Dear Pro member,
Indonesia is set to witness a battle in the electric motorcycle space — particularly between two-year-old home-grown company Maka Motors and four-year-old Singapore-born firm ION Mobility.
Maka Motors, founded by two Gojek alumni, has just raised a staggering US$37.6 million in its seed funding round from a slew of investors, including AC Ventures, East Ventures, SV Investment, Northstar Group, Peak XV, Openspace Ventures, and BEENEXT. The company is already working on its first mass-market product, slated for launch in 2024. Maka will also start building its factory in West Java later this year.
ION Mobility has the backing of Indian two-wheeler behemoth TVS Motors. While ION doesn’t have as big a war chest as Maka, it has already soft-launched its first model in Jakarta and has received pre-orders. ION is also setting up a Jakarta factory and working on its experience centres.
The Indonesian market is also flooded with e-motorcycle companies, mostly white-label or those that have outsourced design and development to China or other European players, with minimal in-house design and engineering value-add beyond assembly, sales, and marketing. But Maka and ION are confident of getting an edge with their full-stack approach.
Who is going to win this war? Let’s wait and see.
Take a look at the major developments in the startup scene in Southeast Asia.
Sainul,
Editor.
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Alibaba injects US$845M into Lazada as competition intensifies
According to our calculations, the Chinese tech giant already invested US$5.99B in Lazada before this round, including the US$1B in 2016 to take a controlling stake.
Indonesian e-motorcycle startup MAKA Motors closes US$37.6M seed round
Lead investors are AC Ventures, East Ventures, and SV Investment; MAKA Motors’s first product is currently in development and slated for launch in 2024, with its first batch of pilot vehicles ready for deployment this month.
Filipino consumer fintech startup Salmon nets US$20M debt financing
US-based Argentem Creek Partners is the investor; Salmon enables customers to access financial products from partners registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission in the Philippines.
Proptech firm Lamudi lays off employees in Indonesia
The proptech firm claimed to have had significant growth in the past two years, with an 88% increase in revenue; The restructuring is expected to sustain this momentum.
JustCo posts US$99M in FY22 revenue, cuts operational losses by 55.3%
Membership fees continue to be the largest revenue source for the co-working space firm, contributing US$86M in the period; Revenue from ancillary services grew 42% to US$9.6M.
Hong Kong-based Rice Robotics nets US$7M to expand into Japan
Rice Robotics specialises in workforce automation using robotics tech; Part of the fresh funds was already used to establish a production plant in Hong Kong.
Surge leads US$3.3M seed round of SG cloud security firm PingSafe
PingSafe provides a cloud security platform that protects companies’ data and apps from cyber-attacks; Its Offensive Security Engine helps clients identify potential vulnerabilities for enhanced protection.
Earth VC backs US-based lithium-silicon battery firm Group14
Group14 claims its battery offers better energy density, charging speed, and overall performance compared to traditional Li-on batteries.
Grab confirms acquisition of SG taxi operator Trans-Cab
The Straits Times pegs the deal size at ~US$100M; With this, Grab will have control of over 2,200 taxis and more than 300 private-hire vehicles, including Trans-Cab’s maintenance workshop and fuel pump operations.
Indonesian conglomerate Astra to buy OLX Autos local unit
OLX Autos is a classified ads platform for used cars owned by the global tech investor firm Prosus; In March, Prosus was reportedly in talks with several players to sell OLX Autos’ India and Indonesia businesses.
AIOX invests in SG-based design studio XM Group
XM Group through its subsidiary XM Studios has produced collectibles for some of the most recognizable brands in pop culture, including Marvel, DC, and Transformers.
US investor Ares to acquire SG-based PE firm Crescent Point
Crescent Point focuses on investing in Chinese and SEA consumer businesses; It has around US$3.8B in AUM as of March this year; Its notable investments include AirAsia, Baozun, and Nghee Ann City.
Google is testing an AI tool that can write news articles
The tool, internally codenamed “Genesis,” can take in information and then generate news copy; The tech giant has pitched the AI tool to The New York Times, The Washington Post and News Corp.
Tesla’s Elon Musk optimistic on progress for self-driving, robots
He set new targets for AI products including self-driving software and using humanoid robots in factories; The e-vehicle maker is in early talks with a major automaker to license its full self-driving technology.
There is talent shortage in the e-motorcycle space in SEA: ION Mobility CEO
Indonesia’s e-scooter market is not picking up as there are few appealing offerings for riders to make a switch, says James Chan.
An inside look at Green Rebel’s SEA expansion plans
Since debuting in Singapore last year, Indonesia-based foodtech startup Green Rebel has introduced its products in Malaysia and South Korea.
With Snoop Dogg in tow, Novelship plans to expand its sneakers marketplace
Snoop Dogg will work with Novelship to expand its collections from the current 30 sneaker brands and 40 apparel brands under its portfolio.
Breaking barriers: How crypto is disrupting education funding
Cryptocurrency and blockchain can empower education companies to access global investors, new funding sources and drive growth and impact.
Threads: Revolutionising social media for creative entrepreneurs
Meta’s ‘Threads’ surges with 60 million users in just two days – A deep dive into its potential impact on business strategies.
Mind the category curve: Are you driving it, or will it drive right over you?
Category Design thinking shows you that a category cannot exist around one company and needs an entire ecosystem of players.
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Copyright: smyslovkir
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