As usual, we have quite a few Asian tech startups on our radar this week, from China, India, Japan, Indonesia, and Laos.
For folks who are interested in investing or partnering with these startups, drop us an email — hello[at]penn-olson[dot]com – anytime. No promise, but we’ll try our best to be the bridge. And if you’re a tech startup founder in Asia hoping to be featured, kindly send us your pitch here.
1. XY Mobile | Laos
For many years, the people of Laos haven’t been able to use the Lao language on their mobile phones because it isn’t standardized or supported. So as a substitute, many are communicating in Thai or English via their mobile phones. That has caused many locals, especially the younger generation, to use less of the Lao language, which may potentially bring the language to the brink of extinction if the dire situation goes on. The startup XY Mobile understands the problem and has worked hard to bring the Lao language onto mobile phones. …
2. Momo | China
One of this year’s most prevalent trends among startups in China has been for sexy-looking location-based apps that help you chat – or hook-up – with people nearby. And here’s another, called Momo app, by a Beijing-based startup called Momo Tech. Momo now has a brand-new app for Android, as well as its iPhone version which has been around since August. In that time, the startup claims to have garnered 500,000 users, and will be hoping the Android platform can strengthen that further. The Momo app uses the tagline “Hello stranger” – …
3. Clingle | India
Since it was launched two months ago, Clingle, the location-based social network, has received about 200,000 downloads across U.S, UK, India, Singapore, Sydney, and Melbourne. I have given the app a try and found that there are many ways to use it. Some people might just check-in and collect badges, like you would with Foursquare, while others might use it as a messenger, like Whatsapp. But Clingle finds its sweet spot when it is use as a location-based communicator. It still feels very Foursquare-ish, especially with the big check-in button right in …
The Chinese startup behind the successful Camera360 app has launched a new spin-off over the weekend called Movie360, which brings lots of fun and funky filters to your iPhone videos. In contrast to how the startup – called PinGuo – built up its initial fan-base on Android, this time the new free app comes to iOS first. The Movie360 app has 13 film-effects that you can apply to any videos on your phone, to make them look vintage or LOMO, romantic or comic. Unlike Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) own iMovie, Movie360 won’t edit …
5. Apps Foundry | Indonesia
Indonesian mobile app dev firm, Apps Foundry, which is better known for its SCOOP smartphone/tablet eReader app, has raised SGD$1 million (US$) from Gobi Partners and Mitsui Global. The investment is focused on helping SCOOP to improve its product and to expand to other countries. Besides digitizing magazines and books, SCOOP will soon be including HTML5 interactive magazines in 2012. App Foundry’s good news about this investment came right after its Samsung deal which we broke just last week. With Gobi Partners and Mitsui Global on board as partners, Apps Foundry now …
6. Metaps | Japan
Having only just formed this past summer, Japan-based Metaps Inc. is a reward advertisement network that allows smartphone developers to create ads that reward users based on actions like installs or registrations. And today it is announcing that the company has raised $4.2 million from a number of venture capital firms.
Other startup related stories in Asia
- JO2 Wants To Bring Quality Mobile Apps Into China
- With Help from Yushan Ventures, Startup Labs Launches in Taiwan
- Are Entrepreneurs in Singapore Over-Reliant on Government Grants?
- 5 Outstanding Chinese Startups That Emerged in 2011
Happy Holidays! 