Ecosystem Roundup: SG startup pioneer Sim Wong dies; Indonesia plans crypto exchange this year; UglyFood to shut down

SG startup pioneer Sim Wong Hoo dies aged 67
He was the CEO and chairperson of Creative Technology, an audio and video equipment manufacturing major based in Singapore; Sim was one of the city-state’s most well-known tech and startup pioneers.

FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried pleads not guilty to fraud, laundering
The FTX founder faced and pleaded not guilty to eight different criminal charges, including money laundering conspiracy, securities fraud, and wire fraud.

Animoca targets US$1B fund for Web3, metaverse
It aims to raise the fund in Q1 2023; Last October, its co-founder Yat Siu told Nikkei Asia that Animoca was looking to launch a US$2B fund specifically for the metaverse industry.

Indonesia plans national crypto exchange this year
The country’s Commodity Futures Trading Regulatory Agency has been overseeing crypto trading to date; There’re currently over 25 licensed crypto trading firms in Indonesia, and the agency has been tightening regulations on them.

Crypto firm Huobi eyes 100M users in 2023
On December 28, company advisor Justin Sun tweeted that Huobi has been experiencing “impressive growth,” attracting an average of 20,000 new users per day over the previous 60 days.

Amazon and Salesforce to cut 25,000 staff in total
Both companies admitted that past aggressive hiring strategies and the current economic downturn were among the main factors leading to the layoffs.

SG-based e-grocery platform UglyFood to shut down
UglyFood sells excess “ugly” fruits and vegetables, its own branded products, and sustainably sourced goods; According to Crunchbase, the company previously raised US$120K in a pre-seed round.

Ant Group gets OK from regulators for US$1.5B raise
The approval comes as analysts predict a return of Ant’s IPO plans, following an entity owned by the firm winning rights for a plot of land in Shanghai.

Japan’s GMO VenturePartners sees US$240M in capital gains from 3 bets
A substantial amount was gained from fintech firms Coda Payments and GMO PaymentGateway Singapore, with contributions from 2C2P; Its portfolio firms also include FinAccel and Razorpay.

Northstar Group hits first close of early-stage fund at US$90M
Northstar Ventures I will make early-stage investments in consumer internet, fintech, and enterprise software, primarily in Indonesia; It targets to hit the final close at US$150M.

VNG sees no transactions yet on first day of trading
About 35.8M shares of VNG – the country’s first tech unicorn – started trading on Thursday in Vietnam’s Unlisted Public Company Market (UPCoM) under the ticker symbol VNZ.

Tesla faces US$2.2M fine in S Korea for overstating driving range
The Korea Fair Trade Commission said the company didn’t let consumers know about its vehicles’ shorter range in cold weather; In lower temperatures, cars’ driving range can get 50.5% worse than what it advertises.

HD, the Airbnb for surgeries in SEA, secures US$6M funding
The investors include Partech Partners, M Venture Partners, and Orvel Ventures; HD will use the funding to expand its team and develop its technology, enabling over 5K healthcare providers and thousands of surgeries by 2024.

Darwin Ventures leads US$5.6M Series A of Profet AI
Profet AI uses artificial intelligence to boost operational efficiency for electronics, textile, semiconductor, and chemical manufacturers; It offers two products: AutoML and ready-to-go applications.

Evo Commerce, parent of D2C anti-hangover solution BounceBack, nets US$2M
The investors include 33 Capital, East Ventures, and co-founders of Wallex, BrideStory, and Rainforest; Singapore-based Evo commerce will use the funds for global expansion and strengthening its e-commerce and online channels.

Bio-degradable food container startup Alterpacks raises US$1M
The investors include Plug and Play APAC, SEEDS Capital, and Earth Venture Capital; Alterpacks is also creating bio-pellets to replace petroleum-based resins used in standard manufacturing machines today.

Indonesian media startup Bingkai Karya gets pre-seed funding round
The investors include an unnamed local corporation and a non-government organisation; Bingkai Karya is a podcast network and news portal that targets younger audiences.

SG startup community pays tribute to Sim Wong Hoo
Known as “the grandfather of Singapore tech,” Hoo was a pioneer in the space and led the city-state to its first listing on the Nasdaq; He was also known for coining the term No U-Turn Syndrome, or NUTS.

Ex-Ovo execs’ B2B insurtech firm Aigis pivots to project management, lending
The new platform Finnix offers a dashboard where creative entrepreneurs can track projects, make payments, and manage their budget and cash flow; The decision was made after the company saw unsatisfactory growth in insurtech.

MAS awards major payment institution license to PayerMax unit
PayerMax can now offer cross-border and domestic money transfers as well as merchant acquisition services in Singapore; PayerMax supports over 350 local payment methods across SEA, S Asia, LatAm, and the MENA.

Ex-aCommerce execs are building an ‘Amazon’ for healthcare in SEA
HD connects patients to hospitals, clinics, operating rooms, and surgeons while offering healthcare financing solutions to increase access to affordable care.

What companies can do to stay agile in the future of work
The new workspace ecosystem is a big challenge but should also be treated as an opportunity to reap the benefits of a more flexible working method.

How to scale talent in Southeast Asia during unprecedented times
Even with the challenges in the market, the predicted ICT market growth rate of 1.4x – 1.8x will increase the demand for digital talent.

How to support startups to survive the ‘tech winter’
There are strong reasons to believe that ‘tech winter’ is something that many startups will be able to weather.

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