Antler, eFishery CEO invest in Kora
Kora, an agritech startup focused on innovations in the post-harvest maize sector in Indonesia, secured US$400,000 in a pre-seed funding round from Antler and eFishery founder and CEO Gibran Huzaifah.
The new capital will allow Kora to broaden its operational scope, providing better technological assistance to farmers in Lampung, Indonesia.
Founded in 2022 by Dian Prayogi Susanto, Kora aims to elevate the quality and output of post-harvest maize, a crop selected for its pivotal role in Indonesia’s agricultural supply chain and its impact on animal feed costs. Strategically, the startup aims to disrupt the conventional maize supply chain by uniting all parties involved — from farmers to middlemen — under a streamlined B2B model.
Novelship bags US$9.5M
Singapore-based online streetwear marketplace Novelship raised US$9.5 million in a Series B funding round led by East Ventures, iGlobe Partners, and GSR Ventures.
The company will use the fresh funds to amplify its brand presence across Southeast Asia, involving logistics improvements, authentication process refinement, expansion of in-house collections, and optimisation of eco-friendly delivery methods.
Founded in 2018, Novelship is a marketplace for buyers and sellers to trade 100 per cent authentic sneakers, limited-edition apparel, and exclusive physical and digital collectibles.
Novelship said it has rapidly expanded in recent years, with a compound annual growth rate of 37 per cent in revenue and 55 per cent in transactions.
Ascent Venture launchesUS$200M fund
Indonesian VC funds ARISE and Centauri Fund merged to form Ascent Venture Group, with a corpus of US$200 million.
The fund will invest in 25 high-potential, early-stage, tech-enabled companies focused on Indonesia and the rest of Southeast Asia with a “thesis-driven” approach. The key focus sectors are MSME enablement, financial service digitalisation, and neo-consumer, climate, and healthcare across Southeast Asia.
The venture platform has four partners, ten investment professionals, and supporting staff across Jakarta, Singapore, and Seoul offices. Ascent is managed by serial entrepreneurs and investors Aldi Adrian Hartanto, Hans De Back, Kenneth Li, and Eric (Jung Ho) Yoo (representing KB Investments).
SIMPPLE lists on Nasdaq
Singaporean proptech company SIMPPLE commenced trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the ticker symbol “SPPL”.
The company has listed 1.6 million shares on the Nasdaq at US$5.25 apiece and expects to raise aggregate gross proceeds of US$8.4 million from the offering of about
The capital will be used for R&D, IP strategy and implementation, scaling up sales and marketing into overseas markets, opening selected satellite offices, potential acquisitions and strategic investments, and working capital and general corporate purposes.
Founded in 2016, SIMPPLE is an advanced technology solution provider in the emerging proptech space, focused on helping facilities owners and managers manage facilities autonomously.
US$100M fund KXVC to back deeptech, Web3 startups
KASIKORNBANK (KBank) launched a new US$100 million flagship fund KXVC, targeting global AI, Deep Tech, and Web3 fintech startups who would like to enter and expand in Asia Pacific (APAC).
The fund will be led by KBTG Group Chairman Krating Poonpol, who has a track record of over 100 investments, four unicorns, and 10 exits across five funds, and KXVC Managing Director Jom Vimolnoht, who experienced US$400 million in startup investments and backed more than 35 startups in the region.
KXVC plans to invest in over 30 startups and funds globally with a geographic focus in the US, EU, Israel, and APAC, with the ability to lead and participate in a funding round.
Buyandship scores US$10M
Buyandship, a global cross-border e-commerce platform headquartered in Hong Kong, made the first close of its Series B round with a US$10 million strategic investment led by Cool Japan Fund.
The company will use the capital to automate operations and R&D in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning capabilities, as well as to expand into Southeast Asia.
Buyandship aims to offer consumers a “simple and intuitive e-commerce experience” to purchase products globally. Over the past 12 months, it has built an automated shopping assistant, utilising a Robotic Process Automation (RPA) model to boost its order processing capacity.
SEC investigates Society Pass
The Supreme Court of the State of New York (the US) ordered Nasdaq-listed Society Pass to award a significant block of pre-IPO shares that could be valued as much as US$6.61 million, with up to an additional US$2.38 million penalty interest, to its co-founder and former CMO Thomas O’Connor for the breach of the Common Stock Purchase Warrant, court documents accessed by e27 showed.
Granting the partial summary judgment in O’Connor’s Motion against the data-driven loyalty company in May 2023, the court ruled that he had “validly exercised his right to purchase 1,148 shares of Society Pass Incorporated under the terms of the Warrant”.
As per Society Pass co-founder and CEO Dennis Nguyen’s deposition in the court (a copy of which is in e27‘s possession), each pre-IPO share is indicatively worth US$5,763, which translates to US$6.61 million. Adding the court-sanctioned penalty interest of 9 per cent per year will make it approximately US$9 million in total as of today.
Parallax nets US$4.5M
Parallax, a Blockchain-powered money remittance startup based in the Philippines, received US$4.5 million in a funding round led by Dragonfly Capital, with participation from Circle Ventures (the issuer of USDC), General Catalyst, gumi Cryptos Capital, Palm Drive Capital, Comma Capital, and Firsthand Alliance.
Angel investors, including Zach Abrams (former Head of Product at Brex/Coinbase) and founders and operators at various fintech companies, also joined the round.
The fintech startup will use the money to grow the team and scale its operations.
Founded by Mika Reyes (CEO) and Alex Kuang (CTO), Parallax aims to provide “fast and cheap ways” to move money globally. It leverages blockchain technology to provide near-instant and cheaper (claims to save 83 per cent in fees) international payments.
Temasek, NUS, NTU to invest US$55M in deeptech startups
The Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore), the National University of Singapore (NUS), and Temasek launched a joint S$75 (US$55) million pilot programme to accelerate the creation of successful deep-tech startups from the pipeline of research at NTU and NUS.
Temasek will invest S$65 (US$48) million, mostly through its early-stage deep-tech investing platform Xora Innovation, in deeptech startups, while NTU and NUS will each invest S$5 million.
Temasek and Xora will collaborate with NTU and NUS to launch and build globally competitive ventures with strong potential to address large global market opportunities in energy transition, biotechnology, and the future of computing and cognition.
In addition, the two universities will develop a common Intellectual Property (IP) licensing framework, which will expedite the licensing and translation of university technologies for spin-off companies. The outcome will be a shorter process of one month instead of the usual period, which can take up to five months.
Vertex Ventures closes Fund V at US$541M
Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India closed its fifth and newest fund with commitments of US$541 million, exceeding its original target of US$450 million.
Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India Fund V (VVSEAI Fund V) is backed by existing and new LPs, including sovereign wealth funds, financial institutions, corporates and family offices across Asia and Europe. Japan Investment Corporation, International Finance Corporation (IFC) and DEG (German Development Finance Institution) are some of its LPs.
The fund corpus includes a dedicated co-investment envelope of US$50 million for co-investing alongside the main fund in female-founded startups. More than 35 per cent of the startups in VVSEAI Fund IV have at least one female founder, and this envelope will be used to further the fund’s intention of supporting more women entrepreneurs.
Wego acquires Travelstop
Singapore- and Dubai-headquartered Wego, which runs an online travel marketplace in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), acquired Travelstop, a business travel and expense management company.
This strategic move will expand Wego’s reach into business travel and expense management.
The acquisition will also empower Singapore-based Travelstop to tap into Wego’s regional network and provide enhanced services to its customers.
The combined platform will provide businesses with a one-stop solution, enabling them to manage their corporate travel needs while gaining greater visibility and control over expenses.
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