Australia’s Shippit raises US$22.2M to expand into SEA
The story: After launching its Singapore headquarters in July, Australia’s Shippit has raised US$22M in a Series B funding round, according to TechCrunch.
Investors: Tiger Global, angel investor Jason Lenga
What the funding will be used for: Expansion within Southeast Asia, hiring
About the company: Shippit is an e-commerce logistics platform that automates tasks related to order fulfilment.
“Southeast Asia is predicted to be the world’s largest e-commerce market in the next five years, and the addressable market for us in Southeast Asia alone is already five times the size of Australia and twice the size of the US,” co-founder William On said in an interview with TechCrunch.
The startup’s next goal is to expand into the Philippines and Indonesia and expects its business in the region to grow 100 per cent year-over-year for the next three years at a minimum.
VCs pour money into startups focusing on WFH solutions globally
The story: According to a report by startup industry tracker Tracxn, VCs globally have poured over US$1.6 billion in startups that are offering solutions in the remote workspace between April and November. This was first reported by ET.
More about this story: As the new normal is shifting working habits, challenges, as well as opportunities, are being created every day. This has led some startups to pivot while others to bring in new solutions.
Startups like Krisp.ai, a noise cancellation software for video calls, Hubilo an offline event management platform, PepperContent a remote hiring platform, among many others have all raised funding recently.
Sequoia Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Index Venture are among some investors investing in this trend.
Also Read: A founder’s guide to successfully working from home
Rajan Anandan, MD of Sequoia Capital India, said: “We are far from things going back to normal — and we don’t know what that new normal will be. Many changes induced by COVID-19 will be here for the long haul, and now is the time to pick up the thread on technologies that can help us adapt to these changes.”
Roberto Kauffmann
aCommerce appoints new CPO
The story: Thai e-commerce enabler aCommerce has appointed Roberto Kauffmann as its new Group Chief Product Officer.
More about the story: In his new role, Kauffmann will be responsible for leading the innovation and development of aCommerce’s unified platform IQ Suites that houses the company’s proprietary SaaS products for clients.
Prior to his new role, Roberto has had over 20 years of experience in building innovative e-commerce and digital payments products for companies all over the world including in his latest post as the ex-CPO of Shopmatic.
Smart energy startup Atomberg announces US$9.5M Series B
The story: India-Mumbai headquartered Atomberg Technologies has raised close to US$US$9.5 in a Series B funding round.
Investors: A91 Partners (lead), Trifecta Capital, Survam Partners
What the funding will be used for: Product expansion, marketing and amplifying distribution networks across metro and non-metro cities
About the startup: Atomberg offers smart and energy-efficient solutions for home appliances powered by brushless DC electric motor (BLDC motor). Its BLDC fans claim to consume only 28 Watts resulting in a saving of US$20/year.
The company was launched by Manoj Meena and Sibabrata Das in 2012 and envisions itself to become the Tesla of Household appliances.
Also Read: ZaiBike is changing Singapore’s cycling culture with smart tech
“Over the last 12 months, we have grown significantly across all channels. Our offline distribution has grown by leaps and bounds, and we have been also consistently been one of the top brands in e-commerce in our category,” said Meena.
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Image Credit: Unsplash
The post In brief: US$1.6B invested in WFH startups in April-Nov period; Shippit raises US$22.2M for SEA expansion appeared first on e27.