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Innovation on the rise: Southeast Asian startups secure impressive funding rounds

As the global startup ecosystem continues to thrive, several innovative ventures have recently secured substantial funding rounds, reflecting investors’ confidence in their potential.

From AI-driven safety solutions for motorcycle fleets to Web3 entertainment platforms and electric two-wheeler brands, these Southeast Asian startups are shaping industries and redefining consumer experiences.

Rider Dome (Singapore)

Funding: US$2.3M
Round: Seed
Investors: Goldbell, Radha Rani Holdings Family Office, angels

Rider Dome specialises in AI-driven safety solutions for motorcycle fleets and riders. It leverages AI to reduce motorcycle accidents and enhance overall rider safety, focusing on the needs of large fleets. Its technology, Advanced Rider Assistance System (ARAS), based on computer vision algorithms, analyses real-time data and detects potential threats on the road.

Imaginary Ones (Singapore)

Funding: Undisclosed
Round: Not specified
Investors: Cypher Capital, Animoca Brands, ED3N Ventures, MH Ventures

Also Read: Animoca Brands invests in Singaporean Web3 entertainment startup Imaginary Ones

Imaginary Ones is a Singapore-based Web3 entertainment company. Founded by Clement Chia and David Lee, Imaginary Ones integrates interactive gaming experiences, curated merchandise offerings and content to provide better immersive entertainment. The Web3 startup shot to fame when it sold out a limited NFT collection of 8,888 fully animated 3D characters on the Ethereum network in a record time.

wagely (Indonesia)

Funding: US$23 million
Round: Not specified
Investors: Capria Ventures, unnamed private debt fund

wagely is an Indonesian earned wage access platform with a presence in Bangladesh. A financial wellness platform, it offers workers visibility into their daily earnings and instant access to earned wages. This allows workers to better manage their money by letting them access their pay after each workday. It is offered free to employers, who then provide it as an optional benefit to employees.

Winnow (the UK)

Funding: Undisclosed
Round: Not specified
Investor: ABC Impact

Winnow is an AI-driven food waste reduction solution company. Headquartered in London with offices in Singapore, Chicago, Dubai, and Cluj-Napoca, Winnow provides AI-enabled solutions, which are trained to recognise waste as it is thrown in the bin, whether during preparation or from a customer’s plate. The automated recording process captures 100 per cent of the waste stream and analytics identify and track where wastage occurs. This approach enables users to optimise efficiency, change behaviours, and drive significant waste reductions in their kitchens.

Ai Palette (Singapore)

Funding: US$5.8 million
Round: Series A+
Investor: Tin Men Capital (lead)

Ai Palette enables consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies to create products using AI and machine learning technologies. Ai Palette provides a multimodal AI-powered platform catering to the CPG industry in the F&B, beauty and personal care, and nutraceutical products. The platform enables real-time identification of emerging consumer trends with contextual understanding and generates and screens product ideas within minutes. This improves the costs and efficiency of developing new product category entries, product line expansion, identification of new demand spaces, portfolio optimisation and product repositioning.

Sleek EV (Thailand)

Funding: Undisclosed
Round: Series A+
Investor: Krungsri Finnovate

Sleek EV is an electric two-wheeler brand in Thailand. Its batteries are IoT-enabled with swapping capabilities. With our mobile app, Sleek users can enjoy keyless start/stop, theft detection, customisable dashboards, and carbon credits. The startup has launched four models: Type-S, Type-E, Type-X, and Sleek Play. These models share the same powertrain platform, known as S Drive 1.0, with variations in motor-rated power. The battery platform was developed in collaboration with Ampace, an advanced Lithium-ion battery company and a joint venture between CATL and ATL.

In partnership with financial institutions in Thailand, Sleek EV also provides vehicle financing with no down payment required and at a low interest rate.

Untukmu (Indonesia)

Funding: Undisclosed
Round: Seed
Investors: 1982 Ventures, angels

Untukmu.AI is a Singapore-incorporated startup providing AI solutions for the gifting industry in Indonesia. Launched in January this year, it aims to tackle the complexity of scaling personalised gifts for a broad audience, catering to small businesses, corporations, and self-employed professionals. The platform offers sophisticated tools, such as a gift tracker, budgeting tool, and events calendar — all integrated with social media to streamline the gifting process. Its dashboard allows merchants to manage and increase sales, provide valuable insights into customer preferences, optimise their product offerings, and personalise shopping experience.

Also Read: Tokocrypto founder’s new AI startup Untukmu bags funding to disrupt Indonesia’s personalised gifting market

Rukita (Indonesia)

Funding: US$15 million
Round: Series B+
Investors: MPower Partners, BNI Ventures, Openspace Ventures, NBA star Jeremy Lin, Peak XV’s Surge, Golden Gate Ventures, Shunwei Capital, OCBC Ventures, David Tsang

Rukita is a long-stay rental provider. Founded in 2019 by Sabrina Soewatdy and Sarah Soewatdy, Rukita aims to capitalise on the growing popularity of rental housing among Indonesia’s rising middle class and staggering millennial population. The firm brings together property, landlords, market insights, marketplaces, financing, and tenant service.

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