Sky Mavis bags US$150M to refund users hit by Axie hack
Last week, the Ronin Network suffered a security breach that resulted in the theft of 173,600 ether and about US$25.5 million in USDC stable coins; The stolen tokens sum up to US$620M, making it possibly the largest crypto hack of all time.
Singapore tightens rules for crypto firms
The law will require local digital asset service providers who do business exclusively overseas to be licensed; The bill will also allow the MAS to prohibit individuals who are deemed unfit to perform key roles, activities, and functions in the financial industry.
Binance US raises US$200M in seed money at US$4.5B valuation
Investors include RRE Ventures, Foundation Capital, Original Capital, VanEck, Circle Ventures, Gaingels, and Gold House; Binance currently supports more than 85 cryptocurrencies and over 190 trading pairs.
Newman Capital launches US$50M Web3 fund
Among Newman’s latest investments is the Asia-based metaverse platform Gemie, which recently raised US$3.8M; The investment firm has also backed SpaceX, Epic Games, Reddit, Dapper Labs, and Loda Finance.
SoftBank’s JV unit ZA Tech buys stake in Indonesia’s digital lender Aladin Bank
Together, they aim to provide financial education and planning with affordable insurance products in Indonesia; ZA Tech focuses on exporting insurtech products and solutions to insurers and internet platforms.
Cortical Labs’s hybrid biological-computer chips could make robots smarter, more adaptable
The combination of biological intelligence with upgradable machine parts could lead to a new class of autonomous robots with self-programming capabilities.
Tiger Global-backed Gupshup buys Singapore-based Active.Ai
Active.ai serves clients across 43 countries with a conversational banking-as-a-service platform; It has so far enabled more than 300M user interactions via voice, video, and messaging.
East Ventures leads US$22M round of theAsianparent
Other backers of this round are Central Retail, WHG Holdings, and DBS; The investment will be used for theAsianparent’s portfolio expansion in Thailand, as it is one of its stronghold markets.
CrediBook raises US$8.1M in Series A
Investors include Monk’s Hill, Insignia Ventures and Wavemaker Partners; CrediBook aims to help digitise SMEs by helping them manage and track expenses, payables, and receivables and streamline the ordering process.
Crypto staking startup RockX completes US$6M Series A round
Backers include Amber Group, Matrixport, Primitive Ventures, FBG Capital and IMO Ventures; RockX is a gateway for crypto finance and blockchains globally; It aims to provide safe and secure infrastructure to support the digital staking economy.
Vietnamese agritech startup Koidra reaps US$4.5M fundraise
Investors are Ospraie Ag Science, Amritam Holdings, Cavallo Ventures, and Foothill Ventures; Koidra’s autonomous greenhouse technology can improve yield and reduce waste by combining physics, crop modelling, and machine learning to transform controlled environment agriculture.
Indonesia’s textile tech firm Wifkain raises seed funding
Investors include Insignia Ventures and Wawan Salum, CEO of Atome Financial; Wifkain is a platform that connects fashion businesses with fabric suppliers; It provides services such as the delivery of fabric samples within 24 hours and pay-later options.
SG fintech firm Aquariux banks US$2.2M in pre-seed money
Founded in October 2020, Aquariux provides solutions around trading, payments, and remittances of traditional and digital assets; Aquariux also provides services for blockchain integration, among other things.
Singapore’s pre-IPO and pre-token trading platform prePO raises US$2.1M
Investors include Republic Capital, IOSG Ventures, MEXC, AscendEX, GCR, Shima Capital, and Caballeros Capital; By using prePO, retail investors can access opportunities that VCs, institutional investors, and PE firms have enjoyed exclusively for decades.
Fairmart closes US$1.5M seed round
Investors include Quest Ventures, Entrepreneur First, SOSV, Vectr Ventures, and Hustle Fund; Fairmart has developed an IoT smart scanner; When a store owner scans a product using the scanner, it adds that product to the store’s Fairmart page.
Agritech firm Glife Technologies acquires controlling stakes in PanenID, Yolek
PanenID is a farm-to-table startup in Indonesia, while Yolek is a plant-based food distributor in Malaysia; Glife addresses the supply chain pain points of food businesses by linking these companies to farmers and providing them digital tools.
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