This article is published as a part of a partnership with Future Food Asia. Soos Technology is one of the 11 finalists of the US$100,000 Future Food Asia (FFA) 2020 Award to be hosted from September 21-25.

What comes first, chicken or egg?

It is a classic question. But even eggs are not born equal. The poultry industry is tasked to provide, with chicken meat and eggs, a cheap protein source for fighting global hunger. And so for farm owners, every point of profit counts.

But hatching male layers is pointless (male broilers are still the star of the farm) and has led to this disastrous industry practice of male culling. What if humans could work hand in hand with Mother Nature and put an end to it?

Enter Soos Technology, an Israeli startup that has developed for chicken a sex-reversal technology, something the aquaculture industry has been practicing for many years.

Soos’ proprietary incubation system affects the sex development process and turns genetic males into functional female chicks. While the industry has been obsessed with early sex detection, with solutions that are still sub-optimal in terms of biosecurity and efficiency, Soos deals with the root cause of the problem.

Music to chicks’ ears

Yael Alter, CEO and Founder of “Soos Technology” said that the idea for Soos started after she met her colleague and co-founder Nashat Haj Mohammad in an industry event. He had discovered that sound vibrations could induce sex reversal in poultry embryos.

As an industry veteran, Yael realised this was a game-changer for the poultry industry. Every year, the egg industry exterminates 7.5 billion male chicks since they have no commercial use. It’s not just an ethical issue, it’s also a plain waste of resources.

Also Read: How Crowde aims to empower smallholder farmers in Indonesia

Instead of putting two million eggs in incubators you can get the same result with one million if you can tell male from female before. Together with Nashat, Yael decided to turn the challenge into an opportunity and make it a business.

Soos started off with small laboratory incubators of 50-100 eggs on which the concept was validated. They then expanded their R&D facility to include three industrial incubators, a pullet house for 1,500 pullets and a layer house.

These figures are still modest for an industry where the average hatchery hatches 164,000 eggs per year but they enabled Soos to fine-tune the technology and reach a good level of repeatability.

It is essential if you want to disrupt a well-established industry where production is demand-driven and hatcheries need to be very precise on forecasting their output. Otherwise, capex is engaged, and incubators could remain idle.

Soos brilliantly illustrates that improving animal welfare (by saving billions of male chicks from a gruesome death each year) and improving profitability are compatible, with the right level of innovation and technology.

At a time where alternative proteins are the talk of the town in the VC industry, Soos is here to remind us that there are unaddressed challenges in the animal protein industry, and more talents are needed to address them.

Where are the males?

Speaking of talents, since the company’s establishment in 2017, Yael was lucky enough to be able to recruit a team of extremely talented and dedicated individuals, sharing the same vision to transform the poultry industry.

But is it really luck? Yael’s enthusiasm is infectious, not to mention the psyche, perseverance and grit she has demonstrated all along.

Also Read: No animals were harmed in the making of this ‘meat’ burger

Since Soos was announced a finalist of Future Food Asia 2020 (FFA2020) finalist Yael is excited to see the interest for Soos from all over the region. As one of the rare female entrepreneurs in the male-dominated agritech industry, Yael is rightly proud of her achievements and she hopes to see more and more women in high positions in this and other industries.

A cause she will be able to advance further thanks to this exposure.

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Both the insurance and technology industries in Indonesia have lately generated great interest among national and foreign investors. In addition, the technology industry is also revolutionising the life of millions of people in Indonesia, it is changing consumer behaviour and is driving the development of the entire country.

Insurtech is, therefore, one of the most exciting and promising industries to be exposed to today in the country.

Indonesia remains the fastest growing market for insurance globally. A study by Munich Re Economic Research shows that Indonesia will lead the growth in Health and Life Premium with CAGR of 9.1 per cent from 2019 to 2030.

For total premium income in the whole year of 2019, insurance companies operating in Indonesia secured IDR185.3 trillion (US$12.6 billion) for life insurance and IDR80.12 trillion (US$5.5 billion) in total premium income for health insurance.

Furthermore, the insurance industry in Indonesia has benefited from the COVID-19 situation thanks to a higher awareness among consumers about life and health risks. In fact, a chart by Lifepal shows the speedy recovery of the Indonesian gross premium income for life insurance in 2020 after the pandemic hit earlier in the year.

Moreover, the growth percentage in June brought the insurance premium income in June 2020 into a number exceeding June 2019.

Despite growing at an exciting rate, buying insurance for Indonesian customers is not easy and transparent. Customers often have limited access to options as they need to talk to insurance agents that are not always educated about the insurance policies, not allowed to sell multiple brands, and do not help customers after-sales. 

In some cases, traditional agents have created mistrust and are no longer capable of helping more educated and digital consumers. The confusion for all the terminologies and bias recommendations from agents has made finding the perfect insurance policy more of a matter of luck than a carefully planned action.

Also Read: How insurtech is changing the game in Southeast Asia

Lifepal aims to solve these problems by being the trusted financial advisor thanks to technical content and policies reviews about insurance and financial planning, the possibility to find compare from the largest selection of policies in the country and receive convenient support and assistance pre and post-purchase such as easy claim, policy management and emergency support.

As an online insurance marketplace focusing on consumers, Lifepal has gained the trust of over four million monthly visitors, one million social media followers and 50 insurance brands with more than a selection of 200 products ranging from health, life, automotive, employee benefits, and other insurance products.

These numbers make Lifepal the biggest insurance marketplace in the country by the size of the inventory, online visitors and registered users.

Lifepal technology is directed to use data of Lifepal’s millions of visitors and understand their needs well before matching them with the most relevant insurance policy for their needs, wants, and budget.

“With our agent technology and recommendation engine, empowered by objective consultants, we hope to continue being the trusted source for those looking for insurance especially in turbulent times such as the pandemic. We see customers appreciating our services from our large social media base and sales growth that has been growing ~50 per cent every month since the beginning of COVID-19, despite the 20 per cent drop in the overall insurance industry this year,” mentioned Giacomo Ficari, Co-founder and CEO of Lifepal.

The founding team comprises executives of Lazada and Indonesian tech entrepreneurs that, after the success in building the online marketplace for consumer goods, are now focusing on building an online marketplace for insurances.

“Benny, Reza, Nico and I got together in January 2019 by common negative experiences with our insurance agents. We realised that the entire customer experience is currently broken: from selecting objectively the right coverage and using it with assistance when emergencies occur.”

Also Read: Asian insurtech on the rise: An overview of the main players

“We realised the important role that a “reliable friend” and technology can play when choosing and using the right insurance. Hence, our tagline ‘Teman Andalanmu’,” continued Giacomo.

Aligned with the Indonesian government’s target to increase financial literacy, Lifepal routinely publishes data-based articles and social media posts, making clear topics within personal finance, financial planning, investments, business, stocks, and insurance. 

The varying backgrounds in the team help them extract and articulate data in a manner that is relatable and easily understandable by the public. Lifepal hopes to help more Indonesians to have a true understanding of their own financial planning and protection. 

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Bridgetown Holdings, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) formed recently by Peter Thiel’s Thiel Capital and Pacific Century, on Thursday filed for an initial public offering (IPO) with the US Securities and Exchange Commission to raise up to US$500 million.

A Renaissance Capital report says, the Hong Kong-based Bridgetown “plans on targeting a company in Southeast Asia with operations or prospective operations in the technology, financial services, or media sectors”.

What is SPAC and what does it mean?

As per Investopedia, SPAC is a company with no commercial operations that is formed strictly to raise capital through an IPO to acquire an existing company. They are also known as blank-check companies.

While the concept has been around in the market for many years and is used as a mechanism to bring companies public in the US, it has been relatively new to Asia, where companies are yet to jump on the SPAC bandwagon.

There could be many reasons for this “lack of enthusiasm” among Asian companies, one being that SPAC has less shine compared to a traditional IPO because perception-wise, it provides a less-than-ideal signal to the strength of a business.

“Conventional wisdom points to companies preferring typical IPO route where they get to go on a roadshow to raise funds, project a positive image or branding, and by way of market forces, command for competitive pricing,” says Dave Ng, General Partner of Altara Ventures, a newly-launched US$100 million plus fund in Singapore.

Also Read: What Ant Group’s upcoming IPO means for the Southeast Asian startup ecosystem

Notwithstanding, SPAC brings into table many benefits for companies looking to raise capital. Speed is one, meaning SPAC is faster than a traditional IPO and it involves less process and legwork needed to go public. It can also be a great way to introduce liquidity into tech companies as well as experienced executive talent into private companies.

“Because of these advantages, people are increasingly turning to SPAC as an alternative. Recent examples include DraftKings and Virgin Galactic,” Ng adds.

What does Bridgetown IPO mean for SEA?

No doubt, SPAC means more pathways to exits and liquidity for Southeast Asian (SEA) companies. It is also a great validation of the long-term potential for the region and its founders, employees and investors, experts feel.

“This is just another example of how Southeast Asia will be a driver of growth globally over the next five to ten years,” says Vinnie Lauria, Managing Partner, Golden Gate Ventures.

Specifically, Bridgetown’s targeting a tech or media company in Southeast Asia implies a few things: 1) the trend is picking up in the region, given the need for a quicker option to go public, and 2) there is also an appetite in the market coming from investors and as well as companies in the region’s tech and media industry.

Agrees Sanjay Zimmermann, Senior Associate at White Star Capital, saying he sees more SPACs being announced in the future. “Having seen the more than 100 SPACs emerge in North America earlier this year, we are not surprised to see this new SPAC coming out to focus on Southeast Asia. We welcome this initiative, which will provide an alternative path to liquidity and access to public markets for one or more rising tech, financial services or media company in the region.”

“We expect to see more Southeast Asian SPACs being announced over the coming months and look forward to seeing the impact that this will have on generating a new path to exit and/or funding for startups in the region,” Zimmermann predicts.

Echoing a similar view, Chia Jeng Yang, Principal at Singapore-based Saison Capital, shares that SPACs can be an excellent way to balance both global public investor exposure to the region as well as allow leading tech companies to focus on building its future.

“As SPACs allow for companies to customise their entry into the public markets (through how much/when they sell, lockup periods, incentive instruments, etc), they can be helpful for companies that may have a longer-term growth story,” shares Yang.

Also Read: ‘Growth at any cost’ has shifted to ‘growth with reasonable unit economics and a path to profitability’: White Star Capital’s Sanjay Zimmermann

What is the flip side?

Data suggests that SPAC is witnessing a boom in the US. According to Pitchbook, the amount of SPACs in the US rose drastically to over 100 in 2020 from just 46 in 2019.

This is expected to have some reverberations in Asia as well, given IPOs are becoming harder due to the situation created by the COVID-19 outbreak.

But can SEA companies make the most of SPAC?

Although SPAC usually means the buyout of a huge stake in one selected company, it may not mean much for companies in SEA, according to Sergei Filippov, Managing Partner, Morphosis Capital Partners.

“I do believe that majority of SEA startups won’t see this money coming in and won’t benefit from SPAC, as these are not traditional early-stage VC investments with multiple startups in a portfolio,” predicts Filippov.

Instead, this money (US$500 million being raised by Bridgetown) will be perfectly targeted to merge with the soon-to-be-acquired company to eliminate the pricing uncertainty that comes with traditional IPOs.

In his view, the Bridgetown IPO might also be related to Palantir Technologies’s delayed IPO and is an attempt to get funding from Singapore’s Temasek Holdings.

“But it is too early to say that but let’s see how this money will be used,” concludes Filippov.

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Image Credit: Founders Fund

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“Conscious consumption” or a more healthy way of diet has been the driving trend in the foodtech sector for the last five to ten years, finds a new study.

Companies are creating alternative and plant-based protein and dairy, incorporating alternative ingredients such as CBD and algae, and developing free-form and cell-based food, says the White Star Capital study.

This is largely due to a shift in people’s values of food consumption, towards a healthier lifestyle.

According to Pitchbook, a company providing private market data, a significant chunk of the market share will be taken away from the US$350 billion annual meat market.

Also Read: Bringing home the (mock) bacon: How Burgreens aims to transform Jakarta’s vegan food market

This is because a massive number of people are now switching from animal-based proteins to plant-based ones because of COVID-19 where many reports identify meat markets as the source of the virus.

Food innovation and bio-engineered food have been predicted to continue growing annually by 10 per cent with the possibility of reaching US$104.6 billion by 2025.

This has largely provided a surprise opportunity and boost to this industry, but North America has maintained domination in the market in terms of global sales.

However, more Asian companies are also coming up to join the trend.

Most of the current innovations in Southeast Asia are now centred around alternatives to animal products.

The White Star study further says Asia and North America have driven VC funding in the foodtech segment globally, attracting over US$33 billion over the last three years.

In Asia, on-demand food delivery and grocery sales are growing at a 24.4 per cent CAGR, accounting for a 55 per cent share of the global online food delivery market, which is driven by high adoption rates of super apps such as WeChat.

Pet food is a sub-sector that has grown more than 33x since 2011, reaching US$375 million globally in 2019 — primarily driven by changing pet owner values and preferences for things like natural and organic ingredients.

Also Read: Bühler invests in Big Idea Ventures New Protein Fund; to invest in up to 100 plant- and cell-based firms

White Star Capital is an early-stage VC firm which primarily invests in North America and Europe. Its portfolio companies include Asia Innovations (Hong Kong), healthy meal startup Freshly (New York), rewards app Drop out of (Toronto), on-demand photo platform Meero (Paris), ride-sharing mobility platform Tier Mobility (Berlin), and dog food startup Butternut Box (London).

Last year, White Star Capital opened a new office in Hong Kong.

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Image Credit: Burgreens

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Yummy Corp., which runs a cloud kitchen management company under the brand name Yummykitchen in Indonesia, has raised US$12 million in Series B funding, led by SoftBank Ventures Asia.

Other participants in the round include Vectr Ventures, Appworks, Quest Ventures, Coca Cola Amatil X, Palm Drive Capital, as well as existing investors Intudo Ventures and Sovereign’s Capital, also co-invested.

This comes less than a year after the startup received a total of US$7.75 million in Series A, led by SMDV (Sinarmas Digital Ventures) and Intudo Ventures.

Also Read: gojek’s VC arm invests US$5M in India’s cloud kitchen startup Rebel Foods

Launched in June 2019, Yummy Corp. is a cloud kitchen and online catering brand Yummykitchen, focused on using the latest technology to develop innovative solutions for corporates and F&B brands.

The startup not only rents out shared kitchen space but also carries out operational procedures on behalf of partner brands to help them accelerate their expansion and reach wider consumers.

To date, Yummy Corp. claims to have served over five million meals and has over 70 kitchens serving more than 50 brand partners to manage their daily F&B operations.

Also Read: With Wahyoo, traditional eating stalls have the economic makeovers they never knew they needed

“We have seen unprecedented growth for Yummykitchen. With this funding, we will focus on our mission to take an active role in helping the F&B industry grow their delivery business, especially during this pandemic,” Mario Suntanu, CEO of Yummy Corp, said.

The year 2020 has been a relatively difficult year for many industries in Indonesia. Various restrictions placed in the effort to suppress the growth of pandemic cases have had many impacts across different sectors, including F&B.

However, some F&B businesses — especially those who have focused on digital channels — have actually shown a positive increase.

In March last year, Yummy Corp. acquired online catering service pioneer Berrykitchen for an undisclosed sum.

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Image Credit: Yummy Corp.

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Recently there has been a revival of point-of-sales (POS) loans, which has driven the success of a clutch of startups offering Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) solutions.

If you have done any online shopping in the last few months, as many consumers around the world have during COVID-19, you have probably seen several interest-free instalment payments offers depending on where in the world you are located.

POS loans have become increasingly popular worldwide thanks to a demographic of young, urban, cash-strapped millennials, most of whom don’t have credit cards. Although the concept of instalment loans is not new, for these millennials, who are entering a stage of life where big-ticket purchases are becoming more relevant and, many are choosing to borrow at the checkout counter.

New face of commerce

From Klarna (in Europe) that has doubled its valuation to over US$10 billion; Affirm in the US that’s rumoured to be nearing an IPO; to AfterPay, the Australian competitor that’s seen its stock increase 800 per cent this year; Oriente in Southeast Asia, that counts Wix Capital as an investor and serves over seven million customers; to even digital payments behemoth PayPal, who last week announced it was throwing its hat into the mix with the launch of “Pay in 4” its new BNPL (buy now, pay later) product that provides an interest-free, equal instalment plan (initially available in the US only).

These companies are reshaping the commerce and payments landscape by allowing consumers to conveniently finance their purchases and make incremental payments over a designated period.

Klarna, the Swedish pioneer in this space, which last week announced a mammoth US$650 million fundraise has seen its US customer-base grow 600 per cent in the first half of 2020 and now serves over 90 million customers globally.

Sebastian Siemiatkowski, co-founder and CEO of Klarna, said, “We are at a true inflexion point in both retail and finance. The shift to online retail is now truly supercharged and there is a very tangible change in the behaviour of consumers who are now actively seeking services which offer convenience, flexibility and control in how they pay and overall superior shopping experience.”

Also Read: Can Millennials turn their data into dollars?

Not surprisingly, over a third of US consumers have already used a BNPL service, according to this recent study by Ascent. A separate report from PYMNTS.com reveals that 87 per cent of consumers aged 22 to 44 are interested in monthly instalment plans similar to BNPL services.

As consumer spending shifts from offline to online, BNPL adoption has also spiked for smaller items and amongst merchants, fintech, and traditional financial services and payments companies.

Banking meets fintech

Some major banks are also getting into the BNPL business. Goldman Sachs recently launched a point-of-sale (POS) deferred payment plan called MarcusPay that allows customers to break payments into monthly instalments over 12 to 18 months.

This system is different from other BNPL apps in that it charges interest, but like its competitors, it does not carry additional fees. Last week, Microsoft announced it would let consumers finance the new US$499 Xbox in monthly payments through a partnership with Klarna in the UK and Citizens Bank in the US.

This trend is starting to gain momentum in emerging Asia, where an upwardly mobile population holds vast potential for retailers. Seventy per cent of the people in Southeast Asia – a region of more than 650 million people – are still unbanked and don’t have credit scores, credit cards, bank accounts, or access to credit.

They are, therefore, unable to purchase big-ticket items or shop online easily – sometimes even living on unrealistically tight budgets until they receive their monthly paycheques. The opportunity for BNPL is, therefore, significant.

New-age consumers, especially millennials, increasingly want simpler mobile-based financing solutions that are easy and hassle-free. These consumers do not want complicated interest charges or associated fees.

The chance to split up payments for a new pair of shoes or a kitchen appliance instead of paying the full amount upfront is appealing to many consumers, especially the younger generation who don’t tend to use credit cards and may find them intimidating.

Also Read: ASX-listed Afterpay acquires EmpatKali to take its ‘buy-now, pay-later’ biz to SEA

Embraced by youth

BNPL solutions such as Cashalo, Hoolah, Finmas, and others can be accessed by consumers anytime and anywhere from the comfort and safety of their mobile devices. By establishing a completely digitalised application process, there is no cumbersome paperwork involved, and consumers can use their credit immediately across a nationwide network of retail merchant partners.

In emerging markets such as Indonesia and the Philippines, it’s not even a question of whether these consumers have good or bad credit. Unfortunately, people in these markets have no credit.

Consumers, especially underserved and underbanked consumers, are simply looking for simple, honest, financial services that provide them with the flexibility they need. We’re excited to be able to shape this new payment category for consumers in a meaningful way.

There is growing consumer hunger, particularly among younger consumers, for transparency and control of their credit products. Not only that, but easy-to-understand solutions will also result in faster adoption because of the enormous credit and financial literacy gap.

For consumers that are less financially literate, an accessible, transparent, and simple solution becomes invaluable because they appreciate the predictability of these ‘instalment’ payments and knowing exactly when they will end.

CB Insights recently recognised Oriente, among the 110+ Start-up Transforming fintech in Southeast Asia, for its innovative POS lending solutions built around a strong social purpose. The company’s fintech platforms enable millions of credit-invisible consumers to establish a financial identity, take control of their financial future, improve their economic well-being, and build a credit profile.

It’s also important to remember that BNPL solutions benefit merchants too. These digital tools help broaden the consumer base for merchants of all sizes by offering risk-free payment alternatives and customer insights.

Also Read: 500 Startups invests in buy-now-pay-later services startup Split

Data provided by Oriente-owned Cashalo indicates that its BNPL solution has increased sales for its merchant partners by over 20 per cent on average and become the second most used payment channel after cash, overtaking credit/debit cards in less than 18 months.

“In today’s challenging retail and economic environment, merchants are looking for trusted ways to help drive average order values and conversion, without taking on additional costs. At the same time, consumers are looking for more flexible and responsible ways to pay, especially online,” said Doug Bland, SVP, Global Credit at PayPal, in a statement about the launch of its Pay in 4 product.

In July, Shopify partnered exclusively with Affirm to offer a BNPL option to Shopify merchant customers in the US. Last week, the company announced a similar partnership with Tendopay, a little-known company in the Philippines, as it looks to grow in one of the hottest markets in the region.

Consumers expect and want a seamless commerce experience, so expectedly the number of players leveraging and adopting BNPL solutions is increasing. It is encouraging to see the continued innovation and collaboration between established financial services companies, fintech, retail, and e-commerce driving this transformation.

Southeast Asia, home to millions of young, tech-savvy consumers is at the cusp of a digital payment revolution. According to the 2019 e-Conomy SEA report, digital payments will exceed US$1 trillion in transaction value by 2025, and digital lending will be the largest revenue contributor led by innovations in consumer lending and working capital financing for SMEs.

The proliferation of “buy now, pay later” is fast becoming just the unexpected catalyst this movement needs.

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Missed your credit card deadline and calling customer service with the hope of waiving your late fee? Many of us would guilty admit that it has occurred at least once in our lives.

For those who hold multiple credit cards, the problem of tracking credit card deadlines is magnified.

“I have over five credit cards for fuel cashback and shopping discounts. Furthermore, I delay my payments until the last day to maximise my tight cash flow, especially when it comes to running the business,” Co-Founder and CEO of Finory, Kee Hui Jiang, shares with e27 in an interview.

Realising that his current method of tracking deadlines via filing statements by their due dates on his laptop was not a sustainable and efficient solution, he sought to solve this long-standing problem. Thereafter, Finory was born.

A Malaysia-based fintech startup, Finory analyses credit card statement and provide users with key information such as the total amount due, minimum amount, and due dates.

Utilising retrieved data, the app provides timely notifications for users to remind them about upcoming due dates and amount payable. Besides late fees reminders, Finory seeks to provide insights into spending patterns and categories for users to track their personal expenses.

Also Read: This e-credit card allows Filipinos to buy big-ticket items online with easy instalments

“With the non-open banking environment in Malaysia, integrating bank details and statements into an app was a challenge,” Kee shares. Therefore, he came out with an innovative idea to solve this problem with Finory.

Users are required to only forward their monthly bank statement to Finory, where machine learning algorithms will scan through the document and extract relevant information for display on the app.

Building the trust

How does Finory protect the personal privacy of its users?

“We continuously invest in security upgrades to protect user data and privacy. For example, forwarded statements are read and parsed only by the system and no human is required or allowed to read and access the system,” Kee explains. Furthermore, statements are automatically deleted once relevant data has been extracted.

To further safeguard user data against potential cybersecurity incidents, Finory does not store any Personally Identifiable Information (PPI) or key account details such as the CVV number and card expiry date.

Finory was not solely born out of the hard work of Kee. Together with his co-founder and CTO, Hassan, the duo had been working together to build up businesses for more than seven years. Before Finory, Kee and Hassan were founders of PicMote, an online image and design tool for e-commerce shop owners to design their banners. Before PicMote, the co-founders exited an e-commerce business that generated over MYR1 million (US$240,000) in annual revenue.

Building on experience

Drawing on learning experiences from previous ventures, Kee stresses that they served as great learning foundations for building Finory. Citing the example of marketing a business, Kee opined that he formulated the marketing strategy of Finory and execute it swiftly due to the experience gained from PicMote and his e-commerce business.

Elaborating on Finory’s plan for the future, Kee shares the team is working on improving algorithms to enable tracking of spending in specific categories such as groceries, fuel, and shopping. He envisions this would aid users in gathering insights on the suitability of each card by measuring its cashback value against the annual card fee.

Also Read: Indian fintech startup GalaxyCard gets you instant digital credit card free of cost

Building on his vision for Finory to be the go-to personal finance app in Malaysia, Kee plans to integrate a recommendation engine centred around the spending habits of a user to recommend the most suitable credit card.

The young startup is currently fundraising with plans to grow its team of four to expand their suite of financial features as it sets out on its mission to improve the financial literacy of Malaysians, one credit card at a time.

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Image Credit: Finory

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Koh Boon Hwee, tech veterans launch US$100M+ VC fund Altara Ventures for SEA; Altara looks to invest US$3-5M on an average in pre-Series A, Series A, Series B companies; Preferred verticals are fintech, consumer, enterprise software, logistics, healthcare, edutech; It has already backed Tonik Financial, Stashfin, Senseye. e27

Beyond Limits secures US$133M to expand AI technology globally; Lead investors are Group 42 and bp ventures; Beyond Limits’s Cognitive AI applies human-like reasoning to solve problems, much like how humans form conclusions using inference and logic. Bernama

Singapore’s digital wealth management startup Syfe closes US$18.6M Series A; Investors are Peter Thiel-backed Valar Ventures, Presight Capital, Unbound; The robo-advisor plans to enter three new markets in APAC in the near future. e27

Co-working spaces operator WORQ secures US$2.4M from Phillip Capital, others; The Malaysian startup will use the capital to grow its space under management 10x to 1M square feet; The firm is looking to inorganically expand its portfolio via acquisitions and partnerships with other co-working space operators and landlords. e27

Malaysian digital payments startup MyMy raises US$2.4M from Koperasi Tentera; It plans to introduce new services, including dividend pay-outs, digital accounts, e-wallets and multi-currency solutions; The 2-year-old startup aspires to be the nation’s first shariah-compliant digital bank. e27

AI-based robo-advisor BigBrainBank raises 7-figure seed funding; Its platform comes with a range of tools ranging from risk level management, news filters, market analysis, to social media sentiments; Its app, The Brain – AI Trade Strategies, has garnered over 60K trial users. e27

Why is Alibaba planning to pour US$3B into Grab?; What Grab has to offer complements Alibaba’s areas of focus and fits into what Alibaba would like to have, namely on-demand logistics infra, regional know-how and established partner networks in each country in SEA; As for Grab, with its super app ambitions, the investment could open up new opportunities. Channel News Asia

Can Millennials turn their data into dollars?; Whether data is used for targeted advertising, predicting buyer behaviour, deploying AI/buying/selling to third parties, it is clear that the fortune of tech firms is built on the intimate info of the users; Companies can take a customer-driven approach to info sharing, empowering the consumer to share and rescind their consent. e27

What Myanmar’s proptech industry is doing to stay afloat despite COVID-19; With revenues declining and profitability out the door in what is now a severely wounded real estate market, reaching investor projections is unlikely; To reach even 25-30% of last FY revenue numbers would be an act of superhuman powers. e27

Singapore must act now to digitalise or risk losing edge, says Trade and Industry Minister; Companies should not be preparing to return to business as usual; Digital transformation is the key to helping the country thrive and transcend the tyranny of geography. The Straits Times

Malaysia could be world pioneer in Islamic fintech, says MDEC; According to IMF, Islamic bank loans had expanded by 8.9% y-o-y in 2018, compared with the 2.5% that conventional banks generated; The growth of Islamic fintech would impact development in rural areas, especially among ethnic Malays. Bernama

New report finds VC investment into climate tech growing 5x faster than overall VC; The investments increased from US$418M per annum in 2013 to US$16.3B in 2019, says a PwC report; Climate tech is quickly becoming more capitally-efficient to prove and scale the technologies involved. TechCrunch

Ohmyhome expands into Philippines; The proptech startup targets to have 2K listings and 40 properties transacted in Q1 of its launch; Ohmyhome operates on a hybrid model — a DIY platform and fully-fledged agency service; The Philippines has a burgeoning property market; Manila is the world’s top housing market for price appreciation at 22% annually. e27

How agritech boom in SEA holds a promise for LatAm; In the agri space, a vast majority of farmers in both regions are smallholders; Obstacles such as limited access to irrigation, the effects of climate change, occupying marginal lands, limited access to machinery and technical inputs and lack of financial and insurance support plague farmers in both regions. e27

The rise of AI-powered solutions in Vietnam’s fight against the coronavirus; Chatbots, telemedicine, other AI technologies will continue to play an essential role preventative healthcare; The nation’s largest telco FPT Corp has released a web-based chatbot that automatically assesses COVID-19 risk. Tech Collective

Singapore’s AI and IoT startup SmartClean bags US$3.4M funding to bring efficiency into cleaning industry; Investors are SEEDS Capital, Ecocare and co-CEOs of Oneberry; SmartClean is currently in the process of raising US$10M Series A; The startup was launched at CapitaLand’s IoT accelerator programme. e27

QBO Innovation Hub joins forces with US Embassy to launch startup incubator in Philippines; The ‘INQBATION: The Take-Off’ will provide selected startups with financial support in the form of grants, loans and fundraising opportunities; To participate, startups will need to have a working prototype and should not have raised more than US$100K in external funding. e27

Why it maybe the opportune time to consider Corporate VC?; As a CVC, it is important to go into the venture with the mindset of building synergetic relationships; This is because CVC is always a two-way street; As a part of a larger corporation, it can be easy for the startup to be overtaken with the corporation’s larger disposable resources and facilities. e27

Buy now, pay later: The changing face of finance for a mobile generation; New-age consumers, especially millennials, increasingly want simpler mobile-based financing solutions that are easy and hassle-free; These consumers do not want complicated interest charges or associated fees. e27

The ease and risk of ‘buy now pay later’ (BNPL) plans; BNPL has the same risks as any other credit products for customers who are inclined to overextend themselves; Buying a high-ticket item with a debit card is still the safest because the customer needs to have the cash in the bank to buy the item. E-commerce Times

What makes Hong Kong the fastest growing startup ecosystem in Asia?; HK has over 7 official unicorns; The government has lowered the taxes and eased its progressive visa policies; With access to the latest tech, considerable govt. funding, and utilisation of tech to reduce biz expenditure, HK’s startup ecosystem is expected to reach unprecedented heights in the near future. e27

Prepping 5G for enterprise use in Thailand; By 2025, some 30% of mobile traffic in Thailand will go through 5G networks, compared with 23% in all of APAC, says a study; While the country’s 5G roll-out preceded most SEA countries, it still lags Singapore and Vietnam. Open Gov Asia

Cybersecurity and digital hygiene in the age of mobile wallet; The uptake of mobile financial services in Myanmar is snowballing; However, along with this, the number of cybercriminals targeting mobile wallet apps, with identity fraud and password theft are becoming more frequent. Myanmar Tech Press

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California-U.S based AI company Beyond Limit has raised US$113 million in a Series C round.

Investors include Group 42, an AI and cloud computing company, and existing investor BP Ventures.

The company will use the capital to expand its services further into the US, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia.

Apart from its expansion plans, Beyond Limit is also launching its Asia headquarters in Singapore and operations in Hong Kong, Taipei and Tokyo.

Also Read: Singaporean deep tech company Dathena eyes North America growth with new HQ launch

Beyond Limit’s goal is to “drastically” improve operational insights with the help of its cognitive AI technology, which combines human knowledge with machine learning techniques. The company mostly focuses on sectors such as energy, utilities, finance and healthcare.

What makes Beyond Limits different is that the company has developed its AI technology at Caltech’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is a federally-funded R&D centre managed for NASA.

Its AI technology applies human-like reasoning to solve problems, “similar to how humans form conclusions using inference and logic” the company stated.

“Today, we are seeing unprecedented, worldwide demand for systems that go beyond the limitations of conventional AI. Our cognitive software can understand situations and place problems in real-world contexts as well as to learn over time,” said Founder of Beyond Limits AJ Abdallat.

Also Read: Today’s top news, May 15: Singaporean AI company AIQ partners Russian social media VK.com

Before this round, the company had raised US$20 million Series B led by BP Ventures in June 2017, according to Crunchbase.

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JomParkir, a startup providing smart parking solutions in Malaysia, has secured an undisclosed amount in Series A round from South Korean VC firm TheVentures.

As part of its strategic collaboration, JomParkir will capitalise on Korea’s advance technology to be a vehicle-to-anything (V2X) tech company in Southeast Asia.

“Our strategic partnership with TheVentures will enable us to enhance our systems and technology in our efforts to lead the digitalisation of the parking industry in Southeast Asia,” CEO Muhamad Nasir Habizar said.

“It would enable us to build the first vehicle data exchange in Southeast Asia, whilst spearheading the parking industry’s transition into adopting the smart city concept. This will bring greater value to all our stakeholders, in particular state and local councils as we advance into the digitalisation of processes and services,” he added.

Founded in 2017, JomParkir aims to provide a range of inter-related parking services. This includes:

• JomParking: a smart parking app that provides a hassle-free parking experience. The app provides cashless payment options and is available for both on-street and off-street parking.
• JomForce: a system that enables enforcers to validate parking transactions more efficiently via real-time reports.
• JomValet: a mobile app for valet operators to manage their parking services more competently.
• JomAgent: a digitalised portable e-ticketing system that provides an eco-friendly solution and allows local councils to reduce their CAPEX and OPEX by 20 per cent.

Also Read: Indonesian smart motorcycle storage startup Soul Parking raises seed funding co-led by AC Ventures, Agaeti

Habizar added that JomParkir wants to spearhead the parking industry’s transition and contribute towards making Malysia a smartcity.

To make this a reality, the company is also working with large agencies such as MARii, Cyberview, MDEC, MaGIC and Cradle.

Currently, JomParkir has over 400,000 registered users on its app. It has over 20 sites nationwide and two sites globally — in Saudi Arabia and Sri Lanka.

It also claims to have recorded a 200 per cent growth rate since 2018.

The onset of the pandemic has sparked the urgency for countries to adopt digitalisation to revive the economy. Many businesses which were offline until now are going online from hawker centres (small food stalls) to payments.

Also Read: Adopt digitalisation and don’t wait for normalcy to return; urges Singapore’s Trade and Industry Minister

“The time is now to accelerate the adoption of technology in response to the COVID-19 pandemic as the shift towards digitalisation is at its peak,” said TheVentures CEO, Chanseong Ho.

TheVentures is an investor and incubator for early-stage startups focusing on technology, community and impact. It has investments in over 70 companies worldwide.
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