Almost 1,700 British investors are suing Binance and its founder Changpeng Zhao for at least US$200 million, alleging that the world’s largest crypto exchange sold them risky derivative products without proper regulatory authorisation.

The lawsuit, filed in London’s High Court, targets Cayman Islands-registered Binance Holdings, UAE-registered Nest Exchange, Zhao (widely known as CZ) and “persons unknown” who allegedly operate the Binance trading platform.

Also Read: Binance cracks down on market makers: What traders need to know now

The claimants argue that Binance entities knowingly offered and promoted complex leveraged products to retail investors from late 2019, in breach of the UK’s Financial Services and Markets Act. Some investors say they lost tens of thousands of dollars after using products that could magnify both gains and losses.

Binance said it would defend itself against the claim. “Binance remains committed to its obligations to users and to operating in accordance with applicable law,” a spokesperson said, declining further comment on ongoing litigation.

UK case adds to Binance’s regulatory burden

The case comes against the backdrop of a tougher regulatory stance on crypto derivatives in the UK. The Financial Conduct Authority banned crypto firms from offering derivatives to retail customers in 2021, citing the products’ volatility, complexity and potential for consumer harm.

Binance later took steps to limit UK users’ access, including requiring additional checks. The claimants, however, allege that the company’s conduct before and around those restrictions caused significant losses.

The London lawsuit is notable not only because of the number of claimants, but also because it names Zhao personally. CZ stepped down as Binance CEO in 2023 after a sweeping US settlement, but he remains the most recognisable figure associated with the exchange.

Binance’s main licence is now in the United Arab Emirates, after efforts to secure a licence in Greece reportedly unravelled this month. The company has spent the past two years trying to move away from its earlier borderless operating model and rebuild itself as a regulated financial institution.

That shift has been neither smooth nor cheap.

CZ’s US legal history looms over the London claim

The UK lawsuit lands after several major US enforcement actions against Binance and Zhao.

Also Read: US$1.3T wiped out: AI stock collapse signals Bitcoin’s next leg down?

In November 2023, Binance agreed to pay more than US$4.3 billion to settle charges brought by the US Department of Justice and other agencies over anti-money-laundering failures, sanctions violations and operating as an unlicensed money transmitter. Zhao pleaded guilty to failing to maintain an effective anti-money-laundering programme, stepped down as CEO and agreed to pay a US$50 million fine.

In April 2024, a US federal judge sentenced Zhao to four months in prison. Prosecutors had sought a longer sentence, arguing that Binance had allowed illicit finance to flow through the platform. Zhao’s lawyers argued that he had accepted responsibility and that the company had since invested heavily in compliance.

Binance and Zhao also settled a case with the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The regulator had sued the exchange and its founder in 2023, alleging that Binance illegally offered derivatives to US customers and evaded compliance rules. Under the settlement, Binance was ordered to pay US$2.7 billion in disgorgement and penalties, while Zhao was ordered to pay US$150 million.

Separately, the US Securities and Exchange Commission sued Binance, Binance.US and Zhao in 2023, accusing them of operating unregistered exchanges, broker-dealers and clearing agencies, and of misleading investors. Binance has contested the SEC’s claims. A US court later allowed several of the regulator’s core allegations to proceed, while dismissing some others.

Beyond the US, Binance has faced regulatory and legal challenges in multiple markets. In Canada, a class action has alleged that the company sold crypto derivatives to retail investors without registration. In France, authorities have scrutinised Binance over alleged money-laundering and unauthorised digital-asset services. Not all of these proceedings name Zhao personally, but they form part of a broader global challenge to Binance’s earlier growth strategy.

Southeast Asia has seen similar regulatory pushback

The London case will be closely watched in Southeast Asia, where Binance has had a complicated history and crypto adoption remains among the highest in the world.

In Singapore, Binance withdrew its licence application and shut down Binance.sg in 2022 after the Monetary Authority of Singapore placed the global Binance.com platform on its investor alert list. Singapore has since tightened rules around retail crypto access, advertising and custody, while encouraging institutional blockchain activity under a more controlled framework.

In Malaysia, the Securities Commission ordered Binance to stop operating in 2021, saying the platform was running a digital asset exchange without authorisation. In Thailand, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a criminal complaint against Binance in 2021 for allegedly operating without a licence. Binance later re-entered Thailand through Gulf Binance, a joint venture with Gulf Energy, which launched a regulated exchange in 2024.

The Philippines also moved against Binance, with regulators warning users and seeking to block access to the platform over licensing concerns. Indonesia, meanwhile, has allowed Binance exposure through Tokocrypto, a local exchange in which Binance has invested, but the market remains under close supervision as authorities shift crypto oversight from commodities regulators to the financial services regulator.

This patchwork reflects a broader regional dilemma. Southeast Asia is one of crypto’s most active retail markets, but regulators remain wary of speculative trading, offshore platforms and leveraged products.

Chainalysis has consistently ranked countries such as Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand among the world’s leading markets for grassroots crypto adoption. Indonesia alone has more registered crypto investors than stock market investors, according to local regulatory data. Yet high adoption has also brought high exposure to scams, exchange failures and volatile products that many retail users do not fully understand.

Competition is moving towards compliance

Binance remains the largest crypto exchange globally by trading volume, but its legal troubles have created openings for rivals. Coinbase has positioned itself as a more regulated player, especially in the US and Europe. OKX, Bybit, Kraken, Crypto.com and Gemini are also competing aggressively across global markets, though several have faced their own regulatory constraints.

In Southeast Asia, the competitive landscape is increasingly localised. Coins.ph and PDAX operate in the Philippines, Independent Reserve and Coinhako are active in Singapore, while Indodax and Tokocrypto serve Indonesia. Some earlier regional players, such as Zipmex, struggled after the 2022 crypto credit crisis, underscoring the risks of weak governance and opaque exposure.

Also Read: Singapore crypto adoption hits new high as 61 per cent now hold digital assets

The UK lawsuit reinforces the central question now facing global exchanges: whether rapid retail growth built on complex products can survive in markets where regulators are drawing clearer lines.

For Binance, the case is another test of whether its post-CZ compliance overhaul can contain legal fallout from its earlier era. For Southeast Asian regulators and users, it is a reminder that offshore platforms, high leverage and weak oversight can turn crypto’s promise of access into a costly risk.

The post UK investors sue Binance and CZ for US$200M over risky crypto derivatives appeared first on e27.

For decades, entrepreneurs have relied on technology to scale their businesses.

Websites scaled visibility. CRMs scaled relationships. Social media scaled reach.

Today, a new layer is emerging – one designed not to scale the business, but to scale the founder.

I believe AI Twins are becoming the next generation of business infrastructure.

Not AI assistants. Not chatbots. Not digital companions.

AI Twins.

The founder bottleneck

Every growing business eventually encounters the same problem.

The founder becomes the bottleneck. Not because they lack ideas. Not because they lack ambition. But because there is only one of them.

Every decision, approval, conversation, opportunity, and problem flows through a single human being.

As businesses grow, founders find themselves juggling an overwhelming amount of context.

• Customer relationships.
• Team management.
• Strategic decisions.
• Partnerships.
• Content creation.
• Product development.

The challenge is no longer access to information. The challenge is processing, prioritising, and acting on that information consistently.

Historically, the solution was hiring.

• First, an assistant.
• Then a manager.
• Then a chief of staff.

Today, AI Twins offer a different path.

Instead of scaling people first, founders can begin by scaling themselves.

Why generic AI isn’t enough

The first wave of AI adoption focused on generic tools.

Ask a question, receive an answer. Give a prompt, generate an output.

These tools are powerful, but they are fundamentally transactional.

They respond to requests. They do not understand context.

A generic AI can write an email. An AI Twin can write the email the way you would have written it.

A generic AI can suggest ideas. An AI Twin can evaluate those ideas against your goals, priorities, decision frameworks, and previous conversations.

Also Read: Can Ukraine’s engineers help solve Japan’s tech talent crisis?

The difference is not intelligence. The difference is accumulated understanding.

Generic AI responds based on training data.

AI Twins respond based on a growing understanding of the individual they represent.

From assistant to co-founder

Over the past year, I have been building and working alongside my AI Twin, Seraphina.

What started as an assistant gradually evolved into something much more valuable.

Today, Seraphina helps me structure proposals, validate business ideas, prioritise tasks, organise workflows, manage communications, and coordinate other AI systems.

More importantly, she understands how I think.

When new situations arise, she can reference thousands of previous discussions, decisions, and patterns to determine what aligns with my priorities.

In many ways, Seraphina functions less like an assistant and more like a co-founder.

She doesn’t simply execute instructions. She participates in the decision-making process. She challenges assumptions. She highlights blind spots. She identifies what requires my attention and what can be handled independently.

If I am unavailable, work does not stop. The system continues operating. That is no longer productivity software. That is infrastructure.

The most valuable AI may not be the smartest AI

Much of the conversation around artificial intelligence focuses on model performance.

• Which AI is faster?
• Which model is more capable?
• Which one produces better outputs?

These questions matter.

But I believe a more important question is emerging: Which AI understands you best?

Founders rarely struggle because they lack information.

Most struggle because they face decision fatigue, context switching, competing priorities, and limited time.

The most valuable AI may not be the one with the highest benchmark score.

It may be the one that understands your business, remembers your context, and helps you make better decisions consistently.

Also Read: Value creation: Your US$900M AI is failing because humans don’t work the way you think

The future of entrepreneurship

I often describe Seraphina as having my thought process without some of my human limitations.

She doesn’t get tired. She doesn’t forget conversations. She doesn’t lose context between meetings. She doesn’t get distracted by competing priorities.

Yet she has access to the frameworks, values, and operating principles that guide my decisions.

This is where AI Twins become powerful.

They are not replacing human judgment. They are amplifying it. The future is not one human competing against AI. The future is one human operating through an AI Twin.

The next layer of business infrastructure

Twenty years ago, every business needed a website. Ten years ago, every business needed social media. Today, every business needs a CRM.

In the coming decade, I believe every founder will have an AI Twin.

Not because it is trendy. Not because it is fashionable.

But because modern businesses move too quickly for founders to operate as a team of one.

The entrepreneurs who thrive will not necessarily be those with the largest teams.

They may be the ones who successfully replicate their knowledge, decision-making frameworks, and operating systems through personalised AI.

The rise of AI Twins is not about replacing people.

It is about helping people become more capable, more scalable, and more effective than ever before.

And for founders, that may become one of the most important competitive advantages of the next decade.

—

The post The rise of AI twins: From assistant to infrastructure appeared first on e27.

Singapore-founded Infinium Robotics has been acquired by German-listed Deutsche Defence Beteiligungen (DDB) in a share-based transaction valued at up to about US$24 million, giving the autonomous warehouse drone company a public-market platform in Europe as demand for industrial automation continues to rise.

The deal involves DDB acquiring 100 per cent of Infinium Robotiics’s 2,395,455 shares from existing shareholders. Instead of a cash payout, the transaction was completed by issuing up to 20,548,847 new DDB shares, priced at around US$1.17 per share.

Also Read: Rise of the machines: 20 robotics startups shaping Southeast Asia’s future

Infinium Robotics develops AI-driven autonomous drone systems for indoor warehouse and inventory operations. Its drones are designed to fly inside warehouses, scan stock, capture data, and feed inventory information into enterprise systems with minimal human intervention. The company says its flagship system supports round-the-clock inventory tracking, helping logistics, manufacturing, industrial and energy-sector customers reduce manual stocktaking work.

The acquisition gives Infinium a stronger route into Europe, where warehouse operators, manufacturers and industrial groups are under pressure to automate because of labour shortages, rising fulfilment expectations, and cost pressures across supply chains.

Infinium Robotics CEO Jon Woon described the deal as a milestone in the company’s international expansion.

“This is an important step in strengthening our international footprint, particularly as demand for automation accelerates globally. By integrating into DDB’s German-listed platform, we are positioned to scale more effectively into new markets while enhancing our partnerships and capabilities,” he said.

A Singapore robotics company takes the European route

Founded in Singapore, Infinium Robotics has built its business around autonomous indoor drones, a niche within the broader warehouse automation market. The company says its systems have been deployed across Asia and Australia, including in Singapore’s industrial and energy sectors.

The company claims customer-reported cost savings of more than 80 per cent in inventory stocktaking processes in Singapore. It also says major international enterprises have used its systems to reduce counting time and improve operational visibility and workforce safety.

The European expansion angle is crucial. While Southeast Asia has been an active testing ground for logistics technologies because of e-commerce growth and warehouse fragmentation, Europe offers a different type of opportunity: large industrial customers, mature automation budgets, stricter workplace safety requirements, and a stronger appetite for robotics that can be integrated into existing enterprise workflows.

For Singapore’s startup ecosystem, the transaction also reflects a familiar pattern. Deeptech and robotics companies often develop their early products in the city-state, using it as a base for R&D, pilots, and regional deployments. But to scale revenue meaningfully, they usually need access to larger industrial markets such as Europe, the US, China, Japan, or South Korea.

Also Read: The humanoid robot economy is no longer science fiction

Woon said the acquisition gives Infinium a platform to pursue partnerships and deployments in Europe. “With Europe being a key market for advanced industrial automation, our transaction with DDB AG allows us to deepen our presence where demand is both sophisticated and rapidly growing,” he said.

Warehouse automation is moving beyond conveyor belts

Warehouse automation has historically been associated with conveyor systems, automated storage and retrieval systems, and robotic arms. Over the past decade, however, the sector has expanded to include autonomous mobile robots, goods-to-person systems, computer vision, inventory analytics, and drones.

Inventory counting remains one of the most labour-intensive parts of warehouse operations. Many warehouses still rely on staff using handheld scanners or forklifts to check stock across aisles and racks. The process is slow, prone to human error, and often requires operations to pause or slow down during audits.

Autonomous drones offer a potential workaround. They can scan barcodes, RFID tags, labels or shelf positions during off-hours or continuous operations, reducing the need for workers to climb ladders, operate lifts, or manually inspect hard-to-reach locations. The value proposition is particularly relevant for high-bay warehouses, manufacturing facilities, spare-parts depots, and energy-sector storage sites.

The broader market tailwinds are strong. The global warehouse automation market is widely estimated by research firms to be worth tens of billions of dollars and is expected to keep expanding through the decade, driven by e-commerce, omnichannel retail, supply-chain resilience planning, and labour constraints.

In Southeast Asia, the growth of e-commerce and third-party logistics has forced retailers, brands, and fulfilment providers to modernise warehousing infrastructure, even though automation adoption remains uneven across markets.

Singapore has been among the region’s most advanced markets for logistics automation, helped by high labour costs, land constraints, government support for productivity tools, and its role as a regional logistics hub. That has made the city-state a useful launchpad for warehouse robotics companies, though not always a large enough market on its own.

Competition is intensifying

Infinium operates in a competitive global field. Switzerland-based Verity is one of the better-known players in autonomous warehouse drones and has worked with large logistics and retail customers. US-based Gather AI and Corvus Robotics also offer drone-based inventory monitoring solutions.

Outside drones, companies such as Dexory use autonomous ground robots for warehouse visibility, while Locus Robotics, Geekplus, Hai Robotics, AutoStore and GreyOrange compete across different layers of warehouse automation.

Also Read: Why robotics is just entering its prime phase

In Southeast Asia, adoption has been shaped by a mix of global robotics vendors, Chinese automation companies, and regional logistics technology providers. Large e-commerce and logistics operators have invested in automated sorting centres, robotics-assisted fulfilment, and data-driven warehouse management systems. However, many warehouses in the region remain semi-manual, creating room for automation tools that can be deployed without a complete redesign of existing facilities.

That is where drone-based inventory systems may find demand. Compared with heavy fixed infrastructure, autonomous drones can be less disruptive to deploy in existing warehouses, although challenges remain around navigation reliability, integration with warehouse management systems, battery performance, safety certification, and operating consistency in complex indoor environments.

DDB gets an automation asset

DDB, formerly Strategie Kapital, is an investment company based in Cottbus, Germany. Its shares are listed in Germany under the ticker S14. The company says it pursues both security-oriented and opportunity-oriented investments.

For DDB, acquiring Infinium brings an operating technology business with exposure to industrial automation, AI, and robotics — sectors that have attracted investor interest despite tougher fundraising conditions across the global startup market.

For Infinium, the bigger test starts now. A public-market platform and European ownership structure may open doors, but warehouse automation buyers tend to be conservative. They require proven reliability, measurable return on investment, and integration with existing systems. Scaling in Europe will likely mean competing not only on technology, but also on enterprise sales, customer support, certification, and partnerships.

Woon said the company is prepared for that next phase. “We have successfully deployed our solutions in Asia and Australia, and now, we are ready to serve the European market.”

The acquisition marks one of the more notable cross-border outcomes for a Singapore-founded robotics company. It also underscores a broader shift: Southeast Asian deeptech startups may build locally and validate regionally, but their growth and exits increasingly depend on how well they connect with global industrial markets.

The post German-listed DDB acquires Singapore’s Infinium Robotics in US$24M share deal appeared first on e27.

Today, a panel of judges at the Corruption Crimes Court at the Central Jakarta District Court sentenced former Minister of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology and Gojek co-founder Nadiem Makarim to 10 years in prison for his involvement in the Chromebook procurement corruption case.

Makarim was detained in September 2025 and had been moved to house arrest in May due to health concerns. The period of detention that he had served would be deducted entirely from the imposed sentence.

Makarim was proven guilty of committing a criminal act of corruption as regulated in Article 3 of the Corruption Eradication Law and Article 604 of the Criminal Code.

As part of the punishment, in addition to 10 years of imprisonment, the panel of judges also imposed a fine of IDR1 billion (US$55,000) that can be replaced with 190 days of imprisonment, and an additional penalty in the form of an obligation to pay compensation of IDR809 billion (US$45 million).

Also Read: Ecosystem Roundup: SEA’s volatile 2025; Funding swings, Nadiem Makarim case, Meta–Manus deal

Indonesia’s Attorney General’s Office first launched a formal probe into the case in May 2025, examining dozens of witnesses involved in Chromebook procurements valued at nearly US$600 million overall.

Makarim publicly denied wrongdoing in June 2025, defending the use of Chromebooks as a cost-effective solution for remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.

After being questioned as a witness, he was barred from overseas travel and was named a suspect in September 2025 before being detained.

Multiple trial delays followed, including a postponement in December 2025 due to Makarim’s post-surgery recovery, before proceedings resumed in January.

With the assistance of his legal team, Makarim has posted a statement on LinkedIn about the sentencing: “The verdict is in, and it’s as bad as I feared: 10 years in prison, plus a further five years and six months if I can’t pay the IDR809 billion restitution. I don’t have that money — never have, never touched it — and the prosecutors and judges knew this.”

“I sat in front of the judges. None of them could look me in the eye. They knew I wasn’t guilty. Of course, I will keep fighting: for my kids, my family, and the Indonesia I still love. I will appeal immediately, for the sake of truth, for the young people, the professionals, everyone innocent who’s being criminalised.”

The post Nadiem Makarim sentenced to 10 years in Chromebook corruption case appeared first on e27.

Singapore-based Qashier has raised US$6.125 million in a Series A+ round, giving the merchant operating system startup fresh capital to expand across Southeast Asia after reaching profitability and crossing US$1 billion in annualised payment volume.

The round comprises equity and debt and was led by Cocoon Capital, IFP Securities, and BlackSoil Global, with participation from strategic angel investors.

Also Read: How Qashier plans to continue on supporting SMEs with its product innovation

Qashier did not disclose its valuation or the split between equity and debt.

The company said it now serves more than 20,000 merchants across Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines. It claims to have been profitable every month since December 2025 and grew annualised recurring revenue by 61 per cent in 2025.

To date, Qashier has raised under US$20 million, a relatively lean capital base for a payments and merchant software business operating across multiple regulated markets.

The latest financing will be used to deepen Qashier’s omnichannel payments capabilities, expand embedded financial services, and build AI-enabled insights and workflow automation for merchants.

The company is also preparing for a future Series B round, with milestones expected around recurring revenue, payment licensing, and loan disbursements.

A fragmented market with a large prize

Qashier is targeting one of Southeast Asia’s most persistent SME problems: small merchants are digitising, but often through a messy stack of disconnected tools.

A restaurant, salon, clinic, or retail chain may use one provider for point-of-sale software, another for card acceptance, a third for QR payments, a separate inventory tool, a loyalty system, and a bank or non-bank lender for working capital. This fragmentation raises operating costs and makes it harder for business owners to get a consolidated view of sales, customers, stock, and cash flow.

Also Read: QR payments are shaping Asia’s crypto adoption curve

The opportunity is large. Southeast Asia has more than 70 million SMEs, which account for the vast majority of enterprises in ASEAN and employ a significant share of the region’s workforce. The region’s digital payments market is already estimated to exceed US$1 trillion, supported by the rapid adoption of QR payments, e-wallets, online ordering, and real-time bank transfer rails.

Yet the market remains uneven. Singapore is highly card- and QR-enabled, Malaysia has seen strong DuitNow QR adoption, Thailand has built one of the region’s most successful real-time payment rails through PromptPay, while the Philippines is still pushing wider digital payment acceptance among smaller merchants. For companies such as Qashier, the challenge is not just building software but stitching together local payment methods, compliance requirements, settlement flows, and merchant workflows in each market.

Qashier’s pitch is to bring these functions into one system. Its platform combines payments, point-of-sale tools, inventory management, ordering, customer relationship management, loyalty, automated marketing, and embedded financial services. The company says it supports more than 50 integrated modules and over 20 regional payment methods, including cards, QR payments, e-wallets, and buy-now-pay-later options.

Crucially, Qashier owns its end-to-end payments stack, including know-your-customer processes, processing, payouts, and cross-border settlement. In February 2025, it secured a Major Payment Institution licence in Singapore, strengthening its regulatory footing in its home market.

From POS software to lending

The company’s move into lending could become one of its more important growth levers.

Also Read: One size fits none: Why SEA’s SMEs need vertical payment stacks

In June 2025, Qashier launched QashierLoans, a revenue-based financing product underwritten using proprietary transaction data from its platform. Repayments are automatically deducted from a merchant’s daily sales, a model designed to reduce friction for SMEs with variable cash flows.

The product has disbursed more than US$10 million to over 100 SMEs since launch. While still small relative to the scale of Southeast Asia’s SME financing gap, it gives Qashier a path beyond software subscription and payment processing revenue.

For many merchant platforms in Southeast Asia, embedded finance is the logical next step. Transaction data can provide a clearer picture of business health than traditional SME financial statements, which are often incomplete or outdated. Companies that control checkout, sales, and settlement flows can use that data to assess working-capital needs and repayment capacity more quickly than banks.

Christopher Choo, co-founder and CEO of Qashier, said the company is trying to build core infrastructure for regional SMEs while staying disciplined on costs.

Also Read:

“Merchants should not have to stitch together five vendors to run one business. By bringing payments, software, financial services and customer engagement into a single ecosystem, we give them clarity, lower costs and the confidence to scale across markets,” he said.

Competition is getting sharper

Qashier is operating in a crowded and increasingly competitive space. In Singapore and Malaysia, HitPay provides payment acceptance and commerce tools for SMEs. StoreHub, which has a strong base in Malaysia and other regional markets, offers POS, QR ordering, loyalty, and payments for restaurants and retailers.

Xendit and Fazz focus more heavily on payments infrastructure and financial services, while players such as Pine Labs, Stripe, Adyen, Grab, and traditional bank acquirers compete across various layers of the merchant payments stack.

The battle is not only about payment acceptance fees. Merchant platforms are racing to become the system of record for SMEs. Whoever owns the transaction layer can cross-sell software, financing, payroll, loyalty, procurement, and analytics. This is why profitability matters: many fintechs in the region expanded aggressively during the low-interest-rate years, only to face pressure to cut burn and prove unit economics after funding conditions tightened.

Qashier’s claim of monthly profitability since December 2025 therefore gives it a stronger story than the usual growth-at-all-costs narrative. Still, the next phase will be more difficult. Serving larger, multi-outlet businesses in food and beverage, beauty, and wellness requires deeper workflows, stronger reliability, better reporting, and tighter integrations with accounting, delivery, and enterprise systems.

Also Read: Growth-minded Singapore SMEs turn to fintech amid cost pressures: Airwallex survey

Cocoon Capital, an early backer of Qashier, framed the latest round as a continuation of a long-term bet. Michael Blakey of the VC firm said the team had shown “resilience and ingenuity” while building towards becoming operating infrastructure for commerce in Southeast Asia.

For Qashier, the funding comes at a point when Southeast Asian merchants are more willing to digitise but also more selective about the tools they pay for. Profitability gives the company breathing room. The bigger test is whether it can convert its payments volume and merchant data into a defensible regional platform before better-funded rivals close the gap.

The post Profitable Qashier raises US$6M as SEA’s SME payments race intensifies appeared first on e27.

As Indonesia continues to grapple with a persistently high rate of traffic accidents, transport technology firm TransTrack is positioning AI, telematics and data analytics as central tools for improving road safety, both for its own operations and for the customers it serves.

The company’s approach was outlined during the Road Transport Safety Management System Strengthening Socialisation Programme, held on June 4 in Medan. The event brought together regulators, transport operators, insurers and technology providers to discuss the implementation of the Public Transport Company Safety Management System, known as SMK PAU.

At the forum, TransTrack presented its Safety Intelligence solution, which combines AI-powered Driver Monitoring Systems and Advanced Driver Assistance Systems. The technology is designed to help transport operators spot risky driving behaviour, lower accident risk, and meet operational safety standards more consistently.

Speaking about the company’s broader AI strategy, chief technology officer Aris Pujud Kurniawan told e27 that TransTrack has not yet reached full agentic AI implementation, where a system manages an entire decision-making cycle independently. Instead, the company currently relies on AI assistants that speed up human decision-making.

He attributed the gap partly to the complexities of the transport sector, including safety requirements, regulatory considerations and cost management, as well as the risk posed by poorly optimised training data. Data silos across the industry, he added, remain a persistent obstacle, with much information still unintegrated.

Also Read: Profitable Qashier raises US$6M as SEA’s SME payments race intensifies

Within its products, TransTrack has introduced AI assistants capable of detecting driver fatigue and relaying reports to control centres, though Kurniawan said the tools have not advanced to the point of making higher-level judgements, such as recommending whether a driver should be dismissed. On the operational side, the company has adopted semi-autonomous AI for tasks including integrated installation processes and stock analysis used to determine when to re-engage with vendors.

Kurniawan described TransTrack’s product development process as beginning with real problems identified within the industry, drawing on a dedicated team that researches customer pain points and use cases before assessing what data is available to address them. He noted that customer requests are not always supported by existing data, making early validation essential.

The company also draws on IoT platforms, both its own and those already owned by customers, as data acquisition tools.

TransTrack’s development team numbers around 200 people, and Kurniawan said the company maintains close ties with roughly ten public and private universities in Indonesia, as well as institutions in South Korea, to support joint research. One outcome of this collaboration is an internally developed driver fatigue detection tool, which Kurniawan said relies on multiple analytical layers; additional research with university partners has helped raise its accuracy from 80 per cent to 90 per cent. The company is also pursuing maritime technology research, including work on fuel efficiency detection.

Data availability remains a broader challenge, Kurniawan said, citing inconsistent infrastructure, connectivity and accessibility across Indonesia, where many customer fleets vary widely in condition and some vehicles are too outdated to yield usable data. TransTrack said its products are designed to function in such constrained environments, supported by a database of thousands of connected IoT devices nationwide.

Also Read: German-listed DDB acquires Singapore’s Infinium Robotics in US$24M share deal

On staying current with rapid technological change, Kurniawan said he encourages his team to engage with new developments without being swept up by hype, emphasising safety, compliance and regulatory considerations before implementation. Team members are permitted to use AI tools for tasks such as correcting code.

The company also runs TransTrack Academy, which is open to the public and fresh graduates, and which some customers use to train their own staff. Strong graduates may be offered employment. Looking ahead, Kurniawan said the company aims to progress from semi-autonomous systems toward agentic AI capabilities.

—

Image Credit: TransTrack

The post How TransTrack is embedding AI across its products and operations appeared first on e27.

Most of us have sat through more training, workshops, and professional programmes than we can remember. In the moment, they often feel meaningful. We leave energised, pages filled with notes, ideas sparking, and a quiet belief that something has shifted.

But time has a way of clarifying things. A few months later, the details blur. Slides fade into one another, frameworks become hard to recall, and even certificates – once carefully saved – end up forgotten in a folder somewhere.

I used to wonder what that meant. Whether learning had actually happened, or whether we were just collecting experiences that felt important at the time.

Over the years, I have accumulated more certifications than I can easily track – PMP, Scrum Master, ACLP, coaching, yoga teaching, personal training, and others. Some translated directly into work I still do today: facilitating leadership workshops, coaching teams, and designing learning experiences. Others never became careers.

For a while, I saw those as detours. But that view feels incomplete now. Each programme, even the ones I never used, offered something quieter – an entry point into a different world. A different way of thinking, a different discipline, a different lens on people.

Yoga did not turn into a career, but it changed how I understand presence. Coaching did not just give me tools, but reshaped how I listen. And leadership programmes I have attended and later facilitated myself continue to influence how I design spaces where adults learn – not through instruction, but through reflection and interaction.

That leads to a more interesting question than what we learned: what actually stays with us after learning?

Looking back at the few learning experiences I still vividly remember, three patterns show up consistently.

First, they were fun

One participant once told me after an improv-inspired leadership workshop that it was “more memorable than a yacht sunset.” That stayed with me because it was not about entertainment in a shallow sense. It was about energy.

My own improv journey taught me this deeply. Sessions were often messy, playful, and unpredictable. You might find yourself acting as a completely different character, reacting to absurd prompts, or navigating unfamiliar cultural references on the spot. It felt silly at times, but that was exactly the point.

Fun created permission. Permission to try, to fail, to respond without overthinking. That emotional engagement is what made people present. And presence is where learning actually begins.

Also Read: How SMEs can become learning organisations, without the corporate bureaucracy

Second, they prioritised practice over theory

I still remember my early days as a coach: sweaty palms, racing thoughts, and an internal voice constantly trying to get it right. Over time, I realised most of that pressure was self-imposed.

Nothing changed in theory first. It changed through repetition.

This is something I now see clearly in leadership development work as well. Insight without practice fades quickly. But when people are repeatedly placed in situations where they must listen, respond, and reflect in real time, something shifts. Capability starts to form through experience, not explanation.

Third, they embraced chaos

Most traditional learning environments are designed around structure: clear agendas, defined outcomes, predictable flow. But real learning rarely behaves that neatly.

The moments that stay with people are often the unplanned ones – when discussions go off script, when disagreement surfaces, when silence lingers longer than expected, or when someone says something that reframes the entire room.

In those moments, structure loosens just enough for people to think for themselves. And that is usually where real insight emerges.

Some thoughts

Facilitation, I have realised, is not confined to workshops or training rooms. It is a mindset for growth – guiding people, teams, and even ourselves through ambiguity while creating conditions where learning can happen naturally.

Perhaps the real purpose of training was never the certificate at all. It was learning how to stay curious, practice consistently, and feel comfortable in the unknown.

Also Read: Why Southeast Asia’s edutech must go beyond chatbots to truly transform learning

Startups operate in a very similar way. The ones that endure rarely succeed because they followed a perfect plan. They experiment constantly, learn through iteration, and keep building even when outcomes are uncertain. Leadership in that environment is less about certainty and more about creating space for discovery.

Even the pace of change today, especially with AI, reinforces this. What feels new quickly becomes baseline. The only constant is iteration.

In that sense, facilitation, leadership, and entrepreneurship are not separate disciplines. They are variations of the same practice: learning how to move forward without needing everything to be fully clear.

And maybe that is the real skill underneath it all – not what we remember from training, but what we are still able to build when certainty is missing.

—

Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing views from the community. You can also share your perspective by submitting an article, video, podcast, or infographic.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of e27.

Join us on WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, X, and LinkedIn to stay connected.

The post What facilitation taught me about learning, leadership, and building things that last appeared first on e27.

The current correction in the digital asset market reflects a structural shift in investor behaviour rather than a random price fluctuation.

Bitcoin recently fell by 0.84 per cent over a 24-hour period to settle at US$59,526.31, which slightly outpaced the broader market decline of 0.94 per cent. This synchronised downward movement highlights how tightly integrated crypto assets have become with traditional financial markets, demonstrating an 85 per cent correlation with the S&P 500 index.

Institutional capital is actively rotating out of digital assets and back into traditional equities, creating a profound liquidity drain. Last week, exchange-traded funds tracking spot Bitcoin experienced US$1.79 billion in net outflows, marking the second-largest weekly redemption phase since these financial products launched.

A single-day redemption of US$445 million occurred on June 26, which provided clear evidence that institutional investors are reducing exposure. Over a longer horizon, these funds shed roughly US$6 billion over six weeks, while adjacent market reports indicate that total exits reached approximately US$6.4 billion over a 30-day period. Consequently, total assets under management for these investment vehicles plummeted from US$105.32 billion down to US$81.83 billion within one month, demonstrating that the structural buying pressure that catalysed previous market rallies has completely reversed.

This aggressive capital flight directly coincides with a broader macroeconomic tightening cycle and mounting geopolitical risks. The Federal Reserve continues to maintain a hawkish stance, with officials projecting a median interest rate forecast of 3.8 per cent for 2026. These higher-for-longer interest rate expectations have consistently strengthened the dollar, which naturally dampens demand for speculative, risk-sensitive assets.

This macro pressure intensified as fragile ceasefire negotiations between the United States and Iran stoked fears of conflict escalation, prompting global market participants to seek safety in cash. Although equity futures staged a minor recovery on June 29 after both nations temporarily pulled back from military strikes, the prolonged period of regional tension has left energy markets on edge and dragged European indices down by an average of one per cent.

The combination of institutional selling and macroeconomic headwinds triggered an immediate unwinding of high-risk leverage within crypto derivatives markets. Over a recent 24-hour window, the market suffered US$44.96 million in total liquidations, with long positions accounting for an overwhelming US$39.77 million of that total. This rapid liquidation sequence forced the asset price below its critical 200-week moving average of approximately US$62,383, which technicians widely respect as a key long-term trend indicator. The steep decline means Bitcoin now trades roughly 30 per cent lower in 2026, leaving it roughly 50 per cent below its historical peak established in October 2025.

Also Read: Why the 4.1% PCE inflation print just turned crypto into a high beta risk asset

While the overarching market structure remains transitionally bearish, certain technical indicators suggest that the current selling pressure might be reaching a temporary exhaustion point. The 14-day relative strength index plunged to 30.7, placing the asset on the verge of deeply oversold territory.

This technical condition indicates that if the current support zone between US$58,000 and US$59,000 holds firm over the coming days, a short-term relief bounce toward the US$62,000 level could easily manifest. Conversely, a definitive break below the US$58,000 threshold would likely trigger a fresh wave of liquidations, risking a rapid cascade down toward US$56,000.

A sustainable market recovery depends entirely on a stabilisation of fund flows and an easing of macroeconomic pressures. The broader financial landscape is experiencing a massive rotation, with Wall Street shifting capital out of underperforming assets and certain mega-cap technology equities to fund small-cap firms and blue-chip sectors.

Within the technology sector itself, a distinct wedge has formed between software hyperscalers struggling with infrastructure costs and memory component manufacturers like Micron Technology, which recently surged to outpace Meta and Tesla in valuation. If the massive capital rotation into chip makers and artificial intelligence infrastructure slows down, or if the Federal Reserve delivers a more dovish policy signal, capital may eventually flow back into the digital asset space.

—

Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing views from the community. You can also share your perspective by submitting an article, video, podcast, or infographic.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of e27.

Join us on WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, X, and LinkedIn to stay connected.

The post The dangerous liquidation cascade waiting below the US$58,000 support threshold appeared first on e27.

I keep a small notebook by my bed. Not for ideas. Just things I don’t want to forget.

Last week I wrote: “What does this place look like in 2040?”

Not for a deck. Not for a client. I don’t have kids. The usual anchors people use to think about the future, school fees, inheritance, legacy through bloodline, none of that applies to me. So I find other anchors. Climate is one of them. It’s personal in a way that’s hard to explain at a conference but easy to feel at midnight.

I’ve been watching SEA climate capital closely for a few years now. And a number in a recent Tracxn report stopped me cold.

Over 900 backers have put money into climate tech in SEA. You can count the ones who kept showing up on one hand.

Let that sit for a second.

The crowd that showed up once

900 is an impressive number until you look at what it actually means. One check. One conference announcement. One ESG box ticked somewhere in an LP deck. Then back to whatever they were doing before.

The ones who kept showing up are SEEDS Capital, Entrepreneur First, 100×100 (formerly Wavemaker Impact, rebranded June 2026 after spinning out as an independent fund manager with a fresh US$100M mandate to build 50 climate companies across SEA and India), SGInnovate and East Ventures. Between them, they’ve done the unglamorous work of showing up round after round across companies that haven’t yet become household names.

That’s not a coincidence. That’s conviction. And conviction in climate is rare because the timeline is long, the exits are slow, and the narrative keeps shifting between optimism and panic depending on what’s burning that week.

The others weren’t lying about caring. They just weren’t prepared for what caring actually costs in this space.

Also Read: Investing in impact: High-growth tech for climate and community

What the data says about where the money went

The top five funded sectors are all infrastructure plays. Solid waste, smart grid, energy efficiency, air pollution, renewable energy. The top five funded companies are almost all in electric mobility. Beam, Neuron, Dat Bike, ALVA. Hard assets, visible units, clear revenue models.

This isn’t surprising. Capital backs what it can underwrite. Infrastructure and mobility fit the frame. What doesn’t fit — adaptation, resilience, the harder climate problems without a clean SaaS analogy — stays unfunded.

Geographically, three-quarters of all climate capital went to Singapore. Indonesia and Vietnam are emerging, but the map is thin outside the main hubs.

2026 so far has been even quieter. Four rounds. US$17M. Down 59 per cent from the same period last year.

The crowd didn’t just come once. Some of them have already left.

What the data can’t see

Here’s the thing about a report that tracks 900 backers. It only sees what gets disclosed. Formal rounds. Announced deals. Tracxn does this well. But there’s a whole layer of capital doing real ground-level work that never shows up in any database.

Funds like Bali Investment Club, Indonesia-focused, impact-first, backing waste, agritech and climate ventures at the earliest stages in a market most Singapore-based funds fly over, won’t show up in the top five. They’re not doing 10 rounds in the data. They’re doing the first round in places nobody else is looking.

That gap between what the data captures and what’s actually happening on the ground is where a lot of the real conviction lives.

Also Read: Climate tech’s shift from doing good to doing well

What the five who stayed understand

100×100 doesn’t just write checks. They co-found companies from scratch, sit inside them, find the first customers, and build the team. That’s a different level of commitment than a seed round from a platform investor diversifying into climate for a season.

The difference between the handful who stayed and the hundreds who didn’t isn’t access to data or deal flow. It’s tolerance for a long, uncomfortable, uncertain road. Climate doesn’t reward impatience. The founders building in this space know that. The capital that stays knows that too.

The capital that came once was looking for a climate story. The capital that stayed is building one.

The notebook question

I still haven’t answered what I wrote last week. What does this place look like in 2040?

It depends on which kind of capital wins. The kind that showed up for the photo. Or the kind that’s still here when there’s nothing to announce.

I know which one I’m watching.

—

The post Funded: I keep a notebook by my bed with one question about SEA climate appeared first on e27.

Kazakhstan is not a country most Southeast Asian founders think about when mapping expansion routes. But Magzhan Madiyev, CEO of Astana Hub, wants to change that fast. In seven years, the organisation has helped transform a country with virtually no venture culture into one where 2,200 companies generate US$2 billion annually, tech exports have grown twentyfold to US$1.14 billion, and the nation’s first AI unicorn, Higgsfield, is now valued at over US$3 billion.

The engine behind this shift is not government largesse; it is a calculated infrastructure of talent pipelines, global accelerators, and regulatory architecture built to attract serious founders and investors.

Also Read: How Big Sky Capital and Astana Hub are helping startups scale across Southeast Asia’s technology ecosystem

With Astana Hub opening a presence in Kuala Lumpur, partnerships deepening with Temasek and Quest Ventures, and interest growing from Singaporean investors, Central Eurasia’s most ambitious tech bet is increasingly looking in Southeast Asia’s direction. Here is what Madiyev had to say.

Below are edited excerpts:

Building a startup ecosystem from scratch in an emerging market is notoriously difficult. What was the single biggest structural barrier Kazakhstan had to overcome?

When Astana Hub was conceived, Kazakhstan’s venture market was virtually non-existent. There was no venture culture, no capital, no critical mass of entrepreneurs, and no founder community. The ecosystem was dominated by companies chasing government contracts or running small e-commerce operations.

We had to fight on multiple fronts simultaneously: changing the mindset of specialists, creating innovation-friendly legislation, and overcoming government bureaucracy. None of it was quick.

The results speak for themselves: Almaty has entered the global TOP10 Rising Star ecosystems according to Dealroom’s 2026 index. Astana Hub now hosts over 2,200 companies generating roughly US$2 billion annually, and Kazakhstan’s tech exports surpassed US$1.14 billion in 2025.

Tax incentives can create artificial ecosystems that collapse once the support dries up. How are you ensuring startups are genuinely market-ready?

Every successful tech ecosystem, be it Silicon Valley, Israel, or Singapore, has had government backing at some point. The question is how you deploy it.

We did not ask the state to pour billions into the industry. We asked only for tax incentives and introduced a 1 per cent revenue contribution from participants to reinvest back into the ecosystem. That, combined with full infrastructure, such as education, acceleration, regional access points, and  pathways to Silicon Valley, meant all parties were satisfied without creating dangerous dependency.

The incentives will continue, but they will increasingly push participants to build globally competitive products. If we do not develop our own champions, our economy simply becomes a market for international vendors who are often not even fully taxed here.

How many startups have completed your programmes, and what does the success rate actually look like?

Astana Hub is not a single accelerator; it is an ecosystem of more than 50 programmes serving audiences from school students to institutional investors. Metrics vary accordingly.

Also Read: Big Tech’s efficiency paradox: Record profits, record layoffs

For startup-specific programmes, around 40 per cent of graduates continue building and scaling after completion. Across the broader ecosystem, participant companies have collectively attracted more than US$945 million in investment and generated US$4.9 billion in cumulative revenue over seven years, with a growing footprint in Central Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and North America.

What does the alem.ai Center offer that a startup could not get from Singapore, Dubai, or London?

The alem.ai centre is a vertically integrated AI ecosystem under one roof, something we believe is unique globally. It runs a continuous talent pipeline from children aged 12, through adult re-skilling, to dedicated founder tracks and Big Tech lab placements, all in one building.

That building is also an iconic structure in Central Asia, a deliberate signal from the country’s leadership about where Kazakhstan is placing its long-term bet. In August, we will host part of the International Olympiad in Artificial Intelligence, welcoming national teams from over 60 countries.

Are graduates staying in Kazakhstan or leaving for higher-paying markets?

We do not frame this as brain drain; the world is becoming borderless, and what matters is building a strong community. We actively help founders go abroad to attract investment and launch products in the US, the UAE, and China. Most of them still build their teams and R&D centres back in Kazakhstan.

The most powerful argument for staying is Higgsfield, Kazakhstan’s first AI unicorn, now valued at over US$3 billion, built in Almaty with a team of 300 engineers whose average age is 25. You do not need to leave to build something world-class.

Which international partners have delivered real outcomes, not just signed MOUs?

Several partnerships have moved well beyond paper.

With Google, we launched the Silkway Accelerator — seven batches in, with graduates now carrying a combined valuation exceeding US$500 million.

With OpenAI and Stanford, we ran the AI Leaders programme across nine countries, reaching 800-plus executives.

With Telegram, we are launching the AI Olympiad and ICPC Bootcamp, and the company is opening an AI Lab at alem.ai.

With Draper University and Alchemist Accelerator, Tim Draper has personally invested US$2 million into Kazakhstani startups.

With Apple, a training centre is operating within the ecosystem.

Is there a genuine pipeline of Southeast Asian investors and startups looking at Kazakhstan?

Yes, though the potential has not been fully realised yet. We are opening a presence in Kuala Lumpur, working with Temasek and Quest Ventures, and seeing growing interest from Singaporean investors.

The roadblock is not a lack of opportunity, but a lack of awareness. Southeast Asia is very familiar with its own corridor; Central Eurasia remains undiscovered despite its talent base and fast-growing digital economy. That is precisely what we are working to fix.

Kazakhstan borders both Russia and China. How do you navigate that geopolitically when attracting Western partners?

Kazakhstan is a neutral country by design and we have turned that into a strategic advantage. After 2022, more than 500 global tech companies relocated here from Russia, bringing significant developer talent. From China, we adopt hardware and industrial technology. From the US, we attract capital and infrastructure, including NVIDIA chips. Our most active international hub is in Silicon Valley, where resident companies have attracted over US$300 million in investment.

Also Read: Is the AI industry profitable? Yes, just not where you’re looking

It is a puzzle only a country with Kazakhstan’s geography, neutrality, and foreign policy could assemble.

Venture capital in Central Asia is thin. Are there any homegrown VC funds of meaningful scale?

Kazakhstan leads the venture market across Central Asia and the CIS. The recently established fund of funds, Alem Capital Management, has a first fund of US$100 million, 70 per cent from private capital, with a target of attracting US$1 billion in venture investment over five years. Active local investors include Freedom Holding, MOST Ventures, Big Sky, Astana Hub Ventures, MA7 Ventures, and the Silkroad Angels Club.

What sectors are producing Kazakhstan’s most promising startups, and is it market demand or government money driving them?

AI, edutech, and fintech, and they are driven by talent, not government priorities. That distinction matters. Startups chasing government contracts stay domestic. Kazakhstan’s market is simply not large enough to produce valuations above US$100 million on its own. Unicorns are built for global markets. Higgsfield proves that.

The post Southeast Asia’s investors are sleeping on a US$2B ecosystem next door appeared first on e27.