As January 2024 unfolds, the pulse of global startup investments quickens, setting the stage for dynamic developments in Southeast Asia. The start of the year has seen a robust trend in venture capital pouring into innovative enterprises, with Southeast Asian startups taking centre-stage in this burgeoning landscape. Amidst the challenging economic backdrop, the resilience and creativity of startups in the region shine through, attracting substantial investments across diverse sectors.
Investors worldwide actively seek opportunities in disruptive technologies, sustainability-focused ventures, and Web3 initiatives, fueling a renewed optimism for the entrepreneurial ecosystem. The surge in funding signals a collective belief in the potential of Southeast Asian startups to drive innovation and address pressing challenges. As we delve into the stories of the startups securing substantial capital this week, it becomes evident that the region is a hotbed of ingenuity and entrepreneurial vigour, contributing significantly to the global narrative of startup investment in 2024.
Toki (The Philippines)
Funding raised: US$1.8M
Investors: Kaya Founders, Foxmont Capital Partners, Anthony Oundjian (BGC Philippines), Brian Cu (SariSuki), and Ernest Cu (Globe), Bigboy Cheng
Round: Pre-seed
Brief profile: Launched in November 2023 by former GCash executives, Toki is a Philippine social commerce platform dedicated to collectibles in Southeast Asia. It aims to bring a seamless experience to collectors’ journey, from discovery to purchase, and address the challenge of unsecured transactions in the market that comprise payments, logistics, and after-sales.
Since its launch, the marketplace has featured over 70,000 products across its first four categories, onboarded 100 curated sellers who rank among the top 30 sellers/resellers in their respective categories, and conducted close to 50 livestream auctions.
Bioworks (Japan)
Funding raised: Undisclosed
Investors: Purpose Venture Capital, Hill Capital, 18 Salisbury Capital, Yagi & Co,
Round: Not specified
Brief profile: Established in 2015, Bioworks is a new material creation company aiming to realise a sustainable, recycling-oriented society. It has developed PlaX, a new carbon-neutral material made from polylactic acid (PLA), a bioplastic made from sugarcane and other plant-based materials, with the addition of a plant-derived additive developed in-house by Bioworks.
PlaX presents a viable alternative to petroleum-derived synthetic fibres like polyester. It is biodegradable and compatible with chemical recycling, in which equivalent materials are reproduced from waste. It can reduce CO2 emissions by 35 per cent compared to polyester during yarn production. Emissions during incineration and disposal are also reduced.
BeWater (Global)
Funding raised: Undisclosed
Investors: OKX Ventures (lead)
Round: Not specified
Brief profile: BeWater is a Web3 venture studio and global developer platform that facilitates the development of open-innovation campaigns and events, including hackathons, in what it claims to be 10 minutes.
With over 100 campaigns underway, BeWater claims to have diverse coding languages, including Solidity, Rebase and Move, coupled with various Layer 1 chains and toolkits such as Starknet, Bitcoin and Polkadot. The company said its platform has attracted over 25,000 GitHub-certified developers from over 50 countries.
HashKey Group (Hong Kong)
Amount raised: US$100M
Investors: Undisclosed
Round: Series A
Brief profile: Established in 2018, HashKey Group is an end-to-end digital asset financial services group. With operations in Singapore and Tokyo, HashKey Group provides innovative investment opportunities and end-to-end solutions in digital assets and the Web3 ecosystem to retail investors, large institutions, family offices, funds, and professional and accredited investors.
Its core businesses also include a global asset manager investing exclusively in blockchain technology and digital assets, a blockchain node validation service, tokenisation services, Web3 PFP incubation, and community operation services.
Meiro (Singapore)
Amount raised: US$3M
Investors: Wavemaker Partners, Angel Central
Round: Pre-Series A
Brief profile: Founded in 2018 by Pavel Bulowski, Jana Marlé-Zizková, and Vojtěch Kurka, Meiro’s Customer Data Platform empowers brands better to understand customer preferences and behaviours across various touchpoints. Through Meiro, brands can use data to improve customer experience and marketing campaign performance, ultimately maximising customer satisfaction and business profitability.
Meals in Minutes (Malaysia)
Amount raised: US$1.5M
Investors: Undisclosed
Round: Seed
Brief profile: Launched in 2020 by Brandon Lim and Khiara Mia, Meals in Minutes serves vacuum-packed, ready-to-cook meals, allowing consumers to whip up a gourmet meal within 15 minutes. All meals are flash-frozen and individually portioned to reduce food wastage without genetically modified ingredients or additional artificial substances.
Prota (Singapore)
Amount raised: US$21M
Investors: SPRIM Global Investments (lead)
Round: Equity and debt
Brief profile: Founded in 2016, Prota focuses on developing and commercialising oral immunotherapy treatments for food allergies. Headquartered in Melbourne, the company owns intellectual property that includes the food immunotherapy technology developed at the MCRI.
Linkko (Singapore)
Amount raised: Undisclosed
Investors: Web3 Media Ventures (lead)
Round: Not specified
Brief profile: Established in 2023, Linkko leverages on-chain analytics to provide advertisers with precise targeting capabilities. The LinkkoAds platform introduces a novel incentive system where targeted users can claim rewards for each advertisement viewed. These rewards range from a few cents to several US dollars per ad, creating an engaging and mutually beneficial consumer experience.
Linkko’s targeting methodology is centred around public blockchain analytics, incorporating factors such as transaction type and volume, owned assets, including NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens), and net worth. This approach generates hyper-targeted behavioural profiles, offering valuable insights to advertisers seeking more effective and personalized outreach.
==
X marks Echelon. Join us at Singapore EXPO on May 15-16 for the 10th edition of Asia’s leading tech and startup conference. Enjoy 2 days of building connections with potential investors, partners, and customers, exploring innovation, and sharing insights with 8,000+ key decision-makers of Asia’s tech ecosystem. Get your tickets here >>
Want more from your Echelon experience? Be an Echelon X sponsor or exhibitor. Send enquiry here>>
The post SEA startups secure millions in funding, unveiling diverse innovations appeared first on e27.