Age-tech startups at this year’s CES demonstrated the potential breadth of the sector. If tech can help an older person live more comfortably, it can also help out a lot of other people. After all, the usefulness of things like mobility aids, health monitoring platforms and long-term financial planning aren’t limited to the elderly. Yesterday, […]
We need to pay more attention to ‘age-tech’
For the last two years, many of us have only been able to see our elderly relatives through screens, watching them grow older, trading physical distance for their safety. More than anything else, the pandemic has highlighted the vulnerabilities of aging people. The tech community — founders, investors, journalists — all need to pay more […]
Southeast Asian startups to watch in 2022
As someone who covers Southeast Asia startups and funding stories, the best word I can think of to describe 2021 is “whoa!” This was the year that global investors not only started to pay close attention to the region’s tech ecosystems, but also began putting real money into them. Backed by international LPs, Southeast Asia-focused […]
Sydney-based medtech startup Harrison.ai gets $129M AUD led by Horizons Ventures
Harrison.ai, a Sydney-based company that creates medical devices with AI technology, announced today it has raised $129 million AUD (about $92.3 million USD) in what it says is one of the largest Series B rounds ever for an Australian startup. The funding was led by returning investor Horizons Ventures, and included participation from new investors […]
Indonesia-focused AC Ventures closes oversubscribed $205M third fund
More investor money is flowing into Indonesia’s startup ecosystem. Today, AC Ventures, which focuses early-stage startups in the country, announced it has raise $205 million in committed capital for its oversubscribed Fund II, more than double its original target of $80 million. Investors include World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Disrupt AD, the venture […]
Southeast Asia multi-currency neobank YouTrip raises $30M Series A, will launch corporate card
Singapore-based YouTrip, an online bank that focuses on making multi-currency transactions less costly and more efficient, announced today that it has raised a $30 million Series A. YouTrip founder and CEO Caecilia Chu said the round was led by prominent family offices in Asia who prefer to remain unnamed, but are returning from earlier rounds. […]
GajiGesa, a fintech for unbanked Indonesian workers, lands $6.6M pre-Series A
GajiGesa, a fintech company focused on services for Indonesian workers, announced today that it has raised $6.6 million USD in pre-Series A funding. The round was led by MassMutual Ventures, with participation from January Capital, European earned wage access company Wagestream (EWA is GajiGesa’s flagship feature), Bunda Group, Smile Group, Oliver Jung, Northstar Group partners […]
Singapore-based TreeDots gets $11M Series A to cut food waste in Asia
Every year, tons of food ends up in landfills because of cosmetic issues (they won’t look nice in stores) or inefficiencies in the supply chain. Singapore-based TreeDots, which says it is the first food surplus marketplace in Asia, wants to help. The company is focused on creating a vertically integrated supply chain with a B2B […]
Wavemaker Impact launches to help entrepreneurs build climate tech startups
Wavemaker Partners doesn’t just want to invest in climate tech and sustainability startups. It also wants to help build them. Today, the Singapore-based firm announced the launch of Wavemaker Impact, a venture builder that identifies potential business opportunities, finds seasoned entrepreneurs to turn those ideas into startups and acts like a co-founder as companies scale. […]
Open banking startup Finverse wants to build the Asia-Pacific region’s Plaid
Based in Hong Kong, Finverse’s ambitious goal is to enable open banking throughout the Asia-Pacific region. The startup recently came out of stealth mode with $1.8 million in seed funding, and is now live in four markets (Hong Kong, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam) with connections to 30 banks. Founder and chief executive officer Stephane […]