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Ecosystem Roundup: Insurtech shines in Indonesia in H1 | Singtel, Grab infuse US$169M into GXS Bank | k-ID secures US$45M

insurtech

Dear reader,

Indonesia’s startup ecosystem experienced a significant decline in venture funding in the first half of 2024, securing only US$191 million—a 64% drop from US$526 million in the same period last year, according to Tracxn’s Geo Semi-Annual Report. Sequentially, the decline was even more pronounced at 79%. Globally, Indonesia ranked 29th in funding.

Seed-stage investments fell by 27% to US$26 million, while early-stage funding dropped 42% to $113 million. Late-stage investments saw the steepest decline, plummeting to US$52.2 million from US$681 million in H2 2023.

Despite the overall downturn, fintech, insurtech, and enterprise applications emerged as top-performing sectors. Notably, insurtech saw a dramatic rise in funding, increasing from US$7.5 million to US$47 million.

However, the period saw no new unicorns and fewer acquisitions and IPOs. Jakarta led in city-wise funding, with East Ventures, AC Ventures, and Alpha JWC Ventures as top investors.

The subdued IPO market and significant funding drops highlight the challenges faced by Indonesian startups in H1 2024, necessitating strategic adaptations to navigate the evolving landscape.

Sainul,
Editor.

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NEWS

Insurtech shines amidst overall funding decline in Indonesia in H1
Insurtech startups in Indonesia secured US$47M in H1 2024 compared to US$7.5 million in H1 2023, as per a Tracxn report; The overall funding was US$191M in venture funding in the first half of 2024, a 64 per cent decline from US$526 million raised in the same period last year.

Funding down 53% in Vietnam in H1; logistics-tech, edutech buck the trend
The transportation and logistics tech sector witnessed a 940% spike in funding, while edutech recorded a 280% rise in H1 2024; No late-stage funding was reported in H1 2024, mirroring the trend from H2 2023, whereas US$3M was raised in H1 2023.

GXS Bank receives US169M capital injection from backers Singtel, Grab
GXS’ latest financials showed widening losses, with FY 2023 ending December 31 reporting a loss of S$208.2M from a loss of S$132.5M a year prior; Its full-year revenue increased to S$16.1 million from S$5.1 million in FY 2022.

Temasek joins Samsara Eco’s US$65M financing round to end plastic pollution
Samsara Eco plans to open new commercial facilities in SEA to recycle plastic waste and turn it into brand-new products. Samsara has developed a way to break plastic down to its core molecules, which can then be used to recreate brand-new plastic.

k-ID lands US$45M funding to provide safe online environment for young gamers
The investors are a16z, Lightspeed Venture, Konvoy, TIRTA, Okta, and Z Venture; k-ID is a cross-platform, instant sign-on solution for kids and teens; It’s been built as an all-in-one answer for solving the complex issue of privacy and online safety for young players.

Hubble nets US$5M to transform progress and payments in the built environment industry
Private credit financier AlteriQ Global is the lead investor; Hubble will use the money to accelerate the expansion of its financial services division into new industries and beyond Singapore.

Tiger New Energy raises US$3.5M to deploy battery-swapping network
The investors include ADB Ventures, Wavemaker Partners, 500 TukTuks, and Orvel Ventures; Tiger New Energy has a station network where rickshaw drivers can swap depleted batteries for fully charged ones in less than a minute.

Earth VC joins US-based cultivated meat startup Orbillion Bio’s funding round
Orbillion Bio specialises in producing Wagyu beef cells; It has developed an algorithm for scaling up cultivated meat, making commercialising low-cost cultivated beef possible.

Swedish firm Trine backs Vietnamese solar energy startup Stride
Stride offers low upfront-cost financing, insurance, and a streamlined online consumer onboarding process at the point of sale; This capital injection will enable the firm to expand its capacity to fund customers’ clean-energy installations in Vietnam.

Iterative Capital invests in Singapore’s AI copilot startup Opilot
Opilot offers secure, private, and compliant AI copilot solutions for industries and functions that demand the highest standards of data protection and confidentiality.

Pawprints extends seed round to expand its allergy-friendly pet nutrition biz
The lead investor is Asia Fund X; Following the launch of its Pawprints brand in June 2023, the group claims to have more than doubled its monthly revenue and sold over 120 tons of pet food.

Indonesia’s EV battery bet benefiting from regional supply chain shift: report
According to a recent report by property and management consulting firm JLL, FDI in the industry has grown from less than US$2B in 2011 to over US$20B in 2023; This was driven by tax breaks and government incentives for battery-based EVs.

Hacker claims data breach of India’s eMigrate labour portal
Launched by India’s Ministry of External Affairs, the eMigrate portal helps Indian labour legally emigrate overseas. The portal also provides emigration clearance tracking and insurance services to migrant workers.

Flipkart Group launches payments app, Super.money, in fintech push
The Walmart-owned firm’s new app, now live in beta on Play Store, allows users to make mobile payments via UPI, an interoperable network that is the most popular way Indians transact online.

SoftBank to invest up to US$20M in search startup Perplexity AI at US$3B valuation
SoftBank will make this investment as part of a larger US$250M funding round; Perplexity’s search tools enable users to get instant answers to questions with sources and citations.

Taiwan’s agri-food accelerator HAOSHi launches 7th cohort with 10 startups
During the four-month-long programme, the accelerator will provide comprehensive guidance to these selected startups, promoting the technologisation and sustainability of the food and agriculture supply chain.

FEATURES

Moosa Genetics boosts beef production in Indonesia through DNA tech, farmer support
Moosa Genetics enhances Indonesia’s cattle industry with advanced biotech, improving meat yield, quality, and sustainability for farmers.

500 Global aims to double down on startups building AI apps for specific industry verticals
Vishal Harnal of 500 Global also reveals why businesses in SEA tend to be slower in adapting new technologies, including AI.

Thailand in 2024: Fewer funding announcements, but promising opportunities ahead
Between January and May 2024, we covered five funding announcements from startups in Thailand from various stages and verticals.

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The post Ecosystem Roundup: Insurtech shines in Indonesia in H1 | Singtel, Grab infuse US$169M into GXS Bank | k-ID secures US$45M appeared first on e27.