In yet another development, Malaysia’s SmartBite has raised US$100K via equity crowdfunding platform pitchIN

SingPost’s US e-commerce units seek bankruptcy protection [Reuters]

Singapore Post said its two struggling US e-commerce units, Jagged Peak and TradeGlobal, have filed voluntary petitions for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as a six-month process to find buyers for the businesses failed.

“Under the supervision of the bankruptcy court, the US subsidiaries intend to pursue the sale of all or substantially all of their assets,” SingPost said late on Wednesday.

The underperformance of the two firms has hit profits at SingPost, which counts Singapore Telecommunications and Alibaba Group Holdings as its biggest shareholders.

Square Yards raises US$20M from PropertyGuru founders [press release]

Square Yards, a tech-led real estate brokerage platform in India, today announced that it has raised US$20 million of equity capital from a clutch of investors, including Bennett Coleman & Co Limited (Times Group); Genkai Capital; Steve Melhuish and Jani Rautiainen, Founders of PropertyGuru; Koh Boon Hwee, former Chairman of Singtel and DBS. Some of the existing investors also participated in this round.

The company wants to aggressively ramp up its investments in strengthening its technology infrastructure, building a go-to consumer brand, as well as expand to newer geographies in emerging countries especially those that have a large primary residential market and fragmented distribution.

Founded in 2014 by Tanuj Shori and Kanika Gupta, Square Yards is a technology-led real estate brokerage and mortgage marketplace. It has 3,000 employees, and presence in 10 countries.

OVO announces Karaniya Dharmasaputra as President Director [press release]

OVO, Indonesia’s leading digital, rewards and financial services platform, has announced the appointment of Karaniya Dharmasaputra as President Director of PT Visionet Internasional (OVO), taking the helm from Adrian Suherman who led OVO for three years.

Dharmasaputra is Co-founder and CEO of Bareksa, the first integrated online mutual fund marketplace in Indonesia and also as Co-founder and Chairman of Indonesia Fintech Association (Aftech).

Before building Bareksa, Karaniya held positions in leading media companies, KOMPAS TV, KapanLagi Youniverse, Liputan6.com, The Jakarta Post, VIVA, and Tempo.

Dharmasaputra said: “This trust is a mandate for me to sharpen OVO’s perspective, becoming more than a fintech company into a strategic partner for the Indonesian government in accelerating financial inclusion and digital economic growth. As more and more people adopt digital payments, we should also put stronger focus on educating the community, enabling them to fully enjoy the benefits of digital economy.”

Malaysian AI-powered SmartBite raises US$100K funding [press release]

SmartBite, an AI-powered food delivery startup catering to working professionals in the Central Business District (CBD), has raised over RM418,000 (approximately US$100,000) via a successful equity crowdfunding campaign on the pitchIN platform.

This brings the total investment amount to over RM2.93 million (US$700,000). Previously, SmartBite has raised around US$300,000 from two series of funding and has received a strategic investment from Marna Capital, Rhombus Food Holdings, the founder of Hop Lun, Eric Ryd, Noodles Digital as well as angel investors from Asia and Europe.

The investment will be used to expand its corporate offerings in catering and employee benefit programmes. The SmartBite programme helps companies manage their F&B requirements for events, meetings and any corporate activity, by providing their platform and support to ensure a simpler and faster way to handle the entire process. Corporates can now directly engage SmartBite instead of having to manage multiple suppliers and vendors for their F&B needs.

Wow! Momo raises US$23M from Tiger Global [press release]

Wow! Momo Foods, which owns and operates two quick-service restaurant brands Wow! Momo and Wow! China, has raised Series B funding worth US$23 million led by Tiger Global.

Sagar Daryani, CEO and Co-founder of Wow! China/Wow! Momo, said: “This partnership is indeed a big step forward in our endeavour to become an Indian origin QSR chain with an aim to go global in times to come. We will smartly use the capital infused to further scale our operations backed with disruptive research and development to reach out to a larger consumer base within the country.”

The post Today’s top tech news, Sep 19: SingPost’s US e-commerce units seek bankruptcy protection; PropertyGuru founders invest in Square Yards appeared first on e27.