breaking barriers and driving positive change across industries. These trailblazers are not only excelling in their careers but also empowering others to pursue leadership, especially in traditionally male-dominated fields.

By leveraging their unique insights and lived experiences, these leaders are fostering environments ripe for innovation, diversity, and inclusion, ultimately enhancing corporate culture and outcomes in significant sectors.

DEI-led leadership, as showcased by women leaders in technology

In sectors like technology and healthcare, women are spearheading substantial innovation and inclusivity initiatives. The recent SEA Blockchain Week saw Katashe Solutions making waves with a successful regional launch, celebrating diversity and innovation. A highlight was our Diversity, Equality and Inclusivity (DEI) panel in collaboration with DeGate and FILLiquid, which emphasized DeFi’s role in creating inclusive technology ecosystems.

Katashe Solutions demonstrated its unwavering commitment to seeking out and highlighting local ecosystem builders in Thailand who are women leaders in tech to foster a strong network of leaders that believe in DEI, aligning with a Web3 ethos of diversity and inclusion and promoting equal access to technology.

Palmy Veerapat Keerati shared how Bitkub Group is working toward balanced gender representation and cautioned against creating reverse inequality. Proud Limpongpan of Ennovie highlighted the Web3 era’s potential to regard merit over gender, signalling a shift in how we view contribution and capability in the tech space.

Wayne Tang of FILLiquid led the discussion as the moderator, acknowledging that mentorship has been pivotal in his career, where the majority of his direct managers or leaders were women, offering guidance and opportunities for him to grow. These insights underline the importance of an inclusive digital asset landscape and the regulatory frameworks that support or hinder progress.

Furthermore, Katashe Solutions has recently been appointed as the Official Venture Builder for the upcoming Malaysia Blockchain Week happening from 31st July – 1st August 2024, a testament to women-led leadership and commitment to driving digital transformation on a national level.

Also Read: Women and AI: How startups can prevent gender bias and promote responsible use of the tech

This role enables Katashe to spotlight and support women-led companies, showcasing their potential to lead and innovate within the blockchain ecosystem. By championing these trailblazing women, Katashe aims to catalyse significant advancements in technology and inclusivity, proving that gender diversity can be a powerful driver of national digital transformation.

Women’s health and its economic impact

I’d like to thank Wai Mun, a fellow alumnus from Melbourne University, for inviting me to the Saving Women’s Lives Gala, hosted in partnership with NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine and Institut Santé des Femmes.

The Gala underscored the critical intersection of health and leadership. As leaders, women must prioritise their health to maintain their ability to innovate and lead effectively. This event highlighted the distinct and traditionally underfunded needs of women’s health in R&D, underscoring the urgent necessity for targeted investment and research.

According to a World Economic Forum study, women live longer but spend a significant portion of their lives in poor health. Addressing this health gap is not just a matter of equity; it has profound economic implications. Improving women’s health could potentially boost the global economy by at least $1 trillion annually by 2040.

Investing in women’s health is, therefore, essential, helping to expand workforce participation and enhance the quality of life for women globally. The collaboration at events like these serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of prioritising women’s health in our broader societal and economic discourse.

Connection and integration

While leadership forums and health galas might seem distinct, they are profoundly interconnected. Effective leadership in any arena requires foundational well-being, underscoring the need for advancements in women’s healthcare to support their roles as innovators and leaders. This holistic approach to women’s roles in society illustrates why it is essential to drive more focused R&D into women’s health.

Also Read: The climate change and gender equality connection: How to support underfunded women-owned business

By bridging the gap between these traditionally siloed industries, we have witnessed a surge of female-led innovations that empower women to take charge of their health and well-being. The synergy between tech and health networks underscores the importance of fostering diverse and inclusive innovation ecosystems.

Women’s voices and perspectives are pivotal in driving femtech innovation, showcasing the value of leveraging cross-disciplinary connections to propel open innovation networks forward. By investing in health, we empower women to excel and lead across all areas of life, further enhancing their ability to innovate and effect change.

Final thoughts

The role of women in leadership extends beyond individual success; it influences broader societal transformations by promoting inclusivity and equity. These leaders are not just achieving; they are setting the stage for future generations of women in tech, health, and beyond.

As we champion women in leadership, we must also advocate for and advance research and development in women’s health, recognising it as the foundation upon which women can build their capacity to lead and innovate.

By embracing new technologies and frameworks like Web3, which prioritises capability over gender, we create more equitable opportunities for all, pushing the boundaries of innovation and societal progress. Let us continue to support women in leadership and celebrate their impact on shaping a better world.

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