SEA’s VCs raise fewer dollars in H1 2023 in sign of extended slump
Homegrown VCs closed 11 funds during the period, raising US$3.72B in total proceeds; While the number of fund closes was consistent with the previous six months, H1’s fundraising was less than half of the amount raised in H1 2022.
Zuckerberg claims tens of millions of Threads signups within hours of launch
More than 30M people have signed up to Threads, Meta’s rival to Twitter; Threads was introduced as a clear spin-off of Instagram, thereby sparing the new platform the challenge of starting from scratch.
Indonesia’s eFishery nets US$47.7M in Series D+
This brings the total funds raised for the round to nearly US$176M; eFishery supports aquaculture farmers through solutions such as B2B and supply marketplaces, smart feeding systems, and financing.
SeaMoney sheds jobs in Indonesia
The financial arm of Sea Group said the move is part of its “regular review of business operations” to maximise efficiency; The group retrenched about 7,000 staff throughout 2022.
Joel Neoh launches early-stage fund First Move
First Move will provide up to US$100K in funding to early-stage SEA ventures in e-commerce, fintech, and healthtech.
Li-ion battery recycling startup NEU Battery Materials raises US$3.7M
The investors include SGInnovate, ComfortDelGro, and Shift4Good; NEU has set up a 150-square-metre pilot recycling plant in SG, capable of processing ~150 tonnes of lithium batteries annually
Singapore’s NodeFlair gets US$2M Series A
The investors are Iterative, 500 Global, and PERSOL Venture Partners; NodeFlair provides payslip-verified salary data and detailed career information for roles across all levels of seniority.
BNPL major Atome confirms exiting Vietnam
The company said that Vietnam’s contribution to our overall business was limited; In April 2022, Atome debuted in Vietnam with a pilot spanning over 20 retail partners.
Ex-Shopee exec’s AI marketing startup Needle secures US$1.2M
The investors include Iterative, Ethos Fund, and Goldbell; Needle helps founders generate ideas, determines business and marketing priorities, and then provides personalised recommendations for effective tactics.
Antler names Warung Pintar co-founder as partner for Indonesia
Agung Bezharie Hadinegoro will lead Antler’s investment strategy and operations in Indonesia, where the VC plans to invest in more than 30 companies this year.
Bain & Company buys Rainmaking’s Asia business in undisclosed deal
With this, Bain hopes to boost its business-building services called Next, launched in 2022 to help founders go from ‘seed to scale’; Rainmaking has 50 employees in Singapore, Japan, and Korea.
Vietnamese financial education startup Stag raises US$600K
The investors are Viet Capital, NH Securities, and Resolution Ventures; Stag seeks to collaborate with universities, educational organisations to raise awareness of financial literacy.
Co-living startup Hmlet’s CEO steps down
Giselle Makarachvili joined the Singapore-based flexible living firm in January 2020 as VP (operations); One year on, she was appointed COO and then made CEO in October 2021.
You can’t post ass, Threads is doomed
Threads, the Meta-owned Twitter clone that launched this week, will always be hindered by its own content guidelines; The app is dry at best and at worst, leeching your personal data.
GM.co merges the best of Web3 and e-commerce to provide a better shopping experience
The transactions on GM.co are facilitated by cryptocurrencies and conducted over a blockchain to provide an added layer of security.
How AI-powered Dobin aims to empower half of Singaporeans who are financially illiterate
Dobin uses open finance and AI to provide consumers with a consolidated financial view, a personalised financial profile, and a permission-based app for getting value from their data
Driving financial inclusion in the Philippines: Why last-mile communities are key to winning the battle.
COVID-19 accelerated digital transformation in emerging markets, but the shift into digital payments in the Philippines is something that it has been aiming for.
The Mills Fabrica aims to transform agrifood, textile industries through its climate tech investments
It plans to invest up to US$3M in each climate tech startup and expand the model implemented in its impact retail platform Fabrica X beyond HK and London.
How to create harmony between work and life as a founder
There are a few things that we need to learn and unlearn if we want to establish harmony between our work and personal life.
Is generative AI the game-changer for productivity?
While Gen AI can automate various tasks, it cannot entirely replace human creativity, empathy, and critical thinking.
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