Latest news and trends about tech

India neobank Zolve closes $40M Series A funding round at a valuation of $210M, will scale financial services for US-bound immgrants

With these additional funds, Zolve intends to enhance the user experience for global citizens, allowing them to open their U.S. accounts in minutes. Moreover, the funds will help speed expansion of the service to more nationalities, increasing the number of people who can start building their financial futures from the moment they arrive in the U.S.…

Vietnam blockchain game studio Sipher raises $6.8M Seed round to develop its upcoming World of Sipheria game

Sipher is fostering an ecosystem where people can play for fun while also being rewarded for their time spent in-game. By leveraging blockchain technology, Sipher is bringing economic freedom to gamers and providing the community with ownership of in-game assets which directly contributes to the growth and success of the gaming industry.

Singapore fashion brand Love, Bonito raises $50M in Series C funding to fuel category and international expansion

Proceeds from the fundraise will enable Love, Bonito to bolster efforts in existing omnichannel markets and supercharge international expansion in markets that collectively are experiencing triple digits year-on-year growth. These key markets include Hong Kong, Japan, the Philippines, and the US.

Malaysia home services platform Recommend Group raises $4M Series A funding led by China’s Morning Crest Capital

Recommend Group will be using the funds to expand the teams in Indonesia and Malaysia, with a focus on product and engineering. It will also improve the user experience on its customer and vendor mobile apps, as well as its website, build new features that empower service workers to manage and grow their businesses. The company also targets to expand…

Angkasa-Boustead consortium banks on Islamic bank positioning, existing captive members to win a digital banking license in Malaysia [Q&A]

In the interview, Hudhaifa shared the opportunities the consortium sees in building a digital bank in Malaysia and what are the competitive advantages it has against other contenders vying for the digital banking licenses. He also shared his views on the profitability path for digital banks, citing examples from other countries.

Temasek launches $3.34B investment platform to support businesses with regional or global aspirations

65 Equity Partners seeks to partner with fundamentally sound and well-managed businesses with clear growth strategies over the long term. It will invest across industries with strong structural tailwinds, such as consumer, industrial and business services, logistics, healthcare, and technology, underpinned by committed owners and management teams. 65 Equity…

DaaS provider QoreNext raises $1.5M seed funding backed by Wavemaker Partners to bring data science solution to the market

The seed round will help the QoreNext platform to advance the production of its main modules and to bring its first set of data products to the market, the company said in a statement. Previously, the startup closed an angel investment round from leaders in the insights, payments, and data spaces.

Kumu breaches $100M in funds raised with Series C led by General Atlantic, aims to create the world’s largest participatory social network

This transaction marks the largest equity financing to date for a Filipino startup not founded as a subsidiary or spinoff of an established conglomerate. It also marks General Atlantic’s first investment in the Philippines. The funding will be used to double down on content investments both in the Philippines and around the world.

Privy raises $17.5M series B funding led by GGV Capital, expects faster digital transformation in Indonesia through digital identity and signing

Within five years, Privy has been enabling 18.5 million users to open bank saving accounts, stock trading accounts, apply for credit cards, insurance policy, lease a motor vehicle, submit invoice financing, take loans from fintech lending companies, sign rental contracts, and accept job offers without the need to travel and sign on hardcopy documents.

DroneTech startup Poladrone raises $4.29 M in Malaysia’s largest Seed round

The funding round will allow Poladrone to scale up operations to better serve customers across the region and to attract top talent to further improve its products.