Koh Boon Hwee, tech veterans launch US$100M+ VC fund Altara Ventures for SEA; Altara looks to invest US$3-5M on an average in pre-Series A, Series A, Series B companies; Preferred verticals are fintech, consumer, enterprise software, logistics, healthcare, edutech; It has already backed Tonik Financial, Stashfin, Senseye. e27
Beyond Limits secures US$133M to expand AI technology globally; Lead investors are Group 42 and bp ventures; Beyond Limits’s Cognitive AI applies human-like reasoning to solve problems, much like how humans form conclusions using inference and logic. Bernama
Singapore’s digital wealth management startup Syfe closes US$18.6M Series A; Investors are Peter Thiel-backed Valar Ventures, Presight Capital, Unbound; The robo-advisor plans to enter three new markets in APAC in the near future. e27
Co-working spaces operator WORQ secures US$2.4M from Phillip Capital, others; The Malaysian startup will use the capital to grow its space under management 10x to 1M square feet; The firm is looking to inorganically expand its portfolio via acquisitions and partnerships with other co-working space operators and landlords. e27
Malaysian digital payments startup MyMy raises US$2.4M from Koperasi Tentera; It plans to introduce new services, including dividend pay-outs, digital accounts, e-wallets and multi-currency solutions; The 2-year-old startup aspires to be the nation’s first shariah-compliant digital bank. e27
AI-based robo-advisor BigBrainBank raises 7-figure seed funding; Its platform comes with a range of tools ranging from risk level management, news filters, market analysis, to social media sentiments; Its app, The Brain – AI Trade Strategies, has garnered over 60K trial users. e27
Why is Alibaba planning to pour US$3B into Grab?; What Grab has to offer complements Alibaba’s areas of focus and fits into what Alibaba would like to have, namely on-demand logistics infra, regional know-how and established partner networks in each country in SEA; As for Grab, with its super app ambitions, the investment could open up new opportunities. Channel News Asia
Can Millennials turn their data into dollars?; Whether data is used for targeted advertising, predicting buyer behaviour, deploying AI/buying/selling to third parties, it is clear that the fortune of tech firms is built on the intimate info of the users; Companies can take a customer-driven approach to info sharing, empowering the consumer to share and rescind their consent. e27
What Myanmar’s proptech industry is doing to stay afloat despite COVID-19; With revenues declining and profitability out the door in what is now a severely wounded real estate market, reaching investor projections is unlikely; To reach even 25-30% of last FY revenue numbers would be an act of superhuman powers. e27
Singapore must act now to digitalise or risk losing edge, says Trade and Industry Minister; Companies should not be preparing to return to business as usual; Digital transformation is the key to helping the country thrive and transcend the tyranny of geography. The Straits Times
Malaysia could be world pioneer in Islamic fintech, says MDEC; According to IMF, Islamic bank loans had expanded by 8.9% y-o-y in 2018, compared with the 2.5% that conventional banks generated; The growth of Islamic fintech would impact development in rural areas, especially among ethnic Malays. Bernama
New report finds VC investment into climate tech growing 5x faster than overall VC; The investments increased from US$418M per annum in 2013 to US$16.3B in 2019, says a PwC report; Climate tech is quickly becoming more capitally-efficient to prove and scale the technologies involved. TechCrunch
Ohmyhome expands into Philippines; The proptech startup targets to have 2K listings and 40 properties transacted in Q1 of its launch; Ohmyhome operates on a hybrid model — a DIY platform and fully-fledged agency service; The Philippines has a burgeoning property market; Manila is the world’s top housing market for price appreciation at 22% annually. e27
How agritech boom in SEA holds a promise for LatAm; In the agri space, a vast majority of farmers in both regions are smallholders; Obstacles such as limited access to irrigation, the effects of climate change, occupying marginal lands, limited access to machinery and technical inputs and lack of financial and insurance support plague farmers in both regions. e27
The rise of AI-powered solutions in Vietnam’s fight against the coronavirus; Chatbots, telemedicine, other AI technologies will continue to play an essential role preventative healthcare; The nation’s largest telco FPT Corp has released a web-based chatbot that automatically assesses COVID-19 risk. Tech Collective
Singapore’s AI and IoT startup SmartClean bags US$3.4M funding to bring efficiency into cleaning industry; Investors are SEEDS Capital, Ecocare and co-CEOs of Oneberry; SmartClean is currently in the process of raising US$10M Series A; The startup was launched at CapitaLand’s IoT accelerator programme. e27
QBO Innovation Hub joins forces with US Embassy to launch startup incubator in Philippines; The ‘INQBATION: The Take-Off’ will provide selected startups with financial support in the form of grants, loans and fundraising opportunities; To participate, startups will need to have a working prototype and should not have raised more than US$100K in external funding. e27
Why it maybe the opportune time to consider Corporate VC?; As a CVC, it is important to go into the venture with the mindset of building synergetic relationships; This is because CVC is always a two-way street; As a part of a larger corporation, it can be easy for the startup to be overtaken with the corporation’s larger disposable resources and facilities. e27
Buy now, pay later: The changing face of finance for a mobile generation; New-age consumers, especially millennials, increasingly want simpler mobile-based financing solutions that are easy and hassle-free; These consumers do not want complicated interest charges or associated fees. e27
The ease and risk of ‘buy now pay later’ (BNPL) plans; BNPL has the same risks as any other credit products for customers who are inclined to overextend themselves; Buying a high-ticket item with a debit card is still the safest because the customer needs to have the cash in the bank to buy the item. E-commerce Times
What makes Hong Kong the fastest growing startup ecosystem in Asia?; HK has over 7 official unicorns; The government has lowered the taxes and eased its progressive visa policies; With access to the latest tech, considerable govt. funding, and utilisation of tech to reduce biz expenditure, HK’s startup ecosystem is expected to reach unprecedented heights in the near future. e27
Prepping 5G for enterprise use in Thailand; By 2025, some 30% of mobile traffic in Thailand will go through 5G networks, compared with 23% in all of APAC, says a study; While the country’s 5G roll-out preceded most SEA countries, it still lags Singapore and Vietnam. Open Gov Asia
Cybersecurity and digital hygiene in the age of mobile wallet; The uptake of mobile financial services in Myanmar is snowballing; However, along with this, the number of cybercriminals targeting mobile wallet apps, with identity fraud and password theft are becoming more frequent. Myanmar Tech Press
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