Momos, a Singapore- and California-headquartered AI-powered customer platform for multi-location brands globally, has announced a US$10 million Series A funding round led by 645 Ventures.

Existing investors Alpha Wave Global and Peak XV and new backers Soma Capital, FJ Labs, Taurus Ventures, and Correlation Ventures also participated.

This round brings the startup’s total investment raised to date to US$17 million.

Founded in 2021 by Sai Alluri and Andrew Liu and a team from Uber, Grab, Microsoft, and Intuit, Momos provides a vertical SaaS platform to power the customer lifecycle for thousands of businesses globally and automates everything with AI.

Also Read: Momos rakes in US$6.5M financing to grow its F&B SaaS platform beyond Singapore

The team sensed an opportunity to use AI to help brands manage their customers seamlessly across multiple locations and partnered with OpenAI. Its platform features customer service, customer experience, and marketing solutions to enable brands to drive insights and elevate customer experiences throughout the customer lifecycle.

“Momos’s partners have millions of customers across their brick-and-mortar locations. They have too many touchpoints and before Momos’s AI, it was impossible to manage the m across channels. Momos brings everything in and automates the entire customer lifecycle at each location so our partners can save time and drive more repeat customers,” said co-founder and CEO Sai Alluri.

Momos works with thousands of businesses globally, including Shake Shack, Baskin Robbins and Guzman y Gomez, and is live in 10 countries across North America, APAC, and the Middle East. Its partners range from local brands with a few outlets to multinational businesses with thousands of locations.

“There are millions of brick-and-mortar businesses globally, but existing tools are just not built to solve problems at each location,” said Mendy Yang, Senior Associate at 645 Ventures. “Momos has built this true ‘compound startup’ and is the all-in-one customer platform for multi-location brands.”

In 2021, Momos raised US$6.5 million in a seed funding round co-led by Peak XV and Alpha Wave Incubation.

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Dear reader,

The complex case of Shinhan Securities’s investment in fake WeWork shares raises significant questions about transparency and accountability in global finance. What began as a seemingly straightforward transaction evolved into a web of fraud allegations, opaque offshore entities, and missing individuals.

At the heart of the case is the failure of due diligence—not just by Shinhan but by multiple parties involved. The use of British Virgin Islands shell companies, nominee directors, and a second escrow agreement all point to the risks posed by a lack of transparency in offshore financial dealings.

While the bank claims to be a victim of a sophisticated scheme, the lawsuit reveals the extent to which basic verification steps were missed. The ongoing legal battle against Benjamin Lee and others highlights the blurred lines between high-stakes financial deals and alleged fraudulent schemes.

This case serves as a reminder of the importance of rigorous due diligence, particularly when offshore entities are involved, and illustrates how high-level financial missteps can spiral into costly legal battles.

Sainul,
Editor.

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NEWS & VIEWS

A major Korean bank bought US$14M in WeWork shares. They were fake
In June 2019, Shinhan Securities, the brokerage and investment arm of a South Korean Big Five bank, transferred US$14.2M to Aurora Grand in exchange for WeWork shares; However, it turned out that Aurora did not actually own any WeWork shares.

Investors aware of TransTrack CEO’s guilty verdict before funding
In 2020, CEO Meisesari was found guilty of fraud by an Indonesian court for her actions between 2016 and 2017. The case centres on a software investment deal in which the plaintiff, Rudolf Naibaho, was promised a “significant profit.”

GoTo partners Alibaba to grow digital economy in Indonesia
The collaboration will leverage Alibaba Cloud’s technologies to support GoTo’s extensive ecosystem; GoTo will utilise the services of Alibaba Cloud for a five-year period.

Momos secures US$10M to power customer lifecycle for global brands using AI
The investors include 645 Ventures, Alpha Wave Global, and Peak XV. The Momos platform features various solutions to enable brands to drive insights and elevate customer experiences throughout the customer lifecycle.

MEXC Ventures, Foresight Ventures, Mirana Ventures establish fund
This fund will target promising projects built on the Aptos platform by providing resources for the development of critical Web3 use cases that utilise Aptos’s infrastructure.

Navigating the shifting landscape of Southeast Asian funding: An analysis of H1 2024 trends
The decline in funding and deal flow is a reminder of the regional venture capital landscape’s vulnerability to broader economic trends.

CarbonEthics nets US$2.1M to restore natural ecosystems using tech
Intudo Ventures is the lead investor; CarbonEthics blends environmental impact and commercial impact to restore natural ecosystems, help businesses on their decarbonisation journey, and create new revenue sources.

Wavemaker infuses US$1.6M into NZ’s pre-employment screening startup Checkmate
Wavemaker Partners is the lead investor: The capital will fuel Checkmate’s expansion into Australia, the US, and Southeast Asia, specifically the Philippines.

Amazon taps long-time exec to lead India business as competition intensifies
Samir Kumar has been with the e-commerce giant for 25 years; As the country manager, he will oversee Amazon’s consumer operations in the Middle East, South Africa, and Turkey.

Fintech firms Lightnet, WeLab partner to build Thailand’s virtual bank
They have submitted an application for a Virtual Banking licence with the Bank of Thailand. The consortium aims to empower Thailand’s financial future by revolutionising banking services and delivering an AI-powered intelligent experience.

YouTube, Shopee partner in Southeast Asia e-commerce tie-up
Under the YouTube Shopping tie-up, people will be able to purchase goods viewed on YouTube through links to Shopee; They plan to expand the service to Thailand and in Vietnam in a few weeks.

FEATURES & INTERVIEWS

Re-awakening Sri Lanka’s legacy of innovation: The story of TRACE
With a philosophy centred on nurturing ideas and transforming them into tangible realities, TRACE is building the foundation for a knowledge-driven economy.

Beyond 3PL: BBTruck’s 5PL solution for a smarter, greener global supply chain
CEO Steven Chou said BBTruck plans to enter Southeast Asia, such as Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Indonesia by 2025.

CARDS by Cazh aims to transform school management in Indonesia with integrated solutions
CARDS by Cazh is a comprehensive SaaS platform designed to streamline educational institutions’ operational and academic systems.

Businesses explore use cases of AI in creative, sports industries despite feeling “overwhelmed”
Marketers are utilising AI for various purposes from market research, competitive analysis, social media management to content creation.

KINTO boosts brand engagement and ROI with Omnichat
Omnichat is preparing for a Series B funding round next year to drive its growth, enhance AI capabilities, and expand into new markets.

A new dawn in the post-2G era: How cloud technology can propel the telco industry to new heights
Cloud-based services offer higher margins compared to traditional voice and data plans, positioning telcos for long-term success.

Real-world challenges: How Filipino startups can drive success through innovation and empathy
Identifying societal problems requires startups to have a deep understanding of the pain points of specific communities.

AI-powered recruitment: Revolutionising hiring in Southeast Asia
As AI evolves, we can expect more sophisticated tools that further streamline hiring and uncover hidden talent.

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

Balancing trust and verification: Navigating the rise of AI
To effectively leverage generative AI while mitigating risks, organisations should equip their teams with appropriate tools and training.

Fostering a thriving workplace with shared values through E&C training
Outdated E&C training leaves companies and their employees vulnerable to lapses, penalties, lawsuits, and blowbacks.

Overcoming the digital divide: Enhancing SME financial operations and digital transformation in APAC
The future of SMEs in Asia hinges on their ability to digitally transform, with ongoing innovation and support from fintech providers.

Bridging the access gap to intermediary technologies could help countries escape the ‘middle income trap’
Even the most successful companies in emerging markets face an access gap to new technologies, keeping them behind competitors.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

7 ways to optimise your product page to attract more sales
Before you start optimising your page, you need to pay attention to your site’s overall performance; For starters, use a web crawler tool to find all pages in a website and analyze them thoroughly from different SEO aspects.

If there is one thing investors are afraid of, it is lack of commitment from founders
Founders and investors are coming to the table from different perspectives; Nevertheless, the first starting point will be to enhance their understanding of each other, with the working assumption that I cannot change him or her.

How to build deep tech startups across borders
For those Singapore-based founders embracing the arduous deep tech path, there is no choice but to build themselves a central position in a deeply interconnected mesh of global players.

Crowdfunding for startups: Where to begin and how to go about it
The bad news is that you won’t get funds for your business from anyone who doesn’t believe in your concept; There are a few typical sources of seed funding that can help you kick-start your business.

Zespri wants to work with agritechs to improve kiwifruit production and distribution
In November, Zespri launched ZAG, the Zespri Innovation Fund, a US$2 million annual fund dedicated to accelerating sustainable innovation.

Indonesian gaming powerhouse Agate unveils strategy to conquer the global arena
Gaming companies provide development services for businesses or create their content, but Agate combines both aspects in its revenue model.

For Indonesia’s 2nd generation unicorns, international expansion is the name of the game
When it comes to producing unicorn startups, Indonesia has done a phenomenal job in a relatively short time.

Balancing revenue, impact remains the top challenges faced by social impact startups
For these social impact startups, cross-party collaboration can be a key to tackling these unique challenges.

Why Liminal sees compliance as the way to go for the crypto industry
Liminal aims to build an efficient and compliant wallet operating system where users can with various digital assets and blockchains securely.

Connectivity, infrastructure are key barriers for fund managers to adopt tokens: Calastone
How can we eliminate this barrier? According to Ross Fox of Calastone, adoption is a key challenge for tokenised investments.

The post Ecosystem Roundup: How Shinhan fell for fake WeWork shares | Momos secures US$10M | Shopee partners with YouTube in SEA appeared first on e27.

Lighthub Asset and WeLab, both fintech platforms in Thailand and across Asia, have jointly submitted an application for a Virtual Banking license to the Bank of Thailand (BOT).

The result of the application is expected to be announced in the first half of 2025.

The consortium plans to introduce AI-powered banking services to enhance Thailand’s financial sector. Drawing on their combined experience, they aim to improve financial inclusion by offering localised digital banking services, focusing on underserved groups such as solopreneurs and Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) with unstable income and limited access to financial services.

A large portion of their existing 46 million customers falls within these underserved categories.

Also Read: Unlocking green fintech prosperity in Asia: Navigating the top 4 challenges

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MEXC Ventures, Foresight Ventures, and Mirana Ventures today announced that they have jointly launched a fund to support projects launching in the Aptos ecosystem.

This fund will target promising projects built on the Aptos platform by providing resources for developing critical Web3 use cases that utilise Aptos’ infrastructure, innovations such as Block-STM, and seamless interoperability with key EVM ecosystems.

The fund underscores strong confidence in Aptos’s technological innovations and potential, contributing to the acceleration of ecosystem projects. It reflects the increasing recognition of the potential for protocols, platforms, and decentralised applications (apps) deployed on Aptos.

Tracy Jin, Vice President of MEXC, said in a press statement, “With the upcoming MOVE2 update, Aptos’ tech stack remains innovative, and its low latency and high throughput performances have been battle-tested. The upcoming integration of USDT and the promise of Aptos Ascend will further enhance Aptos DeFi. We look forward to advancing blockchain innovation and promoting a sustainable, scalable future for the industry.”

Also Read: Lighthub Asset, WeLab partner to form new digital bank in Thailand

MEXC Ventures, Foresight Ventures, and Mirana Ventures also announced that they are supporting Aptos Code Collision, the flagship hackathon programme of the Aptos ecosystem.

MEXC Ventures is a comprehensive fund under MEXC Group which supports innovation in the cryptocurrency field via strategic investment, M&A, FOF, and project incubation.

Foresight Ventures is a crypto VC firm with offices in the US and Singapore. Its focus is on crypto investment and incubation. The firm has its own media network that includes TheBlock, Foresight News, BlockTempo, and Coinness.

Mirana Ventures is a global investment fund that provides long-term capital and strategic partnerships to visionary founders and fund managers in the Web3 space. It leverages partnerships with Bybit, Mantle and a broad network of portfolio companies and funds on supporting companies.

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Image Credit: © rawpixel, 123RF Free Images

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Companies are looking to differentiate themselves from the competition in an impactful way. Before the Internet and cloud computing, beating the competition often meant out-advertising and outspending rivals to reach critical demographics first. Today, profitability is often achieved by leveraging data to engage with customers in meaningful, real-time, and contextually relevant ways.

Unlike traditional AI, Generative AI (Gen AI) utilises both structured and unstructured data to enable applications to perform tasks that mimic human behaviour. By delivering human-like responses, Gen AI allows users to significantly reduce the need for direct human interaction in the digital space. This transformation streamlines workflows, automates processes, and enhances the personalisation of user experiences.

While the possibilities are endless, creating and scaling sophisticated AI applications requires time and resources. When deploying enterprise-grade Gen AI applications, CTOs, CIOs, and enterprise architects often struggle to choose the right architectural elements to succeed.

At DataStax, their agent-first approach to Gen AI includes assembling the functionalities and tools developers need to quickly build Gen AI applications at scale. 

Gen AI leaders shaping their industries

DataStax helps developers and companies successfully create a bold new world through Gen AI. They offer an AI PaaS (AI Platform as a Service) with everything needed for a faster and easier path to production for relevant and responsive Gen AI applications. DataStax delivers a RAG-first developer experience, with first-class integrations into leading AI ecosystem partners, so it works with developers’ existing stacks of choice. And, DataStax supports integration with LangChain, Vercel, GitHub Copilot, and AI ecosystem leaders.

With DataStax, anyone can quickly build intelligent, high-growth AI applications on any cloud on an unlimited scale. Hundreds of the world’s leading enterprises, including Audi, Bud Financial, Capital One, SkyPoint Cloud, VerSe Innovation, and many more, rely on DataStax. 

Also Read: These 12 companies are ready to wow at Echelon Philippines

DataStax’s pricing is simple and transparent, based on the volume of data and the number of operations. Their platform allows auto-scaling based on actual usage, enabling users to size their database to match the application workload automatically. Engineering and product operations are streamlined, saving significant effort spent on sizing, provisioning, monitoring and tuning data. This prevents developer teams from being overwhelmed by the maze of tools for building apps, as the Astra Starter Pack gives companies what they need to start building and get into production—fast.

Empowering force for regional developers to leverage Gen AI’s potential fully

DataStax believes in empowering regional by building real-time AI that is done right. With the right stack and abstractions, a real-time AI solution that combines large-scale data with integrated machine learning holds immense potential to power fun, innovative applications that enable more precise business decisions, predictive operations, and richer, more engaging consumer experiences.

Southeast Asia is one of the hubs DataStax is looking to tap into. With Echelon Philippines, they hope to drive awareness and engage startups and enterprises interested in building and partnering with DataStax. Participants can look forward to technical insights and success stories on cutting-edge Gen AI, vector search, and real-time data innovations during the conference proper.

DataStax is among the many dynamic industry leaders joining us for Echelon Philippines 2024. Alongside them will be other key leaders, visionary entrepreneurs, and innovative startups from across the region. They will converge for an action-packed two-day event on September 26-27 at Level 2, SMX Convention.

Echelon Philippines 2024, hosted by e27 in partnership with Brainsparks, offers dedicated content stages, exhibitions, panel discussions, and much more — all designed to support and empower the regional tech startup ecosystem with practical insights through various knowledge-sharing activities.

Whether you’re looking to expand your expertise, connect with influential figures in the tech startup world, or present your groundbreaking ideas, Echelon Philippines 2024 presents an unmatched experience sure to give you and your company a boost. Secure your spot now on our official page and join us as a participant or an official partner. Together, we can shape the future and create a lasting impact.

Join us at Echelon Philippines 2024, where innovation knows no boundaries and the possibilities are limitless!

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