Lionel Messi
Singapore’s AUM Biosciences to go public via SPAC merger
The biotech firm is going public through a merger with US-based Mountain Crest; The transaction, expected to close in Q1 2023, reflects a pre-money valuation of US$400M for AUM and will see ~US$69M in gross proceeds.
SG’s impact VC firm Shift4Good fund I makes US$98M first close
Shift4Good focuses on sustainable mobility; It will invest in around 30 startups over the next five years, of which one-third will be in Asia and SEA.
Indonesia’s beauty ecosystem platform Social Bella raises US$60M
The investors include Temasek, L Catterton, East Ventures, and Jungle Ventures; Following its 48 stores across 15 cities in Indonesia, the platform has also started expanding into Vietnam with 13 locations at the moment.
Skuad raises US$15M Series A, close to acquiring Codejudge
Investors include an undisclosed SEA VC fund, US strategic investor, Beenext, Anthemis; Singapore-based Skuad simplify the process of finding and managing the right talent while removing the limitations of boundaries.
SG’ Silverstrand invests US$10M in Carbon Growth Partners
Carbon Growth Partners invests in high-quality carbon reduction initiatives that positively impact local communities; A large portion of the fund’s strategy focuses on high-quality, nature-based carbon credits.
Lionel Messi backs SG entrepreneur Derrick Ko’s startup Matchday
While there isn’t a lot known about right now, the company said it aims to deliver “football at its most authentic and personal; Derrick Ko is one of the people behind e-scooter startup Spin.
East Ventures-backed CoHive starts restructuring process
Evi Asia Tenggara, the legal entity of the Indonesia-based co-working space, has had its debt payment obligations temporarily suspended by a court in Jakarta.
SG’s crowd influencer marketing platform Partipost raises US$7M
The investors include iGlobe Partners, Pavilion Capital, Cathay Venture, and Quest Ventures; Partipost said that it will expand its business to Thailand, Vietnam and Hong Kong in the next 18 months.
Vietnam’s Fundiin raises US$5M Series A for Indonesia expansion
The investors are Trihill Capital, ThinkZone Ventures, 1982 Ventures, Genesia Ventures, and JAFCO Asia;
Fundiin helps retail partners and e-commerce sites increase sales by offering BNPL as a payment option.
Kakao co-CEO steps down after fire takes services offline
Namkoong Whon stepped down following a major outage that made the firm’s services, including messaging platform KakaoTalk, unaccessible to users.
SG manufacturing tech firm SixSense secures US$2.6M Series A
Lead investor is Tin Men Capital; SixSense helps semiconductor manufacturers identify defects at scale; Its tech scans millions of products per year and uses AI to automatically identify defects.
Kopi Kenangan opens first international store in Malaysia
The company uses the brand Kenangan Coffee for the store, which will be carried by all of its branches outside Indonesia; By the end of this year, Kopi plans to open four more stores in Malaysia.
Thai metaverse firm Translucia buys major stake in Infofed
The deal is estimated to be in the 8-digit USD range; Infofed uses online and offline platforms to provide solutions for game providers, consumer brands, and e-sports communities.
Alpha Venture DAO, Polygon launch batch 2 of DeFi incubator
Alpha Incubate is a 12-week program that helps startups in the DeFi space with product-market fit, fundraising, and go-to-market strategies, as well as tokenomics and sustainable growth efforts.
Singapore’s SynOption closes pre-Series A
The investors include Macquarie Group, Matrixport Ventures, and Kristal Advisors; SynOption focuses on FX Options and Crypto Options Solutions for institutional clients.
Brinc, Fusang to make startup investments more inclusive
Hong Kong venture accelerator Brinc and Fusang Digital Asset Exchange strive to drive equality and make investment more inclusive by leveraging blockchain technology.
For Web3 to take off, we need to fix the rigidity problem of smart contracts
The immutable aspect of smart contracts makes it a double-edged sword, if Web3 developers cannot easily patch known vulnerabilities.
‘Trade & supply chain sector is set to witness unprecedented blockchain adoption’
#dltledgers Co-Founder and CPO Samir Neji says as e-transactions get recognised in many jurisdictions, the utilisation of smart contracts is also expected to accelerate.
‘Don’t chase titles; chase curiosity and let it lead you’
Bernadette Cho of Entrepreneur First says early-stage professionals make for some of the strongest founders; they’ve fewer fixed beliefs and are willing to challenge existing ways of working and thinking.
Echelon 2022: The evolving role of digital infrastructure
At this year’s Echelon Asia Summit, listen to our panel of experts as they discuss the complexities of building a digital infrastructure.
SEA’s mobile-first population are spending all their time on mobile phones: Are you?
With the power of AI and big data, CleverTap enables businesses across APAC to achieve cutting-edge automated mobile marketing.
Bridging the gap between digital literacy and the financial services industry
The FinStyle app aims to revolutionise the financial services industry by providing access to entire insurance and investment summary.
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Echelon 2022 aims to provide intimate and focused discussions on key topics and business matching services to facilitate business-driven connections during the two-day event. e27 will curate and invite key stakeholders of startups, investors, corporates, and ecosystem enablers to drive towards fruitful business outcomes at Echelon.
The 2022 Echelon edition will be co-located with SWITCH at Resorts World Sentosa from 27 to 28 October 2022. Learn more here.
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