MAKA Motors nets US$37.6M seed funding
Indonesia-based electric vehicle (EV) startup MAKA Motors on Thursday completed its seed round, raising US$37.6 million.
AC Ventures, East Ventures, and South Korea’s SV Investment co-led the round. Northstar Group, Provident, AlfaCorp, Skystar Capital, Peak XV Partners (formerly known as Sequoia India and SEA), Openspace Ventures, Shinhan Venture Investment, BEENEXT, Kinesys Group, and M Venture Partners (MVP) also joined.
The funds will enable MAKA Motors to scale its operations, expand its R&D capabilities and facilities, and accelerate production.
Founded in 2021 by Gojek’s former Chief Transport Officer Raditya Wibowo and former VP of Transport Business Development Arief Fadillah, MAKA Motors aims to provide electric motorcycles that offer the perfect blend of driving range, power, usability, and durability at competitive pricing.
Salmon nets US$20M debt financing
Salmon, a consumer fintech company based in the Philippines, on Thursday bagged a US$20 million debt facility from US emerging-markets specialist investment firm Argentem Creek Partners.
This will allow Salmon to scale its lending operations across the country further. The fintech firm will expand its loan book, leveraging its existing point-of-sale and cash loan lending, and launch new products in the second half of 2023.
Launched in July 2022 by banking and fintech veterans Pavel Fedorov, George Chesakov, and Raffy Montemayor, the Salmon platform enables customers to access financial products from partners registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the Philippines.
The fintech firm launched its first credit product four months after inception.
Earth VC backs US-based Group14
Singapore-headquartered global impact investor Earth Venture Capital on Wednesday announced it joined the funding round of US-based lithium-silicon battery company Group14.
Other prominent backers of this round are Microsoft’s Climate Innovation Fund, Lightrock Climate Impact Fund, Moore Strategic Ventures, Oman Investment Authority, and Molicel.
This capital raise will enable Group14 to scale up production capacity, expedite research and development efforts, and bring their lithium-silicon battery solutions to market at an accelerated pace.
Group14 develops lithium-silicon batteries by leveraging the unique properties of silicon to offer “unparalleled advantages” in terms of energy density, charging speed, and overall performance compared to traditional lithium-ion batteries. The firm claims its technology has the potential to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles, enable efficient renewable energy integration and transform grid storage.
H1 2023 is the least funded half-year in SEA since 2020: Tracxn
Southeast Asia’s tech startups attracted 71 per cent less funding in the first half (January-June) of 2023 compared to the same period last year, as per the latest report released by market intelligence platform Tracxn.
The decline was primarily driven by a 72 per cent drop in late-stage investments, Tracxn said in its SEA Tech Semi-Annual Funding Report.
Funding into the tech space in H1 2023 dropped to US$2.3 billion from US$8 billion in H1 2022 (US$1.15 in Q1 2023 and US$1.17 billion in Q2). The US$100 million+ funding rounds also dropped to six in H1 2023 from 18 in the same period last year.
H1 2023 is the least funded half-year since 2020. After a peak in 2021, there has been a steady decline; investments fell by 39 per cent in 2022 from 2021, primarily due to the rising interest rates and the current macroeconomic environment.
Hydroleap nets US$4.4M
Singapore-based wastewater treatment startup Hydroleap on Tuesday announced US$4.4 million in a Series A funding round.
Japanese VC firm Real Tech Holdings led the round with participation from Mitsubishi Electric, Seeds Capital, Wavemaker Partners, and New Keynes Investments.
The State Government of Victoria in Australia also joined.
Hydroleap will use the funds to enter new geographies, such as Australia, Japan and Indonesia, over the next two years. The company aims to help companies across data centres, F&B, manufacturing, and mining industries lower their water and carbon footprints by treating wastewater efficiently and environmentally friendly.
Founded in 2016 by Mohammad Sherafatmand (a PhD from the National University of Singapore in Environmental Engineering), Hydroleap is a next-generation green wastewater treatment company. It offers an automated modular system that does not need any chemicals to perform. The technology works based on electrochemical principles where low-powered electricity is applied to activate the aqueous solution and form coagulant reagents to attract contaminants.
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