Antler expands to India, hires Rajiv Srivatsa to head country’s ops

Global early-stage VC Antler has announced its plans to launch in India to enable more entrepreneurs to build startups through its platform, support, and global reach.

The local operation will start in Bangalore and be led by Rajiv Srivatsa, Co-founder of Urban Ladder, who is joining as Partner.

Magnus Grimeland, Founder and CEO of Antler said it plans to invest in up to 40 companies within its first year of operations in India through a dedicated fund.

Antler also has plans to expand to other major cities in the country in the next three to five years.

Headquartered in Singapore, Antler already has a global presence in 11 locations around the world. The firm said that it democratises entrepreneurship and works with exceptional founders regardless of background or geography.

Singapore’s AngelCentral invests in female essential products PSlove

AngelCentral, a Southeast Asian community of angel investors, has announced that it has invested an undisclosed pre-Series A amount in homegrown consumer brand for female essential products, PSlove.

With the amount raised from this funding round, PSlove will be expanding its product range and add more markets across Southeast Asia.

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PSlove started off by designing and launching 100 per cent drug-free and odourless pain relief patches that produce heat for menstrual, back, neck, and joint pain relief.

PSlove did a zoom virtual pitch to over 40 angels and hosted zoom office visits where founders showcased their numbers and products.

NTU, Facebook collaborate to launch data centre specialist pilot programme

The Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and Facebook have announced to jointly launch a nine-month pilot programme that will offer new courses aimed at developing local data centre talent, Channel News Asia reported.

The public programme will be started in August and offer four specialist certificates and one graduate certificate, all eligible for funding and mid-career subsidies from SkillsFuture Singapore.

The four specialist certificates are in Design Engineering, Network Engineering, Site Operations, and Facility Operations, while the graduate certificate is in International Construction Management.

After the nine-month pilot, NTU’s Centre for Professional and Continuing Education will progressively introduce more courses in subsequent phases.

Alternative Android app store CWA Store raises seed funding form MRC Ventures-backed MOVA Store

With a mission to make Android apps accessible in developing countries, Singapore’s app store startup CWA Store has raised a five-figure seed funding from MRC Ventures-backed MOVA Store and an unnamed tech company.

CWA said that the funds will be mainly used for regional expansion and product development.

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The Android store was created with the core ideology that everyone deserves access to apps, regardless of their location or phone capacities. Its platform houses many Lite-version apps, suitable for mobile phones with a lower capacity or power configuration.

CWA Store itself is a vertically integrated app development company that’s not solely responsible for the creation of the app store but is an app creator themselves too.

Next, it plans to expand to India, Pakistan, and Indonesia, where there is large Android markets penetration.
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Picture Credit: Antler

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