Dear Pro member,
It seems GoTo Group’s cost-cutting measures are paying off.
The Softbank-backed tech giant managed to cut its net loss for Q1 by 41%. Like many other tech startups in the region, GoTo also has been tightening its purse strings by cutting jobs and arresting cash burns to survive these uncertain times. Gross revenue also grew 14 per cent y-o-y.
The firm said in March it would cut 600 more jobs after the layoff of 1,300 employees announced in November. As per some reports, the reduced head count saved it about 210 billion rupiah (US$14.3 million) in Q1.
The group expects to turn profitable in Q4 on higher revenue growth and reduced costs; savings from the jobcuts announced in March will be reflected from May onwards, says CEO Andre Soelistyo.
This is the top story of this edition of Ecosystem Roundup.
Also, take a look at the other major developments in Southeast Asia’s startup industry.
Regards,
Sainul.
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Startup fundraising in SEA dipped to a 2-year low in Q1
Homegrown startups raised US$2.08B in Q1, down 25% from the previous quarter and 52% from the same period last year; Startups in the region clocked 195 equity funding deals in Q1, marking a 37% drop on y-o-y basis.
GoTo Q1 loss narrows 41% to US$265M on higher revenues, lower marketing spend
Gross revenue4 grew 14% YoY to US$408M, while incentives and product marketing costs were reduced by US$317M or 39% YoY; The adjusted EBITDA for Q1 2023 improved 67% YoY to US$109M.
Capria Ventures hits first close of US$100M Fund II
The fund will invest in 20-25 startups across India, SEA, LatAm, and the MEA; The focus sectors are fintech, mobility/logistics, agtech/foodtech, climate, and jobtech/HRtech.
Finnish EV firm Virta raises US$93.8M, gears up for SEA expansion
The investors are Jolt Capital, E.ON, Helen Ventures, and Vertex Growth Fund; The company plans to expand into Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam within the next two years.
Edtech firm BrightChamps makes new acquisition to enter B2B vertical
The Metamorphosis Edu deal is expected to help BrightChamps expand its learning offerings to schools globally; This marks the company’s third acquisition after it bought Vietnam’s Schola for US$15M and India’s Education10x in 2022.
Cosmose AI raises funding at US$500M valuation
The investor is Swiss non-profit NEAR Foundation. Cosmose gathers insights from smartphones and helps understand offline shopping habits and drives footfall across 20M venues in Asia.
ONE Championship, Animoca partner to create NFT-powered mobile game
ONE Fight Arena will offer players optional Web3 integration that uses blockchain and NFTs to provide authentic digital ownership to players for certain game assets.
MetaCRM raises US$2.5M to build one-stop Web3 CRM tools
Cherubic Ventures is the lead investor: The Taiwanese startup says its Web3 CRM products can connect on-chain and off-chain data to create blockchain-native solutions and analytics tools.
Explico bags US$1.4M to make student assessment easier using AI
The investors are Astonic Ventures Singapore, Mavis Tutorial Centre, and Singapore Asia Publishers; Explico can generate assessment tasks, find appropriate peers for study groups, and provide transparent adaptive feedback using AI.
Better Bite invests in alt-protein startups Allium Bio, Cultivaer, EatKinda, Klevermeat
The VC firm invested from its First Bite, which provides a US$50K investment to new and aspiring alt-protein founders in APAC; A new round of First Bite applications is now open until May 19.
French accelerator ZEBOX opens APAC hub in Singapore
ZEBOX Asia Pacific aims to help tackle pressing business and sustainability issues in sectors such as supply chains, logistics, transportation, and energy.
True Global Ventures pivots fund to focus on generative AI
TGV has now rebranded the Follow On Fund to the Opportunity Fund; About 30% of this fund has already been deployed;
The firm expects to reach the second close for the fund by the end of May.
SoftBank Group taps Arm CEO as board member
Rene Haas is the CEO of British semiconductor firm Arm; SoftBank acquired Arm for US$32B in 2016; The semiconductor company is planning to launch an IPO in the US this year, with a reported target of US$8B minimum.
17 startups inch closer to competing at the 2023 TOP100!
Check out this diverse and exciting group of frontrunners as they inch closer to competing at this year’s TOP100!
Bootstrapped: How 99VR raced against the clock to build a profitable business
99VR CEO advises aspiring founders to create a simple product that can be immediately used by the general public and has a direct impact.
Why Fidelity Funding believes startups need more than just funding to succeed
To curb the high failure rate in the startup ecosystem, Fidelity Funding builds a model that provides startups with more than just money.
Canvas Space allows you to micro-monetise your content in fiat, cryptocurrencies
Canvas Space is a creator-centric platform, allowing micro-transactions for any small parts (seconds, pixels, minutes, and paras).
We want to be the ‘verification check’ for growth-stage companies in SEA: TNB Aura
In their investment philosophy, TNB Aura is taking a top-down approach when it comes to assessing a potential investment.
Hard work takes over when talent fails: Latif Sim of BeLive Technology
Knowledge evolves day to day and there could be situations which require us to unlearn and relearn says the Chief Strategy Officer at BeLive Technology.
Web3 startups: The next big thing investors are flocking to
Web3 startups have captured the attention of investors, who recognise the potential for high returns on investment and the benefits of diversification.
Lessons learned from executive who helped expand 4 unicorns to global markets
Throughout his 15-year career, Troy Malone has helped Evernote, Weebly, All-Turtles, mmhmm and Drata to scale internationally.
How business leaders can utilise generative AI in employee communications
There are some incredible use cases where generative AI can increase efficiency and help you focus on the stuff that matters.
Rise of digital collectibles: The long-awaited “NFT” rebrand
The rebranding of NFTs to digital collectibles allows people bullish and building in Web3 to have better and easier conversations.
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Echelon Asia Summit 2023 brings together APAC’s leading startups, corporates, policymakers, industry leaders, and investors to Singapore this June 14-15. Learn more and get tickets here. Echelon also features the TOP100 stage, where startups can pitch to 5000+ delegates, among other benefits like connecting with investors, visibility through the platform, and other prizes. Join TOP100 here.
The post Ecosystem Roundup: SEA’s startup financing dipped to a 2-year low in Q1; GoTo cuts Q1 loss by 41% appeared first on e27.