SoftBank Founder Masayoshi Son
SoftBank to scale back investments in face of a US$16B quarterly loss
The loss marks a dramatic swing in fortunes from a year earlier when it posted a US$14.7B in quarterly profit; Its net loss for the full year that ended in March also came to a record US$13B, a reversal from its all-time-high US$39B profit a year before.
Luna cryptocurrency collapse: How UST broke and why it matters
The coin’s price fell from US$116 in April to just a penny on Thursday; Its marketcap now stands at US$641M, down from a peak of over US$40B; Over US$15B in crypto value has been wiped out through luna and UST alone, and it raises questions about other stablecoins.
East Ventures’s new multi-stage fund hits final close at US$550M
East Ventures will allocate US$150M for early-stage deals and US$400M for growth-stage deals; The firm, which manages over U$1billion in AUM, has attracted US$6.7 billion in follow-on funding for its portfolio companies.
Vietnamese EV maker VinFast’s US IPO to be delayed to 2023
The IPO is currently slated for the fourth quarter of this year; VinFast’s Singapore-based holding company had filed for an IPO with the US SEC, as the company readies a US$4B investment to build a factory in the US.
SYNQA rebrands to Opn, raises US$120M in Series C+ funding
The funding round was joined by JIC Venture Growth Investments, MUFG Bank, and Mars Growth Capital; Opn specialises in online payment, blockchain for fintech apps and digital transformation solutions for SEA and Japan.
Indonesian insurtech startup Qoala banks US$65M Series B
Investors include Eurazeo’s Tara Reeves, Flourish Ventures, KB Investment, MassMutual Ventures, and MDI Ventures; Qoala claims to have acquired 50K+ insurance marketers and is supported by 50+ insurers to sell insurance from multiple insurers.
Sea Group to buy Indonesian insurance firm amid super-app battle
Among Sea Group’s potential targets is Asuransi Mega Pratama; The insurance firm was acquired early this year by an entity owned by Andy Indigo, who is the nephew of Martua Sitorus, co-founder of Singapore-based Wilmar International.
Indonesia’s state-owned Bio Farma, MDI Ventures set up US$50M fund
The Bio-Health Fund will increase Bio Farma’s capabilities in terms of innovating life-science products, healthtech products such as telemedicine; Among the potential startups that Bio Farma could be eyeing is Nusantics.
Temasek’s Fullerton tokenises private equity fund
It will list its PE fund of funds digitally through the private market exchange platform ADDX; Tokenization digitalizes an asset through blockchain and smart contracts; The fund will be invested in six to eight private equity and private credit funds.
Traditional banking will morph into wholesale banking in coming decades: MoneyMatch’s Naysan Munusamy
DeFi and blockchain are more of a booster toward digitising the sector; However, these technologies could make traditional banks much less relevant over the coming few decades.
Fundnel, BRI Ventures to launch new US$50M+ fund for Indonesia’s growth-stage startups
BVI-Fundnel Secondaries Fund will back companies through a non-traditional route of investment; It’ll work with startups to find structured and standardised processes for employees to find secondary liquidity for their ESOPs.
Singapore VC firm raises US$34M for alt-protein investments
Good Startup aims to serve as a bridge between the growing alternative protein ecosystems in North America and Asia; It has already invested in 21 companies, including Eat Just, The EVERY Company, SuperMeat, VitroLabs, and TurtleTree.
Kra-Verse Food Hall where cloud kitchen meets metaverse
Kra-Verse Food Hall aims to recreate the experience of an offline food brand, wherein customers can walk in, browse menus, and order their favourite dishes; The startup recently raised a US$3M Series A led by Quest Ventures.
SG insurtech firm CoverGo raises US$15M
Investors include US-based SemperVirens, SixThirty, Tribeca Early Stage Partners, and Fresco Capital; CoverGo provides insurance enterprise software solutions to insurers, managing general agents, brokers, and bancassurances.
Investree acquires stake in Indonesian digibank
Amar Bank is a commercial and digital bank backed by Singapore-headquartered conglomerate Tolaram; Investree intends to use the acquisition to expand its financing products and offer broader digital business solutions to MSMEs across Indonesia.
Animoca Brands co-leads HK content firm Gusto Collective’s US$11M raise
Gusto Collective merges storytelling, data science, and tech to create interactive content for marketing purposes; It targets augmented reality, metaverse, and NFT innovations to improve customer experiences.
2021 was the year of crypto in Singapore, but education remains key in adoption: Gemini APAC
In terms of volatile price movements, it is vital for all potential crypto owners to do their own research before investing in a token, instead of developing FOMO and jumping on the crypto bandwagon, says Feroze Medora of Gemini.
Singapore robotics firm Eureka scores US$4.25M in pre-seed round
Investors are University of Tokyo Edge Capital Partners, Touchstone Partners and ATEQ; Eureka develops robotics technology to automate tasks in electronics, automotive, 5G telecom, and other industries.
Indonesian insurtech firm Aigis raises funding
Investors include YC, Init 6, Goodwater Capital, Carousell’s Siu Rui Quek; Rainforest’s JJ Chai, Hangry’s Robin Tan; Aigis helps companies provide health benefits such as online healthcare, medication delivery, and health insurance to their employees.
Cradle launches its first accelerator programme
The MYStartup Pre-Accelerator programme targets early-stage startups; 36 startups were shortlisted from 157 applicants; Startups that complete the program are eligible to receive up to US$34K in investment through the CIP Spark funding programme.
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