Ecosystem Roundup: FTX founder sentenced to 25 years in prison | SEA seas 13% drop in Q1 2024 funding

Dear reader,

The downfall of Sam Bankman-Fried, once hailed as a billionaire wunderkind in the cryptocurrency world, reached its climax with a 25-year prison sentence for defrauding customers of his now-defunct FTX exchange. Bankman-Fried’s dramatic plunge from grace, as recounted in a Manhattan court, underscores the perils of unchecked power and financial malfeasance in the burgeoning crypto markets.

Despite Bankman-Fried’s protestations of innocence and claims that FTX customers didn’t suffer monetary losses, Judge Lewis Kaplan’s verdict reflects the severity of the crimes committed. With billions lost and a trail of deceit exposed during the trial, the sentencing sends a clear message that financial crimes in the cryptocurrency realm will be met with severe consequences.

Bankman-Fried’s journey, from a celebrated tech entrepreneur to a convicted felon facing decades behind bars, serves as a cautionary tale in an industry often characterized by rapid wealth accumulation and regulatory uncertainty. As US authorities continue to crack down on cryptocurrency-related fraud, Bankman-Fried’s case stands as a stark reminder of the potential pitfalls of unchecked ambition and the pursuit of power and influence at any cost.

Sainul
Editor.

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NEWS

Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years for multi-billion dollar FTX fraud
US District Judge Lewis Kaplan handed down the sentence at a Manhattan court hearing after rejecting Bankman-Fried’s claim that FTX customers did not actually lose money and finding that he lied during his trial testimony.

Sharp decline in late-stage deals hits Q1 funding in SEA: Report
Late-stage deals stood at US$175M compared to US$860M in Q4 2023; The region’s startup ecosystem received its highest quarterly funding in Q4 2021, after which there has been a steady decline.

Late-stage investments in Indonesia plummet to US$5.2M in Q1
Late-stage investments dropped 99 per cent to US$5.2M in Q1 2024 from US$381M in Q4 2023 and US$25.3M in Q1 2023; Fintech (US$55M), enterprise applications (US$28.8M), and real estate & construction tech (US$15M) were the highest-performing sectors.

Crypto firms must face sandbox evaluation before operating: Indonesian govt.
The sandbox will ensure the safety and reliability of crypto services before firms receive full regulatory approval; The move comes as OJK prepares to take over crypto supervision from the Commodity Futures Trading Supervisory Agency in Jan 2025.

Adam Neumann eyes WeWork buyback with US$500M bid: report
Neumann raised WeWork to be the most valuable US startup, worth US$47B, before his pursuit of expansion at the expense of profit and revelations about his eccentric behaviour led to his ouster in 2019 and derailed its IPO.

Startup investments in Vietnam see 39% drop in Q1
Vietnam’s startups raised US$35.7M in Q1 2024 compared to US$58.6M in Q1 2023 and US$6.3 million in Q4 2023; Autotech (US$31.2M), edutech (US$2.5M), and enterprise applications were the top-funded verticals in Q1 2024.

Byju’s founder floats share offer to make peace with estranged investors
In an email to shareholders Friday morning, Byju Raveendran said the startup’s board is considering making the offer despite the “animosity” displayed by some of the investors who are pursuing “uncalled-for legal actions.”

ByteDance has no intention to sell TikTok in the US amid scrutiny: report
US is mulling a ban on the app unless it splits from its Chinese parent firm ByteDance; In the worst-case scenario, TikTok may have to abandon the US market, leading to a probable decrease in ByteDance’s value as well as an increase in investor pressure.

ByteDance slashes 1,000 jobs from workplace collaboration unit Feishu
China’s Big Tech firms, which once provided plenty of well-paid jobs for young talent, have cut back on hiring and even started slashing jobs amid an economic slowdown and regulatory uncertainty.

Alibaba calls off IPO of its logistics subsidiary Cainiao IPO
Alibaba has proposed to purchase all of Cainiao’s outstanding shares and, in turn, increase synergies between logistics and its main e-commerce business; The news comes a few months after Alibaba shelved IPO plans for its grocery arm Freshippo.

StealthMole nabs US$7M to shield SEA with ‘dark web intelligence’
The investors are Korea Investment, Hibiscus Fund, and Smilegate Investment; StealthMole’s AI platform analyses over 255B data points from the dark web, deep web, and hidden sources to enable early threat detection, criminal tracking, and cyber incident response.

Chemical-free babycare e-commerce platform Applecrumby raises US$4.2M
The investor is 500 Global; Applecrumby will use the capital to grow its global footprint, expand its distribution channels, and develop new products under the PureBasics range.

Vietnam’s B2B food sourcing platform Kamereo lands US$2.1M funding
The investors are Reazon Holdings, Quest Ventures, and Thoru Yamamoto; Kamereo intends to use the funding to strengthen its sales team, increase the range of products and private brands, and expand its warehouse network.

VinFast charges into Thailand with 15 dealer partnerships
Thailand accounts for 58% of the total electric vehicles sold in Southeast Asia; This development follows the company’s expansion into Indonesia in February 2024, where it partnered with five local dealers.

Wavemaker Impact backs Elevate Foods that combats food loss and waste
Elevate Foods creates a sustainable and traceable solution for agri-produce buyers while working with farm-gate manufacturers to upgrade their operations.

Apple CEO Tim Cook to visit Indonesia for potential investments
In 2017, Apple invested US$44M in Indonesia; At that time, the investment was made through the construction of the Apple Academy located in BSD City in the Banten province.

TGV promotes Beatrice Lion to CEO
Lion’s role at TGV covers diverse areas of fund management, including formulating exit strategies, fundraising, sourcing deals, and enhancing value; Frank Desvignes and Kelly Choo have been appointed as TGV’s executive directors.

FEATURES & INTERVIEWS

‘Stablecoins could make trade finance more appealing’: says LC Lite co-founder
LC Lite’s Jean-Charles Devin also adds integrating Web3 technology into Incomlend’s platform will democratise asset class creation within invoice financing.

Edutech war: How NativeX is taking on the likes of ELSA, Duolingo in Vietnam
NativeX wants to collaborate with global and regional edutech leaders to curate and deliver their content to our local audience seamlessly.

How Skor empowers Indonesians to take control of their financial well-being
This Indonesian startup empowers people to take control of their financial well-being by improving and managing their credit health. It leverages analytics to enhance the customer experience of using credit cards.

How Zed aims to set itself apart in the Philippines with its credit-led neobank
Spearheaded by Danielle Cojuangco Abraham and Steve Abraham, Zed aims to tackle the problem of credit product access for Filipino Gen Zs.

Everywhere aims to support ID’s content creators through “creator-sharing” concept
With Play Everywhere, you can now enjoy the performance of your favourite local band at the bar—without them having to be in location.

How utu aims to boost tourism by transforming the traditional VAT refunds system
utu has introduced utu Privileges, which allows tourists to upsize their tax refunds by up to 110 per cent of the GST paid on their purchases.

CONTRIBUTORY ARTICLES

AI is not almighty: Why the ‘magic tool’ still needs human help
Despite AI’s advancements, this article explores why collaboration is key and why AI shouldn’t replace human roles just yet.

Securing Singapore’s leadership in AI Innovation
Singapore fosters an ecosystem promoting experimentation, investment, and knowledge exchange, enabling AI technologies to flourish.

Stay smart, scalable and sustainable: 2024 SME trends in Southeast Asia
Looking ahead to 2024, there are several emerging SME trends that can help these companies to unlock their potential further.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

Fundraising 101: How to approach investors
The VC financing landscape is constantly evolving so new businesses must know how to approach investors while fundraising successfully.

Pitch deck for dummies: A compilation of top tips and advice from the community
While there are many factors that contribute to the success of a fundraising process, you want to make sure that your pitch deck is spot on.

The slow death of financial flexing and the rise of financial fundamentals in the startup world
Below are five common startup accounting mistakes and how founders can avoid them while running their companies.

Change is hard, so here are the 8 steps to make sure you’ll succeed
When you’re clear about your desire, when you’re in a state of confidence (or fake confidence) and when you believe you deserve what you want; your actions carry a different level of magnitude.

Artificial intelligence and the art of building presentations
Although the art of giving presentations has remained largely unchanged since the early incarnations of Microsoft PowerPoint hit our computers back in 1987, the likes of AI and machine learning have begun to make their marks on the industry.

Climate change and gender equality: How to support underfunded women-owned business
While there is a distinct relationship between gender inequality and climate change, investment mandates rarely combine both of these lenses.

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