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Korean digital content distribution firm RIDI gets $100B funding led by Singapore’s GIC

RIDI Corporation has signed definitive agreements to receive an investment of KRW 120 billion ($100 million) led by Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC. Korea Development Bank, NVESTOR, and Atinum Investment also participated in this investment. As a result, RIDI has been recognized as the first unicorn startup in Korea’s content platform industry with an…

Binance & Cuscapi Bhd take strategic stakes in Malaysia FinTech firm MX Global

MX Global Sdn. Bhd announced Tuesday an equity investment into the company from Binance. It also landed another investment for Redeemable Convertible Preference Shares (RCPS) into the company by Cuscapi Berhad. These new capital injections will allow MX Global, a licensed fintech company, to build brand awareness, hire more high-quality talent and develop…

Singapore e-commerce startup Cococart raises $4.2M from Forerunner Ventures and Sequoia Capital for overseas expansion

Cococart has secured $4.2 million in seed funding to expand its growth internationally. The new capital was raised from Forerunner Ventures and Sequoia Capital, with participation from Y Combinator, Uncommon Capital, Soma Capital, Liquid 2 Ventures, Fitbit Chief Executive Officer James Park, Curated Chief Executive Officer Eduardo Vivas, and other strategic…

PropertyGuru delivers over $74.36M revenue in 2021, beats full year forecast

PropertyGuru Group said Monday its total revenue increased by 22.7 percentto S$100.7 million ($74.36 million) from S$82.1 million ($60.63 million), reflecting rising confidence in the property market .This is also 3.3 percent better than the group’s 2021 forecast of S$97.5 million ($72 million).

Malaysia needs “big innovation purpose” to stay ahead, says its government agency MRANTI

An ambitious purpose on innovation, a synergised ecosystem and a ‘bridge’ between research and commercialisation - these are among the elements needed for Malaysia to pull ahead in the region and achieve its ambition to be among the top 20 most innovative nations by 2030 in the Global Innovation Index, said Malaysian Research Accelerator for Technology and…

Singapore FinTech firm Volopay raises $29M for APAC and MENA expansion

Volopay has successfully raised $29 million in its Series A round through a mix of equity and debt. The investment round included participation from JAM Fund, Winklevoss Capital Management, Rapyd Ventures, Accial Capital, fintech veteran and angel investor Jeffrey Cruttenden (Chief Executive Officer of Acorns) along with Access Ventures, Antler Global, and…

Japan e-commerce giant Rakuten CEO Hiroshi Mikitani donates $8.7M to Ukraine for humanitarian assistance

The donation is intended for humanitarian activities to help people in the country who have become victims of the violence, he said.

Society Pass acquires Vietnam online grocery delivery service Handycart

Society Pass Incorporated (SoPa) has acquired Dream Space Trading Company Limited, the operator of Handycart. The newly acquired company will be integrated into SoPa's food and beverage delivery vertical with SoPa's existing merchant software platform #HOTTAB,

VCs scout opportunities in MedTech despite higher valuation fueled by pandemic

A growing population of more than 600 million with a combined GDP of more than $3 trillion and a rapid growth of the middle class are expected to fuel strong demand in healthcare coverage in Southeast Asia.

Singapore micromobility startup Beam secures $93M in Series B funding led by Affirma Capital

Beam announced Friday a Series B funding round of $93 million led by Singapore-based private equity firm Affirma Capital. The round also saw participation from Sequoia Capital India, Hana Ventures, ICT Capital, EDBI, AC Ventures, RTP Global, and Momentum Venture Capital, among others. Funds raised will be used to bring Beam’s shared micromobility vehicles…