Asia tech news roundup – Dec 12

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Photo credit: aamulya / 123RF

Last year, Google and Temasek’s report into Southeast Asia’s online economy became scripture for the region’s startup ecosystem. Today, the two published their follow-up to that study. Elsewhere, there was funding news from a jobs site, a platform combining employee benefits schemes with microloans, and an online tea store.

Ecommerce

Helpster raises US$2.5 million in pre-series A funding (Thailand).  The Bangkok-based site, which matches job candidates to vacancies, secured the investment from Mojo Partners and Wavemaker Partners. It will use the funding for product development and sales marketing activities. Cross-town rival WorkVenture announced yesterday it had raised US$3.6 million in its series A round. (Helpster)

US$1.4 million series A funding for Vadham Teas (India).  The startup sells teas directly to consumers exclusively through online channels, with most sales being made through its own site. Fireside Ventures led the round, with existing investors Singapore Angel Network and Mumbai Angels returning. It will use the funding for marketing, warehousing, and logistics in its key market, the US. (Vadham Teas)

Meituan-Dianping partners with Wipay (China/Singapore). The Chinese ecommerce unicorn is joining forces with Singaporean payments startup Wipay to enable more of the Chinese tourists that flock to the city-state each year – numbering 2.87 million in 2016 – can buy from local merchants using its platform. (Wipay)

Fintech

Venteny nabs US$2.3 million in series A round (Philippines). The hybrid employee benefits and microloans platform raised capital from lead investor SBI Investments, with SV-FINTECH, an unnamed Singaporean firm, and two fintech angels also participating. Venteny will deploy the funds for product development and expansion to neighboring Southeast Asian markets. (Tech in Asia)

Enterprise software

Seed funding for marketing platform MailTarget (Indonesia). Azure Ventures led the round, which closed earlier this year. An unnamed angel investor also took part. MailTarget allows small businesses to send up to 300 marketing emails per second. (DealStreetAsia)

Medtech

Advent Access gets US$1.92 million pre-series A investment (Singapore). The startup will use the funding to further develop and commercialize its patented technology for vascular access in dialysis patients. Temasek-backed medical device maker Accuron MedTech led the round. (Advent Access)

Startup business

Google headquarters in Mountain View, United States. Photo credit: bennymarty / 123RF

Google and Temasek publish a follow-up report on the online economy (Southeast Asia). The region’s internet economy is growing at a 10-year compound annual growth rate of 27 percent, substantially higher than the 20 percent predicted by the two firms in their inaugural report last year. They also found that Southeast Asians are the world’s most avid internet users when it comes to smartphones, spending an average of 3.6 hours per day surfing the net compared to Americans’ 2 hours. (Tech in Asia)

Investors, incubators, and accelerators

NSI Ventures targets second fund of US$125 million (Singapore). The VC affiliate of private equity firm Northstar Group is aiming to close the new fund, which will invest mainly in consumer apps, in H1 2018. Its previous fund was backed by the like of Temasek, online health insurer CXA Group, fintech firm FinAccel, and ride-hailer Go-Jek, which itself received investment from NSI in its early days.  (Bloomberg)

Fundel and Thirdrock Group partner to plug the series B gap (Singapore). Wealth management firm Thirdrock will use fintech company Fundel’s data-driven deal assessment platform to consider investments in promising tech companies requiring growth capital, typically at series B stage. (Fundel)

See: Previous Asia tech news roundups