Asia news roundup: Uber doubles down on Asia, Otonomos faces liquidation, and more

Photo credit: U.S. Embassy Phnom Penh / flickr

While rumors abound that Grab is in talks to acquire Uber’s Southeast Asian business, the US company appears to be increasingly bullish about its prospects in the region. In funding news, biotech startup Engine, online fashion store Love, Bonito, and car financing platform Meiliche all scored investment.

Transportation

Uber not backing away from Asia, plans service expansions (Asia Pacific). Despite recent speculation that Uber may be preparing to pull out of some Asian markets or sell up to local rivals Grab and Ola, the US company’s regional head said it is planning to expand its service offerings in Japan and Singapore. “I have been given absolute instructions to run and grow the business,” said Brooks Entwistle, Uber’s Asia-Pacific chief business officer. “That’s what I’m doing, and that’s what I’m going to do.” (Bloomberg)

Enterprise services

Board files to liquidate Otonomos after tumultuous founder-investor dispute (Singapore). Directors have requested that courts wrap up the blockchain-based corporate governance startup’s operations following a bitter dispute between founder and former CEO Han Verstraete and investors Dymon Asia Ventures and Fenbushi Capital, as well as new CEO Manogaran Thanabalan. Verstraete sued the company, accusing the investors of misleading other stakeholders and using confidential information to try to acquire shares at a cut price. Otonomos and the investors then filed their own suit and made several allegations against Verstraete, accusing him for, among others, mishandling company funds and resources. (e27)

Ecommerce

Love, Bonito co-founder Rachel Lim / Photo credit: Love, Bonito

Love, Bonito raises US$13 million at series B (Singapore). The online fashion house, which claims to have more than doubled its revenue since its 2016 series A fundraise, is looking to open more offline brick-and-mortar stores to serve as avenues for customer engagement. Japanese price comparison site Kakaku led the round, with existing investor NSI Ventures also participating. (Tech in Asia)

Meiliche Financial secures US$92 million investment (China). The series B round was led by agribusiness firm New Hope Group, with personal finance company Wacai joining in. Used-car financing site Meiliche will use the funding to hire new team members, expand its market, and improve its risk control system. (China Money Network)

Life sciences

Engine team members, from left to right: Co-founders Jeffrey Lu and Daphne Teo, lead biological scientist Asha Shekaran, research officer Sadiduddin Edbe Selamat, and senior research officer Yogavalli Poobalan / Photo credit: Engine BioSciences

Engine BioSciences nabs US$10 million in record-breaking seed raise (Singapore). The drug-discovery platform, which uses artificial intelligence to develop improved treatments for key human diseases, will put the funds towards hires and preclinical trials. Danhua Capital and 6 Dimensions Capital led the round, with Baidu, EDBI, and Temasek subsidiary Pavilion Capital among the others to join in. It’s the largest seed round on record for a life sciences startup in Southeast Asia. (Tech in Asia)

Health and well-being

Ride Jakarta nets US$500,000 seed funding (Indonesia). Intudo Ventures led the investment in boutique fitness studio chain Ride Jakarta, with previous backers East Ventures and PT Prasetia Dwidharma joining in. The startup will use the funds to open new studios, hire more staff, and develop digital content for off-site users. (DealStreetAsia)

(Update, 2/2 7:40 pm SGT: The post was amended to reflect the correct sequence of events in the Otonomos case.)

See: Previous Asia news roundups