Hi SEA fans,
Last two weeks, in the news:
š¤ The 11 SEA startups selected by Y Combinator for its W21 batch
š¹ Video-streaming platform AVN completes SPAC merger at US$ 573m combined entity valuation
š£ Facebook & Google to build a new subsea cable connecting SEA to the US
Also, Iām considering putting fundraising news at the end. Feedback appreciated. š
Just funded šø
š®š© Wealth management startupĀ AjaibĀ has raised a US$65m Series A+ fromĀ Ribbit Capital, Y Combinator Continuity, ICONIQ Capital, Bangkok Bank PLC, Horizons Ventures, SoftBank Ventures Asia, Alpha JWC, Insignia Venture PartnersĀ -Ā TechCrunch
šøš¬ Neobank startupĀ StashfinĀ has raised a US$40m Series B fromĀ Altara Ventures, Uncorrelated Ventures, Integrated Partners, Saison Capital, Tencent Cloud Europe, Positive MovesĀ -Ā The Economic Times
šøš¬ Cryptowallet startupĀ imTokenĀ has raised a US$30m Series B fromĀ Qiming Venture Partners, Breyer Capital, HashKey Digital Asset Group, IDG Capital, Liang Jun, Longling Capital, Signum Capital, SNZ HoldingĀ -Ā TechCrunch
š®š© Wealth management startupĀ PluangĀ has raised a US$20m Pre-Series B fromĀ Openspace Ventures, Go-VenturesĀ -Ā e27
šøš¬ NFT startupĀ EnjinĀ has raised a US$18.9m financing round fromĀ Andromeda GmbH, BlockArk, BlockTower Capital, CMT Digital, Crypto.com, D1Ventures, DeFi Alliance, Digital Finance Group, Digital Renaissance Foundation, Fenbushi Capital, Genesis Block Ventures, Hashed, HashKey Digital Asset Group, Hypersphere Ventures, Iconium Blockchain Ventures, Kenetic Capital, LD Capital, Pnyx VenturesĀ -Ā VentureBeat
šøš¬ Wealth management startupĀ EndowusĀ has raised a US$17m Series A fromĀ Lightspeed Venture Partners, SoftBank Ventures AsiaĀ -Ā e27
š®š© Social Commerce startupĀ KitaBeliĀ has raised a US$10m Series A fromĀ Go-Ventures, AC Ventures, East VenturesĀ -Ā Digital News Asia
šøš¬ Bookkeeping startupĀ FloBizĀ has raised a US$10m Series A fromĀ BEENEXT Capital Management, Elevation Capital, Greenoaks Capital Partners, Pantera CapitalĀ -Ā Mint
šøš¬ Blockchain Supply Chain startupĀ #dltledgersĀ has raised a US$9.44m Series A fromĀ Regis and Savoy Capital, Vittal, Walden InternationalĀ -Ā Singapore Business Review
š®š© Cloud Service provider startupĀ IDCloudHostĀ has raised a US$5m financing round fromĀ Init 6Ā -Ā e27
šøš¬ Retail SaaS startupĀ NimblyĀ has raised a US$4.6m Pre-Series A fromĀ Insignia Venture Partners, Saison Capital, Sovereignās CapitalĀ -Ā TechCrunch
šµš AI Supply Chain startupĀ ExpedockĀ has raised a US$4m Seed fromĀ Ali Partovi, angelsĀ -Ā e27
š¹š Cloud University startupĀ ConicleĀ has raised a US$3m Series A fromĀ InVent, 500 Tuk Tuks, Stormbreaker Venture, StundiĀ -Ā e27
š®š© Digital Escrow startupĀ TazapayĀ has raised a US$1.75m financing round fromĀ Surge, Saison Capital, RTP Global, January CapitalĀ -Ā e27
šøš¬ UI automated testing startupĀ UI-liciousĀ has raised a US$1.5m Pre-Series A fromĀ Monkās Hill VenturesĀ -Ā Monk's Hill Ventures
šøš¬ VR learning startupĀ ACKTECĀ has raised a US$1m Seed fromĀ Octava, SEEDS Capital, EduSpaze, Govin CapitalĀ -Ā e27
šµš Fintech startupĀ NextPayĀ has raised a US$0.13m Pre-Seed fromĀ Y CombinatorĀ -Ā Tech in Asia
š¹š Constructiontech startupĀ BuilkĀ has raised a Series B fromĀ Beacon Venture CapitalĀ -Ā e27
š®š© Grocery startupĀ SegariĀ has raised a Seed fromĀ Beenext, AC Ventures, Saison CapitalĀ -Ā Tech in Asia
šøš¬ Quantum Sensor startupĀ AtomionicsĀ has raised a Seed fromĀ Wavemaker Partners, SG Innovate, 500 Durians, Apsara Investments, 6th Horizon, Entrepreneur First, Cap VistaĀ -Ā e27
š»š³ Payroll startupĀ GimoĀ has raised a Seed fromĀ BK FundĀ -Ā e27
š»š³ Buy Now Pay Later startupĀ FundiinĀ has raised a financing round fromĀ 1982 Ventures, Zone Startups VenturesĀ -Ā Fintech News
Startups and downs š
š 11 SEA startups have made it to Y Combinator W21 -Ā Y Combinator
š®š© Video streaming platform Asia Vision Network has merged with the SEA-focused SPAC Malacca Straits Acquisition, valuing the combined company at US$ 573m -Ā Tech in Asia
š®š© Coliving startup Flokq has acquired competitor Yukstay -Ā e27
šøš¬ Coliving startup Hmlet's founder has stepped down as CEO, and the CFO and CTO have announced their departure -Ā Tech in Asia
š Coliving startup Hmlet has left Malaysia and Thailand, 6 months after launch -Ā The Business Times
š¹š Insurtech startup Qoala is expanding to Thailand via the acquisition of FairDee -Ā Deal Street Asia
šøš¬ 70 police reports have been filed against cryptotrading platform Torque -Ā Tech in Asia
š»š³ Insurtech Igloo has launched in Vietnam, via a partnership with hyperlocal delivery startup Loship and Mobifone -Ā Vietnam Investment Review
š®š© Buy now, pay later startup Atome Financial has acquired PT Mega Finadana Finance to expand its consumer financing business in Indonesia through the acquisition of a financing licence -Ā Deal Street Asia
šøš¬ Affinidi has partnered with EVA air (Taiwan) for PCR test results -Ā Vulcan Post
šøš¬ Contract manufacturer of meat alternatives SGProtein has announced a factory in Singapore with 3,000t/day capacity -Ā e27
š»š³ Discussion on Asian e-commerce and female entrepreneurship, between Hang Do, founder of SCommerce, and Fanny Moizant, founder of Vestiaire Collective (France) -Ā Spotify
šøš¬ The story of crypto currency exchange Coinhako -Ā Vulcan Post
šøš¬ How Astrea VI Pte Ltd has used digital securities platform iSTOX to tokenize its private equity bonds, reducing the minimum investment threshold to make the product more accessible -Ā TechNode Global
š The story of logistics startup Aersure, as it went through Covid -Ā The Low Down Momentum
The Unicorn Belt š¦
š Grab Financial Group has cumulatively sold over 100 million insurance policies across Southeast Asia from April 2019 to February 2021 -Ā Vulcan Post
š®š© Tokopedia, explained -Ā KrASIA
š®š© Bukalapak is facing a US$6.2m lawsuit from a real estate developer -Ā e27
Venture Capitalists š¢
š B capital has launched its new US$415m Elevate fund and appointed ex-Softbank Daisy Cai has General Partner for its new China investment focus -Ā e27
š®š³ Philosophy of an angel who invested in 900 startups in 7 years -Ā Investor Story
Corporates šØāš¼
š Facebook and Google are planning a new SEA-US subsea cable to improve data capacity by 70%, in partnership with Telin, XL Axiata, and Keppel -Ā CNBC
š®š© Can Stripe succeed in Indonesia? -Ā The Low Down Momentum
š Razer crossed the US$1bn revenue milestone in 2020, turned profitable, with 600m in cash -Ā LinkedIn
š ShopeePay will be integrated to Google Play Store -Ā Tech in Asia
šøš¬ Sea has made a S$50m gift to NUS Computing -Ā NUS
šøš¬ SEA's first lithium battery recycling plant has opened in Singapore -Ā The Straits Times
šøš¬ ComfortDelGro and Engie (France) have partnered for a bid to install 600 EV charging stations -Ā Channel News Asia
š²š¾ After food delivery: AirAsia is onto ridehailing -Ā Vulcan Post
š»š³ Phenikaa Group has launched the country's first autonomous vehicle -Ā e27
šøš¬ Singaporean buses go solar -Ā The Straits Times
Smart Nations šļø
š What's the status in terms of vaccination for ASEAN nations? -Ā LinkedIn
š In H1 2020, ASEAN surpassed EU as China's largest trading partner -Ā 21č“¢ē»
š²š² The US has cut trade ties with Myanmar -Ā TechCrunch
šøš¬ NUS will offer two new graduate and PhD programs in fintech -Ā NUS
šøš¬ Singaporean households can collect 500mL of free hand sanitizer from vending machines by Temasek Foundation -Ā The Straits Times
Food for thought š
š Monk's Hill Ventures has published a detailed report on salary ranges for SEA CEOs, CTOs, engineering and product roles -Ā Monk's Hill Ventures
š Tracking data efficiently, the Gojek way -Ā Reforge
š Lazada vs Shopee: a story of rivalry on market localization and corporate culture struggles -Ā KrASIA
šøš¬ 2021 logistics trends to expect in Singapore -Ā e27
š How UX copywriting can influence user decision-making for food delivery conversion rates -Ā Gojek Tech
The Fountainhead ā²
šØš³ ByteDance has acquired Moonton, the studio behind Mobile Legends, for US$4b -Ā Reuters
š®š³ Amazon has acquired retail digitization startup Perpule for US$ 19.7m -Ā TechCrunch
š®š³ Food delivery startup Swiggy has raised US$800m, and is now valued at US$4.9b -Ā Mint
š®š³ Softbank has led a US$300m Series E at $2.1b valuation in social commerce startup Meesho -Ā Medium
šØš³ Cartographic warfare - how to leverage open source to strengthen geopolitics -Ā Rest of World
Also š¤«
šØš³ Air pollution and sandstorms turn the sky yellow and the sun blue in China -Ā the Guardian
š®š© The Great Firewall has hit Indonesian news site Jawapos -Ā Rest of World