500 TukTuks II names 10 startups in second batch of investments

500 TukTuks, the Thailand fund of US-based 500 Startups, revealed the 10 new startups it has invested in through its second fund.

Photo credit: Sven Scheuermeier / Unsplash

This second batch of investments follows the first six startups it announced late last year, spanning a wide range of sectors including fintech, biotech, and mobility.

At the time, the VC firm said it looked to “aggressively” invest in startups outside of Thailand, with an emphasis on those from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam.

Here are the 10 startups in 500 TukTuk II’s second batch of investments:

• Volt14 Solutions is a Hong Kong-based nanotech startup that develops battery materials aimed to substitute graphite, which is currently used in lithium-ion batteries. It raised about US$955,000 in seed funding to speed up the development and deployment of its high-capacity battery material.
• ShweProperty is 500 TukTuk’s first investment in Myanmar. The proptech startup connects property buyers, renters, and sellers on one platform. It recently secured US$3 million in a series B round to scale its business.
• Portier is a Hong Kong-based startup that helps hotels better communicate with and serve their guests through an app. It previously received seed funding from companies such as SOSV, Plug and Play, and 500 Startups.
• Salutat is a Singaporean startup that aims to address the struggle of financial institutions to provide coordinated and efficient communications to their clients through an AI-powered virtual customer relationship management software.
• Trustless looks to create an open and decentralized liquidity source for any global asset. It is developing a blockchain infrastructure that allows atomic swaps between crypto assets and stablecoins as well as enable over-the-counter dealing without having to trust the counterparty.
• Papaya is a healthcare and wellness benefits platform that helps HR teams provide flexible plans to their employees through an app. It also provides an HR portal for a company to manage, monitor, and approve employee reimbursements.
• GetVan is an online private and public van booking platform that allows its users to book and pay for fixed-route tickets. Launched just this year, it claims to be already processing more than 50,000 bookings per month with a 13,000-strong network, covering 80% of all the available routes in Thailand.
• HungryHub is a Thai fixed-price dining app offering exclusive buffet deals and sharing set menus at restaurants. It recently banked US$450,000 to accelerate its restaurant acquisition process.
• OpenDurian is an online learning platform in Thailand that helps offline tutors expand their reach by creating high-quality online courses. The company claims to have had over 4 million users accessing its free content last year. It’s now looking to expand the scope of its courses.
• SiamCarDeal is a Thailand-based startup that connects potential car buyers with car dealerships. It raised US$300,000 in seed funding earlier this year to offer more services and add support for used cars on its platform.