J. Angelo Racoma
Indonesia e-commerce unicorn Bukalapak receives backing from state-owned banks in a $234M venture round
The company plans to use its fresh capital to increase its user base of warungs (mom and pop stores), micro, and small businesses in Indonesia. The company’s strategic partnerships with both state-owned banks will also give its user base access to more products and services that the banks offer.
Philippines ‘buy now, pay later’ platform Plentina raises $2.2M in Seed funding round to accelerate credit access to the underbanked
The FinTech startup plans to use its fresh capital to grow its data science, business development, and customer operations teams.
Pakistan logistics tech startup Truck It In raises $1.5M in pre-Seed funding round
The startup plans to use its fresh capital to continue solving complex supply chain issues and to bring Pakistan’s road freight industry to the digital age. Truck It In is also looking to onboard skilled talents within the MENAP region to continue fulfilling its mission. Its platform is currently being used in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, and Faisalabad.
Grab inks SPAC deal with Altimeter Growth as it readies US IPO at $39.6B valuation
It is expected to be the largest-ever US equity offering by a Southeast Asian company as the deal values the leading Southeast Asian super app at approximately $39.6 billion. The company is expected to be traded on NASDAQ under ticker “GRAB” as it goes public.
Vietnam’s Touchstone Partners announces first close of inaugural $50M VC fund to invest in local startups
Touchstone Partners has announced the first close of its inaugural $50 million venture capital fund. The fund is backed by New York-based Pavilion Capital, Vulcan Capital, and several other investors and family offices.
With $2.6M pre-Series A, Vietnam’s Dat Bike aims to drive the future of Southeast Asia’s e-bike market [Q&A with Founder & CEO Son Nguyen]
We want to transform the 250 million gasoline bikes in Southeast Asia to electric vehicles. We believe that if given a choice, everyone would pick electric over gas.
HR and hiring should move from transactional to full-stack ecosystem approach, says Glints Co-Founder and CEO Oswald Yeo
The long-term goal for Glints is to evolve the talent ecosystem in Southeast Asia from simply being transactional in nature to an end-to-end solution for both businesses and talent
Retail analytics platform Trax raises $640M Series E led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and BlackRock
Trax plans to use the fresh capital to continue providing digital transformation solutions for brick-and-mortar retail companies by expanding its products.
Aespada Technologies digitalizes ‘archaic’ construction logistics toward sustainable and lean operations
Digital adoption will help in attaining a higher productivity rate with the limited resources available on the market. This will actually speed up the construction processes and ensure that the industry operates lean and more sustainably.
With growing use from increased digitalization, career and recruitment platform Glints secures $22.5M Series C for APAC expansion
The company plans to use the fresh capital to support its overall mission of empowering the career development of 120 million professionals in Southeast Asia by expanding in Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Taiwan, and hiring for its product and engineering teams.
