Ecosystem Roundup: Fazz secures US$100M Series C, Propzy to shut down, Arrest looms for Terra founder

Fazz secures US$100M Series C to grow its lending services, expand team in SEA
The investors include Tiger Global, DST Investment, B Capital, Insignia, and Lendable; Fazz claims it saw US$10B in annualised transaction volumes over the past year and looks to double the volumes in the next 12 months.

Vietnamese proptech startup Propzy to shut down
In an internal email, co-founder and CEO John Le said that the company’s efforts to grow the business amid the pandemic resulted in significant losses that it could not recover due to continued lockdowns in Vietnam.

AC Ventures reaches first close of US$250M fund
The fund raised 65% of its capital target, but it has already invested in five startups; These include SkorLife’s US$2.2M round, Ideal’s US$3.8M fundraise, and Atma’s US$5M deal.

Sea to forgo leadership salaries amid cash flow struggles
This comes after Sea ended operations in four Latin American markets and trimmed staff across its divisions; The Singapore-based company has lost nearly US$170B in market value since peaking in October.

TikTok Shop has set SEA on fire within months
The short-video giant has moved quickly and aggressively in the region to roll out new features, offer incentives, and seal new partnerships with e-commerce enablers and logistics partners.

SG digibank Trust hits 100K customers within 2 weeks of launch
Backed by a partnership between Standard Chartered Bank and Fairprice Group, Trust offers a range of products and services, including credit cards, savings accounts, and family personal accident insurance.

Taiwan’s TNL Media acquires recipe-sharing social platform iCook
TNL Media looks to grow its readership, launch new products, and expand the group’s paid subscription business; With 7M monthly unique visitors, the integration with iCook will bring TNL’s total readership to 25M MUV and 100M monthly views.

Sequoia Surge backs US$14.3M series A of Vietnam’s Virtual Internships
The firm offers access to digital internships for individuals pursuing higher education across 100 countries; It also trains students before and during their work experiences.

Glife Technologies raises US$3M Series A+ from Tin Men Capital
Glife aggregates demand for food produce from restaurants and match it with suppliers; Glife will use the fresh funds to accelerate the launch and operations of its digital marketplace for F&B suppliers and merchants in Q42022.

Hybrid work technology startup FlexOS secures US$1M
The investors include Do Ventures, VIK Partners, Vulpes Ventures, Hustle Fund, and Play Ventures; FlexOS offers gamified office check-ins, desk and meeting room bookings, and up to 10 monthly events and activities tailored to employees’ unique interests.

Indonesian kids food startup Grouu raises funding
The investors include Teja Ventures, Arkana Ventures, and Javas Capital; Grouu delivers meals to users’ houses every day; It offers meals for kids between one to 10 years old; It has also added non-MSG options to its menu.

Web3

Arrest looms for Terraform Labs founder as Seoul court issues warrant
A court in Seoul issued a warrant against Do Kwon and five other individuals for violating South Korea’s capital markets laws; The warrant comes after the Terra crashed in May, resulting in global losses of over US$40B.

Indonesian crypto exchange Reku bags US$11M funding
The investors include AC Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, and Skystar Capital; Last year, crypto transactions in Indonesia reached US$60B, with Reku processing US$3B of the total amount.

Cake DeFi launches global research hub in Singapore
Called Birthday Research, the centre will focus on developing blockchain and digital-asset technologies; Cake DeFi has committed to investing US$50M into R&D over the next four years.

Blockchain data firm Thirdwave launches with US$7M raise
The investors include Framework Ventures, Animoca Brands, Play Ventures, and Shima Capital; Thirdwave provides Web3 companies, projects, protocols, and DAOs with blockchain data.

Multi-chain DeFi services platform Krystal raises US$6.6M led by Hashed
Krystal will add more blockchains and improve access to passive income by allowing users to securely do staking, manage liquidity pools, and yield farming.

IDG Capital Vietnam invests in blockchain firm Metain
Metain is a blockchain-empowered co-investment platform focusing on real estate; It makes investing in income-producing assets affordable, convenient, safe, and transparent for middle-income customers.

Sender nets US$4.5M led by Pantera Capital to expand its crypto wallet ecosystem
The investors include Pantera Capital, Crypto.com Capital, Jump Capital, SevenX Ventures, and D1 Ventures; Sender is a third-party wallet in the NEAR ecosystem with built-in functions such as staking, swap, and NFT showcase.

Ex-Binance exec’s Web3 platform Playground bags pre-seed capital
The lead investors are East Ventures and Mirana Ventures; On Playground, users can interactively discover all aspects of trusted Web3 entertainment projects and be kept abreast of updates and milestones for new and existing projects.

Features

FlyORO wants to decarbonise aviation with its last-mile sustainable fuel blending tech
FlyORO’s technology can be integrated with existing airport infrastructure so that airports can provide sustainable aviation blends readily to airlines.

How Moom taps into the power of community in product development, user acquisition
When asked about the role of its community in its customer acquisition strategy, Moom stresses the importance of putting itself in the mindset of customers.

What makes Bee Kheng Tay a remarkable leader
Bee Kheng Tay, President of Cisco Systems in ASEAN, looks at how she’s taking the enterprise technology industry to new heights.

Authored articles

How e-commerce brands can tap into US$600B social commerce market potential
As modern-day consumer becomes more reliant on their mobile devices, promptness is valued above all else when it comes to social commerce.

Avoiding costly mistakes: How cognitive biases can affect entrepreneurs
How exactly do cognitive biases and noise affect entrepreneurs, and how can we reduce decision-making errors within the business landscape?

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