Southeast Asia’s tech scene is buzzing with activity as several prominent companies secure funding, expand into new markets, and advance cutting-edge technologies.
Notable developments include Funding Societies’ significant debt funding, Engine Biosciences’ substantial Series A extension, VE Technology Group’s multimillion-dollar funding round, GoTo Group’s improved financial performance, Vircle’s seed funding for its neo banking solutions, Talino Venture Studios partnering with Chemonics International for financial inclusion initiatives, Animoca Brands collaborating with NEOM Company for Web3 projects, and Radiant1’s successful pre-Series A round led by Monkʼs Hill Ventures.
Funding Societies
Funding Societies (Modalku in Indonesia) is a digital finance platform for SMEs in Southeast Asia. It is licensed in Singapore, Indonesia, and Thailand, registered in Malaysia, and operates in Vietnam. The fintech provides US$1 billion annually of business financing to SMEs. Its recent milestones include acquiring the regional digital payments platform CardUp and co-investment into Bank Index in Indonesia.
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The firm claims to have achieved over US$3.2 billion in business financing, serving about 100,000 regional SMEs.
This week, it secured US$7.5 million in debt funding from Norwegian government-owned development financial institution (DFI) Norfund. This debt funding comes over a month after the fintech firm announced a US$27 million in debt fundraising led by AlteriQ Global, with participation from Aument Capital Partners and Orange Bloom.
Engine Biosciences
Engine Biosciences is a Singaporean company leveraging machine learning and high-throughput biology to discover and develop precision oncology medicines. Established in 2014, Engine Biosciences discovers and develops impactful precision medicines by deciphering complex biology with integrated computation and experimentation, with particular depth in oncology. The firm is advancing its pipeline of oncology therapeutics towards the clinic internally and with collaborators, and in other disease areas through partnerships.
Engine Biosciences has identified over 30 new precision medicine opportunities with validation data.
This week, it announced a US$27 million Series A extension funding round led by Polaris Partners. Existing backers ClavystBio, Invus, and EDBI, along with new investors Coronet Ventures and SEEDS Capital, also co-invested.
VE Technology Group
VE Technology Group is a Singapore-based enterprise tech ecosystem. Founded in 2019, VE Technology operates a unified ecosystem of B2B enabling enterprises and digital solutions. The network brings together over 15 acquired subsidiaries specialising in delivering end-to-end business solutions across artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), cybersecurity, robotics, software development, and business consultancy.
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It recently announced a S$30 (US$22) million funding round led by alternative investments firm Mox Capital.
GoTo Group
GoTo Group is an Indonesian tech conglomerate. It recently announced its seventh consecutive quarter of adjusted EBITDA improvements as it continues its journey towards profitability.
In Q3 2023, the group’s adjusted EBITDA loss decreased to 940 billion rupiah (US$59.3 million), marking a significant 74 per cent improvement. According to CFO Jacky Lo, this achievement was attributed to the company’s efforts to reduce operating expenses by eliminating redundancies and leveraging technology.
Furthermore, the company revealed that it has decided to put on hold its plans for an international IPO.
In terms of financial results, GoTo Group posted a net revenue of US$228.2 million for Q3 2023, representing a 21 per cent decrease compared to the same period the previous year. This decrease was mainly due to a catch-up adjustment in the same quarter in 2022. Excluding these adjustments, the net revenue for Q3 reflects a robust 19 per cent year-over-year growth.
Vircle
Vircle is a Malaysian neobanking startup helping parents raise money-smart kids. Established in 2019 by Gokula
Krishnan, Vircle instils lifelong money habits among young children through partnerships with major schools across Malaysia. Its parental control technology empowers parents to oversee and manage their children’s expenses in and out of school. Its child-safe Visa prepaid card offers parents a regulated financial tool to help guide their children in navigating the cashless and digital banking environment with careful oversight, instilling financial responsibility.
It recently received an undisclosed sum in seed funding co-led by state-owned VC fund Kumpulan Modal Perdana (KMP) and Gobi Partners.
Talino Venture Studios
Talino Venture Studios is a global venture studio for inclusive fintech. Born in the intersection of Silicon Valley and Southeast Asia, it aims to bridge financial inclusion for over 1.7 billion people worldwide. It uses the venture studio model to build repeatable, scalable, and profitable fintech firms that empower underserved, underrepresented groups with financial access and mobility.
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Recently, sustainable development firm Chemonics International announced a US$5 million investment into Philippine venture builder Talino Venture Studios. The core mission of this strategic partnership is to harness their combined expertise to tackle the challenges of financial inclusion in emerging economies. The partnership will focus on fintech solutions, including one to expand financial inclusion among the 50 million unbanked citizens of the Philippines, as well as in other low-income economies.
Animoca Brands
Animoca Brands is an open metaverse company develops and publishes a broad portfolio of products, including original games such as The Sandbox, PHANTOM GALAXIES, Life Beyond, and Crazy Defense Heroes, and products utilising popular intellectual properties from the worlds of sports and entertainment, such as The Walking Dead, Power Rangers, MotoGP, and Formula E.
It recently formed a strategic partnership with NEOM Company, the company behind Saudi Arabia’s iconic project NEOM City, to drive regional Web3 initiatives in line with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 plan.
Animoca Brands will work with NEOM on building Web3 enterprise service capabilities with global commercial applicability, which will be deployed to support technology advancements in Riyadh and the NEOM region.
As part of the deal, NEOM Investment Fund (the strategic investment arm of NEOM) has proposed investing US$50 million in Animoca via convertible notes and secondary share purchase.
Radiant1
Radiant1 is an Asia-focused AI-based SaaS solution that assists hotels in maximising revenue. Established by serial entrepreneur Apichai Sakulsureeyadej, the startup uses machine learning algorithms to analyse factors, including real-time demand, types of properties, and travel behaviour, to provide optimised room rate pricing on a real-time basis and maximise total revenue for the customer.
Its systems have assisted all types of properties to optimise their revenues while keeping an eye on their bottom line. Its customers include hotels with global chain brands, independent and boutique hotel chains, hotel management companies, and short-stay operators.
The startup has established its footprint across three markets – Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia.
It just announced a pre-Series A round of funding led by Monkʼs Hill Ventures.
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