gojek reportedly invests in wearable devices startup Zulu – DailySocial
Indonesian ride-hailing giant gojek has invested in local wearable device maker Zulu, according to a report by DailySocial.
Citing sources familiar with the matter, the report named the investment as gojek’s first foray to consumer tech space. The amount of the investment and what the startup is planning to do with it, were undisclosed.
Founded by CEO Nathan Roestandy and CTO Yusuf Syaid, Zulu builds wearable devices for motorcycle riders such as anti-pollution masks and Bluetooth-enabled helmets. Zulu products are exclusively sold on Lazada platform.
Both gojek and Zulu have not released any official statements regarding the investment.
India’s InterviewBit raises US$20M in Series A funding round – TechCrunch
Bangalore-based computer science education programme InterviewBit has raised a US$20 million Series A funding round, TechCrunch reported.
The funding round was led by Sequoia India, Tiger Global, and Global Founders Capital, among others.
With the funding, the startup also announced that it is rebranding its online coding programme InterviewBit Academy to Scaler Academy.
The computer science education programme is aimed at college graduates and young professionals. It implements an income-sharing model (“human capital contract”) which has been gaining popularity recently.
India’s JSW Ventures makes first close of US$49M fund – Dealstreet Asia
JSW Ventures, the venture capital arm of Indian steel and energy conglomerate JSW Group, announced the first close of its new INR350 crore (US$49 million) fund at INR150 crore (US$21 million), Dealstreet Asia reported.
“We will put the first cheque of US$2-3 million, followed by US$2 million more across rounds, for 10-12 companies and plan to invest in four companies a year,” JSW Ventures Managing Partner Gaurav Sachdeva said.
The report further explained that while its INR100 crore first fund in 2016 was entirely backed by the Jindal family, founder of the steel and energy giant, the latest fund is anchored by the Jindals with a 30 per cent commitment of the fund.
The rest is being raised from limited partners or investors in a fund such as high net worth individuals, family offices and banks.
JSW plans to invest in Series A rounds in companies that have already found its product-market fit. They should also have a few investors such as angels and incubators or accelerators on board.
SGInnovate Founding CEO Steve Leonard to leave in May – e27
Singapore government-owned startup builder and investor SGInnovate announced that its founding CEO Steve Leonard would be concluding his term in May 2020.
“The conclusion of my current term in May represents a good time for organisational renewal. Every team moves forward based on fresh ideas and energy, and I’m very confident in the men and women of SGInnovate to continuously bring new capabilities to the deep tech startup ecosystem in Singapore,” Leonard stated.
Prior to his role as the CEO of SGInnovate, Leonard served three years as the Executive Deputy Chairman of the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA), a government statutory board under the purview of Singapore’s Ministry of Communications and Information.
He also serves on the advisory boards of a range of universities and organisations in Singapore, as an independent non-executive Director at SingPost, and AsiaSat, a Hong Kong Stock Exchange-listed commercial operator of communication spacecraft.
The post Today’s top tech news: gojek reportedly invests in wearable devices startup Zulu appeared first on e27.