Lazada receives US$378M from parent Alibaba
This is the largest capital injection since June 2020, when the company had received US$1.3B from Alibaba; Alibaba, which has a huge presence in SEA, is looking to expand into Europe; Alibaba already has AliExpress in Europe.
Indonesian used-car platform Moladin raises US$95M
Investors include DST Global, East Ventures, Northstar Group, and Sequoia India; Moladin helps agents and smaller dealers use tech to simplify transactions for selling used cars; It said it has over 40K agents and dealers across Indonesia.
Indonesian digital identity network VIDA raises US$47.7M Series A
London-based Hedosophia is likely the lead investor; Other backers are Alpha JWC, SEA Frontier Fund, YTL Corp., Endeavor Catalyst, and Breyer Capital; VIDA offers ID verification, legally binding and verifiable digital signatures, and verifiable credentials.
Animoca Brands leads US$24.3M Series A of gaming metaverse firm Untamed Planet
Untamed Planet plans to create metaverse games that immerse players in virtual worlds featuring wild natural landscapes wherein NFTs can be collected; The studio also secured a partnership with nWay, Animoca’s video game arm.
SG CRM startup Privyr raises US$6M
Investors include MassMutual Ventures SEA, Vulcan Capital, and Wavemaker Partners; Privyr’s CRM mobile app helps sales staff and businesses contact and convert leads into clients; It claims to have 45K+ sales professionals across 75+ countries.
Indonesia’s community-powered social job platform Atma nets US$5M pre-seed funding
Investors include AC Ventures, GFC, and individuals from GoTo Group, Ula, Lummo, Kopi Kenangan, MMS Group and Xiaomi;
Atma intends to build an end-to-end ecosystem that includes a job marketplace, an upskilling institute and a community-based support system.
New Zealand VC firm Global From Day One launches US$5M Web3 fund
GD1 Crypto Fund 1 will invest in pre-seed series A firms across verticals, including DeFi, DAOs, and NFTs; The fund has also sealed two deals that will see GD1 invest in companies backed by global VCs like Andreessen Horowitz, True Ventures, and Kleiner Perkins.
Carsome acquires WapCar, AutoFun to strengthen automotive content strategy
This follows its acquisitions of CarTimes Automobile in Singapore and iCar Asia; WapCar provides a full range of content which covers car exploration, transaction, and ownership experiences that aim to assist customers and car enthusiasts in their journey.
Carousell to buy Singapore fashion recommerce firm Refash
Carousell will leverage Refash’s network of 10 physical thrift stores across Singapore to help users sell their secondhand products in a shorter span of time; Refash has processed 5M+ pieces of clothing.
Play-to-earn gaming model bound to evolve, experts say
The primary objective of the emerging model will be to build games that are fun to play, where players will be incentivized for their skills and the number of hours they spend on the game.
Lazada faces backlash from Thailand for ‘insulting’ monarchy
The e-commerce firm released a promotional video, now-deleted, which portrayed a woman in a wheelchair wearing a traditional Thai costume, being accused of stealing her daughter’s clothes; Lazada has since issued an apology.
SG crypto firm Coinhako gets MAS nod for digital token services
The license allows the firm to operate as a regulated provider of digital payment token services; The company has more than 400,000 registered users in the city-state; Coinhako reported a total trading volume of about US$5.1B in 2021.
Chinese Tesla rival Nio eyes secondary listing in Singapore
Nio’s class A ordinary shares will be listed at US$0.00025 per share by way of introduction; The company is among a number of Chinese firms that have been found not to meet the US SEC’s regulatory requirements related to auditors.
YGG SEA to kick off US$37.5M token sale
The subDAO will initially offer 75 million SEA tokens worth US$0.50 each; SEA token ownership will give its community members voting rights on proposals, ecosystem reward allocations, features, and rewards systems.
UOB to inject over US$100K to greentech startups with new accelerator
The Greentech Accelerator will focus on energy efficiency, zero-waste supply chains, and carbon management and reporting; For its first cohort, it will take on 10 startups and SMEs for a three-month-long programme.
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