Economic statistics cannot keep up with the rate at which people are losing jobs all over the world as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The tech industry has been no different, as we have seen mass layoffs, especially in companies whose operations have been severely curtailed by lockdown measures, such as ride-hailing applications.
However, it is not entirely gloomy for all. In addition to the inevitable e-commerce success stories of the pandemic, many tech startups in Asia have continued to receive venture capital over the past few months.
Here are some of the most significant investments made in South and Southeast Asia-based tech startups since April.
Food delivery and e-commerce
🇮🇳 Indian food delivery startup Swiggy bagged $43 million to expand business; 🇮🇳 Indian grocery startup BigBasket raised $60 million to scale up business in the country; 🇻🇳 Vietnamese e-commerce enabler OnPoint raised $8 million to invest in strategic technology, recruit talent, and provide better services; 🇮🇩 Indonesian B2B e-marketplace GudangAda raised $25.4 million to expand business; 🇸🇬 Singapore-based omnichannel retailer IUIGA Technologies bagged $7 million to fuel Southeast Asia expansion; 🇵🇭 Philippine home services e-commerce platform GoodWork raised $1.6 million to expand operations across Southeast Asia
Payments
🇮🇳 Indian digital payments startup Seru raised $15 million to expand business; 🇹🇭 Thai digital payments startup Digio banked $4 million to accelerate product development
Lending
🇮🇩 Indonesian P2P lending firm Investree raised $23.5 million to accelerate business in Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines; 🇮🇩 Indonesian P2P lending company KoinWorks secured $20 million to support lenders and borrowers during the pandemic; 🇸🇬 Singapore-based SME lending platform Validus secured $14 million to develop the firm’s technology stack
Insurance
🇸🇬 Singapore-based insurance-tech startup Igloo raised $8.2 million to broaden its business into Australia and five Southeast Asian markets; 🇮🇩 Indonesian insurance tech startup Qoala raised $13.5 million to invest in tech, human resources, and branding; 🇲🇾 Malaysian insurtech startup PolicyStreet banked $1.8 million in series A funding
Other fintech
🇵🇭 Philippine financial services firm Voyager Innovations secured up to $120 million to expand services; Hong Kong-based fintech startup Oriente raised $50 million to expand its presence in Southeast Asia; 🇸🇬 Singapore-based fintech firm Helicap secured $10 million to upgrade its credit-scoring technology and pursue opportunities in Singapore’s private debt sector; 🇸🇬 Singapore-based foreign-exchange platform Spark Systems raised $16.5 million to enhance in-house tech capabilities and deepen expertise; 🇮🇳 Indian financial management startup Khatabook raised $60 million for expansion in the country; 🇸🇬 Singapore-based financial services platform GoBear raised $17 million to speed up development
Education
🇸🇬 Singapore-based data-driven corporate learning app Tigerhall raised $2 million for its scale-up program; 🇮🇳 Indian edtech platform Classplus bagged $9 million in series A funding
Health
🇸🇬 Singapore-based healthcare company Doctor Anywhere secured $27 million to boost market leadership; 🇲🇾 Malaysian digital health app Naluri banked $1.1 million to build up its business; 🇻🇳 Vietnamese healthtech startup BuyMed raised $2.5 million; 🇸🇬 Singapore-based cancer antibody developer Hummingbird Bioscience raised $25 million to support clinical development; 🇸🇬 Singapore-based healthtech startup Holmusk raised $21.5 million in series A funding; 🇸🇬 Singapore-based cancer diagnostics company Endofonotics raised $8.5 million to drive commercialisation of its cancer detection system
Agritech
🇮🇩 Indonesian agritech startup TaniHub Group raised $17 million to expand its services to up to 100,000 farmers by 2021; 🇮🇳 Indian agritech startup DeHaat raised $12 million to reach more farmers in the country; 🇸🇬 Singapore-based plant-based meat and seafood alternative manufacturer Growthwell raised $8 million to accelerate product development; 🇮🇳 Indian agritech startup Intello Labs raised $5.9 million to accelerate growth in international markets
Logistics
🇮🇩 Indonesian online freight marketplace Kargo secured $31 million in funding to expand operations; 🇮🇳 Indian logistics startup FarEye raised $25 million to expand abroad; 🇸🇬 Singapore-based logistics startup Moovaz raised $7 million to tap into Asian markets; 🇸🇬 Singapore-based logistics startup Ninja Van secured $279 million to scale up operations in six Southeast Asian countries; 🇮🇩 Indonesian fast-moving consumer goods platform GudangAda secured $25.4 million in series A funding; 🇮🇳 Indian logistics aggregator Shiprocket raised $13 million to expand overseas
AI
🇮🇳 Indian AI chatbot startup Yellow Messenger raised $20 million to expand business; 🇸🇬 Singapore-based AI-based data protection and privacy solutions company Dathena raised $12 million in series A funding
Content
🇵🇭 Philippine live streaming app Kumu raised nearly $5 million to expand business; 🇮🇳 Indian news and local language content platform Dailyhunt raised $23.5 million
Accommodation
🇮🇳 Indian broker-avoiding startup NoBroker raised $30 million to expand business; 🇮🇩 Indonesian accommodation startup Bobox secured $11.5 million to accelerate product improvement and expansion
Travel/transport
🇮🇳 Indian business travel SaaS company ITILITE raised $13 million; 🇸🇬 Singapore-based e-scooter startup Beam raised $26 million to expand into South Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, Australia, and New Zealand
Other
🇸🇬 Singapore-based cleantech startup SensorFlow raised $8.3 million in funding to develop its smart building management solution; 🇸🇬 Singapore-based quantum computer software solutions startup Entropica Labs raised $1.8 million in seed funding; 🇮🇩 Indonesian data management startup Delman raised $1.6 million in seed funding
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