Traveloka explores IPO option after SPAC merger plans falls through
The Indonesian tech giant had earlier suspended merger talks with Bridgetown Holdings amid a broader souring of mood at Wall Street towards SPACs; The US market will offer Traveloka access to a global, experienced investor base and greater liquidity to finance its regional expansion plans.
Spenmo bags US$34M to grow its smart corporate cards, automated bill payments biz in SEA
Investors include Insight Partners (lead), Addition, Alpha JWC, and Salesforce Ventures; Spenmo offers payables software that brings internal spend management, corporate cards, automated bill payments, approval workflows and accounting reconciliation into an integrated view.
Alpha JWC hits first close of US$300M Fund III
The Indonesian VC is likely to close the fund at US$400M in the next couple of months; A final close at US$400M will make the largest seed to Series B vehicle in SEA; IFC is one of its investors; CTBC Venture Capital has also committed US$3M to the fund.
Evermos lands US$30M Series B to take its e-commerce platform for halal products to new markets
Investors are Asia Impact Investment Fund II (lead), IFC, MDI Ventures, TMI and Future Shape; Evermos claims to have generated micro-entrepreneurship opportunities for 100K+ active resellers across 500+ tier 2 and 3 cities and regencies.
OY! Indonesia bags US$30M Series led by SoftBank Ventures Asia
OY! is engaged in money movement and provides financial infrastructure, both for online payments and offline/cash payments; It acts as a bridge for all economic players, ranging from consumers, business owners, fintech, and banks.
Crescendo-backed Singapore logistics startup mulls US listing
Qxpress, a pan-Asia cross-border logistics company whose investors include a firm backed by Peter Thiel, is weighing an initial public offering in the US as soon as next year; The potential public offering could bump the Singapore-based firm’s valuation to between US$500M to US$1B.
iPhone co-inventor-backed insurtech unicorn bolttech adds US$30M to Series A
Investors are EDBI and Alma Mundi Insurtech Fund; The additional capital will help bolttech further enhance technology and digital capabilities and strengthen its presence in Southeast Asia, Europe, and its other existing markets.
Dagangan nets US$11.5M led by Monk’s Hill to supply FMCG to underserved rural communities in Indonesia
Investors are Monk’s Hill (lead), MMS Group, K3 Ventures, Spiral Ventures, and PnP; Dagangan distributes 20+ private-labelled products, such as rice, brown sugar, and snacks items, and has 20K+ active users that manage over 3,000 SKUs.
Emerging Vision nets US$4M to expand online spiritual wellness services beyond Singapore
Investors are Lightspeed and unnamed angels; Emerging Vision allows users to receive interactive live-streaming consultations with credentialed astrologers, tarot readers, life coaches, and mentors from the comfort of their homes.
Guest management and contactless payment provider for venues and events PouchNATION raises bridge funding
Investors include SOSV, Artesian, Found Ventures, Huashan Capital, and Traveloka; It aims to accelerate the growth of PouchNATION’s contactless hospitality platform as many tourist destinations are reopening in SEA.
SoftBank co-leads US$210M round of ex-Lazada CEO’s luxury marketplace Vestiaire Collective
The startup, helmed by Lazada founder Max Bittner, plans to use the fresh capital to expand in new markets including Asia, as well as develop its technology; Vestiaire recorded an over 150% jump in the number of orders from Asia Pacific in the last 12 months.
iVS rakes in US$3.2M led by Tin Men Capital to expand its video ad platform beyond SEA
Other investors are Kickstart Ventures, Vulpes and SG Innovate; The video advertising enablement platform will use the investment to foray into new territories in the Asia Pacific, namely Japan and Australia.
DiMuto raises US$2.3M in Series A to scale up product development
Investors are The Yield Lab Asia Pacific, SEEDS Capital, PT Great Giant Pineapple, Patrick Vizzone, Ocean Crest Investments, and Asia Capital Pioneers Group; DiMuto uses blockchain, cloud, IoT and AI to create combined visibility between the movement of goods and money on DiMuto Platform.
Komunal lands US$2.1M Series A to boost financial inclusion in Indonesia through neo rural bank services
Investors are East Ventures (lead) and Skystar Capital; Komunal enables societies nationwide to access the highest possible government-guaranteed deposit rates from rural banks in any region without visiting the bank.
SGRecycle bags US$1.4M from Tai Hing Group
SGRecycle is a network of SGRecycle stations placed around Singapore; It allows contactless recycling of paper waste by combining built-in sensors and cloud technology; The stations allow the general public to receive cash incentives or merchant vouchers when recycling waste paper.
Report: Asia takes lead as home of unicorns among emerging startup ecosystems
Asian startup ecosystems are now worth US$1.1T in terms of Ecosystem Value or about 30% of the global total; In general, the Asian startup ecosystems continued to rise in the ranking with Tokyo climbing up from #15 to #9, Seoul from #20 to #16, Shenzhen from #22 to #19, Bengaluru from #26 to #23, and Hangzhou from #28 to #25.
‘At the early stage, valuing startups can be more art than science: Kuo-Yi Lim of Monk’s Hill Ventures
The most crucial consideration is arriving at a valuation that will set the company up for success; This often means managing dilution on the founders’ ownership while ensuring that the valuation is supported by fundamentals that the company can meet, he says.
Meet the startups from the latest batch of Singapore Tourism Board accelerator programme
Consisting of both local and global companies, these startups are working together with travel and tourism industry players in Singapore to help them revive their businesses –which have been hit heavily by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Deconstructing digital banking: How it can cater to the underserved in Malaysia
Despite the flurry of activity, there are three burning questions at the heart of the digital banking industry in Malaysia — ‘where is the path to profitability for digital banks?’, ‘can and will digital banking truly serve the underserved?’, and ‘what differentiates a digital bank from a conventional bank?’.
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Image Credit: Traveloka
The post Ecosystem Roundup: Evermos, OY! Indonesia raise US$30M each; Traveloka eyes IPO in US appeared first on e27.