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Here is a list of startups in Asia that are raising money either from angel investors, venture capitalists, or via token sales. We have sorted them based on the strength of the team, traction, growth, idea, and investor interest.

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SmartCommerce (Singapore)

Description: SmartCommerce is a AI driven digital marketing software. The technology synergize AI to create CRM that generates sales leads, QR code marketing and Omni channel e-commerce. The mission is to create a multi channel sales and marketing automation platform for SME.

Pitch: 100+ corporate customers. Profitable.

Stage: Series A and above

Pixibo (Singapore)

Description: Personal Shopper for Fashion delivering style, size and fit advice personalised for every shopper for every SKU. Web, In-App and In-Store.

Pitch: Revenue ARR $1m, Results: Significant uplift on CR. clear USPs over market players: custom front end, ease of integration ( zero dev. requirement from customers), channel agnostic inc. in-store deployment. Enormous TAM. Experienced team – founders ex-Google, ex-Getty Images.

Stage: Series A and above

NEW: Fasal (Bangalore)

Description: Fasal is an AI-powered IoT platform for precision agriculture. It delivers insights and analytics to farmers to grow more and better.

Pitch: Receive 6-8 request a day. 4 paying customers in 3 months, currently pre-booking for 30 days waiting period. Making distribution partners word wide at present.
Both founders belong to farming families and understand the market very well.

Stage: Seed

ITF Corporation (Singapore)

Description: Profitable Fintech group in Asia focusing on bringing financial
freedom to the masses. Goal to develop a) the World’s First Fintech Bank, b) Fintech Marketplace, c) DigitalTransformation Platform and d) Financial and Investment Education Community Platform.

Pitch: FY 2016/2017 Rev > USD$17.5 M;Net Profit USD$1.1M. Experienced management team > 50 yrs of listco experience;> 20 listco directorships. Renowned investor base -Dr. Lee George Lam, Chairman of Cyberport Hong Kong, Mr. James Beeland Rogers Jr., Co-Founder of Quantum Group of Funds.

Stage: Series A and above

NEW: Tutoroo (Singapore)

Description: Tutoroo connects people to nearby private language tutors.

Pitch: Tutoroo has been matching thousands of students to private language tutors worldwide. Here are some highlights:

• 400,000 SGD in revenue in our first year
• 30% Contribution Margin
• Thousands of happy customers! ==> www.facebook.com/TUTOROO

Stage: Seed

NEW: Velox Networks Pte Ltd (Singapore)

Description: Licensed by the Singapore IMDA to provide telecommunications service, Velox is Singapore’s only native cloud based PBX supplier offering business grade high quality VoIP communications with the full functionality of a high end PBX with zero capital investment

Pitch: Launched April 2017 and profitable December 2017
SaaS business model with 24 month contract
Incredibly low burn rate
Zero customer churn
Low customer acquisition costs
margins in excess of 50%
50+ corporate customers and 1,000 licences deployed in Singapore and globally.

Stage: Series A and above

NEW: SmartBite (Kuala Lumpur)

Description: Eliminating unpredictability and inefficiencies typical in on-demand food delivery services, SmartBite is delighting office workers and restaurants all at the same time.

Pitch: -Over USD 250 K in total sales in 2017
-Experienced team in e-commerce, F&B, technology and data analysis
-Proprietary technology and trademarks
-International investors and partners

Stage: Series A and above

NEW: Stranger Sports (Singapore)

Description: The leading soccer platform in SEA, where people can simply book for a game and turn up to play. Currently in Singapore and Malaysia, we saw 60,000 players engaged in soccer via our platform in 2017.

Pitch: We will disrupt the US$700 billion sports industry by providing the most personalised solutions for all sporting needs. We can do that as we can access in-depth data of our users’ sporting nature when they engage in a sport via our platform. Such data never existed before.

Stage: Seed

Vaultedge Software (Bangalore)

Description: We are a Legal Technology startup. We help Law firms and BPO/Legal Process Outsourcing firms save upto 80% of legal contract review and abstraction time by automating contract reviews using artificial intelligence software. Some of the top Law firms & LPOs are using our software.

Pitch: We have a founding team from IIM Ahmedabad and Stanford with extensive experience, several patents. Founders have prior startup experience. We have paying customers like Accenture. And we are innovating in the multi-billion dollar legal technology space.

Stage: Seed

Latize (Singapore)

Description: Latize’s semantics based engine powers the adoption of AI among organizations in APAC. It is an end-to-end enterprise solution that enables them to harness the power of machine learning in decision making, enabling them to make better, faster and more precise business decisions.

Pitch: Our machine learning platform offers peerless accuracy in insights drawn from complex data sources, allows for integration with modern ecosystems and enables deployment in 3 weeks. Headquartered in Singapore, it has been validated by enterprises in BFSI, Government and Education.

Stage: Series A and above

Innaway (Vietnam)

Description: Southeast Asia’s Top Curated Hotel & Local Culture Ambassador

Pitch: Expedia’s technology partner in SEA & Greater China helping their 5000 agent upselling hotel estimated $8.4M/year in GMV. Team with domain expertise in OTA management and with Lazada, Intel, Netflix; advised by Dominic Cameron (former CTO of lastminute.com).

Stage: Seed

Airfrov (Singapore)

Description: A marketplace to help you get products easily via personal shoppers or merchants from overseas.

Pitch: We are the strongest in our vertical of C2C Personal shopper in SouthEastAsia, have more than 50K MAU and is serving both Singapore and Indonesia customers right now.

Stage: Series A and above

The Storefront (Hong Kong)

Description: Storefront, the “Airbnb of Retail is the world’s leading online marketplace for renting short term retail space. We aim to make 94% of offline retail accessible to any business.

Pitch: Offline channels drive 94% of retail sales and allow brands to connect with their customers in a personal way. We are building the future of retail by making it more engaging, more transparent and more productive. Our vision is to make retail globally accessible.

Stage: Series A and above

NEW: Stringee – Communication APIs for Voice/Video/SMS (Hanoi)

Description: Stringee is a communication platform which provides APIs for developers and businesses to add SMS, voice, video calling to apps without having to build or maintain back-end infrastructure.
So far we are trusted by large companies and have > 10M active users.

Pitch: We’re a Twilio alternative in Southeast Asia. Our pitch deck: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jP3aFX0KrLH7upQbj0PyxxBH4kbK4dq8/view?usp=sharing

Stage: Seed

FitGear (Kuala Lumpur)

Description: A fast-growing lifestyle consumer brand with the vision of helping 100 million people to live better at lower cost.

Pitch: We only began with RM3000 (US$700) startup capital but has successfully grown to make RM2.4mil (US$600K) in revenue within 10 months. We’re profitable from the first month and target RM8mil (US$2mil) in this year!

Stage: Series A and above

Dishq (Bangalore)

Description: Our unique technology leverages food science and rich dish data to understand and predict people’s taste preferences. We’re helping the industry with key challenges including recommendations & personalisation, menu & product development and insights & trends.

Pitch: Both founders have previously worked at successful food tech companies. We power 1m+ recommendations every month across our customers, with booked pipeline for 50m+ recommendations. We hold 26 attributes per dish, that’s double compared to leading recipe sites.

Stage: Seed

MocDoc (India)

Description: MocDoc provides SaaS based integrated full stack solution to healthcare

Pitch: With more than 350 clients across India, MocDoc is inching towards profitability. Managing more than 3M patients, more than 6,000 beds and more than 3M pathological test results, many of them integrated directly to lab machines through our solution, MocDoc is disrupting healthIT.

Stage: Series A and above

NEW: Dealtoday O2O E-commerce platform (Hanoi, Vietnam)

Description: Dealtoday is the leading E-promotion, E-loyalty and E-marketing platform in Vietnam, connecting thousands of Merchants and millions customer via O2O platform.

Pitch: Dealtoday is the most innovative platform and smart business model in E-commerce sector in Vietnam, it is growing fast with large network of merchant, distribution channel and profitable business result.

Stage: Series A and above

NEW: Ziptango (Jakarta)

Description: Ziptango is a fashion marketplace for designer fashion such as Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Prada. We help fashionistas sell their bags easily and maximize their sell value. Shoppers feel confident buying with our authenticity guarantee. We offer affordable payment installment.

Pitch: Indonesia luxury market is a $1 billion market with a profitable business model. We have 5000+ users across iOS, Android, and web apps. Over 5000+ products. 65% of all orders are from repeat buyers. Our partners includes Go-Jek, Kredit Plus, and others.

Stage: Seed

NEW: VirtualSpaces (Cleveland / Bangalore)

Description: Mobile VR for yet-to-be-built properties in Real Estate

Pitch: AAA console visual quality renders on Mobile VR

Stage: Seed

Bountie (Singapore)

Description: Bountie is the first platform for gamers in Asia to make a living while playing their favourite game. Using the latest technology from Blockchain and Cryptocurrency, Bountie reduces the chance of fraud, high transaction fees and introduce a new experience in eSports & gaming

Pitch: Founded only 7 months ago, we grew from 4 to now 65 strong in our team. We have 30,000 gamers sign up across Asia. We have strong alliance with several gaming brands and partners. We are the first ever platform in Asia that allows gamer to monetise from their skill set.

Stage: Token sale/ICO

SmartPeep (Singapore)

Description: We are a Med-Tech startup that brings AI together with human care to reduce falls. We develop an AI-camera-based patient monitoring system to monitor patients automatically and notify caregivers when emergent situations occurs.

Pitch: We have the right team to develop the product and business: 3 AI researchers, 1 software developer, 1 product, sales and marketing person, and 1 hardware specialist. Enormous video data from hospitals and elderly homes enables our AI to be almost 100% accurate in a few months.

Stage: Seed

InfraDigital Nusantara (Jakarta)

Description: Our platform allows institutions like schools, universities, parking lots and real-estate to do away with cash collections.

We connect them to modern payments companies and banks so they can accept payments online, provide financing and finally make cashflow transparent.

Pitch: Founded by two long-term payments experts, in less than 6 months we have signed up ~70 institutions, connecting them with the largest payments companies and banks in Indonesia.

Stage: Seed

MamaHelpers Technologies (Hong Kong)

Description: MamaHelpers is the largest and fastest growing network in the world gathering foreign domestic helpers, employers and agencies. We opt for building up trust and transparency, and disrupt the helper employment industry globally.

Pitch: MamaHelpers hit 150K+ registered helpers, 15k+ active daily users and thousands of matches within 4 months of launch. We are currently serving Hong Kong, Singapore and Middle East, and preparing to serve also the China market which aims to open in 2018Q2.

Stage: Series A and above

Cudy (Singapore)

Description: A online marketplace for online tuition. We match students and educators on a platform and provide them a virtual environment to have synchronous lessons, nurturing the benefits of collaborative classroom learning. Our mission is make quality education accessible to all.

Pitch: High growth market in South-East Asia. Over-subscribed early-interest from tutors in December and receiving healthy growth in number of sign ups before beta is released. First fully integrated online tuition hub with strong in-house tech team.

Stage: Seed

Zyllem (Singapore)

Description: We have build a SaaS model deployed software in the cloud to orchestrate multi-segment logistics networks. It allows enterprises to build and manage their entire distribution network—that includes partnerships and their own assets—in one platform.

Pitch: We have gained great traction with customers in Singapore, no product is as flexible and configurable as ours. Companies want to manage mixed networks, thats a clear trend in the industry. We founders have build and sold enterprise software in SAP

Stage: Series A and above

LetsMath (Bangalore, India)

Description: LetsMath is an affordable, after-school Math learning app for those who access internet primarily on mobile. It offers on-demand chat based doubt-help coupled with Duolingo-like interactive lessons and a QuizUp-like practice platform that learns from the student data it collects.

Pitch: We are building an AI based personal Math companion for every student. The founding team is from IITD, IE Spain, Lehman/Nomura & NITK, IIMC, ITC, Flipkart. The venture is angel-funded and has early revenue & traction (80k installs, Top 5 emerging edu apps at AWS Mobility Awards)

Stage: Seed

HelloBeauty (Jakarta)

Description: HelloBeauty is the first and leading Beauty Services marketplace & community in Indonesia. We help women to discover and book beauty services easily. On the other side, we help beauty artists to manage and grow their beauty businesses online.

Pitch: A profitable company and now have more than 1,800 beauty artist members across Indonesia and keep growing and monetizing quite well. HelloBeauty has a very strong beauty artists community. Both founders are ex-Rocket Internet and helped by great advisors from related industries.

Stage: Seed

Sacred Capital (Singapore)

Description: Often dubbed as the ‘Robo-advisor’ of the decentralised economy, Sacred Capital is radically shifting how we will engage with wealth in a post-blockchain world.

Pitch: The team is spread across California, SE Asia and India and has addressed and worked with 3000 individuals across the world over the last 6 months. The platform tracks 1200 tokens that are currently live while the network will expand to 150 crypto-analysts in time for the ICO.

Stage: Seed

Transporters.io (Bangkok)

Description: SaaS solution and global booking network for group ground travel industry eg. coach/bus hire

Pitch: We have solid traction (1000+ global signups) on SaaS side which gives us an easy way to scale inventory for our new global booking network. Our double sided market approach gives us a unique edge in achieving this at scale. Group transport is $BN++ globally, ripe for disruption.

Stage: Seed

AppPay (Kuala Lumpur)

Description: We are Mobile Commerce enabler for Brick-and-Mortar (F&B and Retails) business, promoting customer self-services, payment and Brand loyalty.

Pitch: Top 10 Fast Growing Fintech Company. Though we are still raising seed fund, but already have 4 paid Brand customers, integrated with some major POS Systems and Payment Companies. USP is focus in F&B and retails and accessible to organisation with major Big Brands in town.

Stage: Seed

NayaGaadi (India)

Description: NayaGaadi.com is Rural India’s first Multi Utility Online Marketplace for all the Brand New Vehicles. Launchpad for Electric Vehicles and Mobility Solutions.

Pitch: We have sold vehicles worth US$1.8 million, have tie-ups with 100+ dealers, 15 OEMs/manufacturers and banks, insurance companies. Launched one first crossover electric bike. Supporting One city (ie Bangalore) planning to support 5 Tier 1 cities and cover 500 villages (rural and semi rural).

Stage: Seed

Rock Human Devices (Singapore)

Description: The world’s most stylish medical devices, starting with hearing aids.

Pitch: 15 trial users to date, some have been brought to tears by being able to hear properly for the first time in their lives. Working with healthcare and leaders in audiology to steer the device development and learn more about hearing aid user behaviour.

Stage: Series A and above

GrabJobs (Singapore)

Description: We are a Technology company developing innovative and efficient Recruitment Solutions. Our main products are a mobile-first Job App focused on entry to mid-level jobs, and a Job Interview Chat Bot.

Pitch:

1) Technology leaders within our space in South East Asia. We are the only Interview Chat Bot powered Jobs Platform
2) Only ones with a real regional footprint, operating in SG, PH, TH and MM
3) Cofounders are entrepreneurs with Technology, Recruitment and Sales experience

Stage: Series A and above

Aversafe (Ho Chi Minh City)

Description: Aversafe is a blockchain-backed credential issuance and verification network. Aversafe’s verifiable digital credentials protect individuals, employers and certificate issuers from credential fraud.

Pitch: Experienced team with previous exits under their belt, working together for more than 8 years. Working with Universities, Ministries of Education and certificate issuers across the globe.

Stage: Seed

Doogether (Jakarta)

Description: DOOgether is the leading fitness network in Indonesia, provide access and online reservation for sport enthusiast to more than 100 venues and 3000+ classes available per-month. Everything is done without membership program, anyone can come and pay as they go (ala carte).

Pitch: We have recurring revenue every month from 30% commission every transaction with retention around 40% and provide Fremium SaaS. Our previous angel investor is Erick Thohir President of Inter Milan.

Stage: Seed

Leap Talent (Jakarta, Indonesia)

Description: “Leap Talent is a job matching platform for managers in Indonesia.
We help both corporate recruiters and managerial people(earn over 10M Rp/month) since they struggle to find suitable talent or suitable positions by current services.(such as Jobstreet, jobsdb, headhunters)”

Pitch:. We achieved over 10,000 candidates register in 4 months and already got several clients. Job matching is a monopoly now but the market is huge estimated over $200M only in Indonesia. We found a way to solve the current issues in the market and working on this.

Stage: Seed

Sportify App (Kuala Lumpur)

Description: A one stop platform for sport lover to discover sport games nearby and book sport venue.

Pitch:. We’re currently the largest sport booking platform in Malaysia.

Stage: Seed

HungryNaki (Dhaka, Bangladesh)

Description: We are online food delivery company since 2013. We are having dedicated fleet to cater the demand.

Pitch: We have a solid profitable model, bootstrapped till date, having strong market share. USP towards customer is more human interaction & data based decision making culture. Efficient fleet management system & Integration with Restaurant POS system made us unique.

Stage: Series A and above

SAM Property (Johor Bahru)

Description: SAM is a cloud property sales & marketing platform specially developed for property developers. It’s a 1-stop solution for customer to manage the entire sales process from Lead Management, CRM, Sales Management, Mortgage & Agreement Management to Feasibility Study and more.

Pitch: We are the first enterprise level property sales & marketing platform for property developers in south east Asia. In just 2 years, we managed to help our customers managed more than USD 4 billion worth of property sales on SAM platform.

Stage: Series A and above

SeeHow (Bangalore)

Description: IoT company that builds affordable smart sports devices to help sports enthusiasts at all levels train and play smarter. Think FitBit for sports! Our first product is a smart cricket ball which provides analytics solutions for training, scouting and fan engagement.

Pitch: Cricket is the world’s 2nd most popular sport, and our smart cricket ball is its 1st consumer hardware product. Traction from international cricket stars. Team: ex-A*STAR, MIT. Growth potential: no sport has a smart ball in extensive use.

Stage: Seed

DRVR (Bangkok)

Description: DRVR enables Connected and Autonomous vehicles for Asia

Pitch: DRVR has an experienced team and we have a huge sales pipeline. We have customers in 6 countries and a major presence in Myanmar and Thailand

Stage: Series A and above

SubHome Hospitality (Kuala Lumpur)

Description: Fastest Growing Airbnb Operator in Malaysia.

Pitch: We are on track to grow to 3,000 rooms in next 2 years, we bring the hotel experience to AirBnb industry, we are now 30 team strong and rapidly growing. We are already hitting a monthly turnover of over RM400k per month.

Stage: Seed

Kravve (Kuala Lumpur)

Description: Kravve a Peer-2-Peer online marketplace for homemade consumable goods (not food delivery) and an food selling management service which helps sellers to manage their online sales more efficiently.

Pitch: Kravve’s sellers spent 80-90% lesser time and effort in managing their sales.
Our company has a month-to-month growth of 115%. Currently we have 200+ sellers, and 400+ products making us the largest homemade food market in Malaysia.

Stage: Seed

InteliTix Solutions Private Limited (Chennai, India)

Description: An HR tech solutions company offering innovative solutions like gamified assessments, micro-learning web app, blockchain based background verification system and 360 degree systems

Pitch: Founded by professionals with over 35+ years of combined experience in the talent assessments, HR Tech and consulting space. Have started working with some top notch customers and seeing good traction.

Stage: Seed

Carblicity (Singapore)

Description: We believe that Out of Home Advertising should be accessible by EVERYONE. Carblicity is a crowdsourced private car advertising platform that connects advertisers to drivers of privately owned vehicles for the purpose of transit advertising, thus disrupting the media landscape.

Pitch: Since 2017, we have launched 4,408 car months worth of media usage for reputable Brands such as Pepsi, AIG and Carousell. Signed agreements with Grab and GogoVan, gives us access to 40,000 over drivers and 7,000 vans respectively to participate in our campaigns.

Stage: Seed

Arto (Singapore)

Description: Marketplace matching galleries with consumer. Matching is done via our AI based recommendation. We create art profiles of every user, profile is created by showing artworks which are swiped left or right to like or dislike. The more the user swipes the better the recommendations.

Pitch: Art market is traditional, galleries are willing to pay for marketplaces. In 2 months we have 8 paying galleries. In 9 months we reached 25k users, 35k artworks and 7000 artists. The online art sales is growing 10% per year and is forecasted to reach USD +10B in 2020

Stage: Seed

Big Tiny Pte Ltd (Singapore)

Description: Big Tiny is the first company in Singapore to integrate the concept of tiny houses with eco-tourism. Tiny houses are part of an international move towards simplifying lives by reducing the size, and therefore the resource consumption, of homes without sacrificing quality of life.

Pitch: Potential and upsides of our business model is limitless. Our tiny house business concept can be applied via sale and leaseback schemes which we are currently doing, domestic production that caters to the local market, resorts building and management, disaster relief, etc

Stage: Series A and above

Homade (Jakarta)

Description: Homade is new innovation logistic business in food industry, we empowering people to cook at home by providing good materials, their dishes will bring to our food assembly to ensure the quality of food meet our standard then we assembly the food with high standard of packaging

Pitch: We do not need to build our own kitchen and chef.
Making standards for home industry
Low capital investment to open food assembly site
Traction since Aug. 1st 2017
USD$ 25,500 Revenue
17000 Food Delivered
4 Food assembly in Jakarta, Bekasi, Pekalongan and Padang

Stage: Seed

Fatberry.com(Kuala Lumpur)

Description: Fatberry is an online insurance marketplace focusing in aggregating the general insurance products and empower customers to make their purchase on the spot as fast as 2 minutes. Currently they have 9 insurers on the platform, and they just launch their website on December 2017.

Pitch: Have accumulated more than 6k quotation request since one month launch, friendly chatbot interface, Direct API connection with insurers, very lean team size and low burning rate, have partnership with 9 insurers, have partnership with multiple affiliate partners to tackle offline

Stage: Seed

Symmetry (Tokyo, Japan)

Description: Symmetry is a software company that builds communication tools for professionals in AEC, design, and education that utilizes VR (virtual reality) to improve consensus formation between the professional and the client.

Pitch: Utilising VR allows professionals to communicate their designs at 1:1 scale, effectively improving communication and consensus formation. Symmetry has already amassed over 6000 users in more than 90 countries with an average session time of more than 4 hours.

Stage:Series A and above

Cooking Club Co. (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)

Description: Cooking Club Co. produces and publishes highly engaging food related entertainment content via the Internet. Cooking Club Co. serves as a digital advertising platform that generates revenue from selling viewership to advertisers.

Pitch: “In just 12 months, our advertising platforms have gained over 17,000 followers, generated over 1 million viewership and reached over 4.7 million people. We have successfully generated revenue from early stage advertisers.

We are like BuzzFeed Tasty, but for Asians.”

Stage: Seed

9cv9 Pte. Ltd. (Ho Chi Minh City)

Description: 9cv9 is a Career Startup that improves our users’ skillsets and matches them to jobs and internships, with a particular focus on the tech industry.

Pitch: Since inception, we’ve earned revenue of USD 16k on bootstrapped funds (showing tenacity), amassed a strong fan base of ~80k users on our media platforms (showing popularity), and helped our clients source for good quality tech talents in Vietnam (showing demand).

Stage: Seed

Leet Entertainment Group Limited HK (Kuala Lumpur)

Description: Matchroom is striving to deliver an unique social gaming platform with the capacity to become a centralized gaming hub where all stakeholders may congregate, engage, and interact; resolving modern gamers’ dilemmas through its platform features supported by blockchain technology.

Pitch: We’re an angel invested outfit already set to launch during April, 2018;
Our platform is designed as a comprehensive ecosystem supported by blockchain that drives organic circulation of our crypto;
We’re team of industry veterans with the average over 10 years experience.

Stage: Token sale/ICO

Jala (Yogyakarta, Indonesia)

Description: “Jala helps shrimp farmer manage their water quality to boost the yield and create the sustainable business.
Using multi-sensor device that paired with the software platform, farmers can monitor and adjust their treatments and techniques to ensure a healthy and bountiful pond.”

Pitch: “Our current prototypes are running in 120 ponds around Java Island, Indonesia. 50% of them are paying customers. Increase shrimp production efficiency up to 25% and save more than 400K USD of harvest value.
The founder has 16 years experience in the shrimp industry.”

Stage: Seed

ChemoPower Technology Pte Ltd (Singapore)

Description: Chemopower wants to modernise the Traditional Medicines through evidence-based science. Our vision is to build a Traditional Medicine Information-Technology Center, which is globally recognised, at the forefront for the discovery of new medicinal compound.

Pitch: We are the only one in the world that can detect medicinal compounds that are currently undetectable. We also have the ability to automate the entire analysis process which in turn allow us to discover these compounds rapidly. We already have collaborations with NUS, A*Star and a few traditional medicine companies.

Stage: Series A and above

Vayafi by Social Light Inc (San Juan, Philippines)

Description: We give free internet connectivity to the public by giving stakeholders a means to get an ROI from free WiFi. We do so via WiFi Advertising, Analytics, and Marketing services which in return gives stakeholders advertising revenues, data for business, and marketing sales ROI.

Pitch: “- Early pioneers of WiFi Hotspot technology
– The integration of Adtech into WIFi Technology
– 800 access points deployed across APAC and signed a deal for another 10,000 for 2018
– Experienced Founders with 10 years experience each
– Previously acquired”

Stage: Seed

Fishcake (Singapore)

Description: Fishcake is the Uber of customer service agents. It allows companies to rely on a large group of freelance CS agents ready to take calls. Agents can work on their free time and service customers remotely from their own device.

Pitch: Fishcake is a unique offering in the CS industry, which is ready for disruption. The team is highly experienced in both the CS field, engineering, and execution.

Stage: Seed

Stocky (Gurgaon)

Description: Stocky is World’s First Hyperlocal B2B Marketplace App for Retailers & Wholesalers to trade Surplus Inventory. It is an ideal app for Retailers, Wholesalers,Importers, Exporters, Traders to sell their un-sold, excess & underperforming stock directly to other businesses near them.

Pitch: Stocky has First mover advantage, in built network effect, globally scalable from yr 1 and has the potential to be a billion dollar company in record time. Founder with 14+ yrs digital exp, sold companies before, strong experience with marketplace startups.

Stage: Seed

Datarama Pte Ltd (Singapore)

Description: Datarama is a next-generation due diligence firm using a combination of AI, machine learning and data visualisation techniques to make risk and compliance checks cheaper, faster and more comprehensive.

Pitch: The solution has benefited clients ranging from global investment companies to private equity clients and hedge funds, with a niche product offering of improving transparency in emerging markets.

Stage: Series A and above

HyperLab (Kuala Lumpur)

Description: We help enterprise scale CX efficiently by augmenting human tasks with Conversational AI and Intelligent Assistants.

Pitch: Traction with regional banks and telcos for customer support, sales and employee engagement, effective language understanding for English, Bahasa Malaysia, Manglish, Singlish and Chinese, robust platform for cloud or on-premise deployment.

Stage: Series A and above

Winnerzz (DKI Jakarta)

Description: A platform to help Event Organizers & Participants to submit, register and doing payment for attending a Competition event. It’s a Marketplace for Competition event. So we can say, it’s like an Eventbrite, but WINNERZZ only focus on Competition event only.

Pitch: Our team have an experience for doing & handling Competitions in Indonesia, and have a lot of Event Organizer partner. We believe if many people have an access to perform & show their talent, it will make our world to be a better place.

Stage: Seed

Oxide (Jakarta)

Description: Oxide is a SaaS aiming to solve organizations problems on managing data including: 1. Data Integration (Oxide has Enterprise connection to major database and Query Integrator to pass through query to different database technology at once), 2. Data Cleansing and Analytics Enabler.

Pitch: We are set to challenge big names in data management (ETL, data platform, and the like) with several key technology advantage and competitive price point and licensing scheme.

Stage: Seed

Vista Rooms (Mumbai, India)

Description: Vista Rooms is professionally-manages vacation rental homes in India and Sri Lanka. Our idea is to make it completely hassle-free for our owners to let out their homes for short stays whereas guests receive a hotel-like experience in the comfort and privacy of a home.

Pitch: Vista Rooms is building the “Marriott for Homes” of South Asia. We plan to grow from 100 to 200 properties this year with a run rate of USD 1mn. 50% of our current bookings are direct with over 25% of our guests referring or repeating a stay and a customer review score of 8.5/10

Stage: Series A and above

Love Panda (Singapore)

Description: A Faster and Better way to Learn Chinese

Pitch: Strong team with co-founders who have years of experience in education and passion in language education. Our students are able to learn good Mandarin with authentic pronunciation from our China teachers from the comfort of their home.

Stage: Seed

SellUp (Singapore)

Description: We are an online reCommerce company that provides monetary value for used electronic devices in the most convenience way. We allow a transparent and instant evaluation of used mobile device online and provides a safe and secure transaction to users.

Pitch: Potential market (high demand) with huge opportunity in online space (lack of competitor).

Stage: Seed

Affluency (Singapore)

Description: Affluency is the premier Affluent lifestyle E-tailer in Asia. Our first vertical of curated luxury design & craft, represented through an omni-channel architecture, addresses a $5.4B market in APAC.

Pitch: USD 600K funded. 3 co-founders, all serial entrepreneurs. Team industry insiders network spanning 20 years. Unique Value proposition in Asia, harnessing latest technologies with AR, AI and blockchain rollout in the near future. Products library, AR/VR ready.

Stage: Seed

Park N Parcel (Singapore)

Description: Park N Parcel aims to minimise the frustration of missed deliveries by providing online shoppers an alternative way to receive their parcels.

Pitch: A first in Singapore, you can now have your online shopping delivered to registered residential and commercial Parkers within a 1km radius of your home to be collected at your convenience.

Stage: Seed

Morpheus Labs (Singapore)

Description: Real users build for users. We are a team of experienced and cross-functional talents with experience in artificial intelligence, blockchain, mobile application, cybersecurity and IoT across Europe and Asia. Backed by a group seasoned advisory team.

Pitch: One of few blockchain infrastructure startups that bridges between Blockchain protocols and users. We are a powerful & inclusive full stack of Blockchain Platform as a Service for rapid prototyping at fractional cost and time. Having strong traction till date

Stage: Token Sale/ICO

Wallezz (Jakarta)

Description: Cash transaction more than 85% & more than 65% unbank was the berrier to accelerate epayment in indonesia.so we created wallezz to serve many transaction model. we will be the front end solution so people could do transaction whatever their banks or institution

Pitch: We have solution that local government very interest to working with us. now we have 5 local government like makassar, banjarmasin, banggai, muaibanyuasin, and gowa. still in discussion with more than 10 others to deal with to digitize their 13 local tax &more than 30 retribution

Stage: Seed

Cheers Global Wallets (Singapore)

Description: Cheers Global Wallets is the first financially-regulated payment platform that enables app developers to natively embed their own custom-branded wallets within their products. The result: connecting global app users financially into one payment ecosystem.

Pitch: Cheers supports payments that are instant, on/off ramp in >180 countries, down to micro-amounts ($0.01), and serves the unbanked. We are the only regulated, non-crypto based platform able to provide this to developers and their customers today with fiat currencies.

Stage: Seed

Jetspree (Kuala Lumpur)

Description: Jetspree is a cross-border shopping platform that helps you get items and products you want from abroad by way of international travellers.

Pitch: Jetspree has as well seasoned team that has made significant traction in the past few months and is looking for further expansion. We are confident in the business and model and hard value we create with our approach in the cross-border space.

Stage: Seed

Automo (Singapore)

Description: Enabling short-term automobile rental and/or driver services to everyone easily and safely with direct booking from local providers with transparency. Instead of just a basic sedans and luxury cars, customers can book any thing to even commercial vehicles such as lorry and vans.

Pitch: No major regional player in the SEA market, and the fastest growth in partner vendors joining Automo as well as a clear development plan with Indonesia being the next market. We also have a viable business model in place right from the beginning.

Stage: Seed

GetLinks (Bangkok)

Description: Asia’s leading tech talent network, a self-service marketplace matching top tech talents to the most innovative companies in the region.

Pitch: We want to empower tech talents and embolden them to be part of the companies that’ll the world. Shifting the power away from traditional recruitment agencies, and back into the hands of the millennial jobseeker.

Stage: Series A and above

Straits Interactive Pte Ltd (Singapore)

Description: We offer a powerful customisable regtech platfrom that lets organisations operationalise compliance with data protection laws & any kind of governance, risk mgmt & compliance with deep expertise in data privacy. We are creating a powerful eco system to create recurring revenues.

Pitch: Data Protection will be big in this region with new data privacy laws in ASEAN, India and the impact of the new EU law. We are currently the only player that offers a full privacy platform and we currently offer services to regulators while cornering the certification market.

Stage: Series A and above

Cryptoscanner.co (Singapore)

Description: Skyscanner for cryptocurrency

Pitch: Firstmover. Founders with strong IT/marketing base. Making the website marketable, UX/UI centric/ AIO Concise
Aggregated Rates

Stage: Seed

Visualloft Eyewear Marketplace (Singapore)

Description: Amazon for Eye wear and Encyclopedia for ocular diseases

Pitch: High transactional frequency, Ability to enable people to buy glasses without leaving their house. Worldwide myopia epidemic. Detection of ocular diseases using A. I

Stage: Seed

Penorama Co., Ltd. (Bangkok, Thailand)

Description: Penorama creates ink pen that automatically digitizes what it writes and draws on paper. Powered by a patent-pending technology, the world’s first standalone smart pen serves the pen-and-paper users by seamlessly bridging the gaping gap between their analog and digital worlds.

Pitch: Our patent-pending, hard-to-replicate tech allows a creation of a product that everyone knows how to use from the get-go. Its low-learning curve leads to high adoption potential. We have a functional prototype and will soon be entering an $10 billion market.

Stage: Seed

bookbhook.com (Gurgaon)

Description: bookbhook is a books based micro-learning platform for the TLDR generation. bookbhook makes life changing books more accessible to Gen Z by converting them into short summaries and gamified modules,just so that you do not need to read more to know more.

Pitch: bookbhook, which is an Android and Apple store app, has more than 43000 downloads and offers more than 100 book summaries on its app. bookbhook is also building a gamified micro-learning platform to help corporate employees in their quest for learning.

Stage: Seed

WorldKoins (Kuala Lumpur)

Description: WorldKoins helps international travelers to convert their leftover foreign currencies to eGift cards, vouchers, PayPal and more…

Pitch: WorldKoins is collaborative platform, using mobile technology: large penetration and reach, cost effective, flexible, easily scalable, low maintenance. We signed partnerships with large airline, advanced negotiation to provide WorldKoins services in large international airport…

Stage: Seed

Note: This list is collated at no cost to the featured startups. The Tech in Asia editorial team does not in any way benefit commercially from this.

If you’ve successfully raised money, reach out to Queena at queena@techinasia.com and we’ll add details of your fundraise to our database, which is visible to the public.

This post Looking to invest? We’ve curated a list of great Asian startups (9 new ones added) appeared first on Tech in Asia.

Back to basics / Image credit: Pixabay

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That’s all it takes these days to get a new t-shirt, a fresh pair of jeans, and even the hottest kicks in the market. With ecommerce businesses at your fingertips, you could even furnish your home without ever having to step out of the house.

But have you ever looked at plain black joggers and wondered why they cost US$30.52 (S$40) at their cheapest? How much could it possibly cost to make these?

Transparent pricing has been around for about two decades: Harvard Business Review wrote about cost transparency as a rising problem for brands in 2000. High margins and price competition, as well as consumers’ perception of being “ripped off,” are all risks that threaten to eat into customer loyalty.

With the internet, retailers can be more upfront about costs and shopping can be more driven by common sense.

Why pay more?

Singaporean e-retailer Iuiga (pronounced EYE-YOU-GAH) has a subheader on the About page of its website that asks you, “Why pay so much for quality?”

If you’re wondering why that matters, remember the plain black joggers mentioned earlier?

Iuiga has a pair for US$22.13 (S$29). The company even provides a simple graphic breakdown of how much it costs to make the product, indicating even the mark-up.

And it’s not just apparel that’s priced transparently. A quick look at its site shows that Iuiga sells everything from kitchenware and cleaning accessories to home electronics and office supplies.

“We mainly curate our product range through market research and customers’ recommendations. Customers readily reach out to us to tell us when they love their purchase and chat with us to tell us how we can improve constantly,” shares Jaslyn Chan, Iuiga’s business development manager.

Such input from clients helps Iuiga make decisions about what goes into its inventory and online store. For instance, the e-tailer prefers to “disrupt” products with a high price point to emphasize that thoughtfully designed and premium quality products do not need to carry be expensive.

At the moment, Iuiga isn’t the only player in this niche vertical. There’s also retail startup Everlane, Honest By, and Oliver Cabell. They’re all concerned about working with ethical sources and factories, being environmentally friendly, and offering reasonable prices.

High transparency, low ceiling

Aside from the transparent pricing model, e-retailers that implement honest pricing have mark-up ceilings. For instance, Everlane allows consumers to choose their own markups at 10, 20, and 30 percent intervals. This means 10 percent covers the basics of product development and shipping, 20 percent covers the basics and Everlane’s team income, while 30 percent covers all expenses and helps Everlane “work on creating new products.”

According to Chan, who is also an Iuiga co-founder, the average product goes through at least 10 to 20 layers from manufacturers to distribution before finally reaching the end consumer. Once the profits at each layer of distribution and rental costs are factored in, traditional mark-ups could make up to two-thirds of a final product’s in-store price.

Traditional mark-ups could make up to two-thirds of a final product’s in-store price.

“At Iuiga, we have a mark-up ceiling, meaning we do not mark up our products more than 40 percent of cost price,” explains Chan. “That’s the average lowest we can go to keep our business sustainable while maximizing the best value to end consumers, based on our statistics.”

Low mark-up prices with transparent pricing models are great, but this strategy raises the question: How does Iuiga profit? The answer: It controls costs by keeping supply chains as lean as possible.

As Chan points out, “We slot our production runs into our manufacturers’ production lulls to maximize cost savings. We also hold our stocks in different warehouses around the region instead of centralizing them in one.”

Iuiga’s best-selling items are shipped in batches when local stocks are low. It only ships within Singapore at present, though there are plans to expand regionally in the next few years. As the startup’s order quantities are lower than international brands, its turnover is also much faster.

“We are able to better review and predict which products will sell better and which ones will not, as feedback can be relayed to manufacturers faster compared to traditional retailers who stock products via a higher minimum order quantity,” says Chan.

Low costs ≠ low-quality products

Even though its lower prices are laid out transparently, Iuiga contends that it does not affect the raw cost price it pays manufacturers.

To prove this, the company includes “factory stories” on its website, sharing what goes on behind the scenes in the places that make its products.

Younger consumers are more willing to pay for sustainable products, according to a study by Nielsen.

“Most of our 300 partner manufacturers are listed companies with decades of experience manufacturing for big brands,” quips Chan, who also mentioned that that it took more than two years to convince the first 57 partner manufacturers to work with Iuiga.

It took more than two years to convince the first 57 partner manufacturers to work with Iuiga.

She continues, “It wasn’t easy to convince them to work with us when we were just an idea, but they eventually agreed as Iuiga is targeted at the Southeast Asia market – a market they were interested to penetrate,”

That interest, coupled with declining export orders from international brands, meant that manufacturers saw Iuiga not only as a means to diversify their business but also as a way to help ensure that their manufacturing processes remained efficient even during lull periods, shares Chan.

One noticeable detail about Iuiga is how its items closely resemble the products of another familiar brand, Muji. Because it also uses the same manufacturers with the Japanese retailer, Iuiga is open about their similarities.

“I don’t think sharing the same manufacturers affects our relationship with Muji as we ultimately own different product offerings. Unlike traditional retailers who leverage on the lack of information and knowledge to earn profits, we function online to demolish these middlemen and channels,” observes Chan. “We do things differently in every part of the funnel from sourcing, manufacturing, marketing, sales and delivery to stay competitive.”

She further noted that Iuiga’s founders hold Muji in high regard because of its no-brand branding, which has been successful in knocking down brand premiums. “Iuiga incorporates transparent pricing to further enforce this,” she says.

Information gap, begone

Iuiga’s transparent pricing model was inspired by an epiphany. When Chan and her co-founders realized that despite the ease of access to the right information, most retailers still hide manufacturing and shipping costs from consumers, they were shocked. Furthermore, leveraging this information gap between businesses and consumers was common in the industry – a practice that Chan lamented.

“The gap worked well for retailers before the prolific boom of the internet and ecommerce, as consumers had no channels to derive the knowledge. But with ready access to Google, anyone can search for information instantly,” she adds.

Consumers mainly rely on online reviews and company websites for pre-purchase research in the internet age, according to a 2017 report by KPMG.

But beneath the low mark-up ceilings, cost controls, and transparent pricing models, Iuiga is still a retailer with a knack for providing what customers need but can’t find.

“We believe that thoughtful design and enduring quality do not need to be out of reach for the masses. We launched Iuiga to create all the things we wanted for our home but could never find. And in the process, we unearthed an overwhelming support from others who had the exact same need,” concludes Chan.

IUIGA is a Singapore direct-to-consumer lifestyle brand built for more comfortable homes. Register for an account at https://www.iuiga.com.

This post One e-tailer wants to start a revolution in transparent pricing appeared first on Tech in Asia.

Photo credit: Matan Segev from Pexels

There’s a growing pipeline of high-caliber founders – who have “been there, done that” – taking the startup plunge with artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) tech in India. On the other hand, startups with shallow applications of AI are quickly finding out that investors and clients alike have become more discerning.

For example, Zoogaad raised US$500,000 back in 2014 to provide personalized news powered by AI. But, unlike Toutiao in China, it did little to push the boundary beyond Google alerts, and had to shut down.

At the other end of the spectrum is Bangalore-based SigTuple, which ticks most of the boxes for the new wave of promising AI startups coming out of India. SigTuple applies AI-powered analytics to visual medical data, such as blood smear slides that go under a microscope. This improves the speed and accuracy of diagnosis.

The startup’s founders had worked together at American Express’s big data lab. One of them is SigTuple’s chief scientist officer Tathagato Rai Dastidar, a computer science PhD who was the director of the Amex lab. So they had the competence and experience to become deep-tech entrepreneurs.

A younger startup in Bangalore, AskSid, has chosen to focus on women’s fashion. Its AI-powered bot helps brands get into meaningful conversations with their customers while helping them shop online. After successful pilots, topline brands like Wolford have deployed the bot in multiple countries. AskSid’s founders come with rich corporate experience from India’s IT industry.

Number crunching

Bangalore-based incubator Excubator counts 2,312 AI and ML startups globally. According to its number-crunching engine Excube360, the count began to pick up from 2007 and reached a peak in 2015, when 456 startups were founded to leverage advances in the field. The number dips to 359 in 2016, and falls to 87 in 2017.

The pattern follows a similar trajectory in India, with nearly 186 AI startups being founded in 2015 and 2016, but only 42 last year, according to data from venture capital analytics firm Tracxn. What gives?

Excubator founder and CEO Guhesh Ramanathan offers an explanation. “There is definitely a trend toward support for more mature startups in this space,” he tells Tech in Asia.

In other words, the days of all-and-sundry startups trumpeting AI/ML in their pitch deck to catch a VC’s eye are gone. Investors are looking for differentiation and deeper applications of AI/ML in solving real-world problems in the enterprise as well as broader consumer markets.

Number of AI startups founded in the last few years. Image credit: Tracxn

VC funding in the Indian AI space rose from US$15 million in 2015 to US$67 million last year despite the steep fall in number of AI startups being founded, shows Tracxn data. The average deal size rose from US$0.8 million in 2015 to around US$1.5 million, as series A and B rounds began to kick in over the last couple of years.

Venture capital funding for AI/ML startups. Image credit: Tracxn

Stage-wise comparison of funding for AI/ML startups. Image credit: Tracxn

The funding level in India is low compared to the leading AI ecosystems globally. Excube360 data puts the US at the top with over US$15 billion invested in the sector, followed by China with US$1.9 billion.

But the increased progression from the seed stage to the series A and B levels augurs well for the Indian ecosystem. A number of factors are contributing to this. One of the key elements is connecting startups with large organizations and even the government, where incubators like Excubator and accelerators are playing a part.

This assumes added importance for AI startups as success often depends on access to good sources of data. “Yes, data is the new oil, and given the relatively younger companies in India, we feel it will be a struggle in the beginning. But we also feel that given the value-addition that startups are building on raw data, this will quickly reach a level playing field,” says Ramanathan.

Domain expertise

US tech giants sitting on mountains of user data – Google, Facebook, Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft – have started offering AI-as-a-service. From natural language processing to image analysis and sentiment analysis, developers everywhere can make API calls to these algorithms to come up with AI applications. But, as AskSid and Sigtuple have shown, the differentiation comes from access to unique data training sets – from large corporate clients in the case of AskSid and hospitals for SigTuple.

Domain expertise is the name of the game. For example, Lucep and Active.ai are helping banks and financial institutions know their customers better. Flutura combines AI with industrial IoT to bring predictive analytics to manufacturing. Edge Networks applies AI analytics to the HR domain in multiple ways, from uncovering the right talent to tracking the engagement level of employees.

You need “domain knowledge to address core problems in a certain vertical. To use the same bot to order a pizza and book a bus ticket – those days are gone,” AskSid co-founder Sanjoy Roy tells Tech in Asia.

Startups like AskSid, Lucep, and Flutura with experienced founders have also made encouraging forays into the global market. Lucep partnered with a global bank to enter Mexico, and Flutura’s Cerebra product is being used by an oil and gas major in Houston, a German manufacturer of adhesives, and Hitachi in Japan. One-year-old AskSid already has top fashion brands in Europe as clients.

Where the Indian AI startup ecosystem is yet to see action is exits, even though most of the players gaining traction have a B2B (business-to-business) model. There were only two significant acquisitions of AI startups from India last year: Apus acquired Siftr, which used computer vision to curate images from user-generated content, and Google acquired Halli Labs, which was developing AI-powered speech and vision products.

Excube360 data on 2,312 AI startups around the world shows that 10 percent of them have had exits – 208 acquisitions and 28 IPOs. So there’s a lag in India.

“The number of AI startups that have been acquired globally is significantly higher than acquisitions in any other space, and a massive validation for AI as a technology,” says Ramanathan. “India, we feel, is still just getting into the game. Most of the acquisitions have been in the US and Europe.”

It may be early days yet for exits in India. But this could change soon, as the funding pattern shows a move away from infrastructure to applications. Tracxn data shows a big drop in startups providing cloud-based AI infrastructure, algorithms, and libraries. That’s not surprising because the tech giants have become active players in the game of AI-as-a-service and they’re better equipped for it.

Most of the AI startups being founded and funded last year in India were into AI-enabled applications for multiple use cases in different verticals. Now, if these applications can go deep enough, thanks to top-notch Indian tech talent, we could see a tipping point for AI startups from India this year or the next.

This post India’s AI startups are at a tipping point appeared first on Tech in Asia.

Each week, Tech in Asia Jobs brings you some of the most popular jobs around Asia.

If you’re interested in the startup industry, here are 5 companies that are currently hiring. Get your resumes and job profiles ready, and apply away (:

Hiring? Post a job for free here.

Glorgo (Singapore)

Glorgo is an on-demand home service provider aimed to help users find and arrange home services efficiently.

They’re hiring a full-stack developer to join their team. If you like to work in a collaborative environment with a flat structure (and unlimited leave!), Glorgo might just be the place for you.

Partipost (Singapore)

The Partipost team / Photo credit: Partipost

Partipost is a micro-influencer marketing platform that connects brands with genuine profiles.

With a rapidly growing user-base, Partipost is hiring across many different positions in both Singapore and Jakarta, Indonesia. These include front end developer, sales executive, accountant and more. Internship positions are available as well!

Viral Foundry (Indonesia)

The Viral Foundry team / Photo credit: Viral Foundry

Viral Foundry is a product studio that partners with startup founders, existing businesses, private equity funds, VCs and local government agencies to build digital products and mobile applications.

They are growing their team in Manila, Philippines and Jakarta, Indonesia. Positions they are hiring for include a product owner, a project manager, and an online marketing manager.

Lemonilo (Indonesia)

The Glints team / Photo credit: Glints

Lemonilo is on a mission to help build a healthier and happier society with their online platform.

If you’re looking for a work environment that encourages a positive mindset and hard-working attitude, Lemonilo might be the company for you. They have open positions in operations, social media, web development and human resources.

sQoolink (Hong Kong)

sQoolink is a web platform that uses AI and big data to connect prospective students and parents with mentors, who are current students or alumni, for school advice.

Currently, sQoolink has eight internship and full-time positions open in Hong Kong. Whether you’re a student interested in social media or software engineering, or a seasoned professional interested in leading a team in Product and Design or Business Development, check out their openings below.

This listicle is brought to you by the Tech in Asia Jobs team. Don’t see a job you’re interested in? Search for 4,000+ more jobs here. Hiring? Post a job for free here.

This post 10 fresh tech and startup jobs in Asia this week from companies like Glorgo, Lemonilo and Partipost appeared first on Tech in Asia.

120 million people work in China’s manufacturing industry, but China’s now looking to robots in a big way. What will laid-off workers do for income when the robots come?

This post When the robots come for China’s jobs, what will workers do? appeared first on Tech in Asia.

Grab CEO Anthony Tan (L) and Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi (R) / Photo credits: Grab, Uber, Tech in Asia

More news on Grab and Uber’s delayed mega-deal, while China’s answer to SpaceX secures a funding bonanza.

Transportation

Regulator orders Uber to keep operating, sets interim measures while investigating Grab merger (Singapore). The Competition and Consumer Commission has ordered Uber to continue operations in the country until May 7. This announcement follows Grab’s agreement to take over Uber’s Southeast Asia business last month, prompting an investigation into possible infractions of the city-state’s competition laws. The watchdog has laid out several measures for the ride-hailing firms to follow in the meantime, such as maintaining pre-merger pricing and commission levels. (Reuters)

Rocket builder lands US$31 million in series B round (China). LandSpace Technology, a startup working on the country’s first liquid rocket engine, has closed its series B funding round led by renewable energy company Goldwind. Existing investors Shiji Tianhua, Guokai Ronghua, FounDream, and PGA Venture Partners also joined the round. Though LandSpace did not say how it would use the funding, its current focus is to develop an engine powered by liquid oxygen and methane. (KrAsia)

Enterprise software and services

Sensors Data lands US$44 million in Warburg-led series C round (China). The Chinese big data firm has announced the closing of its series C funding round, led by an affiliate of Warburg Pincus. Also participating in the round were Sequoia Capital, DCM Ventures, and Xiang He Capital, among others. Sensors Data, which provides enterprise clients with data analysis of user behavior, said the fresh funds will be invested into R&D, market scaling, and professional services. (DealStreetAsia)

Media and entertainment

Piaoniu closes series B funding (China). The Chinese startup, which sells live event tickets on its platform, has announced the completion of its series B funding with investments by SIG, Sequoia Capital, GGV Capital, and Dianping founder Zhang Tao. Piaoniu did not disclose the amount of money raised or how it would use the funding. (KrAsia)

Toutiao headquarters in Beijing / Photo credit: Tech in Asia

Jinri Toutiao invests in Shimo’s series B round (China). The news aggregator app, which recently had its business suspended for three weeks by the Chinese government, is reportedly investing in a startup touted as the country’s equivalent of Google Docs. The startup claimed it raised “tens of millions of yuan” in the series B round. Toutiao is already Shimo’s largest shareholder after leading its 2017 series A fundraise. (KrAsia)

Travel and hospitality

Travel site operator Oway Group nabs US$7 million investment (Myanmar). Private equity firm Belt Road Capital Management has invested in Oway Group, a company that runs an online travel service provider and a ride-sharing app. The funding round was also joined by Japan’s Daiwa and International Finance Corporation, the World Bank’s investment arm, alongside previous backers. (Belt Road Capital Management)

Delivery and logistics

Boxful goes All In* (Hong Kong/Taiwan)*. Boxful, which provides pickup and storage services to customers, will acquire Taiwanese competitor All In Premium Storage for an undisclosed amount. The firm, which already operates four warehouses in Taiwan, said the purchase would help accelerate the growth of its business there. (e27)

Fintech

Aye Finance co-founder Sanjay Sharma / Photo credit: Aye Finance

Aye Finance secures US$4.6 million debt funding (India). The Indian startup, which provides financial services to small enterprises in the country, obtained the loan from Swiss impact investor BlueOrchard Finance. The firm said the latest capital injection will be used to expand its customer base in India. (Inc42)

Mintifi nets US$2 million in seed funding (India). The year-old startup has closed its seed round with investment from VC firm Lok Capital. Mintifi provides loans to small and medium-sized business. Company registry documents showed the deal was concluded a few months ago. (VCCircle)

Blockchain and cryptocurrencies

Coinsecure accuses employee of US$3.1 million bitcoin theft (India). The Indian cryptocurrency exchange has accused one of its executives of the theft, and has asked authorities to prevent the employee from fleeing the country by seizing his passport. Coinsecure has promised to refund its customers from its founder’s personal funds. (e27)

Internet

Shenma files lawsuit against Sogou over traffic hijacking (China). The web mobile search company, which is an affiliate of Alibaba, is accusing rival search engine search engine operator Sogou of stealing potential Shenma users by improper means. The firm is seeking a compensatory amount of US$16 million. Sogou was sued by Chinese internet firm Baidu in 2014 for similar reasons, and had to cough up around US$80,000 in damages. (TechNode)

See: Previous Asia tech news roundups

This post Asia news roundup: Uber deal hits speed bumps, exec accused of bitcoin theft, and more appeared first on Tech in Asia.

Grab co-founder and CEO Anthony Tan / Photo credit: Grab

It has been two weeks since Grab and Uber revealed their game-changing merger, which will see the US firm exit the ultra-competitive Southeast Asian market in return for a 27.5 percent stake in its local counterpart.

But the long-anticipated deal – which will see Uber cede its regional ride-hailing and food-delivery business to Grab, resembling exits it hashed out with erstwhile rivals Didi in China and Yandex in Russia – is now in a state of limbo. Competition regulators in Grab’s Singapore base, as well as key markets Malaysia, Vietnam, and the Philippines, are among those known to be scrutinizing the merger.

Just yesterday, Singapore’s antitrust watchdog ordered that the integration of Uber’s service into Grab’s should be postponed until May while it carries out its probe, and imposed interim measures on the two companies.

Experts tell Tech in Asia that the “Gruber” marriage is unlikely to be annulled. But regulatory agencies may compel the couple to rewrite their vows if they feel that Grab’s post-merger market share will have too much of a chilling effect on competition.

Notice not required

Integration of Uber’s Southeast Asian services into Grab’s has been further delayed due to competition concerns. / Photo credit: freestocks.org

Singapore’s antitrust regulator – the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) – announced on March 30 that it had begun an investigation into the merger, and proposed interim measures requiring Grab and Uber to put their operational integration on hold.

Grab and Uber responded a few days later with their own proposed interim measures. Grab initially hoped to integrate Uber’s service and discontinue the latter’s app on April 8. Partly due to the concerns of CCCS and other watchdogs, the company later postponed the integration date to April 15.

In Singapore, the CCCS agreed to this extended timeframe to consider the two firms’ proposed alternative measures, then further pushed back the date to May 7. It also imposed interim measures that compel Grab and Uber to maintain their respective pre-transaction pricing and product options as well as to refrain from exchanging confidential information with one another while the investigation proceeds.

These developments have left some observers wondering if the two firms did enough due diligence prior to sealing the deal.

Parties to a merger are not generally required to notify CCCS of their proposed consolidation, though they can do so voluntarily if they suspect that it’s covered by Section 54 of Singapore’s Competition Act – which prohibits transactions that may result in a substantial lessening of competition in the marketplace.

The business costs of having to undo certain aspects of the transaction could be very high.

In situations where the parties don’t do this, “the implication is that the CCCS would have to fall back on its other statutory powers of investigation and enforcement to look into potential breaches of competition law,” explains Bryan Tan, a partner at Pinsent Masons MPillay.

It would appear that this is what’s happening now to the “Gruber” deal.

“The main advantage of making a voluntary notification is that CCCS will be able to examine the merger and give its approval prior to the closing of the transaction. If any remedial action needs to be taken to address competition concerns, it may be worked into the deal with less hassle if dealt with sooner rather than later,” Tan suggests.

He adds, “In contrast, if the CCCS only intervenes after the merger is announced or completed, the business costs of having to undo certain aspects of the transaction could be very high.”

Gerald Singham, deputy managing partner at Dentons Rodyk & Davidson in Singapore, cautions that requirements are different in other Southeast Asian jurisdictions. In Vietnam and the Philippines – two of Grab’s key markets – merger notification is mandatory.

“Malaysia does not have a specific merger control law, the equivalent of what Singapore, Vietnam, the Philippines have,” he says. As such, antitrust concerns about the Grab-Uber deal in Malaysia are “not about merger control, but sharing of anti-competitive information” between the two companies. Data-sharing issues have also been flagged by the CCCS.

Defining the market

Taxis on the road in Singapore. / Photo credit: Lily Lvnatikk / Unsplash

The fact that several watchdogs in the region are now examining the deal indicates they have reasonable grounds to suspect it may be in breach of anti-competition rules.

In Singapore, the CCCS will typically attempt to determine if a merger is violating Section 54 by considering if the combination surpasses certain market-share thresholds, Tan explains.

If the combined entity will have 40 percent-plus market share, or if post-merger, the combined entity and two of its largest rivals in the market will have a total share of 70 percent or more, regulatory alarm bells are likely to start ringing.

For deals could result in 20 to 40 percent market share, parties would also be prudent to voluntarily notify the CCCS of their intentions, says Singham.

He suggests that Grab’s and Uber’s decision not to notify the CCCS indicates they may have reached an internal assessment that they didn’t cross any threshold. Whether or not the CCCS makes the same assessment waits to be seen.

However, Singham points out that the key question in this case is not so much the percentage of market share, but how you define the market.

“The jury’s out on that point. If Uber and Grab are public transport, then their market share is nowhere near 40 percent. But if you define it more narrowly – as just taxis, for example – then it becomes a question of Uber and Grab against the taxi companies. If you tighten it up even further to just ride-hailing services, it’s quite clear the merger crosses the 40 percent threshold. Globally, these debates are still going on,” he explains.

Interestingly, in explaining its grounds for imposing interim measures yesterday, the CCCS said that Grab and Uber are “each other’s closest competitors and have a significant combined market share,” adding that a surge in Uber fares following a recent outage of Grab’s app was indicative of the two companies’ “close rivalry.”

An antitrust assessment of Grab’s market share may need to take into account its presence in areas outside of ride-hailing. / Photo credit: Grab

Another issue at play is Uber’s still-pending joint venture with Singapore’s largest taxi company, ComfortDelGro, that saw its drivers accepting Uber ride requests through their UberFlash initiative. Singham says that since it’s a separate transaction, we must assume that any CCCS inquiry is ongoing, unless the parties have scrapped the deal.

ComfortDelGro earlier told Channel NewsAsia that it was reviewing the joint venture in light of the merger with Grab. The taxi firm has since told its drivers to delete the Uber app.

The customer’s always right… right?

Another factor that will weigh heavily on the CCCS is the deal’s impact on consumers. The regulator will be looking out for things like price increases, diminished service quality, or restrictions in consumer choice, Tan explains.

Some consumers have expressed anxiety about the merger’s effect on pricing. An online survey of 1,000 Singaporeans conducted by research firm BlackBox found that 53 percent of respondents felt the merger should be reviewed, with 19 percent saying it should be rejected.

However, 55 percent felt the merger would have no impact on them as consumers, while 26 percent opined that the deal will be “good” or “very good” for consumers.

Grab may even reduce rates and give more discounts.

Tan says that the CCCS has previously accepted poll results as evidence of consumer sentiment to help it define the scope of the market that the investigated parties operate in.

“The conclusion that a majority of Singaporean consumers are against the deal may spur the CCCS to exercise its investigatory powers,” he adds.

“As a consumer, the primary concern will be about pricing, and being at the mercy of Grab,” says Singham. “But I think consumers may give a different view if commitments are made by Grab, or because of certain efficiencies that Grab can offer due to its new market power. It may even reduce rates and give more discounts.”

Photo credit: Grab

The situation facing Grab and Uber’s driver-partners – who, in the past, theoretically had a second company to migrate to if they weren’t happy with opportunities or treatment at the first – will also need to be considered.

Some licensed taxi companies in Singapore have reported an uptick in current Uber and Grab drivers seeking jobs with them or applying for taxi drivers’ vocational licenses since the deal was made public.

Here, too, Grab and Uber may need to make specific commitments to the CCCS to ameliorate concerns about possible anti-competitive treatment of drivers, says Singham.

Commitments and directions

According to Tan, these commitments are one of the two types of remedies that the CCCS may adopt in the event of a Section 54 infringement. The CCCS may accept certain commitments from the merging parties that address any competition concerns raised by the deal in its current form.

The other form of remedy is directions – in other words, requiring the merging parties to modify or dissolve the merger to decrease its anti-competitive effects.

The interim measures should not have the unintended effect of… restricting businesses that have already been investing in the country over the years.

“I think this deal will clear eventually,” says Singham. In his view, the merger may cross market-share thresholds, depending on what assessments are made. But if it’s seen to be in the public interest – for example, if the alternative is that Uber simply exits the market without merging, leading to its driver-partners losing jobs and a diminished service for consumers – then the regulator may seek commitments from the parties involved during the investigation to lessen anti-competition concerns, he says.

Grab did not respond to Tech in Asia’s request for comment, but it did issue a statement regarding the CCCS’ latest postponement of the merger, saying:

“We appreciate that CCCS accepted our alternative interim measures. On CCCS’ request, we have agreed to extend the Uber app to May 7 to allow for a smoother transition time for riders and drivers. We trust that the CCCS’ review takes into account a dynamic industry that is constantly evolving, highly competitive, and being disrupted by technology and new services. The interim measures should not have the unintended effect of hampering competition and restricting businesses that have already been investing in the country over the years.”

The statement also directly addressed what appear to be the CCCS’ concerns about the merger’s impact on the country’s taxi industry:

“Grab notes the CCCS’ objective of giving drivers choice, and is fully supportive of extending our platform to all taxi drivers, including ComfortDelGro drivers who are still constrained from picking up JustGrab jobs.”

In March, Grab stopped ComfortDelGro drivers from participating in its JustGrab taxi-hailing service, barely a month after allowing them to opt into it. Grab had partnered with ComfortDelGro’s five main competitors last year to open JustGrab up to their drivers.

This post Grab and Uber may have to revisit deal terms to avoid derailment, say experts appeared first on Tech in Asia.

Silot CEO Andy Li (center) and team members at the Visa Everywhere Initiative in Thailand, where Silot won the People’s Choice Award / Photo credit: Silot

Andy Li was an entrepreneur even before he founded Silot, a Singapore-based software company catering to banks. A Chinese national, Li has lived in Southeast Asia for almost 20 years and has been instrumental in growing local branches of large companies like Baidu and Sea in the region.

Silot was the result of Li feeling the need to start something of his own. Today, it announced a pre-series A round worth US$2.87 million from fintech-oriented fund Arbor Ventures and Eight Roads Ventures, which has also invested in Alibaba.

Launched in early 2017, the startup promises to help banks process new methods of payment more efficiently and securely, without having to upgrade their systems. But the problem, Li tells Tech in Asia, is that financial institutions work with legacy infrastructure that isn’t built to easily accommodate new tech like QR-code payments.

Right now, banks are missing out on several opportunities, such as being acquirers for mobile wallets. An acquirer is the company that processes payment on behalf of the merchant in a transaction.

Companies like Adyen have stepped in to fill that gap when it comes to wallets like GrabPay. The reason for this is that for many banks, it’s too costly and time-consuming to upgrade so they can handle new payment methods. Silot provides that upgrade for banks by simply giving them access to its suite of tools.

Preparing for the future of payments

Silot’s suite includes an engine that can process QR-code payments, riding on the wave of adoption for this method in Southeast Asia, after it conquered China. The software supports QR-code payments from providers including Visa and Mastercard, Alipay and WeChat Pay, as well as Prompt Pay in Thailand and PayNet in Malaysia. It can also accommodate payment methods like NFC, as well as traditional card payments if needed.

Silot uses artificial intelligence and specifically knowledge graph technology, which makes sense out of data in silos. Data silos are stored sets of data within an organization that remain unconnected. This can often be because of legal and security reasons, and also because it can hamper a company’s processes as collaboration between different sets of information becomes difficult.

Knowledge graph technology can eliminate such data silos to glean useful insights without compromising security. For example, a bank might be looking for customers who need loans, but all the data they have access to is related to previous loan activity. But useful information about those customers might also be found in their transactions, or data from acquiring merchants. Silot’s tech is meant to bring all this data together to draw a full picture of potential customers for banks.

The idea is to get banks to work a little more like tech companies. “Internet companies have no legacy systems, because all the data is connected. And they have big data and AI teams to work with that data,” Li continues. Banks could build that infrastructure for themselves, but it takes significant amounts of time and investment.

Silot’s tech is meant to bring all this data together to draw a full picture of potential customers for banks.

Silot’s suite includes anti-fraud, anti-money laundering, and know-your-customer features to maintain security and reliability. It can make fast decisions, like identifying which transactions are legit and which need to be flagged. For example, if a user is traveling abroad, the system could gather and analyze data like the flight tickets they booked or the hotel where they checked in, and verify if the transactions coming from there are probably safe to approve.

Silot is targeting the Southeast Asian market and Hong Kong. It has completed a pilot with Krungsri Bank in Thailand, helping it accept transactions from payment platform PromptPay. It has also partnered with a “famous mobile wallet” in Singapore, although Li declined to reveal which one. It intends to explore other territories in the future.

Eventually, the startup wants to use blockchain technology to make data more accessible between different parties in a transaction, including financial institutions, merchants, and individuals. It plans to launch its blockchain product by the end of this year, so more details aren’t forthcoming.

Silot bagged US$800,000 in seed funding from ZhenFund in 2017, becoming the China-based angel fund’s first investment in Southeast Asia. The fresh funding will go towards Silot’s expansion in Southeast Asia, where the startup will be adding to its headcount.

Between two worlds

Before launching Silot, Li worked for a number of high-profile companies in the region. In Malaysia, he set up and managed local operations for Chinese software developer Kingsoft and Singaporean gaming platform Garena (now part of the Sea group). He was also deputy general manager for Baidu Global Payment, doing business development in Thailand, Myanmar, and Vietnam. And as ChangYou.com’s regional managing director, he established the Chinese online game operator’s Southeast Asia operations.

“In Jakarta, Bangkok, and Singapore, I don’t usually need a GPS,” he jokes. He can speak Thai and Indonesian, in addition to Mandarin and English.

This extensive work experience gave him the networks, connections, and confidence to finally build something of his own. But things got moving during a conversation with Max Hui, managing director of Chinese asset management firm CDH Investments, when they met over lunch to discuss a job opportunity in New Zealand. Li wanted to explore that side of the world, but Hui persuaded him to stick to Southeast Asia, where he could make a difference.

There are not many people familiar with what is happening in the industry in China and have the local connections in Southeast Asia.

Li counts Hui as one of two mentors who inspired him on his entrepreneurship trek. The other is Baidu president Zhang Ya-qin, who believes that internet companies looking to expand overseas should focus on the verticals where they have competitive advantage – whether that’s technology or operating experience in their field.

Li took this view to heart. When pitching to ZhenFund, he emphasized his understanding of the Chinese cashless payments industry and Southeast Asian markets. His experience of the region’s mobile-first mindset helped clinch the deal.

“There are not many people familiar with what is happening in the industry in China and have the local connections in Southeast Asia,” he claims.

China’s tech veterans

Silot’s 30-strong team is split between Singapore and Beijing. The team in the Lion City focuses on the operations and finance side of things. For example, COO Villence Yu is a Citigroup alum and a former product manager for Google Wallet.

The Beijing team takes care of tech matters and consists of several Baidu veterans, whom Li brought with him from his time there. It also includes research and development talent from Tencent and Alibaba. Bryan Sun, who worked on Baidu Wallet’s cross-border tech, is Silot’s CTO.

The team followed Li to Silot because, like him, they saw a chance to build a meaningful product of their own. Their work at Baidu didn’t have the impact they would have wished, as Tencent’s WeChat pulled the payments rug from under everyone in China, while Alibaba threw its considerable weight behind Alipay. “Baidu was far behind in payments relative to WeChat and Alipay,” he explains.

Li claims that Silot doesn’t have direct competitors at the moment, as its competition is mostly traditional banking system integrators that work with legacy systems.

The main challenge in running and growing Silot, Li muses, is in learning and improving how it works with traditional finance clients and partners. “Most of us have a technical background, and research and development requirements in the financial industry are a little bit different,” he says.

One example is applying fixes and updates to existing systems. Internet companies can push out regular updates to their products if they think it’s necessary. When your system is used by banks, though, this won’t fly. “Everything has to work from the outset,” Li stresses. “So we definitely need to learn fast and we cooperate with financial institutions to do that.”

This post This Baidu and Sea veteran just raised $2.8m to get banks ready for online payments appeared first on Tech in Asia.

Have you ever faced an angry customer? In the business world, hell hath no fury like a customer scorned. With the emergence of deep learning and artificial intelligence, businesses have better access to customer data – allowing them to offer improved services and customer experience.

Below, take a look at four AI startups that are bridging the gap between business and consumers. Check them out at Startup Factory during Tech in Asia Singapore 2018 from May 15 to 16.

Agara Labs

Poring through customer calls, emails, and social media posts can be tiresome. As the ways with which customers can contact enterprises increase in number, infusing the process with deep learning becomes essential. Without the technology, analyzing customer responses will eventually take more time than actually responding to them.

Agara Labs automates the entire process from query analysis to actual response. Their end-to-end system covers all the needed bases that enterprises require to face customers. It includes three vital stages: classifying responses according to queries, predicting their intents, and constructing appropriate responses.

Working in real time, the prediction engine promises to reduce the duration of customer cases dramatically. This leads to an increase in the number of cases closed. From a financial perspective, Agara Labs’ promise will increase savings as agents are freed up to do more important tasks.

Alakazam

Alakazam’s area of expertise caters to the marketing department, and eases the load by collating and analyzing an enterprise’s marketing activities on all major social media platforms. From this, its marketing assistant is able to schedule a consultation with a human team to suggest goals and courses of action.

In addition, a customer assistant will also communicate with users on the same platforms. The assistant’s options tailors it for specific industries including food, travel, and retail. Alakazam also offers custom bots that will work based on metrics and goals that each customer sets.

Cognitv Technologies

“Are you satisfied with our product?” A customer’s response to this question might be different from what he or she actually feels. Even if they’re not satisfied, they might say that they are just so you’ll stop asking.

Cognitv Technologies uses facial recognition to paint a more accurate picture on a product’s public perception. Likewise, the technology will also allow businesses to monitor employee perception.

The startup can capture images from CCTVs, webcams, and other camera sources for automatic processing. Using AI facial recognition, the web service can collect and analyze data according to demographic and sentiment. Then, they can publish a report for their clients’ exclusive business use.

Their offerings already include camera feeds that enterprises can pay for on a monthly rental fee. Their services allow for 24/7 unobtrusive monitoring of any facility.

EkkBaz Business

EkkBaz Business is a B2B platform that caters to the fast-moving consumer goods market, particularly for manufacturers, distributors, and retailers. From the convenience of an app, businesses can create and manage orders, and even book dedicated grocery spaces to showcase their products to store visitors. On the other hand, clients are able to pay and have their orders delivered with just a few clicks.

If the app’s ease of communication proves lacking, chat functions are available, allowing business to connect with all their stakeholders using either text or voice. At the end of the day, EkkBaz offers real-time analytics that help businesses forecast demand and expand revenue.

Last chance to showcase your startup at #tiasg2018!

All four of these AI startups will exhibit their technology-powered products at Tech in Asia Singapore 2018’s Startup Factory this May 15 & 16. Right now, the stage is still open for startups to strut their stuff – but only for one more day.

Don’t miss your chance to meet fellow startups, interested investors, and experienced professionals. 10 percent discount (i.e. US$59) and applications for Startup Factory will end tomorrow, April 17, 11:59pm (GMT + 8).

Whether you have a startup or not, Tech in Asia Singapore 2018 offers a host of opportunities. Attendees can network with more than 5,000 techies, meet with 250 other exhibiting startups, gain insights from our content stages, and more. Tickets are still available here – purchase your passes by April 29 to get 10 percent off (code: tiasg10)!

This post Meet 4 AI-powered startups that are changing customer satisfaction at TIA Singapore 2018 appeared first on Tech in Asia.

Ola plans to have 10,000 electric auto-rickshaws on India’s roads in the next 12 months. / Photo credit: Ola

Here’s a roundup of news from today and over the weekend that you might have missed.

Transportation

Hellobike nets US$700 million in fresh investment (China). The bike-sharing startup secured the funding from previous backers Ant Financial and Fosun, as well as seven new investors. Hellobike raised US$350 million in its December 2017 series D round, with electric vehicle (EV) maker WM Motor and bike manufacturer Fujita among the participants. It acquired rival bike-sharing startup Youon Bike the preceding October. Ant Financial and its parent Alibaba also back bike-sharing firm Ofo, while competitor Mobike was acquired by Meituan-Dianping earlier this month. (China Money Network)

Photo credit: Hellobike

Ola to build on its Indian fleet with 10,000 electric rickshaws (India). The ride-hailing company has announced that over the next 12 months, it will add 10,000 electric auto-rickshaws to its pool of vehicles. Last year, Ola started an EV trial program in Nagpur that included rickshaws. The new addition is part of the firm’s plan to roll out 1 million EVs onto India’s roads by 2021. (TechCrunch)

Media and entertainment

Pear Video secures US$98.2 million investment from Baidu and Tencent (China). Pear Video provides news updates in short video format, typically of 30 seconds to three minutes in length, and claims to get 1 billion clicks each day. Tencent led the series A round, marking the latest of several investments it has made in video-related startups recently, with web giant Baidu also taking part.  (China Money Network)

Video++ closes US$55.6 million funding from Alibaba and others (China). The startup – also known as Jilian Technology – digitizes videos and then uses AI tech to recognize and tag content relevant to brands, celebrities, products, and so on, helping with targeted advertising. It has partnered with video streaming platforms including Youku, iQiyi, Mango TV, Douyu, and Panda TV, and booked US$79.6 million in revenue last year. Facial recognition startup Face++ co-led the round with Alibaba, while Yunfeng Capital and Toutoushidao Capital also participated. (China Money Network)

Health and well-being

Affordplan raises US$10 million in series B round (India). The New Delhi-based startup works with medical services providers to make healthcare more affordable through planned savings for non-emergency medical services. Lok Capital led the round, with Kalaari Capital, Omidyar Network, and Prime Venture Partners, also taking part. Affordplan said it would use the funds to expand in India and launch new savings, lending, and insurance products to cover healthcare expenses. (Inc42)

HyTriage lands US$4 million in funding (China). The healthcare startup, which develops and supplies diagnostic testing kits to hospitals and other medical institutions, has announced the closing of its latest funding round from Yahui Medical Fund. HyTriage will use the capital to expand its market and refine its product. (KrAsia)

Data analytics

MiningLamp gets US$159 million in Tencent-led series C fundraise (China). Tencent and Chinese asset management firm China Renaissance co-led the investment in MiningLamp, which provides big data solutions for clients including the People’s Bank of China, China Everbright Bank, and train maker CRRC Corporation. The startup raised US$30 million in its 2016 series B round, which was led by Sequoia Capital. (China Money Network)

Fintech

Silot raises US$2.87 million in pre-series A round (Singapore). The local fintech startup, which aims to help banks process digital payments more efficiently and securely, closed its pre-series A round from Arbor Ventures and Eight Roads Ventures. Silot will use the fresh funding to expand its business in Southeast Asia, where it’s planning to hire more people. Last year, it bagged US$800,000 in seed funding from ZhenFund, which is the China-based angel fund’s first investment in Southeast Asia. (Tech in Asia)

Silot CEO Andy Li (center) and team members at the Visa Everywhere Initiative in Thailand, where Silot won the People’s Choice Award / Photo credit: Silot

Ecommerce

Meilishuo seeks US$4 billion IPO in US (China). The Tencent-backed ecommerce startup is reportedly in discussions with several investment banks about an IPO that could value the firm at about US$4 billion. The women-focused online retailer, which sells clothes, shoes, handbags, and cosmetics, merged with its rival Mogujie two years ago. (Bloomberg)

Delivery and logistics

US$2 million funding for logistics digitizer Pando (India). The Bangalore-based startup has developed a logistics management platform aimed at larger enterprises, and several Fortune 500 companies already implement its product. Pando indicated it would use the US$2 million seed investment – from backers led by Nexus Venture Partners – for product development and hires. (Inc42)

Consumer tech

Xiaomi may seek Hong Kong IPO at US$70 billion (China). The Chinese unicorn is now rumored to be seeking US$70 billion for its anticipated Hong Kong IPO, though earlier reports had suggested it could fetch closer to US$200 billion. The Beijing-based electronics manufacturer is reportedly planning to submit its application for listing as soon as next month. It also intends to list its shares in Mainland China in the future. (TechNode)

Social media

Resentment online as Weibo culls LGBTQ content (China). The country’s social networking giant has announced that to comply with new cybersecurity laws, it will remove any LGBT-related content from the platform, as well as content considered pornographic or violent. This move has sparked online outcry and protests, with the hashtag “#IAmGay” posted on Weibo 170,000 times until it was ultimately banned by the social media. Last week, news app Toutiao and video platforms Douyin and Kuaishou faced similar content crackdowns. (TechNode)

Real estate and property

Authorities seek public feedback on short-term rental proposals (Singapore). The country’s Urban Redevelopment Authority has drafted a regulatory framework for short-term rentals typically offered by platforms like Airbnb. The proposed rules may allow private owners to list their homes on such websites for 90 days per year if they meet certain criteria, such as getting consent from 80 percent of residents in their apartment block and registering their guests’ details with the URA. Airbnb said in a statement that it’s committed to reasonable solutions that will allow responsible home sharing, and will work with hosts and guests to ensure that their feedback are heard. (Channel NewsAsia)

Investors, incubators, and accelerators

LaSalle secures US$1.15 billion for latest fund (Asia). The real estate investment manager – a subsidiary of property giant Jones Lang LaSalle – has closed its fifth LaSalle Asia Opportunity fund, exceeding its original US$750 million target. Twenty institutional investors from Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and the US participated in the fundraise. LaSalle has said that 85 percent of the secured commitment will be assigned to the fund, while the remaining 15 percent will be used for co-investments. (DealStreetAsia)

See: Previous Asia tech news roundups

This post Asia news roundup: Hellobike raises $700m, Ola goes electric, and more appeared first on Tech in Asia.

Photo credit: Zimplistic

Singapore-based Zimplistic announced today it has raised US$30 million in a series C round led by private equity firm Credence Partners and EDBI, the investment arm of Singapore’s Economic Development Board. Existing investors also joined the round.

Zimplistic is known for Rotimatic, a household appliance that automates Indian-style flatbread making. The device solves a problem for households that want to have freshly baked flatbread for their meals, but their busy lifestyles turn them toward ready-made, frozen, and generally unhealthy options.

The startup, led by the husband-and-wife team of Rishi Israni and Pranoti Nagarkar, claimed a revenue of US$20 million last year, which was its first year of selling the Rotimatic. Israni says the company now has 30,000 users, up from 20,000 in November 2017.

With the new funding, the startup says it hopes to turn 25 percent of the world’s flatbread-consuming population into Rotimatic users.

Rotimatic is sold in the US, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, the Middle East, and Canada. In 2015, it raised a series B round worth US$11.5 million from NSI Ventures and Robert Bosch Venture Capital.

This is a developing story. Check back for details.

This post Fresh from hitting $20m in revenue, Rotimatic maker Zimplistic raises $30m appeared first on Tech in Asia.

This May 15 & 16, more than 250 promising startups will be gathered under one roof at Tech in Asia Singapore 2018, showcasing their products to over 5,000 attendees, investors and media.

Fintech has been revolutionizing traditional industries, particularly the finance sector. Blockchain is becoming more mainstream, and digitalization has become increasingly widespread. In line with the evolving landscape, this article highlights four fintech startups to keep a look out for at Startup Factory.

TranSwap

TranSwap aims to make money transfer abroad both convenient and cost-effective. Based in Singapore and Hong Kong, the company allows users to seamlessly manage and execute payments globally while reducing foreign exchange conversion costs and complexity. It promises to save businesses up to eight times in transaction costs as compared to intermediaries. The funds are also secure as it does not form part of the company’s assets, and are instead deposited in segregated accounts.

GStar.AI

GStar.AI noticed the trend of skilled manual traders becoming obsolete, and being gradually replaced by algorithmic financial trading. The company has a dream of bringing traders back into the ecosystem by simplifying knowledge exchange amongst them. GStar.AI seeks to match traders with the public so that both sides can benefit – experts are able to build and monetize their trading ideas, while the masses are able to enjoy the services at lower cost.

EmasDigi

With an aim to modernize the buying and selling of gold, EmasDigi allows you to trade quality gold, starting from 0.01 grams, through a mobile application. Beyond that, users can even do mutual gold transfers amongst friends through their smartphones. The company hopes to introduce both price transparency and quality assurance to users.

Pampasy

Pampasy is a mobile platform that provides cashless payment solutions for individuals and businesses, with a focus on empowering small and medium-sized enterprises in accepting cashless payments through smartphones. A sample use case would be the payment of parking fees, which can be done by scanning a QR code. Premium members of Pampasy are entitled to perks such as cashbacks and bonuses for recruiting new members to the program.

Showcase your offerings at TIA Singapore 2018

Beyond getting a chance to connect with potential customers and generate brand awareness, you’ll also get to meet media and investors. Keen to be part of the 250 unique startup exhibitors at Startup Factory?

10 percent discount (i.e. US$59) and application for Startup Factory will end tonight, 17 April, 11.59pm (GMT +8). Each booth package costs US$597 before discount and comes with a one-day booth and two exhibitor passes. You will only pay for your booth upon confirmation, be sure not to miss your last chance to exhibit!

If you’d like to be present as an attendee, you’ll also get to meet over 5,000 industry players and learn from many insightful talks this May 15 & 16. Get your tickets before 29 April to score 10 percent off (up to US$69) with the code tiasg10. Pro-tip: To enjoy early and exclusive access to the exhibiting startups’ database, simply upgrade to an Investor Pass!

This post 4 fintech startups worth checking out at Tech in Asia Singapore 2018 appeared first on Tech in Asia.

Photo credit: Zimplistic

The US has banned a telecommunications-gear maker in China from buying American products amid growing trade tensions between the two giant economies.

Consumer tech

Zimplistic lands US$30 million in series C round (Singapore). The startup, which has developed Indian-style flatbread-making appliance Rotimatic, announced today that it has closed its series C fundraise. The round was co-led by private equity firm Credence Partners and EDBI, the investment unit of Singapore’s Economic Development Board. Existing backers also joined the round. Zimplistic said the capital will go towards realising its goal of converting 25 percent of the global flatbread-consuming population into Rotimatic users. (Tech in Asia)

Ecommerce

Government releases ecommerce statistics for the first time (Singapore). The city-state’s Department of Statistics has begun releasing monthly figures for online retail sales, which will help lawmakers determine if there should be any changes made to current tax policy. The agency reported digital transactions worth US$110 million in February, which made up 3.9 percent of overall retail sales in the country – a 0.2 percent dip from the previous month. (Bloomberg)

JD to invest US$85.4 million in Allianz China arm (China). The Beijing-based ecommerce firm has announced that it will take up a 33 percent stake in the China unit of global insurance company Allianz, in a bid to expand its foothold in the online finance sector. The investment is subject to approval from China’s banking regulator – if greenlighted, it would make JD the second largest shareholder in Allianz China. (Reuters)

Enterprise software and services

Kdan raises US$5 million in series A funding round (Taiwan). The mobile software company, which offers content creation tools and online cloud services to users, has closed its series A financing round. Investors included WI Harper Group, Darwin Venture Management, and Accord Ventures. Kdan will use the funding to expand its footprint in the US and China as well as develop new features aimed at enterprises and educational institutions. (Kdan)

Dexecure co-founder and CEO Inian Parameshwaran (L) and director of sales Harun Hujic (R) / Photo credit: Dexecure

Dexecure secures US$763,000 in seed round (Singapore). The SaaS startup, which has developed tech to optimize and speed up loading for mobile and desktop websites, has bagged approximately US$763,000 in seed funding from Cocoon Capital and Walden International. It will use the funding to hire sales team members and explore potential new product lines. (Dexecure)

Retail

Better Life’s chairman says staffless stores are a “pseudo-proposition” and “a dead end” (China). Wang Tian, chairman of the Tencent- and JD-backed retail conglomerate, has suggested in a social media post that staffless convenience stores – something that his firm’s investors have devoted considerable efforts to – will not work. Better Life operates department stores, convenience shops, and supermarkets in the country. (KrAsia

Blockchain and cryptocurrencies

Coinhako launches Bitcoin Cash e-wallet (Singapore). The Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange and wallet firm, which claims to process over seven figures’ worth of digital currency transactions every month, has launched Bitcoin Cash capability for their e-wallet, allowing users to buy, sell, or trade the bitcoin spin-off cryptocurrency on its platform. (Coinhako)

Media and entertainment

Streaming content from iQiyi / Photo credit: Tech in Asia

Beijing-based iQiyi joins AOMedia as group’s first Chinese member (China). The video-streaming platform, touted as the country’s Netflix-equivalent, announced that it has joined the Alliance for Open Media (AOMedia), an international group made up of leading companies in the video-related tech industry. AOMedia’s founders, which include Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, IBM, and Netflix, formed the organisation to address the need for open standards for video compression and delivery over the web. (iQiyi)

Life sciences

Alcheme raises undisclosed amount in seed round (Singapore). The tech-driven skincare startup, which customizes products for individual consumers by using facial recognition technology, has closed its seed funding round led by DSG Consumer Partners and private investor Kenneth Bishop. The firm said the capital will be used for product and market development, and to increase their market presence in the beauty industry. (Alcheme)

Big tech

ZTE banned from buying US technology for seven years (China). In another sign of growing trade tensions between the two countries, the US Department of Commerce has prohibited the Chinese firm from purchasing any US technology for a seven-year period. The ban comes in the wake of several US national security concerns about ZTE, including that it paid bonuses to employees engaged in allegedly illegal activities. The move prevents ZTE, one of the world’s biggest manufacturers of smartphone and communications gear, from buying crucial components (Bloomberg)

See: Previous Asia tech news roundups

This post Asia news roundup: Rotimatic maker bags $30m, ZTE banned from buying US tech, and more appeared first on Tech in Asia.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg during a trip to Indonesia / Photo credit: Mark Zuckerberg

Indonesia, one of the most active countries on Facebook with 130 million accounts, has repeatedly threatened to block the social network if it fails to keep user data safe, prevent hate speech, and curb fake news. A criminal investigation was launched against the firm in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica data scandal earlier this month, and its local management was called to testify in front of the Indonesian parliament today.

This type of strong action from the government against global internet firms isn’t uncommon – sites like Tumblr, Reddit, and Vimeo have been blocked permanently in the country.

Yet it’s highly unlikely that Facebook will meet a similar fate, according to analysts. The company has already taken steps to cooperate, and many Indonesian firms rely on the platform for advertising and sales.

The government might instead find other ways to exert influence, like taking control over Facebook’s business activities in Indonesia, suggests Yohan Misero of non-government organization (NGO) Community Legal Aid Institute.

According to him, it’s unlikely for the data misuse case to be escalated, even though there is a legal foundation in Indonesia’s Electronic Information and Transactions Law. The law states that electronic information and documents may not be transferred to a third party that does not have the right to access this data. Any breach could theoretically lead to a fine or even jail time.

“The law is difficult to enforce. If you want to follow it through to the end, would this go all the way up to Mark Zuckerberg? Does Indonesia have the power to do that? It’s hard to find an individual perpetrator because this was done by Facebook systematically,” Misero said.

He thinks that the momentum might instead be used to force Facebook into investing more in its local office, and launching more workplaces and local data centers. The US firm is in a long-standing debate with local authorities over what type of business unit it needs to register in the archipelago, which has consequences on taxation, among other things.

Damar Juniarto, the founder of digital rights advocacy group Digital Democracy Forum, has the same view. “I see the government using [the shutdown threat] as an intimidation attempt. It’s the only weapon the government has if the dialogue between the two doesn’t flow smoothly.” He thinks the Indonesian legal system is ultimately not equipped to crack down on Facebook.

Taking response measures

When Facebook’s local management was called in for questioning, it admitted that more than 700 Indonesian users had installed “This Is Your Digital Life”, the app linked to Cambridge Analytica that scraped data off these accounts and their friends. In total, more than one million user profiles were affected.

Facebook is already taking measures to appease the Indonesian government, including an audit of all third-party apps that had access to user data through the firm’s API and limiting the data that the Facebook Login feature can collect. It took these same measures globally.

To stamp out fake news in Indonesia, the firm launched a fact-checking initiative with local online media organization Tirto, and plans to partner with NGOs like a youth group and the election monitoring agency to improve digital literacy through workshops and via Facebook notifications.

Facebook declined to comment on the specifics of its collaborations, but Tirto founder Sapto Anggoro told Tech in Asia that the social media behemoth is funding the program. While he could not reveal how much the program’s budget is, he said it would allow Tirto to hire full-time staff in the future.

Anggoro, however, believes more needs to be done, saying the fake news and hate speech problem is massive in Asia. “[Facebook] needs more partners, with a mix of technical solutions and more people and training. And it needs coordination with institutions like the IT Ministry and the Press Council so that this work is regarded as legitimate.”

Both parties need each other

With these steps being taken, IT Minister Rudiantara is less likely to follow through with his threat to ban the social network.

Soon after saying he would not hesitate to block Facebook if necessary, he toned down his language, telling Kompas last week that a decision wouldn’t be made recklessly.

After all, a ban will also hurt businesses that help drive Indonesia’s economic growth.

Advertisers on Facebook would have to scramble to divert ad budgets to other channels, says Arne Van Looveren, co-founder and chief creative officer of a digital advertising agency in Indonesia, Y Dgital.

Online businesses, such as travel booking platforms Tiket and Traveloka, use Facebook ads to win customers, while small vendors use the social network – and its affiliates WhatsApp and Instagram – as informal sales channels.

Small businesses would struggle most if Facebook got blocked, agrees Rifky Septiaji, head of social media at digital agency Lion and Lion. He explains that Facebook is running initiatives to teach small businesses to use the platform for growth. “These [small] business owners have limited knowledge to switch their online marketing tactics if the platform ever got shut down.”

From Facebook’s perspective, Indonesia is an important growth market, but the amount of ad revenue it generates here pales in comparison to the US at the moment, Van Looveren muses. “I think they can survive a day or even a year without Indonesia from a cash perspective.”

However, he said Indonesia could be one of the biggest markets that will drive Facebook’s growth over the long term. “[Facebook] can’t afford to lose this market. They will need to do a lot of government relations.”

This post Why a Facebook ban is unlikely in Indonesia appeared first on Tech in Asia.

Funding Societies co-founders Reynold Wijaya (L) and Kelvin Teo (R) / Photo credit: Funding Societies

There’s a story going around that Kelvin Teo and Reynold Wijaya quit their hard-won places at the vaunted Harvard Business School to launch Funding Societies, the Singaporean peer-to-peer (P2P) lending startup they co-founded in 2015.

“To be clear, we actually graduated! Although barely,” Teo – who also serves as Funding Societies’ CEO – told Tech in Asia, in a simultaneous correction and admission.

“We’d be slaughtered by our families if we dropped out. It may sound cool but studying at Harvard in the day, while working on Funding Societies at night to match the 12-hour time difference, was brutal. But we knew if we didn’t start in 2015, we’d miss the market.”

We had one-month runway left. We bet our remaining cash on expensive legal opinions.

The tribulations didn’t end there. “Many people know that Sequoia India gave us a term sheet upon our graduation in 2016, but few know that a sudden regulatory change on the week of our return [to Singapore] wiped out 90 percent of our business, before we closed our series A,” said Teo.

“We had one-month runway left. We bet our remaining cash on expensive legal opinions, sought an institutional loan, and restructured our marketplace business into a balance-sheet lending business to continue growth. Thankfully Sequoia stood behind us.”

Teo and Wijaya’s decision to abdicate sleep, risk their graduation, and push on despite the obliteration of their embryonic business appears to have been vindicated. Funding Societies announced today that it has raised US$25 million in a series B round led by Softbank Ventures Korea, in what it claims is the biggest funding round closed by a P2P lender in Southeast Asia to date.

The oversubscribed round also saw participation from existing investors Sequoia Capital, Golden Gate Ventures, and Alpha JWC Ventures, while Qualgro and Line Ventures – the VC arm of messaging app Line – came on board for the first time.

Being compliant is the number one priority… we’re in a trust-based and regulated industry.

Teo said that the funds will primarily be used for product development and to ensure regulatory compliance in the three territories it operates in – Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia, where it does business under the Modalku brand.

“To grow, we’ll continue to build expertise in our space, develop core capabilities, and expand our teams in our existing countries. While we’re exploring new markets, there is still a lot of work to be done in our current ones. Hence the decision of overseas expansion or diversification into other areas is never taken lightly,” he said.

SME financing

Funding Societies – under its Indonesian brand name, Modalku – won the International Telecommunication Union’s Global SME Excellence Award in 2017. / Photo credit: Funding Societies

Funding Societies applies the P2P or “crowdlending” concept to small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) finance, helping to capitalize businesses that often struggle to secure loans from banks and traditional providers. This P2P subset is sometimes referred to as “peer-to-company” (P2C) lending.

It holds a Capital Markets Service license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore, and is a registered market operator with the Securities Commission in Malaysia and the Financial Services Authority in Indonesia.

“Being compliant is the number one priority, as we’re in a trust-based and regulated industry,” said Teo.

Lenders – including both accredited and retail investors – can lend money to SMEs through Funding Societies, with a minimum investment of US$50 per loan making it accessible to a wide range of prospective lenders. More than 60,000 investors have loaned capital via the startup’s platform.

Its user base of institutional investors grew by 200 percent over the past year, while their investment volume grew by 780 percent.

To institutional investors, the SME loan is a unique asset class.

Teo explained this “disproportionately” positive trend as a result of increased confidence in the platform among accredited investors and professional lenders, and a growing realization that this type of P2P lending can offset risk elsewhere in their investment portfolios.

“To institutional investors, the SME loan is a unique asset class as it is less correlated with other asset classes, enabling them to diversify their portfolio,” he said.

On average, our investors have earned approximately 10% returns, after defaults and service fees.

Nevertheless, the majority of the startup’s lender base is made up of retail investors – though Teo noted they are “understandably more conservative” compared to accredited investors due to having less capital and a generally lower risk profile.

10 percent returns

Teo reported that institutional and retail investors alike have earned returns of about 10 percent, after defaults and service fees, from the loans they invest in through Funding Societies.

To date, the platform has disbursed around US$110 million across nearly 3,000 loans to its borrower base. Its outstanding loan book – in other words, the amount of money its lender base is currently owed, and which is accruing interest – stands at US$34.3 million.

The vast majority of loans made via Funding Societies are repaid on time, with default rates on the platform at a relatively low 1.4 percent – though Teo expects this to eventually stabilise at somewhere between 3 and 5 percent as the startup exponentially grow its loan book and borrower base.

To keep defaults low, Funding Societies uses “a combination of technology, data and financial expertise to evaluate each case,” he explained. “To effectively manage each loan risk profile, we tailor the risk management approach by country, product, and increasingly by industry.”

The P2P lending opportunity in Southeast Asia

While this latest US$25 million capital injection – on top of the US$7.5 million it raised in its August 2016 series A round – may well make Funding Societies one of the best-funded P2P lending players in Southeast Asia, it is by no means the only one.

The Singapore Fintech Association lists a total of 70 startups across the online lending and online funding categories.

Fellow Singaporean outfit CapitalMatch, an invoice financing and secured loans provider, netted an undisclosed amount of funding from Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin’s B Capital Dymon Asia Ventures in its series B round this January. Other Singapore-based P2C lenders include MoolahSense, as well as CoAssets and Validus Capital, which specialize in real estate deals and serving accredited investors, respectively. Validus secured US$3.6 million from Vertex Ventures and angel investors in an unspecified funding round last July.

By contrast, P2P lending models have taken the China by storm. Online lending startups like Lufax and Dianrong – as well as Yirendai, which IPOd in the US in December 2015, are household names in their home country.

“Just as it was, and still is, a hugely contested space in China and to an extent India, the competition is fast on the rise in Southeast Asia,” said Teo.

“Overheating may lead to negative competition, whereby platforms give out loans indiscriminately for growth and default rates climb, potentially at the expense of retail lenders. However, it’d also stimulate the growth of the fintech sector as a whole and create, hopefully, several local fintech giants. The balance between both forces would depend on appropriate regulations.”

The opportunity these platforms are tapping is clear. A recent study by Ernst & Young, UOB, and Dun & Bradstreet found that 65.2 percent of surveyed Southeast Asian SMEs do not have easy access to business financing, while 67.8 percent of respondents indicated they were open to non-traditional financing options like P2P lending.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Converted from Singapore dollars. Rate: US$1 = S$1.31

This post P2P lender launched at Harvard raises $25m in Softbank-led series B appeared first on Tech in Asia.

The Park N Parcel team / Photo credit: Park N Parcel

You’ve bought something online, but inevitably, you’re at work or out enjoying yourself when the postman knocks. The package returns to the distribution center, and you have to go through the hassle of rescheduling a delivery time. Which you might miss. Again.

It’s a prime example of something which the British refer to as “Sod’s law.”

Park N Parcel, a Singaporean last-mile logistics startup, thinks it has the solution to this problem. It has just announced it received US$648,000 in seed funding from TRi5 Ventures and a group of angel investors last month.

See: Singaporean entrepreneurs tackle last-mile delivery with neighborhood spirit

Incubated by the National University of Singapore’s NUS Enterprise and launched in January 2017, Park N Parcel provides a self-collection system for online shoppers. It allows them to have their purchases delivered somewhere other than their home, such as a neighbor’s house or a local store, to pick up at a time convenient for them.

Shoppers can search Park N Parcel’s website to pinpoint available “parkers” – the close-to 1,500 vetted proxies who can receive their deliveries. Once matched, they can then enter the relevant parker’s details as the shipping address for their package when ordering online. The shopper gets a notification from Park N Parcel when their package arrives so that they can go and collect it from their parker.

The shopper pays around US$1.80 to use the service, of which parkers get a cut. The startup said in a statement today that it has seen 30 percent month-on-month growth in its client base over the past year.

Park N Parcel also said it plans to use the seed capital to fulfill its goal of expanding to Hong Kong, Japan, and Thailand by the final quarter of 2018. The funding will also help it to strengthen its leadership team through new hires, it added.

Beyond its self-collection platform, the startup is also moving into actual deliveries with its Park N Deliver service, which allows diehard shoppers to have their purchases from one mall delivered to a pick-up point in another.

Park N Parcel is one of several startups and industry incumbents experimenting with self-collect options. Last-mile delivery firm Ninja Van offers its own Ninja Collect service, which delivers packages either to partner businesses or drop-off lockers. SingPost has its own locker system called POPStations.

This is a developing story. Check back for further details.

Converted from Singapore dollars. Rate: US$1 = S$1.31

This post Park N Parcel collects seed funding to deliver Hong Kong, Japan, and Thailand expansion appeared first on Tech in Asia.

Image credit: HelloGold

Here’s a wrap of the day’s news.

Fintech

Funding Societies lands US$25 million in series B round (Singapore). The peer-to-peer lending platform, which allows small and medium-sized enterprises to borrow money from both accredited and retail investors, closed its series B funding round. Softbank Ventures Korea led the round, with participation from Sequoia India, Golden Gate Ventures, and Alpha JWC Ventures. Funding Societies – which does business as Modalku in Indonesia – said the funds will be used for product development and to ensure regulatory compliance. (Tech in Asia)

US$159 million series C raise for 100Credit (China). The startup uses big data to provide a range of credit-related services, such as loan lifecycle management, as well as product development and targeted marketing for insurance companies. China Reform Fund Management, a private equity firm backed by China Reform Holdings Corporation and other central state-owned enterprises, led the round. Previous investor Sequoia Capital returned to participate. (China Money Network)

Sharia-compliant HelloGold closes series A round from 500 Startups (Malaysia). The Kuala Lumpur-based startup, which provides what it claims to be the world’s first sharia-compliant platform for trading gold, secured the funding from 500 Startups. The firm will use the capital to integrate and test blockchain elements on its app and introduce Ethereum smart contracts by the year’s end. (HelloGold)

HelloGold founder and CEO Robin Lee / Photo credit: HelloGold

Alipay pilots digitized national ID cards (China). The digital payments app run by Alibaba affiliate Ant Financial is testing out integration of the Chinese government’s pilot digital ID card scheme, which could one day replace physical ID cards. The trial integration, taking place in the cities of Fuzhou, Hangzhou, and Quzhou, will allow registered users to make purchases requiring ID validation – such as for train tickets or some public services – fully within the Alipay app, without having to separately supply their national ID card details. (TechNode)

Delivery and logistics

Park N Parcel raises US$648,000 in seed funding (Singapore). The self-collection platform for online shoppers has closed its seed round with funding from TRi5 Ventures and a group of angel investors. Park N Parcel will use the capital to boost its team through new hires, and to expand its business to Hong Kong, Japan, and Thailand by the end of the year. (Tech in Asia)

Transportation

Ola rumored to lead investment of up to US$7 million in scooter rental startup (India). The ride-hailing firm is said to be taking the lead alongside Matrix Partners and Stellaris Ventures Partners on Vogo Automotive’s current funding round, which is expected to fetch between US$5 million and US$7 million for the scooter-rental platform. The investment with further Ola’s ambitions to become a dominant player in India’s transport industry, following its acquisition of public transport scheduling and ticketing app Ridlr earlier this month, and its move into bike-sharing. (Livemint)

Blockchain and cryptocurrencies

Citizens will soon be able to pay utility bills via blockchain (Malaysia). Everus Technologies, a Malaysia-based blockchain firm, has developed a mobile wallet for EVR, its Ethereum-based digital currency that can be purchased using bitcoin and certain other cryptocurrencies. The firm did not list the merchants on its platform, but said that the wallet – which requires fingerprint and facial recognition – will allow users to pay for “most of the utilities services in Malaysia.” (The Edge)

Ecommerce

Photo credit: moovstock / 123RF

Amazon’s global customers can now shop from the US (Asia Pacific). Amazon has launched the “International Shopping” option in its Amazon Shopping app, allowing non-US consumers to shop for over 45 million items available in the US in 25 currencies and five languages. (Amazon)

Scroll acquires 26.9 percent stake in Cat Dong (Vietnam). Japan-based Scroll Corporation, which sells fashion items and accessories via catalog mail order, has purchased a stake in the Vietnamese firm for an undisclosed amount. Cat Dong – which owns ecommerce sites Cungmua.com and Nhommua.com – will sell Scroll’s Japanese products. (DealStreetAsia)

Media and entertainment

Authorities order shutdown of 370 live-streaming apps (China). The country’s Culture and Tourism Ministry has ordered their removal from app stores because of supposed failures to comply with regulations. It closed another 57 apps produced by companies that it said were operating under fraudulent licenses. Regulators are also investigating bigger players in the industry like Huajiao and Douyu for hosting “improper” content. This news comes hot on the heels of a series of clampdowns on content apps like Toutiao, Watermelon Video, and Youku. (TechNode)

Edtech

Cetaku raises seed capital from IDN Media (Indonesia). The student-centric startup, which allows university students to print lecture notes for free, has bagged an undisclosed amount in seed funding from IDN Media. Cetaku, which claims to have over 50,000 users, said the funds will be used to grow its user base, develop its product, and to make key hires. (DealStreetAsia)

Consumer tech

LeEco founder Jia Yueting, who quit as group chairman in July 2017 amid the once-lauded company’s rapid decline. Since then, he has been placed on China’s national debt blacklist and has left the country. / Photo credit: LeEco

LeEco TV-making unit gets capital infusion from tech giants (China). New Leshi Smart Home – the TV and smart appliance business of stricken tech firm LeEco – has reportedly secured US$478 million investment from Tencent, JD, Sunac, and Suning. The four companies previously teamed up to acquire a 14 percent stake of real estate and entertainment group Wanda for approximately US$5.4 billion. Tencent also earlier partnered with LeEco to distribute its content via the latter’s TVs. (China Money Network)

Big tech

ZTE may have to ditch Android, while Huawei also likely hit by new telecom rules (China). ZTE hit another trade hurdle after a US telecom regulator proposed new rules that would prohibit government programs from working with companies that could pose a security threat to the country’s telecom network. Crosstown rival Huawei may also be affected by the updated rules. The US Department of Commerce’s seven-year ban on ZTE’s purchase of US technology, issued yesterday, could also mean that the Chinese company will be unable to ship Google’s Android operating system on its devices in the future. (Reuters)

See: Previous Asia tech news roundups

This post Asia news roundup: Softbank leads $25m Modalku round, while 500 Startups backs HelloGold appeared first on Tech in Asia.

Cybersecurity threats are very real. / Image credit: Pexels

Telecommunications giant Singtel has news for Singaporean companies.

“Our analysis reveals that 85 percent of companies in Singapore are not cybersecurity-ready. They don’t have a response plan nor the ability to react when something happens,” shares Charlton Ong, vice president of group human resources at Singtel.

Why are companies in the city-state so unprepared? Data from the Ministry of Communications and Information and the Economic Development Board indicate that in the last six years, Singapore has had a shortage of cybersecurity professionals.

There’s also a lack of experts with more than a decade of experience in cybersecurity, which means that companies are unable to face this crisis head-on.

How the government is responding

To address the problem, government initiatives like the Cyber Security Associates and Technologists (CSAT) program have been helping Singapore companies to enrich their cybersecurity talent pool. CSAT is a joint initiative of Singapore’s Cyber Security Agency and Info-communications Media Development Authority.

CSAT partners companies to train rookie and veteran IT professionals for cybersecurity roles.

CSAT is a part of TechSkills Accelerator (TeSA)’s Company Led Training CLT program, which helps people develop skills in cybersecurity, data analytics, software development, and the internet of things – four key thrusts that will eventually support projects under Singapore’s Smart Nation plan.

CSAT’s partners will provide structured on-the-job training, including in-depth classroom training, and local or overseas attachments. The aim is for trainees to eventually qualify for in-demand tech positions.

Singtel and professional services network PwC are among the partners. Tech in Asia caught up with them to find out what the best practices are for implementing this program.

Charlton Ong, vice president of group human resources at Singtel. / Image credit: Tech in Asia

The Singtel Cyber Security Institute was launched in April 2016. It simulates cybersecurity attacks for board members, C-suite management, and frontline cybersecurity staff to solve. Singtel rolled out its two-year CSAT at the same time.

One successful CSAT trainee from Singtel is 57-year-old Kamarudin Osman, who received a special mention from Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in his 2017 National Day Rally.

After being retrenched from his job as a Middle East and Asia regional manager at a manufacturing and servicing company, Osman came across Singtel’s CSAT program while looking for new employment. 

“Trainees learn how to monitor and assess cyber threats at one of our advanced security operation centers. They get to interact with and customize cybersecurity solutions for clients,” says Ong.

After a few years at Singtel, Kamarudin is now a cybersecurity consultant at Singtel subsidiary NCS, a provider of ICT and communications engineering solutions.

Another alumnus of Singtel’s CSAT program is Ng Teng Hui, a recent computer engineering graduate from Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University.

“Currently, I am working with a Singtel partner to provide cloud-based cyber security solutions to our customers. This includes analysis, working with web application firewall, detection and mitigation, and delivering professional services,” Ng says. 

Singtel’s CSAT program exposed Ng to common cybersecurity terms and helped him understand what customers want. “There was an instance where customers said they were performing VA/PT, which stands for Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Test.” He now appreciates the importance of such tests to improve system security and understand the vulnerabilities of information systems.

But CSAT’s goal is not limited to producing tech-savvy professionals. Emotional intelligence is a trait that Singtel seeks in its cybersecurity trainees, as Ong believes that people with high EQ are more agile and adaptive team players. The ability to “manage the many stakeholders associated with a big corporation” is also valued.

Mentors can help CSAT trainees develop the right attitude and mindset. Having regular check-ins can also equip newbies with the tools to sidestep potential landmines.

As Ong points out: “We are not looking for star individuals, but for star teams, as we need to succeed as a team. There’s no point having just one individual succeed if the whole team doesn’t deliver results.”

Greg Unsworth, digital business leader at PwC. / Image credit: Tech in Asia

PwC is scaling up on cybersecurity

PwC Singapore is a relatively new CSAT partner, but it plans to get a lot more involved.

Common cybersecurity threats in Singapore include ransomware, website defacement, and phishing. Up to 3,400 full-time cybersecurity professionals in Singapore are needed in areas like threat and vulnerability assessment, security management, and crisis management.

As such, there is a pressing need to scale up fast.

The CSAT program “will only be effective with a critical mass and scale,” explains Greg Unsworth, digital business leader and risk assurance leader at PwC. “It’s important to have enough investment to provide a good training environment for trainees to develop deep capabilities to help them succeed in their future careers, whether with the organization or elsewhere,” he adds.

PwC is in it for the long haul: its CSAT training – a mix of self-directed learning, classroom training, and on-the-job mentoring – lasts for three years.  

On top of keeping pace with IT developments, Unsworth says it’s important to align the CSAT program with business needs and organizational objectives. Singtel’s Ong echoes this view, saying: “The last thing you want is to roll out training that is detached from business needs.”

Leaders’ buy-in is the most important factor

As threats and attacks become more sophisticated, cybersecurity is no longer just a technical issue – it has become a boardroom issue as well, according to Ong. “Support and buy-in from senior management are very important for a program [like CSAT] to work.”

In Singapore, data breaches can result in huge fines from the government. In fact, the Personal Data Protection Commission – the city-state’s privacy watchdog – has already fined 22 organizations in the last two years. Moreover, the lack of cybersecurity measures can erode the public’s trust.

“Don’t underestimate the time commitment required from mentors and managers because they also have day jobs,” stresses Ong, highlighting the extra hours mentors put in, on top of their daily tasks and duties.

He continues, “If it’s a two- or three-year program, you just have to go through with it because there will always be operational challenges along the way. You don’t want to just finish the first year, only to lose your stamina in the second year and get bogged down by other operational issues.”

Unsworth feels there’s much more at stake than just private gain for companies. “We want to be able to look back and say we have helped develop the talent pool both in Singapore and globally,” he concludes.

More information about TechSkills Accelerator and CSAT

CSAT is a part of TechSkills Accelerator (TeSA) and Company Led Training (CLT) program: Skillsfuture initiatives driven by Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA). Strategic partners are Workforce Singapore (WSG), SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG), industry partners, and hiring employers.

ICT and non-ICT employers who wish to leverage TeSA’s programs to attract fresh or mid-career professionals to their companies, or plan to develop existing employees’ capabilities with the relevant ICT skills can find out more here.

TeSA also offers various programs to support current Infocomm Media (ICM) professionals and non-ICM professionals to acquire new skills and domain knowledge that are in demand.

This post How Singtel, PwC, and Singapore help the talent-starved cybersecurity industry appeared first on Tech in Asia.

Each week, Tech in Asia Jobs brings you some of the most popular jobs around Asia.

If you’re interested in the startup industry, here are 5 companies that are currently hiring. Get your resumes and job profiles ready, and apply away (:

Hiring? Post a job for free here.

Carpal (Singapore)

The Carpal team / Photo credit: Carpal

Carpal is on a mission to become the on-demand supply chain infrastructure for every major city in the world.

As they grow their business, they are looking for new team members to fill a couple of positions including back-end developer and UX-UI Designer. Check out more below!

Vanitee (Singapore)

The Vanitee team / Photo credit: Vanitee

Vanitee is an online booking service for quality beauty services from independent and emerging beauty artists.

If you’re into beauty trends and are looking for a fun work environment that encourages flat hierarchy and open management, why not join Vanitee? They have open positions in UI/UX, direct sales, business development and corporate sales.

BeMyGuest (Singapore)

Named in the top 50 of Fast Company’s ‘World’s Most Innovative Companies’, BeMyGuest designs innovative technology solutions tailor-made for the region’s unique experience ecosystem.

To help drive regional growth, BeMyGuest is looking for Enterprise solutions managers in Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam and Indonesia.

Moka (Indonesia)

The Moka team / Photo credit: Moka

Moka is a mobile Point of Sale (POS) technology startup that focuses on building POS systems in Indonesia and seeks to provide an end-to-end POS and payment solution.

Moka is now hiring across many different positions in both Singapore and Jakarta, Indonesia. These include sales executive, iOS Software Engineer, Senior Software Engineer – Full Stack and more. Internship positions are available as well!

ReCharge Indonesia (Indonesia)

The ReCharge Indonesia team / Photo credit: ReCharge Indonesia

ReCharge Indonesia is a smart power bank sharing company that aims to provide users with a complete solution to keep their devices charged and connected.

They are expanding their team in Jakarta, Indonesia and are hiring an android app developer, a web developer, a UI/UX designer, amongst many others.

This listicle is brought to you by the Tech in Asia Jobs team. Don’t see a job you’re interested in? Search for 4,000+ more jobs here. Hiring? Post a job for free here.

This post 10 fresh tech and startup jobs in Asia this week from companies like Carpal, Moka and Vanitee appeared first on Tech in Asia.

Image credit: Tech in Asia

Whichever tech circle in Singapore you move in, chances are you’ve heard about another exciting new initial coin offering (ICO) that’s launching. ICOs – also known as token sales – are fast becoming the great Gold Rush of the 21st century and, perhaps, the ultimate equalizers of fundraising. And Singapore has become the new California Dream for some intrepid blockchain explorers.

Pavel Bains is one of them. A Canadian from Vancouver, he moved to Singapore two years ago with aspirations of selling his blockchain enterprise to all the major banks and financial insurers. “My co-founder and I decided that we didn’t want to set ourselves in New York or Canada because one, the banks wouldn’t entertain us, and two, the customer base wasn’t really there,” says the CEO and co-founder of Bluzelle, a company which uses the technology to decentralize enterprise solutions.

Bains’ gamble paid off. Bluzelle closed a US$1.5 million series A round last year, raised US$19.5 million in an ICO in January, and announced a fresh million-dollar investment in March.

“To be honest, historically I don’t place any faith in governments to encourage new technologies, and our first thought was that our customer base was in Singapore so we should be here,” says Bains. “But at the end of the day, the Singaporean government did follow through on their commitments, and they are very supportive of the ecosystem.”

While the company’s 10-person tech team remains in Vancouver, five other members are based in the city-state. By physically setting up his team in Singapore, Bains hopes to take advantage of its outlook on cryptocurrencies, which is relatively liberal compared to most of its neighbors and the rest of the world.

To regulate or not to regulate?

One clear advantage that entrepreneurs have in Singapore is the clarity on what is allowed and what isn’t. While countries like China and India are cracking down on cryptocurrencies and any trading related to them, including token sales, Singapore seems to be setting down the rules of engagement rather than banning digital currencies outright.

“From a regulatory perspective, the government recognizes that there’s something big that’s happening,” explains Prakash Somosundram, a seasoned Singaporean tech entrepreneur who made his fortune building websites in the 1990s and 2000s and now curates conferences about blockchain. “And by allowing innovation to actually take place, we will be able to figure out what’s going to be the long-term value to the local ecosystem,” he adds.

Singapore is now the third-biggest market for token sales globally after the US and Switzerland. And according to Somosundram, “it is still one of the cheapest places to do an ICO compared to other countries, in terms of registering a company, legal fees, and all the other support-related services that you require during an ICO.”

Asia Pacific is the world’s fastest-growing region in economic terms, resulting in more entrepreneurs and tech companies committing boots to the ground and moving lock, stock, and barrel to regional hubs like Singapore.

“To stay competitive, Singapore has been trying to stay ahead of the technology curve,” says Soh Siow Meng, Asia technology market analyst at GlobalData. “This often means making regulatory changes to facilitate the adoption of new technologies, providing funding support where appropriate, and working with various education and industry bodies to develop the right talent.”

Compared to the rest of the region, Singapore is often seen as a good test bed for developing technologies. There are many instances of blockchain entrepreneurs relocating from China, South Korea, and India to take advantage of the liberal regulations in the city-state.

Darryl Lo, a 21-year-old entrepreneur and the CEO of ICO advisory firm Alphablockchain Solutions, moved back to Singapore last year. He planned to run his business from India and secured a client there, but he changed his mind when rumors abounded that the Indian government was planning a nationwide ban on digital currencies.

“Once we got hold of this information, we decided to do the [client’s] ICO in Singapore, as undertaking additional risks and responsibilities for a company that is growing is no easy task, and having to refund dollars based on sold tokens via smart contracts is no easy deal,” says Lo. “Singapore has a strong digital currency presence and experienced attorneys whose law firms have stepped up to the plate to provide legal guidance for companies doing ICOs.”

According to the Association of Cryptocurrency Enterprises and Startups (ACCESS) in Singapore, token sales are on the rise. Of its 210 members – which include 110 companies – at least 25 have held ICOs, with another 10 planning to do so in the coming months.

Howard Yu, who is a professor of management and innovation at IMD business school, thinks that Singapore’s legacy as a financial hub is what makes it attractive to entrepreneurs.

“Even though blockchain and cryptocurrencies are new, the role of Singapore being a regional financial hub is not. For decades, Singapore has nurtured a group of experienced players competing in the sector,” he says. “This makes Singapore hugely attractive, as startups can collaborate with an existing vast network of financial institutes to develop new product and services.”

Roadblocks ahead

Despite this rosy picture, there are plenty of challenges. Anson Zeal, a pioneer of the blockchain movement in Singapore and the chairman of ACCESS, says that the city-state will continuously need to reinvent itself in the fintech space if it wants to remain competitive.

“Competition is on the rise. You’d be surprised that the strong ICO hubs of the future may not be from the existing reputable financial centers, but from names you may not have heard of, including Gibraltar,” explains Zeal. “There is also intense competition between fintechs and banks. Since crypto touches on fintech, if there is intense regulation on fintech, then capital will flow to other new hubs which have nothing to do with being financial centers.”

Adrian Guttridge, an experienced tech entrepreneur, moved to Singapore recently from London. His company, BlockchainWarehouse, supports companies through their token sales and provides blockchain development capabilities. While bullish on Singapore’s future as a fintech and blockchain hub, he’s also cautious because of the stiff competition.

“Singapore is certainly punching above its weight in terms of per capita impact,” explains Guttridge. “Of course, will it ever have the financial reserves the US, UK, Switzerland, or even Germany have? That is going to be harder. Will it be relevant? Yes. Will it have deep pockets? You look at the big tech companies in the US – Google, Apple, and Facebook – they can invest huge amounts if they want to pursue new technologies, so that’s going to be hard to replicate.”

Over-regulation in Singapore is also front of mind for entrepreneurs who have seen cryptocurrency clampdowns in other markets.

“If [the government] becomes fearful about how and where the industry is heading, and if they start acting in a manner where they start to choke innovation, then it is a major threat,” says Somosundram. “We’ve seen other countries that have tried to stop ICOs and cryptocurrencies, and the reality is that projects will flow wherever they are welcome, and capital will flow where it wants to go. Capital has a life of its own.”

Attracting the right technical talent, especially blockchain talent, is another potential difficulty. While there has been a migration of blockchain developers from countries with deep tech backgrounds like China, South Korea, and India, most of them have already been absorbed in companies which have or are about to do a token sale. There are plenty of blockchain companies out there, but the people they need are in high demand and short supply.

Aditya Mishra, an Indian entrepreneur, moved to Singapore from Silicon Valley a few years ago. His company, Zenprivex, is building a decentralized crypto exchange. His main concern isn’t regulation. It’s talent.

“Broadly speaking, and not just from a Singapore perspective, our biggest risk is not having enough talent to build the things we need,” says Mishra, who works to raise awareness about the issue in universities and developer communities.

“This is not just a Singapore issue – it is everywhere. It’s very hard to find developer talent, even more so for blockchain.”

With technology, never say never.

The other, more obvious challenge is the resistance from traditional financial institutions towards blockchain companies. “A lot of banks are not supportive of what is happening in this space. They have a mindset of fear and are still very traditional about protecting what’s theirs,” says Somosundram. “They are not yet ready to innovate and have always looked at fintech as a threat, and crypto for them is evil.”

Nonetheless, Ravi Menon, managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), suggested last month that cryptocurrency could become mainstream in the future. “With technology, never say never,” he said. MAS – which is the city-state’s central bank – is collaborating with the Bank of Canada on a cross-border solution using tokens issued by central banks.

From the look of things, Singapore’s Great ICO Rush looks set to continue.

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