SoftBank Group Chairman Masayoshi Son
SoftBank posts US$5.9B loss as Vision Fund takes hits
Vision Fund 1 generated US$2.5B in losses, while Vision Fund 2 slipped by US$2.2B as SoftBank’s portfolio firms slog through the current economic downturn.
Cross-border payments solutions firm Tazapay bags US$16.9M Series A
The investors include Sequoia, EscapeVelocity, PayPal Alumni Fund, Foundamental, January Capital, and Saison Capital; The B2B cross-border payments firm will use the money for Middle East and Europe expansion.
Paul Allen’s VC firm joins SwipeRx’s US$10M Series B2 round
The investors include Sanofi’s Global Health Unit, Cercano Management, SIG, and Patamar Capital; SwipeRx’s digital network has over 250K professionals and 50K pharmacies, with 12,000 retail pharmacies from Indonesia alone.
VFlowTech nets US$10M to expand into Japan, US, Turkey
The investors include SEEDS Capital, Wavemaker Partners, and Sing Fuels; VFlowTech is a vanadium-based redox flow battery company; It plans to set up a 200MWh production line capacity.
Thai mental health startup Ooca closes series A fundraise
The investor is Bangkok Dusit Medical Services; Ooca lets users arrange video consultations with psychologists and psychiatrists; It also offers corporate packages for business clients.
Indonesia’s FDA asks Halodoc to take down listings of prohibited drugs
A Tech in Asia report found that Temasek-backed Halodoc was enabling the sale of at least 11 restricted drugs, including antipsychotics, pharmaceutical precursors, and medication for erectile dysfunction.
Vietnam’s VinFast reduces headcount in the US
The company didn’t disclose the number of staff affected in the US, where it had hired about 160 people; VinFast managers were told to prep for a potential 30% headcount reduction at its headquarters in Vietnam.
Instill AI raises US$3.6M seed funding to make AI more accessible
The investors include RTP Global, Lunar Ventures, and Hive Ventures; Instill AI will use this seed fund fuel to boost the development of the unstructured data ML infrastructure.
Singapore 3D design startup PixCap scores US$2.8M
The investors include Sequoia Surge, Cocoon Capital, and EF; PixCap allows users with no 3D experience to find, edit and export 3D content, including images for graphic designs and animations for landing pages and social media.
SG kidtech firm myFirst bags US$2.2M seed round
The investors are tech founders and executives from PatSnap, Google, Rainforest, and TNB Aura; myFirst aims to help kids aged between three and 12 stay connected socially without the usual ills of social media.
Building energy management startup Ampotech raises US$1.3M
The investors are Earth VC, KSL Maritime Ventures, Silicon Solution Ventures and SEEDS Capital; Ampotech uses the IoT and edge computing to help energy, operations, and facilities managers improve the performance of their buildings.
GoTo announces management reshuffle
Co-founder Kevin Aluwi has stepped down from its board of commissioners; Anthony Wijaya will also step down from the board of directors to focus more on his role as Tokopedia COO.
Shariah-compliant Malaysian digital insurer OUCH! secures funding
Following the investment, Ouch! will look to acquire the final approval from Malaysia’s central bank BNM operate in its regulatory sandbox; Its mission is to become Malaysia’s first digital Takaful operator.
Binance to temporarily halt US dollar bank transfers
It said the suspension will only affect users of Binance.com, which is a separate entity from Binance US; CNBC reported that millions of stablecoins went to rival exchanges after the announcement.
‘ID is recession-resilient due to its demographic bonus, rich natural resources’
Indonesians have an entrepreneurial mindset, and its digital-savvy young population fuels the country’s digital economy growth, says Nobutake Suzuki, President and CEO at MUFG Innovation Partners.
Always be adventurous and inquisitive: Carl Jones of SAP Concur
The Managing Director for SEA at SAP Concur talks about risks he took with his career in his 20s and 30s and how they have played out.
Boardrooms to warehouses: How SEA leaders can build cyber resiliency from top-down
Southeast Asian business community needs to better understand cyber security’s benefits on long-term business
Unlocking the potential of SEA with accessible credit
With 70 per cent of the adult population in SEA still underbanked or unbanked, it still has a long way to go before it goes truly cashless.
Fundraising or preparing your startup for fundraising? Build your investor network, search from 400+ SEA investors on e27, and get connected or get insights regarding fundraising. Try e27 Pro for free today.
The post Ecosystem Roundup: SoftBank posts US$5.9B loss; Tazapay bags US$16.9M Series A; VinFast lays off staff in US appeared first on e27.