gojek in superior talks with Tokopedia for a US$18B merger; They’ve signed an in depth term-sheet to conduct due diligence of one another’s enterprise; gojek and Tokopedia have thought of a possible merger since 2018, however discussions accelerated after deal talks between gojek and Seize reached an deadlock. Extra right here
gojek, Tokopedia make not-so-strange bedfellows as they pursue union; Having an e-commerce biz in its portfolio would broaden gojek’s enchantment to public market buyers; For Tokopedia, a merger would assist command the next valuation within the capital markets and pose stronger competitors to Shopee; The mixed entity spanning ride-hailing, funds, e-commerce, and meals supply might increase bigger swimming pools of capital at sooner tempo within the public markets. Extra right here
GoBear shuts down amidst decreased demand for its monetary merchandise, providers; So far, the startup has raised US$97M from buyers similar to Walvis Participaties and Aegon; Final Might, it acquired digital lending platform AsiaKredit; As of Might 2020, GoBear had 100+ business companions and its providers had been utilized by over 55M individuals. Extra right here
Conglomerate Malaysian United Industries (MUI) to step up concentrate on startup investments; It created an early-stage VC car Pan Malaysia Ventures in Aug 2020; MUI goals to put money into tech or tech-enabled companies on the seed or Sequence A stage, primarily in Malaysia, and likewise throughout SEA; It has no instant plans of elevating from exterior buyers as it would make investments from its stability sheet. Extra right here
India witnesses a string of startups becoming a member of unicorn membership; As per information compiled by Enterprise Intelligence, Pine Labs, Nykaa, Unacademy, Razorpay and Postman have joined the membership; 2020 additionally introduced the primary unicorns from the Indian social media and content material house: Look and Dailyhunt; India is anticipated to be house to 60K-62K startups by 2025, together with 100 unicorns. Extra right here
Indonesian robo-advisory platform Bibit snags US$30M; Traders are Sequoia India, East Ventures, EV Progress, 500 Startups; In 2020, the corporate claims to have added 1M+ first-time buyers; As per a report, the variety of retail buyers within the nation grew by 56% y-o-y in 2020, primarily pushed by millennials. Extra right here
Europe- and Asia-focused SPAC Poema International raised US$300M in US IPO; Peoma plans to checklist on NASDAQ; The SPAC seeks to finish enterprise mixtures with companies which have validated applied sciences and engaging unit economics, with a selected concentrate on Europe and Asia. Extra right here
Genomics tech startup Nusantics raises Sequence A led by East Ventures; The Indonesian agency will use the funding to proceed to innovate within the area of microbiome evaluation and medical diagnostic kits; The corporate is at the moment growing its third-generation COVID-19 PCR take a look at equipment that may detect SARS-CoV-2 in a salivary pattern. Extra right here
Indonesian edutech firm Zenius raises pre-Sequence B; Traders embody Alpha JWC, Openspace, Northstar, BeeNext; The corporate affords an internet platform specializing in growing vital pondering and scientific reasoning; A yr in the past, it secured US$20M Sequence A from Northstar. Extra right here
Singaporeans working for high e-commerce companies are probably the most unhappy in SEA regardless of larger salaries, finds research; The iPrice research additionally finds that that solely 31% of girls occupy C-level roles inside e-commerce corporations within the area; General, there’s a 60-40 disparity between women and men on the subject of being in positions of energy. Extra right here
Bullish VCs spot large promise in Vietnam’s e-logistics; Logistics is in its preparatory part with a number of untapped potential and can explode by 2022, in response to Do Ventures’s Vy Le; Given there’s an growing demand in home consumption for overseas items, each first-mile and last-mile actions in Vietnam are anticipated to change into extra vibrant. Extra right here
Heritas Capital goals to hit preliminary shut of US$30M fund II in H1 2021; HVF II goals to put money into as much as 15 seed and Sequence A startups in sectors starting from foodtech to edutech throughout Asia; The VC agency just lately led a US$3M Sequence A+ in Indonesian edutech Cakap. Extra right here
Singapore emerges as foodtech hub, because of state help; Town-state has positioned foodtech as a key trade deserving of help from state entities from the R&D stage all the best way to market entry and gross sales; It has sturdy IP rights safety and a extremely expert expertise pool. Extra right here
Singapore-based AI meals ingredient evaluation platform ProfilePrints secures 7-figure pre-Sequence A; Traders embody SEEDS Capital, Glocalink, Go away-a-Nest, BP de Silva Group; ProfilePrints permits meals growers, collectors, wholesalers, producers and retailers to foretell high quality profiles with out human intervention or destroying the pattern. Extra right here
Malaysian life-style social commerce platform Poptron raises US$1M from a NASDAQ-listed co.; It’s planning to lift a further US$375K by way of pitchIN; Poptron connects microbrands promoting high-quality, pure and eco-friendly merchandise or artisanal items with like-minded international customers. Extra right here
Prime 5 fintech predictions that may take over the world in 2021; Digital banking is gaining immense recognition; The primary purpose for this evolution is that it supplies buyer due diligence and likewise eliminates tedious verification processes primarily based on paperwork and visiting banks bodily. Extra right here
Vietnam attracts international funding in tech-driven companies; With rising curiosity, sci-tech and ICT have continued to be among the many most tasty sectors to worldwide buyers and companies in Vietnam in 2020, regardless of the pandemic; The nation’s whole registered FDI in sci-tech and ICT hit about US$1.25B within the first 11 months of 2020. Extra right here
How blockchain will help fight ongoing fraud within the Halal meals trade in SEA; Through the use of blockchain, the meals trade can now make sure that the meals offered is traceable again to the supply; Meals fraud usually includes mislabeling or utilizing faux labels, as within the case of the Malaysian Halal meat scandal. Extra right here
Tribecar companions with Carro, NTUC Revenue to launch usage-based motor insurance coverage in S’pore; In contrast to standard mounted prices auto insurance coverage premiums, usage-based insurance coverage costs are tied to the car’s mileage, location and timing consumption; Tribecar has adopted this insurance coverage programme, permitting it to supply car-sharing leases from US$0.38 per hour. Extra right here
Digital tendencies that may remodel SEA companies in 2021; Digital onboarding and coaching of workers, interacting and dealing with clients remotely, and enabling digital communications for patrons and stakeholders will probably be vital. Extra right here
Vietnam’s fintech forecast to be sturdy this yr, pushed by the creation of regulatory sandbox; The sturdy improvement of fintech in Vietnam was pushed by the fast development of e-commerce platforms and the federal government’s efforts to speed up digital transformation and cashless funds to deal with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Extra right here
The brand new ‘self-service’ period: the place B2B promoting is headed in 2021; B2B consumers have come to crave the ‘Amazon-like’ expertise they’ve change into accustomed to of their private lives; Sellers have to make data round product particulars and buying strategies clear proper on their e-commerce platform to supply a seamless purchasing expertise. Extra right here
Singapore-New Zealand digital economic system partnership takes impact; It permits corporations in each international locations to conduct biz with better effectivity, elevated belief, diminished prices or digital boundaries; It should additionally facilitate cooperation amongst SMEs, with capacity-building efforts and dialogues held to advertise data sharing and trade. Extra right here
Temasek-backed ABC World Asia leads Sequence C spherical in Indian farm-tech startup CropIn; Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan’s household workplace and UK’s CDC Group additionally joined; The AI startup supplies SaaS merchandise to farms and improvement organisations globally to enhance predictability, effectivity and sustainability of crops; CropIn has raised $33.1 million to date. Extra right here
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