Vietnam’s startup ecosystem is making forward progress. Just a week after 500 Startups’ local entity closed a $14 million fund for early-stage investments, one of the country’s elder statesmen of startups — educational service Topica — has closed its $50 million Series D. The round — which is one of the highest to date for […]
View More Topica raises $50M for its online learning services in Southeast AsiaCategory: Thailand
WeChat e-wallet teams up with Line to target Japan’s 7M Chinese tourists
China’s biggest chat app WeChat is set to make its payments service more ubiquitous in Japan, a popular outbound desitnation for Chinese tourists. On Tuesday, the Tencent-run messenger unveils a partnership with Japan’s Line chat app on mobile payments. The tie-up allows Japanese brick-and-mortar merchants with a Line Pay terminal to process WeChat Pay transactions […]
View More WeChat e-wallet teams up with Line to target Japan’s 7M Chinese touristsEnterprise messaging startup Eko Communications raises $20M for its European expansion
After focusing on Asian markets, particularly in Southeast Asia, Bangkok-based Eko Communications is getting ready to take on Slack, Microsoft Teams, and other enterprise messaging apps in Europe. The startup announced today that it has raised a Series B of $20 million and opened offices in London (which will serve as its new commercial headquarters), […]
View More Enterprise messaging startup Eko Communications raises $20M for its European expansionGoogle report: Southeast Asia’s digital economy to triple to $240 billion by 2025
It may sit in the shade of China and India, but tech has real growth potential in Southeast Asia. Home to a cumulative 650 million people, the region’s digital economy is forecast to triple in size and reach $240 billion over the next seven years, according to Google’s third “e-Conomy SEA” report. The annual study, which […]
View More Google report: Southeast Asia’s digital economy to triple to $240 billion by 2025Sweet Escape connects travelers to photographers for truly Insta-worthy holiday pics
The rise of smartphone cameras and social media in recent years has fuelled a new level of marking and sharing memories using photos, but one startup is betting that people are prepared to go the next level and spend money to hire professional photographers to make their photos even better. Focused on travel, Sweet Escape […]
View More Sweet Escape connects travelers to photographers for truly Insta-worthy holiday picsChinese WeWork rival Ucommune raises $200M to go after international growth
China’s Ucommune, the country’s largest rival to WeWork, has been on a busy acquisition spree to build out its domestic business and now it is looking at overseas opportunities after it closed a $200 million Series D funding round. The new round was led by Hong Kong-based All-Stars Investment with participation from Chinese investment bank […]
View More Chinese WeWork rival Ucommune raises $200M to go after international growthGrab lands $50M from Thailand’s Kasikorn Bank to further its fintech push
Southeast Asia ride-hailing firm Grab is continuing to add strategic investors to its ongoing Series H round — which is targeted at over $3 billion — after it revealed Thai bank Kasikorn put in $50 million as part of a strategic partnership to advance its financial services strategy. Kasikorn joins Hyundai ($250 million), Microsoft (undisclosed) […]
View More Grab lands $50M from Thailand’s Kasikorn Bank to further its fintech pushKorean AI startup Skelter Labs lands strategic investment to expand to Southeast Asia
Korean AI startup Skelter Labs is expanding to Southeast Asia after it pulled in undisclosed funding from Singapore-based VC firm Golden Gate Ventures. Skelter Labs was founded in 2015 by founded by Ted Cho, the former engineering site director at Google Korea. It started out developing apps and services that made use of AI but then […]
View More Korean AI startup Skelter Labs lands strategic investment to expand to Southeast AsiaChat app Line’s games business raises $110M for growth opportunities
Messaging app firm Line has given up majority control of its Line Games business after it raised outside financing to expand its collection of titles and go after global opportunities. The Line Games business was formed earlier this year when Line merged its existing gaming division from NextFloor, the Korea-based game publisher that it acquired in […]
View More Chat app Line’s games business raises $110M for growth opportunitiesKKR’s latest Southeast Asia bet is a $144M investment in PropertyGuru
Global investment giant KKR is warming up to Southeast Asia after it made a third high-profile investment. The firm — which has nearly $150 billion in assets under management — has cut a SG$200 million (US$144 million) check for PropertyGuru, the region’s largest property listings group. Founded in 2006, PropertyGuru operates rental and sale listing sites in […]
View More KKR’s latest Southeast Asia bet is a $144M investment in PropertyGuruApple picks Thailand for its second retail store in Southeast Asia
Apple continues to increase its efforts in Southeast Asia’s fast-growing market after it picked Thailand as the location for its second Apple Store in the region. A post on Apple’s website reveals that it will operate a retail store at the soon-to-open Iconsiam which is set to become Bangkok’s largest mall when it opens next […]
View More Apple picks Thailand for its second retail store in Southeast AsiaGogoprint raises $7.7M to expand its online printing business in Asia Pacific
Gogoprint, a startup that is aiming to disrupt the traditional printing industry in Southeast Asia, has pulled in a $7.7 million investment as it prepares to expand its business in Asia Pacific. We first profiled Gogoprint in 2016 soon after its launch the previous year, and since then the Bangkok-based company has expanded beyond Thailand […]
View More Gogoprint raises $7.7M to expand its online printing business in Asia Pacific