With digital assets catching the imagination of the young generation globally, traditional VCs will turn to crypto projects to place their bets on in the future, according to Nicole Zhang, Investment Director at Binance Labs.

“It is difficult to predict the future, but what I’ve observed so far is that all the large traditional VC funds are hovering over crypto and web3 [projects]. The reason is that crypto is the right way to channel the audience,” she said in an interview with e27, on the sidelines of the Binance Blockchain Week concluded in Dubai last week.

Referring to a study conducted by Forbes in the US, which found about 40 per cent of young Americans make only crypto investments nowadays, she said: “It is a significant number, and it has alarmed traditional VCs. They realise they need to grab the heart of the younger generation because they’re the future.”

Binance Labs is the investment and acceleration arm of Binance, a global leader in crypto and blockchain. It has accelerated and invested in more than 100 startups/projects. Its notable investees include Forbes, Sky Mavis (Axie Infinity), and Coin98.

Also Read: Sky Mavis raises US$150M led by Binance to reimburse users hit by Axie breach

The crypto giant invested from its balance sheet in the initial years (from 2018 to late 2021). But afterwards, it formed a separate fund and raised funds from several Limited Partners (with Binance being the biggest LP). Zhang said that the firm plans to make more than 200 investments, covering early-stage and late-stage incubation projects and over-the-counter deals.

Zhang, based in Singapore, also talked about Binance’s ongoing conflicts with different governments across the world. In the past year or so, the company came under global scrutiny and had faced licensing issues in many countries, including Singapore. She said the firm is working to iron out the differences with governments. “My colleagues had to move from country to country to talk to the authorities. It is about how you understand the regulations [in respective countries], and we are learning fast. And we need to abide by the rules, reform ourselves, and we want to be friends with every single country.”

“Our team has been actively finding the know-how to get the proper licence and collaborate with different regulators. The governments also seek collaboration opportunities with us. We run a famous incubator, and governments want to co-incubate with us and find some projects that can help them do more crypto projects. It essentially contributes to their GDP,” the Binance Labs Director mentioned.

She further said that web3 games are gaining strong adoption in Southeast Asia. Referring to the growing popularity of Axie Infinity and YGG games, Zhang said NFT games are an excellent way to incentivise participation. Sky Mavis, for example, has raked in hundreds of millions of dollars in venture funding from notable VCs and is popular in countries like the Philippines.

“Axie Infinity is easy to get your hands on and addictive. The game has encouraged the participation of people who have relatively more free time. The entry barrier was quite low at the beginning. We witnessed a lot of gaming guild uprisings, especially YGG, which comes from the Philippines. They have good capabilities in organising player groups. It was a good model, making Axie Infinity an astonishingly successful project,” said Zhang, who previously headed sales, marketing and IT development at Singapore Press Holdings.

Web3 games are also gaining a lot of traction in Vietnam. While we see growing adoption of metaverse games in the west, the Southeast Asian region is also catching up, particularly in Vietnam. “Surprisingly, because of the success of the likes of Axie, we see strong adoption of metaverse games in Vietnam. The Vietnamese community is diligent and has a strong learning urge. The passion and involvement of users for web3 in the country are crazy,” she concluded.

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While running a startup has the advantages of having better professional agility and the unique opportunity of churning out innovative solutions, the competition is tough and sales cycles can pose significant challenges, especially for enterprise-facing startups. 

Sales landscapes continually evolve, with new buyer preferences and channels emerging, including virtual interfaces. The importance of building business-to-business partnerships and trust as part of business strategy is crucial to unlocking growth for smaller-sized technology companies. If you are looking for a much-needed push to boost your startup, several experts share tips and insights in this field. e27 spoke to two startups to learn the ropes around doing business with large enterprises.

Building business-to-business partnerships

Brett Doyle, founder and CEO of Mosaic Solutions, a restaurant operating system geared for the food and beverage industry explained, “B2B deals are established via relationship-building and being able to show the value that can be provided when working collaboratively.”

Doyle added, “Large enterprises can become strong validation points and channel partners for startups. We are able to help solve our partners’ pain points via our tech solutions — and, in doing so, work with them to provide us access across their respective networks. This consolidated access to potential clients is a real game-changer for us, especially given the efficiencies it helps to drive across sales and onboarding.”

Emphasising the importance of building B2B partnerships and how participating in enterprise-driven programmes that enable this has boosted their business, shared Siddharth Upadhyaya, Director for Strategy and Sales at Versafleet, a Transport Management Software solution.

Also read: 5 exciting startups are here to surprise you with their unique ideas

Siddharth elaborated on the experience of his team in being able to successfully leverage SAP assets. “Being a startup, the team has its own set of challenges and having access to the SAP ecosystem through the SAP.iO programme has been the rocket fuel to us. It indeed has opened the gateway to the world of speed-connect and also enables us to demonstrate the power of our solution at a global level.

According to Siddharth, not only has it helped Versafleet with being able to present their solution to large enterprises (and subsequently working with them as their solution partner). “It has helped us to go beyond the regional tag to a global solution.”

Siddharth further shared that his experience collaborating with SAP has enabled his team to build key business buddy relationships with the SAP team, one of the largest global software companies. “What we get is support and collaborative power. This power could be enhanced by getting to know the SAP team members from other regions too, which will not only help the startups in expanding their horizons and networking with newer clients, but it will also provide visibility of the best practices from the respective regions. It would not only strengthen the go-to market plans, but it would also help us build a more robust work culture and revisit the processes, thereby empowering sustainable growth.”

Navigating a new selling landscape

SAP APAC and E27 have an upcoming webinar series to provide deeper insights for B2B startups on ways to navigate a new selling landscape. Entitled, “Let’s Make a Deal: How to Do Business with Large Enterprises”, various international experts will be providing insights on how to do business with large enterprises. It will tackle topics around customer validation, growth marketing, and securing more B2B deals.

Panellists for the upcoming session include Jonathan Tan, Managing Director of Unabiz Singapore, Quah Zheng Wei, CEO of Accredify, Gita Amelia, CEO of Atola and founder of Everhaus VC, Badai Tanmizi, Investment Manager at Qualgro, and Aaron Ang, SAP Head of Midmarket Southeast Asia.

Some of the speakers have shared teasers of what they will be presenting in the upcoming webinar. Jonathan Tan, the Managing Director of UnaBiz Singapore will be sharing about the Sell-To, Sell-Through, and Sell-For models in B2B engagements, and outlining respective considerations for both large enterprises and startups for each collaboration.

Also read: What will the work in 2030 (and beyond) look like?

He will also share more insights on the importance of understanding the organisational DNA of large enterprises, how to plan for success from the beginning of the partnership, and how to create more business value as the partnership deepens so that a stronger collaboration and transformation within teams, processes, and operating models can take place.

Quah Zheng Wei, the CEO and Co-founder of Accredify, will share his experience with B2B engagements in Southeast Asia, which includes working with large enterprise clients and government partners. He will also discuss key negotiation principles that has enabled him to build mutually beneficial partnerships with enterprises.

He shared, “when you’re at the table, you must be ready to negotiate with uneven bargaining power. Find your internal champion. Having the right person rooting for you is more important than the budget, product fit, or anything else when it comes to doing business with a large enterprise. Focus on collaboration instead of sales. Sometimes, teams have budgets to co-develop solutions rather than buying them wholesale.”

Also read: Turn tomorrow’s great ideas into today’s reality with TECH PLANTER

Zheng Wei also explained that “when you’re at the table, you must be ready to negotiate with uneven bargaining power. Find your internal champion. Having the right person rooting for you is more important than the budget, product fit, or anything else when it comes to doing business with a large enterprise. Focus on collaboration instead of sales. Sometimes, teams have budgets to co-develop solutions rather than buying them wholesale.”

Other areas of discussion for the upcoming webinar will include how buyers’ expectations have recently changed post-COVID and the drivers of this shift, how to engage with large enterprise buyers, and how to accelerate the sales cycle to drive growth.

For B2B startups looking to gain more insights and expertise in better enterprise selling, register for the “Let’s make a deal: How to do Business with Large Enterprises?” webinar here.

For e27 X SAP programme series inquiries, please contact joel@e27.co or selma@e27.co

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Photo by Andrea Piacquadio

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This article is produced by the e27 team, sponsored by SAP

We can share your story at e27, too. Engage the Southeast Asian tech ecosystem by bringing your story to the world. Visit us at e27.co/advertise to get started.

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Most discussions around the work of the future revolve around people coming back to offices after the pandemic and integrating “the new normal” into the post-COVID future.

The truth is, a lot more changes are shaping the new way of working. For example, in the future, we will live longer, with roughly half the population hitting the 100-year-old mark.

The way we interact is changing as well: by 2030, the metaverse is expected to be worth $13 trillion.

Technology, climate change, and scientific discoveries are reshaping the world and will affect jobs, workplaces, and corporate culture.

What we are going to work on: jobs of the future

During the pandemic, digital transformation picked up steam. The industries that barely had a digital presence were forced to build one in months.

Team leaders in retail, education, healthcare, finance, entertainment, and other fields can now work and connect with clients remotely. Such a shift created the need for new, digital-first skills.

Also read: How these four startups are changing the game in health and well-being

In a list of top 10 jobs for 2030, the World Economic Forum lists WFH (work from home) facilitators, XR immersion counsellors, workplace environment auditors, data detectives, and even human-machine teaming managers.

These professionals will help connect remote and in-person processes and synchronise the work of humans with the fruits of automation.

How we are going to work: teams of the future

One of the biggest achievements of a higher quality of life is that future generations will live a lot longer. Hitting the 100-year mark will become the new reality. It also means people will work more: up to 60 years in their lifetimes.

The idea of being stuck in an office for so long does not sound too inspiring for most of us. If we want to make this concept a reality, the way we work needs to change.

We could do so by encouraging people to distribute their working intensity across their life: working harder in their 20s, less in their 30s (and taking better care of families instead), and pick up in their 40s and 50s, once they have more free time.

Another idea is to rethink retirement. Instead of an all-or-nothing system where you either work full-time or not at all, the middle-aged employees of the future should slowly reduce their workloads.

Where we are going to work: the workplace of the future

Together with pandemic-induced restrictions, the development of the metaverse will (and already does) impact work tremendously.

At the moment, most companies don’t see themselves shutting offices down for good: 62% of employees in the US and EMEA see more potential in hybrid workplaces instead.

Besides, while offices as physical buildings are seen as outdated and restricting, the idea of an office as the centre of corporate culture and teamwork is still embedded in teams’ minds. That is why rather than offices going obsolete, we will see new definitions of what an office means.

Also read: Five ways startups can improve their customer engagement

In fact, the frontrunners of the virtual office market are already rethinking the concept of office work. They move the benefits of an office (spontaneous interactions, teamwork, sense of unity) into digital, creating immersive spaces that bring global teams together and help employees stay connected.

oVice, a leading virtual office provider in the APAC region, proves how well virtual offices connect teams, foster collaboration, and overcome physical communication barriers such as distance and time zone differences.

The company hosts virtual offices for some of the world’s largest corporations: Yamaha, Toyota, Panasonic, and others. These global teams would struggle to stay connected and synchronised using only standard remote collaboration tools. However, a virtual office helps executives oversee processes, while employees get a new platform for connecting with teammates from their and other departments.

With oVice, teams can communicate seamlessly. Its spatial audio feature mimics the way people talk in real life. The sound has a limited reach and is only heard by people who are close to each other, allowing teammates to chat in groups.

Also read: The work of the future is hybrid. The office of the future is virtual

Virtual office providers like oVice give global companies a new way to interact with each other, bringing headquarters from different regions to a single virtual office building. On top of that, there are no creative limits in a virtual office — teams can change the layout of their space and work on an island, in space, or other different locations.

While the pandemic has played a part in transforming work, it is not the only factor fueling the change. Increasing longevity, automation, and technological advancements are all pieces of the Future of Work puzzle.

If you want to be ahead of the trend, integrate these changes into your organisation from Day 1. Moving your operations to a virtual office is a good place to start preparing for the wave of change.

Give oVice, a virtual office space provider, a try: set up and use your space for free with a 14-day free trial.

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This article is produced by the e27 team, sponsored by oVice

We can share your story at e27, too. Engage the Southeast Asian tech ecosystem by bringing your story to the world. Visit us at e27.co/advertise to get started.

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As we get used to this new normal, we do so with a clearer view of what it means to live, work and transact in a pandemic-stricken world, thanks to the lessons learnt from the past two years.

COVID-19 has fuelled a rapid acceleration in the transformation of work, bringing about changes that will have deep and varying impacts for years, even decades, to come.

I’ve seen many companies forced through accelerated wellness transformation. Still, the best place to start is by reading people’s views on the subject, learning from each others’ trials and mistakes and creating a transformation plan that impacts all business areas. And this is even more important for growing businesses that are expanding rapidly.

These five trends are the key to arming any founder with the knowledge and power to kick start their wellness transformation to help their people thrive.

Power will shift from employers to employees

Many employees have re-evaluated their values over the last two years, and, in turn, the psychological contract between employee and employers has changed.

Salaries and office sizes are no longer key reasons to take a job. Instead, employees want to be seen as individuals with unique needs centred around wellbeing and living a fuller life. 

“We’re seeing a shift to living lives based on a more fulfilling, intrinsic, and sustainable definition of success,” noted Thrive Global Founder Arianna Huffington in her article The Great Resignation.

“Coming out of this forced pause, the intangibles of life that make it worth living have become a lot more tangible. If people have connected with this in the past year and a half of lockdown-inspired reflection, they’re unwilling to give it up, and if their current job doesn’t allow for it, they’re willing to look for one that does.”

As the world recovers, businesses will get back on track, and the war for talent will intensify. To keep employees happy and thriving, companies must carefully rethink how they can meet employees’ needs while still achieving business goals. Those who do so early will benefit the most.

A bigger emphasis on psychological safety

The concept of psychological safety is simple. Team members should feel safe enough to voice their concerns or push back without fear of rejection, retribution, or marginalisation.

Also Read: Emotional leadership in a post-COVID-19 business world

While simple, it remains one of the hardest things to achieve, especially when so many factors, culture, hierarchy, personalities, unconscious bias, and value systems, are at play.

In a world where everyone exists as tiny frames on a screen and colleagues hardly speak to each other outside of meetings, psychological safety takes on even greater significance.

McKinsey aptly explains, “Given the quickening pace of change and disruption and the need for creative, adaptive responses from teams at every level, psychological safety is more important than ever.

“The organisations that develop the leadership skills and positive work environment that help create psychological safety can reap many benefits, from improved innovation, experimentation, and agility to better overall organisational health and performance.”

Hybrid work and omnichannel employee experiences

The abrupt disruptions of 2020 forced organisations to find immediate, alternative solutions to traditional work and learning methods, including virtual meetings, video, email, mobile apps and intranets, among others.

Last year, companies began identifying and fine-tuning the methods that best suited their needs, a trend that’ll likely continue. Over time, professional education and employee engagement programmes will increasingly be delivered via omnichannel methods, so finding an optimal online and offline balance soon is key.

With no precedence to learn from and a plethora of tools to choose from, this herculean task will require time, resources and, most importantly, patience from all parties involved. 

According to a 2021 Microsoft report, “A thoughtful approach to hybrid work matters. […] The way companies approach the next phase of work, embracing the flexibility people want to retain and learn from the past year’s challenges, will impact who stays, who goes, and who ultimately seeks to join your company.” 

Renewed emphasis on resilience

For decades, organisations have been built around efficiency, with leadership effectiveness, employee productivity and supply chain efficiencies sitting at the epi-centre of our work culture.

COVID-19 hit the pause button on this, putting even the sturdiest of organisations to the test. The result? Workforces did not cope well, mental wellbeing plummeted, and companies suffered because they were built around efficiency, not resilience.

To create more responsive, resilient organisations, we must now reconsider business roles and structures, but this time with agility and flexibility built-in. Employees should have adaptive and flexible roles where cross-functional knowledge and ongoing training serve as features of their employment. 

In 2020, in an article for Harvard Business Review, Boston Consulting Group’s Martin Reeves and Kevin Whitaker wrote, “Many leaders have announced the intention to build back their businesses more resiliently, but not many know how to do so. […] As a result, very few companies can explicitly design for, measure, and manage resilience.”

Also Read: Life goes on: What will life in the post-COVID-19 era look like?

Ingrid Laman, VP, Advisory at Gartner, reminds us that “Diversity leaders will need to be involved in role design and creating flexible work systems to ensure that employees of all backgrounds and needs are considered when the organisation designs new workflows.” 

Scalability

As organisations welcome employees into the new hybrid setups, questions that many HR leaders will face include, ‘How do we scale communications and wellness programs to hundreds, if not thousands, of employees in different locations?’ and ‘How do we put everyone on a synchronous journey while still meeting each individual’s needs?’

The new hybrid model is invariably more complicated than a fully remote one. At every level, new strategies, systems and workflows will need to be put in place, and many practices that have been the norm for decades will now be tested.

This will require several iterations before leaders can find a rhythm that works for them, whether a business comprises 10, 500 or thousands of people.

“How do you personalise for thousands? One way is to create multiple methods for listening at scale: reactive listening, proactive listening, and keeping both on a constant loop,” offers Forbes contributor Glenn Llopis.

McKinsey also shares, “Without a road map or playbook for what the next normal should look like, people must adopt a test-and-learn mindset collectively.” 

McKinsey further proposes two key areas where organisations can differentiate themselves from competitors: external tools and partnerships and staying open.

“The need of the hour is for HR to collaborate on and leverage the landscape of HR tech solutions across the employee life cycle, from learning, talent acquisition, and performance management to workforce productivity, to build an effective HR ecosystem.” 

A windy road ahead but a valuable journey

In all likelihood, we will need to confront more viruses in the future, in both the real world and the ‘cyberworld’. COVID-19 gave us a front-row view of its disruptive nature and impact.

While companies will require mental rewiring before they can be safeguarded against future calamities, ensuring the wellbeing of their people and seeing the positive impact on business growth will make it well worth the effort. 

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Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing views from the community. Share your opinion by submitting an article, video, podcast, or infographic.

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Sky Mavis bags US$150M to refund users hit by Axie hack
Last week, the Ronin Network suffered a security breach that resulted in the theft of 173,600 ether and about US$25.5 million in USDC stable coins; The stolen tokens sum up to US$620M, making it possibly the largest crypto hack of all time.

Singapore tightens rules for crypto firms
The law will require local digital asset service providers who do business exclusively overseas to be licensed; The bill will also allow the MAS to prohibit individuals who are deemed unfit to perform key roles, activities, and functions in the financial industry.

Binance US raises US$200M in seed money at US$4.5B valuation
Investors include RRE Ventures, Foundation Capital, Original Capital, VanEck, Circle Ventures, Gaingels, and Gold House; Binance currently supports more than 85 cryptocurrencies and over 190 trading pairs.

Newman Capital launches US$50M Web3 fund
Among Newman’s latest investments is the Asia-based metaverse platform Gemie, which recently raised US$3.8M; The investment firm has also backed SpaceX, Epic Games, Reddit, Dapper Labs, and Loda Finance.

SoftBank’s JV unit ZA Tech buys stake in Indonesia’s digital lender Aladin Bank
Together, they aim to provide financial education and planning with affordable insurance products in Indonesia; ZA Tech focuses on exporting insurtech products and solutions to insurers and internet platforms.

Cortical Labs’s hybrid biological-computer chips could make robots smarter, more adaptable
The combination of biological intelligence with upgradable machine parts could lead to a new class of autonomous robots with self-programming capabilities.

Tiger Global-backed Gupshup buys Singapore-based Active.Ai
Active.ai serves clients across 43 countries with a conversational banking-as-a-service platform; It has so far enabled more than 300M user interactions via voice, video, and messaging.

East Ventures leads US$22M round of theAsianparent
Other backers of this round are Central Retail, WHG Holdings, and DBS; The investment will be used for theAsianparent’s portfolio expansion in Thailand, as it is one of its stronghold markets.

CrediBook raises US$8.1M in Series A
Investors include Monk’s Hill, Insignia Ventures and Wavemaker Partners; CrediBook aims to help digitise SMEs by helping them manage and track expenses, payables, and receivables and streamline the ordering process.

Crypto staking startup RockX completes US$6M Series A round
Backers include Amber Group, Matrixport, Primitive Ventures, FBG Capital and IMO Ventures; RockX is a gateway for crypto finance and blockchains globally; It aims to provide safe and secure infrastructure to support the digital staking economy.

Vietnamese agritech startup Koidra reaps US$4.5M fundraise
Investors are Ospraie Ag Science, Amritam Holdings, Cavallo Ventures, and Foothill Ventures; Koidra’s autonomous greenhouse technology can improve yield and reduce waste by combining physics, crop modelling, and machine learning to transform controlled environment agriculture.

Indonesia’s textile tech firm Wifkain raises seed funding
Investors include Insignia Ventures and Wawan Salum, CEO of Atome Financial; Wifkain is a platform that connects fashion businesses with fabric suppliers; It provides services such as the delivery of fabric samples within 24 hours and pay-later options.

SG fintech firm Aquariux banks US$2.2M in pre-seed money
Founded in October 2020, Aquariux provides solutions around trading, payments, and remittances of traditional and digital assets; Aquariux also provides services for blockchain integration, among other things.

Singapore’s pre-IPO and pre-token trading platform prePO raises US$2.1M
Investors include Republic Capital, IOSG Ventures, MEXC, AscendEX, GCR, Shima Capital, and Caballeros Capital; By using prePO, retail investors can access opportunities that VCs, institutional investors, and PE firms have enjoyed exclusively for decades.

Fairmart closes US$1.5M seed round
Investors include Quest Ventures, Entrepreneur First, SOSV, Vectr Ventures, and Hustle Fund; Fairmart has developed an IoT smart scanner; When a store owner scans a product using the scanner, it adds that product to the store’s Fairmart page.

Agritech firm Glife Technologies acquires controlling stakes in PanenID, Yolek
PanenID is a farm-to-table startup in Indonesia, while Yolek is a plant-based food distributor in Malaysia; Glife addresses the supply chain pain points of food businesses by linking these companies to farmers and providing them digital tools.

 

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Technology has transformed the media industry beyond measure, and no, we’re not just talking about special effects! From streaming to virtual reality to customised recommendations for individuals — the media industry today is driven by advanced technology. 

The metaverse is going to be a game-changer for media and entertainment. Fuelled by technologies such as artificial intelligence and trends such as influencer economy and NFTs, the media industry is set for a massive revolution. 

Here are five startups that are ahead of the curve:

CoffeeMug

Investor and founder connection is a match made in heaven, or should we say, a match made in CoffeeMug? This is a networking portal for professionals that is powered by AI. The platform helps professionals, business leaders, and investors find connections that can become long-lasting relationships.

CoffeeMug was founded by Dipti Tandon, founder of Jeevansathi.com and Magicbricks, and Abhishek Sharma, a seasoned entrepreneur, in January 2020. The startup, which is based in Singapore, is a video-first global platform that helps form 1:1 connections virtually, or over coffee. The startup uses an AI-based algorithm for matchmaking and suggests connections to professionals based on multiple factors.

Also read: How these four startups are changing the game in health and well-being

TrulyMadly

Snehil Khanor launched TrulyMadly in 2013 to help people find love. In the day and age of hookups, TrulyMadly helps singles find serious relationships.

The platform is powered by artificial intelligence and machine learning to help its users find compatible life partners. Users can connect their social media accounts to get verified. The platform uses trust-based scores to verify its users. The users’ scores will increase if they verify themselves via social media and also provide photo-ID proof. The app’s algorithm will skim through social media to check if the user is single. Matches are suggested based on a compatibility score calculated after a psychological quiz.

STAGE

If you are a fan of standup comedy, there’s a good chance you already know of this startup. STAGE is a streaming platform for dialect-based hyperlocal content.

The startup, based in Indore, was founded by Vinay Singhal, along with Shashank Vaishnav and Parveen Singhal in 2020. The startup is poised to be the Netflix for Bharat.

As over the top content consumption market grows, the need for hyperlocal content is expected to rise phenomenally. Mobile phone penetration will grow and the launch of 5G will make the internet accessible to more and more people. This startup is setting the STAGE for this growing market and has an early mover advantage.

Also read: What will the work in 2030 (and beyond) look like?

Currently, it hosts popular content, including stand up and poetry in Haryanvi and Rajashtani. STAGE features content formats like long-duration web series, movies, short films, standup comedians, poetry, folk, and much more. 

The startup is making revenue through in-app advertisements. As of now, STAGE has more than 80,000 paid subscribers and is adding approximately 1,000 subscribers in a day. In Haryanvi alone, more than 2,000 artists have collaborated and created content hosted on STAGE. Every day more and more local artists and collaborators are added to the cohort of content creators for STAGE

KahaniBox

KahaniBox is an interactive storytelling platform in Indian languages. It allows the audience not only to consume a story but also to interact and influence it by making decisions (like Bandersnatch on Netflix).

The startup uses technology to offer a unique content experience where the audience becomes one of the characters in the story and then plays it like an interactive video game. The audience can decide everything from their persona, who their friends/love interests are, their aspirations in the story, and even choose different endings for the same story. 

Its proprietary tech solution to produce new content requires no coding, no graphics rendering, and has minimal human involvement that makes KahaniBox’s content cost 200x cheaper and 20 times faster with similar or better engagement than traditional OTT companies. It currently has over  2,000  live interactive episodes across all genres like romance, horror, drama, thriller, sci-fi, and more.

Founded by Zaid Azmi in 2019, Kahanibox aims to become the Netflix for interactive fiction in India by allowing 100 million+ monthly users to do role plays in their stories. 

ClearDekho

Cleardekho is an affordable eyewear brand with a unique platform that blends both online and offline eyewear shopping experiences. 

ClearDekho addresses a major need gap by improving the accessibility of high-quality, affordable eyeglasses to the low-income mass-market consumers across Tier 2, 3, and 4 cities/towns of India. 

The brand envisions to standardise 80% unorganised optical retail market by targeting 85% affordable mass-market consumers through an asset-light omnichannel business model.

Founded by Shivi Singh and Saurabh Dayal, ClearDekho targets low-income mass-market consumers who primarily classify under the blue-collar workforce and don’t have access to affordable standardised optical solutions across remote geographies.

Also read: Turn tomorrow’s great ideas into today’s reality with TECH PLANTER

Backed by Oyo founder Riteish Agarwal, ClearDekho strongly believes in working with the ecosystem and converts local unorganised optical stores into ClearDekho standardised brand outlets which differentiates them from any other standardised player

Jaipuria Family Office (Pepsi Bottlers), Anand Chandrasekaran, SOSV, Venture Catalysts, and others have invested already. The company is raising $7mn to boost growth and reach 300 stores to become the first and largest optical organised player in the affordable eyewear space in India.

To get to know these four groundbreaking startups better, catch Demo Day 2 (DDay2) organised by Venture Catalysts and 9Unicorns. You can access the showcase by registering here.

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Photo by Andrew Neel

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This article is produced by the e27 team, sponsored by Venture Catalysts and 9Unicorns

We can share your story at e27, too. Engage the Southeast Asian tech ecosystem by bringing your story to the world. Visit us at e27.co/advertise to get started.

The post 5 exciting startups are here to surprise you with their unique ideas appeared first on e27.

Cryptocurrency is widely considered volatile and is driven by numerous factors, including the increasing demand for the coin and supply of bitcoin holders, government regulations and the rise of NFTs and play-to-earn games.

Nonetheless, some countries have embraced cryptocurrency use, quickly becoming a common solution to sending money across borders. A new study has found that donor contributions of digital assets like Bitcoin soared nearly twelvefold over last year, totalling more than US$330 million in total contributions in 2021.

Bitcoin and other such currencies have also proved the value of the technology where more than US$50 million was donated to Ukraine’s relief efforts in just over five days, which was unprecedented and made possible because of the open-source nature of cryptocurrencies.

This not only proves that cryptocurrencies could be an alternative store of value in times of distress but also that they present themselves as an effective and cost-efficient global payment system.

Warming up to the idea

There have been plenty of headlines in recent years about increased participation from institutions and the opportunities their services provide, which help drive mass adoption.

2021 was an exceptionally exciting year for the cryptocurrency market. On a global level, we saw big and familiar brand names venturing into the space: Twitter became the first social platform to allow users to ask for tips in Bitcoin. PayPal introduced a function for users in the USA to buy, sell and hold cryptocurrencies on its platform.

Also Read: The call of crypto: why bitcoin points to need for investment startups in the Asia Pacific

On a local level, some examples would be DBS venturing into the cryptocurrency space in a big way with its Digital Exchange launching trust services for digital assets. DBS has expressed plans to pursue further in the cryptocurrency space.

Similarly, OCBC also expressed interest to pursue the same move. Having well-known local companies that comply with regulatory regimes can help ease the minds of mass consumers in dealing with cryptocurrency services.

As more people become exposed to cryptocurrency, it enables consumers to be more familiar with the technology and warm up to the idea of cryptocurrency. With this, men on the street must have an adequate understanding of crypto and the risks involved to make the best decisions.

An increasing amount of cryptocurrency content is also being developed, talked about, and shared amongst consumer communities, which is comforting to see as it empowers them with the right knowledge and helps guide them in their journey.

Some of this content is available on content aggregators and publishers like Seedly and cryptocurrency platforms like Luno with learning portals.

Increasing institutional involvement and regulatory scrutiny

Over the past few years, there have been structural improvements made as a result of the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) proactive regulatory stance around cryptocurrency and increasing receptiveness of cryptocurrency by both the mass retail and institutional markets.

First, the Payment Services Act was introduced in January 2020, followed up with clarity around new emerging topics such as Stablecoins in March 2021.

Increasing regulatory clarity across the globe can also help increase consumers’ trust in cryptocurrency, whether as an asset class or a financial service.

As the cryptocurrency market evolves, cryptocurrency players must do their part and ensure that customers can interact with the environment safely and securely.

What does the future of cryptocurrency look like?

Cryptocurrency can potentially be one of the most important innovations in the history of money with a significant impact on our lives and will undoubtedly, in one form or another, be involved in the evolution of the global financial system.

Also Read: 13 years on since the birth of Bitcoin, it’s now blockchain’s time to shine

It can represent a new, decentralised medium of exchange that is inclusive, safe and secure. Cryptocurrencies like bitcoin have already proven themselves useful for money movement and speculation.

A shift in perspective towards cryptocurrency is needed so that everyone can relate to and be a part of this revolution and not risk getting left behind. However, cryptocurrency is not for everyone, so cryptocurrency enthusiasts must do their due diligence before getting involved, just like any investments.

The Singapore Government has proper regulations, like the Payment Services Act, that ensure individuals who wish to get started in cryptocurrency can do so safely. 

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Singapore-based crypto staking provider RockX has announced the completion of its US$6 million Series A funding round (staking is a way of earning rewards for holding certain cryptocurrencies).

Led by global digital asset platform Amber Group, the round also saw participation from prominent Matrixport, Primitive Ventures, FBG Capital, Draper Dragon, IMO Ventures, Alpha CW and Megastake.

A statement said this financing round takes the company’s valuation to US$30 million.

Also Read: A lowdown on why DeFi is good for the growth of cryptocurrency

RockX will use the new capital to enhance its product and service and grow its team.

Since the beginning of 2022, RockX claims to have doubled its headcount and its assets under management to almost US$1 billion. It has also partnered with established protocols, such as Lido and ssv.network, to bring innovative liquid staking products and validator infrastructure onto major and emerging proof-of-stake blockchains.

RockX CEO Chen Zhuling said: “Our unwavering focus on product innovation has led to the development and implementation of several next-generation structured products for the liquid staking ecosystem. Looking ahead, RockX is set to play an increasingly pivotal role in a digital and decentralised future.”

Established in 2019, RockX is a gateway for crypto finance and blockchains globally. It aims to provide safe and secure infrastructure to support the digital staking economy. The team is equipped with a wealth of experience in mining, staking, protocol research, and infrastructure design.

In recent years, the startup has built access node APIs for popular Layer 1 and 2 protocols for developers and helps companies seamlessly access and interact with blockchains.

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CrediBook, an Indonesia-based startup that provides bookkeeping app for SMEs, today announced that they have raised US$8.1 million in Series A funding round led by Monk’s Hill Ventures with participation from existing investors such as Insignia Ventures Partners and Wavemaker Partners.

This announcement followed a US$1.5 million Pre-Series A funding round that the company secured in January 2021 from Wavemaker Partners, Alpha JWC Ventures, and Insignia Ventures Partners.

In a press statement, CrediBook said that they plan to use the funding to accelerate CrediBook’s nationwide expansion, product development, talent acquisition, support increasing product categories from wholesalers, and onboard new wholesale partners.

“Our mission is to empower wholesalers with the complete digitisation and transformation of their financial operations to save time, money, and solve inefficiencies through the CrediMart ecosystem where they are now able to streamline bookkeeping, orders tracking, inventory management, and logistic support all on one platform. We are excited to chart an even more successful trajectory focused on expanding our team, services, and product development,” said Gabriel Frans, CEO and Co-founder of CrediBook.

Also Read: How Warung Pintar builds tech solutions to help warung owners embrace the future

Central Jakarta-based CrediBook aims to help digitise SMEs in the country, primarily wholesalers, by helping them manage and track their expenses, payables, and receivables and streamline the ordering process. Its products include CrediMart to streamline an online ordering operating system for wholesalers to retailers while enabling end-to-end selling processes such as providing buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) options and logistics solutions.

CrediBook said that its digital bookkeeping app has logged more than 12 million transactions to date since its inception and that it has grown seven-fold in revenue in the past six months. It is currently operating in more than 40 cities, partnering with wholesalers to help resell their products on the platform, ranging from daily essentials, FMCG, over-the-counter (OTC) pharmaceuticals, stationery and office supplies to building materials.

It plans to extend its wholesaler partnerships and expand to sectors including fashion, F&B, and home essentials.

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The crypto space woke up and chose growth in 2021, and ever since, there has been no looking back. The groundbreaking global success reflects how the right technology can transform the world. 

Speaking of historical references, the earlier development in fields always gave the west an upper hand. The global approach sets the crypto space apart from this conventional wave of change. It is seeped in so deep that tech advancements are on the run even in tier two and tier three cities of South Asian countries. 

Several Asian countries have developed mind-boggling blockchain networks that contribute a lot to the space. Here is a list of emerging blockchain networks in Asia that you need to know:

Binance Smart Chain

Binance Smart Chain (BSC) started in China but was later moved to Japan in 2017. As the name suggests, BSC is a smart contract-enabled sidechain for Binance Chain. It was launched in September 2020 as an EVM-compatible blockchain that can support smart contracts and staking. 

The idea to launch a sidechain was to upgrade and deliver to the market’s expectations in terms of speed and gas fees. This enabled developers to build dApps and their assets cross-chain with lower latency and higher volume. Binance Smart Chain’s transaction per second is about 4.3 times faster than Ethereum. Enabling efficiency is making BSC a preferred chain amongst the developers. 

Avalanche

Avalanche, launched in 2020, finds its origin in Singapore. It is a flexible smart contract platform with three blockchains on its mainnet: C-Chain, X-Chain, and P-Chain. 

Avalanche enables developers to create dApps and custom blockchain networks on its platform. The platform caters to developing comprehensive, customisable, and interoperable DeFi applications. One hundred times faster than Ethereum, the Avalanche network aims to attain decentralisation by improving scalability. 

Also Read: 13 years on since the birth of Bitcoin, it’s now blockchain’s time to shine

Terra 

Theta blockchain is a decentralised peer-to-peer video streaming network that aims to provide economic and technical solutions to the streaming industry faces. Theta launched back in 2018. Although Theta is not originally from Asia, the platform’s founders Mitch Liu and Jieyi Long, are Asian. 

An open-source protocol enables developers to partner with dApps on the network, just like Ethereum. The network aims to conquer the next-gen entertainment tech through decentralisation. The idea is to build a video streaming infrastructure that is affordable and truly decentralised. 

KardiaChain

Announced in October 2018 and launched on mainnet in 2020, KardiaChain is a public blockchain that focuses on interoperable blockchain infrastructure. 

The network took three years of extensive research to develop a hybrid blockchain solution for government and enterprises in South Asian countries. The blockchain allows linking any private or public blockchain with decentered applications built on those blockchains. 

KardiaChain can handle 6000 TPS and the validation time is less than five seconds, with a meagre transaction fee. It is nearly 400 times faster and 10,000 times cost effective than other networks like Ethereum. 

Theta

Theta launched back in 2018. Although Theta is not originally from Asia, the platform’s founders Mitch Liu and Jieyi Long, are Asian. Theta blockchain is a decentralised peer-to-peer video streaming network that aims to provide economic and technical solutions faced by the streaming industry. 

Being an open-source protocol, it enables developers to partner with dApps on the network just like Ethereum. The network aims to conquer the next-gen entertainment tech through decentralisation. The idea is to build a video streaming infrastructure that is not only affordable but also truly decentralised. 

Final thoughts

With networks like these coming from Asian countries, the dialogues about innovations from Asian countries have indeed changed. These emerging blockchain networks are remoulding the blockchain space by addressing the existing shortcomings and drawing solutions around them. To the moon, right?

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