The gist: Alibaba pumps US$353M into Lazada
More details: The move comes after Alibaba announced plans to break up its operations into separate business units; This will involve Lazada falling under the e-commerce giant’s Global Digital Business Group, which also includes AliExpress, Trendyol, and Daraz.
The gist: Taizo Son’s new VC firm The Edgeof acquires SoftBank Ventures Asia
The objective: The Edgeof aims to tackle pressing global challenges, such as climate change and sustainability, through innovative initiatives; It aims to be Asia’s leading VC and ecosystem builder, helping alpha startups expand across borders and grow exponentially.
The gist: Messaging protocol LayerZero nets US$120M for Asia expansion
The product: LayerZero is a messaging protocol that enables interoperability and facilitates cross-chain messaging across various blockchains; It has deployed over 30K contracts on its testnet and 3,500 on its mainnet, with more than 10K unique applications.
The gist: Philippine startup Pickup Coffee raises US$26.7M Series A1
The investors: Go Ventures, Openspace Ventures, and Kickstart Ventures
The product: Pickup Coffee is focused on making premium beverages more accessible; Its beverages are already available via GrabFood and Foodpanda; A Pickup Coffee app is in the works and would be rolled out soon.
The gist: Vietnamese online coding school MindX nets US$15M Series B
The investors: Kaizenvest, Aksorn, Mynavi Corporation, and Wavemaker
More details: MindX claims to have trained 35K-plus students, and expanded its offerings to include blockchain and data analytics courses.
The gist: Philippine HR-tech firm Sprout Solutions nets US$10.7M funding
The investors: Cercano Management, GSR Ventures, AFG Partners, Integra Partners
More details: Sprout’s human resources analytics platform offers solutions for recruitment, onboarding, payroll, data insight, and performance monitoring, among others.
The gist: SC Ventures invests in Singaporean fintech startup BetterTradeOff
The product: BetterTradeOff offers a DIY platform for consumers, a SaaS solution for financial advisers, and a white-label platform for financial institutions; It will use the capital for tech enhancements and geographical expansion.
The gist: Indonesian edutech firm Cakap bags funding
The investors: MDI Ventures and Heritas Capital
The plans: The company will use the funds to develop its blended learning — a mix of online and offline classes.
The gist: Indonesia’s medical records digitalisation startup Zi.Care bags US$2M
Lead investor: Oriza Greenwillow Technology Fund
The plans: The firm will use the fresh funds to improve and expand its services; As of Q1, Zi Care’s services had been used in more than 100 hospitals.
The gist: Vietnam’s Amanotes invests in Swedish startup Reactional Music
The details: Amanotes has over 2.8B downloads and 100M+ monthly active users across 30+ music games and mobile apps; Reactional Music lets gamers personalise their personas and gameplay with their favourite music.
The gist: TikTok deleted 7.6M videos from Indonesia in Q4 2022: report
More details: Globally, the number of videos taken down was 85.7M, or 0.6% of the total videos published throughout the quarter; This marked an improvement from Q3 2022, which saw the deletion of 110.9M videos.
The gist: Nium appoints ex-ZaloPay, PayPal head as executive VP
More details: Anupam Pahuja will focus on the firm’s expansion within Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa from Nium’s Singapore headquarters, reporting to CEO Prajit Nanu.
The gist: Axie Infinity’s VP for games to step down
More details: Philip La said in a LinkedIn post that it is time to “move on to the next chapter in my career”; He added that he’ll be taking some time off before he starts his new venture.
Features, authored articles, and Echelon updates
Equatorial Space is on a mission to make space launches cost-effective, eco-friendly, risk-free
The Singaporean startup is working on Dorado, a responsive launcher designed to deliver small payloads into suborbital trajectory by mid-2024.
How du-it aims to empower SMEs with its Shariah-based BNPL platform
du-it describes itself as a BNPL platform designed as a solution-based platform for SMEs and MSMEs in Malaysia; It recently launched a crowdfunding campaign to support the development of the platform.
‘Awareness level about the potential benefits of energy efficiency is low in SEA’
TablePointer Founder Jason Tang says the company will partner with financing institutions to offer attractive financing options and differentiate itself through its data-driven approach.
15 frontrunners closer to competing in the 2023 TOP100
From our diverse pool of applicants, get to know these 15 exciting startups that are a step closer to competing at this year’s TOP100.
Six exhibitors to wow you at the 2023 Echelon Asia Summit
Check out the exciting innovations of Anapi, Buyandship, fewStones, INK IDÉE, Parlon, WAOHire and more at Echelon!
How to shape Singapore’s attractiveness in deep and frontier tech
The frontier tech sector in Singapore needs to produce more promising research ventures that are geared towards commercialisation and international growth.
How to balance rapid growth and sustainability as a startup founder
By focusing on building a strong community of loyal customers who value your product or service, you can achieve sustainable growth over the long term.
How tech upgrades could address Singapore’s labour shortage in hawker centres
Discover how tech upgrades can help Singapore’s hawker centers navigate the ongoing labor shortage, improving efficiency and accessibility.
How to embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion in DeFi and Web3
In 2021, tech companies had less than 29 per cent women and 22 per cent ethnic minorities across all functions; Certain areas, like cybersecurity teams, had an even lesser representation for these groups, 12 per cent each.
Are the glory days of direct-to-consumer brands over?
Tech stocks were down 35-40 per cent in 2022, and DTC stocks were down 85-90 per cent. As a rule of thumb, valuations mechanically go down when interest rates rise.
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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 e27platform, and other prizes. Join TOP100 here.
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