MOU signing ceremony between VIZZIO and Institute of Technical Education (ITE)
VIZZIO Technologies, a Singapore-based 3D visualisation and reality capture startup, announced to have closed a S$9 million (~US$6.7 million) pre-Series A funding round joined by an undisclosed Singapore’s family banking office.
As per a press statement, the fresh funding allows VIZZIO to build the world’s largest 3D capture and virtualisation ecosystem, spanning objects, space and cities.
Founded in 2019 by CEO Jon Li, VIZZIO aims to democratise and simplify 3D for the “omniverse” – the next digital reality revolution which offers multiple cross-chain possibilities – as well as the growing metaverse demand.
VIZZIO employs AI-powered geospatial, 3D virtualisation and Digital Twin solutions to enable users – from novices to digital experts – to access 3D-as-a-Service offerings on-demand, helping them to co-create, virtualise and interact with digital realities.
Particularly, the startup assists governments and businesses in offering an immersive yet hyper-realistic digital environment. This allows customers or investors to interact with a digital avatar at a virtual marketplace or Annual General Meeting, or employees to use Digital Twins to build and test out city districts and buildings, complex machinery and related infrastructure.
So far, VIZZIO claims to have successfully delivered 10 new projects and signed on 25 new partners, helping both Singapore-based and international organisations transfer physical assets into the virtual world.
The company counts Singapore leading government agencies and companies including the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF), Government Technology Agency of Singapore (GovTech), National University of Singapore (NUS), Surbana Jurong and AETOS, among its partners.
In collaboration with security and safety solutions provider AETOS, VIZZIO is working on developing Singapore’s largest digital twin for security and surveillance and integrated Facility Management services.
Last year, VIZZO teamed up with Surbana Jurong to undertake the digital modelling of Temasek Polytechnic’s 30-hectare campus covering landscape, linkways and 49 buildings on site.
In early February, the startup also formed a three-year partnership with the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) to launch a new Centre of Excellence – the Universal Omniverse Experience Centre – at ITE College Central.
Besides, VIZZIO is developing a digital human platform with its subsidiary company AUGMENTED HUMAN.
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Singapore-based Appboxo today announced that it has raised a US$7 million Series A funding round led by RTP Global.
Existing investors such as Antler and 500 Southeast Asia, as well as new investors SciFi VC, Gradient Ventures (Google’s AI-focused venture fund), and business angels Huey Lin and Kayvon Deldar also participated in the funding round. This funding round marks SciFi VC’s first investment in Southeast Asia.
Appboxo plans to use the funding to develop Shopboxo, a platform that helps entrepreneurs, brands and SMEs create online stores to offer their goods and services directly to consumers; expand its merchant ecosystem by bringing more businesses to the app, and build out its international partnerships and presence.
With its global expansion plan, the company plans to initially focus on the Asia Pacific region, followed by Europe and the US.
Appboxo provides a platform for developers to create mini apps to be turned or integrated into super apps. Example of mini apps includes mobile wallet platforms that can be integrated into larger e-commerce or lifestyle platforms.
In 2021, WeChat, one of the biggest super app platforms in the world, reported a 12.5 per cent growth in daily active users of its mini app services, bringing the total active user count to a remarkable 450 million.
In addition to Shopboxo, Appboxo also offers Appboxo Miniapp Platform which aims to simplify the process of transforming any app into a super app with user-friendly software development kits (SDKs) and application programming interfaces (APIs).
The startup was established in 2019 by founders Kaniyet Rayev (CEO) and Nursultan Keneshbekov (CTO). It counted companies such as GCash, Paytm, and VodaPay.
“The last couple of years have been incredible for us, and we are continuing to gain momentum as we head into the new year with our Series A funding. We have built a strong global team with fantastic experience behind it and can’t wait to dive into strengthening our products, scaling our business, and establishing new partnerships across the globe in 2022. We are grateful to all our investors for their trust and support,” said Kaniyet Rayev, Co-Founder and CEO of Appboxo, in a press statement.
In December 2020, the company announced a US$1.1 million seed funding from Founders Fund and 500 Startups.
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Over the last decade, the rising popularity of the sharing economy has extended to ride-hailing services, which has transformed the way we commute globally.
Burgeoning demand for this new travel modality is already reflected in the industry’s growth forecasts, especially in Southeast Asia. The region’s ride-hailing industry is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.3 per cent – almost double the global average.
Uber and Grab have long established themselves as major ride-hailing players in Southeast Asia. But despite sharing an industry, both have very different approaches to research and development (R&D).
Grab’s approach appears to be more market-driven, led by insights from customer feedback. In contrast, Uber seems to be more science-driven, emphasising the breadth of its patent portfolio and aiming to diversify its patent base across multiple technological fields.
There is a wealth of academic literature exploring the relationship between intellectual property and corporate technological strength. In the case of Grab and Uber, patent applications highlighted the difference in strategies both adopted to grow in Southeast Asia.
With the acquisition of Uber’s Southeast Asian operations by Grab in March 2018, it appears at first glance that Grab’s market-driven R&D has given it an edge. This raises an interesting question: is market-driven or science-driven R&D more important as a competitive enterprise strategy?
Grab’s ascension story
In 2012, Grab started as the undeniable underdog compared to Uber. However, it grew quickly and soon cemented its position as a leading competitor, culminating in its Uber acquisition in Southeast Asia by 2018. In that year, both Grab and Uber had comparable market shares with active users of around 25 million and 22.3 million, respectively.
One key lesson derived from Grab’s continued success was the importance of localisation as a strategic approach to effectively engage diverse, fragmented markets over the long term. This was the forefront of Grab’s plan, and the company focused on developing a sound understanding of customer preferences and making intelligent investments in infrastructure.
Choosing a differentiated strategy enabled Grab to secure a broad swathe of the market. By 2021, Grab had surpassed its predecessor and was the category leader in Southeast Asia – top-ranked in mobility, delivery and e-wallet services.
Patent filings can be a leading indicator of future service offerings in different geographies. Using PatSnap’s Innovation Intelligence Platform, we reviewed the patent applications of both Grab and Uber between 2015 to 2017, noticing specific differentiators between both companies that influenced their respective growth strategies in Southeast Asia and eventually led to Grab taking the lead.
Based solely on the number of patent applications, Uber appeared to have an overwhelming advantage. They had a significantly higher number of patent applications per year, including an all-time high of 19 applications in 2016 alone, while Grab only had one patent in that year.
Before their acquisition, Uber submitted 38 patent applications within Southeast Asian jurisdictions. In comparison, Grab applied for only 15.
However, numbers alone do not tell the whole story. While Uber had more patent applications before 2018, Grab focused on tailoring its applications to meet local consumer needs, adjusting its services based on local market conditions, and engaging in collaborative R&D with market experts across Southeast Asia.
We also found that while Uber’s applications were principally in Singapore, Grab was diversifying its patent applications more broadly, with some 30 per cent submitted across other regional jurisdictions.
Uber’s hesitation could be attributed to regulatory differences and frequent changes in rules across Southeast Asian countries for ride-hailing. The Philippines first introduced new regulations in May 2015 and temporarily ceased services in some regions.
Malaysia’s regulators only passed bills to legalise ride-hailing in 2017, while Indonesia changed their regulations several times in 2017 and limited ride-hailing rates in 2019.
These cases highlight the uncertain legal environment the industry is exposed to, possibly affecting the tradeoff between potential returns on investments and securing a presence in local markets through the protection availed by intellectual property rights.
But despite that, Grab’s patent presence demonstrates its keen appreciation of and strategy in approaching Southeast Asia as a diverse set of 10 different markets. The company tailored its offerings to address local needs and forged ahead with its patent applications, which highlights its relative strength against Uber in these markets.
As we reviewed significant patents across two critical dimensions in the ride-hailing industry– the provision of services and requests for such services– it was evident that Uber focused on covering the bare business essentials in its applications, which was matching customers with suppliers of ride-hailing services. In contrast, Grab recognised market gaps and created value by striving to plug them.
It focused on identifying under-supplied regions and availing relevant information to drivers. It even applied for patents covering technologies to forecast request patterns in specific geographical areas to enhance driver reliability and availability further.
Unsurprisingly, Grab’s patent applications have been a leading indicator of its rising valuations in later fundraising rounds.
Patent filings may be public, but what is unseen is the work engaged before that stage– the activities are undertaken with a keen eye to customers’ preferences, and tailored solutions thoughtfully crafted to address them. We believe that Grab’s success can be attributed, at least in part, to its IP strategy– as reflected by its patent applications.
While the outlook for the ride-hailing industry is promising in Southeast Asia, it is clear that – as with all industries – the region’s fragmented markets and unique dynamics require an in-depth understanding of a diverse set of local needs.
Grab’s patent filings reflected its decision to pursue a localisation strategy that aimed to provide customised solutions across each market, instead of expecting the market to adapt to the solution.
The results speak for themselves. Today, Grab is Southeast Asia’s largest ride-hailing company and operates in over 465 cities in eight countries – and this is only the beginning of more to come.
This article first appeared on Vertex Holdings’ Newsroom.
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Grow Commerce, an e-commerce aggregator launched by serial entrepreneur and Berrybenka co-founder Jason Lamuda, has emerged from the stealth mode.
Grow Commerce, which acquires Southeast Asian D2C and online marketplace brands, has also secured US$7 million in seed funding led by AC Ventures, with participation from East Ventures and South Korean investment firm Irongrey.
As per a press statement, the new startup differentiates itself in localising Thrasio-style brand roll-up play to Southeast Asia’s unique context — a vast majority of mobile-first internet users, a mix of DTC and marketplace channels for the online, and continuing relevance of offline retail.
Besides Berrybenka, a fashion e-commerce platform Lamuda launched in 2013, Grow Commerce has a portfolio of four more brands, with an annualised revenue of US$20 million. Berrybenka is backed by transcosmos, GREE Ventures, and East Ventures, among other investors.
The firm will drive the next series of brand acquisitions with the seed capital and build technology and operations capabilities to turbocharge its growth.
“…we understand many of the pain points and the end-to-end needs from a brand owner perspective. We look forward to partnering deeply with many more local brand owners and entrepreneurs,” said Lamuda, Founder and CEO, Grow Commerce.
“Grow Commerce is an Indonesia-focused, online-first brand aggregator that has already created a significant moat through their current infrastructure — online and offline distribution channels, supply chain and logistics network. With the current round, they have created a robust plan to acquire fast-growing brands, scale top-line sales, and expand its wider supply chain,” said Adrian Li, Founder & Managing Partner, AC Ventures.
The aggregator leverages proprietary data analytics and technology to select potential categories and brands for acquisitions. It offers brand owners flexible exits through a transparent and straightforward buyout process or the opportunity to partner through the brand’s growth journey with Grow Commerce.
As marketplace experts, the Grow Commerce team keeps a close view of the brand’s supply chain operations and customer experience to ensure they keep step with the rapid sales growth and the brand’s customer trust does not drop.
Grow Commerce has already scaled its team to more than 150 and expects it to grow significantly over the next six months, along with its revenue.
Grow Commerce invites consumer businesses across categories to reach out via their website for an introductory meeting to discuss what joining the Grow Commerce universe can do for your brand.
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I am writing this article as the stock market suffers its worst week in about two years. S&P 500 is off to its worst start since 2016! Tech stocks are hit hard. Bitcoin and Ethereum are not doing great, causing a ripple effect throughout the crypto space.
All that happens as the central bank of the US pulls back its massive stimulus programmes. Programmes launched in the early days of the pandemic to address the enormous uncertainty but resulted in a bull market.
Yet I couldn’t help it, here I am, writing an article on investing. Writing down my reflections on wealth creation has been on my mind for a long time. But I took it a step forward and dug deeper. The end product covers why I started to invest so late, my investment strategy, portfolio, and tools.
While all markets are taking a beating, things will get better; they always do.
We all have regrets in life. One of my biggest ones is not investing earlier. So I want to take my learnings from the past few years and share them as transparently as possible.
I hope that by sharing my thoughts, I will be helpful to others in their investing journey. Yet, please take into consideration how this is not investment advice.
When deciding where to invest, I follow the seven powers framework by Hamilton Helmer:
Does the business demonstrate economies of scale? Companies where the unit cost declines as production volume increases. Think of Netflix.
What about network effects? A network effect occurs when a product or service becomes more valuable to its users as more people use it. Think of Uber and Airbnb.
Is there a counter positioning play? This occurs when a newcomer adopts a new, superior business model to what incumbents are offering. At the same time, the legacy company refuses to mimic the model due to anticipated damage to their existing business. Think of personal (disruptor) VS mainframe computers (disrupted).
Are there any switching costs? A dynamic where transitioning from one tool to another results in considerable costs for the user. So competitors will need to compensate consumers for the switching costs. Examples include SAP and Oracle.
How strong is the brand power? Apple is perhaps the most famous example here. Anything carrying the apple logo can be sold at a higher rate than alternatives.
Are there any cornered resources? Of course, the most common cornered resource is intellectual property like patents. But it could be extraordinary founders like Elon Musk and Steve Jobs. That’s why I am a believer in founder-led organisations.
What about process powers? The best example in this category is Toyota’s production system. Their process required many years to be developed, and the company let competitors study it. Many books have been written on Toyota’s lean manufacturing process. Yet, the company remains the second most valuable car automaker globally (after Tesla).
Having one of the seven powers is sufficient. The more powers a business has, the higher the probability of consistent growth in the years to come. Therefore, the more power a company can demonstrate, the higher my conviction to invest.
But above all that, I ask myself, am I using this product, and how does it make me feel?
If the answer is positive, I understand the value proposition and how the product works. That naturally results in an even higher conviction to invest. So you can argue that my philosophy boils down to investing in things you use and understand.
This year, I plan to add my first investments into startups and real estate. Anyway, given how much I have to learn, I plan to take my time when writing big cheques. Today, my investment portfolio is diversified in the following way:
Stocks
I started with investments in individual stocks of companies I know, use, and understand. Then I drifted into taking small positions in companies I do not use but have read a lot about them.
In such scenarios, I consider the seven power framework. Over time, and as I started managing some of my girlfriend’s money, I have added ETFs to reduce the risk.
I have tried a lot of things and made a ton of mistakes. But, perhaps the most significant mistakes were:
Not having a clear reason why I am investing in a company
Selling during the market crashes
Using the wrong investment platform.
Thanks to those mistakes, I have learned to control myself better. As a result, while I expect more mistakes to follow, I feel more comfortable with my portfolio.
Breakdown of my stock investment returns
Crypto
Once I felt confident enough with my stock investments, I added crypto.
As you might have noticed, I have been spending a lot of time lately learning about and investing in crypto. That led to joining one of the world’s largest finance communities to support their crypto arm with resource curation. Moreover, recently I got invited to speak at Bulgaria’s largest crypto show about my Web3 2022 projections.
While that may sound great, it’s been a bumpy ride. Only now, I start feeling a little bit more confident with my crypto strategy.
Bitcoin and Ethereum make up most of the global crypto market cap, representing 51 per cent of my crypto portfolio.
Additionally, I am bullish on Solana, so 21 per cent of my budget is in SOL. Next, I have invested in other layer-one blockchains like MATIC and AVAX. The remaining has been allocated to stablecoins (so that I can readily invest) and a few other experiments. Last but not least, I have started playing with NFTs too.
Overall, I stay away from meme coins that follow the sentiment on Twitter and Reddit (e.g., SHIBA and DOGE). My schedule does not leave me with any time to stay on top of such hype. I prefer to put money into projects with high utility.
Next, I plan to allocate a bit of money into more layer one blockchains. Think of the likes of Polkadot and Polygon, plus some DeFi protocols like AAVE, Chia, and a few others.
In general, I prefer to have fewer positions with more conviction than a messy portfolio.
I started tracking my investments via CoinTracker in April. Unfortunately, the product makes many mistakes, and I constantly need to fix discrepancies.
Tools
When assessing what platform to use, I pay attention to two things, UI/UX and fees. When I am new to a field, I prefer to have intuitive UI and UX over fees. In my mind, the high fees are an investment in education. A better UX/UI gives me the confidence to invest without being confused half the time.
That was precisely the case with crypto. First, I started with Coinbase because it was the easiest platform I tried out, despite its high fees. Then, as I got more confident, I started using Binance, Crypto.com, FTX, and a few others.
Next, as I started investing more and more, I started thinking of security. That led me to move my assets in what the industry calls hot wallet, aka software wallet.
To begin with, I got Coinbase Wallet. Over time, I have added Metamask and Phantom (the latter precisely for SOL). The wallet acts as your bank account and identity on the blockchain where you can store your assets. In addition, it gives you self custody.
But with great power comes great responsibility. Since no third party manages your wallet, you need to avoid losing your keys. Otherwise, your funds will be lost forever.
A few months ago, I started shifting my crypto investments to what is often referred to as cold storage, aka a hardware wallet. I use Ledger Nano X as it’s one of the most popular wallets out there (plus I received it as a birthday gift). In the same way, your hot wallet requires you to be very cautious with your keys; you need to be very careful with the cold storage.
For analytics purposes, I use Cointracker, the free version is not perfect, but it’s good enough. Under the paid version, the platform helps you estimate your crypto taxes, too (if any).
When it comes to stocks, I have tested several platforms and narrowed down my choices to:
Revolut – for individual stock investment
Gotrade – for ETFs
To summarise, I hope this article comes in handy when planning your investment strategy. As discussed above, I am new to wealth creation, and there is much to learn. However, writing all that down has helped me better understand my process and what I need to improve.
At the same time, if more people would share their investment journey transparently, that could be a fantastic educational asset.
Unfortunately, there is plenty of generic advice on the web that pisses me off. I prefer tactical over vague advice, but it’s hard to find credible, transparent, and well-intended content.
Having said that, nothing beats having skin in the game, so the earlier one starts, the better. That’s why my brother’s gift for his graduation was me coaching him to invest while providing the necessary resources.
That definitely taught him a few valuable lessons. Nowadays, he is texting me weekly to ask for guidance on how to invest, and he is only 23. I wish someone had helped me the same way when I was his age.
Lastly, I want to thank all the people who have been writing great content and guiding me over the last few years.
Disclaimer
None of the information contained here constitutes an offer (or solicitation of an offer) to buy or sell any currency, product or financial instrument, to make any investment, or to participate in any particular trading strategy.
This article does not take into account your personal investment objectives, specific investment goals, specific needs or financial situation and makes no representation and assumes no liability to the accuracy or completeness of the information provided here.
The information and publications are not intended to be and do not constitute financial advice, investment advice, trading advice or any other advice or recommendation of any sort offered or endorsed by the author.
The author also does not warrant that such information and publications are accurate, up to date or applicable to the circumstances of any particular case.
Any expression of opinion (which may be subject to change without notice) is personal to the author and the author makes no guarantee of any sort regarding accuracy or completeness of any information or analysis supplied.
The author is not responsible for any loss arising from any investment based on any perceived recommendation, forecast or any other information contained here. The contents of these publications should not be construed as an express or implied promise, guarantee or implication by the author that readers will profit or that losses in connection therewith can or will be limited, from reliance on any information set out here.
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Hong Kong-based games publisher and VC firm Animoca Brands has partnered with global venture accelerator Brinc to launch Guild Accelerator Programme.
The programme aims to enable millions of people worldwide to generate income by participating in play-to-earn (P2E) gaming via crypto gaming guilds, especially those committed to sustainability. This includes projects that support and give back to player/scholar communities, emphasise energy-efficient proof-of-stake protocols and side chains, and generate lower overall physical footprints.
The programme will fund up to US$500,000 per P2E guild, with a total investment capital of US$30 million over two years.
The new programme will operate as a dedicated track within NFT accelerator Launchpad Luna, launched in mid-2021 as a partnership between Brinc and Animoca Brands.
In January, Brinc also received US$50 million from The Sandbox, a gaming metaverse unit owned by Animoca Brands, to run The Sandbox Metaverse Accelerator programme under Launchpad Luna.
Ex-Funding Societies CPO’s cyber security startup rakes in US$4.3M
Singapore-headquartered cyber insurtech provider Cyber Sierra has announced the completion of its US$4.3 million seed financing round led by Singapore-based Leo Capital.
AppWorks, Credit Saison, and some other angels also joined.
With this funding, Cyber Sierra plans to launch and grow its business offerings to include more products to serve businesses’ risk and compliance needs in line with apt regulatory frameworks.
A portion will be channelled to bring on new hires across all functions and expand its customer base across Southeast Asia, India, and other markets.
Cyber Sierra was founded in June 2021 by Subhajit Mandal and Pramodh Rai, who served as Chief Product Officer at SME alternative financing platform Funding Societies.
The startup offers cyber risk, compliance and insurance products backed by global brokers and insurers. Through Cyber Sierra’s platform, businesses will be able to access several cybersecurity tools, including threat alerts, intelligence feeds, anti-phishing, vulnerability scans and governance features with bundled insurance offerings.
The company provides up to US$5 million of cybersecurity and technology insurance coverage dedicated to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with a presence on the cloud.
watchTowr raises US$2.25M to secure ‘attack surface for enterprises’
watchTowr CEO Benjamin Harris
Singapore-based cybersecurity startup watchTowr has secured US$2.25 million in seed funding from Wavemaker Partners and Vulcan Capital.
watchTowr will utilise the fresh funds to scale its Continuous Attack Surface Testing (CAST) solution and bring on new experienced cybersecurity practitioners.
Established in 2021 by CEO Benjamin Harris, watchTowr directly addresses the challenges organisations face in managing and securing their external attack surface — the total number of all possible entry points for unauthorised access into any system.
Its founder said that its platform solves scope and time restrictions imposed by antiquated, traditional security assurance penetration testing approaches and bug bounty programmes.
“The watchTowr Platform provides organisations with the continuous visibility and scalable assurance they need, combined with regulatory compliance management, to keep up with the flood of emerging weaknesses and the rate of adversary evolution,” said Harris.
Semaai scores US$1.25M to transform rural, agri development in Indonesia
Semaai, a ‘farmer-first’ company building full-stack agritech solutions for farmers and rural MSMEs in Indonesia, has announced a US$1.25 million in pre-seed funding led by Sequoia Surge, with participation from Beenext.
Angel investors, including Nipun Mehra (Founder and CEO at e-commerce startup Ula), Harshet Lunani (founder and CEO of Qoala), and Prashant Pawar (Technology Investment Banker at Houlihan Lokey), participated.
Semaai will utilise the fresh capital to expand its network of service delivery centres, starting with agri-retailers and eventually reaching the vast number of smallholders in rural Indonesia. It aims to deliver its services and impact up to 100,000 smallholders and rural micro, small & medium enterprises (MSMEs) by next year.
Founded in 2021, Semaai offers rural agricultural communities a comprehensive suite of services, including customised consultancy, access to productivity tools such as soil testing technology, and fairly priced farming inputs such as seed and fertiliser products.
Within five months since launch, Semaai claimed to have seen the gross merchandise value (GMV) of products sold to agri-retailers and MSMEs increase by 10x.
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Next Gen Foods, a plant-based food company in Singapore, has raised a US$100 million Series A funding round.
Investors in the round include Alpha JWC, EDBI, and MPL Ventures (UK). Returning investors, including Temasek (through its newly established Asia Sustainable Food Platform), GGV Capital, K3 Ventures and Bits x Bites, also joined the round.
The company plans to increase its global footprint this year.
This deal comes after a seed round of US$30 million last summer, which takes its total funding raised to date to over US$130 million.
Next Gen Foods has also launched in the US to offer its first product TiNDLE across a range of iconic restaurants in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Napa, New York, Miami and Philadelphia. The startup plans to expand TiNDLE to new US cities in the next few months, including Austin. According to CEO and Co-Founder Andre Menezes, the US has long been a target market for the firm.
The new funding will help increase the distribution of TiNDLE throughout all 50 states in the US. In addition, it will also support and increase Next Gen Foods’ R&D and product innovation capabilities at its brand new research hub set to open in Singapore later this year. The centre will act as a launchpad to develop and trial new technologies, applications, and products.
Next Gen Foods also intends to expand its R&D team across Singapore and the US to include additional protein scientists and food technologists with ingredient and product development expertise.
“Within a year, we’ve gone from launch to more than 200 restaurants on three continents. We will continue this relentless momentum in 2022 thanks to strong demand from chefs, distributors and consumers, who love TiNDLE for its great taste and tiny environmental footprint,” said Rohit Bhattacharya, CFO at Next Gen Foods.
Last July, Next Gen Foods added US$20 million to take its total seed funding to US$30 million. This came less than five months after it raised US$10 million from a host of investors, including Temasek and K3 Ventures.
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In today’s increasingly interconnected world, the trend is geared towards global rather than local. Big names in the tech industry have attempted to consolidate everything people need to know all the time and provide that information at their fingertips. At the same time, the information overload tends to become overwhelming, with recommendations, directions, and locations from across the globe conveniently condensed into something as portable as a smartphone.
CiPPo Corporation is one of the startups going against the current. In an interview with e27, CiPPo president Tetsuya Yokoyama lets us in on what sets his company apart. CiPPo’s smartphone app doesn’t aim to capture the largest possible area in its reach; instead, it focuses on connecting small communities. Beyond business, apps and startups like CiPPo inspire community-building in the digital age. Contrary to what has been said about the nature of technological advancement, there are avenues to form genuine connections through tech, and CiPPo might just be one of those avenues.
Localising connections in a globalised world
According to Yokoyama, CiPPo’s app gives clients more information about the specific place where they live, otherwise known as their “local place.” The regional media & SNS application sends information of stores, hospitals, job openings, and other community-related data to users. This makes acquainting clients with their hometown or city much easier. The app also acts as an all-in-one conduit for job seekers and those looking for information on certain establishments nearby, like hospitals, apartment networks, and schools.
Local businesses are matched with potential customers through an in-app search engine. For example, businesses will be immediately notified of any interested customers nearby and vice versa. The app even has push notifications for disaster and crime prevention, allowing its users to send an SOS when necessary. With permission, the app digitises circulation boards for schools and residents’ associations, allowing any publicly available information to be accessed through the app. This makes looking for local establishments easier and less tedious for users who are running on tight schedules. While it might not apply all the time to all establishments, it’s especially helpful for anyone who’s looking for a nearby hospital or parents deciding on the best school for their child.
Through these features, CiPPo aims to be a centralised system within a vast network of communities that helps bring people together. Though ideally regionalised, the app organises information within the given area for quick access to anyone in close proximity. CiPPo’s creative innovation works because it’s a highly specialised experience for each of its users, and it’s with this intent that the app delivers its services.
The localisation of opportunities both for businesses and individuals sounds ground-breaking at a time when most resources and labour are exported to major cities. It’s written on CiPPo’s website that this is one of the things the app and the company in general tries to address, alongside streamlining communication between people, places, and companies. This is one solution that tries to spur local economies and improve livelihood for people without looking outside where they currently are.
A regional innovation waiting to happen
True to its thrust towards localisation, CiPPo is currently available in 46 regions in Japan, and now it’s seeking to expand to Southeast Asia. With the help of the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), CiPPo is looking to fill a gap in the region. Yokoyama tells e27 that the strategy CiPPo will be applying in the Southeast Asian market will largely be franchising. The startup is looking for partner companies that can implement CiPPo in their respective countries and regions, and hopefully specialise the app’s features and contents specifically for its immediate consumers’ needs. These partners will also own their franchise of CiPPo.
For instance, at present several job search websites dominate in Southeast Asia. At the same time, small businesses in the region have their own contact set-ups for customers, which can be a difficult experience for customers who are just looking for a convenient way to connect with their favourite businesses. While having options is good, it would also be great to have a single go-to application that could collect all the information you need within a specific destination, and see what your options are, which is exactly what CiPPo offers.
The Southeast Asian region presents itself as a lucrative consumer base for apps like CiPPo precisely because of its vastly diverse population and interests. As a thriving melting pot of cultures, people, and varying degrees of economic development, Southeast Asia would be an interesting market to explore for the startup. In particular, it would be exciting to see how each country, community, and city in the region would implement its own version of a small community app fostering genuine connections between customers, businesses, and public institutions. With the right partnerships, CiPPo could be a tour de force in the Southeast Asian region, changing the way we look at our communities.
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This article is produced by the e27 team, sponsored by JETRO
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Bree-Ann Yek, a climate change champion, met Florian Bohnert, who has similar interests, at a venture builder programme at Antler Singapore. The duo wanted to develop a modern tech solution to address this pressing issue and reverse the climate catastrophe, with a heavy focus on Southeast Asia.
“Southeast Asia is a relatively untapped space when it comes to carbon offsetting at a large scale. But it holds a lot of promise in terms of its ability to fight climate change,” says Yek. “We aim to build a win-win solution for maintaining our collective responsibility towards reversing the climate change over the long-term based on this technological spine.”
To achieve their goal, Yek and Bohnert joined hands with Xenon, an experienced techie, to set up Carb0n.fi in 2021.
Carb0n.fi builds an online platform to allow people to put their crypto-assets to work and get rewarded with carbon offset NFTs and its native $ZRO token. It means when you deposit your crypto-assets in Carb0n.fi, you’re empowered to counterbalance the carbon emissions that you create.
Using blockchain to address climate change
In other words, Carb0n.fi is an ASEAN-focused blockchain solution firm aiming to establish a carbon-zero world for the people, by the people. It combines investments, allows its users to reap the benefits from these investments, and at the same time contributes to environmental sustainability all at once.
The world over, people and organisations act in their self-interest. There is a mutually inclusive bridge between intrinsic behaviour and saving the climate, believes Yek. “As our ecosystem grows, our real-world transition will be effected through integration with the EU, the UK, the US and other centralised exchanges to create opportunities for our users to benefit from carbon arbitrage.
Yek started her career trading bunker fuel before launching startups to recycle plastics. She brings many years of commodities trading, legal, and environmental volunteer experience. The climate champion is also involved in Southeast Asia’s various sustainable growth communities and projects.
Bohnert (CMO), on the other hand, spent 15 years building purpose-driven, environmental and social projects as founder, advisor, mentor, and investor. Xenon (CTO) has experience optimising yields and working on future use cases of DeFi.
According to Yek, there is a perception that NFTs are detrimental to the environment. Carb0n.fi is here to change this. In her view, NFTs can play a significant role in fighting climate change.
“Most carbon offset markets are centralised today, and it is pretty hard to efficiently track the source and avoid double-spending in these markets due to market inefficiencies and technical data protocols. Carbon offset NFTs are 100 per cent transparent, and anyone can track them at any time. We will provide an interface allowing users to track every asset we create and are being transferred at every step of the way,” elaborated Yek, who earlier founded The Verdant Room, an energy management system provider.
“We believe that carbon offset NFTs will better deliver the real-world value of carbon offsets. That’s why our vision is to become a new standard in the industry,” she said.
As for the target userbase, Yek said Carb0n.fi aims to bring carbon offsetting and carbon neutrality to both experienced crypto natives and non-crypto natives. She claimed that the solution is highly scalable since it’s a decentralised software.
The startup boasts of thousands of people in its community from across the world. As the number grows, the company plans to enhance its platform. Carb0n.fi’s technical architecture would allow it to eventually handle trading volumes of millions of units of carbon offset NFTs, she claimed.
“To extend the opportunity of environmental rescue to non-crypto users and corporations, we will also develop a mobile app to allow users to invest in carbon offsets affordably and seamlessly. The app will enable real-world companies to offset their carbon emissions and allow carbon offset projects to tokenise their carbon offsetting activities. This will allow us to reach everyone globally and integrate everyone into a larger climate movement. After all, climate change is an issue everyone faces,” Yek elaborated.
The company’s ultimate goal is to partner with centralised actors and establish national carbon exchanges.
Catering to both B2B and B2C
Carb0n.fi caters to both B2B and B2C clients. It charges a small fee on the transactions on its carbon offset exchange. It will focus on individuals within the crypto world in the short term and target companies that are familiar with crypto and have crypto on their balance sheets.
“These companies can allocate a part of their assets to be deposited into our platform, and for that, they will receive carbon offset NFTs. Finally, our app will enable non-crypto-savvy companies to benefit from the same platform and services in a traditional interface,” Yek noted.
As Carb0n.fi builds the product and keeps the community updated and engaged, it faces the challenges of meeting the demand. “Our community is looking forward to the release of our platform. It takes a well-experienced team distributed worldwide to answer all the questions they have. Thankfully we have a great team and partners as well as suppliers that aid us in doing just that.”
Early last month, Carb0n.fi announced a US$600,000 seed financing led by cryptocurrency VC firm Owl Ventures, with participation from Blockseed Ventures, Lancer Capital, and Antler Singapore, among others
The round also included an angel consortium of 13 fintech and crypto individuals, including Byron Grigoratos.
The round was completed in the lead-up to its initial dex offering (IDO) on the CardStarter launchpad (scheduled for January 19th, 2022) and TruePnl. The firm has no immediate plans to go to the market for a follow-on round.
“Our ultimate motivation is not only to fight climate change but also to empower the masses to take their future into their own hands and create a better world that our children will one day inherit. We work with the future in mind,” Yek concluded.
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Indonesia’s AC Ventures names ex-Qiming exec as Venture Partner
AC Ventures, an early-stage VC firm focusing on Indonesian startups, has appointed Helen Wong as its new venture partner and senior advisor.
Wong has over two decades of experience in China and Southeast Asia and worked with GGV Capital and Qiming Venture Partners. She also served on the boards of high-profile Chinese internet companies, including Tudou/Youku and Mobike.
She has expertise in strategy/development, team training, investments, and portfolio support.
“The challenge for Southeast Asia has always been the fragmented nature of the market,” said Wong. “This means that focusing on Indonesia, the biggest market to test out your product-market-fit, and then expanding out to different countries later is often a good strategy.”
Last December, AC Venture raised US$205 million in committed capital for its oversubscribed Fund III, backing early-stage local technology startups, mainly in the pre-Series A stage.
With over 35 investments completed in Fund III thus far, AC Ventures will double down on deepening their investment team and value creation teams with a plan to expand total team size by over 50 per cent this year.
Susli Lie joins Monk’s Hill to support its Indonesia business and ESG programme
Monk’s Hill Ventures today announced the appointment of Susli Lie as Partner, who will be responsible for building the Indonesia business, spearheading its ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) programme, and supporting portfolio companies on the ground.
Lie first joined MHV as a Venture Partner. Prior to MHV, she co-founded ErudiFi, a tech-enabled education financing company in Southeast Asia (backed by MHV and Y Combinator in its early days).
In addition, MHV has also promoted Eunice Wong to Principal in Singapore and Natasha Gunawan to Senior Investment Analyst based in Indonesia.
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