Asia
Featured Article
Dispatch from Bangalore, end of 2022 edition
In 2014, Prayank Swaroop made a pitch to the storied venture firm Accel, where he worked as an associate, about future marketplaces in India. At the time, Flipkart and Snapdeal were the only two e-commerce startups in India that had shown a semblance of scale. Swaroop made a case that as more Indians come online,…
Pakistan’s markets regulator issued new guidelines for digital lending in the country, cracking down on several sketchy practices that it said have become prevalent in the South Asian market. The…
Uber and Amazon blasted for poor working conditions for gig workers in India
Research firm Fairwork India blasted Ola, Uber, Dunzo, PharmEasy and Amazon Flex in a report Tuesday, saying the firms scored zero in its assessment of whether they created fair conditions…
Jakarta-based fintech Akulaku raises $200M from Japan’s largest bank
Jakarta-based fintech Akulaku has raised $200 million from Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), the largest bank in Japan. This is part of a strategic investment, with startup and MUFG planning…
India central bank chief warns crypto will cause the next financial crisis if permitted to grow
The Indian central bank’s governor said on Wednesday that it’s not at war with crypto, but warned that private cryptocurrencies will cause the next financial crisis unless its usage is…
South Korean financial super app Toss closes $405M Series G as valuation rises 7%
Viva Republica, an operator of South Korean finance super app Toss, has finalized a $405 million Series G funding and it says it is now valued at 9.1 trillion won ($7…
Sun King, a provider of solar energy products in Africa and Asia, expands Series D to $330M
Sun King, a provider of off-grid solar energy products in Africa and Asia, has secured a $70 million equity investment led by LeapFrog Investments. It’s an extension of the $260…
Eratani supports Indonesia’s farmers through the entire growing process
About 29% of Indonesia’s workforce is in the agriculture sector, but many small farmers face challenges like low access to working capital. Eratani is an end-to-end management system that helps…
Japan’s health tech Ubie wants to fuel its US expansion with $19M Series C extension
Ubie, a Tokyo-based startup providing an AI-powered symptom checker app and hospital SaaS products, has closed a $19 million extension to its previous Series C round. This brings the health…
Akros Technologies, an AI-powered asset management platform, raises funding from Z Holdings
Artificial intelligence is taking over almost every industry. The investment and finance industry is no exception. In Deloitte’s 2019 report, the firm reveals that AI is transforming the financial ecosystem…
Indian consumer nutrition platform HealthKart has raised $135 million in a new financing round as it looks to expand in international markets and shore up cash to buy firms, it…
Singapore-based e-commerce platform Carousell lays off 10% of staff
Carousell, a Singaporean consumer-to-consumer (C2C) service platform operating across Southeast Asia, is letting go of about 110 employees, or 10% of its total headcount, in an effort to reduce costs…
Iterative launches its second fund for Southeast Asia startups
Despite global headwinds, Southeast Asia’s early-stage startups are still going strong, say the founders of Iterative Capital. The Singapore-based venture capital firm, which runs a YC-style accelerator program, announced today…
Southeast Asia insurtech Igloo increases its Series B to $46M
Igloo, a Singapore-based insurtech focused on underserved communities in Southeast Asia, announced it has raised a Series B extension of $27 million, bringing the round’s total to $46 million. The…
TipTip uses a hyperlocal strategy to help Southeast Asian creators monetize
There are a lot of talented people, like chefs and musicians, in Southeast Asia who can earn money through their work online, says TipTip founder Albert Lucius. But many of…
South Korean financial regulator confirms it is reviewing Apple Pay service for launch
Apple is poised to launch its Apple Pay service in South Korea, one of the fastest-growing countries in the world for cashless services, yet as of right now untapped…
SoftBank-backed on-demand laundry startup Laundrygo picks up $37M Series C
Mom-and-pop stores and franchises — mostly offline — account for about 95% of the laundry market in South Korea, according to Laundrygo CEO Sung-woo Cho. But his South Korea–headquartered startup…
Elephantech wants to create circuit boards that are kinder to the environment
Printed circuit boards (PCB), which perform essential functions in electronic devices, including displays and sensors, need a lot of energy to create. Moreover, traditional PCB manufacturing processes generate large amounts…
Summer International uses social media data to launch new beauty brands
If you follow #beautytok, #beautytube or any beauty content on social media platforms, you know that popular product trends are hard to keep up with. Summer International stays ahead of…
Korean VC Sopoong closes $8M fund for startups focused on environmental impact
Two years ago, South Korea unveiled a plan to reach carbon neutrality by 2050. Getting there will be another story. Although Korean manufacturers say they are trying to change their…
IFC launches $225M platform to back early-stage startups in Africa, Central Asia, Middle East
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has today launched a $225 million venture capital platform to back early-stage startups in Africa, Middle East, Central Asia and Pakistan. The IFC, a member…
GoFreight raises $23M to become the “Shopify of freight forwarding”
Unicorn Flexport is revolutionizing the world of logistics, serving as a freight forwarder with software that enables customers to manage their shipments. But there are still thousands of smaller freight…
Twitter Blue subscription with verification may launch in India in ‘less than a month’
Twitter may extend its subscription service to India in “less than a month,” its owner and chief executive Elon Musk said, offering a glimpse at just how aggressively he plans…
Singapore may soon require retail investors to take test before trading crypto, prohibit credit cards
Singapore may soon require retail investors to take a test and not use credit card payments and other forms of borrowing for trading cryptocurrencies, the central bank proposed on Wednesday…
Square Peg Capital closes $550M fund for Southeast Asia, Australia and Israel
It’s a tough market for venture capital, but Square Peg Capital is plowing ahead with its focus on Australia (where it is based), Southeast Asia and Israel. The firm announced…
Sequoia India eyes $50 million investment in K12 despite market slump
Sequoia India is in advanced stages of deliberations to invest over $50 million in K12 Techno Services, a startup that offers a range of services to education institutions and also…
Thunes integrates with Visa Direct’s digital payments network
Cross-border payments startup Thunes is partnering with Visa in a move that will add more than 1.5 billion new endpoints to Visa Direct’s digital payments network. This enables many more…
Kakao co-CEO resigns, company to invest over $300M to build data center after mass outage
Whon Namkoong, the co-chief executive of Kakao, has resigned in a remarkable demonstration of corporate accountability after a fire incident at an SK C&C data center in Pangyo, south of…
Shares of Korean internet giant Kakao slide after fire disrupts service
The stock price of South Korea’s internet giant Kakao tumbled on Monday after a fire at a data center that cut off power on Saturday, causing several service malfunctions. The…
Pillow wants to make crypto saving and investing easy for new users
Pillow aspires to be an all-in-one platform that says it helps even newbie users save, spend and invest in crypto currency. The Singapore-based startup announced it has raised $18 million…
