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Tech in Asia

Research from Tech in Asia

Tech in Asia (YC W15) is the largest English-language technology media company that focuses on Asia. From the latest news to the hottest trends and the boldest startups to the strongest titans, we cover everything tech in the region. Our goal is to build and serve Asia’s tech and startup community.

News from Tech in Asia

Private Capital Markets

Rize Pte Ltd operates as an agricultural company. The Company builds a platform to identify and implement the most effective strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in rice cultivation. Rize serves customers in Singapore.

<ul><li>Rize, a Singapore-based agritech startup, has secured US$14 million in a series A funding round co-led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures, GenZero, Temasek, and Wavemaker Impact.</li><li>The company plans to use the funds to boost its presence in other markets like Indonesia and Vietnam.</li><li>It also aims to increase its team of agronomy experts to over 100. Rize’s platform gathers key agricultural information needed for sustainable farming.</li></ul>

Rize, a Singapore-based agritech startup, has secured US$14 million in a series A funding round co-led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures, GenZero, Temasek, and Wavemaker Impact.The company plans to use the funds to boost its presence in other markets like Indonesia and Vietnam.It also aims to increase its team of agronomy experts to over 100. Rize’s platform gathers key agricultural information needed for sustainable farming.

Temasek co-leads $14m round of SG agritech firm Rize

Allies Group Pte. Ltd. operates as an online personal care products retailer. The Company produces and retails cleanser, toner, mist, serum, lipstick, eye liner, booster, face oil, moisturizer, and skin care sets for oily, dry, and normal skin types. Allies Group serves customers worldwide.

<ul>
<li>Singapore-based beauty brand Allies of Skin is set to expand into the US after raising a US$20 million funding round from Meaningful Partners.</li>
<li>This follows the company hitting positive EBITA in 2023, its founder Nicolas Travis told Tech in Asia.</li>
<li>Allies of Skin, founded in 2016, said the round is its first institutional raise, but it has received private investments in the past – including capital from Crazy Rich Asians star Henry Golding.</li>
</ul>


Singapore-based beauty brand Allies of Skin is set to expand into the US after raising a US$20 million funding round from Meaningful Partners.
This follows the company hitting positive EBITA in 2023, its founder Nicolas Travis told Tech in Asia.
Allies of Skin, founded in 2016, said the round is its first institutional raise, but it has received private investments in the past – including capital from Crazy Rich Asians star Henry Golding.


EBITA-profitable Allies of Skin raises $20m for US expansion

Staple AI Pte. Ltd. provides software solutions. The Company develops and markets AI based proprietary document viewing platform that automate data extraction from documents and converts into structured data. Staple AI serves customers worldwide.

<ul><li>Companies handle anywhere from 1,000 to 100,000 documents in various formats on a monthly basis, and they usually rely on manual processes due to the unstructured nature of the data, says Paul Santos, managing partner at Wavemaker Partners.</li><li>To speed this up, Wavemaker Partners has invested in Staple, a Singapore-based startup that applies AI to provide document processing solutions.</li><li>The VC firm has led a US$4 million pre-series A funding round in the startup, which can process various document types across over 200 languages.</li></ul>

Companies handle anywhere from 1,000 to 100,000 documents in various formats on a monthly basis, and they usually rely on manual processes due to the unstructured nature of the data, says Paul Santos, managing partner at Wavemaker Partners.To speed this up, Wavemaker Partners has invested in Staple, a Singapore-based startup that applies AI to provide document processing solutions.The VC firm has led a US$4 million pre-series A funding round in the startup, which can process various document types across over 200 languages.

Jumbotail Technologies Pvt  / Private Capital Markets

Jumbotail Technologies Private Limited designs and develops software. The Company offers an online platform for wholesalers to sell their products and services online. Jumbotail Technologies serves customers in India.

Jumbotail Technologies Pvt  (1426515D IN)

<ul><li>B2B ecommerce startups in India and Southeast Asia have been facing challenges in scaling up their businesses after the pandemic.</li><li>In December 2023, Indian unicorn Udaan laid off at least 100 employees after raising US$340 million, while two months earlier, Indonesia-based Ula announced that it was also cutting jobs and transitioning out of its inventory-led FMCG distribution business.</li><li>However, positive news comes from B2B startup Jumbotail, which has raised US$18.2 million in an equity round.</li></ul>

B2B ecommerce startups in India and Southeast Asia have been facing challenges in scaling up their businesses after the pandemic.In December 2023, Indian unicorn Udaan laid off at least 100 employees after raising US$340 million, while two months earlier, Indonesia-based Ula announced that it was also cutting jobs and transitioning out of its inventory-led FMCG distribution business.However, positive news comes from B2B startup Jumbotail, which has raised US$18.2 million in an equity round.

Jumbotail nets $18m amid tough B2B ecommerce market

Startale Labs   / Private Capital Markets

Startale Labs Pte. Ltd. creates tools and infrastructure to help enterprises to adopt web3. The Company makes web3 infrastructure and public goods. Startale Labs serves customers in Singapore.

<ul><li><a href="https://startale.org/about" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Startale Labs</a>, a Singapore-based Web3 startup, has raised US$3.5 million in a series A follow-up round, according to Alternatives.pe.</li><li>UVM Signum Blockchain Fund, Sony Network, and Samsung Next Ventures were some of the investors in the round, which was raised at a post-money valuation of US$63.5 million.</li><li>Founded in January 2023, Startale Labs specializes in Web3 infrastructure development. Helmed by <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/sota-watanabe-b962b3110/?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Egoogle%2Ecom%2F&amp;originalSubdomain=sg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sota Watanabe</a>, the company creates core infrastructure and applications for Web3 that is integrated onto the Astar Network blockchain.</li></ul>

Startale Labs, a Singapore-based Web3 startup, has raised US$3.5 million in a series A follow-up round, according to Alternatives.pe.UVM Signum Blockchain Fund, Sony Network, and Samsung Next Ventures were some of the investors in the round, which was raised at a post-money valuation of US$63.5 million.Founded in January 2023, Startale Labs specializes in Web3 infrastructure development. Helmed by Sota Watanabe, the company creates core infrastructure and applications for Web3 that is integrated onto the Astar Network blockchain.

Singapore-based web3 startup nets $3.5m funding