News

Singapore’s AMILI raises $10.5M Series A round led by Vulcan Capital

AMILI, a Singapore-based precision gut microbiome company, said Wednesday it has raised$10.5 million in Series A funding to accelerate its business expansion in Southeast Asia and Greater Asia. The round was led by Vulcan Capital, the investment arm of the late Microsoft Corp co-founder Paul Allen that invests in category-leading technology, internet, and…

Indonesia’s Vidio secures $45M funding led by DSSA

Vidio, an Indonesia-based over-the-top (OTT) platform owned by PT Surya Citra Media Tbk and part of PT Elang Mahkota Teknologi Tbk (Emtek Group) said Tuesday it has secured an additional investment of $45 million from several strategic investors. PT Dian Swastatika Sentosa Tbk (DSSA), a business pillar of Sinarmas Group, through its subsidiary, PT DSST Mas…

Bill Gates says crypto, NFTs are “based on greater-fool” theory – report

Bitcoin plunged more than 15 percent on Monday and another 5.4 percent on Tuesday, part of a broader crypto sell-off fuelled by higher-than-forecast US inflation and the halt of withdrawals by lending platform Celsius, according to Bloomberg.

Indonesia’s Flip raises $55M in second Series B round led by Tencent

Flip, an Indonesia-based consumer payments platform, announced Tuesday a second close of a Series B funding round led by Tencent, with participation from Block, Inc. (formerly Square, Inc.) and existing investor Insight Partners.

Vietnam’s VinFast plans to open more than 50 stores in Europe

VinFast, the electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer of Vietnam-based Vingroup, said Monday it has announced its plan to open more than 50 VinFast Stores across Germany, France and the Netherlands. The reveal came at the European premiere of its VF 8 and VF 9 smart electric vehicles at EVS35.

Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India promotes Pui Yan Leung, Kanika Mayar to Partners

“Both Pui Yan and Kanika are purpose-driven investment professionals with extensive experience in investing and working with start-up founders. They have made significant contributions to VVSEAI and have constantly provided valuable insights and perspectives to our deal decisions,” said Joo Hock Chua, Managing Partner at VVSEAI, said in a statement.

Robinhood partners Google Cloud and MFEC for Thailand’s ‘Super App’

Robinhood, the Bangkok-based food delivery and all-in-one travel service platform under SCBX Group, Purple Ventures Co., Ltd., announced Monday a multi-year strategic alliance with Google Cloud and MFEC Public Company Limited (MFEC) to advance its mission of building a homegrown “super app” that delivers inclusive growth opportunities to small business…

Sea’s e-commerce arm Shopee lays off staff in food delivery, online payments & global teams – report

The platform will also end its early-stage pilot in Spain. This comes after Shopee exited the French market in March. The e-commerce unit also exited the India market the same month.

Malaysia unicorn Carsome announces appointment of advisory board

The advisory board is made up of "individuals of various specializations, dynamic perspectives and deep expertise who will provide insights, connect networks and share experiences in building and scaling technology companies in the region", Carsome said.

Korea’s CNAI raises $4.1M from Centauri Fund and IMM Investment

Korea-based artificial intelligence (AI) enablement company CNAI announced on Monday that it has raised a $4.1 million pre-series A funding round co-led by Centauri Fund and IMM Investment.