Hi technauts!
On the menu today:
Gojek raises US$150m and launches partnership with Telkomsel 💰, last mile delivery startup Loship launches radio to enjoy waiting for orders 🎧, 37 VCs pledge US$800m investment in the Vietnamese ecosystem 🏛
A Gateway to the West
Just funded 💸
🇮🇩 Superapp Gojek has raised a US$150m from Telkomsel - Nikkei Asian Review
🇸🇬 Waste management startup Blue Planet has raised a US$10m financing round from Sysma Holdings - The Business Times
🇸🇬 Healthtech startup Mednefits has raised a US$5.95m Series A from BLoyalty - Tech in Asia
🇲🇾 Foodtech startup Food Market Hub has raised a US$4m Series A from Go-Ventures, SIG - DealStreetAsia
🇸🇬 Corporate services provider startup Sleek has raised a US$4m financing round from SEEDS Capital, MI8 Limited - DealStreetAsia
🇸🇬 B2B Lender startup Cash-IN-Asia has raised a US$3.74m financing round from DeClout Ventures - The Business Times
🇸🇬 B2B e-commerce startup SourceSage has raised a US$2.2m financing round from iGlobe Partners, Wavemaker Partners - Tech in Asia
🇵🇭 Proptech startup AQWIRE has raised a US$2.1m Series A from Spiral Ventures, Gentree, Betatron Venture - e27
🇮🇩 Foodtech startup Mangkokku has raised a US$2m Seed from Alpha JWC - e27
🇸🇬 HRtech startup Pulsifi has raised a US$1.8m financing round from angels - Entrepreneur
🇸🇬 Healthtech startup Safe Space has raised a US$0.25m Seed from Andy Lim - Tech in Asia
🇸🇬 Community startup theAsianparent has raised a Series C from SCB 10X, Fosun International, JD.com, Vertex Ventures, ATM Capital, Redbadge Pacific, Mirae Asset Financial Group, NAVER Corporation - e27
🇮🇩 Chatbot startup Kata.ai has raised a Series B from MDI Ventures, the Trans-Pacific Technology fund - Tech in Asia
🇮🇩 Fintech startup Finantier has raised a Pre-Seed from East Ventures, AC Ventures, Genesia Ventures - LinkedIn
🇵🇭 Cloud Kitchen startup MadEats has raised a Pre-Seed from Justin Mateen, Luis Sia - e27
🇻🇳 Last mile delivery startup Lozi has raised a financing round from Vulpes Investment Management, Daal Ventures, Wealth Well, Eucagi Ventures, KI Group - Tech in Asia
Startups and downs 🚀
🌏 The Surge 4 cohort has been revealed: 50% are SaaS companies, US$45.35m raised in total - LinkedIn
🇸🇬 AI startup Near has acquired location intelligence company Teemo (France), formerly known as Databerries - TechCrunch
🇻🇳 500 Startups Vietnam has invested US$150k in 9 startups post demoday - Tech in Asia
🇸🇬 Cybersecurity startup Acronis has acquired cyberconsultancy firm CyberLynx (Israel) - Tech in Asia
🌏 BePOS, Stringee, GoDee, Papaya and Vbee are the winners of Grab Ignite's first cohort - Tech in Asia
🇻🇳 Last mile delivery startup Loship has launched a radio for you to listen to while waiting for your order, in collaboration with podcast platform Voiz - Lozi Blog
🇸🇬 Accredify's digital health passport enters testing phase with the HK travel bubble - LinkedIn
🇸🇬 The US military has reportedly bought user data from muslim community focused everyday services app Muslim Pro through a third party - Vulcan Post
🇸🇬 According to CrowdStrike, 28% of ransomware-hit SG companies end up paying a ransom, on average US$1.47m - Singapore Business Review
🇮🇩 Interview with Jakob Rost, CEO of open bill network Ayoconnect - AsiaTechDaily
🇸🇬 How hybrid casual gaming publisher Habby went from US$1m to 181m revenue in a year with its hit Archero - Tech in Asia
🇹🇭 EV motorcycle manufacturer SWAG EV has opened its first store - Swag EV Blog
🇲🇾 Drone startup Aerodyne has bought drone inspection firm Sensorem (Australia) - KrASIA
The Unicorn Belt 🦄
🇸🇬 The Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore has lifted restrictions on Grab's pricing system, a necessary step for the approval of the platform fee it has requested earlier this year - KrASIA
🌏 Gojek is preparing a management reshuffle to focus on payments - Tech in Asia
Venture Capitalists 🎢
🇻🇳 37 VCs pledge to invest US$800m in Vietnam startups over the next 5 years - e27
🌏 MDI Ventures, Finch Capital (EU) are launching Arise, a US$40m fund dedicated to SEA pre-Series A rounds, with average ticket size of US$250k-US$3M - e27
🇮🇩 BRI Ventures has reached the first close of its venture fund Sembrani Nusantara at US$10.6m, from Grab, Celebes Capital, Fazz Financial Group, Investree - Next Unicorn
🌏 New Wave and Emissary Capital have announced the launch of a US$50m fund for SEA startups - e27
🌏 The-Wolfpack has launched its US$5m debut fund, to focus on SEA D2C startups - e27
🌏 Square Peg Capital (Australia) has recruited ex-Stripe Piruze Sabuncu as head of its investment practice in Singapore - Tech in Asia
🇰🇭 500 Startups has formed a partnership with gov't backed Khmer Enterprise to support local entrepreneurs - Tech in Asia
Corporates 👨💼
🇮🇩 Google has pledged US$11m for MSMEs (capital loan, in partnership with Kiva) & job support (grant to NGO Plan International Indonesia Foundation) - The Jakarta Post
🇸🇬 Dyson has announced a US$3.68bn investment, which includes a manufacturing hub in Singapore - Vulcan Post
🇲🇾 HuaweiPay is now available in Malaysia, through a partnership with UnionPay International and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China - Digital News Asia
Smart Nations 🏛️
🇻🇳 Vietnam's Education Ministry has partnered with smart contract platform TomoChain to archive student records on a blockchain - Coin Desk
🇸🇬 Klook, Traveloka, Trip.com, Changi Travel Services and GlobalTix are the online booking partners for the Singapore Tourism Board’s US$239m recovery & voucher program - Phocus Wire
🇸🇬 The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) has partnered with innovation agency Paris&Co (France) to develop the tourism sectors in Singapore and Paris through exchange programmes between startups and information sharing. - TTG Asia
🇲🇾 The Malaysian gov't has scrapped a US$10.5bn port project in Malacca due to delays in reclamation works - Sea Trade Maritime News
Food for thought 🍜
🇮🇩 Indonesian mobile gaming studios only capture 1% of the national market; challenges of Indonesian studios to compete with larger foreign players - KrASIA
The Fountainhead ⛲
🇮🇳 +43 Chinese apps banned; apparently all Chinese apps have been purged from the top 500 now - TechCrunch
🇨🇳 Uber for trucks Manbang has raised a US$1.7b funding round from SoftBank Group and CapitalG. - TechCrunch
🇨🇳 Agricultural drone maker XAG has raised US$182m led by Baidu Capital and Softbank Vision Fund 2 - KrASIA