Karana funding
The story: Singapore-based whole-plant based meat brand Karana has closed US$1.7 million in seed round funding.
Investors: Henry Soesanto, CEO of Monde Nissin Corp; Big Idea Ventures; Germi8, a Japanese and Singaporean fund linked to Leave a Nest and Real Tech; unnamed Asian FMCG distributor; Hong Kong-based F&B entrepreneurs Kevin Poon and Gerald Li.
Plans
- To use the funds to launch its first range of whole-plant based meats and dim sum products in Singapore and to accelerate its research and development (R&D) capabilities to develop its product portfolio in the region.
- The funds will also be used to build out an experienced regional food tech team.
What is Karana: Its solutions deliver a new second generation meat alternative. The startup has used proprietary techniques to transform responsibly sourced organic jackfruit into a ‘pork’ that comes shredded or minced. No harsh chemicals, no heavy processing, just innovative mechanical techniques that enhance the texture of the naturally meat-like main ingredient.
Additional details: Karana is set to launch its whole-plant pork made from jackfruit in mid 2020 in Singapore in collaboration with some of the country’s top restaurants. The products will be available through retail in early 2021.
Aiculus funding
The story: Singapore-based software security provider Aiculus has raised US$670,000 seed financing round.
Investors: Cocoon Capital (lead) and an unnamed angel investor.
Plans: To grow its technology team and accelerate growth across Australia, Singapore and Southeast Asia.
What is Aiculus: Provides intelligent cybersecurity capabilities to businesses that use application programme interfaces (APIs). The company secures operational APIs without having to access confidential user data, maintaining compliance with privacy protection legislation.
Additional details:
- Aiculus earlier participated in ICE71 Accelerate, a three-month accelerator programme for early-stage cybersecurity startups.
- As part of the programme, it received funding from Singtel Innov8 and NUS Enterprise.
- In 2019, Aiculus secured pilots with large financial corporations based in Singapore and Australia.
GoGoVan rebranding
The story: Hong Kong-based GoGoVan has rebranded as GoGoX.
What is GoGoX: Started in 2013 as an on-demand van services provider for individuals and businesses, it expanded to offer other logistics services, serving over 2 million customers in Hong Kong.
Additional details:
- GoGoBusiness unit is dedicated to providing logistics services to MSMEs and e-commerce merchants. Its features support multiple user accounts, bulk ordering, and easy access to GoGoX’s customer service team.
- GoGoDelivery caters to individual users who want to send gifts, make urgent purchases, or order fresh groceries. Users can have their orders delivered immediately, within four hours, or on the same day.
Ola invests in PhonePe
The story: India’s leading mobility platform Ola has made a strategic investment in payments platform PhonePe.
The synergy
- Ola customers across the country can now pay for their ride using PhonePe. This feature is currently rolled out on Android and will soon be available on iOS.
- This partnership will also enable PhonePe to offer their services to the millions of customers on the Ola platform thereby reaching a wider audience.
Additional details
- Ola is a large mobility platform and ride-hailing company, serving 250-plus cities across India, Australia, New Zealand, and the UK including key global markets like London and Sydney.
- PhonePe is a leading digital payments platform with over 200 million registered users. Using PhonePe, users can send and receive money, recharge mobile, DTH, data cards, pay at stores, make utility payments, buy gold and make investments.
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Image Credit: Karana
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