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Ecosystem Roundup: VCs continue to be bullish on agritech in ID; Hodlnaut’s creditors prefer liquidation; 20% job cuts at Crypto.com

Investors continue to be bullish on Indonesia’s resilient agritech sector
The sector attracted a flurry of small-sized deals throughout 2022, indicating strong investor appetite; At least 13 deals were made in the sector last year; Equity investments in the sector reached over US$220M.

Lighthouse Canton bags US$19.1M in first close of venture debt fund
The Singapore-based investment firm raised the money from onshore and offshore institutions and family offices; The fund will focus on tech-enabled companies that are part of the Indian startup ecosystem.

Singapore startup Crypto.com lets go of 20% staff
The firm has attributed the decision to the global economic situation; Founded in 2016, Crypto.com provides regulatory compliance, security and privacy certification.

Singapore’s logistics engine Locad nets US$11M Series A
The investors include Reefknot, Sequoia, Surge, Febe Ventures, Antler, include Access Ventures; Locad provides a cloud supply chain for brands to store, pack, ship, and track orders for e-commerce and omnichannel retail.

Indonesian greentech firm Surplus bags seed funding
The investor is Salam Pacific Indonesia Lines (SPIL) Ventures; Surplus enables customers to buy overstock products from F&B businesses at a 50% discount at certain times.

Asia holds the fort as global mobile spending drops: report
According to Data.ai’s State of Mobile 2023 report, China logged a roughly 2% increase in app spending year over year to US$58.1B in 2022; In terms of consumer spending, China still led globally, followed by the US and Japan.

Amazon India begins laying off 1,000 staff
Given that Amazon has nearly 100,000 staff in the country, it’s estimated that around 1,000 employees will be affected; The move will affect roles across marketplace operations, HR, and a few tech roles.

Indonesian startup Mindtera closes US$850K seed extension round
The investors include East Ventures, Seedstars International Ventures and angels; Mindtera is a platform that uses data-driven insights to build a productive and happy workplace.

Animoca pours US$780K into Japanese metaverse firm Psychic VR Lab
Psychic’s main offering is a virtual reality space builder called Styly; With the product, users can build virtual and mixed reality worlds that they can then share with anyone using supported devices.

Hodlnaut’s creditors prefer liquidation to restructuring: report
Algorand Foundation, one of the creditors, said in a filing that the liquidation should be taken to as soon as possible to maximise the remaining assets; Hodlnaut had suspended withdrawals, token swaps and deposits in Aug last year.

It is your passion, not education, that drives your future
Meghan Bridges, Director of Marketing and Operations at Rainmaking Innovation, talks about her work in a creative position to support the growth and development of startups.

New player emerges in Vietnamese startup ecosystem: Accelerator as a service
Emakase is bridging the service gap to serve “highly self-aware” startups and SMEs with tailored accelerator resources and innovation programmes.

How technology is making our food safer
Emerging technologies, including blockchain, RFID tags, and sensors, offer the ability to fight food fraud efficiently.

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